Affiliates

ZOO Digital | website
ZOO Digital is an innovative company with a mission to revolutionize the video production industry through radical process re-engineering, enabling automation of many production processes that currently depend upon manual labor. ZOO's unique approach has resulted in a portfolio of over 60 patents.

Pittard Inc. | website
Billy Pittard is a pioneer in the media and entertainment design business with over three decades of experience. His innovative approaches to design, communications, education, and digital technologies have been tapped by major brands the world over. His work has received over 900 industry awards for creative excellence including five Emmy Awards. His work on algebra’scool was recognized as the Best Instructional Program of 2004 by the Association of Educational Publishers, and as the Best Educational Program of the last 25 years by the Telly Awards. His ZOOOOS Interactive DVD System received the highest rating ever given for DVD systems by Children’s Technology Review, plus the 2007 iParenting Media Award, and the 2007 Parent’s Choice Award. His consultancy, Pittard Inc was formed to help companies with creative management, branding, and digital media projects.

McREL | website
Established in 1966, Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of education and learning for all through excellence in applied research, product development, and service. McREL draws upon the best of more than four decades of education research to develop practical, user-friendly products that help educators provide all students with opportunities for success. McREL‘s research and products have been translated into 16 foreign languages and sold worldwide. It is one of the most recognized providers of staff development in the field of education. Today, its Denver, Colorado-based staff of more than 110 members provides a comprehensive package of top-quality school improvement products and services to educators across the nation, and around the world. In 2007 alone, McREL staff provided services to more than 26,000 educators in 47 states and three foreign countries.

BestQuest Teaching Systems | website
BestQuest Teaching Systems applies technology to the creation of engaging educational materials that can be used equally well in a classroom setting or for individual, self-paced learning. Algebra’scool and Math’scool, the Company’s first two products, are highly interactive and amazingly dynamic supplemental DVD series. Algebra’scool is used in 39 states and over 1000 classrooms. Math’scool was launched in 2007 and has received the 14th Annual Teacher’s Choice Award for the Classroom. Company founder Joe Irby, a former school administrator and math teacher recognized that today’s students live in a multimedia world and find it difficult to become excited and motivated by education presented with traditional blackboards and textbooks. He notes, “If you want to reach students today, you have to compete with video games and cell phones. So I knew we had to create a new form of curriculum that was true to curriculum standards, yet just as fun and visually exciting as the items distracting students from their studies.”

John Kuglin | website
John is currently the Chief Information Officer for the Eagle County School District. Prior to that, he served as Vice President for Education and Training for Comchoice Corporation. John began his career as a teacher, was promoted to Technology Director for more than 10,000 students and 400 educators in Montana, and then joined Telecommunications Inc. (TCI) as the founding Director of the Sparkman Center for Educational Technology. John also served as Senior Director of Technology for McREL, a part of the U.S. Department of Education’s research and development lab system which serves all 50 states and 20 foreign countries. John also serves as an educational consultant, delivering keynote addresses to conferences worldwide. John was named one of the Top 25 Education Technology Advocates in the United States by District Administrator magazine. He was featured on CNN for his innovative uses of technology in his classroom. USA Today selected him, as one of ten teachers nationwide, as a USA Today Power Teacher. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Science from the University of Montana and a Master’s degree in Education from Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.