The feature also allows parents with little or no Internet access to stay informed on their child’s learning activities through the use of simple text messages.

Setting up the feature involves navigating to the Messages tab and selecting Notifications from the left hand menu.  You should then see a screen similar to the one below:

Selecting the link “Update Cell Phone Information” will take you to the screen below:

Simply enter in your cell phone number and pick your cell phone provider, e.g. AT&T / Cingular.  Then, click the button Register & Send Verification Code.  Once you receive your verification code on your cell phone, type in the verification code to the field provided.  You should then see a screen similar to the one below:

Depending on your cell phone provider, sending a text message to connected could be as simple as sending a text message to anyone’s email address, in our case m@connected.info.  The list of available commands are: HW, TODAY, DAY, MSG, GRD, and WEATHER.

1. HW: Texting m@connected.info HW will result in a message being returned similar to this: “Reply with: HW1) Lan- Sep-18- Personality Poem”
   1. Responding again with HW1 will result in – Class: Lang Arts 8 T1 Assignment: Personality Poem (Homework) Due: Sep-18 http://bit.ly/4gAGf6
2. TODAY: texting m@connected.info TODAY will result in a message being returned similar to this: “Reply with: EVT1) 3:00pm-5:00pm – Varsity Soccer Game”
   1. Responding again with EVT1 will result in – Event: Varsity Soccer Game http://bit.ly/4fncCF 9/16 3:00pm – 9/16 5:00pm Location: Home Game
3. DAY: Text a date (e.g. 12/31 or 10/30/2009) to get that day’s events. You will receive a list, and you can then respond to get more details.
   1. For example texting 09/18 results in: Reply with: EVT1) 7:30pm-9:30pm – Varsity Football Game
4. MSG: texting m@connected.info MSG will result in a message being returned similar to this: “Reply with: MSG1) 9/16 6:41p M Williams”
   1. Responding again with MSG1 will result in – From: Mary Williams Sent: 9/16 6:41pm Subject: Please see me after class today http://bit.ly/4CazNL I would like Reply EXTRA for more
   2. Then, txt’ing EXTRA returns: to discuss your recent HW assignment.
5. GRD: texting m@connected.info GRD will result in a message being returned similar to this:
   1. Reply with:
      GRD1) Alg- Spot C- 10/12
      GRD2) Alg- HW Pac- 16/20
      GRD3) Alg- Challe- 6/10
      GRD4) Lan- Person- 10/10
      NEXT) For more grades
   2. Responding with NEXT returns: Reply with:
      GRD1) Sci- What i- 4/4
      GRD2) Med- Techno- 15/20
      GRD3) Ame- Worlds- 10/10
      GRD4) Med- Televi- 17/18
      NEXT) For more grades
   3. And so, on.. Texting GRD1) or GRD2) would provide more detail as follows: Class: Media Workshop Media Pros and Cons Due Date: 2009-08-28 9/9 http://bit.ly/32ddZ
6. Finally, there is WEATHER:  Added by request of the students at CART, txting m@connected.info WEATHER will return something like this:
   1. Currently for Coralville, IA:
      Fair, 76F
      Forecast:
      Wed- Partly Cloudy; H- 77F L- 50F
      Thu- Sunny; H- 75F L- 48F
      http://bit.ly/4e9c1A

The interface to these commands is as simple as possible given the limits of text messaging at this time.  We are very interested in improving the feature set and in adding commands that provide more information of use to our users.  As always, please provide us with your comments and suggestions.

Connected does not share information with anyone not associated with the Connected service, except when required to by proper legal process (for example, Connected will cooperate with criminal investigations in the United States).

Connected is designed to share information among users, who in turn choose which other users they will share details with. A user (or an underage user’s parent) can restrict this information sharing in the Privacy Settings. Other users are individuals; Connected does not allow businesses to become users. Our user agreement does not require users to keep confidential the personal information they obtain about other users.

