Kornukopia

When renowned technologist, John Shine, Founder and CEO of Kornukopia used his son’s Learning Management System (LMS), he recognized the technology because his firm had used software two decades ago. He knew he could develop an improved system. However, when he researched the LMS marketplace he understood that it was fragmented and many of the players were offering antiquated solutions. He also found that education process and communication software, student information systems and education content were being housed in different systems, creating issues for schools. This led to the inception of Kornukopia, a centralized education content delivery network that provides content inside a sophisticated education system, one that knew the student and the education content being delivered.

Shine realized that the other LMS market players failed because they never reached any scale of deployment. Rather than fight over the scraps of the LMS marketplace, Kornukopia decided to give away the LMS, SIS and LCMS. They focused on the value-add pieces, like integrated education content and education ancillary systems --Tuition Management, Fee Management, Alumni, Visitor Management and among others. Best of all, Kornukopia would make the base system free.

What’s an Education Content Distribution Network?

Shine says, “Imagine if iTunes delivered education content into a system that knew the student and managed the education process and communication. We do exactly that, and as content comes live in our system, schools can leverage that learning inside a system that delivers with knowledge of the student and inside a traditional education process!”

The firm’s Software as a Service (SaaS) platform is secure, scalable, easy to use, and has been developed on HTML5, REST, Django, and PHP framework.

We are just like the iTunes software which complements the iPhone

The modern systems enable users to seamlessly procure real-time and up-to-the second information and do it instantly without the hassles of synchronizing data or updating systems from a pc or server. Demand internationally has been so high that Kornukopia supports 13 different languages. Schools can implement in one language or create user environments for parents or students who need support for another language.

Kornukopia is a school-wide system, designed in modules, so schools have a wide array of modules—Grades, Assignments, Lesson Plans, Course Management, School Messaging, a Learning Content Management System, among others—that they can elect to implement. The Kornukopia SIS provides a system to track and manage: Addresses, Parents, Test Scores, Vaccines, At-tendance, Discipline, Demographics, Bus Routes, Lockers, and Parking. In addition, schools can create their own fields and customize the database.

According to Shine, “When schools implement Kornukopia they are able to get rid of various incongruent single use systems, like: messaging systems, grade books, attendance systems, discipline systems, to name a few. This allows administrators to comfortably implement a school-wide system that allows for oversight. The teachers and students love it because they can rely on one system rather than using separate teacher-based systems that create issues like multiple logins and confusion in communication.”

What’s Kornukopia’s biggest challenge?

Shine says: “When schools see that Kornukopia is free, they think that they somehow are getting less or there is a catch. The reality is that they are getting a modern, sophisticated, fully-functional education management system and the “catch” is that there will be additional con-tent and modules that they will have the option to purchase if they see the value.” Kornukopia’s goal of becoming a content and software distribution network is quickly becoming a reality, with 1,800 schools joining the movement in less than two years, making Kornukopia probably the fastest growing LMS in the marketplace.