award

Solving a Need for Teachers, Ogment Wins CODiE Award in Education

Curriculum creation and delivery program for K12 educators wins another award for fulfilling a need in education

BURLINGTON, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–When a technology solution really solves a pressing need, those solutions tend to win awards. This is what happened last week when the Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA) announced that Ogment had won a coveted CODiE Award for exceptional education technology products bringing real solutions to schools. Click to Tweet

Ogment is a curriculum creation and delivery program that solves a problem in education today. Writing curriculum and developing lesson plans has become increasingly more complicated than it was only a few years ago. On one hand, the Internet is a boon because of the wealth of resources and information available for teachers to use in building more relevant and engaging curriculum. On the other hand, this same of wealth of resources threatens to bury teachers with the burden of selecting, organizing, and using those resources in lessons that are suitable for their classrooms and aligned to district curriculum maps.

The elegant solution Ogment provides has been recognized by more than just SIIA. In the past few months, Ogment has won three BESSIE Awards, won the CODiE, and was picked as a finalist in the Association of American Publisher’s (AAP) REVERE Awards (winners to be announced in June). Johanna Wetmore, who created Ogment with her team of “edu-neers” at EvoText, was also picked as one of the AAP’s most promising young professionals who are creating educational solutions that are practical and implementable.

The problem Ogment solves is giving educators a way to quickly and seamlessly integrate web content with teacher-created material in the building of multimedia lessons and curriculum. Teachers can take any content from the web including articles, videos, and images, and with one click, pull them into Ogment where they are formatted and cited with Lexile® measures and other helpful teaching information. See Ogment in action.

“To say that this has been a banner year is almost an understatement,” said Ms. Wetmore. “Winning a CODiE is an unexpected and amazing honor especially coupled with wins in the BESSIEs and what we hope will be, a win in the REVERE Awards. We have an incredible team that has really delivered what the educators told us they needed.”

Ogment won in the category for Best Cross-curricular Solution which perfectly aligns with how it applies to any subject area or grade level. “Ogment can be used in any educational setting, grade level, or subject area—it really is a curriculum creation engine that facilitates the process educators go through all the time in creating and delivering inspiring, real-world instruction,” added Ms. Wetmore. It is being used by K-12 school districts throughout the country.

Ms. Wetmore sums it up by saying, “So much of Ogment’s success can be credited to the teachers whom we worked with in developing and pilot testing Ogment. We dedicate this win to them because they are our inspiration and our partners.”

About Ogment

Teachers use Ogment to make lesson planning and development easier. With Ogment, teachers in K12 plan and build lessons from web content, map courses, create assessments, and monitor progress. Ogment “eduneers” are educators, engineers and designers who have been at the forefront of educational technology for the past two decades. Ogment is a subsidiary of EvoText, LLC headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts. To learn more, visit GetOgment.com.

About EvoText

EvoText is an educational software development house that develops custom eLearning solutions. EvoText’s experts have developed several of the most well-known, award-winning eLearning products for basal and supplemental publishers, schools and teachers. EvoText is headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts. To learn more, visit EvoText.com.

Lexile® is a registered trademark of MetaMetrics, Inc. and is registered in the United States and abroad.

Contacts

for Ogment
Jennifer Harrison, 916-716-0636
jennifer@pandopublicrelations.com

By |2017-09-29T20:57:26+00:00May 24th, 2016|award, EvoText, Press Releases|
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EvoText Founder and Ogment Creator is “On the Rise” and Flush with Product Wins for Education Technology

Ogment enables teachers to create multimedia lessons and curriculum and is on a roll with awards recognition in the BESSIEs, SIIA CODiE Awards and AAP REVERE Awards

BURLINGTON, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Johanna Wetmore is having a very good spring. In April, her company’s product, Ogment, won three BESSIE Awards for education technology teacher tools. Ogment was also named finalist in two categories of the SIIA CODiE Awards, and named finalist as an innovative supplementary resource in the Association of American Publishers’ REVERE Awards. Ms. Wetmore was also named to the exclusive AAP list of promising education professionals who are “On the Rise” and demonstrate remarkable leadership and innovation in the education resource industry. Click to Tweet

Ogment was developed by Ms. Wetmore’s company, EvoText, to help educators quickly and seamlessly integrate web content with teacher-created material to build multimedia lessons and curriculum. Teachers can take any content from the web including articles, videos, and images, and with one click pull it into Ogment where it is formatted and cited with Lexile® measures and other helpful teaching information. See Ogment in action.

