Prior to the first Lehigh Valley Startup Weekend in November, Rita Chuhran and Mike Hanssen, both public school educators, had no more than a great idea for a way for teachers and students to use mobile devices.
Fifty-four hours later, the pair emerged as first-place winner with a formal company, a software developer who has joined them as a third partner, dedicated work space at Hive 4 A in Allentown, legal, accounting, marketing and consulting support and the determination “to create a company that makes great educational apps,” says Chuhran.
Skaffl (the name comes from “scaffolding,” a popular teaching strategy) is currently developing Rung, a mobile app in which teachers and students can exchange materials, assignments, completed homework, assessments and grades.
Chuhran says that use of I Pads in exploding in K-12 schools with many districts supplying tablets and others operating on a “BYOD” (bring-your-own-device) model. But, surprisingly, “there really is no easy way” for teachers to make best use of the technology.
Rung is now in development with a beta version expected to launch in the spring for testing before the end of the school year. The company plans to launch a commercial version of Rung for the 2013-14 school year.
Thanks to extensive distribution of a video via social media – encouraged at Startup Weekend – Skaffl now communicates with thought leaders in technical education worldwide and has had expressions of interest to test its app from educators around the country and even in the U.K. Once the K-12 version is launched, Skaffl hopes to expand its product to higher ed, as it develops new apps.
Source: Rita Chuhran and Mike Hanssen, Skaffl
Writer: Elise Vider
