Voices of eLearning: Recent Episodes
MarketScale
Celebrating the leaders and experts that are powering education into the future, host JW Marshall sets out to ask the "right questions" in EdTech to understand the changes in policy and technology that will power our universities, tradeschools, and companies - and drive growth in upskilling certifications.
The pandemic has often been named as education’s biggest disruptor. A catalyst for change, the pandemic highlighted failing systems along traditional learning pathways throughout the K-12 educational system. After co-founding a non-profit thinktank focused on education disruption, education thought leader and author Michael Horn penned a new book entitled “From Reopen to Reinvent”. With host JW Marshall, Horn discusses the unveiled dilemmas the education system is now facing.
“My mission is to help everyone be everyone be able to live in a world in which they’re able to build their passions and fulfill their human potential,” said Horn.
Horn recognized the need for a more solid guide for education leaders. Education is, “not working optimally for anyone before the pandemic” and certainly not during or after, said Horn.
To help with this, Horn wrote and published “From Reopen to Reinvent” aimed at providing tools for rewriting the classroom.
“[I] tried to say, ‘There’s a third way through this’ that, you know, allows people to hold onto what’s sacred for them but creates a much better future for all children,” highlighted Horn.
The book is focused on the shift from a debilitating event to “an opportunity framing,” providing advice on navigating school board politics, funding, and fueling success.
The novel also focuses on competency learning processes, “If we don’t make this shift to mastery-based learning we will remain stuck in what is currently a zero-sum education system, where for every winner there is a loser. And that is actually one of the obstacles in my mind, to change,” said Horn.
Shifting to this learning system turns education from a “zero-sum to a positive sum,” explained Horn, “Students don’t fully leave a core concept, core application of skills and knowledge until they have demonstrated mastery.”
This allows the entire education system to be aimed at helping each student individually learn and understand concepts, “The time becomes variable, learning becomes the guarantee,” finished Horn.
Narine Hall, Founder & CEO of Inspace Proximity, made her second appearance on Voices of eLearning. This time she got to be in the studio with JW Marshall instead of a virtual appearance. While the world is still experiencing the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, people are coming together more frequently, and remote learning experiences are taking a bit of a hybrid turn.
The cutting edge of technology is how Inspace works within the education space. Hall started Inspace at the beginning of the pandemic to keep kids engaged with active learning when most classrooms were remote. “What was missing was the learning moments, where students really click and feel inspired to learn more about the topic,” Hall said. “As educators, we all recognize that’s why we’re in the classroom. That’s fun and rewarding. And that was missing from our virtual environment.” The birth of Inspace’s mission was to solve these issues.
Inspace’s platform provides an interactive layer on the front end to promote student engagement and data analytics on the back end to measure those interactions. “It’s cool,” Hall said. “With one click, you get a read of the room. But also, you have a good sense of what’s happening in the classroom. One of the key things is the shared experience. The seamlessness of the interaction empowers people to not worry about technology and setting things up. It’s more about doing what they’re great at, which is teaching.”
Educator feedback on using the platform over the past couple of years is helping shape the Inspace platform now and into the future. Some of these learnings led to the creation of shared student spaces to hang out and collaborate.
Although many education spaces have returned to in-person, the pandemic showcased the need for virtual learning as a critical tool, and educators learned that the best of both worlds could be a hybrid model. “What we’re seeing now is optimizing what’s better where,” Hall said. “And I think technology plays a role in that.” Some innovations include virtual campus financial aid and registrar services so students don’t have to wait in person to conduct specific transactions that they could do on their smartphone or computer.
The pandemic has increased the use of tech-enabled learning in school districts across the nation. This rise in smart technology inside the classroom is here to stay according to Karl Rectanus, Co-Founder and CEO, and Mary Styers, Ph.D. Director of Research both with LearnPlatform, who sat down with Voices of eLearning hosts JW Marshall and Leena M. Saleh.
“On average school districts are accessing more than 1,400 different Ed-tech tools each month,” Rectanus said. “It's time to modernize learning by building capacity, increasing evidence of what's working, and informing decision-makers.”
For school districts to conduct the right studies and collect the right amount of data for their circumstances and their environment, they need the evidence to match what their current students look like at the moment. “We’re helping districts to see how it works in their context, so these qualitative studies will help them see what the evidence looks like for them directly,” Styers said.
Districts have also come to realize that a minimal amount of surveys that track the Ed-tech systems worked in a time when e-learning wasn’t so vast. But with the rapid pace of technology inside school districts, more is needed to track the vast amount of work produced in the classroom.
LearnPlatform, which delivers ground-breaking tools that assist educators in selecting digital learning products, offers an inventory dashboard to see which products are accessed among students and teachers. “It's game-changing because that would have taken months previously,” Rectanus said.
What has traditionally been a limited amount of trust in the relationship between providers and school districts, “is now an opportunity to build a partnership that works, so when we have a level playing field as to what counts for evidence and how we are going to share that, it eliminates the tension,” Rectanus said.
This kind of partnership is why LearnPlatform is launching Impact Ready, a certification solution providers can earn by “having a logic model, sharing data privacy agreements and being willing to share usage data for research,” Rectanus said. Because “districts are telling us, they have so many products, if they could get a signal of what has evidence and what has a privacy agreement would save so much time.”
The bridge that LearnPlatform is building among tech providers and educators in creating the future for technology and learning in the classroom.
Education is arguably the most unified industry out there since all educators have the same goal, which is the desire to impact the next generation. Unlike others, they’re not looking for fame, money or notoriety, and Vriti Saraf, CEO and founder of k20 Educators (k20), wants to empower educators around the world by breaking down common barriers. Saraf joined co-host of Voices of E-Learning, Leena Marie Saleh, to discuss how k20 is working to connect those in education.
Founded in January of this year, k20 started as a social network for educators. However, Saraf wanted their learning experiences to become more efficacious, so they quickly began incorporating engagements like mastermind and social events and think tanks. This bridges an educator’s expertise with the opportunity to learn about other specialties.
With AI permeating every industry, Saraf encourages educators to leverage technology to widen their impact and help lighten the load. “We need to see this technology as something that will enhance our experience.” While many may be afraid that it will move the classroom further from the student, Saraf believes AI will help curate experiences. For instance, k20 utilizes profiles that educators set up and pair them with other educators, even on the opposite side of the world, with similar interests.
Another exciting development is k20’s take on Metaverse: Eduverse. This will involve integrating social media, professional learning libraries and projects. As a true leader in the industry, k20 doesn’t plan on slowing down anytime soon. in the next year and a half, they are developing an immersive environment that’s avatar based to engage educators even further.
The ultimate goal Saraf wants k20 to accomplish is to enable a complete revolution of the industry where educators can collaborate to not just discuss their woes or network, but also ways to create positive change — like moving away from standardized tests as a measurement of success to a more holistic view of the student experience.
Education is arguably the most unified industry out there since all educators have the same goal, which is the desire to impact the next generation. Unlike others, they’re not looking for fame, money or notoriety, and Vriti Saraf, CEO and founder of k20 Educators (k20), wants to empower educators around the world by breaking down common barriers. Saraf joined co-host of Voices of E-Learning, Leena Marie Saleh, to discuss how k20 is working to connect those in education.
Founded in January of this year, k20 started as a social network for educators. However, Saraf wanted their learning experiences to become more efficacious, so they quickly began incorporating engagements like mastermind and social events and think tanks. This bridges an educator’s expertise with the opportunity to learn about other specialties.
With AI permeating every industry, Saraf encourages educators to leverage technology to widen their impact and help lighten the load. “We need to see this technology as something that will enhance our experience.” While many may be afraid that it will move the classroom further from the student, Saraf believes AI will help curate experiences. For instance, k20 utilizes profiles that educators set up and pair them with other educators, even on the opposite side of the world, with similar interests.
Another exciting development is k20’s take on Metaverse: Eduverse. This will involve integrating social media, professional learning libraries and projects. As a true leader in the industry, k20 doesn’t plan on slowing down anytime soon. in the next year and a half, they are developing an immersive environment that’s avatar based to engage educators even further.
The ultimate goal Saraf wants k20 to accomplish is to enable a complete revolution of the industry where educators can collaborate to not just discuss their woes or network, but also ways to create positive change — like moving away from standardized tests as a measurement of success to a more holistic view of the student experience.
When Amy Valentine started her education career, she wasn’t quite sure where she’d end up. After working in traditional, blending and online school communities she realized her passion for education started with her statement, “I am an education enthusiast, in a non-traditional way.” To discuss her charity’s work and the future of education, Valentine sits down with Voices of eLearning hosts JW Marshall and Leena M. Saleh.
Ed-technology and the smart use of technology in schools is only increasing. Valentine’s Future of School charity aims to help by, “Doing good work that helps people be their highest and best selves.” And while technology is no longer a supplement in education, but rather a core piece, Valentine hopes to highlight the discrepancies in the current education system.
According to Valentine, the pandemic is “forcing change” upon K-12 institutions that have had one format since traditional education began. The goal of Future of School is to reimagine what K-12 looks like.
Valentine made a point. When kids exclaim they “hate school” what do they mean and how do we respond?
While, “The K-12 education system became calcified in its own stagnancy,” the most important aspect in growth in education is “listening to hear where they’re at and responding to that,” said Valentine.
By providing parents, caregivers, teachers the resources to make learning easier, rather than a burden, students will be able to connect with the system. However, “80% of teachers indicated they wanted to use technology in the classroom but yet only 10% felt like they had the training…”
Valentine’s solution is in promoting purposeful online and blended learning which teaches “independent thinking” for the future when kids “have to be their own advocates.”
Every community needs to find their own fitting within education and learning, and Future of School helps create the life-long learners needed to understand the flexibility of the future.
Anna Murphy knows a thing or two about EdTech. After completing an internship in the EdTech marketing environment, she realized this sector needed a boost. As a result, she founded The EdTech Incubator, which helps “make education your competitive advantage.” In this episode of Voices of eLearning, Murphy sits down with hosts JW Marshall and Leena M. Saleh to discuss the teacher crisis.
Murphy began by talking about how she found her passion for EdTech, “Every single day I am getting to connect with teachers.” There is value, she said, in hiring people with education backgrounds in EdTech companies and one of the main reasons there is a teacher crisis right now is, in Murphy’s words, “I think there’s a general lack of respect towards teachers…I think that teachers are realizing that they can go elsewhere, be paid their worth, be treated like an adult, and be able to provide for their families better, be able to provide for themselves, and also be able to grow...”
Co-host Saleh remarked that there is a, “Lack of support for teachers structurally all-around…teachers just don’t feel respected.” Murphy agreed.
The pandemic opened teacher’s eyes to what else is out there in the education community outside of the classroom. Murphy remarked on how many teachers are feeling the brunt of public anger on political issues in the classroom, which led to a breaking point, “It’s a broken system and no one should feel like they have to stay.”
