FETC 2023, which will take place Jan. 23-26 in New Orleans, will present the Top Ed Tech Products of the Year awards. This year’s nominees have already been judged and reviewed, with most of the attention aimed toward how their products are breaking new ground.

Products fall into one of seven categories: Curriculum and Instructional Technology, Future Learning Technology, Information Technology, Learning Environment and Student Support Technology, Management Systems Technology, Upskilling and Credential Technology, and Virtual Learning Technology.

Without further ado, here are this year’s finalists:

Curriculum & Instructional Technology

• Company: Voyager Sopris Learning
  • Product: LANGUAGE! Live
  • This comprehensive literacy intervention program for students in grades 5-12 who are two or more years behind grade level combines two instructional experiences—online and teacher-guided instruction—to reinforce the literacy foundations students need while strategically engaging students with authentic text to accelerate them to grade-level proficiency.
  • Visit languagelive.voyagersopris.com
• Company: IXL Learning
  • Product: IXL
  • This state-of-the-art assessment suite includes the Real-Time Diagnostic and new universal screener and works in concert with curricula to give educators real-time insight into performance, pinpoint gaps in knowledge and provide specific next steps to help each student grow.
  • Visit ixl.com
• Company: Savvas Learning Company
  • Product: Savvas Realize Learning Management System
  • The single sign-on platform allows educators to access an array of standards-aligned content, customize materials, monitor student progress, and create lesson plans and activity playlists. Featuring cutting-edge adaptive technology, it provides data-driven insights to help teachers differentiate instruction and personalized, interactive content to foster student engagement, all on one platform.
  • Visit savvas.com
• Company: Scirra Ltd.
  • Product: Construct 3
  • Construct 3 by Scirra Ltd is a state-of-the-art game development software used by small game developers, large organizations (including NASA), and particularly schools. Students can create 2D and 2.5D video games with little or no prior programming knowledge. Game development software is ideal for getting students from a young age engaged in computer science and coding. A wide range of game development programs is available, each with its admirable advantages.
  • Visit construct.net
• Company: Sown to Grow
  • Product: Sown To Grow’s Weekly Emotional Check-In & Concerning Reflection Alerts
  • Using Sown To Grow’s Weekly Emotional Check-In, students are invited to self-disclose their well-being through emojis and written responses. When an alert is triggered, principals, APs, counselors, and the student’s teacher receive an email and in-app notification. This provides teachers with support in handling heavier moments of student care, creates a team of individuals who can address the needs of students who might have otherwise flown under the radar, and allows counselors/social workers with large caseloads to prioritize their efforts toward the students who need it most.
  • Visit sowntogrow.com
• Company: Makers Empire
  • Product: Makers Empire
  • Makers Empire is a market-leading, gamified 3D design software that helps develop children’s spatial reasoning and design thinking skills. Primary, elementary and middle school teachers use Makers Empire to improve student learning outcomes and student engagement in STEM. Makers Empire is the only program worldwide that has been shown by university research to improve students’ spatial reasoning skills, a known predictor of future STEM success.
  • Visit makersempire.com
• Company: SwiftGrade
  • Product: SwiftGrade
  • SwiftGrade is a new innovative grading app and website that saves teachers time by grading both online and paper assessments. For handwritten and multiple-choice paper assessments, simply point your camera at a student’s paper to grade it. For online assessments, as soon as students submit an assessment to the student portal, the results are ready.
  • Visit goswiftgrade.com
• Company: Vivensity
  • Product: Vivensity’s imSparked© Social and Emotional Learning Program
  • imSparked© empowers middle and high school students with engaging, actionable solutions for day-to-day situations. The evidence-based program aligns with the CASEL and WHO Frameworks to support social and emotional learning (SEL). Designed for use in any type of class, club, or advisory group, students learn through a process of introspection and self-discovery with short, engaging multimedia activities that spur meaningful class discussions and real-world experiences.
  • Visit vivensity.com
• Company: EMC2 Learning
  • Product: EMC² Learning
  • Members of the EMC² Learning community become “Engagement Engineers” and enjoy a full year of access to more than 400 individual resources available on demand 24/7. Each resource comes complete with a dynamic combination of self-paced instructional videos, step-by-step lesson walkthroughs, and modification suggestions on how the activity can be scaled and scaffolded for learners of any age.
  • Visit emc2learning.com