If Connected obtains information about a user who is under 18 from a school, that information will be shared with teachers, administrators, and other education-related employees of that school who are also users of Connected, regardless of the sharing restrictions set by the user or user’s parent, in order to fulfill the school’s educational mission.

However, in the past, data obtained about a child or their families, whether used in aggregate form or in specific detail was considered an integral part of the business model of some companies.  Until the passage of federal legislation protecting the privacy of certain types of data, a company could freely market such data to other companies for their own marketing purposes.  Now, laws significantly restrict what can be shared, but they do not prohibit all types of data sharing, and this is where some school officials have a valid reason to be concerned.

However, the COPPA (Children’s On-line Privacy Protection Act) among other laws, does require any company collecting data which can personally identify a child under the age of 13, to provide detailed information on the uses of such data to parents prior to the collection of any data.  This disclosure should be available from the company to any school official that has concerns about the intended use of the data.

There are significant penalties which can be imposed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on any company which does not abide by its disclosures.

This is all well and good, but what about what Connected.info does?  Where do we stand?

First, on the issue of data sharing, we do fully support the right granted under the FERPA law for a parent to have access to any data captured by a school regarding their child(ren).  In some cases, this may create unease for a school official.  We work hard to make it possible for a parent to easily obtain access to that data on their child and then to own that data as part of what we call the child’s Electronic Student Record.   But, once we give that access to a parent, the parent is then the owner of that data and we only act as a custodian of that data for them.  Only in cases where we are required to cooperate with a criminal investigation would share that data without parental permission.

Sometimes, companies hide behind a Terms of Use document to gain permission on the part of a parent to use data the parent must grant access to.  For example,  a company’s terms of use document may call out the fact that from time to time data will be shared with other companies in order to enhance the user’s experience, etc.  Since most Terms of Use are many pages long, it is unlikely that a user will read the Terms of Use carefully enough to understand the ramifications of that wording or realize that by agreeing to the terms of use, they have now granted the company the ability to share their data.

At Connected Information Systems, we believe that this is not a good business practice and our terms of use contain no such language in either our Terms of Use or Privacy Policy.

Another concern can be (and very well should be), what do we do to the school’s data.  Do we change the data or access it in a way which may create a question about what is the real source of the data?

First, we only access data on a child on behalf of the school or a parent.  Second, we create a copy of data contained in the school’s student management systems using a read-only process.  We do not modify the school’s data, leaving the school’s data as the so called “system of record”. In other words, if there is ever a discrepency between data we have in Connected.info and the data in a school’s student management system(s), the school’s data is always the correct version.

Then, once we have made a copy of the data in Connected.info, we operate under a data sharing agreement with the school which, among other things, specifies that we will only allow access to that data to school users, i.e. teachers, until a parent has granted any other access, agreed to the terms of use document and granted access to their child’s information.

As parents ourselves, we believe in this as well as support the laws in place to protect a user’s privacy.

PRESS RELEASE

Connected Information Systems Recognized as a New California 100 Business Innovator by Golden Capital Network & Hamilton Lane

Roseville, CA (Sept. 1, 2009) – Connected Information Systems has been recognized as a New California 100 Innovative Business by Golden Capital Network and Hamilton Lane. New California 100 businesses are some of the most innovative companies in the state representing California’s commitment to innovation, entrepreneurship, and workforce competitiveness.

Approximately 100 companies throughout the State of California received this prestigious recognition from over 400 nominations. New California 100 Businesses will be recognized during a luncheon awards ceremony at 11:45am-1:15 pm on September 22, 2009 at the New California 100 Conference in Sacramento’s Sheraton Grand Hotel.

New California 100 Businesses are market leading, privately held companies that have been selected based on the uniqueness of their innovation, competitive advantages, and positive impact on California’s job market and overall economy now and into the future.

