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EXCL STACK & BUSINESS MODEL RESEARCH
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1. IXL LEARNING INC

 MISSION: Solving real world problems in education holistically, with first of a kind products
 for today's and tomorrow's marketplace. IXL is personalized learning. With a
 comprehensive K-12 curriculum, individualized guidance, and real-time analytics, IXL meets
 the unique needs of each learner.  
PRICE: $9.95/mo ( Just Math ) $79 a year, for one child; each additional child $4/month. Yearly plan: $79/year.
 SIZE OF STUDENT BODY: 8 MILLION
 CEO: Paul Mishkin
COO: Jennifer Gu
CEO: Joseph Kent
VP ENGINEERING: Suzanne Pelz
TRAFFIC: 13 Million Per Mo., 400K Per Day, 89.2% US
 BUSINESS MODEL: SUBSCRIPTION MODEL 

HOW THEY ARE MAKING THEIR MONEY:  
The subscription model is paid for by a variety of resources including, 
Federal Funding, State Funding and Private funding

1. IXL LEARNING INC

TECH STACK: Java(SPRING framework), SQL, JavaScript (React ),
HTML, CSS, Linux, Git
SASS SECURITY FIREWALL: CLOUDEFARE
ACTIVITIES INCLUDE:
  • Personalized Curriculum - High Touch Per Individual
  • Curriculum Development
  • Analytics & Diagnostics - Basically Data for the Teacher's Daily Student Assessment
TWITTER: TWITTER.COM/ixllearning
 YOUTUBE:  YouTube Link

OPERATING DOMESTICALLY:
  • N. Carolina 1500 Perimeter Park Dr., Suite 200 Morrilsville 27560 (USA)
  • 326 Adelaide Street West, Suite 400 Toronto, ON M5V 1R3 ( Canada)
OPERATING INTERNATIONALLY: 190 Countries

1. IXL LEARNING INC

OUR REVIEW:  

VISUALLY: Underwhelming,  dated and  graphically conservative ( bland )

TECH STACK:  Upgraded & maintained, allowing it to stay relevant but there are other companies whom are far more engaging interactivity.  Seems like because they were first to market, they have been able to persist despite their dated look & feel.

BBB: A- , 21 Yrs in Business

2. PEARDECK INC

  MISSION: Pear Deck was founded by educators on a mission to help teachers engage 
  every student, every day. With solutions rooted in active learning and formative 
  assessment, they make it easy for one to connect with learners of every age and ability. 
  When that happens, more students participate and learn, classroom community improves, 
  and educators can rest assured they are making a difference.  
PRICE: Tiered Subscription Model, FREE, $149 a yr, Custom Quote 
SIZE OF STUDENT BODY: 3 MILLION
 CEO: Michal Eynon-Lynch
COO: Anthony Showalter
CEO: Joe Krill
VP PRODUCT: Dan Sweeney
TRAFFIC: 3 Million Per Yr., 8K Per Day, 86.6% US
 BUSINESS MODEL: TIERD SUBSCRIPTION MODEL 
HOW THEY ARE MAKING THEIR MONEY:  
The subscription model is paid for by teachers, not by the students.
SEED MONEY: $ 4M  and privately owned

2. PEARDECK INC

TECH STACK: Squarespace(framework), Heroku, JavaScript (Angular.js ),
HTML, CSS, Google Analytics, Google Tag, Amazon CloudFront, Mandrill,  Git, Varnish, Bugsnag
ACTIVITIES INCLUDE:
  • Teacher DashBoard & Tools - GOOGLE ADDON
  • Curriculum Development is enabled, but its the teachers whom create curriculum
  • Analytics & Diagnostics - Basically Data for the Teacher's Daily Student Assessment
TWITTER:  YouTube Link, PearDeck
YOUTUBE:  YouTube Link, PearDeck
FACEBOOK:  Facebook Link
OPERATING DOMESTICALLY:
  • Iowa City 308 Burlington ST. #303, Iowa City, IA (USA)                               
OPERATING INTERNATIONALLY: Canada, UK, US, OTHER

2. PEARDECK INC

  

OUR REVIEW:  

VISUALLY:  The site is crisp and colorful, with nice set of animations that keep it engaging. Its most compelling artifacts are the tools for teacher presentation and live interactive exchanges. Its like remote learning on steroids.

TECH STACK:  Its extremely flexible throughout the whole tech stack ( Linux, Windows and Mac ) and seems to be a strongly aligned developer culture.

3. KHAN Academy 501(c)(3) non-profit org

  MISSION: To provide a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere. Khan Academy 
  offers practice exercises, instructional videos, and a personalized learning dashboard that
  empower learners to study at their own pace in and outside of the classroom.  
PRICE:  FREE, no contracts, no spam or ads. 
SIZE OF STUDENT BODY: 1,897,359,425 BILLION
 CEO: Sal Khan
Principal Architect: John Resig
Math Content Creator: Tomer Gal, PHD
VP PRODUCT: Tom Yedwab
TRAFFIC: 1 Billion Per Yr., 5M Per Day, 69.4% US
 BUSINESS MODEL: DONATIONS BUSINESS MODEL 
HOW THEY ARE MAKING THEIR MONEY:  
2018 Annual Report noted the following breakdown:
56.5% Foundation and Individual Gifts, 12% Community Giving,
5.4% Corporate Gifts, 23% Earned Income, 2.8 Other Income.
MONEY: $ 48K USD Daily, 1,473,149 USD Monthly, 17,666,067 B Yearly 