One piece of advice Murphy gives in breaking out into EdTech, is to work smarter and not harder, “There’s a lot of noise out there…it’s about working strategically…look for the voices of people who have done it and lean on them.” Murphy highlighted the importance and value in building new skills.
Murphy said that understanding exactly what you want to do, researching those positions, and listening to the people in your life for advice is the first big step into reaching out to new heights in the EdTech community. It’s just a matter of getting started.
Anna Murphy knows a thing or two about EdTech. After completing an internship in the EdTech marketing environment, she realized this sector needed a boost. As a result, she founded The EdTech Incubator, which helps “make education your competitive advantage.” In this episode of Voices of eLearning, Murphy sits down with hosts JW Marshall and Leena M. Saleh to discuss the teacher crisis.
Murphy began by talking about how she found her passion for EdTech, “Every single day I am getting to connect with teachers.” There is value, she said, in hiring people with education backgrounds in EdTech companies and one of the main reasons there is a teacher crisis right now is, in Murphy’s words, “I think there’s a general lack of respect towards teachers…I think that teachers are realizing that they can go elsewhere, be paid their worth, be treated like an adult, and be able to provide for their families better, be able to provide for themselves, and also be able to grow...”
Co-host Saleh remarked that there is a, “Lack of support for teachers structurally all-around…teachers just don’t feel respected.” Murphy agreed.
The pandemic opened teacher’s eyes to what else is out there in the education community outside of the classroom. Murphy remarked on how many teachers are feeling the brunt of public anger on political issues in the classroom, which led to a breaking point, “It’s a broken system and no one should feel like they have to stay.”
One piece of advice Murphy gives in breaking out into EdTech, is to work smarter and not harder, “There’s a lot of noise out there…it’s about working strategically…look for the voices of people who have done it and lean on them.” Murphy highlighted the importance and value in building new skills.
Murphy said that understanding exactly what you want to do, researching those positions, and listening to the people in your life for advice is the first big step into reaching out to new heights in the EdTech community. It’s just a matter of getting started.
Dr. Sonny Magana wears quite a few hats in the education space. He is an award-winning teacher, best-selling author, and a forward-thinker of education methods. This innovative global education futurist joined JW Marshall for the second time on Voices of eLearning to discuss his upcoming book, Learning in the Zone: The Seven Habits of Meta Learners.
If one sets aside all the plaudits, accolades, awards, and achievements, at his core Magana says he is a simple teacher who loves learning. “I’ve been working on trying to find a unifying theory of learning,” Magana said. “We have a lot of learning theories that exist. Some are more useful than others, some are out of date, and some need to be updated. When you think about it, our whole education system is in continual flux.”
Magana’s quest for this unifying theory considers developmental psychology, cognitive science, neuroscience, behavioral science, educational technology research. It puts it all together in a sensible, easy-to-understand framework to yield extraordinary results. “That’s what Learning in the Zone is,” Magana said. “It’s the culmination of that endeavor."
Using Magana’s methods show compounding, proven, accelerated learning results. Local scholars have peer-reviewed his work, and the results are reliable. And now, more than ever, with students needing to catch up to pre-pandemic learning levels, education needs tools like Magana’s. And Magana was confident that education could see a rebounding of V-shaped growth by following his findings.
When writing his new book, Magana wondered if there was a peak zone for athletes, could there also be one in education? “Is there not a similar state of consciousness for the learner,” Magana said. “It turns out there is.”
Dr. Sonny Magana wears quite a few hats in the education space. He is an award-winning teacher, best-selling author, and a forward-thinker of education methods. This innovative global education futurist joined JW Marshall for the second time on Voices of eLearning to discuss his upcoming book, Learning in the Zone: The Seven Habits of Meta Learners.
If one sets aside all the plaudits, accolades, awards, and achievements, at his core Magana says he is a simple teacher who loves learning. “I’ve been working on trying to find a unifying theory of learning,” Magana said. “We have a lot of learning theories that exist. Some are more useful than others, some are out of date, and some need to be updated. When you think about it, our whole education system is in continual flux.”
Magana’s quest for this unifying theory considers developmental psychology, cognitive science, neuroscience, behavioral science, educational technology research. It puts it all together in a sensible, easy-to-understand framework to yield extraordinary results. “That’s what Learning in the Zone is,” Magana said. “It’s the culmination of that endeavor.”
Using Magana’s methods show compounding, proven, accelerated learning results. Local scholars have peer-reviewed his work, and the results are reliable. And now, more than ever, with students needing to catch up to pre-pandemic learning levels, education needs tools like Magana’s. And Magana was confident that education could see a rebounding of V-shaped growth by following his findings.
When writing his new book, Magana wondered if there was a peak zone for athletes, could there also be one in education? “Is there not a similar state of consciousness for the learner,” Magana said. “It turns out there is.”
Tony Wan is no stranger to the Voices of e-Learning podcast. This episode marked Wan’s third appearance. People may know Wan from his days as Managing Editor at EdSurge, but Wan has a new role as Head of Investor Content at Reach Capital. And that role shares competition with some other self-identifiers as Wan considers himself a runner, a gamer, a writer, and a first-time father as of five months ago.
Wan loves that he gets to write about what’s going on in the EdTech space. And Wan’s latest report, U.S. Edtech’s Roaring 20’s Begin with $8.2 Billion Invested in 2021, was a great starting point for his latest conversation with JW Marshall.
When Wan began writing about EdTech, he remembers the excitement when the market hit $1 billion in investments. And 2020’s reach of $2 billion now seems like a distant memory. “When I looked at the numbers last year, in 2021, It quadrupled to $8.2 billion,” Wan said. “This is just U.S. EdTech, and this is primarily for companies serving pre-k, k-12, higher education, and the workforce.”
While $8.2 billion is nothing to sneeze at, Wan said that number still represents only a small percentage of investment capital raised in the U.S. each year. And the lion’s share, roughly 70% of the EdTech investments, went to the top 20-21 deals. “And when you take a look at the 21 biggest deals of 2021, they pretty much span across the board from k-12 to higher ed, and the workforce and consumer,” Wan said. “And in corporate training, the biggest deal went to a company called Articulate.”
The good news for the k-12 space, which Wan said does not always see its fair share of investment opportunities, is that the pandemic may have spurred more interest and activity in this sector. And Wan believes interest in technology investments into this area should continue beyond the pandemic.
An increasing part of John Jorgenson’s role as CMO of the Cambium Learning Group is to help his company explore its role and realize its purpose as a brand. He was excited to share his thoughts with JW Marshall to kick off the second season of Voices of eLearning.
Knowing what a company stands for is critical for education systems when they choose to partner with someone. The product matters, but a brand educator’s trust is equally essential, if not more. Easy, right? Easier said than done.
Jorgenson said purpose starts with a vision, not just a vision for the company, but a vision for the world in which the company operates. “If vision is about the future, then mission is about how you’re going to make that vision happen. What are you actually going to do? What are your primary goals for getting there?”
Missions can be powerful drivers for a company, and visions are great for pushing future boundaries, but what about a company’s purpose? Jorgenson said it all comes down to why a company exists.
“Your purpose can’t just be about your brand or your customers, or the external world,” Jorgenson said. “It has to start, and it can’t ever leave you. It has to be an internal thing that you live and breathe. You must walk the talk. You have to focus on how you are going to bring that purpose to life.” At Cambium, Jorgenson said they maintain the same purpose internally as for their external customers because if they can’t live their purpose, how can they provide it for others?
“Those are the things that a culture is all about,” Jorgenson said. “It has to be real. It has to be personal. It can’t just be words on a wall. And it can’t be something that people aren’t seeing and living every single day.”
An increasing part of John Jorgenson’s role as CMO of the Cambium Learning Group is to help his company explore its role and realize its purpose as a brand. He was excited to share his thoughts with JW Marshall to kick off the second season of Voices of eLearning.
Knowing what a company stands for is critical for education systems when they choose to partner with someone. The product matters, but a brand educator’s trust is equally essential, if not more. Easy, right? Easier said than done.
Jorgenson said purpose starts with a vision, not just a vision for the company, but a vision for the world in which the company operates. “If vision is about the future, then mission is about how you’re going to make that vision happen. What are you actually going to do? What are your primary goals for getting there?”
Missions can be powerful drivers for a company, and visions are great for pushing future boundaries, but what about a company’s purpose? Jorgenson said it all comes down to why a company exists.
“Your purpose can’t just be about your brand or your customers, or the external world,” Jorgenson said. “It has to start, and it can’t ever leave you. It has to be an internal thing that you live and breathe. You must walk the talk. You have to focus on how you are going to bring that purpose to life.” At Cambium, Jorgenson said they maintain the same purpose internally as for their external customers because if they can’t live their purpose, how can they provide it for others?
“Those are the things that a culture is all about,” Jorgenson said. “It has to be real. It has to be personal. It can’t just be words on a wall. And it can’t be something that people aren’t seeing and living every single day.”
In the first episode of Season 2, Voices of E-learning host JW Marshall welcomes co-host Leena Saleh who is joining the show for 2022. A former teacher, recent addition to the Canva team, and creator of educational content, Saleh is heralded as an EdTech guru by Marshall.
Having delivered 85 impactful episodes in its first season during a global pandemic, Marshall noted that both he and Saleh will be expanding on the podcasts success by bringing back some 1st season favorites as well as many new guests. The goal – expand the podcast to include new topics, a guest pool that includes teachers and school administrators, and facilitate greater engagement with the audience.
Season 2 will focus on what is throughout 2022 from what is current and tangible while looking ahead to the summer and fall. EdTech will be a regular topic featuring companies and technology posed to positively disrupt education. The mass exodus of teachers during the pandemic and its impact on education will also be explored. Another significant topic that will be explored is how the trends that began in 2020 and 2021 are expanding into 2022 and what new trends are emerging.
Saleh opened the discussion, “So, let's talk about some of the trends we're going to see in 2022. So, some things that we saw in 2020 and 2021 was kind of a movement towards more e-learning and what e-learning looks like. I think in 2022, we’re going to see some of those e-learning trends really start to dial down and what that’s going to mean for educators, what that means for admin, and what that looks for all the voices of e-learning.”
Marshall concurred, “Yeah, and I think on that note we’re going to see that less is more, that we’re going to see a lot of districts and schools pair back some of their e-learning to really focus in on those programs and technologies that are making the biggest impact. An, really investing more heavily with more singular focus.”
This is just the beginning of an insightful conversation that opens what is certain to be a fantastic season exploring the state of education in 2022.
In the first episode of Season 2, Voices of E-learning host JW Marshall welcomes co-host Leena Saleh who is joining the show for 2022. A former teacher, recent addition to the Canva team, and creator of educational content, Saleh is heralded as an EdTech guru by Marshall.
