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Innovate 191
10/08/2014
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Got two minutes?
Take a peek at this. Following the fine journalistic code, "Show--don't tell!" we're sharing just two minutes of what happens at EdSurge Summits. Okay, it's 2:33 minutes. But we bet you'll be hooked enough to watch those last 33 seconds, too.
And then share, share, share--especially if you have friends and colleagues in St. Louis and Seattle. Here's the fabulous lineup we have for St. Louis--and a week later, the program for Seattle. There's no better way for teachers to get ahead of the tech innovation curve, to have fun, to learn and share. In St. Louis, we'll be joined by Google's Jaime Casap and the Gates Foundation's Henry Hipps. And big news for Seattle: Our keynote will be the fabulous teacher-speaker-writer, Angela Maiers, who personifies Choose2Matter. Can't wait to see you in St. Louis--or Seattle!
COLUMNIST CORNER
BLESSED ARE THOSE...who help confused parents make sense of what's happening in their kid's classroom. It's not quite Thanksgiving, but EdSurge columnist, Alex Hernandez is already expressing gratitude for innovators who empower parents with clear, actionable information. "Design solutions for families. Help us become equal partners in supporting our children's learning."
EDPUNK UNDERGROUND
DATA, DATA, DATA, CAN'T YOU SEE? Over recent years, a slew of next generation analytics tools have been changing how school leaders think about data. NewSchools Venture Fund analyst, Vivek Murali, takes a look at how Schoolzilla, Equal Opportunity Schools and Panorama Education are helping educators unlock insights about their students and schools--and how investors have taken notice.
SIGNED. SEALED. DELIVERED? A coalition of edtech companies, including Code.org, Edmodo and Microsoft, signed a pledge to safeguard student information privacy and security. Among the commitments: limits on data retention and no advertising. More about the pledge, which FunnyMonkey founder Bill Fitzgerald calls "a good start" with "a lots of room for additional work," here.
DON'T OVER-DO IT: Privacy issues raise legitimate concerns. But there's also a risk that over-regulation will leave valuable information sitting unused and inaccessible. Annie Murphy Paul explores how the Virginia Dept. of Ed is attempting to prevent this by encouraging students to create apps that make sure the "nation's new wealth of education data gets used...by the people who need it most."
TUMBLING TONY: According to EdSurge's Brady Fukumoto, there just might a Holy Grail for game developers who want to bring together high-end development and cross-platform capability: Unity. Already a growing number of edtech companies, including Jumpido and MathBreakers, are using it to build learning games. Read Fukumoto's story here--and check out EdSurge's very first game, Tumbling Tony, built in Unity with the help of coder, Shinsaku Uesugi. Guess who goes tumbling?
NOT SO SPARTAN? San Jose State University (home of the Spartans) caught some flak for its $28 million "Next Generation Technology Project," which was supposed to deck the lecture halls with many devices and services from Cisco--one of the university's biggest donors. But missing equipment, backdoor deals, a cozy relationship between Cisco and SJSU's president, and the fact that $9 million came from student fees has the San Jose Mercury News suggesting shady play.
MY DEAR WATSON: The supercomputer that bested Ken Jennings at Jeopardy may soon face a tougher challenge: Teaching kids. POLITICO reports the creators of Watson hope to make a teacher's assistant by 2016. These plans were also reiterated by IBM's education team, which claimed that Watson can return "not only the best answer to a question but also the logic for how it reached that conclusion." Teachers who met Watson at a recent demo seemed a little unimpressed, however.
GIT' IT! GitHub, a popular repository for sharing code and collaborating on projects, is offering students over the age of 13 years old free access to popular developer tools through the GitHub Student Developer Pack. The 14 free tools include Unreal Engine, a game development tool used for many AAA titles. GitHub's not just for programmers, either; this beginner's guide from ReadWrite shows how any "knowledge worker" (anyone who uses a computer) can "Git" it to work.
SHELTON MOVES ON: Jim Shelton, deputy secretary at the Department of Education, will leave the government at the end of 2014. "Jim has helped shape so much of this administration's education policy," from My Brother's Keeper to the Education Innovation Cluster, said Secretary Arne Duncan.
3RS: REPORTS, RESEARCH, RESULTS
SENDING OUT AN SOS, SIS AND SSO: Figuring out how companies adopt Student Information System (SIS) and Single Sign On (SSO) tools may have you shouting SOS. Michael Lai, now with Minerva, compiled data from interviews with executives at 46 edtech companies about their best practices. Check out his findings, graphs, and recommendations here.
SERVING THE UNDERSERVED: "Record Levels of Edtech VC Dollars" seem to be a recurring headline this year. But what about philanthropy and foundations that "are uniquely positioned to fill existing gaps in edtech funding?" asks NewSchools Venture Fund principal, Shauntel Poulson. Her presentation, "Philanthropy's Essential Role in K-12 Edtech and Strategies for Impact," explores how foundations are supporting their local ecosystems--and what's preventing them from doing more.
KA'CHING!
