Send us a text In this Episode, Guests: Nishaad Balachandran of Avathon Capital on Private Equity for Edtech Kavitta Ghai of Nectir on the launch of Soma, their new AI community tool Big Story: Byju's Properties Raided by Indian Authorities Explained: Why Edtech start-up Byju’s is facing heat from ED Other articles discussed: Teachers Feel Growing Obligation to Incorporate ChatGPT California bill proposes 50% school staff salary hike over 7 years Bias in AI: Do Chatbot Tutors Work Better Wh...
May 10, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Ep 30•Transcript available on Metacast Send us a text Michael Wegerbauer is the Vice President, Learning Solutions/Educational Publishing at M & R Consultants Corporation (MRCC). With 25 years of experience focused on technology in education, project management, process improvement, technology consulting, and business development, Michael spent 6+ years at UCLA developing solutions to support both administrative and educational initiatives and 12+ years at MRCC supporting learning technology, rich media, and content development. ...
May 08, 2023•41 min•Ep 29•Transcript available on Metacast Send us a text News Covered: MICROSCHOOLING: New Research Reveals The Breadth And Impact Of The Microschooling Movement Forbes INDIA: THE HAVES AND THE HAVE-NOTS Unacademy To Be Profitable At Group Level In April: CEO Gaurav Munjal Upstart Ed-tech Firm Simplilearn Plans Acquisitions, Expansion Amid Funding Winter : Business Standard upGrad to expand Study Abroad programme in Africa, South-East Asia and Middle East The Hindu Business Line Edtech Startup BrightChamps Makes Third Acquisition, Enter...
May 05, 2023•48 min•Ep 28•Transcript available on Metacast Send us a text Perry Kalmus is the co-founder of Akala , which is leveling the playing field for college admissions by providing best-in-class college advising to learners who would not have been able to afford it through technology. Before Akala, Perry ran the Princeton Education Network for over a decade together with his co-founder Barbara - who is also his mother. Together, they have helped over 15,000 students achieve their dreams of attending college. Recommended Resources Your College-Bou...
May 04, 2023•59 min•Ep 27•Transcript available on Metacast Send us a text Amy Bevilacqua is a Managing Partner of Green Street Impact Partners. With over 30 years of experience at the intersection of the education, media and technology sectors, she has an abiding passion for advancing innovation and scaling education companies that deliver on learner-centered missions. Amy believes in impact investing in the future of education.
May 04, 2023•11 min•Ep 26•Transcript available on Metacast Send us a text Ashley Chiampo is the Chief Learning Officer at the Emeritus Institute of Management, an online learning company. Shehas over 20 years of experience supporting people and organizations to reach learning goals and achieve greater effectiveness. Her background includes working with CXOs and senior leaders in small private companies, international development organizations, and multi-billion dollar publicly traded organizations. She focuses on creating and delivering meaningful learn...
May 04, 2023•13 min•Ep 25•Transcript available on Metacast Send us a text Chuck Cohn is the Founder, Chairman & CEO of Nerdy (parent company of Varsity Tutors). Chuck founded the company in 2007 during his junior year of college after experiencing frustration finding the personalized help he needed for a calculus course. He spent his early career working in energy & power investment banking at Wells Fargo Securities (Wachovia) and healthcare private equity at Ascension Ventures, an $800M AUM private equity fund. Chuck bootstrapped Nerdy before l...
May 04, 2023•17 min•Ep 24•Transcript available on Metacast Send us a text In this special "live" (or at least, unedited and recorded the same day it is published) episode, Ben and Alex discuss the growing narrative that Edtech company Chegg is 'the first victim of ChatGPT', which has caused a 40% reduction in its stock price this week, and its implications for the sector.
May 04, 2023•24 min•Ep 23•Transcript available on Metacast Send us a text Fadl and Nexford University are on a mission to solve the world's biggest challenge: education. As a next-generation university, Nexford is set to positively impact millions of lives globally. Nexford’s two core principles are: • A lack of education is the root cause of most global challenges; and • People should be able to access economic opportunities, irrespective of physical location Nexford is partnered with Microsoft, IBM and LinkedIn – who provide tools, courses and pr...
May 01, 2023•22 min•Ep 22•Transcript available on Metacast Send us a text Nancy Soni is the CEO/Co-Founder of PathMatch , an early career talent marketplace/platform connecting college students to modern careers, skills, and companies for internships and jobs. We're disrupting the antiquated campus recruiting processes that have left millions of students and graduates behind. PathMatch is an open marketplace where employers can search and connect with students at any university by their desired career path, skills, interests, location, and industry...
May 01, 2023•51 min•Ep 21•Transcript available on Metacast Send us a text Kemi Akinsanya-Rose brings more than 20 years of consulting, operations, strategy, marketing, and education technology experience to Cambium. Kemi provides expertise in these areas to help Cambium develop leadership capabilities, scale business opportunities, and accelerate overall performance. Kemi is instrumental in leading Cambium’s overall and business unit objectives in organizational and talent strategy, diversity efforts, program development, and financial operations to exp...
