Edtech Insiders

Send us a textIn this episode, guest host Matt Tower of Edtech Thoughts and Alex discuss:1. The Possible "Second Boom" of the Edtech Investing Market as per BrighteyeThe evolution of Edtech: Activity in private and public markets | Dealroom.coEdtech’s honeymoon might be over, but expect a second boom | TechCrunch2) Addictive Game Mechanics Used For GoodOpinion | I Make Video Games. I Won’t Let My Daughters Play Them. - The New York Times (nytimes.com)Roblox jumping into ads in effort to diversify beyond virtual goods (cnbc.com)3) Dark Web Hackers Attacking LAUSDHackers Release Data Stolen From Los Angeles Schools in Ransomware Attack - The Wall Street Journal (subscription model) - 2 October 2022Cyber Gang Posts Los Angeles Students’ Sensitive Data on Dark Web After Hack - The 74 - 3 October 2022Los Angeles schools’ data leaked after ransomware attack - K-12 Dive - 3 October 20224) The Continued Rise (and funding) of Social Emotional Learning Applications open for $280M in school mental health supports - K-12 Dive Investors Remain Bullish On Social And Emotional Learning (forbes.com)Little Otter Health making acquisition and back to school kit5) Big Tech and Edtech Working Together Futurelearn Partners with MicrosoftSpringboard approved by Amazon Career ChoicePlus Fundraising:Ocelot - $117MCoRise - $8.5M

Send us a textIn this episode, we talk to some of the standout stars of the StartEd New York Edtech Week conference.Sari, Kide Science (story-based early years learning with platform for educators from Finland!)Nikita Gupta, Symba (internship and apprenticeship management)Matthew Evans, Julius (job training for green economy jobs) Rachel Jordan, TeachFX (measuring pedagogical 'talk' in the classroom)Warning: This was a crowded event, and the audio quality of the interviews can be spotty at times. 

Send us a textIn this short episode, we talk to Jamie Poskin, CEO and founder of TeachFX, about TeachFX's new $10mm funding round and how the company is finding a completely new source of classroom data in the 'talk' that happens in both online and in-person classes. 

Send us a textIn this episode, we speak to Shawna Young and Mitchel Resnick of the Scratch Foundation, which runs the largest creative computing community in the world around the Scratch programming language. Recommended Resources:Mitch Resnick and Ken Robinson, Lifelong Kindergarten2021 Scratch Foundation Annual ReportShawna Young is the Executive Director of the Scratch Foundation. Before coming to Scratch, Young led the Duke University Talent Identification Program (Duke TIP), one of the largest academic talent searches, with over 450,000 K-12 students and over 3 million alumni. She also spearheaded the expansion of the Office of Engineering Outreach Programs (OEOP) at MIT, serving as the Executive Director for eight years.  The OEOP provides rigorous educational opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to K-12 students from primarily underrepresented and underserved backgrounds. Young started her career as a public high school science teacher in North Carolina, then working as a curriculum developer at the Educational Development Center.Mitchel Resnick is the LEGO Papert Professor of Learning Research and Director of the Lifelong Kindergarten group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab, which developed the Scratch programming software and online community, the world's leading coding platform for kids. His group has also collaborated for many years with the LEGO Company and the LEGO Foundation on the development of new educational ideas and products, including LEGO Mindstorms and LEGO WeDo robotics kits. Resnick co-founded the Computer Clubhouse project, an international network of 100 after-school learning centers, where youth from low-income communities learn to express themselves creatively with new technologies.

Send us a textAcky Kamdar is the CEO of Magic EdTech and Magic Finserv. He is a technology entrepreneur and an investor in the fields of digital technologies, blockchain, machine learning, AI and NLP. Acky has over 25 years of experience in Process Management, Technology Solutions, and Outsourcing services at companies like Genpact, Headstrong, Compaq Computers and the HCL group. Currently, he also serves as General Partner at Solmark, a NY-based entrepreneurs equity fund. Recommended ResourcesEconTalk, podcast by Russ RobertsEducated by Tara Westover

Send us a textFrancie Alexander is Chief Research Officer at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) and an industry leader in the fields of Early Childhood Education, Literacy, and Intensive Intervention for striving reading and math students. Francie provides inspirational and informative leadership on topics from early and adolescent learning to brain development and its influence on childhood and teenage learning and is focused on Future Ready Readers and the future of learning. She works closely to listen to and learn from key school districts across the U.S. in order to lead HMH's efficacy efforts.Francie serves on the board of Text Project and formerly Los Angeles Universal Pre-K (LAUP). She served for almost 10 years on the PBS Next Generation Media Advisory Board. She was previously chief academic officer for Scholastic.Additionally, Francie has authored more than 50 books for children, including Curious George Readers.Prior to her time at HMH, Francie held key positions in both state and federal education agencies, including serving as Deputy Assistant Secretary for the U.S. Department of Education's research branch, where she led Department-sponsored standards efforts and campaigns in support of libraries and the arts. HMH is an education technology company and a leading provider of K–12 core, supplemental, intervention, and professional learning solutions.Recommended ResourcesShaped, blog by HMHEducator Confidence Report by HMH

