Edtech Insiders - podcast cover

Edtech Insiders

Alex Sarlin and Ben Kornelledtechinsiders.buzzsprout.com
At Edtech Insiders, we interview founders, investors, operators, educators, and thought leaders about the future of education technology. You’ll hear from leaders across the education technology industry and learn about all of the important edtech trends happening globally.

Episodes

Honorlock's Evolution: AI and Academic Proctoring with Paul Morales and Jordan Adair

Send us a text Honorlock is an online test proctoring service that combines AI software like computer vision with decision making of live test proctors. Paul Morales leads Honorlock’s software and operations technology initiatives with a “security-first” approach. Paul believes that Information Security and Privacy are of the utmost importance in both professional and personal environments. Jordan Adair is the VP of Product at Honorlock. Jordan began his career in education as an elementary and ...

Oct 30, 202355 minSeason 7Ep. 16

Interactive Storytelling for Engaging Education with Maia Glikman of GoKidGo and Matt Hammersley of Novel Effect

Send us a text Maia Glikman is a Los Angeles based producer whose body of work spans numerous areas of the entertainment industry. Highlights as an executive include several years at ABC Network, Lucasfilm and Sony Pictures Television. Maia is the CEO of GoKidGo, Inc. and Never Ever Productions, female led ventures developing exceptional IP for children and adults respectively. As a creative producer, Maia’s mandate is the production of high-quality content that resonates with today’s audience, ...

Oct 23, 202346 minSeason 7Ep. 15

Game-Based Learning and the Future of Education: Insights from Rebecca Kantar of Roblox

Send us a text Rebecca Kantar serves as Vice President of Education and Director of the Roblox Community Fund at Roblox Corporation (NYSE: RBLX), a technology platform bringing the world together through play. Rebecca is responsible for growing Roblox’s education vertical into a self-sustaining ecosystem of outstanding educational content creators, bringing deeper learning curricular materials to educators and students. Roblox Education connects educational organizations with extraordinary Roblo...

Oct 20, 20231 hr 5 minSeason 7Ep. 14

From Campus to Cloud: Dustin Ramsdell on the Digital-First University Journey

Send us a text Dustin Ramsdell is an EdTech content creator and influencer who aims to drive meaningful conversations with top leaders in the Higher Ed field. His show, The Higher Ed Geek Podcast , explores all the nuances of higher education, with a focus on innovative technology and practices from his fellow professionals. Dustin also currently works as the Community Engagement Lead at Pathify . He loves craft beer, good pizza, and sustainability. Dustin lives happily in Delaware with his wife...

Oct 16, 202341 minSeason 7Ep. 13

Unveiling the Magic of Educational Podcasts with Ben Strouse of Gen-Z Media

Send us a text Ben Strouse oversees Gen-Z Media , the studio behind the biggest middle-grade and family podcast mysteries and adventures. Its slate of more than 20 shows includes “Six Minutes,” the most downloaded family drama in history and a big classroom favorite, the Peabody Award winning classic “The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel,” and its current hit, “Nightingale”, in which three teens with cancer find a portal in the hospital basement leading to another world. GZM Shows focus...

Oct 12, 20231 hr 3 minSeason 7Ep. 12

Skills, Education, and the Future: A Conversation with David Shacklette of Harvard Skills Lab

Send us a text David Shacklette is the Product Manager for the Harvard Skills Lab , a Schmidt Futures funded research initiative and startup that designs performance-based assessment tools that can be used by universities, businesses, and individuals to provide a clearer picture of the foundational skills (sometimes called “soft skills”) required for individuals and teams to succeed in the labor market. Prior to joining the Skills Lab, David has held product roles at Fortune Magazine, where most...

Oct 10, 202347 minSeason 7Ep. 11

Navigating the Future of AI, Education, and Beyond with Amanda Bickerstaff

Send us a text Amanda Bickerstaff is the Founder and CEO of AI for Education . A former high school biology teacher and EdTech executive with over 20 years of experience in the education sector, she has a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities that AI can offer. She is a frequent consultant, speaker, and writer on the topic of AI in education, leading workshops and professional learning across both K12 and Higher Ed. Amanda is committed to helping schools and teachers maximize th...