Apr 27, 2023•17 min•Ep 20•Transcript available on Metacast Send us a text Marni Baker Stein is Coursera’s Chief Content Officer, where she oversees the company’s content and credential strategy and partner relationships. Marni has more than 25 years of experience in producing and scaling online and hybrid education programs. Previously, she was provost and chief academic officer at Western Governors University, where she leads WGU’s academic programs, faculty, and teams. She drives the university’s focus on student success. Prior to WGU, she served as c...
Apr 27, 2023•16 min•Ep 19•Transcript available on Metacast Send us a text Rebecca Agostino is the Vice President of Learning at Multiverse, leading the program, coaching and intervention teams for the US region. Previously, she was the founding principal of Freedom Prep High School, a college-preparatory school in Camden, New Jersey, and a special educator in New York City. Rebecca graduated as a Robertson Scholar from Duke University with a BS in Economics; she earned a Master of Teaching from Fordham University and an MBA from The Wharton School at th...
Apr 27, 2023•18 min•Ep 18•Transcript available on Metacast Send us a text Tiffany Green is the founder of Uprooted Academy™, an Edtech platform designed to give students courage, confidence, and competitiveness in the college application process. Tiffany is a Black, first-generation Edtech founder merging mental health and college access. She is also an adjunct faculty of undergraduate and graduate psychology and serves as a licensed therapist and college counselor for the world’s only high school that travels the globe. Tiffany earned her graduate degr...
Apr 27, 2023•29 min•Ep 17•Transcript available on Metacast Send us a text We speak with legendary Edtech investor Jennifer Carolan, Managing Director of Reach Capital, and cover topics like: ASU GSV Takeaways Ben and Alex discuss some of the big takeaways from ASU GSV: Gen AI, Skills-based hiring and assessment + shorter runways & potential for consolidation AI Tools continue to Proliferate in Edtech: Edtech is going crazy for AI (Josh Bersin) Chegg announces CheggMate, the new AI companion, built with GPT-4 Schoolytics: Building an AI Co-teacher fo...
Apr 26, 2023•1 hr 13 min•Ep 16•Transcript available on Metacast Send us a text Lori Stirling is the Senior Vice President of Advancement Strategy at Affinaquest , a SaaS solution that empowers higher education and non-profit organizations to boost revenue and fundraising, enhance constituent engagement, and drive operational efficiencies through data. Advancement RM is Affinaquest's CRM software built on the Salesforce platform to meet the complex needs of Advancement teams. It is designed to improve fundraising and build stronger relationships by creat...
Apr 24, 2023•55 min•Ep 15•Transcript available on Metacast Send us a text Jason Palmer is General Partner at New Markets Venture Partners , one of the nation’s leading education-focused venture capital firms. As a double-bottom line investor, New Markets focuses on innovative, high impact, early and growth stage edtech companies that improve student outcomes while building profitable organizations. Jason brings twenty years of experience as an education technology entrepreneur, executive and investor, and focuses on fund strategy, supporting portfolio c...
Apr 17, 2023•54 min•Ep 14•Transcript available on Metacast Send us a text On this Week in Edtech, we discuss: 1. ChatGPT Beat ChatGPT Will Not Replace Teachers But Could Act As A Teaching Assistant * NetEase Youdao Launches ChatGPT Model for Educational Scenario Why We Need to Ban ChatGPT in Elementary Schools * Is AI-enabled ChatGPT a boon or a bane for the edtech industry? * Why some college professors are adopting ChatGPT AI as quickly as students Ed tech experts urge caution on ChatGPT’s student data privacy * 2. K-12 These States Have the Most &apo...
Apr 12, 2023•47 min•Ep 13•Transcript available on Metacast Send us a text Ope 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, she is the co-founder and CEO of Kibo School , which offers affordable...
Apr 10, 2023•35 min•Ep 12•Transcript available on Metacast Send us a text In this episode, we speak to special guest Kian Katanforoosh, whose company Workera just raised a $23.5M Series B. We also talk about: AI Push and Pull Call for a pause on AI training met with skepticism Ed tech experts urge caution on ChatGPT’s student data privacy Italy blocks ChatGPT over privacy concerns Hello Dolly: Democratizing the magic of ChatGPT with open models Higher Ed's Price Hikes in the Face of Uncertainty Ivy League tuition costs over $80K A look at trends in...
Apr 05, 2023•1 hr 11 min•Ep 11•Transcript available on Metacast Send us a text Junaid Mubeen is a mathematician turned educator who has spent over a decade working on innovative learning technologies, reaching students of all ages and abilities from around the world as Head of Product and Director of Education at Whizz Education, and COO of Write the World. Junaid has a DPhil in Mathematics from Oxford and a Masters in Education from Harvard, where he studied as a Kennedy Scholar. Junaid is also the author of “Mathematical Intelligence: A Story of Human Supe...
