Edtech Insiders

Send us Fan Mail Join hosts Alex Sarlin and Matt Tower as they explore the evolving edtech landscape—from rising AI use to old-school solutions for modern challenges. ✨ Episode Highlights: [00:00:20] Banning AI boosts student engagement and brings back handwritten assessments [00:03:23] Gallup finds AI use in the workplace has doubled in two years [00:06:15] OpenAI’s college push sparks backlash...

Send us Fan Mail For this Week in EdTech Part 2, Alex Sarlin interviews two visionary founders tackling early education and classroom AI from the ground up—with a focus on teacher support, inclusive innovation, and practical AI implementation. [00:02:12] Yesi Sevilla, CEO of CHALK on why early education must start with supporting teachers [00:30:55] Ed Buckley and Marlee Strawn, Co-founders of Sch...

Send us Fan Mail Eric Swanson currently holds the position of Senior Vice President of Practice and Instructional Products at Renaissance Learning . In this capacity, he works with educators, technologists, and researchers to build best-in-class practice products and experiences that improve academic outcomes for students and educators. Working with the Renaissance Next, myON, Accelerated Reader,...

Send us Fan Mail Join hosts Alex Sarlin and Ben Kornell as they explore the latest developments in education technology, from AI breakthroughs to high-stakes funding rounds and institutional shifts in AI strategy. ✨ Episode Highlights: [00:02:45] OpenAI’s $10B Annual Run Rate: ChatGPT drives unprecedented growth [00:05:12] Anthropic CEO criticizes proposed 10-year ban on state AI regulation [00:0...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Mike McKenna is the Senior Advisor at Tuck Advisors and also serves as the Chief Academic Officer for one of the largest school districts in Pennsylvania.  With deep expertise in curriculum development, special education, and teaching and learning, Mike brings a proven track record of building inclusive, high-impact academic programs. In addition to his work in K-12 education,...

Send us Fan Mail Juan Zavala joined New Markets Venture Partners in 2019 and is a Partner. He is responsible for sourcing, evaluating, and executing new investment opportunities as well as supporting existing portfolio companies and firm operations. He serves as a Board Director for Brains and Motion Education, Nexford University, and CreatorUp, and as a Board Observer for App Academy, BetterLesso...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Margaret Honey joined the Scratch Foundation as the organization’s President & CEO in January 2024. She is widely recognized for her work using digital technologies to support children’s learning and brings decades of non-profit leadership experience and expertise to the Scratch Foundation. Prior to joining the Foundation, Dr. Honey led the New York Hall of Science (NYSCI)...

Send us Fan Mail Join hosts Alex Sarlin and Ben Kornell as they explore the latest developments in education technology, from AI breakthroughs to new VC investments and edtech reports. ✨ Episode Highlights: [00:02:10] Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn says AI is more scalable than teachers, sparking debate on the future of educators [00:10:45] Google I/O 2025 introduces Gemini 2.5, Project Astra, and rea...

Send us Fan Mail David Bleicher is the Co-Founder and CEO of Jotit , a company on a mission to bring handwriting back to the forefront of education in the digital age. By blending proven learning methods with advanced technologies, Jotit enhances student outcomes and executive functioning in the classroom. 💡 5 Things You’ll Learn in This Episode: Why handwriting remains essential in today’s tech-...

Send us Fan Mail Join hosts Alex Sarlin and Ben Kornell as they explore the latest developments in education technology, from AI in classrooms to workforce shifts and EdTech innovation across the globe. ✨ Episode Highlights: [00:03:16] Ezra Klein podcast brings AI and education to mainstream conversation [00:07:20] Alex and Ben compare and critique GPT-4, Claude, Gemini, and other AI tools [00:09...

Send us Fan Mail This is a very special episode featuring our sponsor, Starbridge . Justin Wenig, Founder and CEO of Starbridge, joins us to discuss how school spending creates barriers to EdTech innovation. Justin previously co-founded Coursedog, scaling it to over 300 institutions and a nine-figure exit. With Starbridge, he’s now helping EdTech businesses navigate public sector procurement using...

Send us Fan Mail MacKenzie Price is a Stanford grad, mom of two, and the Co-Founder of 2 Hour Learning - a revolutionary learning platform that harnesses the power of AI to give kids a 1:1 personalized learning experience. Her students excel in academics while spending most of their day learning life skills that set them up for future success. She founded the first Alpha School ten years ago in Au...

