Edtech Insiders

Send us a textIn this special episode, we go behind the scenes of the Edtech Insiders GenAI K-12 Education Market Map, a first-of-its-kind framework connecting real classroom needs to AI-powered tools. Co-created by Alex Sarlin, Laurence Holt, Jacob Klein, and the Edtech Insiders team, this evolving resource helps educators, entrepreneurs, and researchers make sense of a fast-changing landscape. 💡 5 Things You’ll Learn in This Episode: Why the GenAI Education Map focuses on pedagogy and learning needs over toolsHow to identify "white space" opportunities for AI in educationWhat makes AI feedback and teacher coaching some of the most promising use cases todayHow to move beyond the 5% of students typically served by EdTechWhy "team teaching with AI" might be the next big frontier✨ Episode Highlights: [00:02:36] Holt & Klein introduce the origin story of the Generative AI Use Case Map[00:03:29] Starting with teaching and learning needs, not tech capabilities[00:06:03] Why learning science and research-backed practices still aren't reaching scale[00:11:11] How and why the GenAI Map was built as a living, evolving framework[00:15:20] Imagining “team teaching” between human educators and AI assistants[00:20:16] The 5–10% problem: Why most EdTech tools miss the broader population[00:23:18] Personalization, motivation, and redefining what success in school can look like[00:30:05] From tool overload to comprehensive suites: the shifting EdTech landscape[00:34:12] AI-enabled feedback loops that support both teachers and learners[00:39:00] What’s ready for scale now—and what still needs real breakthroughs[00:44:55] Risks and red flags: from dopamine loops to student dependence on AI[00:48:35] Will GenAI in education be incremental or transformative?😎 Stay updated with Edtech Insiders! Follow our Podcast on:Apple PodcastsSpotifyAmazon MusicSign up for the Edtech Insiders newsletter.Follow Edtech Insiders on LinkedIn!🎉 Presenting Sponsors:This season of Edtech Insiders is brought to you by Starbridge. Every year, K-12 districts and higher ed institutions spend over half a trillion dollars—but most sales teams miss the signals. Starbridge tracks early signs like board minutes, budget drafts, and strategic plans, then helps you turn them into personalized outreach—fast. Win the deal before it hits the RFP stage. That’s how top edtech teams stay ahead. This season of Edtech Insiders is once again brought to you by Tuck Advisors, the M&A firm for EdTech companies. Run by serial entrepreneurs with over 25 years of experience founding, investing in, and selling companies, Tuck believes you deserve M&A advisors who work as hard as you do.

Levi Belnap, CEO of Merlyn Mind, shares insights on how AI is revolutionizing classrooms. He explains how voice AI helps teachers regain control and improves student engagement. The conversation highlights the transformation in teachers' perceptions of AI, emphasizing that it should be an invisible support, not a burden. Levi discusses the system's multi-language capabilities and its positive impact on classroom dynamics, allowing educators to focus on individual instruction and fostering an inclusive learning environment.

Collin Earnst, founder of the EdTech Leadership Collective, discusses the latest in educational technology. He reflects on the energy from the ASU+GSV conference and highlights key trends in AI integration and market consolidation. The conversation takes a turn as they explore Harvard's pushback against federal DEI mandates and the implications for higher education. Collin emphasizes the need for innovative leadership in EdTech and the importance of human connections amidst rapid technological changes.

Send us a textVikas Pota is an entrepreneur and investor in education and digital businesses that seek to address some of the sector's intractable challenges and to advance education quality and opportunity. He is the founder of T4 Education, the Global EdTech Prize and the World's Best School Prizes. He is the Executive Chairman of the Education Leaders Forum, where he convenes the CEOs and leaders of many of the world’s biggest and most influential education businesses to advance their growth. Vikas is also the Founder of Inicio Partners, an executive search firm dedicated to helping education institutions, technology companies, and social impact organisations find their best leadership talent. He has previously led the rebrand of a major education business, built a corporate venture capital fund, and run a philanthropic foundation. 💡 5 Things You’ll Learn in This Episode:Why storytelling—not policy—is the key to transforming education.How the Global EdTech Prize centers educators in judging impact.The ripple effect of education prizes on national policies.What makes edtech truly scalable and impactful.A thoughtful take on AI’s role in education and society.✨ Episode Highlights:[00:01:21] Vikas Pota’s vision for global education reform[00:02:34] Launching the educator-judged Global EdTech Prize[00:04:36] How prizes drive innovation and influence policy[00:07:32] Elevating teacher status through the Global Teacher Prize[00:09:07] “Policy no longer moves the needle”—Obama’s leadership lesson[00:12:08] Who should apply for the prize—and why it matters[00:16:33] AI in education: Asking what we should do, not just what we can😎 Stay updated with Edtech Insiders! Follow our Podcast on:Apple PodcastsSpotifyAmazon MusicSign up for the Edtech Insiders newsletter.Follow Edtech Insiders on LinkedIn!🎉 Presenting Sponsor:This season of Edtech Insiders is brought to you by Starbridge. Every year, K-12 districts and higher ed institutions spend over half a trillion dollars—but most sales teams miss the signals. Starbridge tracks early signs like board minutes, budget drafts, and strategic plans, then helps you turn them into personalized outreach—fast. Win the deal before it hits the RFP stage. That’s how top edtech teams stay ahead. This season of Edtech Insiders is once again brought to you by Tuck Advisors, the M&A firm for EdTech companies. Run by serial entrepreneurs with over 25 years of experience founding, investing in, and selling companies, Tuck believes you deserve M&A advisors who work as hard as you do.

