Edtech Insiders

Send us a textKarl Rectanus is an educator, serial entrepreneur and the co-founder and CEO of LearnPlatform, a mission-driven "for benefit" corporation, where he leads a team of educators, researchers and technologists committed to expanding equitable access for students.LearnPlatform is an Edtech effectiveness system working to deliver safe, equitable, cost-effective learning for districts, states and their partners such as solution providers. Learnplatform’s technologies are used by over 8,000 schools serving more than 7 million students across the United States.Recommended Resources#edchat or #superintendentchat on Twitter to put your finger on the pulse of what's going on in schools and states EdweekHechinger ReportEdtech Digest

Send us a textOutschoolHow Outschool won the pandemicMaster’s Degree Pricing SoarsRyan Craig on MasterCrashWeb3 and EducationJomayra Herrera on Learning, Earning, and Web3 University Rankings Don’t Add UpColumbia Professor Challenges U.S. News & World Report College RankingThe University in RuinsM&ANigerian Edtech Startup Klas Secures $130kVideo Learning Startup Raises $29m to Tackle Post-Pandemic EducationEdtech startup Leverage Edu pockets $22m in Series B roundPerlego raises $50M

Send us a textOpe Bukola was a product manager at Amplify Education and a product lead for Google Classroom for four years before branching out as an entrepreneur in 2020. She founded a company to build African tech talent, was a founding member of Level, a multiracial network that invests in businesses led by Black women, and joined the Board of Zeta, a network of high-performing charter schools in the Bronx. Most recently, Ope is the co-founder and CEO of Kibo School, which offers affordable, high-impact Computer Science degrees to students in Sub-Saharan Africa.Recommended ResourceRest of World: Reporting Global Tech Stories

Send us a textSergio Monsalve is a Founding Partner of Roble Ventures, a venture capital investing firm based in Silicon Valley that invests in human enablement technologies: solutions that help human progress. Sergio is also visiting professor at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education and Business. In both roles, he is focused on the “Future of Work and Learning” and on developing technology innovations and entrepreneurship. Sergio has been on the board and/or an investor of various companies in this area of focus, including Udemy ($3B), Adaptive Insights (Sold to Workday for $1.6B), Ubits, Slang, and Kahoot! Before he started his investing career, he was an entrepreneur and also held various roles in high-growth technology companies like eBay. Sergio holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a bachelor of science degree in management sciences and engineering from Stanford University. Sergio is originally from Mexico and is very active helping aspiring Latinx entrepreneurs and VC’s.Recommended ResourcesOutliers by Malcolm GladwellPeak by Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool

Send us a textTopics This Week:NSVF and Others Receive Funding from MacKenzie Scott for General OperatingHere’s Who MacKenzie Scott Donated To So Far In FebruaryMacKenzie Scott Makes Historic Gift to NewSchools Venture FundEdtech Metrics and SkepticismEdtech Companies Must Place Learning Ahead of Revenue and EngagementWho is the Theranos of Education?Edtech firm Zovio (ZVO) fined $22 million for false advertising, misleading studentsAmazon expands Career ChoiceAmazon’s Employees Can Go to College, Free. What’s in It for Higher Ed?Amazon Partners With 140 Colleges And Universities To Expand Free Tuition ProgramFunding, M&AByju’s founder backs startup in $800 million funding at $22 billion valuationMedway raises $15 million Series A from Softbank and seven other funds Edtech startup FourthRev raises $11.2 million Series A to bridge the digital skills gapFrom coding school to career acceleration platform, Italy’s Epicode strives for expansion with €10 millionChipper Raises $5.6M to Eliminate Student Loan Debt and Combat the Latinx Funding GapCourse Hero scoops up Scribbr for subject-specific study helpClassplus set to score $80 Mn in Series D roundCialfo extends series B to $60m, Tiger Global leads $20 mn fund raise in edtech firm CialfoGuest: Ryan Stewart - Secretary of Education @ New Mexico Public Educat