Oct 09, 202357 minSeason 7Ep. 10

Learning Made Efficient: The Brainscape Approach with Andrew Cohen

Send us a text Andrew Cohen is the founder & CEO of Brainscape , a web & mobile education platform that helps millions of people study more efficiently. Brainscape allows students of all ages to create, share, and find great “smart flashcards” for any subject, and to study them using a fun, social experience that is scientifically proven to boost learning results. Before starting Brainscape, Andrew worked as an international economist (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics), eLearning curricul...

Oct 02, 202354 minSeason 7Ep. 9

From Textbooks to AI-Driven Education with Jessica Tenuta of Packback

Send us a text Jessica Tenuta is the Chief Product Officer and Cofounder of Packback, where she works with engineering, design, and support teams to design a product experience that fuels student curiosity and builds more confident writers. Outside of her time at Packback Jessica is the cofounder and creative director of Play Together, a Chicago-based non-profit art-and-music label that produces limited edition collaborations between a visual artist and a musical artist, with proceeds benefiting...

Sep 25, 202359 minSeason 7Ep. 8

Week in Edtech, 9/22/23, Part 2: Deep Dives with Toddle Learning and Project Read

Send us a text In this special episode of Week in Edtech, we speak to two leaders in the K12 space using AI to support teachers and learners: Deepanshu Arora, Founder and CEO of Toddle Learning Toddle's mission is to help teaching teams around the world do their best work. More specifically, Toddle is an end-to-end solution for all your teaching and learning needs. Teaching teams use Toddle for curriculum planning, assessments, student portfolios, projects, progress reports, classroom manag...

Sep 22, 20231 hr 29 minSeason 7Ep. 7

Week in Edtech, 9/22/23, Part 1: AI Market Mapping, School Survey Highlights, and More Byju's Madness

Send us a text In this episode, we discuss: AI Pipeline Perspectives: Trends From 280+ Generative AI Edtech Tools EdTech Companies Are Racing to Build a GitHub Copilot for Teachers Teachers Are Going All In on Generative AI K12 2023 SETDA State of Edtech Report Curriculum Associates Report: State of Student Learning Common Sense: 2023 State of Kids Privacy Clever's Classroom of the Future Report Higher Ed Admissions Officers Reflect on a Transformative Year Byju's Byju’s hid $533 milli...

Sep 22, 202345 minSeason 7Ep. 6

Online Tutoring and Beyond: A Conversation with MyTutor's Co-founder, James Grant

Send us a text James Grant is co-founder of MyTutor , the UK’s leading online tutoring platform, working with hundreds of thousands of students and 1,500 public schools across the UK and US. Their vision is to make life-changing tutoring available to all. They are the largest partner on the UK’s National Tutoring Programme, have a carefully vetted, 20,000 strong tutor community and have raised $40m in funding. MyTutor’s programs are proven to deliver 2.5x the progress for students in their tutor...

Sep 18, 202347 minSeason 7Ep. 5

Moonshot Thinking in AI Education: Exploring the Future with Bodo Hoenen of NOLEJ

Send us a text Bodo Hoenen is the founder of Dev4X , and a cofounder of NOLEJ , a generative AI for education. He is a collective intelligence scientist and serial entrepreneur whose previous startup’s include an LMS that he sold to Google. Since then, he’s been developing a Super Collective Intelligence, an AI-Human collaboration engine to rapidly accelerate the rate at which we can learn and innovate. Recommended Resources: Lex Fridman podcast ChatGPT Bard Bing Get ready to explore the future ...

Sep 15, 202340 minSeason 7Ep. 4

This Week in Edtech with Ben Kornell, 9/14/23 with Special Guests Medics Academy and Braintrust Tutors

Send us a text This episode features interviews with Johann Malawana of Medics Academy Jen Mendelsohn and Mara Koffmann from Braintrust Tutors Check out the Edtech Insiders AI+EDU Conference ! We also cover: UNESCO's AI Competencies for Teachers Byju's effort to repay repayment through selling acquisitions Flint raises money for edu-LLMs, and Imbue for agents Americans losing faith in College ROI K12 Literacy Scores forcing shift to Science of Reading...

Sep 14, 20231 hr 29 minSeason 7Ep. 3

Redefining Tutoring for a Customized Learning Experience with John Failla of Pearl

Send us a text John Failla is the CEO and co-founder of Pearl , a research-based tutoring platform that streamlines operations, reports actionable data, and improves outcomes for Pearl’s many tutoring partners. Pearl works with states, districts, and private tutoring companies. John is also a Founder-In-Residence at University of Richmond - Robins School of Business and was the Founder & CEO at Trilogy Mentors. Recommended Resources: Blog by Pearl National Student Support Accelerator Illinoi...