“These innovators are powerful job-creating machines,” said Jon Gregory, CEO/President of Golden Capital Network. “We believe innovation and entrepreneurship are the drivers of economic growth in California and these Innovation All-Stars are models for our state.”

About Connected Information Systems:

ConnectEd.info is designed to keep teachers, students, and parents in sync. Web 2.0 tools such as blogs and wikis provide an environment for safe, collaborative learning. Advanced calendar tools make it easy for parents to keep track of their children’s busy schedules. ConnectEd.info is also designed to reduce overhead for a school’s administrative and IT staff. By leveraging near-real-time access to your student information system, ConnectEd.info seamlessly integrates with and connects your school community without the need for duplicate data entry.

About Golden Capital Network:

Golden Capital Network leads by stimulating economic vitality through early stage private equity investment, connecting innovative entrepreneurs, active investors, service providers, and policymakers to share the insights, risks, and rewards of innovative collaboration. Our purpose is to facilitate entrepreneur and investor networks to provide capital, expertise, and resources for building world-class companies. Golden Capital Network provides communities with the capabilities to maximize the value of their own social capital networks for accelerating their homegrown entrepreneurs. Since 1999, Golden Capital Network’s 1,000+ alumni companies have raised more than $1.3 billion in capital. Golden Capital Network alumni companies include NovaBay Pharma (IPO); InterVideo (IPO), StubHub (acquired by Ebay), Security Focus (acquired by Symantec); PowerSchool (acquired by Apple); MaxPreps (acquired CBS), Meridian Systems (acquired by Trimble), and Hanson Information Technology (acquired by Information Global Systems).

About Hamilton Lane

Hamilton Lane is an independent financial institution that provides discretionary and non-discretionary private equity asset management services to sophisticated investors worldwide.

Founded in 1991, Hamilton Lane has grown to over 110 employees, with over $94 billion in total assets under management and supervision including over $12 billion of assets under management for managed accounts.  Hamilton Lane clients include a number of the world’s largest institutional investors, as well as many mid-sized and smaller institutions.

Press Contacts:

Connected Information Systems

Lou Delzompo, 916-273-3314, ldelzompo@connectedinfosys.com

Golden Capital Network

Jon Gregory, 530-828-3228, jon@goldencapital.net

Hamilton Lane

Jessica Fernandez,

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The process of becoming friends has many restrictions placed on it by existing laws such as FERPA and COPPA.  These laws require that for any student, parental approval must be obtained before a student can interact with anyone else in a system such as Connected.info except for their teacher(s).  Thus, only students whose parents have both registered for Connected.info AND approved their child’s use of the system can be invite to be a friend.

One of the bootstrap issues this creates in Connected.info is that frequently students are provided registration tokens and register to use Connected before their parents are given their registration tokens by the school district.  Many times, the school district will wait until “Back to School” night to provide the registration tokens.  A better system is to provide the registration tokens during “schedule pickup” day or at the time of enrollment.

Let’s move on to the process of making a friend request.  Step 1 is to navigate to the Friends area in the application by selecting the Connections tab and then selecting Friends in the left side navigation frame.  At this point, typing all or part of the friend’s name into the search box and pressing Return, will perform a search.  The result will be a list like the one below:

Notice that there is a Request as Friend link in blue to the right of each name found.  Selecting the link will instruct Connected.info to deliver a friend request to the selected user. Once the user has accepted the request, they will show up in your list of friends.  You will also receive a message in your Message inbox when they have accepted the request.

Once you are friends, the next step may be to create an on-line group for you and your friends to interact.  This could be based on a school project, club, sports team, or just around a topic of interest such as Music.  Suppose you were interested in Techno music and wanted a place to share news and information about your interest with your friends.

Creating a group in Connected.info is very easy.  Again, select the Connections tab in the application.  You will be in the groups are by default.  Select the Create Group button and you will see a popup similar to the one below:

Fill out the information on the group you wish to create and decide whether you want this to be an invitation only group or not.  Then, select Create Group and you have created the group.

