http://www.goknow.com/ The Venture: GoKn…
The Venture:
GoKnow Mobile Learning is a $20 million dollar software company that utilizes smartphones and other portable devices geared for k-12 educational purposes-school work (GoKnow). It allows students and teachers to engage in classroom assignments through the use of their mobile phones, as well as provides 1-1 computing. It also provides the necessary software and curriculum to help teachers with teach their subject areas. This company states that by using this company it will, “energize students to engage with the curriculum, achieve higher academic goals, and prepare for the 21st century global marketplace” (GoKnow). GoKnow, provides educational tools through student’s mobile devices and allows students to complete projects, presentations, excel programs or writing notes, and believes that this will prepare students for the competitive workforce.
The Founders and Team:
Goknow was founded by two leaders, Dr. Elliot Soloway and Dr. Cathleen Norris, and are accompanied with their highly educated team of industry experts.
Dr. Elliot Soloway is a co-founder and chief executive officer of GoKnow and has been in the educational technology field for more than 29 years. He has his M.S and Ph. D. degrees in Computer and Information Science, from the University of Massachusetts. His research interests are in education and developing software for educational purposes. Along with GoKnow, he is also a cofounder of HI-CE (the Center for highly Interactive Computing in Education) (UofM).
Dr. Cathleen Norris is a co-founder of GoKnow and served 14 years as a high school mathematics and computer science
teacher. Before becoming a co-founder GoKnow, Dr. Cathleen served as the president of the International Society for Technology in Education and was also the president of the National Educational Computer Association. Dr. Norris holds a Ph. D. in Computer Science, which was obtained from the University of North Texas, where she current works as a professor in the Department of Technology and Cognition. (GoKnow)
The Team: The GoKnow team is comprised of industry experts who help pave the way for students to become more engaged in classroom lessons, through their mobile device. (GoKnow)
Additional Information:
- As of 2009, GoKnow had sold 40,000 units of software for mobile devices worldwide at $30 per student Sarah A. Rigg. 2009)
- Soloway was quoted say, “with 55 million students in k-12, there is an enormous market” (Sarah A. Rigg. 2009)
- Partnerships:
- Verizon Wireless
- Sprint
- Improves Test Scores
- Differentiated Lessons
My Thoughts:
As a fairly new Entrepreneur I am very indecisive about this new technology software. While I highly recommend the two founders for their expertise and ideas, I am not sure the educational environments are ready for this kind of technology. As I think in terms of a teacher, I believe that implementing this mobile device software into classrooms, it would essentially decrease students learning and attention. I am also not sure that this software would in any way change the way students learn or compare to other technologies that are currently in place. I also believe that this device my take away from student interaction and their overall learning. However, I do believe this company has a great vision and may have more use outside of the classroom. I for one would have loved this software in University: virtually allowing me to complete my projects and assignments with the use of -I would love insights on what everyone is thinking!
David Nagel. (2001) Will Smart Phones Eliminate the Digital Divide? http://thejournal.com/articles/2011/02/01/will-smart-phones-eliminate-the-digital-divide.aspx
GoKnow http://www.goknow.com/index.html?pg=about
Sarah A. Rigg. (2009). GoKnow software moves learning to cell phones http://www.mlive.com/business/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2009/04/goknow_software_moves_learning.html
University of Michigan http://www.soe.umich.edu/people/profile/elliot_soloway/
Posted in: Uncategorized
verenanz 7:42 am on September 27, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Jenaca!
Great work. I still can’t quite figure out what the founders want to “do” with their product, so I will go and check out the website. Both of these founders have a solid educational and tech base. It sounds like a “safe” product for teachers who are intimidated by technology or those who question privacy and security issues…I’m curious and want to know more….Good job!
Juliana 8:56 am on September 27, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Jeneca,
Great analysis. I also was wondering how cost-effective it would be to implement this into the classroom. The public school system is already tapped for funds and this sounds like an expensive option. I think it is interesting that one of the founders was actually a school teacher. I don’t think you find that a lot. Also, I was wondering about what the digital divide was like with respect to mobile technologies. I know that most students have a computer, but do they all have phones, iPads, Blackberry etc. to support this technology? I am out of the classroom right now, so I am not sure if all students have access to such mobile technologies.
Juliana.
schiong 11:34 am on September 27, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
“From increased test scores to improved classroom behavior, GoKnow Advanced Mobile Learning offers a myriad of benefits that will propel your school district to new levels of academic achievement. Plus, students will be excited to jump into the curriculum because they can access it through the technology they already use and love! ” (http://www.goknow.com/index.html?pg=about)
I speculate that what the company is offering is more on supplements. .. something like Enopi and Kumon. But, what makes this different is that it is done through mobile.
$20M is a lot of money. I am curious about how they would position the product/service considering that what they offer is not entirely unique or can easily be duplicated.
bcourey 4:00 pm on September 27, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Amazingly, my school board was involved in a project with GoKnow and we had the founder, Elliot fly to our board and work with us in our Pocket PC project using the old (but not that many years ago) Palm Pilots for mobile learning…they are so outdated now!! Elliot’s company was extremely supportive and helpful. We purchased a software/tools package for the project and Elliot was just a phone call away for any of our questions. Their PD for our teachers was excellent and was followed by several video-conferences and 2 support staff from his team flew to Ontario to visit our schools later in the year. Not sure what they offer today compared to the product and service back then ( about 7 years ago).
Angela Novoa 4:20 pm on September 27, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Brenda, thanks for sharing your experience. I also wanted to know more how GoKnow works out. I imagine that the tools that they now offer are different from the software you received but, from your description we can have an idea about it.
Angela.
jenaca 5:56 am on September 28, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hey Brenda, that sounds very interesting! Thanks for sharing! I wasn’t sure how the program would work in classrooms but it sounds like it was a great experience for you!! I will definitely read more up on it and find out more about their software!!
David William Price 5:22 pm on September 29, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I watched a few minutes of his pitch video on the homepage and have to say I was not impressed. Within 2:15 his basic pitch was that every kid will have a cell phone and kids think anything without “interactivity” is boring. To me, this raises the classic Clark vs Kozma debate. “Boring” comes from poor pedagogy, not from the lack of technology. If an entrepreneur is unable to quickly get to the point and describe the problem they are solving, I don’t give much credit to their pitch. I’m not keen on raising generations of kids who are unable to practice anxiety management skills to learn how to learn and work their way through problems using their minds. Gadgets are great tools, but tools are about efficiency and do not replace effective problem-solving heuristics. Part of problem-solving is the requirement to manage anxiety well enough to work through a proper thinking process and identify areas that require effort to learn.