Send us a textRobert Barnett co-founded the Modern Classrooms Project, which has empowered 80,000+ educators in 180+ countries to meet every learner’s needs. Before that he taught math, computer science, English, social studies, and law, from the middle-school to university levels, at public and private schools in the U.S. and Switzerland. He graduated cum laude from Princeton University and Harvard Law School; speaks English, French, and Spanish; and lives in Washington, DC. His book, Meet Every Learner's Needs, comes out in February, and he hopes his two young children will learn in Modern Classrooms someday!💡 5 Things You’ll Learn in This Episode:How Modern Classrooms transforms the “operating system” of schoolsWhy teacher-created videos are more powerful than polished contentThe case for paper-based mastery checks in a tech-driven worldRob’s take on AI tools—and why teacher-facing AI holds promiseHow to truly personalize learning while keeping it personal✨ Episode Highlights:[00:02:27] Rob’s journey from overwhelmed teacher to instructional leader[00:03:46] What’s wrong with today’s classroom model—and how to fix it[00:07:54] Inside a Modern Classroom: self-paced, human-centered learning[00:13:33] Paper beats screens—for fast, meaningful feedback[00:14:25] The power of personal: making your own instructional videos[00:17:46] Tech should amplify, not replace, teacher-student relationships[00:20:26] Why AI needs clearer use cases in classrooms[00:26:59] Chronic absenteeism demands a new instructional model[00:34:51] AI avatars: promising or uncanny? Rob weighs in[00:39:32] Rob’s new book Meet Every Learner’s Needs—a guide for redesigning instruction😎 Stay updated with Edtech Insiders! Follow our Podcast on:Apple PodcastsSpotifyAmazon MusicSign up for the Edtech Insiders newsletter.Follow Edtech Insiders on LinkedIn!🎉 Presenting Sponsor:This season of Edtech Insiders is brought to you by Starbridge. Every year, K-12 districts and higher ed institutions spend over half a trillion dollars—but most sales teams miss the signals. Starbridge tracks early signs like board minutes, budget drafts, and strategic plans, then helps you turn them into personalized outreach—fast. Win the deal before it hits the RFP stage. That’s how top edtech teams stay ahead. This season of Edtech Insiders is once again brought to you by Tuck Advisors, the M&A firm for EdTech companies. Run by serial entrepreneurs with over 25 years of experience founding, investing in, and selling companies, Tuck believes you deserve M&A advisors who work as hard as you do.

Send us a textIn this special episode, EdTech Insiders hits the floor at ASU+GSV 2025—one of the world’s premier EdTech conferences—for rapid-fire conversations with the leaders reshaping learning. From AI-native campuses to multilingual agents and human-centered R&D, we go behind the scenes with the innovators driving the future of education.🎙️ Featured Guests:Siya Raj Purohit, Go-to-Market Lead for Education at OpenAI @ [00:01:25]Maureen Heymans, GM of LearnX at Google @ [00:19:16]Brandon Hurter, Chief Strategy Officer at Element451 @ [00:31:19]Auditi Chakravarty, CEO of AERDF @ [00:39:21]Jim Van Voorhis, VP of Education at Glean @ [00:45:09]Summer Long, Co-Founder & CMO of Cathoven AI @ [00:54:10]Yasmin Barkett, CEO and Founder of ROYO @ [01:02:47]Mike Yates, Senior Designer at Teach For America’s The Reinvention Lab @ [01:08:12]Julia Kelleher, Head of Market Development at WorldQuant Learning @ [01:18:09]Adele Smolansky, CEO and Founder of AI-Learners @ [01:25:08]🎥 Watch these Interviews on YouTube: LINK HERESpecial thanks to Matthew Millstein and his team at Old Soul for capturing all the video content live from the AI Show floor. This season of Edtech Insiders is brought to you by Starbridge. Every year, K-12 districts and higher ed institutions spend over half a trillion dollars—but most sales teams miss the signals. Starbridge tracks early signs like board minutes, budget drafts, and strategic plans, then helps you turn them into personalized outreach—fast. Win the deal before it hits the RFP stage. That’s how top edtech teams stay ahead. This season of Edtech Insiders is once again brought to you by Tuck Advisors, the M&A firm for EdTech companies. Run by serial entrepreneurs with over 25 years of experience founding, investing in, and selling companies, Tuck believes you deserve M&A advisors who work as hard as you do.