3. KHAN Academy 501(c)(3) non-profit org

TECH STACK:  React.js, Backbone.js, Handlebars.js, Google App Engine, Underscore.js, HTML, CSS, Google Analytics, Twilio SendGrid, Git, Mailgun, Crowdin, Errorception, G-Suite, Qualaroo
ACTIVITIES INCLUDE:
  • Teacher DashBoard provides a summary of class performance as a whole as well as detailed student profiles.
  • Curriculum Development is provided by the Content Specialists
  • Over 10K practice problems, videos and articles
  • Interactive Hints allow for instance live feedback for students AND
  • Instant feedback for teachers on particular problems students are having
TWITTER:  Twitter Link
INSTAGRAM:  Instagram Link
 FACEBOOK:  Facebook Link
YOUTUBE:  YouTube Link
OPERATING DOMESTICALLY:
  • Mountain View, CA (USA) Headquarters   
OPERATING INTERNATIONALLY: 190 countries, 40 languages

3. KHAN Academy 501(c)(3) non-profit org

OUR REVIEW:  

VISUALLY:  The site has been evolving for the better. They started out with video content and have continued to build specifically for teachers & students working together. Now through a highly organized "guild" protocol, design is developed via a system where ownership is enjoyed by all.

POPULAR: One of the most popular offerings are for the practice of standardized tests. 

3. KHAN Academy 501(c)(3) non-profit org


OUR REVIEW:  

TECH STACK:  Highly integrated partnership between Design and Engineering since 2017, but had suffered with much technical debt and un-sustainability practices. They are recently claiming success with their first design problem: How to organize themselves.

4. ACTIVELY LEARN

  MISSION:  Actively Learn provides a comprehensive platform designed to put learning 
  science into practice. Through a rich and diverse catalog of texts and videos, teachers
  get rich feedback annotating each student's progress, difficulties and successes.  
PRICE:  FREE & PAID PLANS for SCHOOLS. 
SIZE OF STUDENT BODY: 2,625,810 MILLION
 CEO: Jay Goyal
Founder & CEO Dr. Deep Sran, running for Congress
Principal Data Scientist: Sergey Feldman
Senior Product & Content: Tessa Polizzi
TRAFFIC: 2 Million Per Yr., 7K Per Day, 97% US
 BUSINESS MODEL: FREEMIUM, SUBSCRIPTION BUSINESS MODEL 
HOW THEY ARE MAKING THEIR MONEY:  
Personal Plan: $18/mo, Team Plan: $696/per teacher, per yr,
School Plan : $10 per student/per yr
MONEY: $ 21 USD Daily, 624 USD Monthly, 7,484K Yearly 
*This seems low - TBD.              

4. ACTIVELY LEARN

TECH STACK:  Node.js, React.js, Python and AWS, Google Fonts, Slick, OpenResty, Underscore.js, HTML, CSS, Google Analytics, CloudFare, Google Tag Manager, Git, Twilio SendGrid, Mandrill, CrazyEgg, 
Squarespace, Webpack, Varnish, GMail, UnBounce
ACTIVITIES INCLUDE:
  • Teacher DashBoard provides a summary of class performance as a whole as well as detailed student profiles.
  • Tools Include: Text-to-Speech, Translation, Chunking, Annotation, Formative Assessment, Metacognition, and Media
  • Instant feedback for teachers on particular problems students are having
TWITTER:  Twitter Link
INSTAGRAM:  Instagram Link
 FACEBOOK:  Facebook Link
YOUTUBE:  YouTube Link
OPERATING DOMESTICALLY:
  • Seattle, WA (USA) Headquarters   
OPERATING INTERNATIONALLY:  97% US 

4. ACTIVELY LEARN

OUR REVIEW:  

VISUALLY:  The site recently won an Award for Content. Its feel modern,
boasting many integrations ( Google Classroom, Canvas, Etc ) which should guide
our development. A nice use of balance between photography, illustration.

POPULAR: The highly customizable interface and content in the Teacher Dashboard.

4. ACTIVELY LEARN


OUR REVIEW:  

TECH STACK:  The site recently went from Vue.js and bootstrap to React and Node.js
with a heavy integration update with Google Classroom. This seems to be a theme!

5. ASSISTments.org 501(c)(3) non-profit org

  MISSION:  ASSISTments strives to make homework more effective, assisting students
  while helping teachers assess where to focus instructional time in mathematics in 
  4 easy steps, providing immediate feedback and highly meaningful data insights.   
PRICE:  FREE for All Participants 
SIZE OF STUDENT BODY: 549,690 K
 CO-FOUNDER:  DR. NEIL HEFFERNAN
Founder & CEO: CRISTINA HEFFERNAN
CEO:  DR. MEGAN ROBERTS
 DATA SCIENTIST:  STEVEN McATEER 
 VP Product & Content:  TOM BOLTON
TRAFFIC: 549,690 K Per Yr., 45,838K Per Month, 1,506 Per Day, 86% US
 BUSINESS MODEL: FREEMIUM operating through Grants and Donations  
HOW THEY ARE MAKING THEIR MONEY:  
Since its beginning 14 yrs ago, its founders Neil and Cristina Heffernan has made Math its focus and recently in 2019, founded the ASSISTSments Foundation which has received  over 32 million in federal and philanthropic  funding.