Sep 14, 202349 minSeason 7Ep. 2

Accelerating Learning with Behavioral Science with Dr. Kimberly Nix Berens of Fit Learning

Send us a text Kimberly Nix Berens, Ph.D. , is a scientist-educator and Founder of Fit Learning . She co-created a system of instruction based in behavioral science and the Technology of Teaching, which has transformed the learning abilities of thousands of children worldwide. Fit learning programs use virtual instruction to target areas a wide range of skills: early learning skills, basic classroom readiness, phonemic awareness, reading fluency, comprehension, inferential language, basic and ad...

Sep 13, 20231 hr 4 minSeason 7Ep. 1

Empowering Student Success and Career Advancement with Heather Combs of StraighterLine

Send us a text In 2022, Heather Combs was appointed CEO of StraighterLine , one of edtech’s fastest growing companies and the leading provider of high-quality, affordable, online courses that helps learners earn college credit and meet their professional goals. Heather has led the company through its first acquisition of ChildCare Education Institute, one of the largest online training providers for early childhood education professionals. This acquisition is the company’s first step to signific...

Sep 04, 202354 minSeason 6Ep. 30

This Week in Edtech, 8/30/23, with Guests Dr. Deepak and Maria Walley of Prof Jim

Send us a text Guests: Dr. Deepak Sekar and Maria Walley of Prof Jim Prof Jim Launches Reelbooks 2.0 - AI Now Achieves Parity with Human Instructors AI Edtech Companies Rising Atypical AI raised $4M in pre-seed to continue shaping the future of learning and assessment Sizzle AI raised $7.5M in seed for their tutoring chatbot for middle and high school STEM courses , led by Owl Ventures Course Hero Launches "AI Academy" to Help Educators Navigate Role of AI in the Classroom Q2 Earnings ...

Aug 30, 20231 hr 20 minSeason 6Ep. 29

Transforming Education Through Engagement with Marco De Rossi of WeSchool

Send us a text Marco DeRossi is the CEO and founder of WeSchool , a leading Italian EdTech startup Founded in 2016, WeSchool is an online collaborative learning platform that is designed to be easy to use- it already enables 1.7 million students and 230.000 teachers to amplify their learning experience by leveraging digital tools. WeSchool recently closed a 6.4M€ Series A funding round to scale their technology and enter new markets. Recommended Resources: Visible Learning by John Hattie...

Aug 28, 202338 minSeason 6Ep. 28

Week in Edtech 8/21/23: Edtech Investment Cooling Despite $90M+ Rounds, School Choice Initiatives Rising, AI Teacher Training Heating Up

Send us a text In this episode of Week in Edtech, Ben and Alex discuss: 1. Edtech Investment Cooling EdTech investment cooling in 2023 but growth outlook remains strong It’s been a bumpy 6 months for Edtech — are smoother roads ahead? 2. K12: Private Schools, School Choice and ESAs + Edtech vs. Burnout Private School Choice is Booming. Here’s What It Means for Education Companies Florida teachers are worried new policies could get them fired — or even criminally charged New Survey: Majority of T...

Aug 22, 202334 minSeason 6Ep. 27

Purpose-Driven AI for Education with Dr. Satya Nitta of Merlyn Mind

Send us a text Dr. Satya Nitta is the CEO and co-founder of Merlyn Mind , a deep tech generative AI company working on natural language interfaces and voice computing. He was previously the global head of AI solutions for learning at IBM Research and led teams in the development of conversational systems, speech recognition, and natural language understanding. Dr. Nitta received his PhD in Chemical Engineering and holds over 100 US patents, as well as having published over 40 publications and re...

Aug 21, 202346 minSeason 6Ep. 26

Building the Duolingo of Music Education with Sam Walder of Trala

Send us a text Sam Walder is a violinist, computer engineer, and the co-founder and CEO of Trala , which he founded as an undergraduate at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Trala is a tech-powered online music school. Founded in 2017, their mission is to make world-class music education accessible to every single person on Earth. With over 600,000 downloads and violin students in 193+ countries, Trala has received support from top musicians and investors at Duolingo and LinkedIn. Trala c...

Aug 15, 202348 minSeason 6Ep. 25

Week in Edtech 8/4/23: EdTech Weekly Highlights: Supreme Court's Admissions Ruling, AI in K-12, Funding Roundup & More!