Having delivered 85 impactful episodes in its first season during a global pandemic, Marshall noted that both he and Saleh will be expanding on the podcasts success by bringing back some 1st season favorites as well as many new guests. The goal – expand the podcast to include new topics, a guest pool that includes teachers and school administrators, and facilitate greater engagement with the audience.
Season 2 will focus on what is throughout 2022 from what is current and tangible while looking ahead to the summer and fall. EdTech will be a regular topic featuring companies and technology posed to positively disrupt education. The mass exodus of teachers during the pandemic and its impact on education will also be explored. Another significant topic that will be explored is how the trends that began in 2020 and 2021 are expanding into 2022 and what new trends are emerging.
Saleh opened the discussion, “So, let's talk about some of the trends we're going to see in 2022. So, some things that we saw in 2020 and 2021 was kind of a movement towards more e-learning and what e-learning looks like. I think in 2022, we’re going to see some of those e-learning trends really start to dial down and what that’s going to mean for educators, what that means for admin, and what that looks for all the voices of e-learning.”
Marshall concurred, “Yeah, and I think on that note we’re going to see that less is more, that we’re going to see a lot of districts and schools pair back some of their e-learning to really focus in on those programs and technologies that are making the biggest impact. An, really investing more heavily with more singular focus.”
This is just the beginning of an insightful conversation that opens what is certain to be a fantastic season exploring the state of education in 2022.
Khan Academy Founder Sal Khan and AT&T Assistant Vice President, Corporate Social Responsibility Mylayna Albright brought their unparalleled insights to MarketScale’s Voices of eLearning.
The episode will source the industry leaders’ insights about learning loss – and explore why, in the face of a year of disruption, Khan Academy and AT&T are focusing instead on engineering learning gains that will elevate students’ experience as they return to campus this fall.
Khan Academy and AT&T are working alongside one another to bring solutions to students across the country, including new educational content. AT&T contributed $3 million to Khan Academy, which will “support personalized student learning, including free virtual summer camps for students” and “help stem learning loss, narrow the homework gap and deliver high-quality learning experiences anywhere today’s connected students learn.”
The digital divide is of chief concern to educators and edtech innovators, and Voices of eLearning host JW Marshall has invited Khan and Albright to this industry-leading edtech platform to help audiences understand ways the nation’s educational system and other governing bodies are working to address that gap.
The EdTech space is in a state of flux. New entrants are hitting the market, while mergers and acquisitions are increasing. Voices of eLearning host JW Marshall spoke with Jamie Candee, CEO of Edmentum, regarding its acquisition of Apex Learning and what the future holds for the new company as they continue to serve the education ecosystem.
“Edmentum is at the intersection of adaptive learning and assessment tools surrounded by a digital curriculum and teacher support and analytics. With the Apex Learning acquisition, we will deepen and broaden virtual and blended learning offerings,” Candee said.
By combining the platforms, Candee noted they can better address the flexibility that the market desires now.
In determining if Apex Learning and Edmentum would have synergies, Candee expressed that culture fit was essential. “My number one job is to have the right group of people and be people first. That translates to how we support our partners as an educator-first organization. We seek to amplify the teacher, and both companies have that alignment.”
So, what does the future hold for the new company and online learning in general? “Education has fundamentally changed forever. We need stability and calm and don’t want to change the user experience. We are taking the time to understand what our partners need today and in the future.”
The company is evolving along with school systems to “build back better.” Their main focus is capacity building, which means taking the time to build a model and moving at a pace that feels comfortable. The big challenge now is how to address interrupted learning, which students felt in different ways in the last year. “This requires measurement tools to aid the educator paired with individualized learning and tools for teachers to group subsets of students and work toward accelerated learning,” Candee shared.
On this episode of Voices of eLearning, Host JW Marshall talked with Steve Mildner, Chief Revenue Officer, k16 Solutions, and Dr. Thomas Waite, Founder, and CEO of K16 Solutions, which is disrupting the education technology industry by developing a solution that reduces transactional distance – the psychological and geographical gap between students and learning.
The trio talked about the LMS at k16 solutions, keeping the student and staff first in decisions, and leaving the ego on the table.
Waite dug into how it is difficult for EdTech startups to keep the student and the staff at the center of decisions, with investors and corporate boards putting pressure on decision making. At k16, though, they are working to guard their culture with a low ego and humility, which is essential for students and staff, Waite said.
At k16 solutions, they provide an LMS that nobody offers, which is driven by proprietary software systems, instructional design methodologies, and student retention initiatives. The idea for k16 came when Waite, Mildner, and the team were constantly solving problems in their systems and how education could be cheaper. With a solid group of software developers, they built their software. So what makes their software stand out above the rest?
“Building in the cloud for infinite scalability with bleeding-edge architecture is the difference-maker, but there’s also an engine that can bring in within seconds many different varieties of how to push and pull content simultaneously with transformation," Waite said.
Every six months or so, we host Tony Wan, Co-Founder, and former Managing Editor at EdSurge, and current Head of Investor Content at Reach Capital, to discuss the state of EdTech Investment. Wan last chatted with Voices of eLearning Host JW Marshall in January when they talked about the $2.2 billion raised in 2020.
During the spring, Wan transitioned from running EdSurge to his current role at Reach Capital, a venture capital firm that focuses on early-stage education technology investments. Wan knew the partners before making the transition, and he knew he wanted to cover investments and get back into the entrepreneurial side of things. Under his new role, he will research and write information focused on investor content, which is similar to what he was writing. Now, though, he will be making the news and not just covering it.
“As the industry evolves, I’m really surprised at how many new things I’m learning about different kinds of markets where there’s certainly an education or learning component to it." - Tony Wan
After talking about Wan’s move, they dug into investment in EdTech. He noted that while most think of EdTech as exclusive to K-12, post-secondary, and early childhood, the industry has a lot more breadth. The EdTech space often intersects and merges with other industries, such as family tech, mental health, and physical health.
“As the industry evolves, I’m really surprised at how many new things I’m learning about different kinds of markets where there’s certainly an education or learning component to it,” Wan said before digging into the deals currently happening in the market.
In his most recent piece, he noted the pace and flurry of the deals happening as investment capital hit $3.2 billion in the first half of 2021. Current deals he covered include the recent filing for an IPO by Duolingo. Publicly-traded company 2U, a company that provides short courses, boot camps, and online programs from universities, acquired EdX for $800 million. The largest investment so far in 2021 went to Kajabi, who raised $550 million.
On this episode of Voices of eLearning, Host JW Marshall talked with Mark Jones, Vice President of Sales at Frontrow, a company that develops network-based solutions for intercom, paging, bells, mass notification, classroom sound, lesson sharing, AV control, and management. The duo talked about Jones’s career and the importance of classroom audio.
When you think of classroom audio, you might think of the intercom systems that use to blast the Pledge of Allegiance and the morning announcements. But, these systems have become more technologically advanced and more robust. It is still the system that amplifies the teacher’s voice, but it is also all the multimedia in a classroom.
“Evidence shows that kids in amplified classrooms, versus kids not, benefit greatly from being able to hear well." - Mark Jones
“It is all the curriculum that’s a little bit more interactive,” Jones said. “We’re using lots of technology to make construction better and engage students in a new way. The classroom audio, the sound part of it, is just a key function.”
A self-proclaimed AV nerd, Jones has been working in classroom audio for over 20 years. Around this time, studies came out about classroom audio. Putting a microphone on a teacher is not about making them loud, but distributing their voice clearly so that all students get the spoken instruction. Sometimes kids might have hearing issues, or they have shorter attention spans.
“Evidence shows that kids in amplified classrooms, versus kids not, benefit greatly from being able to hear well,” Jones said.
Teachers often get vocal fatigued from speaking to classrooms all day, having to broadcast over ambient noise, as well as the distance between teacher and students. The simple act of wearing a microphone can improve this aspect of the job, according to Jones.
How has e-learning transformed in terms of workplace training and adult learning over the last decade? Where is it headed next? Christy Tucker, Learning Experience Design Consultant for Syniad Learning, joined host JW Marshall for an in-depth discussion of the trends. Tucker specializes in scenario-based learning using storytelling and technology to help create better learning experiences.
“I see increasing interest in doing more than just checking a box to say the training was done,” Tucker said. She believes the e-learning field is pushing away from a single course model to a wider variety of solutions including micro-learning, scenario-based learning, blended learning, and virtual instructor-led training.
“If you can put some of this in a story and have an emotional connection you’re much more likely to change attitudes or motivate people.” -Christy Tucker
The pandemic accelerated a move toward online learning and remote work has become more commonplace and organizations are looking for ways to scale training for a distributed workforce. Tucker sees this move to hybrid and remote work solutions creating a growth area in e-learning.
Are new technologies like artificial intelligence for content creation going to take the place of instructional designers? Tucker believes technology will augment the work of designers and points out that, “we are a very long way away from AI being able to do anything with emotional content.”
Tucker sees emotionally engaging and scenario-based solutions as essential to the future of e-learning. While it may be easy to list content and facts, she believes that “If you can put some of this in a story and have an emotional connection you’re much more likely to change attitudes or motivate people.”
Online learning was steadily growing pre-pandemic. Then it reached a considerable acceleration, but universities are taking a new look at their model to continue gaining new students and remaining solvent. The answer could be subscription-based learning. Discussing this topic and more, Voices of eLearning host JW Marshall spoke with Ray Schroeder, Associate Vice-Chancellor, University of Illinois-Springfield, and Senior Fellow, UPCEA (University Professional and Continuing Education Association).
Schroeder has been an educator for 50 years and launched the University of Illinois-Springfield online learning program in 1997. After 24 years in higher ed online learning, he reported that of the last graduating class, 98% had taken at least one online course.
“Online students are the new market, and moving to subscriptions stabilizes income.”
While his university was in a better position than most, Schroeder counseled that enhancement is necessary for all. “More instructional designers, as well as coaching by faculty members that have the most experience teaching online, is spurring incremental improvement.”
Schroeder noted that a big challenge right now is that the 18-year-old traditional student is shrinking. “The population of the U.S. isn’t broadly growing, so we’re going to be at some population cliffs soon.”
Universities are strategizing to capture more adult learners, as that’s where the trend is going, which could be the perfect fit for subscription-based learning. “The subscription model is in play for the for-profit colleges and online course providers like Coursera. Even Google has a subscription certificate program. The new student is the 60-year-old curriculum. Students will come in and leave and return for certifications and continuing education.”
Traditional college enrollment went down every year in the last 10 years, so Schroeder advised that they’ll need to consider it to remain operating. “Online students are the new market, and moving to subscriptions stabilizes income.”
On this episode of Voices of eLearning, Host JW Marshall talked with Dr. Narine Hall, Founder, and CEO, InSpace, a video conferencing platform that mimics personal interactions between teachers and students in a virtual classroom. They talked about Hall’s career, InSpace, getting technology to work for educators, and their recent round of funding.
