Executive Summary teachertalk A current problem for teachers in K-12 is the inability to consistently and efficiently organize and share information about their students. Information includes learning styles, strengths, weaknesses, behavior, and more. This information is important for the learning and teaching environment. Currently, issues with sharing this type of information include privacy, losing the information, and difficulty of access. Teachertalk aims to solve this problem by creating a digital database for sharing comments. Teachertalk is a website that will enhance the learning environment by providing a system for communication between teachers about their students. A teacher may login to the website and see a list of their students. Upon clicking on one name, a screen will come up that shows three columns. The first column displays previous comments from teachers that the student has had in the past. The middle column includes comments that parents want to share in order for the teacher to better understand their child. The final column allows current teachers to make any additional comments about that student that they think will help future teachers provide the best learning environment. When a teacher makes a comment, all teachers that have that student receive an email alert notifying them of new information that could be helpful. Once a student leaves a teacher's class (meaning the student no longer has that person as a teacher), the teacher will no longer have access to that student's information. Past comments will remain on the website for each student in order to educate that student's new teachers. Teachertalk will cost schools a yearly fee of $500-$1500 depending on student enrollment. Our hope is that teachers will use this website to communicate behavioral problems, styles of learning, and other information that will ultimately help in the educational environment for everyone involved. We know that incorporating technology into classrooms is important for increasing student and teacher success. Teachertalk attempts to digitize old ways of sharing comments about students like note cards or folders. We feel this system will help to create a personalized learning environment for each student and will make the teacher s job a little easier.
Desirability Initial Desirability - Final Value Proposition: We have a digital system for allowing comments about students made for teachers because they are tired of paper files and/or Google documents. We do this through a website that is unlike current options that are limited because of continuity and privacy issues. TeacherTalk allows teachers to communicate relevant information about students among themselves, easily giving them access to the information they need to provide personalized learning. Numerous programs already exist that offer varying levels of information and interaction, but almost everyone we ve talked to has listed dissatisfaction with the system and areas in which is can be improved. The areas of complaint include lack of knowledge about learning disabilities, behavioral issues, history in the classroom and parental involvement. The difficulty of use was also mentioned several times as a problem with the current options. Complaints from teachers about current systems include: Half the time it doesn t work and you can t find it. None of the student data has been uploaded, can t find it. Haven t pushed out training for teachers to learn how to use it. Teachers have expressed the desire for more information about their students. They value giving students the best possible education and feel that the more information they have, the more equipped they are to provide a high quality education. Multiple people within the school system have told us that current programs don t include student strengths/weaknesses/characteristics, but it would be a crucial addition. Teachers also value the teacher/teacher relationship and good communication between the parties. We have seen some concern expressed about what information would be made available to parents and what would stay within the system. Our goal is for teachers to update occasionally with positive and need-to-know negative behaviors of each student. We have to make a product that satisfies the teachers needs but also appeals to the people who would actually be purchasing our product for their teachers to use. Teachers also value the continuity of information about students, especially when students transfer schools. We would like for our files on students to be transferrable between schools. A teacher in Florida gave us a specific example of how lack of information led to unnecessary distractions in the classroom. Johnny was a slightly autistic student from a different school. He shut down one day and the teacher didn t know why or what the problem was. Then suddenly Johnny flipped his desk in a violent episode. The teacher had no knowledge of his issues until the parent informed her following a second incident. We are targeting the entities that make purchasing decisions for individual schools, usually the principals. The U.S. Department of Education has a grant that gives $20 million to selected school districts specifically for integrating technology into the classroom.
We want to market the product specifically to school principals because they know the administrative responsibility of teachers. They have the best idea of what teachers need to work with students for the best result. Principals and administrators claim to act in the best interests of their teachers and a program such as ours benefits the teachers. It also benefits the students and parents by increasing the quality of education. If we create something genuinely valuable to teachers, students, and parents and that is affordable, the principals have a strong incentive to buy our product. Initial Prototype
Final Prototype
Feasibility Competitors Note Cards Free, but limited in their ability to share between teachers and their sustainability Google Docs Free, but creates privacy and security systems. PowerSchool Charlotte-Mecklenberg spends $1.5 million annually on technology tools for teachers. They spent $190,157 on PowerSchool Coordinators this year. http://www.cms.k12.nc.us/mediaroom/budget/201314%20budget%20information/2013-14%20budget%20request%20packet%20at%20may%2014%20boe%20meeting.pdf Edsby Costs $180,000 per year for five years with free daily tech support Edline Costs $367,000 a year SAS EVAAS Charge $2.50 per student $25 per teacher Very data driven, records information about student performance and predicts their future success Tennessee, NC, Ohio, Pennsylvania Responses Systems they use: NC DPI (ABCs, AMOs, etc.) Easy PEP, Easy IEP, CMS Principal, Portal PowerSchool with hard copy in cum folders Synergy, access and Naviance PowerSchool Feedback We have paper files and use powerschool for our basic information digitally (such as allergies, discipline records) We use PowerSchool for student data such as demographics, medical alerts, family alerts, discipline incidents, grades, attendance, etc. It also houses the teacher evaluation system.
What similar products do they use and what do they pay for them? -PowerSchool, SAS, EVAAS, NC DPI, Portal PowerSchool-upwards of $100,000 per year How much they might be willing to pay for your product. -The price schools wanted to pay depended on their enrollment. We found it difficult to get definitive answers on price points because school budgets vary from year to year. Our prototype is a sample student file that teachers would be able to access. The most important features to teachers and principals are an easy to use interface, medical and behavioral history and contact information. We received positive feedback from almost everyone that the interface we created was easy to read and use and contained parent/guardian contact information. Most of the responders said the medical and behavioral information was not easily available in their current system and felt it would be useful. However, we had to remove medical information due to FERPA regulations and issues of medical confidentiality. We changed the color of the prototype from blue to white per the recommendation of a response to make it more simplistic. Also, multiple responses pointed out that we would need to include some sort of privacy lock or encryption because of the medical information. The prototype changed significantly when we changed our product from a full student records database to specifically teacher comments about students. We retained the key features of the original prototype: ease of use and simplicity. We added the parent comments feature to tackle the issue of parental backlash that other products have experienced.