Future Learning Technology

• Company: McGraw Hill
  • Product: McGraw Hill AR (Augmented Reality)
  • McGraw Hill AR is an augmented reality app that provides engaging, bite-size experiences that promote deep, conceptual learning. It was created through a partnership between McGraw Hill and Verizon as part of Verizon’s Innovative Learning Initiative, which supports digital equity and inclusion in education. The app is free for all schools and can be used with any curriculum.
  • Visit mheducation.com
• Company: Kahoot!
  • Product: Kahoot! EDU
  • Kahoot!’s most advanced and scalable offering for education, schools and districts can seamlessly onboard staff, equip teachers with tools to engage students in virtual and blended learning, assess learning progress over time with powerful analytics and facilitate seamless collaboration among educators.
  • Visit kahoot.com
• Company: BenQ
  • Product: BenQ Board RP03 Series
  • BenQ Board RP03 integrates single-tap log-in cloud access, screen sharing, split-screen screen recording, and annotation tools in the industry’s only germ-resistant interactive display. Educators and IT staff will enjoy the thoughtful approach to engineering through a display that can quickly and easily become the classroom’s central ecosystem for driving learning and engagement.
  • Visit benq.com
• Company: Edthena
  • Product: AI Coach by Edthena
  • The AI Coach platform uses artificial intelligence to guide teachers to self-reflect and accelerate their professional learning. When working inside the AI Coach platform, teachers have a conversation with the virtual coach named Edie. Edie asks teachers about their professional goals, and then teachers analyze and reflect on videos of their classroom instruction by adding time-stamped comments. As part of their conversation, teachers develop a short-term goal, identify a strategy for change, and commit to a timeline for implementation.
  • Visit edthena.com
• Company: Sphero
  • Product: Sphero BOLT Cybersecurity Labs
  • Developed in collaboration with Information Technology Full Professor and Director of Camp CryptoBot Dr. Pauline Mosley,  the Sphero BOLT Cybersecurity Labs bring cybersecurity concepts to life through hands-on learning experiences. BOLT simulates and models concepts that are often hidden deep inside computers, networks, and code so that middle school students can visualize, discuss, and fully understand them.
  • Visit sphero.com
• Company: Avantis Education
  • Product: Eduverse Expeditions provides virtual field trips in the education metaverse
  • Created by a team of expert teachers, Eduverse Expeditions takes students on virtual field trips in the education metaverse, providing free access to thousands of VR & AR resources such as engaging 360-degree photos and videos, 3D models, educator resources, and lesson plans that allow students to go on adventures, see famous landmarks and cities, and experience different cultures without ever leaving the classroom.
  • Visit eduverse.com
• Company: Merlyn Mind
  • Product: Merlyn, the AI-powered digital assistant for education
  • Merlyn Mind is an AI technology company translating the latest advances in artificial intelligence to improve human productivity with workflow automation. Their first solution is Merlyn, the digital assistant for education, which seamlessly integrates into classrooms and existing edtech tools to automate everyday workflows for teachers so they can focus more time and attention on students.
  • Visit merlynmind.org
• Company: Autonomous Works/Kai’s Education
  • Product: KaiBot in Kainundrum – first hybrid robot
  • Starting with screen-free coding cards to introduce coding from kindergarten to advancing through using Blockly and Python when paired with the virtual Kainundrum platform, KaiBot interprets and translates the coding cards into machine code instruction by instruction, and then KaiBots CPU executes each instruction before the internal interpreter moves on to translate/scan the next instruction. If KaiBot scans an invalid coding card, the interpreted code will show an error Bug message on the screen as soon as it encounters a problem, making it easier to debug your code.
  • Visit kaiseducation.com
• Company: Springbay Studio Ltd.
  • Product: League for Green Leaders
  • When students learn by doing, they take agency over climate action and become leaders for our sustainable future. This platform enables Springbay Studio Ltd. to host online competitions multiple times a year worldwide, with high efficiency and curriculum-aligned content. Each competition consists of fun-packed activities to encourage children to make eco-friendly choices, fostering green habits that nurture behavioral change while also addressing the root causes of climate change.
  • Visit leagueforgreenleaders.springbaystudio.org