Send us a textTom Vander Ark is an advocate for innovations in learning. As CEO of Getting Smart, he advises schools, districts, networks, foundations, and learning organizations on the path forward. Tom is the author of Getting Smart, Smart Cities That Work for Everyone, Smart Parents, Better Together, The Power of Place, and Difference Making at the Heart of Learning. He has published thousands of articles and papers through GettingSmart.com and LinkedIn.Previously he launched one of the first edtech venture funds, was president of the X-Prize Foundation, served as the first Executive Director of Education for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Tom served as a public school superintendent in Washington State and has extensive private sector experience. He serves on the board of Digital Learning Institute, Latinx Education Collaborative, Mastery Transcript Consortium, and Getting Smart Collective and advises schools, impact organizations and edtech startups.💡 5 Things You’ll Learn in This Episode:Why education systems struggle to sustain innovationHow nonprofit governance supports lasting changeThe transformative potential of platform networksWhy AI shifts learning from preparation to contributionWhat keeps Tom optimistic about EdTech’s future✨ Episode Highlights:[00:04:50] From retail exec to education reformer—Tom’s origin story[00:07:03] Why governance challenges cause schools to revert to the mean[00:10:11] The rise of platform networks and their power to scale learning[00:14:48] AI and the shift from intelligence to agency in learning[00:16:15] High school as a launchpad for real-world contribution[00:21:01] “We’re automating bad pedagogy”—Tom on today’s AI tools[00:25:16] Bright spots: Watershed, Open School, and SparkNC[00:27:54] Tom’s advice to EdTech founders: “This is the most important work in the world”😎 Stay updated with Edtech Insiders! Follow our Podcast on:Apple PodcastsSpotifyAmazon MusicSign up for the Edtech Insiders newsletter.Follow Edtech Insiders on LinkedIn!🎉 Presenting Sponsor:This season of Edtech Insiders is brought to you by Starbridge. Every year, K-12 districts and higher ed institutions spend over half a trillion dollars—but most sales teams miss the signals. Starbridge tracks early signs like board minutes, budget drafts, and strategic plans, then helps you turn them into personalized outreach—fast. Win the deal before it hits the RFP stage. That’s how top edtech teams stay ahead. This season of Edtech Insiders is once again brought to you by Tuck Advisors, the M&A firm for EdTech companies. Run by serial entrepreneurs with over 25 years of experience founding, investing in, and selling companies, Tuck believes you deserve M&A advisors who work as hard as you do.

Kees Bol, CEO of 2U, leads a company revolutionizing education technology by partnering with top universities for affordable learning. In this conversation, he dives into the importance of microcredentials and how they cater to reskilling demands. Bol discusses strategic acquisitions like edX, geared towards future-proofing education. He points out the transformative role of AI in both content delivery and operations, and introduces the idea of an 'Open Loop University,' promoting lifelong learning to thrive in today's job market.

Pierre Le Manh, the President and CEO of the Project Management Institute, shares his extensive experience in leading global organizations. He discusses how AI is revolutionizing project management, emphasizing the importance of upskilling and reskilling professionals. The conversation explores PMI's innovative approach to personalized learning formats and the unique challenges of managing AI projects versus traditional ones. Pierre also highlights the transformative potential of AI tools in enhancing collaboration and continuous education in the field.

Brent Bushnell, an innovative entrepreneur and engineer, is the founder of Two Bit Circus and chairman of the Two Bit Foundation, which promotes learning through play. He discusses his journey from arcade builder to education innovator and the impact of the STEAM Carnival in reshaping STEM education by incorporating art. Brent highlights how DIY arcade projects empower students in various skills like CAD and electronics, and he explores the potential of immersive technologies like virtual reality to transform learning experiences.