PD 360 and Observation 360 Named Top Education Products

Salt Lake City, UT (PRWEB) November 10, 2011

PD developer School Improvement Network is proud to accept Tech & Learnings 2011 Award of Excellence for both its online professional development platform, PD 360, and its classroom walkthrough aide, Observation 360.

The Award of Excellence recognizes the best companies in the business of teaching, training, and managing educators through technology, and is granted for products that exemplify quality and effectiveness, ease of use, and creativity. Past winners include the Discovery Channel, LG Electronics, Prentice Hall, Samsung, and Adobe.

Calling a piece of technology for the classroom a solution is easy, say the editors of Tech & Learning. Proving it? That can be hard. Especially when put through the paces by our edtech experts from the New York City Department of Education, the University of Michigan, plus other top institutions across the country. Each of the products selected for this years Awards of Excellence were judged by a majority of our panel to be an effective tool for schools.

We are honored to receive Tech & Learnings Award of Excellence, says Chet Linton, CEO of School Improvement Network, and we know that it puts us in elite company. PD 360, and its walkthrough companion product, Observation 360, are absolutely changing the professional development industry. We view the award as a celebration of the classrooms and the lives that our products are changing.

Anyone can join the School Improvement Network online community for free and receive a free 30-day trial of PD 360, the worlds largest online video and professional development distribution network for educators, just by logging on to http://www.schoolimprovement.com and clicking on the free trial button.

About School Improvement Network

Founded in 1991 by teachers, the School Improvement Network provides comprehensive, research-based professional development anytime, anywhere. As the home of The Video Journal of Education, PD 360, Observation 360, the Learning 360 Framework, Equity 360, and Common Core 360, School Improvement Network resources focus on the most relevant topics, feature the top experts, and show educators how to put theory into practice. School Improvement Network works with thousands of schools and districts in every state and around the world and has visited over 3,000 classrooms to document best practices in action. Learn more at http://www.schoolimprovement.com.

About PD 360 Practical, Scalable, Measurable

PD 360 is the multi-award winning, leading online, on-demand professional learning resource for schools and districts. With 1,800 videos on 117 topics from 120 experts, PD 360 has the largest online community of educators, with over 700,000 subscribers. The innovative PD 360 videos are unique and class-leading because of the quality of production, and each is research-based with classroom examples of best practices. The videos are also relatively short in nature (approximately 6-12 minutes in length) allowing educators access to snack-able content that is easy and accessible to view and implement.

Teachers, administrators, professional learning communities, coaches, mentors, instructional leaders, and paraprofessionals have available at their fingertips hundreds of indexed and searchable video segments that present real, best-practice classroom examples and feature respected education experts, such as Michael Fullan, Rick DuFour, Doug Reeves, Rick Stiggins, and many others. Educators can instantly find the help they need on nearly every topic, including differentiation, assessment, English language learners, leadership, and more. PD 360 can also be used to create a structured learning experience for an individual teacher, a PLC, or even an entire school. PD 360 bridges the gap between training and classroom implementation with job-embedded follow-up, tracking, and reflection tools. PD 360 gives educators access to an online community of teaching professionals that allows interaction and collaboration either within a district or across the United States and the world. PD 360 includes over 1,800 research-based video learning segments and is the most comprehensive web-based library of professional development resources available. See a demonstration at http://www.pd360.com.

About School Observation 360

Observation 360 is the most successful classroom observation tool on the market. Available on the iPad, iTouch, iPhone, or Windows, Observation 360 automatically links relevant professional development training materials in PD 360 to the observation notes and sends the package directly to the instructor. The tool also provides graphs, notations, and customizable templates to suit your school or district. Observation 360 has made classroom observations efficient for administrators and effective for teachers. Learn more at http://www.schoolimprovement.com/products/observation360.

School Improvement Network, PD 360, and their respective logos are trademarks of the School Improvement Network. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Press Contact:

Duane Sprague

School Improvement Network

801-758-9546

duane(dot)sprague(at)schoolimprovement(dot)com

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Ontela's Dan Shapiro Named Best Mobile Company CEO

Seattle, WA (PRWEB) July 28, 2008

After spending six months courting every well-networked investor and early stage venture firm, CEO Dan Shapiro had succeeded in raising exactly zero dollars for Ontela Inc, the wireless startup he co-founded in 2005. Despite the resounding silence from professional investors about the company - headquartered in his basement - Shapiro was undeterred.

"We knew we had a great product; everyone from wireless executives to coffee shop baristas told us they needed it," recalled Shapiro. "We were burning to get this solution in to the market. It was just a long, slow climb to convince investors to see the value as well."

