SWS

SXSW PANEL PICKER ENTRY

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EdTech Red Flags!

Lucrative Blended School Advice

• Why We’re Uniquely Positioned to Understand Ed Tech

Products

• 10 Ways in Which Schools Are Not Out To Make Software

Companies Money

• Ways to Make Money Selling Software Without Listening

to Us

• The Best of “Software Company Red Flags”

• The “So Why Bother?”

Agenda

• Showcase the latest in ed tech red flags and reality

check entrepreneurs to see if they’re making them

• Reveal next generation blended learning school

operators’ needs and wants (though definitely not out to

make entrepreneurs money) that you should be

developing 1-2 years from now (if you’re still around)

• Position entrepreneurs to better understand and use

difficult education feedback to improve and profit.

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Objectives

The Team

Liz Arney

Director of Innovative Learning

Elena Sanina

Blended Learning Manager

Jennie Dougherty Innovation Manager

James Sanders Innovation Director

Between the four of us, we individually support 45 high-

performing schools in California. Of those schools, we’ve

helped (or are currently helping) 15 of those school become

blended learning schools.

We’ve been doing this work for years now: we’re pioneers,

early-adopters, the first wave. We’re a little bit GenX, and a little

bit Millenial.

And, we’ve got a close, collaborative relationship with other

folks like us all across the country when it comes to this work!

Basically, we know blended learning.

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Our Current Stats

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And, our neighbors definitely have influenced us

Silicon Valley

Our Schools

In this section, we’ll detail the common requests we make

to software developers and reps, and how we understand

the financial impact of these requests.

10 Ways in Which We’re Not Out to Make You Money

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In this section, we’ll offer creative (and sometimes very

common) ways to make money by ignoring our requests.

Chances are, you’re making some of these now!

Ways to Make Money and Not Listen to Us

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In this section, we’ll detail the best (or worst!) Red Flags

we’ve experienced from Software Reps and explain why

these have a much broader impact than just the flags

themselves. (HINT: texting us at 7am is just the

beginning!)

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The Best of “Red Flags”

In this section, we’ll highlight some amazing ways in which

we’ve worked with software companies to get great results

for students, and for the companies themselves. We’ll

offer some useful tips for listening carefully for the key

advice you’ll need to build successful school relationships

for the long haul.

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So then why bother listening to schools?

Do you know when you’re making red

flags, and how to avoid them?

Q&A