Edtech Insiders

Edtech Insiders presents a special episode where Ben and Alex reflect on 2023 and make predictions for 2024 in the Edtech industry. They are joined by Ian Chiu, Jomayra Herrera, Sunil Gunderia, Hanna Celina, and Amit Patel. Topics discussed include trends from 2023, predictions for 2024, the changing value of degrees, the rise of AI in ed tech startups, AI in education, and the future of EdTech.

Send us a textDr. Yenda Prado is an edtech researcher, educator, and author, whose work focuses on exploring the social uses of emerging edtech to support children’s inclusion across complex learning environments.She has written and advised on inclusive technology use in education and media for diverse organizations including the U.S. Department of Education, PBS Kids, and the University of California.Dr. Prado also serves as a Ready to Learn Consultant Advisor for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. In this role, she has advised on various projects including research and development for Lyla in the Loop – a children’s animated series highlighting critical and computational thinking skills - which will debut February 5 2024 on PBS KIDS.As the former Emerging Technologies Impact Fellow at the U.S. Department of Education, Dr. Prado supported the development of national edtech policy and investigated emerging technology trends for the Office of Educational Technology. In this role, she developed the EdTech Evidence Toolkit to amplify policies, practices, and resources that support evidence-building activities for effective edtech adoption in schools.She is currently finishing writing a first-authored book for MIT Press titled “Voices on the Margins: Inclusive Education at the Intersection of Language, Literacy, and Technology” - which will be released Spring 2024.Previously, Dr. Prado served as a research fellow with PBS KIDS, an education researcher with the UC Irvine Digital Learning Lab, and as an ESL teacher and reading interventionist in California libraries and schools.Yenda holds a Ph.D. in Education from the University of California, Irvine, an Ed.M. in Education from Harvard University, and a B.A. in Psychology from Stanford University.Recommended Resources:Voices on the Margins: Inclusive Education at the Intersection of Language, Literacy, and Technology By Yenda Prado and Mark WarschauerCommon-Sense Evidence by Nora Gordon and Carrie ConawayCAST

Send us a textKai Frazier is a former educator and the founder and CEO of Kai XR, designed to close the opportunity gap in under-resourced communities. The KaiXR platform, which uses AI and metaverse technologies, is being used by kids in grades 5-8 in schools, as well as juvenile detention centers, to take virtual college tours, learn about advances in science like CRISPR, and teach kids about historical figures like the late Dr. Huey P. Newton of the Black Panther Party. Before creating Kai XR, Kai worked with several museums such as the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum as well as the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture, specializing in digital strategy and content creation. Kai also served as an entrepreneur in residence at the Kapor Center for Social Impact Techstars' Social Impact cohort sponsored by Cox Enterprises, and T-Mobile's Immersive Accelerator. Her work has been featured by Forbes, The U.S Department of Education, NBC, the Steve Harvey Show & more.Recommended Resources:LinkedinTransition from Teaching to Your New Career Opportunity by Kai FrazierSnapchat

Send us a textIn this special episode of Edtech Insiders, Phuong Do interviews eight edtech companies at the Edtech Asia Summit 2023 held earlier last month in Bali, Indonesia.Adriel Yong from Ascend Angels John Tan from DoyobiMinsam Kim from RiiiDRaphael Nolden from Amy.appRyan O'Hare from Keypath Education Ruby Nguyen from Curieous Sandeep and Gaurav from Kaizenvest Vu Van from ELSA

Send us a textKenzie Butera Davis is the CEO and founder of Maro, a pediatric mental healthcare and education app. She recently won the ASU+GSV Pitch competition.As a veteran of the startup industry, Kenzie has supported 70+ healthcare, consumer and B2B SaaS startups from launch to growth acceleration to funding. Prior to founding Maro, Kenzie spent 4+ years composing an academic thesis on the implementation of health education in the US while conducting customer discovery. Her current venture, Maro, is one of the leading companies in pediatric healthcare innovation, as awarded by Oracle Cerner and Children's National Hospital.Recommended Resources:Rock HealthDigital Health Buzz Chalkbeat Edweek Market Brief

Send us a textTodd Mahler is the Chief Product Officer at Edmentum. For over 25 years Todd has led the development of educational technology products for the nation’s leading publishers and is proud to have impacted the lives of millions of students. As Chief Product Officer for Edmentum, Todd drives product strategy for Edmentum, ensuring their solutions meet the needs of the educators and students they serve. Prior to Edmentum, Todd served as Chief Product Officer for Apex Learning and has held senior leadership positions with McGraw Hill Education, Redbird Advanced Learning, and Six Red Marbles. Todd holds a Master’s degree in Education from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Science in Astronomy & Astrophysics from Villanova University.Dr. PJ Caposey is a dynamic speaker and a transformational leader and educator. PJ began his career as an award-winning teacher in the inner-city of Chicago and has subsequently led significant change in every administrative post he has held. PJ became a principal at the age of 28 and within three years was able to lead a small-town/rural school historically achieving near the bottom of its county to multiple national recognitions. After four years, PJ moved to his current district, Meridian CUSD 223, as superintendent and has led a similar turnaround leading to multiple national recognitions for multiple different efforts.PJ is a best-selling author and has written 10 books for various publishers. His work and commentary has been featured on sites such as the Washington Post, NPR, CBS This Morning, ASCD, Edutopia, the Huffington Post, and was featured in a Global Leaders Forum thinkpiece alongside the likes of General Petraeus and General McChrystal. He works in the Education Department of three universities, including within the Ivy League, and in a myriad of capacities with the Illinois Principal's Association including Principal Coach and author of the first complete stack of MicroCredentials offered in Illinois.Recommended Resources:Academic I - Ground Rules on AI by EdutopiaInstitute for Educational Innovation

