Turn learning software into student achievement At Clever, I have the privilege of helping districts with tens of thousands of learning software rollouts every year. That work often leads to the question, “Is it working? Is technology actually helping students learn?” My answer is usually an enthusiastic yes. Inspiring stories, rigorous research, and my own […]
While the goal of education technology is to improve the classroom experience, in so many cases, software is purchased without ever being tested in the classroom. Teachers are frustrated as technology is ‘pushed’ onto them. The result: teachers and students don’t use what was bought and the dollars wind up wasted. Today, Clever announced a better way.
Recently, a critical security issue was discovered and disclosed to the larger community. This issue, nicknamed Shellshock, could have allowed an attacker to take control of certain systems using specially crafted HTTP requests. The vulnerability came from a flaw in Bash, a tool used by the majority of Internet web servers, including some of Clever’s machines.
Three years ago, I sat in a cramped data closet, sweating profusely and cursing at my servers. The combination of a heat wave and a power outage had turned one of my server closets into a sauna, frying the server hard drives inside. As the machines began restoring from backups and my teachers scrambled to remove technology from their lesson plans, I began to dream of a serverless school.
Just a few years ago, I was a tech director trying to define my role and approach to education technology. Now, I get to work with and learn from incredible tech directors every day.
The more I learn, the more I realize how often I focused on the wrong things as a tech director. Here are the questions I wish I had been focusing on.
I’m writing to share an exciting update: Clever is getting a new address! This Thursday, Clever’s website will move from GETclever.com to Clever.com. It just rolls off the tongue so much better, don’t you think?
What a week for Clever! The team and I spent last week at the SXSWedu Conference in Austin, TX, and it was a real treat seeing Clever partners, participating on panels, and competing in the LAUNCHedu competition.
The LAUNCHedu competition was especially thrilling – Clever was up against 100 other companies vying for the top prize.
In the month since the tragedy at Sandy Hook, we have felt horrified, angry, and powerless. This terrible incident has deeply wounded a community and shocked educators, parents, and students across the country. We all need to do whatever we can to ensure that our schools are the safe and welcoming environments our students need.
One year ago, if you had visited STRIVE Prep, you would have found me in my first-floor office, seething. My eyes were glued to my computer screen, and 1-800 number support muzak was ringing in my ears. I was on hold, waiting to learn why one of my student’s records was not updated correctly in our online assessment software. Seemingly small errors like this one frustrated my teachers – an out-of-date record meant a student couldn’t log in, couldn’t be assessed, and couldn’t learn that day.