“We are honored that Ogment is being recognized with so many awards, and I think this is happening because Ogment addresses a true need in education,” said Ms. Wetmore. “Ogment offers a process that makes it faster and easier for educators to build dynamic, real-world lessons, courses and even whole curriculum.”

Details about the awards Ogment has won or been nominated for:

BESSIE: Ogment wins in three categories including educators’ online resources, online teacher productivity tools, and online multimedia tools.

REVERE: Ogment named finalist in the category of supplemental education resources for innovation.

CODiE: Ogment named finalist in two education technology categories including best cross-curricular solution and best instructional solution in other curriculum areas.

About Ogment

Teachers use Ogment to make lesson planning and development easier. With Ogment, teachers in K12 plan and build lessons from web content, map courses, create assessments, and monitor progress. Ogment “eduneers” are educators, engineers and designers who have been at the forefront of educational technology for the past two decades. Ogment is a subsidiary of EvoText, LLC headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts. To learn more, visit GetOgment.com.

About EvoText

EvoText is an educational software development house that develops custom eLearning solutions. EvoText’s experts have developed several of the most well-known, award-winning eLearning products for basal and supplemental publishers, schools and teachers. EvoText is headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts. To learn more, visit EvoText.com.

Contacts

for Ogment
Jennifer Harrison, 916-716-0636
jennifer at jharrisonpr dot com

By |2017-09-29T20:57:26+00:00May 13th, 2016|award, EvoText, Press Releases|
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How to Make Winners: Five SIIA CODiE Award finalists

I am very proud to have played a part in getting five companies into the final round of the very prestigious SIIA CODiE Awards in 10 categories.

  • Schoology (3 categories): Best Education Cloud-based Solution & Best K-12 Course or Learning Management Solution & Best Postsecondary LMS or Learning Platform
  • Turnitin: Revision Assistant (2 categories): Best Cross-Curricular Solution & Best Learning Capacity-Building Solution
  • Ogment (2 categories): Best Cross-Curricular Solution & Best Instructional Solution in Other Curriculum Areas
  • SpringBoard (2 categories): Best Mathematics Instructional Solution & Best Reading/English/Language Arts Instructional Solution
  • ThinkThroughMath: Best Mathematics Instructional Solution

See all the finalists here.

What are a few keys to success? Perspective helps. I have judged similar awards programs in the past and understand judges’ needs. I know how busy they are and how difficult it is to make mental note of the products you are reviewing. With that in mind, I make sure all my clients create a judges guide. This isn’t simply the instruction guide or even a quick-start guide. It is a custom document that should contain:

  1. Short, snappy product description (no marketing-speak) describing from the user’s perspective
  2. A few product highlights in bullets (pick these carefully and align to the award judging criteria)
  3. Links to reviews or feature articles about the product
  4. Simple, clear instructions of how to get into the product as a teacher, student AND administrator (as appropriate)
  5. Test accounts with pre-loaded data or activities or assignments
  6. A suggested review process (a recommendation of the key elements to see and why)
  7. Contact information to a product expert
  8. Link to a video tape of a narrated product tour (5 minutes is ideal)

If you can swing it, create a landing page just for that award. Then you can add additional content beyond what the awards guidelines specify (and make changes if needed between the entry period and when the judging actually begins).

In short, there are no short-cuts in this process. Put effort into the entry and if you develop a great judges guide one time, it will be fairly easy to update for each other award. Make sure to customize the guide for each award and if necessary each category.

 

By |2017-09-29T20:57:26+00:00April 26th, 2016|award|
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Turnitin Revision Assistant Named Finalist in Two Categories of Prestigious Education Contest: SIIA CODiE Awards

Judges Commend Revision Assistant for Encouraging Students to Write More Frequently and Develop Their Skills

OAKLAND, Calif. – April 13, 2016 – Turnitin Revision Assistant – a formative writing product from Turnitin that gives students instant feedback as they write – was picked as a finalist in two categories of the 2016 SIIA CODiE Awards: Best Learning Capacity-Building Solution and Best Cross-Curricular Solution. The CODiE awards are considered the premier awards program for the software and information industries and have been recognizing product excellence in education and software for over 30 years. Click to Tweet.

“It’s great that Turnitin Revision Assistant was selected as one of the best education technology products of 2016 by the SIIA CODiE Awards,” said Elijah Mayfield, vice president of new technologies at Turnitin. “Revision Assistant helps students practice and improve their writing, and we were very pleased to see the CODiE judges ‘got it,’ and that they were excited about supporting teachers in their writing instruction.”