5. ASSISTments.org 501(c)(3) non-profit org

TECH STACK:  HTML, CSS, Javascript, JQuery, SQL, MatLab, R, Java with the JSP( Java Server Pg ), SPRING MVC and with the Maven( server), OpenResty 
Git, Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager
ACTIVITIES INCLUDE:
  • Teacher DashBoard - Provides free Tool for assigning math homework
  • Instant feedback for teachers on particular problems students are having
  • Students receive immediate feedback
  • Teachers receive data insights to drive meaningful instruction
TWITTER:  Twitter  Link
INSTAGRAM:  Instagram Link
FACEBOOK:   Facebook Link
YOUTUBE:  YouTube Link
LINKEDIN:  LinkedIn  Link
OPERATING DOMESTICALLY:
  • Worcester, Massachusetts (USA) Headquarters   
OPERATING INTERNATIONALLY:  86% US 

5. ASSISTments.org 501(c)(3) non-profit org

OUR REVIEW:  

VISUALLY:  The site is cluttered visually but does load quite fast. Many of the components seem
to be competing for the focus of the page. THE GUIDANCE IS A BIG SELL:   Every step seems to help   Newbie Teachers  understand where  their might be lacking - essentially catching them before they get lost. This is all done with a recommended protocol: Collect It / Assess It / Check It..

5. ASSISTments.org 501(c)(3) non-profit org

OUR REVIEW:  

TECH STACK:  Their currently looking for branding help so it would seem they are aware of the 
problem. They were a Rails site ( 2010 ) before they switched over to Java in ( 2017 )
and now seem to be moving more towards  Python.  With each adaption, it looks like they are 
losing vs. gaining functionality.... This has cost them with students and teachers.

6. BrainPop

  MISSION:  BrainPop was founded in 1999 by Dr. Avrahan Kadar as a creative way to 
  explain difficult concepts via an online learning resource of tools that help kids create, 
  construct and collaborate their world.  Educator focused, it supports teacher's roles and 
  needs with classroom-optimized tools in diverse settings. Playful and reflective, its tools 
  challenge students to engage in deeper, curiosity driven learning.   
PRICE:  $1895 per 12-Month per school, several tiers are available 
SIZE OF STUDENT BODY: 68,577,295 M
 FOUNDER:  Dr.  Avraham Kadar   
CEO: Scott Kirkpatrick 
CPO:  Karina Linch
 VP COMMUNICATIONS & SOCIAL IMPACT:   Ilana Kurizki 
TRAFFIC: 68,577,295 M Per Yr., 5,718,567 K Per Month, 187,883 K Per Day, 90.2% US
 BUSINESS MODEL:  12- MONTH SUBSCRIPTION  MODEL
HOW THEY ARE MAKING THEIR MONEY:  
A variety of 12 m subscription suites ( School, Teacher, District, Homeschool & Family  ) their tiered system is available  through financing online and wire transfer.

6. BrainPop

TECH STACK:  HTML, CSS, Javascript, Vue.JS, Angular or React, Php, Bootstrap, Apache HTTP Server, Java, JQuery UI, Amazaon EC2, Google Analytics, Incapsula, Modernizr, New Relic, Git, Google Analytics
ACTIVITIES INCLUDE:
  • Variety of Tools - Provides both coding, movie making, concept mapping & reflection tools for pair writing, drawing & primary source activities
  • Highly engaging feedback - Gammification of Lessons make it highly watchable
  • Commercially Polished - The output rivals that of studio of Pixar or  animation studios ( Nickolodeon, Warner Bros ).         
TWITTER:  Twitter   
INSTAGRAM:  Instagram Link
FACEBOOK:   Facebook Link
YOUTUBE:  YouTube Link
LINKEDIN:  LinkedIn Link 
OPERATING DOMESTICALLY:
  • New York, New York (USA) Headquarters
  • Tel Aviv (Israel ) Headquarters
OPERATING INTERNATIONALLY:  90.2% US 

6. BrainPop

OUR REVIEW:  

VISUALLY:  Its got a ton of tools for collaboration, lessons, ideas and very engaging modern graphics.

6. BrainPop

OUR REVIEW:  

POPULAR:   The Gamification is a huge hit that both kids and instructors love.

6. BrainPop


OUR REVIEW:  

TECH STACK:  The collaboration between students drive a lesson's outcome, making it the most interactive platform to date. They actually have a app where one can make a movie to explain a narrative. This rivals the likes of Khan Academy, but this is definitely a platform that is $$$.

7. GetAlma

  MISSION:  One platform. Hundreds of features are offered here. These modern tools
  promote technology-oriented culture and enable digital literacy with ease to to its entire
  eco-system: Administrators / Teachers / Parents / Students!   Its positioning itself  to
  transform how schools and districts are run from the ground up.    
PRICE:  $$$ A tiered system but it might be a cost-savings if it indeed includes everything 
SIZE OF STUDENT BODY: 1.7 M
 BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT EXECUTIVE:  BRAD HERMAN    
HEAD OF PRODUCT: MIKE OLIVER 
SENIOR SOFTWARE ENGINEER:  SIMON LAUG
 VP CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT:  ELIZABETH LONG 
TRAFFIC:  549,690 K Per Yr., 45,838K Per Month, 1,506 Per Day, 86% US
BUSINESS MODEL:  YEARLY SUBSCRIPTION  MODEL
HOW THEY ARE MAKING THEIR MONEY:  
The offering contracts that monopolize every aspect of the school's admin; changing the way teachers deliver their classrooms from the ground up.  

