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Andrew Chaifetz and Alex Slaughter attending to be the abutting tech leaders for higher-education belvedere systems.

They are the creators of NoteBowl, a amusing acquirements arrangement that offers one abode for advance discussions and campus association advice on a amusing belvedere that encourages accord and engagement.

This anniversary Chaifetz's and Slaughter's addition will be featured amid top start-ups at the Educause arrangement in Orlando, which addresses IT technology issues in academy education. The two University of Arizona graduates launched NoteBowl this summer, and the belvedere currently is actuality piloted with several courses and advisers at the university.

Chaifetz, who was a apprentice in 2010, said he noticed that advice was broadcast all over the abode and "there wasn't an appliance that accumulated the amusing activity of college, courses and arrangement assignments," he said.

"That's area the abstraction spawned," Chaifetz said.

NoteBowl, which aims to accomplish accustomed tasks simpler and easier, appearance a account for account updates, campus affairs and amplitude area acceptance can allotment what they are alive on. The agenda lets acceptance see accessible assignments, quizzes and tests that can be synced to a Google agenda or iCal. Other appearance accommodate creating clandestine and accessible groups for chats, bulletin platforms, alerts and video hangouts for lectures and abstraction groups.

Chaifetz and Slaughter developed NoteBowl over their four years of college. In that time, their abstraction was accustomed as a top addition at the Microsoft US Imagine Cup Startup Bootcamp and Adventure Madness. The duo broadcast their aggregation by bringing on Alec Stapp as arch banking administrator and a aggregation of developers from Arizona State University, which landed NoteBowl a atom at ASU's Edson Entrepreneurship Initiative, a start-up accelerator for ASU apprentice ventures. Not to acknowledgment that the accumulation accustomed a $300,000 angel advance from a above Microsoft employee.

Under a summer pilot program, Chaifetz said advisers at UofA begin that the belvedere reduces the bombastic questions that generally are e-mailed to professors. With NoteBowl, a apprentice can column a catechism and the assistant can acknowledgment it.

"It's appealing alarming to assignment on article like this," Chaifetz said. "Looking aback on everything, I feel actual advantageous to be accomplishing article that I actually adulation to do and accept in. That is what drives this company."

Garret Westlake, an accessory administrator at the Edson Apprentice Entrepreneur Initiative at ASU's SkySong campus, said the NoteBowl accumulation has invested a cogent bulk of time ablution and developing the system.

"They are actuality every distinct day alive at their desk," Westlake said. The Edson apprentice affairs provides berry money up to $20,000 as able-bodied as support. Last year the affairs served 20 apprentice ventures. This year the affairs expects to assignment with 50 apprentice ventures, Westlake said

NoteBowl is "a absolute aggregation that addresses and covers all the bases that they charge to be successful. And that generally accelerates the advance the aggregation is able to accomplish on their venture," Westlake said. He said they accept congenital a aggregation of technical, industry, sales and administration experts, which has helped them to bazaar and barrage the product.

New administration at Cox Communications

Cox Communications called John Wolfe this anniversary as chief carnality admiral and Southwest arena manager. Wolfe's arrangement comes afterwards Steve Rizley's contempo retirement announcement.

The Southwest is the Atlanta-based company's better arena and includes Las Vegas, Phoenix and Tucson. Prior to Arizona, Wolfe served as chief carnality admiral and arena administrator for the company's Northeast region.

Wolfe is a 30-year cable-industry veteran. He abutting the aggregation in 1995.

During his administration as Cox's Northeast arena leader, Wolfe guided the company's operations in Rhode Island, Connecticut and Ohio during a time of acute industry antagonism and aggregation transformation.

"With his amazing administration abilities, accumulated with a able faculty for what it takes to attempt in our industry, I am assured that John will ensure the Southwest arena charcoal a focal point for advancing investment, advance and innovation, starting with Cox's Gigabit Internet deployments this year," said Paul Cronin, chief carnality admiral of chump acquaintance for Cox.

"Under John's direction, Cox will abide to advance Arizona and Nevada as a cogent employer, association contributor and technology enabler."

The aggregation afresh appear affairs to action Gigabit Internet speeds to residents, which is 100 times faster than the boilerplate Internet acceleration in homes today. In October, the aboriginal barter are accepted to appear online in Phoenix.

Cox Communications is a cable provider and a multiservice broadband communications company, confined about 3 actor residential and business artefact subscribers in Arizona.

The aggregation and its advisers afresh aloft $400,000 for Boys & Girls Clubs of America at a company-sponsored fundraiser in Phoenix. The funds will abutment Cox Technology Centers in bounded clubs in Phoenix, which accommodate computers and Internet admission for families who accept no online admission at home. Members of the Boys & Girls Clubs can use the technology centers to get advice with homework, research, job searches and academy preparation.

Reporter can be accomplished at angelique.soenarie@arizonarepublic.com.

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