Teachscape Partners with Swivl to Help Educators Capture Authentic Classroom Practices
SAN FRANCISCO, May 13, 2015 – Teachscape has partnered with Swivl to further support educators in meaningful video-based professional development. Through the partnership, educators can use the Swivl Robot, in conjunction with their mobile devices, to capture classroom videos of their own instructional practices and then upload them to the Teachscape Effectiveness Platform to receive meaningful feedback, engage in self-reflection, and collaborate and share best practices with their colleagues.
“We are committed to providing schools and districts with the most robust resources to help improve teaching practices and, ultimately, student achievement,” said Andrew Morrison, CEO of Teachscape. “Our partnership with Swivl further advances this goal by providing educators at all levels – from teaching candidates to experienced educators – with better video of their own classroom practices so that they can engage in more meaningful self-reflection and evidence-based professional development.”
Swivl, recently named a “Cool Vendor” in education by Gartner, enables educators to capture videos from anywhere, at any time using their own mobile devices. Once the tablet or smartphone is attached, Swivl’s robotic mobile accessory tracks, follows and records educators as they move around the classroom and interact with students.
“Swivl allows educators to capture targeted, high-quality video that they can use as an embedded part of the professional development process,” said Brian Lamb, co-founder and CEO of Swivl. “Now, through our partnership with Teachscape, educators can use that video within Teachscape’s feature-rich platform to really hone in on their strengths and areas in need of improvement to support their professional growth.”
Teachscape customers that were early adopters of the technologies, including Fort Worth Independent School District and Texas Tech University, have already received immense value from using Swivl in conjunction with Teachscape. “These technologies have been an asset in allowing our coaches, evaluators and teachers to work together to improve professional practice,” said Andrew McKenzie, TIF Project Manager of Fort Worth Independent School District. To learn more, visit www.teachscape.com.
About Swivl
Swivl was founded in 2010 with a vision of making video a more useful tool with robotics. The company was one of the first major crowdfunding projects for hardware and its dedication to customers has paid off with rapid growth. Swivl now has operations that span the globe, from Silicon Valley to Kiev, Ukraine, and Hong Kong, China. Swivl is backed by a world class team of investors including Grishin Robotics, Innovation Works, Newbury Ventures, Kima Ventures, Zhen Fund, and many more. For more information, visit http://www.swivl.com.
About Teachscape
Teachscape uniquely combines innovative technology, engaging content, and expert services to develop great teachers. From its classroom observation training and technology to its powerful web-based content delivery platform, Teachscape’s award-winning products and services have been inspired by its dedication to sparking transformative change in teaching practice. Since 1999, Teachscape has worked with schools and school districts, charter networks, archdioceses, universities and state education departments to measurably and continuously improve the effectiveness of educators to produce gains in student achievement. Teachscape’s partners, including Charlotte Danielson, ETS, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Stanford University, and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, have helped to shape its vision, its products, and its strategies. To learn more about Teachscape and its complete collection of professional development offerings, go to http://www.teachscape.com.