Send us a text1. International Women’s Day (“Break the Bias”)Top 200 Women who are leading Global EdTech Startups. – HolonIQSupercharger Edtech Female FoundersErase All Kittens signs distribution deal with Tesco2. Russia becomes a true pariah state for educationColleges cut financial ties to RussiaEuropean University Association Kicks Out Russian UniversitiesHundreds of Medical Students Trapped in Ukraine3. Continued Rise of Work-Integrated TrainingWork Shift Explainer: A new language for CS degrees - Work ShiftEmployers Are Changing How They View Training. Is Competency-Based Education an Idea Whose Time Has Come?4. Funding and PolicyEducation Department clarifies rules on income-share agreementsPublic Service Loan Forgiveness Tops 100,000 BorrowersHigh-poverty schools get only small boost in budget deal5. India India India India top nation to get edtech patentsEdtech Eruditus gets $350 million Edtech startups bridging the education gap in non-metro cities6. M & AReforge Raises $60MClearlake to buy edtech firm Discovery EducationDaybreak earns (Series) A+ 

Send us a text Josh Owens is the CEO and co-founder of Boost, a personal notification assistant for students on their smartphone. Josh was formerly the CEO of Supplykick, a growth-stage online marketplace retailer, has been a gubernatorial candidate for the State of Indiana, and has taught economics at Butler University and Indiana University.Boost connects directly to a student's Canvas account, and is designed to be easy & effective to use with no new work for administrators, instructors, or students; students who use Boost are 3% more likely to pass their class, they earn 4% higher grades, and they are 6% more likely to turn in any given assignment.Recommended ResourcesBoost Efficacy Research ReportsWhy Aren't Text Message Interventions Designed to Boost College Success? by Benjamin Castleman, UVANudge by Cass Sunstein and Richard Thaler

Send us a textEduflow is rapidly becoming one a best-in-class LMS, including a cutting edge peer grading system that both saves instructor time and provides learning opportunities for learners and graders alike. David Kofoed Wind, the CEO of Peergrade and Eduflow describes his unusual journey from university teaching to edtech in Copenhagen, Denmark, and how Eduflow is working to make online, asynchronous collaborative learning into a new paradigm for education.We also talk about Artificial Intelligence, and David is one of the rare people who both deeply understands AI and does not necessarily believe that it solves all core education problems; he states how a fully AI-based grading system would simply deprives learners from the educational experience of grading others' work.   David's Recommended Resource25 Years of Edtech by Martin Weller

Send us a textTopics this week include:The Impact on Education of the War in Ukraine 7.5 million children & youth with education disruptedStudents rally to support UkraineEdTech Startups in UkraineTop 10 Ukrainian EdTech Startups to Look Out for Amid WarMIT Ends Program in RussiaUkraine invasion underscores value of higher edFunding RoundsDisco, Toronto-Based CBC platform, gets $15mm series A from GSV and othersEdTech startup Tutored by Teachers raises over $10m Edtech Luca Raises a $3 Million Pre-seed Round and Starts Operations in MexicoSingapore edtech Genius Group files for $40M US IPOEdTech startup Vygo raises £1.5m to accelerate global borderless education supportFounders of Zerodha, Cred, others invest $1.7m in edtech platform KalviGoogle Dedicates $100mm Career Fund toward New Forms of Education and CertificationGoogle Creates $100 Million Fund for Skills Training ProgramInterview with Leila Makarechi - Chief Business Officer @ Merit America, the non-profit that is one of the first recipients of Google's investmentInterview with Guest:Justin Weinberg - Co-founder & CEO @ Aktiv LearningAktiv Learning has recently renamed itself (from 101edu), released a new mobile first math curriculum and continues to build world class platforms dedicated to active learning. What can Listeners Do:DONATE TODAY! to  Education Cannot WaitHire Upwork developers from Ukraine Donate, partner or volunteer to do mock interviews with

Send us a textOur guest this week is Jomayra Herrera - Partner @ Reach Capital, talking about Web3.Higher Ed BeatA pathway out of intergenerational poverty - Paul Quinn College offers admission to students and family membersU.S. House expands Pell Grants but excludes online edMobile EducationState of the mobile education market 2021Byju's Becoming an Edtech FlagshipByju’s acquires Austrian math app GeoGebra in €100M DealByju’s broadens play from edtech with brick-and-mortar tuition centersCan the EdTech Boom last? (Economist)RobogradersPROOF POINTS: a smarter robo-graderM&A RoundupVeritas Capital to acquire Houghton Mifflin HarcourtMediahuis Ventures leads €3.4m investment round in edtech company Tomorrow's EducationWorkwhile raises $13m series A led by Reach CapitalPost-recording Update: How the tech industry is responding to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine | TechCrunchA podpourri of learning options: pods, hubs, and microschools in the wake of the PandemicWill edtech investments reach $10b in 2022?