That was three years ago, and today investors are not so hesitant about Ontela's prospects as a company. This spring Ontela announced a Series B investment round of $ 10.3 million led by Steamboat Ventures. The enthusiasm comes during a tremendous year for the Seattle wireless startup. Ontela has announced the resounding success of its first carrier customer, Cellular South, and followed that with carrier launches on Alltel, Cincinnati Bell, and nTelos. This was followed quickly by recognition from the CTIA for having the "Best mobile entertainment/social networking application" in an international contest that culminated at the CTIA 2008 conference.

The weeks leading up to VentureBeat's MobileBeat 2008 conference were exciting, as a poll of VentureBeat readers put Ontela on the short list for an award. It was a dramatic awards ceremony starting with Ontela being named "Top 10" and then culminating with Shapiro being named as mobile's "Best CEO". The panel of industry experts awarding the Tesla Prize stated that Ontela was notable for "setting its sights on selling to carriers, pursuing them with single-minded focus, and succeeding."

When asked about the ingredients to his success, Shapiro reported, "That's easy - I've got a team and a product that make me look good! If it wasn't for them, we'd still be in the basement."

Ontela has 35 employees and is hiring fast. The company is now located in Seattle's historic Smith Tower.

About Ontela:

Ontela provides technology infrastructure to wireless carriers that allows consumers to unlock the photos in their camera phones. Currently available on carrier networks including Cellular South, Alltel, Cincinnati Bell, and nTelos, PicDeck technology allows consumers to automatically save their photos to their PC, email address, and/or favorite imaging web sites. Ontela is backed by Steamboat Ventures, Oak Investment Partners, Hunt Ventures, and Voyager Capital and headquartered in Seattle, WA. For more information, visit http://www.ontela.com.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

RMACT Fertility Specialist Named Top Doctor for 17th Time

Norwalk, CT (PRWEB) November 14, 2010

In its annual Top Doctors issue, Westchester magazine included Dr. John Stangel as a leading New York reproductive endocrinologist based on research conducted by Castle Connelly Medical Ltd. Dr. Stangel, who is the Westchester County Medical Director of Reproductive Medicine Associates of Connecticut (RMACT), was one of two reproductive endocrinologists listed for their services as fertility specialists.

When I opened this years issue, I was surprised and flattered to see my name, said Dr. Stangel, who is based in Rye, NY. For over 30 years I have enjoyed working in this community, and it's incredibly rewarding to have that sentiment returned through an accolade like this, which is determined by my peers.

Dr. Stangel has been recognized 17 times by Castle Connelly Medical Ltd., a renowned healthcare research firm that determines the Top Doc lists based on a rigorous, peer-reviewed process. He was included in the Americas Top Doc in January of this year, as well as New York Metro list 12 times and in the Westchester list four times ('05, '08, '09, '10).

Through mail and telephone surveys, and electronic ballots, a physician-led team of researchers asks physicians and hospital medical leadership to identify exceptional doctors. The latest results appear in the November issue of Westchester magazine, and include 183 local doctors in 51 specialties and sub-specialties.

Along with his work at RMACT helping patients overcome fertility challenges, Dr. Stangel has been in private practice since 1976. He is board certified in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, and his former positions include: President of the Westchester County Medical Society; Medical Director of IVF America Program Westchester in Port Chester, NY; Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at New York Medical College at Metropolitan Hospital in NY and at Westchester County Medical Center in Valhalla, NY.

Dr. Stangel has published numerous scientific papers and articles and has contributed to many textbooks. His most recent book, co-authored with Joan Liebman-Smith, Ph.D., and Jacqueline Nardi Egan, is 'The Unofficial Guide to Overcoming Infertility', published by Macmillan. He is also the editor and contributing author of the textbook, 'Infertility Surgery'. Dr. Stangel has also authored a laymen guide to infertility entitled, 'The New Fertility and Conception'.

About RMACT

Reproductive Medicine Associates of Connecticut (RMACT) specializes in the treatment of infertility. With Connecticut fertility clinics and egg donation offices in Norwalk, Danbury and Greenwich, and affiliate New York fertility clinics serving Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess counties, our team of Board-Certified Reproductive Endocrinologists offer a wide range of infertility treatments from ovulation induction and intrauterine insemination (IUI) to the most advanced assisted reproductive technologies including IVF, egg donation and preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). The RMACT team of fertility doctors includes Drs. Mark P. Leondires, Spencer S. Richlin, Joshua M. Hurwitz and Cynthia M. Murdock. All physicians are members of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART) and the Fairfield County and Connecticut Medical Societies. RMACTs IVF laboratory is accredited by the College of American Pathologists (CAP), and CLIA; other accreditations include the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) and the American Institute for Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM). RMACT offers individualized infertility treatment plans in a patient-focused and supportive environment. Support services, such as, infertility treatment financing, psychological counseling, acupuncture and yoga are also available. For more information visit, http://www.RMACT.com.

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