Information Technology

• Company: Clever
  • Product: Clever IDM
  • Clever IDM is an automated identity management solution that’s easy to set up and can be added to Clever’s core single sign-on platform. Clever IDM uses the data that school districts already have in Clever from their student information system to automatically provision, update and de-provision user accounts for students, teachers, and staff in Active Directory and Google Workspace.
  • Visit clever.com
• Company: RUCKUS CommScope
  • Product: RUCKUS Analytics
  • RUCKUS Analytics is an AI/ML-driven network analytics and assurance solution. It provides network analytics and service assurance in an intuitive way so that even unskilled network techs can ensure proper network operation and access for all users.
  • Visit ruckusnetworks.com
• Company: Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc.
  • Product: FORXAI Secure Access – SCHOOL SECURITY SOLUTION
  • FORXAI Secure Access enables automated, secure point-of-entry workflows that combine facial identification with mask detection, thermal temperature screening and tailgating to secure schools. These workflows utilize an artificial intelligence (AI) rules-based engine designed for various types of government organizations.
  • Visit kmbs.konicaminolta.us
• Company: Identity Automation
  • Product: RapidIdentity
  • RapidIdentity is a cloud-based identity and access management (IAM) platform that Identity Automation built specifically for edtech ecosystems. There are three modules of the platform: Lifecycle: Performs full lifecycle management of digital identities. Authentication: Ensures that users who access district systems are who they say they are. Governance: Improves the compliance and auditability of cybersecurity practices.
  • Visit identityautomation.com
• Company: identiMetrics, Inc.
  • Product: The identiMetrics Biometric ID Management Platform
  • The identiMetrics Biometric ID Management Platform is the fastest way to identify students, from kindergarten through graduation. With the touch of a finger, they are identified in about two seconds with 100% accuracy. identiMetrics, the #1 biometric ID provider in K12 education, saves time, ensures accurate records and secure student accounts, and results in accurate and faster government audits.
  • Visit identimetrics.net
• Company: Incident IQ
  • Product: iiQ Ticketing
  • iiQ Ticketing is the toolkit that gets K-12 help requests resolved quickly and effectively. iiQ Ticketing includes an easy-to-use ticket submission portal for teachers, students, and district staff. This portal gives requestors step-by-step instructions for efficient ticket entry and offers customizable issue categories that can be tailored for the unique workflows of K-12 districts.
  • Visit incidentiq.com
• Company: Grey Trunk RFID
  • Product: Grey Trunk RFID Fixed Asset Inventory Software
  • Grey Trunk’s cloud-based asset tracking system makes asset tracking and inventory fast and simple. Eliminate hours of work using RFID and barcode technology to easily find and catalog your assets. Grey Trunk’s asset tracking app has it all—from mobile to web, we have your asset management tracking solution so you can take control of your fixed assets, from laptops, Chromebooks, monitors, and more.
  • Visit greytrunkrfid.com
• Company: Samscloud
  • Product: Samscloud
  • Samscloud (Security Alert Messaging Service Cloud) is an intelligent security platform designed for schools and organizations to streamline their emergency response plans and support incident management.
  • Visit samscloud.io

Learning Environment & Student Support Technology

• Company: Paper
  • Product: Paper
  • Paper partners with over 450 school districts across North America to provide over 2.5 million students with an unlimited, 24/7, on-demand Educational Support System featuring virtual tutoring, writing assignment review, career and college support, after school extracurricular programming, and other academic support tools. All of Paper’s services are entirely free for students, helping close equity gaps.
  • Visit paper.co
• Company: Renaissance
  • Product: Schoolzilla
  • Schoolzilla’s data-driven dashboards give educators actionable insights into trends in student attendance and achievement, helping them to identify opportunities to improve outcomes for all learners. Using the information sources schools and districts already have available, Schoolzilla’s dashboards make it easy for educators to act with confidence to accelerate learning and meet school and district goals.
  • Visit renaissance.com
• Company: Tutor.com/The Princeton Review
  • Product: Learner Engagements Online
  • Learner Engagements Online (LEO) is Tutor.com’s new academic platform, which centralizes 24/7 support services for students, as well as scheduling tools and actionable analytics for institutions.
  • Visit tutor.com
• Company: AllHere
  • Product: AllHere
  • Founded by Joanna Smith-Griffin, a former public school leader and 2021 Forbes 30 Under 30 recipient, AllHere provides scalable, equitable educational coaching and support for families. AllHere’s family support chatbot is available 24/7 by text message to help parents answer wide-ranging questions like “How is my child doing in class?” “What assignments are my child missing?” or “How can I get help with issues around mental health, well-being, transportation, housing, or food services?”
  • Visit allhere.com
• Company: Swivl
  • Product: Teams by Swivl
  • Teams by Swivl is a video-based software platform that facilitates educator growth and reflection. Supporting mobile and desktop apps, Teams provides next-level reflection and coaching for your whole school or district combining asynchronous video observations, annotation tools for reflection, peer feedback, and structured assessments supported by custom rubrics and frameworks.
  • Visit swivl.com
• Company: Shmoop
  • Product: Shmoop Heartbeat
  • Instead of static surveys or curriculum built for the center, Heartbeat brings recurring cognitive power to your classroom. By giving students 5-10 minutes, 2-3 times/week in the tool they’ll have access to personalized Insights & Actions about themselves to improve and unblock their learning journeys.
  • Visit shmoop.com
• Company: Novel Effect
  • Product: Novel Effect: Bring the Story To Life!
  • Novel Effect is a mobile app that brings stories to life with interactive music, sound effects, and character voices that follow along as you read aloud from your library of physical books with your students. Learners and listeners are immersed in magical soundscapes, bringing awe and smiles that dramatically enhance the read-aloud experience!
  • Visit noveleffect.com
• Company: GAB-on!
  • Product: GAB-on!
  • For students, the relationship between family and school can change the trajectory of their learning outcomes. GAB-on! gets parents engaged in their child’s learning consistently and actively at home, so students are engaged every day at school. Parent engagement in a child’s education improves all the “A’s”: attendance, academic achievement, agency, and aspirations.
  • Visit gab-on.com
• Company: Voltek Systems Inc
  • Product: Voltek Smart Building USB Power Delivery
  • Voltek manufactures a low-voltage powered USB-C power delivery system that can power today’s laptops with a simple USB-C cable and eliminates the need for bulky AC-to-DC power conversion transformers. Voltek is an easy retrofit for existing areas that lack power for today’s learning devices, as well as a sustainable solution in new construction for delivering power around the classroom or flex learning space.
  • Visit voltekinc.com