7. GetAlma

TECH STACK:  HTML, CSS, Javascript, PHP, LAMP STACK, Mongo Db, Linux and Nginx, Restful API Endpoints, AJAX, Bootstrap, Google Analytics, Cloudfront, Mandrill, Crazy Egg, MaxCDN, Google Suite, HubSpot  
ACTIVITIES INCLUDE:
  • District Admin - From Building-Your-Own Reporting to creating Custom Roles to Scheduling, etc.
  • School Admin - From Bulk Editing to developing Custom Directories and Gradebook Export, its lush with Admin Tasks
  • Student Admin - From fees to Gradebooks to Transcripts, the entire exchange is accounted for in the system       
TWITTER:  Twitter Link           
PINTEREST:  Pinterest Link
FACEBOOK:   Facebook Link
YOUTUBE:  YouTube Link
LINKEDIN:  LinkedIn Link 
OPERATING DOMESTICALLY:
  • The Morgan Building, Oregon (US) Headquarters 
OPERATING INTERNATIONALLY:  100% US 

7. GetAlma



OUR REVIEW:  

VISUALLY:  Interactive and modern, this site shows clear purpose and result-driven customer interaction to the highest level of integration between systems.  Showcasing how a school is to be run in the near future.

7. GetAlma


OUR REVIEW:  

POPULAR:   In 2014, it won an Awards of Excellence  from Tech & Learning. Alma simplifies and streamlines workflow and communications, all through an intuitive and easy-to-use platform. Judges found Alma to be a complete and easy-to-use LMS that provided a safe classroom technology environment.

7. GetAlma


OUR REVIEW:  

TECH STACK:  PHP, HTML, CSS.  The site is only 6 years old and was built on a modern tech stack in a LMNP environment.  MongoDB, Linux, and NGINX.  The REST API was popular 6 years ago and as such has been designed into this system.

8. Additio App

  MISSION:  App was born from the union of two companies, one dedicated to the
  manufacture of paper notebooks for teachers with more than 30 years of experience and a
  company dedicated to developing applications for mobile devices. With the knowledge in
  education and technology of both companies and their synergies, Additio App, a multi-
  device tool that is much more than a gradebook for teachers was created.
PRICE:  Request a quote for teachers or schools  
SIZE OF STUDENT BODY: 4K/Day, 142K/Month, 1.7M per year
CEO:  Jordi Corominas        
FULL STACK DEVELOPER: Pere Garriga 
Head of Global Education & Partnerships:   Xavier Blanché
 CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT:  Laura Martinez 
TRAFFIC:  549,690 K Per Yr., 45,838K Per Month, 1,506 Per Day, 86% US
BUSINESS MODEL:  YEARLY SUBSCRIPTION  MODEL
HOW THEY ARE MAKING THEIR MONEY:  
From planning to managing your students grades, Additio centralizes the management of teacher's classes in a simple and easy-to-use pay to play SIS application. 

8. Additio App

TECH STACK:  PHP, Angular.js,  MySQL and Firebase, web servers
(e.g. Apache, Nginx), HTML/ CSS, JavaScript, XML, jQuery
ACTIVITIES INCLUDE:
  • Admin Dashboard - From  Gradebook, Reports, Evaluable by Rubrics, Attendance, lesson planner.
  • Angular.js Dashboard  - For importing students
  • 2 Google Play Apps:
  • Additio: Teacher’s Gradebook
  • Edvoice (Student Communication app)      
TWITTER:  Twitter Link           
FACEBOOK:   Facebook Link
YOUTUBE:  YouTube Link
LINKEDIN:  LinkedIn Link 
OPERATING DOMESTICALLY:
  • Gerona, Spain (EU) Headquarters
  • Brooklyn, New York (US) Headquarters 
OPERATING INTERNATIONALLY:  91.7% SPAIN

8. Additio App

OUR REVIEW:  

VISUALLY:  Graphically intensive website with videos and pictures describing each feature of the app in detail. Designed to be for teachers, and while its graphically robust the functionality was relatively basic.

8. Additio App


OUR REVIEW:  

POPULAR:   Good for the educators that need to revist a lesson 30 days later.

8. Additio App


OUR REVIEW:  

TECH STACK:  Its integrated to the European Union's G' Suite and is slowly being upgraded.
However; its slow to drastic changes because of its audience's technology.

9. Bookwidgets 

  MISSION:  BookWidgets is a kind of Khan Academy of Europe. They maintain that
  their mission is to make world-class, personalized education a reality for anyone,
  anywhere. By pairing passionate teachers with technology the potential of every learner  
  can be maximized. Technology is changing education for the better - & it’s happening now.
PRICE:  $955 Yr Pro Account, $199 per Creator Yr, $49 5 teachers, $9 1 teacher
SIZE OF STUDENT BODY:  2,167,370 M
FOUNDER:  Xavier Van Elsacker 
 GENERAL MANAGER:  Bart Buckinx
INTERACTIVE INSTRUCTOR: Serge Vrancken
 TRAFFIC:  2,167,370 M Per Yr., 180, 734 K Per Month,  5,938 K Per Day, 20.4% US
 BUSINESS MODEL:  TIERED SUBSCRIPTION  MODEL
HOW THEY ARE MAKING THEIR MONEY:  
 A variety of tiered subscription widgets that service a school, a group of teachers or an individual teacher. As the group grows so does the strength of the widget's functionality.