Hall is a data science assistant professor and academic program director at Champlain College. She and her Co-founder, Haykanush Lputyan, a software, and video engineer, launched InSpace in 2020. They were frustrated that traditional virtual meeting classrooms limited student-teacher interactions. Hall was teaching a class at the time she thought would be easy to transition online.
“We had our first zoom lesson, and I asked a question, and 25 students tried to answer at the same time,” Hall said, “and then there was a pause, and it was awkward the rest of the time.”
The software disrupted the education process, so Hall and Lputyan set out to disrupt education software. It took years to sharpen her teaching skills, so she wanted software that could match how she taught and not have to make adjustments based on incongruent software.
The human connection was the piece that was missing for Hall.
“I wanted to make sure that my students get heard, they have a chance to talk, and it wasn’t just one person talks, and everybody listens” -Narine Hall
InSpace recently went through a major round of funding, with a $2.6 million investment from venture capital firm Boston Seed Capital and $1.5 million each from Gutbrain Ventures and PBJ Capital.
There have been many differing opinions about education and learning over the past year, especially concerning the educational response to the pandemic. But, to break through the noise, accurate information is required.
On this episode of Voices of eLearning, Host JW Marshall talked with John Jorgenson, CMO of Cambium Learning Group, a portfolio company, about education and learning over the past year.
Jorgenson started as an editor but moved into strategic marketing at K12 imprints. In his current role, he helps the brands under Cambium tell their stories.
“They felt they were actually in a better position having gone through the pandemic, having gone through all the challenges" - John Jorgenson
Jorgenson and Cambium recently partnered with a research firm to gather data via a survey. The results they turned up in this are pretty interesting. In January, they partnered with Hanover Research; 100 administrators from around the country participated in the survey. As with most surveys, they found some information that proved valuable, while some of it did not.
The first key finding was the sheer amount of absenteeism over the past year. Right behind this was the challenge of remote learning via EdTech. Teachers used technology, but as the need expanded, they were bombarded with the sheer amount of EdTech on the market. The important thing for educators was to find the essential tools they needed and what would help their students.
When it comes to technology in the classroom, equity becomes an issue. This was another key finding from their study. In more impoverished neighborhoods, students had a hard time with online learning if they didn’t have the proper technology at home. Around 50 percent of educators were concerned with equal access to technology across the board.
But, there’s a bigger surprise. Seventy-five percent of administrators were optimistic about the future.
“They felt they were actually in a better position having gone through the pandemic, having gone through all the challenges,” Jorgenson said.
Margareta Bancroft, Founder TechEd Connect Executive Recruiters, started her company ten years ago after beginning her career as a science and technology teacher. She earned a masters degree in educational behavior and a PhD in educational leadership and combined her skills to focus on recruiting for leadership positions and senior sales at educational technology companies.
Bancroft joins host JW Marshall for an insightful conversation that covers topics from how the pandemic has led to long lasting changes in the education sector to what the best strategies are for matching high-performing people with what companies are looking for. Educational technology is no longer just a supplement but is now part of the core experience with most institutions using some form of hybrid or remote learning. With these changes, the demand for high-level ed-tech professionals has taken off.
While each company has specific skills and traits they’re looking for in employees, Bancroft stresses the importance of articulating a clear vision of what their needs and expectations for a position are. Likewise, candidates need to present a clear message of their strengths. “Listening to both sides and matching up the values, we call that the culture, but it’s the values, it's the attitude, it’s the passion. It's what motivates each of them,” Bancroft said.
In an industry where relationships matter more than anything else, Bancroft’s goal is to bring honest, sincere people together with authentic and transparent companies. In a mission-driven industry like education collaboration among companies comes with the territory and putting the right people in the right place is a win for everyone.
As our education systems begin returning to a ‘new normal’ after the pandemic, the lessons of the last year are informing changes and innovations in the industry. Joining host JW Marshall, Laura Neville, Chief Product Officer, EVERFI, a leading ed-tech company, delves into the impact of the pandemic and what EVERFI is doing to fine-tune their products and prepare for the future. “We don’t just build once and release to the market, we’re constantly upgrading and updating and as we’re able to innovate we’ll do that,” Neville said.
EVERFI is dedicated to creating interesting and engaging digital curriculums for today’s learners whether they’re K-12 or adults in need of continuing education. “You’ve got to meet the learner where they are but more importantly you’ve got to be quick about what you’re trying to teach and you need to design super interesting experiences that learners can identify with,” Neville said. Leveraging user feedback from students and teachers, combined with back-end data collection is essential to creating these meaningful educational experiences. “We don’t just build once and release to the market, we’re constantly upgrading and updating and as we’re able to innovate we’ll do that,” Neville said.
Neville and EVERFI have a substantial and robust curriculum in the social and emotional space and are expanding into mental wellness. Among the top three concerns of their network of teachers, the mental health space is particularly important for recovering from the disruptions of the last year.
When it comes to learning materials and professional development for adults, Neville goes into depth on how these “snackable” curriculum modules need to be bite-sized and engaging through text, interactivity, video, and motion graphics. According to Neville, “Our goal is that our users aren’t just learning something but they feel equipped so they can go take action.”
Life is about change. It can be hard and uncomfortable, but it’s necessary to improve and realize opportunities. The world of education knows this, too, and taking those steps toward change can be slow but steady. Voices of eLearning host JW Marshall welcomed his long-time friend and fellow podcast host Dustin Odham to talk about change and his work at FranklinCovey Education, where he serves as Managing Director. The organization services K-12 and higher ed with training, coaching, and culture transformation strategies, striving to build better leaders.
Odham described himself and FranklinCovey as on a mission to unleash human potential. “We want to create systems for predictable outcomes for students and districts.”
To do that, technology innovation is a big part. From that lens, Odham said, “Schools are yearning for multiple modalities. There was a bias toward in-person learning, but the pandemic changed the focus to high-end, high impact learning.”
Odham also noted the importance of mental health, which has been called the second pandemic. “It’s important that schools are thinking about adults and taking care of them so they can help others.”
Odham explained that implementing social-emotional learning has long been a “check the box curriculum.” He added, “You can change anybody but yourself, so programs that support being reflective work.”
Marshall and Odham also discussed the latter’s podcast, The Change Starts Here. “The company’s been on the front lines of solving human issues, and we wanted to demonstrate thought leadership in the education space to promote change and impact.”
Odham’s guests have been from all areas of education and sharing stories of success and failure. “We have topics and guests that speak to heart and head issues with takeaways and nuggets of practical advice.”
On this episode of Voices of eLearning Host, JW Marshall spoke with Danny Hundert, the Founder of Ivy Camps, about something that hasn't been discussed before - summer camps. The duo dug into Hundert's experience at summer camps and their role in the growth and learning of children.
After college and working at a couple of startups, Hundert decided to follow his passion - summer camps. He spent his youth at summer camps, then worked at them, so it felt natural to move into the next step of developing one.
"I grew up going to summer camp. I worked at a summer camp for ten years in high school and college as well," Hundert said. He decided to start a summer camp, which in his mind would be great, but it turned out that running a business is challenging. His first camp in Colorado, they scrapped to get enrollment into the camp, and they ended up having over 500 enrollees. That's when he knew he had a good idea for a summer camp model.
"We give a lot of choices to the kids," Hundert said. "We really emphasize following their passions, and the tenants I feel summer camp brings to kids. Of course, they're gaining skills, and they're learning. But, they get this sense of community you can't get elsewhere. You start to learn tolerance, acceptance, and above all else, self-discovery. If we can teach kids to follow their passions and to really pursue life with vigor, and excitement then we have done our job at summer camp."
Listen to the episode to learn more about Hundert's summer camps and find out why he took his camps from Colorado to Shanghai.
In the time of a pandemic, having tools to help control student movement is essential. This wasn’t the initial goal of Eduspire, but it is crucial in this new world.
On this episode of Voices of eLearning, Host JW Marshall talked with Eduspire Executive Director Nathan Hammond. The duo dug into Hammond’s history and the positive aspect of controlling student traffic using a digital hall pass.
“Eduspire is a state-wide leader in continuing education with an emphasis on technology integration and innovation. Eduspire offers professional development courses for educators.” The company also developed software to help educators as part of their solutions offerings.
Hammond was a teacher for 20 years, where he taught English and ESL. He grew up in Europe, and by the time he graduated high school, he had already traveled to at least a dozen countries. As a teacher, he loved teaching and tried to inspire his students.
Then he stumbled into EdTech while he was working in professional development. He helped create a partnership with a local university so he and some colleagues could continue their education. He wanted to solve the problem of assisting educators in getting more experience and education. This eventually grew into Eduspire in 2012.
“It has about 12,000 teachers that have taken courses,” he said. “We also have a comfortable, flexible masters.”
At this point, some of his colleagues started asking him if he was going to leave teaching. But, he was enjoying himself and had no plans to leave. Then a school administrator came to him with an idea where they would use spreadsheets. He told them he and his team could find a solution.
“I think my development team and I can do this,” Hammond said. He had good working relationships with the district and knew they could execute the project. That pushed him into working part-time for the two sides of Eduspire and working part-time for the school district.
One of the first solutions Eduspire created was the e-hall pass. It’s a digital solution for the hall pass. Especially in a pandemic, as students work to go back to school, the software can help control traffic in hallways and bathrooms.
JW Marshall, host of Voices of eLearning, spoke with Harris Goodman, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and Strategy of Achieve3000, about how Achieve meets the needs of students in this new pandemic landscape.
For 20 years, Achieve3000 has been empowering educators and helping them unlock student potential and accelerate learning growth. Now, more than ever, schools and districts need proven solutions that can help them address unfinished learning and prepare students for success.
Goodman elaborated that this makes the service that EdTech companies held to a higher standard. They are being held accountable.
Technology has also been an added benefit for student learning. With the pandemic, students were forced inside and had to rely on their tech. This accelerated technology learning in some ways if they took on the challenge. Tech also allows for students to be able to access more information. For example, students can learn to research and get information on their own.
While there have been a lot of good things that came from the pandemic in terms of learning, some things still need to be improved. Data interoperability is essential to Goodman, as teachers and parents need to have a continuous flow of information between platforms.
Marshall and Goodman believe that technology will improve education, as educators will have time to devote to lesson plans, educating, and doing the things they actually love.
Career readiness has been a missing piece for many students post-high school. Building a plan for careers and college is complex and overwhelming. However, the world of preparing students for life after school is changing, thanks to the software platform Xello. The Co-Founders, Jeff Harris, and Matt McQuillen joined Voices of eLearning host JW Marshall to share their story.
The company began 25 years ago, long before software and applications were a click away, but they had a purpose. McQuillen said, “We wanted to help students plan for the future.”
Harris added, “Many can relate to not knowing what to do next, and we took the unique approach to build this from the student perspective.”
Career development isn’t a single exercise or decision. Many happen along the way; thus, the earlier students start, the better the outcomes.