Management Systems Technology

• Company: PowerSchool
  • Product: PowerSchool Unified Insights MTSS
  • PowerSchool Unified Insights offers rich analytics that provide educators with the actionable insights they need to improve student outcomes. Unified Insights delivers insights to school, district, and state education agencies with specific solutions for essential student learning (attendance, behavior, and coursework), early warning and intervention, SEL reporting, MTSS, and CCLR, as well as K-12 finance and operations, talent management, enrollment analytics, and location analytics.
  • Visit powerschool.com
• Company: Skyward
  • Product: Skyward’s Qmlativ Education Management System
  • Qmlativ, the next generation of Skyward technology, is the epitome of a better SIS and ERP experience. Built to leverage the latest technology, this SQL-based platform combines an enjoyable user interface with preemptive support measures and a focus on the growth and development of every user. Qmlativ consists of the School Business and Student Management Suites, which can be used individually or together.
  • Visit skyward.com
• Company: Mackin Educational Resources
  • Product: Mackin’s Accessit Library
  • Mackin’s Accessit Library delivers easy and precise access to a school’s or district’s library catalog and is an essential part of its successful operation. Implementation of Mackin’s Accessit Library creates an environment where the library becomes the trusted hub that connects and integrates a school’s existing systems. Paired with the multiple-award-winning digital content management system, MackinVIA, the combination creates a unique, versatile, and powerful tool.
  • Visit home.mackin.com
• Company: Otus
  • Product: Otus
  • Otus is an all-in-one platform that empowers K-12 educators to optimize instruction, planning, and grading by gathering and visualizing student-growth data. Otus makes every step of the learning process more efficient for teachers, administrators, students and families.
  • Visit otus.com
• Company: Abre
  • Product: Abre
  • Abre is K-12’s leading data and administration platform. Developed by two educators tired of not providing their stakeholders with the optimal technology experience, Abre is the most robust EdTech solution connecting what matters most with the Whole Child to students, families, staff, and community partners. Abre helps schools increase student success all while saving money and providing a better-connected experience through full interoperability and tailored experiences.
  • Visit abre.io
• Company: LearnPlatform
  • Product: Evidence-as-a-Service
  • LearnPlatform’s Evidence-as-a-Service, is a subscription service to provide all edtech solution providers with the necessary evidence to meet both federal evidence requirements outlined in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) market demands, and more effectively serve all students and educators.
  • Visit learnplatform.com
• Company: Jetpacked
  • Product: Jetpacked
  • Jetpacked is a one-stop shop for students, educators, and families to design, monitor, and celebrate a purposeful, personalized online learning experience using their favorite digital learning programs. Using data aggregated from multiple online applications, Jetpacked helps all parties promote student agency by providing personalized goal recommendations weekly–aligned with yearly growth targets and updated progress daily. Jetpacked transforms the chaos of multiple applications into a personalized, coordinated learning experience.
  • Visit vimeo.com to view Jetpacked’s introduction video
• Company: Pearl
  • Product: Pearl, tutor management and efficacy software
  • Managing large rosters of student and tutor data is a nightmare no longer. Our availability management tool makes scheduling a breeze. Send reminders via text and email to drive attendance. Tutors will love using our purpose-built online classrooms with multiple whiteboards. By offering robust and partner-first features for districts, states and enterprise tutoring solution providers including individual profiles for administrators, tutors, parents, and teachers.
  • Visit tutorwithpearl.com