Apr 03, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Ep 10•Transcript available on Metacast Send us a text Join us at ASU GSV ! This week on the pod: 1) Big Tech Goes All in On AI Launch of Google Bard Adobe launches Firefly generative A.I., which lets users type to edit images Microsoft launches Loop, a Notion competitor + ChatGPT in Education: Where Is the ‘AI Conundrum’ in Education Headed? We Can’t Keep ChatGPT Out of the Classroom, so Let’s Address the ‘Why’ Inside the Quest to Detect (and Tame) ChatGPT 2) Pearson sells OPM Division/OPM Regulation Pearson Sells Its OPM Business (P...
Mar 27, 2023•53 min•Ep 9•Transcript available on Metacast Send us a text Jess Weems Thibault is the VP of Growth at HireEdu , a talent recruitment firm dedicated to the Edtech industry. Jess is also an educator, marketer, and entrepreneur, who has an MBA from the University of Wisconsin, a master’s degree in Secondary Science Education and a Bachelor of Science in Resource Economics and Plant & Soil Science from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Before moving into marketing and growth leadership, Jess spent over a decade working with middle...
Mar 27, 2023•52 min•Ep 8•Transcript available on Metacast Send us a text ChatGPT 4 Hear from Kristen DiCerbo, Chief Learning Officer at Khan Academy, about Khanmigo Duolingo Max Readlee Paper Barnes and Noble PhotoStudy Global Edtech LEAD Completes Acquisition Of Pearson’s India upGrad crosses 22,000 job placements Edtech startup uLesson starts an Open University The Rise of EdTech In SEE...
Mar 22, 2023•55 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast Send us a text John Gamba is a serial entrepreneur and graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, John Gamba, Jr has been dedicated to transforming education for most of his career. In 1999, John co-founded PACE – The Partnership for Academic and Community Excellence. PACE was the first school-to-home communications network, connecting thousands of schools to millions of homes nationally and was eventually sold to Blackboard, an international industry leader in education. John currently serves ...
Mar 20, 2023•57 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast Send us a text Varun Gulati is the CEO and co-founder of Koalluh , a startup which makes reading & writing more engaging by empowering kids to make & share quality, illustrated children's stories using AI. Varun is a former public school teacher, and a product & engineering leader. He co-founded, scaled, and sold his first company, UClass as CTO & Head of Product. Most recently, Varun led the Product & Growth teams at Mystery Science, the fastest-growing K-12 science sup...
Mar 13, 2023•48 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast Send us a text John Edelson founded homeschooling platform Time4Learning in 2013 in his living room and remains the president today. Over 360,000 students have now benefited from Time4Learning. He also created Time4Writing, VocabularySpellingCity, and Science4Us. His company was run independently until joining Cambium in 2018. He has extensive expertise working with various educational software, diversified entertainment, and technology companies. He was the producer of the Sony PlayStation game...
Mar 13, 2023•59 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast Send us a text In this special, UNEDITED version of Week in Edtech, Ben, Alex and special guest co-host Matt Tower discuss: 1) The sudden demise and federal takeover of Silicon Valley Bank and what it means for Tech, Banking and Edtech. News: Jenna Smialek and Alan Rappeport of NYT Eric Wallerstein et al. of WSJ Daniel Taub of Bloomberg Takes Kevin Roose of NYT Matt Levine of Bloomberg Noah Smith of Noahpinion 2) Discuss the rumors of ChatGPT4 launching next week with AI-created video Microsoft ...
Mar 13, 2023•1 hr 13 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast Send us a text Guest co-host this week: Zaza Kabayadando Topics This Week Include: New Federal Guidance for Higher Ed Fallout Education Dept. Shocks Ed-Tech Experts and Colleges With Expansion of Oversight AI Continues to Polarize Educators AI bots can seem sentient. Students need guardrails Is ChatGPT the future of cheating or the future of teaching? Adapt, evolve, elevate: ChatGPT is calling for interdisciplinary action GSV Goes to India GSV + Emeritus India Summit: Women entrepreneurs lead co...
Mar 10, 2023•40 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast Send us a text Department of Ed launches new OPM Restrictions Insider Higher Ed on this Phil Hill on this ( here too ) U.S. Department of Education Launches Review of Prohibition on Incentive Compensation for College Recruiters Teen girls in mental health crisis, blowback toward big tech NPR: 10 things to know about how social media affects teens' brains Nearly 1 in 5 Teen Girls ‘Engulfed’ In Wave of Sexual Violence; Many Suicidal Record Levels of Sadness in Teen Girls, CDC Reports - The Ne...
Mar 10, 2023•44 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast 