Send us a textChris Parrish is Co-Founder and President of Partnerships at the leading experiential learning company, Podium Education. At Podium, Chris led the launch of The Global Tech Experience, an industry redefining digital program that enables students to build skills and experience by working on projects directly with organizations like Intel, The Grammy’s and charity:water. Podium currently partners with 55 universities across the world and will support 10,000 students in 2023. His work has been featured in Fortune Magazine, Forbes, InsideHigherEd and TechCrunch. Chris and Podium are based in Austin, TX.Recommended Resources:Jeff SelingoETCH by Matt TowerHigher Ed Trades

Send us a textIn this episode of Week in Edtech, Ben and Alex discuss:1. Big Tech:Gemini - Google’s largest and most capable AI model.2U faces upcoming existential changes - Helpful analysis from Phil Hill on the financial challenges 2U is up against as their stock continues to get hammered in the public markets. 2. Assessment:States are radically changing testing requirements in both red and blue statesAll Yale students get As3. Politics:University Presidents royally blow it in CongressOakland Educators Hold Unauthorized Teach-in Supporting PalestiniansAP African American Studies4. Legacy of Paul LeBlancSouthern New Hampshire University President Paul LeBlanc to Step Down after Transformative 20 Years of Leadership5. Future of WorkNolej raises a $3M SeedCarnegie Learning Announces LiveHint AICurriculum Associates Expands Student-Focused AI Capabilities with Purchase of SoapBox LabsSpecial Guests:Jared Grusd, Co-founder of EthiqlyGavin Cooney, CEO of Learnosity

Send us a textMärt Lume is the co-founder of Futuclass, a company building curriculum-aligned Virtual Reality games to enrich natural science education for secondary school students.With a 15-year journey across Vancouver, Denver, Lviv, Berlin, and Tallinn, Märt has designed gaming, enterprise, and educational software. Notably, in Vancouver he was the first employee of Glitch game, which eventually became known as Slack.A pivotal moment in 2017 introduced him to VR, sparking the realization that immersive technologies, coupled with learning via layered game mechanics, hold the key to transformative human learning experiences. This revelation fueled the inception of Futuclass, which now elevates chemistry and physics classes in over 10% of Estonian schools, earning praise from students and educators alike.Drawing wisdom from years of close collaboration with schools, Futuclass has expanded its offerings into the comprehensive Futuclass School Kit. This turnkey solution equips schools with hardware, software, teacher onboarding, mentoring, and best practices, igniting students with excitement for learning through VR. Futuclass School Kit is also launching partner apps, seamlessly integrating VR lessons into subjects like art, design, social studies, music, and physical education.Märt's recognition includes the "Friend of Education 2022" title at Estonia's esteemed Teacher's Gala, acknowledging his contributions to numerous EdTech startups and initiatives. He is also an advisor and angel investor to 20+ companies at the moment, with a focus on EdTech and XR.Recommended Resources:The Metaverse: And How It Will Revolutionize Everything by Matthew Ball“We Met in Virtual Reality” documentaryEdtech EstoniaVR Chat

Send us a textNikil Ragav is the CEO and founder of inventXYZ.Nikil studied Electrical Engineering & Business at Penn/Wharton and interned at Intel, Google, Microsoft before starting inventXYZ. In college, he ran inventathons for middle and high school students to learn to build and code real products. He worked with schools in rural PA then remotely across the US to teach CS and electronics.For his work, Nikil was awarded Penn’s President’s Innovation Prize to start inventXYZ. NFL player Travis Kelce tweeted he was sponsoring a STEM lab for underserved kids in Kansas City. Nikil tweeted at him, and eventually inventXYZ moved to KC to help design and run the STEM lab.Now, inventXYZ makes it painless for middle and high schools across the country to teach 100% of their students Computer Science and AI even if they don’t have a dedicated teacher.Nikil has published a paper on teaching AI in K12 w/ Johns Hopkins researchers: https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/nai/ti/pre-prints/content-22.4nwRecommended Resources:inventXYZ: Preparing Students for the Future of Workinventxyz.comEvaluation of Evidence-Based Practices inOnline Learning: A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies by US DOEBite-sized Way to Understand Learning Science