Upskilling & Credential Technology

• Company: PowerSchool
  • Product: Naviance by PowerSchool
  • Naviance by PowerSchool is the leading CCLR platform that helps students connect learning to post-secondary paths. With Naviance, schools and districts enable students to discover their strengths and interests, build critical SEL skills, create actionable goals, and find their best-fit path after high school. Naviance provides tools for students and educators in schools and districts of all sizes and settings.
  • Visit powerschool.com
• Company: Epic Games
  • Product: Unreal Futures: Careers in Animation
  • Unreal Futures: Careers in Animation is the third installment of the Unreal Engine Careers in Real-Time series. This video-based course takes students behind the scenes to see how interactive 3D and Real-Time rendering are transforming the animation industry. Students hear from industry experts in animation from major studios including Disney and Reel FX. In addition, students will be guided through a series of hands-on activities using Unreal Engine to create their own animations.
  • Visit dev.epicgames.com
• Company: Solution Tree
  • Product: Avanti
  • Avanti is a learning hub for teachers who are working to ensure high levels of learning for every student. It is a collaborative community created by teachers for teachers and designed to provide relevant, reliable, and personalized professional learning experiences 24/7 on any device. The Avanti catalog houses more than 250 strategy based videos each is about 3-5 minutes in length. Every video comes with an implementation guide, resources, and a self-reflection rubric to help teachers accelerate their core proficiency on that strategy.
  • Visit my-avanti.com
• Company: MobileMind
  • Product: MobileMind
  • MobileMind delivers a comprehensive professional development platform that facilitates district-scaled, sustainable, personalized learning while engaging educators in gamified, self-paced micro-courses. It is the only platform that allows districts to consolidate their PD initiatives from Google Workspace for Education and Microsoft to other technology, compliance, curriculum, new hire training, and more.
  • Visit mobilemind.io
• Company: StarrMatica Learning Systems, Inc.
  • Product: StarrMatica’s Virtual Science Coach Professional Development Partner
  • StarrMatica’s Virtual Science Coach (K-5) is an online professional development platform that focuses on the two factors that have the greatest impact on the quality of a teacher’s science instruction: science content knowledge and questioning. Funded by a Small Business Innovation Research Grant and developed by university-level experts in collaboration with classroom educators, StarrMatica’s Virtual Science Coach is an innovative online library of “bite-sized” engaging resources designed to meet the time, sustainability, location, and ROI challenges of science professional development for districts of all sizes.
  • Visit starrmatica.com
• Company: Engage2Learn
  • Product: eSuite® The Smart Professional Learning Platform for Educators
  • eSuite® helps educators thrive through job-embedded, evidence-based instructional coaching support. The growth-focused coaching and analytics platform is used to transform traditional education professional development, is customizable to meet the needs of the individual educator and is designed to grow educators significantly in a short amount of time.
  • Visit engage2learn.org
• Company: The New EdTech Classroom, LLC
  • Product: 21st Century Teacher
  • This virtual professional development program prepares educators to use technology to create more meaningful, relevant and authentic learning experiences for all learners through engaging, hands-on, personalized learning that can be accessed anytime, from any place. All of the instruction in 21st Century Teacher is delivered via professionally produced videos with embedded checks for understanding and in-app activities. Members can earn digital badges for their accomplishments and access new material as they progress in their skills.
  • Visit newedtechclassroom.com
• Company: 2gnoME
  • Product: Danielson Framework for Teaching (FFT) in Action
  • This FFT in Action portal turns teachers’ self-reflection and observations into a personalized learning experience aligned with the Danielson Framework for Teaching. It clarifies strengths within each Domain and Component and matches high-quality resources to individual areas of growth. For principals, district PD and state administrators, the FFT in Action clarifies who needs what kinds of learning, shapes personalized PD learning for every teacher and brings together all other parts of the PD experience aligned to the required Framework.
  • Visit danielsongroup.org

Virtual Learning Technology

• Company: ViewSonic Corp.
  • Product: UNIVERSE by ViewSonic
  • UNIVERSE by ViewSonic is a software application that provides a virtual 3D environment where teachers can host their daily classes and foster human connection, natural conversation, and group collaboration. Students and teachers are represented by customized avatars which provide a sense of presence and identity. Avatars remove the anxiety of speaking face-to-face and help combat having to always be on camera. Teachers and students can select multiple methods of communication, including natural audio with volume that increases based on the distance to other avatars.
  • Visit universe.viewsonic.io
• Company: AVer Information
  • Product: DL30 AI Auto Tracking Distance Learning Camera
  • The DL30 is a powerful distance learning and classroom lesson capture camera that allows teachers to fully engage with their students. The DL30 enables teachers to fully move around the room while the camera automatically follows. Featuring hands-free AI Auto Tracking, 12X Optical Zoom, PoE+ and USB connectivity.
  • Visit averusa.com
• Company: AVer Information
  • Product: VB130 All-in-One Classroom Collaboration Camera
  • The VB130 is a powerful, all-in-one distance learning and collaboration tool that combines 4K video with clear built-in audio with soundbar and microphone to give your remote students a true in-class experience. The VB130 features advanced AI combining SmartFrame technology with voice tracking to keep the teacher in camera view while focusing on their voice so remote students do not miss any lesson content while engaging both in-class and remote learners equally.
  • Visit averusa.com
• Company: EVERFI
  • Product: Get Digital: Safety in the Metaverse
  • Get Digital: Safety in the Metaverse is a free, digital literacy curriculum designed to provide students with the information they need to safely and confidently navigate the metaverse. Through two online lessons, students learn important digital citizenship skills including recognizing strategies for maintaining privacy in the metaverse. Get Digital’s free curriculum helps students acknowledge the benefits of online communities and resources while guiding them to successfully navigate potential pitfalls.
  • Visit everfi.com
• Company: TutorMe
  • Product: TutorMe
  • TutorMe provides on-demand, synchronous tutoring via our proprietary TutorMe Lesson Space. Students are able to connect with an online tutor through our platform in less than a minute. Our award-winning Lesson Space replicates all the best parts of in-person learning—including face-to-face collaboration through live audio/video chat—while simultaneously empowering learners who feel more confident and productive in a virtual setting.
  • Visit tutorme.com
• Company: TinyEYE Therapy Services
  • Product: Monarch
  • Monarch is a secure, all-in-one platform that enables therapists to create a therapy plan, schedule sessions, deliver therapy, perform documentation and reporting, and bill for their activities. TinyEYE uses the power of this data to share the most important information with schools and districts so they have instant access to reports and student information and streamlines the monitoring of students’ progress and achievements.
  • Visit youtube.com to view a demo of Monarch
• Company: ShareTheBoard
  • Product: ShareTheBoard
  • ShareTheBoard uses proprietary ML algorithms to identify and digitize handwritten content in real time. This allows educators to keep their historically primary teaching tool—the board—when addressing remote/blended classes. Students enjoy not only legible and unobstructed content (as all obstacles are made to appear transparent), they can even add to the shared surface directly.
  • Visit sharetheboard.com
• Company: Tract
  • Product: Tract
  • Tract is an online community where kids teach kids through multimedia. Through our collection of turnkey project guides, teachers can easily integrate short videos from our library into classwork and turn kids’ media consumption into an enriching, educational experience that supports project-based learning, Genius Hour, social and emotional learning, GATE, and more. Tract enables busy teachers to transform what they teach in the classroom into interactive and fun educational projects led and created by kids.
  • Visit tract.app