McQuillen noted, “Planning is one piece of their career journey. But a plan demonstrates commitment. A student with a plan is much different from one without.”
Because the path can be complex, it was important to architect the software into three buckets. Jeff explained, “First is the foundation of self-knowledge and knowing what makes you tick. Next is understanding your options and connect with real-world experiences. Third is the planning aspect and setting goals.”
The platform is now in use in school districts across the world with heavy engagement. McQuillen noted that average sessions are 19 minutes, which is a long time for adolescent minds to remain interested. One reason for the success is that students were part of the design through feedback interviews.
The software and its functionality also draw inspiration from education policy around career development. “The vision and policy, however, don’t translate to the reality. So there’s a big gap, and that’s our role to close it.”
JW Marshall, the host of Voices of eLearning, spoke with Michael Spencer, Founder, and CEO of Global Expansion Strategies, an international investment and strategic growth consulting firm that helps early and mid-size education technology companies expand internationally.
Marshall and Spencer started their conversation about the worldwide education system over the past year. The learning model for private institutions has been a blend of hybrid learning, with some being in-person and the rest being online.
"When we last spoke, the going model was a combination of blended and hybrid learning," Spencer said. He noted that many countries where they have clients have struggled to continue to provide education. "We've been advising customers to shift the blended learning model to go fully virtual," he said. "It allows the schools to sprinkle in brick-and-mortar, face-to-face learning when needed."
A lot of the operators are starting to see the cost benefits of virtual learning. Schools have experimented with these models, which has given them the chance to explore these options. They've found that it's not only cheaper, but in some instances, it even works better than in-person learning. Schools are not adding resources to online knowledge, which is helping to improve the online system.
"It's because these schools have been able to transition to blended learning," he said. "They've been able to iron a lot of the issues they had."
They ended the show with a story of success. Spencer talked about a project that's midway through, where the school operators have seen better student outcomes for students that they have put the resources into localizing the content, making it available for the public school system.
Twenty or so years ago, EdTech wasn’t a thing. Now, though, there are plenty of companies that develop products for school districts. The missing piece of the puzzle is when they can’t get their product in front of school administrators.
Enter Doug Roberts, Founder and CEO of the Institute for Education Innovation. They are working to bridge that gap. He talked about this on this episode of Voices of eLearning with JW Marshall. Doug has worked with edTech entrepreneurs and administrators for over 20 years. When he noticed a gap between those who run schools and those who start companies to help schools, he began IEI.
The Institute for Education Innovation “bridges the gaps between the individuals and organizations committed to seeing students succeed in school and life, creating a safe space for constructive problem-solving and innovative thinking.”
According to Roberts, superintendents love talking to vendors, but they want to speak in a productive way. They don’t want to be pitched random stuff. IEI set up an event called the IEI Superintendents Summits to bridge this gap. It helps connect edTech companies with school administrators, and in a way that’s helpful for the school staff.
The duo also talked about technology’s role moving forward after the pandemic. Schools are planning to reduce screen time once they return in person. Roberts believes EdTech will always be a part of K-12 schools, but there will be a push in Fall 2021 to scale back screens and increase one-on-one learning.
School districts across the country are receiving new COVID relief funding. How should they wisely invest the funds? Technology, infrastructure, and teacher training are three areas that former Michigan State Superintendent Tom Watkins believes should be a priority. Watkins joined Voices of eLearning to discuss this topic and his career.
Besides serving as state superintendent, Watkins also led the Detroit-Wayne Mental Health Authority. Now he’s a global education and business consultant.
“I’ve had an eclectic career based upon a desire to make a difference for young people. I’ve always wanted to add value to their lives, and technology is an important tool to make this happen,” Watkins said.
Technology delivers opportunity and agility, yet most school districts were woefully unprepared to pivot during the pandemic. “Some districts excelled; others did not. Policymakers should look at what went right and wrong for future preparations.”
Public schools will receive $130 billion in COVID relief to deal with learning loss and level up. “They should invest in a way for the future, not remediation and plugging holes. Technology can accelerate learning. Educators should pull up anchors from the past and throw them out and move toward project-based learning,” Watkins shared.
Watkins is a proponent of project-based learning because it prepares students for the real world and being problem solvers. Technology makes it scalable and optimal. He shared an example of this wherein a local mayor is challenging kids with project-based learning. “They’ll be asked to look at problems in their community from their level and work to come up with answers. They’ll then present them to the city council with the opportunity that some ideas could be implemented and funded.”
Technology should be a supportive player in the world of education, with the teacher at the center. When deployed effectively and properly, it can enable educators to engage and connect. Discussing this concept and more, Voices of eLearning host JW Marshall spoke with Wei Oania, Global Education General Manager with the Intel Internet of Things (IoT) Group. Wei leads a team that focuses on IoT needs for learning, working in concert with other groups that focus on connectivity and devices.
“The IoT group offers direct support to make learning better. The goal is for it to be the best collaborator, not a distraction,” Oania said.
Oania has personal experience to bring to her work as a mother of three. She also has a global view, working with China, other Asian countries, and the U.S. There are differences. “About 95% of Chinese schools have digital boards for K-12. Connectivity is widely deployed, and the infrastructure exists,” she noted.
Whereas, Oania said U.S. schools are behind, only now mass adopting tech. Oania and her colleagues have conversations directly with educators to understand their struggles and develop roadmaps for engagement, collaboration, managing digital footprints, and adapting learning.
“These were problems teachers faced before the pandemic. It just shined a brighter light on it. We strive to enhance education and the educators with technology,” Oania shared.
Intel’s goals in the education space are to train and empower teachers and ensure smart learning can be applied to every student. “We want to provide simple solutions and also use data to eliminate repetitive tasks so they can focus on what they want to teach and engaging students.”
Technology to support the learning experience is wide-ranging, and Voices of eLearning seeks to highlight those making a difference. Capturing voice, music, and other audio can be a creative gateway for students and teachers. That’s what Soundtrap at Spotify is facilitating. Audrey O’Clair, Education Specialist at Soundtrap at Spotify, talked about giving students a voice with host JW Marshall.
O’Clair was a special education teacher that left the classroom to consult with EdTech. Working with Soundtrap was one of her first post-classroom roles, which eventually became a full-time job. “The app was intended for musicians, with no mention of it in education, but teachers started using it. Then we won an award from a library association, which opened up another lane for the education market.”
The company's growth led to an acquisition by Spotify, allowing the technology to reach more users. The company also branched out from just music.
“There’s a transcription tool to speak your content and then transcribe it. You can then edit the audio through the text,” O’Clair said.
Soundtrap also enables a new kind of access. “As long as students have an internet connection, device, some creativity, and a teacher that cares, it can support the musically inclined, those that need to hear their voice or learning a new language, and podcasters,” O’Clair commented.
A student can find and share their voice, allowing teachers to multiply their efforts because they only have one set of ears. It’s about more than the recording; it’s about social-emotional learning. “They can capture their voice, manipulate it, add friends’ voices; then find an audience, and it’s an artifact that lives on.”
Synergies often bring together the ideal parts, which can then work together better to deliver solutions. Such is the story of the guests on Voices of eLearning. JW Marshall spoke with Darryl Krall, National Sales Manager for Panasonic America, and Dr. Sonny Magana, Founder and CEO of Magana Education. Together the two are partnering to embed Dr. Magana’s T3 Framework into Panasonic’s higher ed solutions.
Dr. Magana is a lifelong innovator in education and technology. He was a teacher, principal, and director of the first CyberSchool. Through his research, he developed the T3 Framework, which includes a sequence of learning strategies that increase learning productivity and student achievement.
Dr. Magana explained, “It’s the sweet spot of where technology, learning, and pedagogy meet. It is toolsets based on principles of how people learn.” He went on to define the three Ts. “There’s translational learning, which is the basics. Then you do something with it, and it’s transformational. Finally, you can apply knowledge with transcendent learning.”
Panasonic was already working with Dr. Magana pre-pandemic, but after, he described it as a “marvelous partnership that took an unexpected turn.”
Once the pandemic hit, Dr. Magana came to Panasonic with his research on online learning to build a foundation. This created the five critical commitments for higher ed, which can also be applied universally.
The basis of the partnership is integrating Panasonic’s AV tools with the T3 Framework and its strategies, processes, and resources. This bundling gives purpose to the technology so that its use is optimized and delivers better learning outcomes.
The feedback from Panasonic customers has been extremely positive, as it keeps students engaged whether in the classroom or remote. Krall described its giving higher ed new opportunities, as well. “It’s changing how institutions are looking at growing their student base. It’s not just traditional students, but they can broaden their audience to non-traditional as well.”
The process of applying to college continues to get more complex, especially for international students. The burden is on the student, requiring time, money, and research. That creates inequities, but the platform Concourse is changing that. Voices of eLearning host JW Marshall sat down with the company’s Founder and CEO, Joe Morrison.
Morrison has a rich technology background and later became familiar with higher education through his wife’s company and working in China. He realized there were significant challenges in the college admissions process, and Concourse was the solution.
“The university admissions process is too complicated. It’s hard to navigate, and there’s a lot of anxiety. It’s also challenging for university recruiters to get their stories out there. It’s two problems our platform solves. The premise is having universities apply for students, flipping the marketplace,” Morrison explained.
Students create profiles with their grades, interests, criteria, and budget. Counselors then verify the accounts. Next, universities search for students and extend offers. “It’s an empowering process for students,” Morrison added.
It’s also helping admissions offices to evolved. They can see where they have gaps in programs and offer more admissions in those. They aren’t waiting for applications to come in and have access to real-time data through the platform’s dashboard.
Thus far, the platform has facilitated many positive outcomes. “Last year, our admit rate was 72 percent. So, seven out of 10 times, the study received an admission.”
The system is really for students who are unsure of where they want to go and what they want to do. “It helps them find options for a one-time fee of only $75. Many discover what they want in the process, like an Egyptian student I spoke to recently. She had six offers from five countries and found the right program.”
Voices of eLearning enjoys bringing success stories to listeners that demonstrate the power of technology, innovation, and opportunity. Host JW Marshall welcomed Anne Wintroub, Director of Social Innovation at the AT&T Foundation, and Max Tuchman, CEO and Co-Founder of Caribu.
Wintroub leads the AT&T Aspire Accelerator program, which provides investments to early EdTech companies. She’s been with the company for 10 years and previously worked with nonprofits in the space. Tuchman is a former 12th-grade teacher that started Caribu, an app that creates virtual playdates with interactive video calls that include books and activities.
Caribu was a recipient of the AT&T Aspire Accelerator program. Wintroub said, “The platform and Max wowed us.”
Tuchman then shared how AT&T made a difference during the pandemic. She said that once they realized children would be out of school, they decided to go free, which was on March 14. In 24 hours, subscribers grew by 10X. “I got a text from Anne on that Sunday asking how AT&T could help. I was so grateful and thought AT&T could sponsor subscriptions, and they did with a $560,000 investment.”