LIGHTSIDE LABS: Turnitin, a popular plagiarism checker, wants students to do more than simply turn papers in. It wants them to check their writing--not just to cross the t's and dot the i's, but to make sure their arguments and prose are logical and sound. To do this, it's acquiring LightSide Labs, a startup from Carnegie Mellon that uses machine learning technology to develop a writing assistant for students. We shed some light on the deal in our interview with both companies.
TUVA LABS: $430K to New York City startup, Tuva Labs, in a seed round led by NewSchools Venture Fund, with participation from the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania among others. The soon-to-be graduate from the Kaplan Edtech Accelerator wants to bring data literacy to K-12 students. "We'll be inundated with data," co-founder Harshil Parikh tells EdSurge, "and we need tools to allow people to explore it easily and make sense of it."
NEPRIS: $550K to Austin, TX-based Nepris in a seed round led by NewSchools Venture Fund. The startup offers a video platform that allows educators to connect with industry professionals to explore how classroom lessons and subjects have real world relevance. We chatted with CEO and co-founder, Sabari Raja about how her tool can help students answer that nagging question: "What do you want to be when you grow up?"
SKILLPIXELS: €1.65 million (approx. $2.1 million) to Helsinki, Finland-based SkillPixels from private investors and the Tekes "Young Innovative Companies" program. More details from ArticStartup. Founded in 2011, the company develops educational games backed by academic research. Its first title, SmartKid, is a math adventure targeted for children ages 4 to 8. Check out this video to learn more--and admire that beautiful braided beard.
COGBOOKS: £1.75 million (approx. $2.8 million) to Edinburgh-based CogBooks, recently named a finalist in the Gates Foundation's Next Generation Courseware Challenge, from DC Thomson Ventures, Nesta Impact Investments and the Scottish Investment Bank. Since 2006, CogBooks allows educators to create and deliver adaptive courses using pre-existing web content and assessments.
INTERNSHIPS.COM: Acquired by Santa Clara, CA-based Chegg for $10 million in cash and $1 million in Chegg stock. Internships.com offers an online search marketplace that it boasts includes more than 90,000 internships from across the US and two million registered student users.
CEDUMEC: Kuepa.com, a provider of online workforce development services to adults in Latin America, has acquired Cedumec, which runs adult education programs and schools in Mexico City focusing on computer training and English language. Financial terms were not disclosed in the press release.
CL EDUCATE, a New Delhi, India-based company that delivers test prep, vocational training and operates K-12 schools in India, is seeking to raise up to $40 million in an IPO, reports VCCircle. Founded in 1996, CL Educate is best known for Career Launcher, an online portal offering courses on standardized tests for graduate programs and professional careers.
September details are coming! Watch for who will top the list of edtech deals as we move into the year's final quarter. Subscribe to our monthly Ka'Ching Insights for all the deets.
he said, she said
SAME OL' INNOVATION: Why do you use technology in the classroom? What are the costs? Adopt edtech "because it works, not for the sake of modern humanity's obsession with progress, newness, innovation, and disruption," argues Jordan Shapiro at Forbes.
FOOSBALL-BASED LEARNING: Imagine a classroom with a 24/7 on-tap keg, built-in class time for capture the flag and field trips to Bali. In "Why We Should Teachers Like Software Engineers," Knewton COO David Liu suggests that to improve US education, we need to incentivize teaching with better pay, growth opportunities, and perks, much like how tech companies recruit engineers. More here.
EXTRA CREDIT
5 Ways a Teaching Stint Can Boost Your Career (LinkedIn)
Seemed to work magic for Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba
How I Rewired My Brain to Become Fluent in Math (Nautilus)
"Sorry, education reformers, it's still memorization and repetition we need."
The Downtown Project Suicides: Can the Pursuit of Happiness Kill You? (Re/code)
"There is a danger of happiness as a goal, it's a byproduct of striving for that which you desire." And the followup: a not-so-happy Tony Hsieh steps down.
How Much of Your Data Would You Trade for a Free Cookie? (ProPublica)
New Yorkers hand over their fingerprints and partial Social Security Numbers in exchange for chocolate chips and Snickerdoodles. |
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Edtech Jobs
EdSurge has over 447 jobs on our jobs board right now! Come search our 115 school jobs and 332 edtech jobs today!
Recruiter (Non-technical)
Clever★
Clever is seeking an experienced recruiter to scale our non-technical hiring process and attract world-class future colleagues.
Research · Startup · San Francisco, CA
Curriculum Developer, Math (Elementary School K-6)
TenMarks Education Inc.★
TenMarks, an Amazon company based in Burlingame, CA, seeks a the Curriculum Developer in Math (Elementary School K-6), who will work collaboratively to build best-in-class learning materials that support the evolving needs of 21st century classrooms.
Product · Large company · Burlingame, CA
Curriculum Development Lead
NoRedInk★
Attention language sticklers and grammar nerds: NoRedInk is hiring English curriculum specialists who love playing with words, have great writing skills, and want to wear many hats at a well-funded and fast-growing startup.
Product · Startup · San Francisco, CA
Course Developer
Thinkful, Inc.
Thinkful is seeking a Course Developer to craft curricula that engage and inspire students to learn faster than they could anywhere else.