The next step is to invite your friend to be members.  To do that, select the group from the list of group you are a member / owner of and you will navigate to the group’s page as in the image below:

Then, select the Invite button and you will navigate to a page similar to the one below:

You can type into the box as many friends as you want.  As you type, the system will show you any friends whose names match the part of the name you have typed.  Once you have completed your list, select the Invite button and the system will notify all of the people you have invited.  As they accept the invitation, they will show up as members on the group page.

We hope this helps give you some ideas of how to interact with your on-line friends.  As always, we welcome your notes and feedback.

But, the point of this post is not to praise Jon, although he is certainly deserving, but to make more people aware of the district’s new digital high school.  They have an amazing, cutting edge plan, that as Jon describes it “Throws everything we think is education out the window because it does not work, and starts over”.  Check them out at minaretsmustangs.wikispaces.com.  One of the nice things about my job is being able to meet with visionary individuals.  Jon has a vision and is making it happen everyday.

Oh, and what did Jon think about our product?  He wants it.

The Horizon report is a nice resource for technology professionals in school districts.  It discusses the trends in technology that are making their ways through the education market.  Their reports have been pretty much spot on over the years they have been published.

This year’s version covers the following trends:

• Collaborative environments
• On-line Communication Tools
• Mobiles
• Cloud Computing
• Smart Objects
• The Personal Web

The report talks about the Time to Adoption for each; gives a nice overview of the trend; discusses the relevance for teaching, learning, or creative expression; gives examples of the trend being used in practice; and, gives links to places to continue learning more.

Connected.info is included in the Collaborative environments section, but we could just as easily have been included in several of the others as well.  I am very pleased we were included, and I am excited that we achieved this milestone.

Below is a list of the main changes:
Sub-Groups

• Any group, including class section groups can now have sub-groups.

• Sub-group membership can be administered using a new sub-group membership editor.  Users can be added and removed from sub-groups via a quick and easy checkbox

• Sub-groups have all of the same features as groups

Posting

• A group owner has the ability to disable (and re-enable) the following features – blog posting, forum posting, and wiki posting by other group members.  Teachers may find this useful for certain course sections.

• School administrators may disable posting for the entire school district if they wish.  Teachers can over-ride this for a specific course section.

• Muli-post editing now will only show active course section groups and will display period title and time, as well as room information to help differentiate sections.

Flagged Content

• Teacher postings in class section groups can no longer be flagged as objectionable.

• Flagged content will now display who has flagged the content

Group Content display

• Improved display of group content (blogs, etc.) by limiting the number of items displayed on the main page to the most recent.  A link to show all the content has been added which will navigate to a new page.

Wikis:

• Connected.info will now display the names of the individuals who made an edit to a wiki and the date the change was made in the wiki history rather than just the dates of the changes.

Assignment Workflow

• Assignments created in the SIS gradebook will now “auto-post” into Connected without having to be specifically linked to a Connected assignment.

• Connected.info will honor the “post on” date specified in the gradebook (PowerTeacher) and not post the assignment to the students / parents until the date specified.

• If there is a date collected supplied in the gradebook, Connected will use that date to show that an assignment has been submitted by a student.

Period order now honored

• Class sections will now be sorted in period order in all displays

We are especially excited to release our SMS (text messaging) interface to the product.  This feature was designed and specified by seven students at CART in a Joint Application Design (JAD) session.  We are pleased that we were able to turn this around and that our relationship with CART allowed us to have this experience.

The highlights of this release are:

Calendar

• Repeating Events: Any event can now be set up to repeat in a number of practical ways

• Navigation Acceleration: Requested by several teachers at CART, when in any group calendar, there is now a pull down to quickly move to any other group calendar.

• Public events: Events on your calendar that you want to share with users who do not have Connected.info can be made public events.  These events have a web address (URL) which you can share with people so they can view the event and its associated details.