Wintroub and Tuchman both realize there’s still a huge inequity in education, calling in not a gap but a canyon. Tuchman added, “It’s not going to be solved by one company or technology but by many.”
That’ sentiment was the catalyst to launch Caribu. As a 12th grade teacher, she saw that these almost adults weren’t ready for the real world, which started in early childhood development.
“It was a pipeline problem, and I knew I had to focus on early childhood literacy because we spend so much of our day reading. Every child needs equitable access to early childhood literacy experiences.”
Professionals tasked with developing and implementing learning modules for organizations face many challenges and opportunities. The design of the course and learning experience make all the difference in changing behaviors. Talking about this topic, Voices of eLearning host JW Marshall spoke with Dr. Britt Andreatta, CEO of 7th Mind.
Dr. Andreatta is a thought leader in the space. She began her career in higher ed at the University of California Santa Barbara, working on student success programs. She then moved on to the Chief Learning Officer at Lynda. From those experiences, she authored three books on brain science and how it impacts learning. She then started 7th Mind as a consultant and offers a trainer certification program.
Dr. Andreatta first shared the biggest evolutions in online learning. “Access is one part; there are no more gatekeepers. We’ve democratized learning. There are also lots of platforms and types. For learning professionals, making the right choice on tech to support learning design and the journey for the learner is critical,” she said.
That’s because people are biologically driven to learn, but too much complexity can derail efforts. The pandemic took online learning to a new level. “There has been a breakthrough moment, but just because you do it online, doesn’t mean it makes sense. Blended learning is having the right tools at the right time,” Dr. Andreatta commented.
What eLearning professionals need to start with is how to turn learning moments into memory and drive behavior change. It’s not a one size fits all model. They have to choose the best tools and types of learning for the behavior change. “Learning designers need to be clear about what metric they’re trying to move and what behavior drives it. Those are the two ends of the bridge, and they have to build the stepping stones.”
Voices of eLearning brings audiences a wide-ranging interview with one of the biggest proponents of EdTech and education for all. Host JW Marshall welcomed Deborah Quazzo. Quazzo is Managing Partner at GSV Ventures and the Co-Founder of ASU+GSV Summit. Quazzo has been in the space for over 25 years as an investor, philanthropist, and evangelist.
“I always thought it was a category that deserved more investment because it was solving real societal challenges. Now seeing it come to fruition is a bit of silver lining of COVID with a rush of capital,” Quazzo said.
One of the most important parts of her EdTech career is the Summit, which she founded in cooperation with Arizona State University (ASU). “It’s a fantastic partnership, and we’ve been able to accomplish great things around the transformation of education delivery,” Quazzo shared.
The 2020 event was only weeks away when the pandemic hit, which meant a quick pivot and postponement. They did hold the event virtually, welcoming over 15,000 attendees, representing 70% of the world’s countries. The central theme—how to improve the delivery of education for all, and technology is moving that forward. There’s still work to be done.
“We thought we had fixed the digital divide with schools wired, but we didn’t solve it at home. Low-income students didn’t have devices or bandwidth,” Quazzo said.
That’s changing, and it took the pandemic to put in more front and center.
Moving forward, Quazzo shared she thought the future was hybrid learning, as it could feel the individual learning gaps of all varieties.
The landscape of education goes beyond K-12, and some companies are stepping up to make this happen. “We need to educate the 70% of the population that doesn’t have a college degree. They don’t necessarily need a degree but some sort of skill mastery to maintain economic relevance. All people deserve access to the future.”
The original flex time in school was study hall, but there have been many changes to that model. Now schools are more intentional about these periods, and it continues to evolve. Talking about flex time and its future, Voices of eLearning host JW Marshall spoke with James Bacon, Director of Outreach and Operations for Edficiency. Edficiency offers easy software that allows districts to simplify scheduling and logistics around flex time.
Bacon began his career as a teacher, moved into coaching teachers, and then became part of the EdTech space.
Bacon started the chat with this important perspective. “Time is the most valuable resource we have with kids. Not all kids get the same thing out of a lesson or learn at the same rate. Ideally, we want to bring kids together with teachers that need more time together.”
Purposeful flex time was becoming the norm; then everything went virtual. While schools were scrambling to get online learning going, they didn’t forget about flex time; the logistics behind it changed. “Students need more one-on-one time, and now schools are offering online options for kids to connect with teachers,” Bacon said.
Flex time is not a one-size-fits-all, and Bacon thinks it’s heading more toward personalized learning. It’s also about letting students own their own time and can bridge the gap with learning loss.
Bacon also shared some examples and success stories. One illustrated a new take on homerooms. “They wanted to do more with this time but were bogged down by logistics. They kept students in the same room. They had a paradigm shift in their program, matching students with one advisor throughout high school. Their attendance improved, test scores rose, and 96% of students really valued the flex time.”
Host JW Marshall welcomed award-winning freelance eLearning designer Tim Slade to offer insights. Slade also founded the eLearning Designer Academy where he supports other designers with courses.
Slade, like many in the field, didn’t have a typical journey to eLearning. He started in retail loss prevention. He was so good at his job; the company wanted him to train others. That was his introduction to online training, and he’s charted a new path ever since.
Coming from unique backgrounds isn’t a challenge for eLearning designers. What is, according to Slade, is understanding how to create good learning for adults.
That central concern accelerated during the pandemic. Slade explained, “Companies realized they would have to deliver training virtually and did some haphazard conversion, which worked for the first part of the year. Then they reevaluated and determined they needed good virtual learning content.”
Slade defined some of those best practices. “Create training that’s actually solving training issues. It’s looking at the cause of the performance issue and delivering something that will change behavior, not a knowledge dump.”
Slade also spoke about the concept of learning, in general. “Learning is a process of experiences over time, not a thing that happens in a classroom or behind the screen. It’s often a mix of different learning opportunities.”
Companies will find no magical offering that shrinks an 8-hour class to a quick video. Approaching as a way to “speed up” learning isn’t effective.
Voices of eLearning tackled the subjects with a prominent voice in the sector, eSchool News editor Kevin Hogan. Hogan is also a fellow podcaster on the show EdTech Today.
Hogan has been covering the space for years and noted that school districts accelerated adoption of technology, a vertical that was typically 10 years behind corporate adoption.
So, what did they learn from this acceleration? “2020 was a year of triage and keeping schools connected of schools. Now, we have lessons learned and can apply them,” Hogan said.
However, the landscape in the U.S. education system is complex. “There are 15,000 school districts with their own school boards, bank accounts, strategies, and challenges,” Hogan noted.
Hogan commends school districts for “stepping up” and trying to close the digital divide during the pandemic.
Hogan and Marshall also discussed social-emotional learning and student mental health, which had greater prominence during the pandemic. “Using technology in video calls creates this strange intimacy, and once you get comfortable, students can express themselves more,” Hogan added.
According to what Hogan's hearing from districts, video call platforms for guidance counselor conversations are likely to stay. They simply work and offer a less stigmatizing experience than going to the principal or guidance counselor's office.
Another change that has value to impact the future is recognizing parents. “Parents are now included in the conversation and are much more involved, and that’s a net positive to the situation,” Hogan said.
In most cases, schools and companies that leverage eLearning look to a Learning Management System (LMS) as the foundation. Often, an LMS can be challenging to customize and optimize for better outcomes. That’s where experts can change the game, which Voices of eLearning is tackling by welcoming the co-founders of eThink, Brian Carlson and Cheryl Patsavos. eThink is fully-managed eLearning solution that supports and augments the world’s most used open-source LMS, Moodle.
Carlson and Patsavos started the company 13 years ago after working together as consultants for another EdTech company. “We experienced the needs of EdTech clients up close, which spurred the development of eThink,” Patsavos said.
While the company has been in the online learning space for over a decade, things changed last year. “It was an incredibly interesting year, and there was a panic to quickly plan for fully going online, and we had a busy time supporting clients,” Carlson noted.
The acceleration to adopt led to a five-fold increase in usage for their product. The surge wasn’t just K-12 and higher ed but also corporate learning. This transformation to digital learning experiences exposed a big gap, and it wasn’t the technology. Most instructors still don’t feel comfortable delivering online learning.
eThink is prepared to fill those needs in the market. The company, along with Open LMS, joined together through an acquisition by Learning Technologies Group.
Patsavos described these possibilities. “We’ll be able to deploy new services like content creation and be able to innovate for the betterment of the product and client service.”
Host JW Marshall welcomed David Lopez, Senior Manager, Strategic Alliances, North America ED at ScreenBeam.
Lopez started his career in the classroom. Then he trained teachers on how to use technology before joining ScreenBeam. He now works with districts across the country and globally to solve tech problems using ScreenBeam’s wireless display technology.
Lopez shared what’s he’s heard regarding the return to classrooms. “They have safety in mind and creating a contactless as possible environment. Most are going to have a hybrid model, which requires integrations for remote interaction. Our guidance is to maximize those CARES dollars for technology that will last and be functional for the future.”
Lopez and Marshall also discussed teacher adoption of technology and keeping it accessible. “Create a baseline that everyone is comfortable with, so you don’t leave anyone behind. It has to be flexible,” he noted.
Teachers are witnessing some silver linings with remote learning, including students interacting more in that setting than in the classroom. It’s possible to take that new dynamic back to the in-person room with contactless technology.
“Classroom agility is teachers moving around the room with their wireless technology. This can increase engagement, and teachers aren’t stuck in the front of the room. They are moving around, which means students have to focus in different areas,” Lopez said.
School districts have to pay attention to investments to achieve this unplugged setting. Lopez cautioned, “Districts can make mistakes, spending money on digital displays and devices but then don’t have the connection piece, so they’re back at square room plugging in.”
The topic for this conversation covers the safe and effective return to the classroom with technology. Host JW Marshall welcomed David Lopez, Senior Manager, Strategic Alliances, North America EUD at ScreenBeam.
Lopez started his career in the classroom. Then he trained teachers on how to use technology before joining ScreenBeam. He now works with districts across the country and globally to solve tech problems using ScreenBeam’s wireless display technology.
Lopez shared what’s he’s heard regarding the return to classrooms. “They have safety in mind and creating a contactless as possible environment. Most are going to have a hybrid model, which requires integrations for remote interaction. Our guidance is to maximize those CARES dollars for technology that will last and be functional for the future.”
Lopez and Marshall also discussed teacher adoption of technology and keeping it accessible. “Create a baseline that everyone is comfortable with, so you don’t leave anyone behind. It has to be flexible,” he noted.
Teachers are witnessing some silver linings with remote learning, including students interacting more in that setting than in the classroom. It’s possible to take that new dynamic back to the in-person room with contactless technology.
“Classroom agility is teachers moving around the room with their wireless technology. This can increase engagement, and teachers aren’t stuck in the front of the room. They are moving around, which means students have to focus in different areas,” Lopez said.