9. Bookwidgets 

TECH STACK:  Google Suite, Python, SQL, HTML/ CSS, JavaScript, Swift and React and React Native depending up on the build on the device.
ACTIVITIES INCLUDE:
  • Teacher Dashboard - Tests, assignments and exercises are completely digital
  • Google Classroom  - Integrated to work with Chromebooks, tablets, smartphones and PS inside of Google Classroom
  • Activities Include - Active plots, dynamic worksheets and automatically graded exercises and tests
  • Choose from 40 different types of interactive exercises
TWITTER:  Twitter Link           
FACEBOOK:   Facebook Link
YOUTUBE:  YouTube Link
LINKEDIN:  LinkedIn Link 
OPERATING DOMESTICALLY:
  • Leuvensesteenweg 142, 3070 Kortenberg (EU) Headquarters
OPERATING INTERNATIONALLY:  38.7% Belgium, 20.4$ USA

9. Bookwidgets 


OUR REVIEW:  

VISUALLY:  Graphically intensive website with a ton of choices to work from or choose from.
Its a testament to how complex these offerings have become.

9. Bookwidgets 


OUR REVIEW:  

POPULAR:   The widgets themselves are a hit. You can see the same lesson in almost 40 different ways.

9. Bookwidgets 


OUR REVIEW:  

TECH STACK:  Its another expression of an an app integration to the European Union's G' Suite, 
but this is one is moving rocket fast. With only 7 employees, this startup has been adopted in most of Europe's school system via the Google Classroom.

10. Alladdin 

  MISSION:  Alladin to empower school leaders, teachers, parents and students
  to realize their full potential. Aladdin makes a difference in education by alleviating
  the burden of administration and fostering new ways for school staff to communicate and  
  collaborate. Using technology to engage a digital generation in learning and strengthen   
  partnership between home and school.
PRICE:  Call for Account Level Pricing
SIZE OF STUDENT BODY:  2,200,585 M
CTO & FOUNDER:  Kenneth Macleod 
 SOFTWARE TEAM LEAD:  Alison (Blackmore) McGuinness
 SUPPORT SPECIALIST:  Orla Mason
 TRAFFIC :  2,200,585 M Per Yr., 183,504 K Per Month,  6,029 K Per Day, 98.5% Ireland
 BUSINESS MODEL:  SUBSCRIPTION  MODEL
HOW THEY ARE MAKING THEIR MONEY:  
 Aladdin is now the leader in school administration software, helping schools to guide the education of over 50% of Irish primary school children daily.

10. Aladdin 

TECH STACK:  JQuery, JQuery UI, Animate.CSS, Google App Engine,  Google Analytics, Cloudfare, Modernizr, PHP, MySql
ACTIVITIES INCLUDE:
  • Teacher Dashboard - A secure cloud based system handling all DevOps
  • Robust CRM  - The founder, Kenneth is an expert in cloud computing and online security with a background in developing CRM for international companies
  • Cultivating Collaboration - Its focus is to handle all the app's tech and allow for robust collaboration between teachers and parents.
TWITTER:  Twitter Link           
FACEBOOK:   Facebook Link
YOUTUBE:  YouTube Link
LINKEDIN:  LinkedIn Link 
OPERATING DOMESTICALLY:
  • Dublin, Ireland (EU) Headquarters
OPERATING INTERNATIONALLY:  98.5% Ireland

10. Alladdin 


OUR REVIEW:  

VISUALLY:  Graphically stunning website, this is one of the few that shine with everything they do.

10. Alladdin 



OUR REVIEW:  

POPULAR:   The way the communication is done is nicely done and everyone is in the loop.
The teacher is never tasked with any technical debt, allowing them to focus on the topic at hand.

10. Alladdin 


OUR REVIEW:  

TECH STACK:  Its another expression of an an app integration to the European Union's G' Suite, 
but this is one positioning for the school accounts, hence a strong sales team.

11. Tynker

  MISSION:  Empowering the makers of tomorrow, Tynker believes that the ability to code    
  allows children to make their ideas a reality. Tynker's mission is to provide every child with      solid foundations in Computer Science, programming, and critical thinking skills to prepare    them to become better architects of their future world.  
PRICE:  $60/Quarterly, $96/Annually, $192/One Time Payment - Lifetime
SIZE OF STUDENT BODY:  6.2 M
TECHNOLOGIST & ENTREPRENEUR:  Surj Patel 
SOFTWARE TEAM LEAD:  Srinivas Mandyam
CEO:  Krishna Vedati
TRAFFIC :  6,209, 015 M Per Yr., 517,761 K Per Month, 17,011 K Per Day, 63.8% US
BUSINESS MODEL:  SUBSCRIPTION  MODEL: Quarterly, Yearly, LifeTime
HOW THEY ARE MAKING THEIR MONEY:  
3,700 award-winning learning modules, custom-made for different ages and skill levels, they're offerings are setting the stage for the go-to platform to begin a CS career.