The post Meet the finalists for DA’s Top Ed Tech Product awards appeared first on District Administration.

This year, District Administration and FETC will honor the best of the best of new ed tech solutions with our “Top Ed Tech Products of the Year” awards. It’s becoming increasingly clear that education technology will play a vital role in helping leaders meet the needs of their schools, so now more than ever, it’s important to spotlight the innovative products helping fuel educational success.

Click here to submit your company’s entry now

To be eligible for the honor, tools must have been developed or updated within the last year and be generally available by August 2022. Submissions will be judged on the solutions’ innovation in the ed-tech space, with particular attention to how the tools are breaking new ground.

This year we are dividing companies into three categories: Startup, Midsize and Large. For the purpose of this contest, we’re defining a startup as a company that has existed for three years or less with revenue under $1 million. To be considered, startups must have a working website. Midsize is defined as a company with up to $50 million in annual revenue, and large is over $50 million in revenue.

Solution providers can submit their applications through the FETC website, along with a non-refundable entry fee of $99. A panel of experts assembled by DA and conference organizers will select up to five finalists in each of seven categories, with one winner from each named “Top Ed Tech Products of the Year.” The solutions will be profiled in DA, on districtadministration.com and highlighted across our social-media platforms.

Conference organizers also will showcase the top-rated products at the event, Jan. 23-26, which will be held in person in New Orleans. Providers will be invited to perform demonstrations of their solutions at a special session that is expected to draw hundreds of education and tech leaders, including potential buyers, and they will also be included in promotional materials for the event.

The submission window opens on Aug. 1 and the deadline for submissions is Sept. 16. Providers that move on to the demonstration phase of the judging process will be notified on or about Nov. 1.

For more information about the Future of Education Technology Conference set for Jan. 25-28, click here.

The post Enter to win the Top Ed Tech Product of the Year awards appeared first on District Administration.

A panel of experts chose 15 winners from more than 130 submissions, all of which will be featured during the in-person Future of Education Technology Conference® Jan. 26-28 in Orlando.

Click here for more information and to register for FETC 2022. 

Here’s a look at one of the Top Ed Tech Products of 2022:

SchoolStatus Communication Platform featuring Video Chat

SchoolStatus

What it is: SchoolStatus Communication Platform featuring Video Chat is a SaaS platform for K-12 school districts that enables two-way, secure communication between school and home informed by comprehensive, real-time student and district data. The SchoolStatus platform integrates the district SIS, assessments, benchmarks, and more. Then, the platform pairs student data analytics with communication tools that enable educators to have data-informed conversations and build meaningful relationships with stakeholders. Designed for easy integration and ease of use, SchoolStatus delivers a customized experience for each user and removes technology, language, and access barriers to support increased parent engagement, improved teacher satisfaction, and more personalized student support.

Why we like it: We like this tool because it has so many different ties into elements districts need to communicate. We also like that teacher numbers are kept private, and it builds efficiency into teacher-parent communication while tying lots of data together in one place. Since the lockdown, virtual parent meetings have become very successful. School-parent communication is imperative and combining all tools into ONE is needed everywhere. This is a unique tool combining data into the interface with chat and video meeting capability. It records all parent communication and enables users to use a mobile interface that is convenient.

As always, we encourage you to perform your own due diligence before making any investments.

See the full list of winners here.

The post Top product: SchoolStatus Communication Platform featuring Video Chat appeared first on District Administration.

A panel of experts chose 15 winners from more than 130 submissions, all of which will be featured during the in-person Future of Education Technology Conference® Jan. 26-28 in Orlando.

Click here for more information and to register for FETC 2022. 

Here’s a look at one of the Top Ed Tech Products of 2022:

Lexplore Rapid Reading Assessment

Lexplore

What it is: Lexplore is an innovative rapid reading assessment, powered by AI and eye-tracking. In less than 5 minutes, Lexplore provides a clear view of a student’s reading level (K-12) and recommendations for instruction. This highly accurate, objective assessment immediately identifies students with reading challenges, including those at highest risk for dyslexia. The assessment presents fluency data for silent reading, providing a level of insight that has proven invaluable for students who are nonverbal. This game-changing assessment shows a verbal and visual recording of a student naturally reading, multiple data points and comparisons across classroom, school and district. Results are immediately accessible in a web-based portal.