Send us Fan Mail Join hosts Ben Kornell and Alex Sarlin as they explore the latest developments in education technology, from AI breakthroughs and policy shakeups to new funding rounds and workforce shifts shaping the future of learning. ✨ Episode Highlights: [00:00:00] Silicon Valley debates the rise of “AI Slop” and the impact of vibe coding. [00:03:36] Columbia student suspended for AI cheatin...

Send us Fan Mail Mike Yates is a Senior Designer at Teach for America's Reinvention Lab , with over a decade of experience at the intersection of technology and learning. A former classroom teacher and founding member of Alpha School, he now leads the Lab’s AI initiatives, creating workshops, coaching educators, and prototyping innovative AI solutions. Mike has built partnerships with organiz...

Send us Fan Mail Join host Alex Sarlin alongside special guest co-hosts Ben Wallerstein and Anna Kimsey Edwards , Co-Founders of Whiteboard Advisors , as they break down: [00:03:00] Trump’s AI Executive Order launches cross-agency education task force [00:05:00] 27 states already advancing AI education policy [00:07:00] Workforce EO targets 1M AI-related apprenticeships [00:10:00] Accreditation EO...

Send us Fan Mail Betsy Corcoran and Dr. Jeremy Roschelle co-host the Future Fluent podcast, where they explore how learning is changing in the age of AI. Betsy is the cofounder of EdSurge and now leads Lede Labs, advising education leaders. Jeremy is a leading learning scientist and Executive Director of Learning Science Research at Digital Promise. Together, they bring decades of journalism and r...

Send us Fan Mail In this special episode, we go behind the scenes of the Edtech Insiders GenAI K-12 Education Market Map , a first-of-its-kind framework connecting real classroom needs to AI-powered tools. Co-created by Alex Sarlin , Laurence Holt , Jacob Klein , and the Edtech Insiders team, this evolving resource helps educators, entrepreneurs, and researchers make sense of a fast-changing lands...

Send us Fan Mail Levi Belnap is the CEO of Merlyn Mind , where he has been instrumental in driving the company's vision and growth since joining in 2019. Before assuming his current role, Levi served as Chief Strategy Officer for nearly four years and later as Chief Revenue Officer. Prior to Merlyn Mind, Levi built an impressive career in business development and entrepreneurship. He worked f...

Send us Fan Mail Join hosts Alex Sarlin and Ben Kornell as they explore the latest developments in education technology, from ASU+GSV insights to AI model releases, international edtech innovations, and federal policy shake-ups. ✨ Episode Highlights: [00:01:45] ASU+GSV recap and post-conference energy [00:04:48] Strategic AI integration gains traction [00:05:56] Edtech market braces for consolida...

Send us Fan Mail Vikas Pota is an entrepreneur and investor in education and digital businesses that seek to address some of the sector's intractable challenges and to advance education quality and opportunity. He is the founder of T4 Education , the Global EdTech Prize and the World's Best School Prizes. He is the Executive Chairman of the Education Leaders Forum, where he convenes the...

Send us Fan Mail Robert Barnett co-founded the Modern Classrooms Project , which has empowered 80,000+ educators in 180+ countries to meet every learner’s needs. Before that he taught math, computer science, English, social studies, and law, from the middle-school to university levels, at public and private schools in the U.S. and Switzerland. He graduated cum laude from Princeton University and H...

Send us Fan Mail In this special episode, EdTech Insiders hits the floor at ASU+GSV 2025—one of the world’s premier EdTech conferences—for rapid-fire conversations with the leaders reshaping learning. From AI-native campuses to multilingual agents and human-centered R&D, we go behind the scenes with the innovators driving the future of education. 🎙️ Featured Guests: Siya Raj Purohit , Go-to-Ma...

Send us Fan Mail Tom Vander Ark is an advocate for innovations in learning. As CEO of Getting Smart , he advises schools, districts, networks, foundations, and learning organizations on the path forward. Tom is the author of Getting Smart , Smart Cities That Work for Everyone , Smart Parents , Better Together , The Power of Place, and Difference Making at the Heart of Learning . He has published t...

Send us Fan Mail Kees Bol is the CEO of 2U , a global leader in education technology that expands access to affordable, career-relevant learning in partnership with the world's top universities, institutions, and industry experts. As CEO, Bol oversees all aspects of 2U's business while driving its long-standing mission: to provide learners worldwide with life-changing higher education th...

Send us Fan Mail Pierre Le Manh , PMP, has been serving as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Project Management Institute since September 2022. A global executive with a multicultural background and experience in leading companies across multiple knowledge industries, he has a proven track record of delivering results and guiding organizations through complex transformations and glo...