Keystone Edge is profiling contestants in the upcoming Ben Franklin Venture Idol competition (Nov. 20 at Ben Franklin TechVentures). After earning their way through the afternoon selection process, entrepreneurs pitch their startups to investors and attendees. Ben Franklin will invest $15,000 based on the "crowd-funded" audience vote.
"No paper, no problems" is the mantra at Skaffl, a Bethlehem-based ed tech startup that aims to substitute tablets for pencils and notebooks in K-12 classrooms.
Skaffl has developed a mobile iPad application that allows teachers and students to exchange class materials, assignments, homework, assessments and grades, all in real time. Students can write or draw on their tablet and teachers can view — and provide feedback — to student work in progress.
The last year has been a heady one for Skaffl, reports co-founder and CEO Rita Chesterton. The company launched the beta version of its app live onstage at Tech Crunch Disrupt in San Francisco in September 2013. That same month, Skaffl received a $100,000 investment from Ben Franklin Tech Partners of Northeast Pennsylvania. Shortly after, Skaffl was awarded a $15,000 grant from the city of Bethlehem as part of the Keystone Innovation Zone program.
Starting in February, Skaffl spent four months in Boston as part of the LearnLaunchX accelerator program, testing its product in several schools in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. And just a few weeks ago, Skaffl presented at the EdSurge Seattle Summit and was named "a S'cool Tool of the Week."
"Since returning to our home offices in Pennsylvania, we had our official launch in July of 2014," says Chesterton. "We have growing numbers of teachers and students across the U.S. and around the world who are now using Skaffl everyday in their classrooms."
Skaffl (available for most late-model iPads) is free at the App Store until January, as Skaffl rolls out new features.
Source: Rita Chesterton, Skaffl
Writer: Elise Vider
