I really enjoyed my recent interview with The iMums! It gave me a chance to share my ideas on creating social learning software for children with autism, ADHD and Asperger’s.
The iMums is a wonderful website with tons of helpful app reviews. Or, as they describe it: “reviews of mothers of little gadget lovers.”
The iMums – Amanda, Alison, Mary and Grace – are four mothers from different parts of the world dedicated to educating parents about the best digital stories, educational apps, fun games and technology products available for their children.
My Ideas About Creating Social Learning Software
Interview with Marc Zimmerman of Brighten Learning
Today’s interview is with Marc Zimmerman, the brains trust behind the popular app for children and young adults with social learning challenges, The Social Express. Be sure to follow them on Facebook and Twitter to be kept up to date on any new content they have in store!
Thank you for participating our interview. Please tell us a little about yourself.
I’m Marc Zimmerman, CEO-Founder of Brighten Learning and creator of The Social Express (™). We develop interactive, movie-quality animated learning programs to help children with social emotional deficits improve their social skills and their lives.
How did the idea for your app come about?
My wife and I have identical twin boys who were diagnosed 10 years ago with Autism. Helping them to overcome social skill deficits has been our top goal. Especially after they began in mainstream classes during kindergarten. Then, my first inspiration for The Social Express™ came when Read more
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Our autism software is featured in the July/August issue of the Autism Digest print magazine! Being highlighted by this wonderful publication is a terrific honor for us! Autism Digest is focused on providing the latest in help for autism.
They titled the article about our social learning software: “Engaging New Way to Learn Social Skills”
According to its website, Autism –Asperger’s Digest provides helpful information for teachers, families and therapists who support children and people diagnosed on the autism spectrum.
From the Autism Digest article:
The Social Express has wrapped best practices for learning social skills into an exciting platform.
The Social Express is educational software designed to teach users how to think about and manage social situations, helping them to develop meaningful social relationships and succeed in life.
The interactive content teaches social skills as it follows characters through social interactions around town. The Social Express is based on best practices for helping children and young adults with ASD to learn social skills—and has wrapped them into an exciting platform.
The lessons build on each another to teach skills that include perspective-taking, understanding that others have feelings, and coping before an impending meltdown. It is designed to start discussions on social situations giving opportunities for parents to interact with their children frequently throughout the program.
We’re also excited because they told us in an email, that they “really enjoyed reviewing The Social Express”.
About Autism Digest
The company that publishes Autism Digest was established in 1996. Its founder talks about what an inspiration his son, Alex, had on him and the reason he started the company. Nearly everyone who works at the company, Future Horizons, has a friend or family member impacted by autism, according to the website.
This quote sums up their mission, from the Autism Digest website:
It is our strong belief that every child and adult with autism can improve and contribute to the lives of those who love them and, in many ways, contribute to society.
You can learn more about Autism – Asperger’s Digest at its website here: http://autismdigest.com/
Join our free newsletter! Get insider updates from The Social Express, click here to join us![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
We were excited this week that our autism software for social learning received two education technology (ed tech) awards. The Software & Information Industry Association’s (SIIA) Innovation Incubator Program recognized The Social Express with a first place honor as as being the Most Likely to Succeed. We also received second place for Most Innovative technology.
Below is the official SIIA news release:
For Immediate Release:
SIIA Communications Contact: Laura Greenback, 410.533.1943, lgreenback@siia.net
PR Contact: Charlene Blohm, C. Blohm & Associates, 608.216.7300, charlene@cblohm.com
SIIA Announces Top Innovators in Education Technology
Three technology solutions receive honors in SIIA’s Innovation Incubator Program
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 9, 2012) The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), the principal trade association for the software and digital content industries, this week recognized three ed tech solutions with five awards for their originality, innovation, and industry promise.
During SIIA’s bi-annual Innovation Incubator program held in connection with this week’s SIIA Ed Tech Industry Summit, Language Express and Filament Games were voted by 350 conference attendees as being the Most Likely to Succeed (first place and runner-up, respectively). Filament Games and Language Express were also voted as the Most Innovative (first place and runner-up, respectively.)
