WASHINGTON, May 21, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA), the principal membership association representing U.S. state and territorial digital learning leaders, announced today its sixth annual cohort of Emerging Private Sector Partners. These innovative education technology startups were selected through a competitive application process and will be introduced as a cohort at the upcoming Emerging Technologies Forum on June 23 and 24, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. 

“We are thrilled to announce our successful selection as a SETDA Emerging Private Sector Partner,” said Ian Simpson, co-founder, Blending Education. “We are very much looking forward to working with education technology leaders to explore ways that microlearning, a way of delivering content in small, manageable units, can open up new possibilities for personalizing learning for each student and create a deeper awareness of how people learn in this century. The partnership with SETDA announced today will open up new opportunities for us to share more broadly the student benefits from microlearning and blended learning.”

The following startups were selected from a number of applicants through a competitive process to participate in the program for 2018-2019:

Ask School Data		http://askschooldata.com/
Blending Education		https://blending.education/
GreyEd Solutions		http://filteredeffect.com/
Goennounce		https://goennounce.com/
Kiddom		https://www.kiddom.co/
Leaderally		https://www.leaderally.com/
Loose Canon		https://loosecanon.com/
RFPMatch.com		http://www.rfpmatch.com/
Tresit Group		https://www.tresitgroup.com/
WISEDash Local		https://wisedashlocal.org/
Wonder Workshop		https://www.makewonder.com/

These startups will join the following companies continuing as Year 2 and Year 3 Emerging Partners for a full year of engagement with SETDA’s state leaders, affiliates and annual partners over the next twelve months:

CatchOn		http://www.getcatchon.com/
Cignition		https://cignition.com/
Classcraft		https://www.classcraft.com/
LeaRn		https://learnplatform.com/
MIDAS Education		http://www.midaseducation.com/
Readorium		https://www.readorium.com/
Streamable Learning		https://streamablelearning.com/
Vital Insight		http://vitalinsightsolutions.com/

SETDA’s unique Emerging Partners Program is designed to foster opportunities for startups to be seen and heard by state and national digital learning leaders. Throughout the course of the year, this program creates intentional, in-person and virtual opportunities to engage in meaningful dialogue regarding national or state trends in K-12 and higher education, as well as products and services that states and districts need.

"Our partnerships with these startups energizes our work as leaders in the digital age, and reaffirms our commitment to be constantly learning what’s new and at the edge of innovation with regard to education technology,” shared Dr. Tracy Weeks, SETDA’s Executive Director. “This collaboration does more than just spotlight new technologies for our membership, it opens the door to important relationships and conversations while providing valuable opportunities for these growing companies to get in front of nearly all 50 states at the same time."

Over the next year, the cohort of Emerging Partners will also have the opportunity to benefit from interactions with education industry experts like Academic Business Advisors, ARC Capital Development, C. Blohm & Associates, Forward Thinking EDU, AWS EdStart Program, The National Center on Accessible Educational Materials (AEM) and other companies/organizations who also partner with SETDA.

Link to the full press release on SETDA.ORG is at 2018 Emerging Partners Announced.

About SETDA
The State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA), founded in 2001, is the national non-profit association representing the interests of U.S. state and territorial educational technology leadership. SETDA’s mission is to build and increase the capacity of state and national leaders to improve education through technology policy and practice. For more information on our Private Sector Partner program, visit: www.setda.org/partners/#!/emerging-private-sector-partners.

CONTACT
Melissa Greene
Director of Strategic Partnerships
202-715-6636 ext.703
mgreene@setda.org