Why we like it: We like the innovation of using AI and eye-tracking to get a quick and accurate assessment of students’ reading proficiency. It streamlines reading assessment for teachers and students, and the testimonials provided were very positive.

As always, we encourage you to perform your own due diligence before making any investments.

See the full list of winners here.

The post Top product: Lexplore Rapid Reading Assessment appeared first on District Administration.

A panel of experts chose 15 winners from more than 130 submissions, all of which will be featured during the in-person Future of Education Technology Conference® Jan. 26-28 in Orlando.

Click here for more information and to register for FETC 2022. 

Here’s a look at one of the Top Ed Tech Products of 2022:

CrowdStrike’s EPP Managed Detection and Response, Falcon Complete

CrowdStrike

What it is: CrowdStrike’s Falcon Complete is a comprehensive endpoint security lifecycle solution that takes care of all aspects of endpoint security, including remotely remediating incidents with confidence, so you don’t have to. It allows you to gain the highest level of endpoint security while simplifying the implementation and day-to-day operations of your endpoint protection program. Falcon Complete uniquely provides the technology, platform, actionable intelligence and skilled expertise required to fully handle endpoint security, from beginning to end.

Why we like it: District IT departments have better things to do than constantly monitor for and attempt to disable cyberattacks such as ransomware. The protection provided by this comprehensive endpoint protection solution gives districts confidence that any virus or security threats are being monitored and detected. This tool is simplifying the implementation and day-to-day operations by Falcon reviewing every detection and remotely remediating incidents as needed. Crowdstrike’s track record of zero breaches among thousands of customers and millions of devices can help CIOs sleep better at night.

As always, we encourage you to perform your own due diligence before making any investments.

See the full list of winners here.

The post Top product: CrowdStrike’s EPP Managed Detection and Response, Falcon Complete appeared first on District Administration.

A panel of experts chose 15 winners from more than 130 submissions, all of which will be featured during the in-person Future of Education Technology Conference® Jan. 26-28 in Orlando.

Click here for more information and to register for FETC 2022. 

Here’s a look at one of the Top Ed Tech Products of 2022:

Paper 24/7 tutoring

Paper

What it is: Paper partners with school districts to provide unlimited, 24/7 high-impact tutoring—at no cost to students. With writing feedback, study support, and homework help in four languages across 200+ subject areas, students always have access to help when, where, and how they need it.

Why we like it: We like this service because it not only helps remediate learning loss and can accelerate learning, but it also helps teachers by acting as a virtual TA. It offers live help, writing feedback, teacher support, and administrator support with monthly reports that provide site-level reporting highlights, teacher and student engagement, and include the courses and content most commonly asked about. During COVID, remote learning clearly identified that individualized tutoring is needed everywhere. The federal government recognized the need and focused on funding individualized tutoring through the Cares Act and ESSER funding. Paper is a sophisticated, single sign-on tool that provides unlimited, 24/7 high-impact tutoring—at no cost to students. This tool helps teachers by expanding their reach with differentiation and administrators with reports that show student gains. With writing feedback, study support, and homework help in four languages across 200+ subject areas, students always have access to help when, where, and how they need it

As always, we encourage you to perform your own due diligence before making any investments.

See the full list of winners here.

The post Top product: Paper 24/7 tutoring appeared first on District Administration.

A panel of experts chose 15 winners from more than 130 submissions, all of which will be featured during the in-person Future of Education Technology Conference® Jan. 26-28 in Orlando.

Click here for more information and to register for FETC 2022. 

Here’s a look at one of the Top Ed Tech Products of 2022:

Kai’s Clan collaborative learning platform

Kai’s Clan

What it is: Kai’s Clan encourages cross-curricular and collaborative learning, both in-person and remotely. The kit teaches coding and robotics, students can create robot avatars using Minecraft, Tinkercad, or Makers Empire and import them into Kai’s Clan where they can view them in augmented and virtual reality.

Why we like it: We like the fact that it combines coding, robotics, and AR/VR. Students can code robots from anywhere and then using VR, actually drive them. It teaches simple coding to complex coding, allowing students to grow with it from 3rd through 12th grade. The collaborative aspect of this tool makes it real-world learning that engages students. Tools to teach Python and other coding languages are needed in many districts. Its functionality includes STEAM skills where students can design their own robot avatars. This allows students to view their code in either augmented or virtual reality which is a very future-forward skill.

As always, we encourage you to perform your own due diligence before making any investments.

See the full list of winners here.

The post Top product: Kai’s Clan collaborative learning platform appeared first on District Administration.

A panel of experts chose 15 winners from more than 130 submissions, all of which will be featured during the in-person Future of Education Technology Conference® Jan. 26-28 in Orlando.

Click here for more information and to register for FETC 2022. 