11. Tynker

TECH STACK:  Amazon, Javascript, Python, PHP, Angular.js, iOS,Android ndk, Java, Swift, Processing, Machine Learning, HTML5, CSS3pie, C++, Bluetooth, Virtual Machine, Hardware Programming, Firmware, Minecraft, React Native, React.js, Redis, MongoDB
ACTIVITIES INCLUDE:
  • Teacher Dashboard - Hands-on coding experience through a dashboard
  • Varying levels of experience (3 levels of thought-through user experience)
  • Practical and modern examples of coding provides relevant experience.
  • Complies with Math and CS standards to work towards a degree in CS 
  • Coursework plans for schools  Tynker has a built-in assessment framework that tracks student progress, individually and at the class level
  • Lessons are designed to last one class period (45 min to 1 hr)
TWITTER:  Twitter Link           
FACEBOOK:   Facebook Link
INSTAGRAM:  Instagram Link
LINKEDIN:  LinkedIn Link 
OPERATING DOMESTICALLY:
  • Mountain View, California (EU) Headquarters
OPERATING INTERNATIONALLY:  100% US

11. Tynker


OUR REVIEW:  

VISUALLY:    Advanced graphics and interactive lessons to teach students how to code.  Three different phases all graphically enhanced for simple, intermediate, and advanced lessons on how to code for kids.

11. Tynker



OUR REVIEW:  

POPULAR:    Work examples from over 60 million kids With 40+ award-winning block &  text-based courses and over 3,700 learning modules.

11. Tynker



OUR REVIEW:  

TECH STACK:  Its over 60 Million kids strong with integration of household name brands such as Mattel, Apple, Facebook, Google for Education, Lego, Barbie and PBS. 

12. Kami

  MISSION:  Kami  is on a mission to help all teachers & students  transition to paperless  
  work. Everyone previously weighed down by the time / effort / cost associated  with paper 
  documentation now can be accomplished through Kami with exponential results.  
  After broad marketplace success as 'Notable', the application was rebranded to Kami,  
  which means paper in Japanese.  Since then its positioned itself as a Google Partner.   
PRICE:  Tiered Subscription - Basic ($0), Teacher Plan ($99), School & District ($Custom)
SIZE OF STUDENT BODY:  2,257,890 M
CTO & FOUNDER:  Hengjie Wang 
FULL STACK ENGINEER:  Felipe Müller
GOOGLE CERTIFIED EDUCATOR:  Lance Key
EXEC CHAIRMAN & CRO:  Bob Drummond
TRAFFIC :  2,257,890 M Per Yr., 188,282 K Per Month,  6,186 K Per Day, 73.2% US
BUSINESS MODEL:  SUBSCRIPTION  MODEL
HOW THEY ARE MAKING THEIR MONEY:  
Kami has fully integrated with Google Classroom supporting the total digitization of what was done via paper, allowing for a cost savings enjoyed by all

12. Kami

TECH STACK:  Kami is a Google Apps Premier Partner and Schoology Technology Partner (Canvas integration).  As a Google Chrome extension, its
full stack development includes:  HTML, CSS, and various JavaScript libraries.
ACTIVITIES INCLUDE:
  • Real Time Documentation - Kami is the leading PDF & document annotation app for schools, improving engagement & interaction as the digital pen & paper.
  • In sync with ChromeBooks Usage - Fully Integrated with Google, the company is strategically aligned with this growing trend.
  • Cultivating Collaboration - Kami's mantra: Learn, Create, Collaborate,  teachers give feedback via text, video, & audio tools (Integrated w/ Google Classroom) 
TWITTER:  Twitter Link           
FACEBOOK:   Facebook Link
YOUTUBE:  YouTube Link
LINKEDIN:  LinkedIn Link 
OPERATING DOMESTICALLY:
  • Parnell, Auckland (NZ) Headquarters
OPERATING INTERNATIONALLY:  73.2% US

12. Kami


OUR REVIEW:  

VISUALLY:   Fully integrated with Google Classroom.  Designed for students to use.  Designed for teachers to use for their students.  Simple, effective tool for bringing students and teachers, both, into technology together.  Can be used with maps for example ( any PDF file will work ), and annotate with highlighting and/or text.  Bring the student closer to the classroom.  Connect with students  and the teacher in a new way.

12. Kami


OUR REVIEW:  

POPULAR:   A vibrant interface, the app enjoys a seamless experience with Google Drive Auto Save.

12. Kami

OUR REVIEW:  

TECH STACK:  Helping teachers transform learning into an interactive classroom through Chrome is one of the most impressive positions in the marketplace to date. 

13. Lil Sis - Amplified

  MISSION:  The Little SIS Sync Agent’s Classroom Explorer (v1) provides visibility across  
  all classes on your domain, summarizing details like course state, current rosters, and  
  number of assignments given, parent notification settings, and making bulk actions  
  — such as bulk-archiving — available to administrators.  
PRICE:  $500/Yr Web Standalone, $950/Yr Custom District Classroom Pricing
SIZE OF STUDENT BODY:  11.7 M, Over 300 school districts of varying sizes and student information systems have adopted Little SIS for Classroom
DIRECTOR OF DELIVERY:  Karl Hehr 
 FOUNDER & CTO:  Tim Lee
GOOGLE FOR EDU @ AMPLIFIED: Kendal S.
 TRAFFIC :  32K Visitors Daily, 981K Monthly Visitors, 11.7M Yearly Visitors
BUSINESS MODEL:  YEARLY SUBSCRIPTION  MODEL
HOW THEY ARE MAKING THEIR MONEY:  
 Lil SIS is integrated with Google Classroom for the administrative tasks of a school year, making a district of schools easier to manage from a key set of Administrators. The goal is thus the acquisition of districts vs. singular individual adoption.  