The Innovation Incubator Program supports innovation in the education technology industry by raising the profile of promising new technologies while connecting these innovators with captains of industry for mentorship, expert advice, investment opportunities, and partnerships to support growth.
Overall, 73 applicants were assessed for the Innovation Incubator program on a broad range of criteria, including the education focus, end-user impact, market need for the innovation, representation of K-12/postsecondary market levels, and the level of originality and innovation. Ten finalists and two alternates were selected for the program and their participation was subsidized by program lead and co-sponsors Blackboard Partnerships and Texthelp Systems.
“It has been an incredible experience to see more than 100 presentations from the ten innovation incubator program cycles we have now hosted,” said Karen Billings, Vice President for the Education Division at SIIA. “The number of applicants increases every cycle. We are thrilled to support so many original and exciting products and, just as importantly, to provide SIIA members with early access to these technologies.”
In addition to the recognitions announced above, Blackboard Partnerships™ continued its tradition of identifying the Innovation Incubator most aligned with their own initiatives, providing Smart Science Education Inc. with a complimentary year-long membership as a Blackboard Building Blocks™ partner in the Blackboard Partnerships program. Among the many benefits, partners have access to the thousands of clients using the Blackboard Learn™ platform. Program membership also includes a developer copy of the Blackboard Learn software, a product listing on the Blackboard Extensions online directory, personalized guidance and mentorship on the partnership, and participation at members‐only events.
“We’re honored to have teamed up with SIIA for the sixth consecutive year to sponsor the Innovation Incubator Program at the Ed Tech Industry Summit,” said Ted Hopper, Vice President, Business Development at Blackboard. “Each participant showcased original developments aimed to enhance personalized learning, but we think the online labs developed by Smart Science Education Inc. best align with our continued efforts to enrich our content repository for K-12 and Higher Education. We’re excited to welcome Smart Science Education Inc. into the Blackboard Partnerships program.”
About SIIA
The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) is the principal trade association for the software and digital content industry. SIIA provides global services in government relations, business development, corporate education, and intellectual property protection to more than 500 leading software and information companies. The SIIA Education Division serves and represents more than 180 member companies that provide software, digital content and other technologies that address educational needs. The Division shapes and supports the industry by providing leadership, advocacy, business development opportunities and critical market information. For more information, visit www.siia.net/education. To learn more about the Innovation Incubator Program and the Ed Tech Industry Summit, visit http://www.siia.net/etis.
When I first heard that Robert Scoble had a child with Autism, I immediately reached out to him for an interview. One problem, we didn’t have the program finished yet, in fact, if my memory serves me correctly we didn’t even have our demo done.
However, Robert took my call and heard my pitch. He was very kind and told me he would be happy to help support our product when we finished and in the market. As soon as we launched he was notified and kept good on his word.
Robert was very generous with his time and allowed us to discuss every detail about The Social Express. Thanks again Rob for giving parents who may have a kid with autism or any other social-emotional learning challenge a way of hearing about new products like ours!
What bloggers do you like to follow for your kids with autism?
Here is the video
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I was attending the TCEA conference in Austin, Texas a week ago and was fortunate to meet Tom with EDU Vision on the media and press floor. Tom was incredibly generous with his time and fit me in to his very busy schedule. Thanks Tom!
Marc Zimmerman, CEO and Founder of The Social Express, discusses this unique interactive software’s approach to help kids with autism, ADD and other life challenges with a multi-dimensional and fun approach to social and emotional learning skills that prove challenging for kids with these disorders.
Click on this link to view
http://tcea.eduvision.tv/Default.aspx?q=X3Y5NcZVhaAsv1AH2MX2bw%253d%253d
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We had a great time today hanging out at Autism Hangout talking about kids with autism and The Social Express. Thanks Craig!
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]On January 10th, 2012 With a Brush of Love’s interview link.
Thank you so much Lauren, I had a great time and I love your show!
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/familynetworkradio/2012/01/10/with-a-brush-of-love-presentsthe-social-express[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
The Social Express was just nominated for the 2011 Readers’ Choice Awards for “best kids apps”, Thank you Mandy!