School districts have to pay attention to investments to achieve this unplugged setting. Lopez cautioned, “Districts can make mistakes, spending money on digital displays and devices but then don’t have the connection piece, so they’re back at square room plugging in.”
Voices of eLearning host JW Marshall has discussed the future of eLearning and the learning loss phenomenon throughout 2020, but this week he's taking a look at how to interpret the immense amount of data that EdTech professionals are poring through to better understand how schools can maximize online learning.
To get a further understanding of the recent surveys in the EdTech field, Marshall sits down with Catalano, consultant and contributing writer for EdSurge. Catalano dives into the origins of his weekly article series with the education publisher and why analyzing the methodology behind each industry survey is key to understanding any possible underlining agendas.
Even though we are now a year into COVID and the experiment with remote learning, multiple studies are showing that teachers are feeling less confident with their current tools and want more professional development options in educating them further on how to maximize online learning to ensure their students' success.
Public school funding is always a complex topic. With stimulus money funneling in, there are many opportunities for K-12 districts to build a better future. Host JW Marshall welcomed back Mike Belcher, Director of EdTech Innovation at HP, to discuss where schools should spend over $67B in one-time funding. While it's a nice number, it's still not enough. This funding must be spent by the end of 2021, as allocated by the stimulus bills. So, where can public schools invest that will provide long-term impact?
“The guidance we’re offering is to put a plan in place as soon as you know your district’s dollars. The first area would be improving that hybrid model for learning,” Belcher said.
Included in that hybrid approach is technology and infrastructure but also improving the instructional process. “Investing in an instructional strategy to move into project-based learning and solving real-life programs. Think about what you’d do if money were no object, then prioritize,” Belcher explained.
Funding is a complex decision-making progress with lots of stakeholders. Belcher suggests “bringing the public back into public schools.” That would involve communities, parents, and businesses.
The third group, business, could be a great partner for K-12, especially around STEM, because that’s the future of jobs. Belcher added, “With a STEM background, people can earn 40 percent more, so it would be a disservice not to include data science into curriculums. A great example is Gwinnett County Schools. They are partnering with businesses to build a curriculum based on data science from pre-K through grade 12.”
There are long-term benefits to investing in STEM and technology, both for preparing students for sustainable careers and revolutionizing public education.
Voices of eLearning took on the topic of entrepreneurial mindsets with a pioneer in the field, Gary Schoeniger, Founder and CEO of Entrepreneurial Learning Initiative (ELI). ELI offers training and development to educators, students, and businesses. The idea for ELI started 30 years ago with Schoeniger asking, “How do underdogs win?”
That set him on a path to decode the entrepreneurial mindset. Schoeniger started interviewing everyday entrepreneurs and began to see patterns in their behavior and language. “I came to this definition of entrepreneurship; the self-directed pursuit of opportunities to create value for others, which empowers ourselves,” he said.
Schoeniger’s philosophies and teaching don’t mean everyone should start a business. It’s about opportunity. “The world is full of opportunities. They are easy to overlook because we’re not trained to think this way,” he added.
That mindset, a deeply held unconscious belief system, starts from a young age. Someone else determines what is useful and what is necessary to learn to be successful.
In speaking about and to educators, Schoeniger offered a view of a fundamental shift. “Stop asking kids what they want to be and ask them what problems they want to solve. When students can identify problems in their community and can work on solutions, they become very engaged.”
How can educators drive an entrepreneurial mindset? Schoeniger thinks it’s a combination of teaching and modeling it. “There’s an outdated understanding of behaviorist thinking as motivation. Learning is an extrinsic reward or punishment. What matters is do people have a compelling goal.”
Big picture what does this number mean, considering it was the largest for the industry ever. Wan said, “It shows the pandemic accelerated tech trends in education, bringing in new and existing investors.”
So, what types of companies were able to excite investors? Wan broke it down into a few categories. “First, there was the consumer space, a reflection of the pandemic forcing home to be a learning environment. There were companies like MasterClass that mix education and entertainment. Those that provide job training and upskilling did well, too,” Wan explained.
There was definitely a boon for the market for adult education. The industry saw colleges partnering with platforms, which Wan said was a “win-win.”
The drive to learn online for targeted jobs also aligns with the higher education trends, even before COVID, with declining revenues and numbers for smaller universities. These partnerships with EdTech companies could revive them.
For K-12, companies selling directly to schools didn’t see as much investment. “The K-12 market has always been iffy for general investors,” Wan noted. The upside was those focused on consumers and parents to provide extra support for remote learners.
Wan also revealed that the numbers for U.S. investments were impressive but paled compared to investments in EdTech in China and India. In predicting what’s next for the space, he said, “There could be acquisitions and consolidations because of market saturation, especially in curriculum, communications, and learning management systems. The market can’t sustain too many.”
Most teachers had little experience with online teaching when the pandemic began. In just a few days, they were expected to translate the classroom to the internet. Voices of eLearning is always seeking to provide teachers tips and insights on how to transition successfully. Today, JW Marshall has an expert to share her knowledge, Courtney Ostaff. Ostaff literally wrote the book on the subject, as she’s the author of The Teaching Online Handbook.
The discussion began with an origin story and Ostaff’s first online teaching role. She was a grad student, not planning to become an educator when her program head received a grant to teach computers online. “My first experience was reading a book online, and I was terrible. But nobody knew anything about teaching online 20 years ago,” she said.
Her skillsets and expertise grew over the years, and when the pandemic hit, a friend told her she should “write a book,” and she did.
“Some thought they’d just turn the camera on and do what they did in the classroom, and it’s not effective,” Ostaff commented.
In discussing the book, Ostaff mentioned she structured it like she does her classes. She also said, “It’s not as much as what you do in that Zoom session as what happens offline.”
To make offline and online work, she uses content modules, which are digital folders, and there’s one for every week for every class for students.
When asked about the best use of live time, she responded, “Answer student questions and present new material in a way they can grasp it and do their assignments.”
The biggest challenge she and most teachers face is keeping student’s attention. “They can tune you out, and there’s not much you can do about it. I try to create an expectation that it’s going to be a positive experience and keep pinging them to keep their attention every few minutes,” she said.
Having a set structure to class is essential for Ostaff so that it becomes a habit. She also talked about relationships with parents and the importance of it. “Assume that parents will see your lessons. Learn to be respectful of family time, which is why I don’t have weekend homework, and trust them.”
A year after the pandemic, education is still adjusting to change. Technology has been a significant support player in the shift, including AV solutions. Host JW Marshall sat down with Jason Meyer, Group Product Manager Projectors for Epson America, to chat about AV trends in education.
Meyer’s team focuses primarily on the K-12 market, supply school districts with modern AV equipment to facilitate better learning experiences. As the pandemic hit and learning went virtual, the company witnessed some interesting trends.
“At the beginning, we had a flood of requests for document cameras, which had been a stable business but wasn’t growing. Those document cameras became a key way to show on video a close-up of what the teacher was doing,” Meyer said.
Traditionally used by math and science teachers, the document cameras now had more universal uses. Epson created a video on how to use the document cameras with Zoom, and Meyer noted, “It really took off.”
That video was just one of many the company put together to train teachers to use their technology tools effectively. Working with a consultant partner, they tailor the training for educators.
Another product that helped with transitions was interactive projectors. Meyer said, “Many districts were already moving away from the front of the class lectures. We added software to the projectors that allowed them to move around and connect to student devices.”
He expects this trend to continue as students move back to the classroom. For schools that did reopen, Meyer also explained the need for larger projectors for bigger spaces. “Schools are repurposing larger areas—gyms, cafeterias, auditoriums—as classrooms to space everyone out. So, we saw a rise in demand for high brightness projectors.”
Meyer noted that the best approach for school districts to add new technology or use it in new ways is training. “Training teachers in their language leads to quick adoption. Putting technology in the classroom without it leads to frustration,” he added.
Education received a technology boost that was unexpected but needed during the pandemic. As students went from the classroom to the dining room, the need for EdTech, including content and a way to measure it, became paramount. Joining host JW Marshall are two online learning leaders Thom Jackson, President and CEO of EdisonLearning, and Kiran Athota, CEO of FocalPoint K12.
EdisonLearning and FocalPoint K12 are partners in the online learning platform. Although neither Jackson nor Athota are educators by trade, they have a passion for learning and technology. Talking about the partnership, Jackson said, “FocalPoint helps us move to the next generation of online learning, allowing teachers to engage students dynamically and deliver high-quality content.”
Athota noted, “The company's DNA is data on student performance, learning, and interactions. The platform tells them what’s working and how they can improve.”
FocalPoint uses blockchain in its application, something relatively new to the education world. Athota explained, “Blockchain is an enabler for education. It’s a public ledger that’s verifiable and secure. It cannot be changed.”
The importance of technology to education in the pandemic has been critical. And it’s changing the system. Jackson said, “Everyone’s had to change and adapt—students, teachers, parents, and administrators. The question is if this an episodic shift or more permanent. I think some aspects will remain after the pandemic.”
Kiran added, “Online learning is now mainstream, and there’s a need to measure what’s happening. If you can’t see what’s happening, you can’t improve it, so it’s necessary to capture that data.”
With data collection of student learning, teacher training, and content, curriculums are improving.
“There is a race to rigor in K12. The curriculum must remain rigorous to ensure growth and progress.”
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The way teachers teach and students learn is continually evolving. Thanks to technology, there are lots of digital tools to support this. But what about hands-on, creative learning? What role does it have in education? Founder of 3Dux Design Marci Klein shared her story of developing an architecture modeling product with her kids.
The concept was born from Klein’s daughter, inspired by a summer architecture program, realizing that architecture was a way to blend STEM and creativity. Klein’s son soon joined in as well, as they’d always been a family that was always using its imagination to create new things with the wonders of cardboard.
“It’s been a great entrepreneurial experience with my children. Seeing them develop a concept grow. I had always encouraged creativity in my kids, something modern toys don’t provide anymore,” Klein said.
Today’s modern toy market delivers high on features and low on imagination because everything has instructions. What their product does is initiate design thinking. Klein explained, “Design thinking is design that considers the end-user rather than yourself. You’re designing for that person. It opens people up to empathy.”
The architecture sets are now available for kids, including connectors and cardboard. “The connectors really replace the duct tape and glue you’d usually use in constructing something with cardboard. They’re easy to pull on and off,” Klein said.
The company also produces classroom sets with curriculum to bring back hands-on, creative design in school. “Teachers loved that they were open-ended but needed some structure. So, we developed lesson plans and curriculum for a global audience,” Klein added.
While just in their third year, the pandemic hit. However, they were able to shift to creating content that kids could complete at home.
“You don’t need fancy equipment to creatively problem solve, and subjects shouldn’t be in silos. Our sets focus on a more holistic way of learning,” Klein said.