Posting

• Multi-post: Within Blogs and Wikis, the calendar, and other parts of Connected.info, the system now recognizes that you may wish to have the same information appear in multiple places.  For example, as a student, you may want a blog post to appear in your class group as well as a personal group.  The system now facilitates this.

Forums

• Forums are a way to organize discussion topics so that the flow of conversation is easier to follow.  Contrasted with a blog, where the author receives responses on a posting they have created, in Forums, any group member can post a topic.

Connections

• With Connected.info it is now possible to invite other members of your family and friends who are not affiliated with CART to join Connected.info.  While they will not get the benefits of being able to interact with other students and teachers, you will be able to include them in your personal groups and share events with them.

Assignment Workflow

• This feature is a way for students to submit their completed assignments to their teachers electronically while allowing the teachers an easy way to view / review and assess the assignments.  Teachers can see which students have submitted an assignment and students can see when a teacher has reviewed and assessed their submissions.

Messaging

• Interacting with Connected.info by way of SMS: A special feature designed by the students at CART.  This allows a user to interact with Connected.info by text messages.  For example, sending the text m@connected.info HW to the text message interface will return today’s homework assignments to the registered user of the cell phone.

With this release we are now able to invite anyone to experience the product features.  If you are interested in receiving an invitation, please contact us at connect@connectedinfosys.com

I found the discussion with school administrators before the pilot agreement to be interesting in that there was a lot more concern over the impact on teacher time that what they called peer-to-peer communications among students would have.  They felt that in the past, tools where students could post about other students cause a lot of work.  The district personnel asked questions about  how our product dealt with these issues.  I feel we have a good overall set of features for dealing with abuse in this area.  The conversation did get me thinking about how we might be able to address cyber-bullying in a more straight-forward manner so I am into writing more functional specs now.

Also, I was reminded of what I have read that within social networks there is the ability, like in real life, to just leave a clique or group and either join another or form another.  Thus, bullying, while distasteful, is somewhat more easily addressed by an individual in an on-line environment.  However, there is the potential for greater abuse as well.  We did a review of our terms of service after the discussion with our Iowa partners because the issue of the mother being convicted of violating MySpace’s terms of service for creating a false persona on line.  Of course, our product has taken steps to reduce that possibility, but we have to make certain our terms of service our up to date in this area.  Thankfully, they are up to date.

I have often wondered whether the concern over all of this is warranted or not.  According to the Iowa schools, they saw a lot of incidents of teasing and threatening messages in the past when they allowed what they call peer to peer messaging.  I did not get the details of whether these messages caused any expulsions or not.

In our pilot in California, we have not had the issue so far and only saw incidents of profanity where the students attempted to “beat” our controls for profanity.  But, there are many possible explanations for why this could be different.  One possible explanation is that simply the times have changed.  The use of social networks is much more prevalent and the newness of being able to use an electronic form for “threats” has worn off.  But, I think the saying “kids will be kids” still applies and we have to have a product that has the capabilities to deal with reality.

We opted to be on-site and present the goals of the pilot to the teachers and the students in the hope that this would encourage them to be more interactive on the site.  The interesting thing for us is that the teachers are planning to use the capabilities of the site to post assignments and give the kids information on their assignments.  In addition, the kids can create their own project teams.

So, the students rushed to register themselves.  And, we ran into our first glitch.  It seems the Google and Yahoo, which by far have the largest number of students using their email services, treated our registration confirmation email as coming from a mail relay and rejected the mail.  Actually, now more than a week later, we are still struggling with this issue.

However, as of today, we are starting to see really good usage of the site and the capabilities of the product even though we have not started the phase of the product pilot where we ask users to do anything.  Some things are very encouraging.  We are seeing an average of 19 page views / visit and the average visit time is 10 minutes.  The visit time has actually gone up over the past week, which is a really nice sign.

So, I would think Phase 1, the setup and registration phase should be considered a success so far.