“Every year the list of CODIE finalists is a case study of how the ed tech industry is using new technologies in combination with knowledge about how people learn to respond to customer needs. They’re opening doors for learners of all ages,” said Karen Billings, vice president and managing director of ETIN. http://www.siia.net/codie/Finalists

Revision Assistant gives immediate, actionable feedback to students in a way that is easy to understand and is specific to a highlighted portion of text. Students can apply this feedback to each essay revision, improving with each iteration. They can write and revise as many times as they want, and each time Revision Assistant will inform them of the strength of their essay and where they can improve it. A recent educator review at Ask a Tech Teacher called Revision Assistant “the most comprehensive virtual writing assistant available.”

About Turnitin
Turnitin is revolutionizing the experience of writing to learn. Turnitin’s formative feedback and originality checking services promote critical thinking, ensure academic integrity and help students improve their writing. Turnitin provides instructors with the tools to engage students in the writing process, provide personalized feedback, and assess student progress over time. Turnitin is used by more than 26 million students at 15,000 institutions in 140 countries. Backed by Insight Venture Partners, GIC, Norwest Venture Partners, Lead Edge Capital and Georgian Partners, Turnitin is headquartered in Oakland, Calif., with international offices in Newcastle, U.K., Utrecht, Netherlands, Seoul, South Korea, and Melbourne, Australia.

Tweet: Revision Assistant from @Turnitin named finalist in 2 #CODiE16 categories: learning capacity & cross-curricular

Summary: Turnitin Revision Assistant – edtech that supports writing instruction – named finalist in two categories of the 2016 SIIA CODiE Awards.

Tags: Turnitin, Revision Assistant, writing instruction, codie, awards, education, k-12, writing, students, learning, higher education

By |2017-09-29T20:57:27+00:00April 13th, 2016|award, Press Releases, Turnitin, Turnitin press releases|
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Education Industry and Publishers Pick Nepris as Finalist in REVERE Awards for Innovative Learning Resources

Making Online, Interactive Connections Between Classrooms and STEM Experts

DALLAS and LOS ANGELES — May 14, 2015 — The REVERE Awards, a program of the Association of American Publishers (AAP) which is the longest-running award in education, announced that Nepris is a finalist in the Supplemental Resources: Innovation category. Nepris is a cloud-based social platform connecting STEM (and now STEaM to add the Arts to science, technology, engineering and math) professionals with teachers and their students. Click to Tweet.

Read release on Businesswire (more…)

By |2017-09-29T20:57:32+00:00May 14th, 2015|award, Nepris press releases, STEM|
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Best in Class: Schoology Named Best Overall PK-12 Education Solution and Best LMS in 2015 CODiE Awards

NEW YORK – May 12, 2015—For the second year in a row, Schoology took home top honors as the Best K-12 Course or Learning Management Solution and the overall Best PK-12 Solution in the annual CODiE Awards, the education technology industry’s equivalent of the Oscars. The CODiEs, awarded by the Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA), recognize leading products in the business software, digital content and education technology industries. Click to Tweet.

Read this on Businesswire.

By |2015-05-14T21:19:45+00:00May 12th, 2015|award, learning management system, lms, Schoology press releases|
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x2VOL by intelliVOL Named Finalist for REVERE Awards in Education from Association of American Publishers

DALLAS, Texas—May 11, 2015—x2VOL by intelliVOL has been named a finalist for the 2015 REVERE Awards, an annual awards program from the Association of American Publishers’ PreK-12 Learning Group. Click to Tweet.

x2VOL simplifies the management, verification and reporting of student service programs. As a finalist for the highly respected REVERE Awards, x2VOL was recognized as one of the five best Supplemental Resources for Social-Emotional and Character Education in 2015. (Click here to learn how x2VOL helped spur community service for one Texas high school.)

Read release on Businesswire.

By |2015-05-14T21:15:08+00:00May 11th, 2015|award, intelliVOL press releases|
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Schoology Named Finalist in Higher Ed and K-12 Education Technology in CODiE Awards

NEW YORK – April 7, 2015—Schoology has again been recognized by the Software Information and Industry Association (SIIA) in the 2015 CODiE Awards as a finalist in both Best K-12 Course or Learning Management Solution and Best Postsecondary Learning Management Solution categories. Schoology won the premier overall CODiE award in 2014 as the Best Education Solution for K-12 and higher ed, an award given to the most highly-scored technology of the 28 education product categories.

Read more.

By |2017-09-29T20:57:33+00:00April 7th, 2015|award, lms, Press Releases, Schoology, Schoology press releases|
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CODiE Finalists: SpringBoard and Schoology

 

Congratulations to SpringBoard from The College Board, and Schoology for being finalists in the 2015 CODiE Awards from SIIA.

