Saturday evening I had the opportunity to attend the 2012 Mira Awards ceremony at the JW Marriott in downtown Indianapolis. The Mira Awards are presented by TechPoint, Indiana’s technology growth initiative, to recognize the state’s high-tech successes. The Mira Awards recognize excellence and innovation among Indiana’s outstanding technology industry performers and contributors, and focus attention on the broader issue of the important role technology plays in Indiana’s economy.
I am pleased to offer my congratulations to Dr. Ali Jafari, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) professor of computer and information technology and director of IUPUI CyberLab. Dr. Jafari was awarded the “Technology in Education Excellence and Innovation – Individual” award at this year’s gala. This award is given to an individual associated with an educational institution, including K-12 and post-secondary schools, who demonstrates excellence and/or innovation in the delivery or use of technology to further learning and student achievement. Click here to learn more about Dr. Jafari’s previous success in developing the education-based software platform for ANGEL Learning, a startup eventually sold in a $100 million transaction.
Additionally, I would like to extend my congratulations to Courseload, a startup company engaged in an e-textbook pilot at Indiana University. Courseload took home the “Technology in Education Excellence and Innovation – Team, Department, or Program” award. This award is given to an organized group for demonstrating the same level of excellence and/or innovation as the individual award received by Dr. Jafari. Click here for more information about Courseload’s partnership with IU. Courseload is also one of the first three portfolio companies of the university’s Innovate Indiana Fund.
All in all, it was a great evening for Indiana University and the rapidly growing technology sector in Indiana.
About Ali Jafari, Ph.D.
Ali Jafari is professor of computer and information technology and director of the CyberLab at IUPUI. His research focus is on intelligent agents and smart learning environments both from conceptual and architectural perspectives. He is currently acting as the PI and chief architect for the Indiana@Work ePortfolio project funded by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.
Courseload
Courseload’s seamlessly integrated platform delivers course materials through any web-enabled device (computers, laptops, iPads and Android devices, smart-phones, etc.) allowing all course material to be located in a single place. With digital tools that enable search, highlighting, annotating, and creating links to online content, the technology is easy-to-access, simple to use, and costs one-third the price of traditional textbooks – the same textbooks sourced from the same publishers that are used today.