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In a global economy, it’s hard to find many industries that are stretching across borders. EdTech is no different, as the fundamentals of leveraging technology in the learning environment have become universal. But how do EdTech companies go global, and what challenges do they face? Global Expansion Strategy CEO Michael Spencer, a veteran in the EdTech space and technology expert, shares what the market looks like and how companies can expand.
In the international space, schools look to technology to improve outcomes. The adoption of it often depends on the type of school. “A and B schools are typically private and welcome technology. C and D schools are categorized as public and can be more price-sensitive,” he said.
Companies looking to enter the international market often need different strategies depending on the type of school, but how difficult and expensive is it to establish a presence in other countries?
Spencer replied, “The way we’ve been doing it is to use in-country strategic channel partners. They are in tune with the local market and regulations and have the relationships. They present the technology to the school. These partners often take on the cost to localize the technology, as well.”
Spencer spoke about the shift toward virtual and hybrid learning and adoption internationally versus in the U.S. “International schools have been relatively fluid in migrating from in-class instruction to blended. They’ve implemented programs without the trial and error I see in the U.S,” he said.
Because many international schools already had a hybrid approach, it was an easier pivot. This means the market for global EdTech is healthy. The pandemic also forced some districts to reassess the programs they were using when it wasn’t delivering outcomes.
“A 300,000 district had a mostly in-class curriculum for reading, writing, listening, and speaking English. Students weren’t proficient with one program. Now we’re deploying multiple ones to focus on all four areas of language,” Spencer noted.
As public education enters 2021, the same challenges persist, and these weren’t simply the result of the pandemic. The actuality of the K12 ecosystem already had plenty of inequity, both socially and digitally. The pandemic made it more obvious. Taking on these inequities and empowering educators is Megan Robinson, National Director of Content and Implementation at Curriculum Associates.
In her role, she spends time with educators and administrators trying to diagnose issues and provide support, research, and actionable answers.
“Equity is a big word in many conversations with educators, and many are in different places in the journey. Some are still at what does it mean. Others are shirting to equitable practices, implementing processes that reflect equity goals,” Robinson said.
When asked about the biggest challenges in equity, Robinson replied, “Access to grade level content. It seems like a simple idea, but it’s not a common practice. The research supports this bringing up the question of where are the scaffolds because they are very specific based on what the content is.”
Another problem is fair and consistent discipline. Robinson recalled a study of educators watching children for undesirable behavior, a white girl and boy and a black girl and boy. “The study showed the subjects watched most closely the black boy then the black girl. So, if you watch them more, you’ll see more bad behavior.
Robinson cautions this leads to over-disciplining, making those students feel unwanted and unwelcome. While some progress has been made, the momentum moving forward comes down to dollars. “If you show me your budget, I’ll show you your priorities. If it’s social equity, then the budget will reflect this,” she noted.
The other side of inequity is digital. With the fast transition to remote schooling, not every student had a device or access to the internet. Robinson saw the gap closing, and private companies stepping up to help. “And when the students had the devices, they were using them,” she said. With access can come opportunity, bridging that once wider gap in public education.
Teng explained that location and how severe coronavirus outbreaks were in specific areas greatly influenced how school districts reacted to the pandemic.
“We just saw a lot of different reactions to the pandemic over time. Now, I would say we're reaching a bit more of an equilibrium where, yes, certain areas are open for in person learning in schools,” Teng said.
He noted that schools in areas with large outbreaks, like the Bay Area, are still probably primarily engaging in distance learning or remote learning.
He believes that everyone's attention is focused on how we can get schools open in person in a safe way for both students and teachers.
“What we're seeing in talking to districts and heads of HR in districts, is really [thinking about] how they can think about how to take care of their teachers. I think we've all probably read the stories about how difficult this year is for teachers,” Teng said.
He noted that all workers in the education field aren’t facing the same level of challenges, especially compared to teachers.
“I think teachers, in particular, are having a pretty tough time,” Teng explained.
To dive deeper into this illuminating conversation, listen in to this episode of Voices of eLearning and stay tuned for more conversations with the educational leaders forging the future of learning in a post-pandemic world.
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In the workplace, there are constant conversations surrounding how employees can perform better. What if it’s time to shift the conversation to what employers can do better to ensure their employees are not only performing to the best of their abilities but are growing in their careers within their own companies. For more insight into this issue, JW Marshall, Host, Voices of eLearning, spoke with Matthew Daniel, Employer Solutions Principal, Guild Education. It’s Daniel’s job to help ensure that companies like Nike, Cigna, and Microsoft have a solid pipeline of talent, especially coming from inside their own organization through talent development.
After a year of undeniable challenges, Daniel believes that employers need to recognize when there are opportunities to invest in durable skills, so that you position your talent to not just get through whatever curve we're in right now, but for future challenges that arise. “We all know the next 12 months are going to require a lot of flexibility from all of us,” Daniel said.
So how exactly can organizations take a step back and make the changes needed to ensure their workforce doesn’t have a skill shortage? “The first thing is, we've got to start talking about it. Like if we're not acknowledging that what we're doing is creating some of our own skill debt, by only giving people the skills they need today, then we’re just going to keep doing what we need,” Daniel explained. He posed a difficult, but important question, “Have we essentially created our own skill shortage by only investing in people, the skill that they need to do when they perform their job today?”
On this episode of Voices of eLearning podcast, Dr. Heidi Scott, Chief Learning Officer at HR.com, joins host J.W. Marshall to discuss the pandemic’s effect on eLearning across the board, effective approaches to both microlearning and just-in-time learning, as well as relevant learning experiences that can help bring out the best in HR pros and drive their careers where they want to go.
“I’m beginning to see a little bit more of a finicky taste for consumers when it comes to online learning,” Scott stated. “‘Give us more than just fire-hosing for the sake of knowledge acquisition. Help me go do my job better.’ And that’s going to take some engaging, some innovative, some curiosity-peaking types of learning experiences. I think that the appetite of our culture is shifting, and I think that the trend is trending toward we—in the eLearning space and the instructional design space and the learning and development space—we’ve got to up our game.”
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On this episode of Voices of eLearning, JW Marshall hosts Mike Marvel, the head of product development at Flinn Scientific.
Mike is a chemist by training and has a PhD from Northwestern University. Flinn Scientific makes supplies and curriculum for science from K-12 and higher learning. They create projects to get kids hands dirty to have fun learning about science.
With COVID, there has been a direct impact in the way students “do science”. Flinn Scientific focuses on students learning how to be able to gather data. Without a lab environment, Flinn Scientific has had to get creative and adaptive to online learning.
Flinn Scientifics are looking around their own homes to find unique ways to teach students from home. For example, by having only m&m’s and a paper towel, students can learn about dye molecules. With limited access to materials, Flinn Scientific shows that there are still resources within student’s homes that allow for science education.
Design thinking and problem solving are critical for any field of working. Despite students learning from home, it is crucial to continue to support student’s educational growth.
Mike was giving a workshop with teachers. One teacher in particular shared his challenge of educating his students that do not have many at home resources. They came up with the idea of placing an ice cube on a copper pan versus aluminum foil. This small experience probes a phenomenon and will create scientific discussion. Despite students having a lack of resources, there are still accessible solutions for hands-on learning experiences.
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) gets students away from disciplinary core and allows students to learn firsthand through experimentation. Flinn Scientific supports these standards by providing creative activities that lead students to high level outcomes.
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Much has been made about the shift to primarily remote or hybrid forms of learning’s impact on student outcomes, and those impacts don’t stop at the doors of special education classrooms. Special education needs the tools to thrive in remote and distance settings – fortunately, they’re being made more available than ever.
On this episode of the Voices of eLearning with host JW Marshall, PresenceLearning CEO Kate Eberle Walker outlined how the company has developed new teletherapy and teleassessment programs for school-based clinicians, empowering schools to more quickly train staff and ensure they can effectively deliver remote services that build real relationships and connections with students.
These tools can help districts address the needs of special education students and other behavioral and mental health challenges, bringing a range of benefits.
Parents can more easily monitor their children’s therapy and progress, helping them support and contribute to that progress, and therapists are empowered to form closer relationships with the entire family and to gain better insight into the student’s environment.
The future of education has likely been changed forever in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, but bringing educators the right tools and platforms to best adapt to remote, hybrid and new in-person environments can help districts keep pace and serve students to the best of their ability.
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There is no denying that U.S. schools do a great job at providing a well rounded education for young students. From math to science to art to foreign languages, students are exposed to so many important subjects for 13 straight years. Which is why it’s pretty surprising that so many U.S. schools skip educating their students on personal finance.
JW Marshall, Host, Voices of eLearning connected with Rhonda Ashburn, Executive Director, MoneySKIL to discuss the major gap in financial education in schools. According to Ashburn, research continues to highlight the benefits of financial education. “We know that better financial decisions and increased financial security are a result of having that learning. So it's interesting to me, there are only 21 states that require high school students to take a course in personal finance. So if I had my dream, everyone would take a course,” Ashburn said.
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On this episode of MarketScale’s Voices of eLearning podcast, Dr, James P. Barber, the Senior Associate Dean for Academic Programs and Associate Professor of Education at William & Mary, as well as an expert in the areas of college student development, assessment of student learning, and integrative learning, joins host J.W. Marshall to provide a more in depth understanding of the integration of learning concept, the importance of reflection in the integration of learning, and the five ways educators can help students integrate learning (mentoring, writing, encouraging juxtaposition of ideas, hands on experiences, and embracing diversity and identity).
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With multidimensional career experience that includes invaluable roles in education, entrepreneurship and investing, Graham Forman, the Managing Director and Founder of Edovate Capital, created his company with a goal to back impact-focused seed stage K-12 companies with both investment and advisory support, helping entrepreneurs navigate the early stages of EdTech company formation. And on this episode of Voices of eLearning, MarketScale host J.W. Marshall sits down with Forman to discuss the state of EdTech VC, how the pandemic has affected education, the increase in investments in 2020, and the types of funding currently available and/or needed for EdTech entrepreneurs.
The pandemic has had a tremendous impact on the way teachers engage with students, but also created a unique opportunity for teachers to leverage remote classrooms to improve teaching effectiveness.
JW Marshall hosted Adam Gellar for an engaging conversation on enhancing teacher performance with individual and valuable feedback.
Adam Gellar, founder and CEO of Edthena, is a former classroom science teacher with a passion for helping teachers engage students in the most beneficial way. By recording actual remote or in-person classroom sessions, Edthena analyzes teachers' techniques and provides helpful reviews to enable teachers to better educate their students.
Tune in to Voices of eLearning for a thoughtful conversation on innovating professional improvement in education.
The “Voices of eLearning” Podcast provides business leaders with insights into current and future trends in eLearning. The “voices” on this show will include business leaders from a wide range of industries, eLearning professionals, technology experts and business professors, and they’ll all use front-line experience to deliver an unmatched look at the evolution of eLearning and its role in our collective future.