Otus (education)

Otus is an educational technology company providing a learning management system, data warehouse and many classroom management tools for K-12 students, teachers, parents, and administrators. Otus was nominated as a finalist of two 2016 Codie awards in the "Best Classroom Management System" and "Best K-12 Course or Learning Management Solution" categories, one 2018 Codie award for "Best Student Assessment Solution", and two 2019 Codie awards for "Best Data Solution" and "Best Administrative Solution".[1][2] Otus was a finalist in EdTech Digest's 2016 "District Data Solution" and "Learning Management System" categories.[3] Otus co-founder Chris Hull was also announced as one of the National School Boards Association's "20 to Watch Educators for 2016".[4]

Otus
Type of businessPrivate
Type of site
Education Technology
Available inEnglish, Portuguese
Founded2012
HeadquartersChicago, IL
Area servedWorldwide
Founder(s)Chris Hull, Pete Helfers, Andy Bluhm
IndustryEducation
ServicesStudent Performance Platform, Learning management system, Data warehouse, Classroom management tools
URLwww.otus.com
Current statusActive

History

Founded in 2012 by Chris Hull and Pete Helfers, two social studies teachers at Illinois' Elm Place Middle School, Otus was designed to replicate the ideal K-12 classroom experience that the two teachers envisioned.[5] After receiving a grant to bring 1:1 computing iPads to their students, both quickly recognized the limitless potential that classroom management tools offer, but were disappointed with the effectiveness of the current apps on the market.[6] Believing that they could do better, Chris and Pete started to develop Otus while continuing to work their respective teaching jobs, their end-goal being to create an all in one classroom management system integrating everything necessary to run a classroom.[7] After reaching out to Chicago-based hedge fund manager Andy Bluhm, who provided them with $2M in funding, Otus was officially launched in August, 2014 and has grown domestically and internationally since.[8] As of May 10, 2016, Otus owns the trademark phrase "Student Performance Platform."[9] Otus has recently partnered with NWEA to become a MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) Authorized Data Partner. Starting Fall 2016, all users of Otus will be able to see and take advantage of MAP data directly in the Otus platform.[10]

Functions

Otus competes with other learning management systems such as Edmodo, Blackboard Learn, Schoology, Moodle and Canvas by Instructure to provide educational tools on a district and school wide basis. Otus in particular aims to offer "everything a mobile classroom could possibly need for both teachers and students"[11] and does so by providing attendance tracking, a digital bookshelf for uploading files, in-app annotations, assignments, papers, polls, blogs, quizzes, and more. Otus integrates third-party apps, such as Khan Academy, PARCC, and many more through their "toolbox" program. Everything a student does through the Otus platform is integrated into a deep learning program called "analytics" on the Otus app, which compiles information from all first- and third-party apps and creates a student profile easily accessible by teachers and parents at the teacher's discretion. Otus is freely available for use by students, teachers, and parents, but requires a subscription fee for district administrators.[12] Otus is available on iOS for teachers and students, and the web for all users.[13]

References
  1. "2016 Finalists". www.siia.net. Archived from the original on 2016-04-10.
  2. "Otus Named SIIA Education CODiE Award Finalist for Two K-12 Categories".
  3. "2016 – Finalists & Winners". 15 March 2016.
  4. http://www.nsba.org/newsroom/press-releases/national-school-boards-association-names-%E2%80%9C20-watch%E2%80%9D-education-technology
  5. "About Us".
  6. "About Us".
  7. "EdTech Management Platform Otus Expands To District Level | Chicago Inno". chicagoinno.streetwise.co. Archived from the original on 2015-08-18.
  8. "Chicago hedge fund manager Andrew Bluhm backs education tech startup Otus | Crain's Chicago Business". 25 August 2014.
  9. "STUDENT PERFORMANCE PLATFORM Trademark of Otus - Registration Number 4957673 - Serial Number 86819392 :: Justia Trademarks".
  10. "Otus Chosen as Northwest Evaluation Association MAP Authorized Data Partner".
  11. "Otus: The Complete Learning Management System for the K-12 Classroom".
  12. "EdTech Management Platform Otus Expands To District Level | Chicago Inno". chicagoinno.streetwise.co. Archived from the original on 2015-08-18.
  13. "Announcing… Otus on Any Device! - Otus". otus.com. Archived from the original on 2016-06-05.
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