Voice from the Industry RSS Feed
How to Become a Top-Selling K-12 Sales Rep in a Rapidly Changing Industry
Dayton Johnson, President, Dayton Johnson Executive Search and Consultancy — Friday, May 17, 2013
It’s a leaner, faster world…and here’s what it takes now to become a top-selling K-12 sales representative:
- Technology Expertise
- Customer Knowledge
- Product Knowledge
- Territory Research
- Interpersonal Skills
Fixing School District Procurement
Steve Pines, Executive Director, Education Industry Association (EIA) — Friday, May 03, 2013
It was a recurring theme during my conversations at the Education Innovation Summit in Scottsdale, Arizona, earlier this month and at EIA’s Education Industry Days Summit back in February in Washington, D.C: the frustrations education companies and entrepreneurs experience when they run into the delays, bureaucratic red tape, and miscommunication that passes for the procurement policies and processes of far too many U.S. school districts.
Even with good customer relations and support from senior district officials, the path from those first meetings to bid and then to contract feels a little like death by a thousand cuts. At the same time, education companies themselves often contribute to the delays, as many if not most fail to produce objectively acquired evidence of the efficacy of their products or services.
In the wake of what seems to me to be growing concerns on both sides of the education procurement negotiating table, EIA is launching our “Procurement Initiative.”
Using Blended Learning to Help Meet the Demands of the Global Economy
Jim Schultz, Founder and President, Applied Educational Systems, Inc. — Friday, April 05, 2013
The 2012 Digital Learning Report, released last month from Digital Learning Now!, highlights a growing awareness of the benefits of using technology to accelerate learning. The report’s introduction discusses a glaring reality: our educational systems need to be reformed to meet the demands of the global economy and a rapidly changing society. For an increasing number of educators, this comes as no surprise. Those of us in the trenches, working with educators to bring the benefits of technology to the classroom, have been shouting this same message for years. Read More »
Students Know Best
Randy Wilhelm, CEO and Co-Founder, Knovation — Friday, March 08, 2013
We asked students this question, “At your deepest level, what do you most want to know in your lifetime?” Why do we ask this? Because when we know what drives them as human beings, we can better reach and engage them. We can help ignite their hope of knowing. Watch our video to see what they said. Read More »
The Evolution of Games in Educational Publishing
Shelby Marshall, Solutions Architect, FableVision — Friday, February 08, 2013
Over the past couple of years, publishers have increasingly developed educational games that deliver deeper, more meaningful learning opportunities than they used to. The trend is refreshing, and it’s gotten me thinking about how and why learning games have evolved over the past few decades. Read More »
Meeting the Needs of the Common Core Standards: Content, Content, Content
Robert Romano, Founder and CEO, StudySync — Friday, January 11, 2013
At the most recent meeting of the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) in Seattle, I found myself at a table with the contingency from Iowa. They fought off jet lag with lattes and tweets, determined to get the most from the conference and do right by their state and their students. Their districts are working diligently to meet the Common Core Standards by 2014. But guidelines are one thing, implementation another entirely: moving from the “what” to the “how.” Read More »
Technology in Classrooms – Do We Need It?
Raj Valli, Founder and CEO, PrazAs Learning Inc. — Friday, November 30, 2012
We have all seen the advent of technology into classrooms today. Some like it and some hate it. Many more are confused. There is a general perception that technology has become intrusive in today’s classrooms. But is there merit to using technology in classrooms? Read More »
There Is Another Bubble Burst Coming – And It Needs To Happen Soon
by Roland R. “Bud” Johnson Jr., Vice President, Sales & Marketing, PAXTON/PATTERSON LLC — Friday, October 26, 2012
We’ve been through too many “bubble bursts” in the past decade—the Internet/tech, housing, and banking bursts were all devastating. However, bubble bursts are natural corrections to unrealistic conditions—they are necessities. We are headed for a bubble burst in higher education’s bachelor’s degree programs of study—too many degrees are being pursued/earned in programs of study that aren’t needed by the students or the economy. For too long our government (both parties) has promoted and funded an unofficial national policy: College (actually University) is the best choice for every student. The negative consequences of that unofficial policy will burst the bubble, and I hope that it happens soon. That bubble burst will create a better future for many of today’s youth and our economy/society. Read More »
Engaging Individual Students in Their Own Education
Shawn Bay, Founder and CEO, eScholar — Friday, September 21, 2012
Everyone wants students to be personally engaged in their own education. Engaging students starts with identifying their interests and supporting those interests in a constructive manner that better focuses the students’ attention daily and throughout their education career. Fundamentally, all of us involved in education, starting with teachers, try to create and maintain the highest levels of engagement with students. One of the challenges is that any level of engagement created in the classroom is subsequently broken by disruptive events, such as the end of class, transferring schools, and the transition from high school to college. During those events, students disengage and opportunity is lost. One of the issues we have been focused on for years has been the challenge of maintaining student engagement across these disruptive events. Read More »
“Keep Calm and Carry On,” said the Dutchman
Karen Coe, President and Chief Executive Officer, Key Curriculum — Friday, September 07, 2012
Key Curriculum Press was founded in 1971 by Peter and Steve Rasmussen. In 1997, Springer, a global scientific publisher, invested and became a shareholder in Key. With Springer’s investment, Steve Rasmussen, as publisher, led the development of a full high school mathematics “Key Curriculum”—basal textbooks, dynamic learning tools (such as The Geometer’s Sketchpad), professional development, and supplemental books and manipulatives. I joined the company in 1996 and worked alongside Steve in many different roles, mostly focused on sales, marketing, operations, and support, until I became President and CEO in the fall of 2008. The fall of 2008 was also the start of the global financial crisis, and we knew that by the summer of 2009, schools would be feeling it—hard Read More »
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