Frequently Asked Questions: 1. Will teachers use the website? Answer: Based on the answers we have received from the emails we sent out, teachers would use this website. The current programs out there for teachers are not easy to use. Our website provides an easy method for teachers to communicate and is the first of its kind. 2. How do we plan to sell the website (sales team)? Answer: The five of us plan on selling teachertalk to schools for the first couple of years. We can t imagine anyone else being able to sell our product better than we can. We plan on targeting the 21 schools that have won the Race to the Top District Grant first. We will call, send emails and make in person interviews with principals to discuss the benefits of teachertalk. 3. How much do encryption services cost for this type of website? Answer: Encryption software costs between $400 and $2,000 based on the information we have looked at online. We are going to use the highest level of security possible (within reason) because privacy is a major selling point for us. That being said, we have allocated $10,000 for security (including encryption) because we want to make sure we have enough. 4. Will parents be okay with this information being shared? Answer: Under FERPA regulations, parents don t have to be okay with this website. Since this information is being used in the teaching process, it falls under the protection of FERPA and parents can t opt out. We do plan on informing parents when a school buys our product. 5. How much will the actual creation of the website cost? Answer: Costs will vary from year to year, but the first year we are anticipating total expenses of $40,560. We plan on marketing our product for the first five years we are in business because we know it best and can explain it best. We will not make a profit until year three. 6. What is the price of the website for each school? Answer: We have decided on a $500 to $1,500 cost for schools depending on student enrollment (because schools are allocated money from the school district based on enrollment). The principals we have talked to gave us a range of prices they would pay that varies from $400 to $1,000. Price is something we have struggled with, and so we are willing to negotiate slightly depending on the number of students at each school. Schools will pay annually for this website. 7. Do schools have money for this? Answer: We are targeting the 21 schools that got the Race to the Top district grant for $20 million each. These schools have the money to pay for technology in the classroom. After targeting these schools, we plan to expand to other schools around the country. By that time, we will better know the price we should charge for our product. Also, we will have a product that has been thoroughly tested. 8. Why does this type of information have to be online?
Answer: This way, the information will not get lost or stolen and will be available through the years for teachers to use. It will be in a neat and easy- to-read/access format. Also, the information will have more privacy online since it will require a password to access the website and have encryption services. 9. What type of information will teachers put up online? Answer: Teachers can put any information they feel helps other teachers best create the most favorable learning environment for students. We don t have control over what teachers put up on the website, they will use their own discretion. 10. Who will put the student names on the website at the beginning of each year? Answer: Schools will decide this. We will offer to put the student names in for them, but most likely this will fall under the job of an administrative assistant. They will also regulate which teachers have access to which students. 11. Will principals require teachers to use this website? Answer: The principals we have talked to have said that they will require teachers to use this website to share student information. They see it as a good way to help teachers keep informed and create a better learning environment for students. In addition, the website will send email alerts to teachers when another teacher makes a comment about a mutual student. This will help ensure they all use the site. 12. Will parents have access to the website? Answer: Parents will have the opportunity at the beginning of each year to provide the school any information pertinent to the learning of their child. They will not have access to the website because we are still keeping them informed. Parents do not need access to a computer to share anything. They can come into the school at any time during the year and let the teachers or administration know something they want added to the Parent Comments part of the website. 13. Can parents opt-out of this website? Answer: They do not need the option to opt-out because we are informing them of every step along the way. As long as we are complying with FERPA, we are able to stay in business. 14. Why do teachers need this website? Answer: There is not a current system that is easy and convenient that is solely for teachers to communicate about students in order to improve the learning environment. Teachers can use this system to advance their classroom. 15. What happens if a student is a troublemaker in earlier years? Answer: The value in this product applies to students who are troublemakers. The chances are that at least one of those teachers will have had a breakthrough with that student. With teachertalk, that teacher can share information with other teachers so that down the line, the student receives the correct help and attention.
Bios Pierce Conway Pierce is a senior from Raleigh, North Carolina. He is majoring in journalism and mass communication with a concentration in public relations and also history. He plans to pursue a graduate degree in teaching. Outside of school, he enjoys drinking hot chocolate, eating dark chocolate, and playing with golden retrievers. Margaret Croom Margaret is a senior from Charlotte, North Carolina. She is majoring in journalism and mass communication with a concentration in reporting and also history. She plans to work for a company in social media. Outside of school, she enjoys playing with her two cats, Kalesi and Winston, and listening to Taylor Swift. Rachel Morris Rachel is a senior from Winston Salem, North Carolina. She is majoring in journalism and mass communication with a concentration in editing and graphic design. She plans to work for a magazine doing layouts or design work and hopes to one day become editor. Outside of school, she enjoys playing sports, watching various TV shows with friends, and playing with her cat, Chloe. Jordan Mathews Jordan is a junior from Tampa, Florida. He is majoring in journalism and mass communication with a concentration in marketing and advertising. He plans to work for an advertising firm in some capacity. Outside of school, he enjoys watching FRIENDS and adding to his sock collection of over 200 pairs. Haemi Won Haemi, also called Iris, is from Wonju, South Korea. She is majoring in journalism and mass communication with a concentration in public relations and economics. She hopes to travel back to Korea and possibly work with PR or consulting firms. Outside of school, she likes to keep up with her favorite actresses and snacking on traditional Korean treats.