Blickel
A community college instructor and his team have launched an open learning management system, Blickel. Now, it will assist educators who are being affected by the COVID-19 (Corona) Virus. Like an increasing number of educators across the country, Math Instructor Gregory Carlson’s classes were moved online. Blickel is an open learning management tool that allows anyone to create and share interactive educational, individualized content. Blickel includes privacy features that can be utilized by a single teacher or an entire school district to ensure that only the teacher can follow the individual student’s progress in real time. Carlson said his team is taking timely action to offer relief for his fellow teachers. “We are making Blickel available to instructors for free for two weeks after they create their account, followed by a low $25 monthly fee for the rest of the school year which will enable them to create an unlimited number of student accounts.”
In 2018 Blickel formed, and since their initial formation, they have gone through multiple transformations and pivots. They started the business by building on their extensive software, coding and technical knowledge, and believed they would be able to make a better product offering than current micro learning solutions. Now in 2020, the platform has released a full scale launch and they have begun to reach their target markets of traditional, non- traditional students, community groups/nonprofits, government and businesses who need to deliver digital lessons. “We use the business advice and the one on one counseling that SBDC offers. They have given us an individualized look and series of steps based on where our business is currently and where it is going. SBDC has treated us as if they also have a stake in the success of our business,” commented owner Gregory Carlson. “SBDC has helped us remain focused on the tasks that we need to complete immediately to ensure the growth and sustainability of our business. SBDC has improved our day to day business by helping the team plan effectively and by checking in on us to make sure that we are meeting the appropriate deliverables and are on track. We have learned that the promotion, pricing, and distribution of a product is as important as the actual product itself. “ Blickel itself is unique as a platform mainly for its incredible interactivity. Blickel can measure learner’s progress through every step of the educational journey. Learners can also take diagnostic tests and quizzes that can give them a road map before they even begin learning, either to reinforce what they already know or to begin at their level. While some software offers something like this, Blickel can break it down to the individual question, and it works even if teachers have created their own content! While Blickel has a dedicated team of software engineers, one area of expertise that the team did not have was business skills, including communication, budgeting, planning, and marketing. “We would encourage other companies to remain honest about their weak points and their blind spots. We have gained greatly from being able to talk to the experienced business advisors of SBDC who are able to see a broader picture and help us escape from the day to day software technical difficulties that can quickly consume all of our bandwidth if left unchecked. We are grateful for their advice and look forward to continuing to work with them.” For more information, visit www.blickel.com or see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geFdaavPz6o