13. Lil Sis - Amplified

TECH STACK:  jQuery, PHP, Google Fonts, nginx, Bootstrap, Apache, React, Java, jQuery UI, AngularJS, Amazon S3, Django, CentOS, Backbone.js, Moment.js, Select2, CodeIgniter, Raphael
ACTIVITIES INCLUDE:
  • Class Access Groups (Principal -> School A)
  • Class Tags (School A, School B, etc.)
  • Custom Defined Roles (Principal)
  • Fully integrated  - All the features of Google Classroom
  • Thinks BIG from the get go - Supports a district's technical initiatives by providing a robust app for provisioning and syncing Google Classroom for districts of all sizes
TWITTER:  Twitter Link           
FACEBOOK:   Facebook Link
YOUTUBE:  YouTube Link
LINKEDIN:  LinkedIn Link 
OPERATING DOMESTICALLY:
  • Norfolk, Virginia (US) Headquarters, 93.8% USA
OPERATING INTERNATIONALLY:  n/a

13. Lil Sis - Amplified


OUR REVIEW:  

VISUALLY:  Graphically its simple and at times a bit bland. They're leveraging the power of their development and this makes the whole offering more of  a software consultancy vs. commercially positioned product for
the marketplace.

13. Lil Sis - Amplified

OUR REVIEW:  

POPULAR:   Little SIS for Classroom is a web application that gives your school leaders, coaches, and support staff administrative superpowers in Google Classroom, a trend worth watching.

13. Lil Sis - Amplified


OUR REVIEW:  

TECH STACK:  
A high suite of products built on the Google Technology, this one makes no fare at being a simple app. 
This product promotes rapid growth in schools and districts.

14. Google Jamboard / Product of GSUITE

  MISSION:  Google Jamboard is set to empower by providing the interface;  
  a sweet spot,  where the product & application captures the input of a virtual classroom 
  The tech giant is firmly positioning itself in education and  enabling the  GSuite to dominate 
  that marketplace. The close cousins are ADOBE or PIXAR.  
PRICE:  $5K of the Product ( Meanwhile GSUITE is Free )
SIZE OF MARKETPLACE:  1B ( 19 companies world wide with 10K employees  )
PRODUCT MANAGER & CO- FOUNDER:  TJ Varghese 
 SOFTWARE ENGINEER & CO-FOUNDER:  Barine Tee
SENIOR TECH LEAD / ENGINEERING MNGR:  Nick Miceli
PROGRAM MANAGER & CORPORATE ENGINEERING:  Eva Bacon 
 TRAFFIC :  Major Adoption Includes: Technical: 17 Co, Education: 10 Co, Retail: 5 Co.
 BUSINESS MODEL:  ONE TIME PRODUCT FFE +  ANNUAL MANAGEMENT FEE
HOW THEY ARE MAKING THEIR MONEY:  
Jamboard starts at USD $4,999 (includes 1 Jamboard 55" display, 2 styluses, 1 eraser, and 1 wall mount) plus a USD $600 annual management and support fee

14. Google Jamboard

TECH STACK:  HTML, CSS, Javascript, Native app ( TBD) low-latency
ACTIVITIES INCLUDE:
  • Interface - The actual interface is the virtual whiteboard             
  • GSUITE Tools  - The current library provided by google is one of its strongest benefits. It truly is rivaling the likes of Adobe.
  • Enables Collaboration - Documents, files ( Google images, sticky notes, and hand-drawn interaction) are shared in real-time with the participating group.
TWITTER:  Twitter Link           
FACEBOOK:   Facebook Link
YOUTUBE:  YouTube Link
LINKEDIN:  LinkedIn Link 
OPERATING DOMESTICALLY:
  • New York (US) Headquarters
OPERATING INTERNATIONALLY:  They are a domestic company

14. Google Jamboard

OUR REVIEW:  

VISUALLY:  Its the collaboration that they are promoting in a digital age.  See next shot.

14. Google Jamboard


14. Google Jamboard


OUR REVIEW:  

POPULAR:  On the cutting edge, its blowing away the brick-and-mortar experience and allowing for
true freedom of expression from anywhere in the world.

14. Google Jamboard


OUR REVIEW:  

TECHSTACK:  While the product ( the 55" screen ) is its most costly aspect, its the freedom of collaboration, and benefits of technology that makes it an easy spend.  These benefits include digitizing / saving / sharing / drag-drop / handwriting recognition / and so much more. THINKING + COLLABORATING + SHARING.

15. Quizizz

  Ankit and Deepak founded Quizizz in 2015 while teaching remedial math at a school in    
  Bangalore, India. Today, Quizizz supports millions of students in over 100 countries and    
  has offices in Bangalore and Santa Monica, California  
PRICE:  Completely FREE
SIZE OF STUDENT BODY:  1.5 M Per Day
CEO & CO-FOUNDER:  Ankit Gupta 
CO-FOUNDER:  Deepak Joy Cheenath
LEAD TECHNICAL LEAD: Ameen Ahmed
TRAFFIC:  1.5M visitors per day, 46.6M visitors per month, 559.9M visitors per year
BUSINESS MODEL:  FREEMIUM MODEL w/ ADVERTISING B2B
HOW THEY ARE MAKING THEIR MONEY:  
14K USD per day from advertisements, $434K profit per month, 5.2M profit per year in advertisements. Prime Venture Partners (India), GSF (India), Nexus Venture Partners (Menlo Park, California) as investors in the company.  Raised 3 million dollars through investors.