Send us a text Edtech Winners of the Summer: - Kahoot! gets $1.72B Buyout - Duolingo continues to beat the market - GoStudent raises $95 (some debt) to expand - Ukraine-based Preply raises $70M (some debt) Edtech Bummers of the Summer: - Paper conducts layoffs - Byju's negative press after board walkouts , despite AI rollout Edtech Partnerships of the Summer: - Instructure to distribute Khanmigo through Canvas AI App Marketplace - Newsela acquires Formative to expand assessment capabilities...

Aug 07, 202345 minSeason 6Ep. 24

AI and National Edtech Policy with Kristina Ishmael of the Office of Educational Technology (OET) at the U.S. Department of Education

Send us a text Kristina Ishmael is the Deputy Director at the US Office of Educational Technology (which we’ll call the Office of Edtech, or the OET), part of the US DOE . She is an educator, learner, advocate, and agent of change. As the leader of the Office of Ed Tech, she executes the office mission of developing national edtech policy that enables everywhere, all-the-time learning and supports digital equity and opportunity. Before the OET, Kristina was the Sr. Research Fellow on New America...

Aug 07, 202350 minSeason 6Ep. 23

Unlocking the Potential of Voice AI in Education with Dr. Martyn Farrows of SoapBox Labs

Send us a text Dr. Martyn Farrows is the CEO of SoapBox Labs , the global leader in voice AI technology for children. Martyn joined SoapBox Labs in 2017 as Chief Operations Officer to lead operations, business development, and strategic partnerships. He was appointed to the CEO role in May 2021. Founded in 2013, SoapBox Labs is an equity-centered, privacy-by-design voice AI company that powers accurate and equitable voice experiences for children of every accent, dialect and stage of development...

Aug 02, 202345 minSeason 6Ep. 22

AI and the Science of Language Learning with Ben Whately of Memrise

Send us a text Ben Whately is the Chief Strategy Officer and co-founder of Memrise . A psychologist by education, with a Masters in Experimental Psychology from Oxford where he focused on neural networks and computational modeling of human learning, Ben has spent the last 15 years looking at ways to learn and teach languages. While at Oxford, Ben became fascinated by how we learn languages. In the past, he’d always been able to pass language exams, but would find himself totally unable to actual...

Jul 31, 202352 minSeason 6Ep. 21

The Future of Synchronous Online Learning with Michael Chasen of Class Technologies

Send us a text Michael Chasen is the co-founder and CEO of Class Technologies Inc. , the maker of Class. He is an entrepreneur who has dedicated his career to improving the way people live and learn. Most notably, Chasen served as co-founder and CEO of Blackboard Inc., a pioneering edtech company with software used by over 20,000 institutions in more than 70 countries by 20 million teachers and learners worldwide. Recommended Resources: The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Differe...

Jul 24, 202329 minSeason 6Ep. 20

Journey of an Educator turned Filmmaker: Charlie Abelmann on "English Hustle"

Send us a text Charles Abelmann is the director and producer of the short documentary English Hustle . He is an educator with a background in research, policy and practice. Earlier in his career, he worked at the World Bank managing education projects in a wide number of countries including China and Mongolia. He has also led public and private schools including being the Director at the Laboratory Schools at the University of Chicago while also having an appointment at the university as a lectu...

Jul 21, 202348 minSeason 6Ep. 19

Driving Economic Mobility: Edtech Solutions for Global Impact with Ellie Bertani of GitLab Foundation

Send us a text Ellie Bertani is the President and CEO of the GitLab Foundation , with the mission of improving lifetime earnings and economic mobility of workers worldwide. With a background in the nonprofit, public, and private sectors, she brings a shared value, cross-sectoral approach to drive sustainable impact. Prior to joining the GitLab Foundation, Ellie spent ten years in the private sector, with roles at Wells Fargo and Walmart. Much of her work focused on frontline worker economic stab...

Jul 19, 202349 minSeason 6Ep. 18

Where is Higher Education Headed Next? with Sacha Litman of Boston Consulting Group (BCG)

Send us a text Sacha Litman is a core member of the Public Sector practice at Boston Consulting Group and the global lead for analytics in education, employment, and welfare (EEW) for that practice. Sacha is an expert in talent gaps, higher education turnarounds, pricing, and student financing. Sacha advises higher education, employer, and state leaders on building education/employer partnerships that close talent supply/demand gaps in order to improve students' employment outcomes; employe...

Jul 17, 202351 minSeason 6Ep. 17
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