Edtech Insiders

Send us a textTopics This Week:Higher Ed’s Commodification and DecentralizationUpskilling Trend Brings Coupons, ‘Flash Sales’ and Other Marketing GimmicksedX’s Role After 2U AcquisitionThe Future Of Learning Is Radically DecentralizedK-12LAUSD makes 'historic' $50M investment to address digital divideUnion pushback on MetaTwitter sale shows us why edtech companies should be accountable to schoolsTikTok May Be More Dangerous Than It LooksWorkforce DevelopmentUnpaid Internships vs. Work-Based Courses.Why MIT was right to reinstate the SATLayoffs amid a Looming RecessionBrutal week of layoffs - OnDeck along with Vedantu, Unacademy, Whitehat Jr & Lido Learning800 WhiteHat Jr Employees ResignFunding + M&AEducapital, Manara, Skillmatics, iNurture, Rise Up, Magnify Venture, ForeignAdmits, Pando, Byju’s

Send us a textJordan Adair is the Vice President of Product at Honorlock, an online proctoring platform dedicated to maintaining academic integrity. Jordan began his career in education as an elementary and middle school teacher. After transitioning into educational technology, he became focused on delivering products designed to empower instructors and improve the student experience. Honorlock is an assessment integrity service that combines AI & live test proctors to make online proctoring simple, easy, and human.Resources:Creating an Anxiety-Free Proctoring Experience

Send us a textGuest: Ashley Andersen Zantop, CEO & Chairman of Cambium Learning GroupTopics This Week:Google Grow Good?Training now free for 500 workers at every U.S. businessStudent Debt CancellationBroad cancellation could backfireWe should cancel student debt, but only for someIncome caps + Online certificate programsKinder-Crisis?Reading recovery's long-term effectsECD going downhillThe pandemic erased a decade of public preschool gainsReturning to OfflineVedantu slashes course costsOnline learning going away in Virginia and Maryland schoolsOnline exam cheating is upFunding + M&AAllen Career Institute, Glorang, Inspired Education Group, GalenaPearson, Snap! Mobile, upGrad

Send us a textEli Bildner is a Senior Director at Guild Education, where he helps to provide opportunity for America’s workforce through education and upskilling, all funded by employers.Eli was also the co-Executive Director and co-founder of Rivet School, a non-profit which simplifies college by pairing an accredited online degree with real-world supports, such as a personal coach, financial aid, a community of peers, career planning, emergency funds, tech support and coworking spaces. Eli also led international growth and was a product manager at Coursera, and earned his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Recommended ResourceNoahpinion- Noah Smith's Substack

Send us a textGuest: Stratsi Kulinski, President of NewU UniversityInternational Bubble?New Oriental Education, Unacademy, BYJU'sMetaverseMeta, Fidelity, Athenaverse, Immerse, MoonhubAdult LearningUdemy's Global Workplace Learning IndexMental Health DataCDC report, Securly, LeanLab, SMART Technologies + KoothFunding + M&AZenda, Newton School, Blue Sky, Vivfy, 9jacodekids, Aztec SoftwareAkadasia, Veranda,

Send us a textMario Vasilescu is co-founder of Readocracy, an online learning platform that makes all the content you consume count. Readocracy includes a knowledge profile that quantifies and showcases your passions, private insights like a “Fitbit for your information diet”, and social features that reward people for being well-informed. With his team, they are on a mission to create a future where how we feed our minds matters just as much as how we feed our bodies.Mario is a robotics engineer turned designer, digital strategist, and now founder obsessed with media ecology. Prior to entering the world of startups, he led digital innovation projects and digital literacy campaigns for national organizations in Canada and France. He is based in Toronto.Resources:Amusing Ourselves to Death, by Neil Postman

Send us a textGuest:Amar Kumar - Founder & CEO @ KaiPod LearningTopics:Online TutoringData + EfficacySchools Pay Millions for Tutoringa16z START American DynamismThree Year Degrees + LoansBlack women are uniquely burdened by student debtFunding + M&AGalena, WeeCare, NeighborSchools, Handshake, SkillStorm, iNeuron, Jenzabar, Entourage

Send us a textIn this second part of the Postcards from ASU GSV mini-series, we talk to a wide variety of amazing Higher Ed and workforce entrepreneurs about their companies, what they're seeing at the ASU conference, and what they're seeing in the field at large. 1) Manny Smith, CEO of Edvisorly, a platform to support community college students who are transferring credit 2) Fadl, CEO of Nexford University, a next-generation, online university that costs $150 a month3) John Katzman, Edtech legend and Founder/CEO of Noodle Partners, an next-generation online program management company4) Gautam Tambay, Co-Founder and CEO of Springboard, on online technical bootcamp with mentoring and a job guarantee5) Manish Maheshwari, Founder and CEO of Invact Metaversity, a fully immersive university for business subjects that can be accessed via VR or computer6) Kirill Slavkin, Co-founder and COO of Annoto, which turns passive video content into a social learning experience7) Obi Felten, Founder and CEO of Flourish Labs, a peer-based mental health startup that trains college students to support others with similar conditions8) Anthony Reo, Co-founder of Bunch.ai, which offers mobile microlearning opportunities for millennial and Gen-Z managers

Send us a textSvenia Busson is a global Learning Innovation explorer who has traveled through 19 countries to identify the most innovative technological teaching and learning practices, which she captured in her recent book, ‘Exploring the Future of Education’. Svenia is also a major network builder in Europe, having co-founded both Edtech France, an industry association representing 400 startups in France, and the European Edtech Alliance, representing more than 2400 startups across Europe.Svenia is now raising a new edtech focused VC fund and is going to invest in European edtech entrepreneurs.Recommended ResourcesEuropean Edtech Alliance NewsletterSvenia's Book, ‘Exploring the Future of Education’Brighteye Ventures Newsletter and MediumEmerge Edtech Insights Medium and Newsletter

Send us a textGuest:Mehrad Yaghmai - Co-Founder of QureosQureos raises $3M to grow its learn to earn platformTopics This Week:Employers start to lighten debt load for learnersFund Debt-Free Education ProgramsEnd unpaid internshipsFree tuition lures low-income studentsK-12 schools in US face multiple challengesStaffing Shortages + Universal school meals1 in 4 superintendents likely to quit soonWhy American Teens Are So SadCalifornia K-12 enrollment plungesLearnPlatform releases Top 40 ReportEdTech Top 40 Mid-Year ReportK-12 EdTech Tool Report Funding + M&ALabsterSales Impact AcademyKaleidoscopePursuit