Schoology – Best K-12 Course or Learning Management Solution
Schoology – Best Postsecondary Learning Management Solution
SpringBoard – Best Education Cloud-based Solution
SpringBoard – Best Mathematics Instructional Solution
SpringBoard – Best Reading/English/Language Arts Instructional Solution

By |2017-09-29T20:57:33+00:00April 4th, 2015|award, Schoology, SpringBoard|
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Nepris is a Finalist in the 2015 EdTech Digest Awards

Nepris— a cloud-based platform connecting STEAM (science, technology, engineering, performing arts and math) professionals with teachers and their students—is a finalist in the 2015 EdTech Digest Awards, which recognizes technology products that are effective in teaching and learning. Nepris makes it possible for teachers to find, match and connect industry professionals virtually with their students to bring real world relevance to classrooms and to inspire them in STEAM careers. Click here to Tweet

Read full release on PRWeb here

By |2017-09-29T20:57:39+00:00March 17th, 2015|award, Nepris, Nepris press releases, Press Releases|
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District Administration Reports Nepris is One of the Top Education Products

DALLAS–January 8, 2015–Nepris is heading into 2015 with recognition from District Administration magazine, which picked Nepris as one of the 100 Top Products being used by schools. Nepris—a cloud-based platform connecting STEAM (science, technology, engineering, Arts and math) professionals with teachers—manages the end-to-end process including matching professionals’ skills to teachers’ needs and hosting the interactive sessions that bring STEAM relevancy to the classroom.

Read more on BusinessWire.

By |2015-03-20T05:05:58+00:00January 16th, 2015|award, Nepris, Nepris press releases, Press Releases, STEM|
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x2VOL, by intelliVOL, Picked as Top 100 Education Product for Third Year

DALLAS — December 4, 2014 —District Administration editors have again picked x2VOL as a Readers’ Choice Top 100 Product for 2014. Each December, the magazine highlights the top products enhancing learning in districts nationwide. x2VOL from intelliVOL was nominated by schools which use the product to make community service programs for service learning or student service easier to manage. Click to Tweet.

Read full release here DA_top100_2014v2

By |2017-09-29T20:57:41+00:00December 4th, 2014|award, intellivol, intelliVOL press releases, Press Releases, x2vol|
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Nepris Wins Teachers’ Choice Award for the Classroom from Learning Magazine

DALLAS – December 3, 2014 – Learning Magazine recently announced that Nepris is a winner of the Learning® Magazine 2015 Teachers’ Choice ℠Award for the Classroom. Nepris—a cloud-based platform connecting STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) professionals with teachers—manages the end-to-end process including matching professionals’ skills to teachers’ needs and hosting the interactive sessions that bring STEM relevancy to the classroom. Click to Tweet.

Read full press release here: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/12/prweb12368028.htm%20

By |2015-03-20T05:05:58+00:00December 3rd, 2014|award, Nepris, Nepris press releases, Press Releases|
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eSchoolNews Readers’ Choice Awards

Congratulations to my clients for the Readers’ Choice Awards 2014! Fifty education products selected by teachers/administrators for their effectiveness.

Schoology
…“Schoology has a great, easy to use interface that students and faculty really love,” said John Case, technology coordinator for Ohio Hi-Point Career Center. “Academic content standards are included, and a new analytics tool
[helps] teachers in identifying students who are struggling.”

Nepris
…The website is “an awesome way to connect your classes with an expert or even other classes around the country that are studying the same units,” said LeAnn Waldie, instructional technologist for the Godley Independent School District in Texas.

x2VOL by intelliVOL (Honorable Mention)

Read the full article here

By |2017-09-29T20:57:41+00:00August 18th, 2014|award, intellivol, Nepris, x2vol|
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Schoology Wins Top Award for Best Overall Education Technology Product at SIIA CODiEs

May 28, 2014 07:10 AM Eastern Daylight Time

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–At the 2014 CODiE awards, known as the “Oscars” for education technology, Schoology took home three awards including the top honor of Best Education Solution. CODiEs, awarded by the Software Information and Industry Association (SIIA), recognize leading products in the business software, digital content, and education technology industries. Schoology not only won its category as Best K-12 Course or Learning Management System, but went on to win both the Best PK-12 Solution and the top award, Best Education Solution.

Click to tweet.
Read more on Businesswire.

By |2016-05-06T17:28:47+00:00May 28th, 2014|award, Press Releases, Schoology, Schoology press releases, siia|
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