Product · Startup · New York, NY
Investment Banking Associate
GSV Advisors
GSV Advisors is looking to hire an experienced candidate with 1-3 years of investment banking experience. We have a very busy platform, allowing talented junior professionals to get hands on experience and responsibility very quickly.
Executive · Large company · Chicago, IL
Executive Director of Stanford Pre-Collegiate Studies
Stanford University Online High School
Stanford University seeks an Executive Director for Pre-Collegiate Studies, a 25-year old organization at the forefront of educational innovation located at Stanford, in the heart of one of the most entrepreneurial and vibrant regions in the country.
Executive · School · Stanford, CA
Coordinator, iZone
San Mateo County Office of Education
Manage and direct all aspects of the iZone collective impact project which includes facilitation of the planning, development, implementation, and scaling up of the iZone.
Edtech coordinator · School · Redwood City, CA
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Edtech Events
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For 14 years, education companies have turned to L. Wolfe Communications for high quality, targeted communications, public relations and marketing support. We build creative communications programs by collaborating with clients, particularly those seeking innovative ways to grow and to help learning flourish. Our PR pros are passionate about learning and transforming lives--just like you.
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4.0 Schools Essentials
Essentials is a 3-day workshop run by 4.0 Schools, designed to equip participants with the tools and skills necessary to begin piloting their ideas. Registration ends 10/10. The event runs from 10/23 to 10/25
10 Oct · New York, NY · more than $250 · Sponsored
4.0 Schools Essentials
Essentials is a 3-day workshop run by 4.0 Schools, designed to equip participants with the tools and skills necessary to begin piloting their ideas. Registration ends 10/22. The event runs from 11/6 to 11/8
22 Oct · New Orleans, LA · more than $250 · Sponsored
Transforming the Role of Business in Education
This one-day conference, hosted by the Shared Value Initiative, FSG, and Stanford Social Innovation Review, will bring together business, education, and nonprofit leaders eager to explore new models to help address the world's educational needs
29 Oct · Stanford, CA · more than $250 · Sponsored
National Education Week
National Education Week's Thought Leader Summit on November 12-13 in Washington, DC will convene the nation's most influential government, business and education leaders to impact the future of America's education
10 Nov - 13 Nov · Washington, DC · more than $250 · Sponsored
Cracking the PM Interview
Learn how to "Crack the Product Manager Resume" with Gayle McDowell.
9 Oct · San Francisco, CA · $1 to $50
Startup Weekend Education Miami
Have you ever had an idea for improving education? Here's your opportunity to transform your education ideas into a prototype in 54 hours.
10 Oct - 12 Oct · Miami, FL · $1 to $50
Startup Weekend Education Santo Domingo
Have you ever had an idea for improving education? Here's your opportunity to transform your education ideas into a prototype in 54 hours.
17 Oct - 19 Oct · Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic · $1 to $50
EdTech at EdSurge Ladies Night Out
If you're making a difference in the lives of teachers and students -- in the classroom, in a company, in your community, or have an interest in EdTech -- we want to meet you!
6 Nov · San Francisco, CA · $9
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Opportunities
| Good Harbor Partners provides consulting, outsourced corporate development and M&A advisory for a diverse array of companies in education technology, publishing, and digital media. The GHP team works in partnership with clients to position growth stage companies for scalability and success, and to identify, vet, and structure the right partnerships, investments, and acquirers at the right time. Click here to find out more! |
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LearnLaunch Accelerator Applications Now Open
LearnLaunch Accelerator is now accepting applications to its next accelerator program. The three-month program in Boston will host up to eight early stage edtech companies. The program starts in February 2015.
31 Oct · Edupreneurs · Seed funding, mentorship, and coaching · Sponsored
Connected Educator Month
CEM is a great opportunity for edupreneurs to connect with the best audience in education, connected educators, the most tech-savvy and most skilled evangelists in the field. Put an event on our calendar, check out other ways to get involved!
31 Oct · Edupreneurs · Opportunity for edupreneurs to put their latest offerings in front of the best audience in education · Sponsored
Trust Challenge Digital Media and Learning Competition
The Trust Challenge will award up to $1.2 million to individuals or collaborations that create scalable and transformative exemplars of connected learning that bridge technological solutions with complex social considerations of trust.
3 Nov · Youth-serving and higher ed organizations and institutions · $10,000 to $150,000 year-long development grants · Sponsored
2015 REVERE Awards: Recognizing Valuable Educational Resources
Have a new product? Ready to get noticed? The REVERE Awards welcome all kinds of educational materials in all media. Showcase your solutions to teachers, administrators, & the world. Read more at REVEREAwards.org.
15 Nov · Education Companies · National Recognition · Sponsored
TEDxYouth at Sacred Heart Cathedral High School
Our goal is to learn from individuals who have an idea to share with the world. But here's the catch: THE EVENT IS TOTALLY RUN BY KIDS.
17 Jan · Kids · Opportunity to have your voice heard
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Thanks for Reading!
Missed an issue? You can always flip through our site for past stories. And if you want to be part of the classroom chatter and learn about the latest tools, tips and practices to enhance learning, subscribe to EdSurge-Instruct, our Thursday newsletter designed for teachers!
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