Here’s a look at one of the Top Ed Tech Products of 2022:

eGlass Transparent Writing Glass with Built-in Camera

eGlass

What it is:eGlass is an illuminated transparent writing glass with a built-in camera that captures your face and writing in the same picture, boosting student engagement. An integrated camera captures writing and the teacher’s face. The image is ‘flipped’ so writing reads left to right and LED lighting is injected into the glass. Live video is displayed on a projector or flat panel. Any existing lesson plans can be brought on eGlass and written on.

Why we like it: This is a very innovative product. We like the fact that teachers are facing their students and it can link to any device in the classroom. The students seem genuinely engaged with this approach. It provides every student a highly-engaging learning experience, in-person or online. eGlass is the new whiteboard with the enhanced capability of allowing the teacher to write on the board while facing and making eye contact with their students. This would be a dream tool for many teachers both online and in the classroom. Students can get visual, audio and SEL feedback simultaneously while learning new content.

As always, we encourage you to perform your own due diligence before making any investments.

See the full list of winners here.

The post Top product: eGlass Transparent Writing Glass with Built-in Camera appeared first on District Administration.

A panel of experts chose 15 winners from more than 130 submissions, all of which will be featured during the in-person Future of Education Technology Conference® Jan. 26-28 in Orlando.

Click here for more information and to register for FETC 2022. 

Here’s a look at one of the Top Ed Tech Products of 2022:

IMPACT: Rapid-cycle Evaluation by LearnPlatform

LearnPlatform

What it is: IMPACT is a rapid-cycle evaluation (RCE) engine that uses data from multiple sources (e.g., usage, achievement, demographics, cost, feedback) to generate evidence about the effectiveness of education technology interventions. District administrators can use this evidence to make informed decisions about ed-tech interventions, and ensure they are advancing outcomes for students and working for teachers and budgets. Rapid-cycle evaluations run using IMPACT are formative and iterative, allowing administrators to examine what works in their local contexts using real-world data and a cyclical research design within a condensed timeframe. They generate practical, relevant evidence school districts use to make more data-informed decisions, and involve the following steps:
1. Developing or refining a research question.
2. Identifying and preparing existing data for analysis.
3. Analyzing data and reporting results.
4. Looking for success points (i.e., subgroups where the ed-tech product has a positive impact).
5. Deciding on implementation changes based on a review of success points.

Why we like it: We think this is a very interesting tool, providing great information on the value and results from other ed-tech tools and services. Given the mass spending spree over the past 18 months, this type of analytics will provide districts with valuable information to establish long-range financial plans. Many districts want to know if their technology purchases are producing results. This tool allows district administrators to assess the impact of their digital tools across a variety of contexts. Districts can generate and analyze evidentiary data from multiple sources about the effectiveness of education technology interventions. District administrators can use this evidence to make informed decisions about ed-tech interventions, and ensure they are advancing outcomes for students and working for teachers and budgets.

As always, we encourage you to perform your own due diligence before making any investments.

See the full list of winners here.

The post Top product: IMPACT™: Rapid-cycle Evaluation by LearnPlatform appeared first on District Administration.

A panel of experts chose 15 winners from more than 130 submissions, all of which will be featured during the in-person Future of Education Technology Conference® Jan. 26-28 in Orlando.

Click here for more information and to register for FETC 2022. 

Here’s a look at one of the Top Ed Tech Products of 2022:

TutorMe

TutorMe

What it is: TutorMe is an online learning platform that connects students worldwide with highly qualified tutors in seconds. With over 15,000 expert tutors covering 300+ subjects, TutorMe provides 24/7 academic support to more than 1.5 million students wherever and wherever they need it most.

In under 30 seconds, a smart matching system connects learners with a robust network of seasoned subject matter experts consisting of Ivy League school upper-level students, experienced teachers, and accomplished professionals. To ensure world-class academic support, just 4% of applicants make the grade and pass rigorous background checks and knowledge exams to become qualified tutors. TutorMe also pays tutors up to 80% more than other online services, helping retain top-notch talent.

Whether it’s homework help or a study session, students work with their private tutor for a tailored 1-on-1 lesson in the advanced lesson space. The virtual classroom includes a text editor, code editor, two-way audio/video chat, screen sharing, and a virtual whiteboard for engaging lessons. Each session is archived so students can conveniently access past lessons.

TutorMe directly partners with schools and districts to help address educational equity by providing students at participating institutions with free access to quality academic support regardless of their location, income, or ability.

Why we like it: The need for individualized 1-on-1 tutoring has been magnified by the learning loss epidemic during COVID. This 24/7 online tool provides premium tutors in every subject to all students increasing equitable access to high-quality educational assistance. The teacher feedback dashboard is a great tool so that teachers can see what content students are struggling with and reinforce concepts in the classroom when students need better understanding. Using online tutors assists in the goal of personalizing learning for every student.

As always, we encourage you to perform your own due diligence before making any investments.

See the full list of winners here.

The post Top product: TutorMe on-demand tutoring appeared first on District Administration.