15. Quizizz

TECH STACK:  HTML, CSS, Javascript, Amazon CloudFront, Gmail.  Android and iOS apps.  Elasticsearch/SolR/Lucene, MongoDB.  May be functional programming implemented here.
ACTIVITIES INCLUDE:
  • Teacher Dashboard - Teachers upload their own quiz from an account for free and can track  students scores on the quiz
  • Student Dashboard: Students participate in quizzing rounds live with a host, free to choose from 9 categories
TWITTER:  Twitter Link           
FACEBOOK:   Facebook Link
INSTAGRAM:  YouTube Link
LINKEDIN:  LinkedIn Link 
OPERATING DOMESTICALLY:
  • Santa Monica, Headquarters (US) 74.8% ( 18 LinkedIn Employees )             
OPERATING INTERNATIONALLY:  United Arab Emirates, Spain, United Kingdom, Indonesia, Mexico, Malaysia, Philippines, Poland, Thailand, Viet Nam

15. Quizizz

OUR REVIEW:  

VISUALLY:  Simple engineering concept and live classroom features make this a full-featured quizz app to the highest degree. Animations and memes keep the user interactions to the quizzes relevant. Quiz organizers are easily brought into the loop of the quiz-takers to either see live or see records of quiz usage.

15. Quizizz


OUR REVIEW:  

POPULAR:  Over 10 million students use the platform with over half a billion answered per month.
1 in 2 U.S. Schools use Quizizz.

15. Quizizz


OUR REVIEW:  

TECHSTACK:   One of the most celebrated interfaces that is highly enjoyed by its student body. Kids want to engage the platform because it provides instant notoriety. The blacktop gives kids instant cred.

what's next

  Now we're working on tasks: 1.2 & 1.3 before formally  
  documenting how the marketplace is positioned with a 
  SWOT analysis. Our next deliverable will be to explore 
  the Personas.  

  Meanwhile, my process has been included for your 
  exploration... enjoy!  

about me

  I'm a big fan of design thinking and its fundamental human  
  point-of-view. By driving dialogue that explores ideas  
  and challenges assumptions, a collaborative effort   
  to render elegant solutions is achieved.  

  My process is broken down into 3 main steps: 



discover / document / develop

how its done              

  organizing from the start  


I've used Trello for the easy projects and 

Basecamp and Monday.com for complex ones. 

Tasks are enumerated and shared to guide all

stages of development. 

discover    

  research & discovery  

I start by first capturing all vision & goals, opportunities & challenges through dialogue.  
Then creating user personas & use cases, 
which ensures visibility to the entire team.


TRANSPARENCY IS KEY

 stakeholders are defined  
 for quick reads  


 

 a use case is created &  
  researched at each level  


document 

  wireframes & flows  

This step considers the flow of the product and

the usability. We sketch together & generate ideas,

wireframe iteratively, making ideas tangible. 

The best solution becomes the spec.


SKETCH, DRAW & RE-DRAW 

 Complexity is organized into 
 simple reusable design patterns 

 

 Wireframes become 
 the guidelines 



develop 

  design & development  

For some, development can mean diving into code without any design. While I'm an advocate for the latter, its doable for small jobs with a wireframe. 
A design-first approach is best when there's complex requirements, but always worth a discussion.    


PRODUCT STEWARDSHIP

develop: design

  creative iteration   

The process of creating & revitalizing a brand is done with similar iterations of collaboration. Many solutions explored, narrowing to the 'best fit'. 


develop: design

  activities include:  

  • Concepting & Strategy
  • Design of UI
  • Creation of Colors, Fonts, Styles and Guidelines
  • Design of Icons and Graphical Assets
  • Exploration of Key Imagery
  • Preparing & Sharing of all Design Specs

DESIGN  STEWARDSHIP

 

 a visual  
 exploration 
 is established  

develop: software

  web and app development  

Once language & framework is determined,
all specs become a reference and the build begins.
Backups are done with Git, testing is a must,
pair programming is practiced & stand-ups are daily. 


class App extends Component {
  state = {
    bookmarks: [], 
    error: null,
  };

  setBookmarks = (bookmarks) => {
    this.setState({
      bookmarks,
      error: null,
    })
  }
  ...
}

export default App;

develop: software development 

  activities include:  

  • HTML, CSS, Sass, Less, Javascript
  • React, Node, Express, Postgres, Sql, Ruby, Rails
  • Defining each Task and its Definition of 'Done'
  • Create all Environments
  • Defining an Acceptable Iteration Process
  • Testing is done with Mocha, Chai and RSpec 
  • Code Review & Continuous Integration
  • Documentation for Local Setup and Maintenance

DEVELOPMENT  STEWARDSHIP

  review, reduce 
  & optimize is the mantra  

That's the process!

Let's connect and

build something awesome!  


annamendoza.curve@gmail.com



THANK YOU!

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