Grockit Founder and CEO, Farb Nivi, presenting agile development at Grockit at the Startup Lessons Learned Conference in San Francisco on April 23rd.
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Education Innovation Summit
We participated in the Education Innovation Summit in Scottsdale, AZ this week. It was an invitation only event that addressed two main topics: How do we educate in a rapidly changing world? And how do we focus information and technology to produce meaningful change?
A distinguished audience that included Ron Packard, CEO and Founder of K12; Julie Young, CEO of Florida Virtual Schools; Jaime Casap, Google Education Evangelist; and Gene Hickok, former Deputy Secretary of Education discussed these topics. In addition, some of the most innovative new companies in education such as Livemocha and Dreambox Learning presented.
Grockit Founder and CEO, Farb Nivi, presented Grockit and also spoke on a panel about how emerging technologies will advance learning. His panel was moderated by Michael B. Horn, co-author of “Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns”.
Farb Nivi, Founder and CEO, Grockit
We would like to thank ASU SkySong for the opportunity to attend and being a great host. The ideas discussed and companies that presented are sure to be a big part of the future of education across the world. We left the conference motivated and as enthusiastic as ever about our mission at Grockit and the product we are building!
We’re Speaking at the Startup Lessons Learned Conference!
On April 23rd in San Francisco, Grockit will be well represented at Startup Lessons Learned Conference. Both Farb Nivi and Matt Johnson from our team will be speaking about the lean startup principals we practice at Grockit. We were pumped to get the invite! Here is a brief event description:
Startup Lessons Learned is the first event designed to unite those interested in what it takes to succeed in building a lean startup. The goal for this event is to give practitioners and students of the lean startup methodology the opportunity to hear insights from leaders in embracing and deploying the core principles of the lean startup methodology.
For a sneak peak into Grockit and what Farb will be speaking about check out this video.
SAT Tutorathon
Free SAT tutoring the week before the exam!
Grockit is offering completely free SAT test prep from Jan. 18 – 22nd, including access to study time with our expert tutors. Find out more on our College Prep blog.
DevLearn Conference Wrap-Up
Ari giving a demo at the exhibition.
Last week we participated in the DevLearn Conference in San Jose. DevLearn is for e-learning professionals who are involved in the design, development, or management of emerging educational technologies. We had the opportunity to show Grockit at the exhibition and also were selected for the DemoFest. DemoFest was like a science fair for new technologies. People kept asking how Grockit’s approach to learning could be incorporated into their organizations and we enjoyed discussing ways Grockit could be used outside of our current test prep offerings.
The conference ended for us with our CEO, Farb Nivi, presenting “How Technology Will Revolutionize Education”. Farb dicussed how the traditional educational paradigm is broken and how technology offers new solutions for fixing it. Stay tuned for more on this topic from us in the future. Many thanks to the eLearning Guild members who organized DevLearn for putting together a a terrific conference.
E-Learn Conference
We’re participating in the E-Learn Conference in Vancouver this week. E-Learn serves as a multi-disciplinary forum for the exchange of information on research, development, and applications of all topics related to e-Learning. Ari presented a paper, “Interaction synchronicity in web-based collaborative learning systems”. Farb will be presenting “How to empower students using AI and a social community of online games”.
In addition, we are learning from the many thought leaders in e-learning that are here. You will see some of this reflected in future Grockit features.
I'm Speaking at DevLearn Conference!
On November 13th, I’ll be speaking at the DevLearn conference in San Jose. I’m really looking forward to the opportunity. The conference hosts experienced and knowledgeable professionals in the e-Learning industry to explore the best ideas and technologies. Here is a summary of my talk:
How Technology is Revolutionizing Education
There are several ways to resolve the broken process of traditional education. One way to address this problem is to use artificial intelligence to build adaptive learning software systems that are as effective as personal tutoring. Another is to take advantage of how students naturally learn by applying algorithms to optimize several traditional learning environments: study groups, private tutoring sessions, study halls, and the traditional classroom environment.
Game dynamics can also motivate students to study for longer periods, and help students encourage one another. Diagnostics and adaptive challenges offer students individually-targeted study sessions. Students are naturally technologically savvy these days, and making learning fun and accessible in a social networking setting creates a study environment that is approachable for all students. Collaborative learning can be introduced into the classroom, the home, or wherever students may be.
This session will address the issues facing traditional education today, discuss resolutions to these problems, and how technology will revolutionize the educational paradigm.
In this session, you will learn:
- Why and how the traditional educational paradigm is broken
- Some solutions for this problem
- Why technology will revolutionize the traditional education system
- Why game-play and social-networking features are so effective for our students today
Please leave a comment if you have questions or suggestions on other points to discuss in the presentation. Grockit will also have an exhibit at the conference to show our latest features. If you will be in attendance be sure to come by and say hello.
NACAC Conference Wrap Up
Last week we participated in the National Association of College Admissions Counselors (NACAC) Conference in Baltimore, MD. NACAC brought together over 5,000 counselors and educators working on the successful transition of students from high school to college.
David Talking to Counselors
The feedback on Grockit’s SAT and ACT test prep games from counselors was overwhelmingly positive. In addition, while talking with counselors we discussed some of the issues facing students today. Many students simply can not afford expensive test prep services or private tutoring. The counselors were excited to learn about Grockit’s current free offering of SAT and ACT test prep. The counselors also shared with us the lack of interest by many students in traditional test prep offerings such as studying out of a book or in the classroom. They indicated the collaborative games approach Grockit offers would be more appealing to those students.
In sum, it was a great conference and we are happy to have attended. We should give recognition to the people of Baltimore for their hospitality. The locals were friendly and generous hosts. We now look forward to NACAC in St. Louis next year.
Alumni Appearance at TechCrunch 50
Brian at the Grockit Demo Table
We were invited back to the TechCrunch 50 Conference to show our progress since our launch at last year’s event. The conference provides a platform for early-stage companies to launch for the first time to the technology industry’s most influential people. Here is a short list of new Grockit features added in the past year:
- SAT and ACT Games
- Artificial intelligence that allow for adaptive solo games
- Custom games
- Detailed performance analytics
- Expert tutors available in the platform
The feedback from conference attendees on our new features was very positive and we were honored to part of TechCrunch 50 again. As usual, they put together a terrific event full of tech celebs and promising new startups. Thanks to TechCrunch for hosting us. We wish the best of luck to all the startups that launched at the conference.