Send us a textGreg Bybee is the Co-Founder and CEO of Avela Education and the Co-Founder of PoliScribe. Greg was an early employee at NovoEd where he ultimately ran every business function from marketing to business development and customer success, and ultimately helped sell the company to Fidelity.Previously, he was a Fellow at NewSchools Venture Fund, the first product manager at Coursera, an advisor to Renren’s expansion into education, the lead for VMware’s vCloud Suite launch, and a strategic counselor to Fortune 500 executives at McKinsey & Company. He's also an advisor and mentor to several education organizations and tech startups, including Vendition, Veery, HiCounselor, and Rutgers UniversityAvela's mission is to increase equitable access to education. Avela offers a modern application and enrollment system for schools, districts, and mission-driven organizations, which focuses on empowering families and enabling data driven decisions.Recommended ResourcesExpanding Access to High-Quality Schools report by Center for American ProgressWho Gets What ― and Why by Alvin RothSchool District RFPs archive

Send us a textGuest: Fadl Al Tarzi, Founder & CEO @ Nexford UniversityOnline University Nexford will use $8M to plug affordability and relevance gaps in educationTopics This Week:Ads in EducationThe next chapter for Learning on YouTubeRoblox jumping into ads in effort to diversify beyond virtual goodsSPACS & Aging UnicornsLondon Looks to Un-Meme the SPAC Market A Sober Look at SPACsCollege ChaosMalignant by Scott GallowayCollege Student Transfers Declined By Nearly 300,000 During PandemicOberlin Says It Will Pay $36.59 Million to a Local BakeryThe Post-Pandemic College Campus as a Design ChallengeFrance hits 400,000 international student mark after record growthStanford Law to offer 'income share' financing as law school costs soarReligion & EducationIn Hasidic Enclaves, Failing Yeshivas Flush With Public MoneyYeshiva University doesn't have to recognize LGBTQ student group for now, Sotomayor rulesFunding + M&A3 in 10 Education Companies Secured VC or Made Acquisitions Over the Last YearVirtual Internships raises $14.3MuDocz raises $2M Hone raises $30MTract raises $7MDocquity raises $44MEdupia raises $14MCode First Girls raises £4.5MCitizens Financial Group acquires College RaptorLepaya acquires vCOACHOrenda Education Merges with Think TogetherCheck out our Newsletter @ https://edtechinsiders.substack.com/

Send us a textShravan Goli has been the Chief Product Officer and Head of Consumer Revenue at Coursera since 2018. Shravan came to Coursera with over 20 years of experience of building products and leading companies. He has built products at Microsoft and Yahoo, been the CEO of Dictionary.com, and was most recently President of tech job marketplace Dice (part of public company DHI Group Inc).Coursera was launched in 2012 by two Stanford Computer Science professors, Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller, with a mission to provide universal access to world-class learning. It is now one of the largest online learning platforms in the world, with over 100 million registered learners globally.Coursera partners with over 275 of the world’s top universities (Yale, University of London, Penn) and industry educators (Google, Meta, IBM) to offer courses, Specializations, projects, certificates, and degrees. Over 7,000 businesses, government entities, and campuses have used Coursera’s enterprise offering to provide job-relevant online education to their employees, citizens, and students.Recommended ResourcesA New U: Faster + Cheaper Alternatives to College by Ryan Craig

Send us a textGuest: Anjuli Gupta, Head of Academic Partnerships @ Outlier.orgMasterClass's Co-Founder Takes on the Community College DegreeOutlier.org & Golden Gate University Reinvent Affordable College with Degrees+Topics This Week:LAUSD CyberattackLos Angeles Schools Hit with Ransomware AttackFBI joins probe into LAUSD cyberattackLearning Loss & Pandemic RecoveryPlunging NAEP scores signal a long and difficult road to recovery7 charts highlighting the pandemic’s impact on 2022 NAEP scoresU.S. School Closures Leave Students Behind.Experts Say Kids Are Far Behind After COVID; Parents Shrug. Why the Disconnect?Around the WorldChina Liberal Education acquires Wanwang Investment LimitedVitru Limited acquires Rede EnemEntrepreneurship and Education across AfricaByju's to raise $500M @ $23B valuation + Ministry of Corporate Affairs Inquiry XR GrowsMetaversity is in Session as Meta and Iowa’s VictoryXR Open 10 Virtual CampusesOxford University Press partners with Immersify Education to create interactive learning modulesFunding + M&AGlints raises $50MLearnsoft raises $17MAstro raises $13MLumiQ raises $5MEarlyDay raises $3.25MDiscovery Education acquires Pivot InteractivesUnacademy acquires Gate AcademyEdlio acquires SchoolInfoScholastic acquires Learning OvationsXanEdu acquires PLC AssociatesCheck out the Edtech Insiders Newsletter @ https://edtechinsiders.substack.com/