Edtech Insiders

Send us Fan Mail SiSi (SiSi pronounced “See-See”) is a transformative all-in-one platform that brings together everything schools need—student records, learning tools, financials, admissions, communication, and more—into one simple, seamless system. Designed for educators, SiSi replaces the chaos of juggling multiple platforms with an intuitive solution that saves time, reduces complexity, and str...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. David Yeager is the Raymond Dickson Centennial Professor of Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin . He earned his Ph. D. from Stanford University. His groundbreaking research focuses on the processes that shape adolescent development, examining how social cognitive factors interact with structural and physiological elements to influence youth trajectories. Dr. Yeager...

Send us Fan Mail Mark Angel is the CEO and Co-founder of Amira Learning , the company bringing the science of reading and AI together. Amira is the first intelligent reading assistan for teachers and is now working with two million students in all 50 states and 14 countries. 💡 5 Things You’ll Learn in This Episode: How Amira Learning uses AI to revolutionize reading education. The importance of e...

Send us Fan Mail 2024 was an incredible year for EdTech, filled with transformative shifts and groundbreaking innovations! In this special year-end episode, Alex and Ben dive into the defining trends of the year—from the ESSER funding cliff reshaping K-12 strategies to the rise of AI-powered learning tools. They also look ahead to 2025, making bold predictions about the future of education technol...

Send us Fan Mail With the holiday break just around the corner, join hosts Alex Sarlin and Ben Kornell for a timely look at the latest developments in education technology. From exciting AI advancements to shifts in curriculum policy, this episode captures the key trends shaping the future of learning. ✨ Episode Highlights: [00:03:16] 🧠 OpenAI's New AI Tool "Sora" Makes Waves in V...

Send us Fan Mail As CEO and Co-Founder of Learnosity , Gavin Cooney still talks about the company he helped build over a decade ago with an infectious zeal. It’s easy to see why: what began as a project in a garden shed (a cliché maybe, but 100% true!) has matured into an internationally renowned tech company with a 200-strong crew of problem-solvers. Since Gav believes that all social ills can be...

Send us Fan Mail Trish Sparks leads Clever as CEO. Previously she was VP of Customer Success and Sales. Trish came to Clever with a wealth of executive leadership experience at companies such as LinkedIn, where she scaled a global customer success organization, and at DemandBase, where she was Chief Customer Officer. As a North Carolina Teaching Fellows Scholar, she started her career as a middle...

Send us Fan Mail Join hosts Alex Sarlin and Ben Kornell in this Thanksgiving edition of "Week in Edtech" as they explore the latest developments in education technology, from groundbreaking AI innovations to edtech controversies and funding milestones. ✨ Episode Highlights: [00:03:16] 🧠 Edtech Insiders publishes AI tool market map with 300+ tools across 60 use cases [00:05:39] 🌐 Googl...

Send us Fan Mail Laura K. Ipsen is president and chief executive officer of Ellucian , the leading technology solutions provider for more than 2,900 higher education institutions in more than 50 countries. She has more than 25 years of experience as a technology executive in Silicon Valley, driving transformation in the public and private sectors and spurring adoption of comprehensive solutions in...

Send us Fan Mail Matt Given is an experienced education technology leader and the CEO of Seesaw , a groundbreaking learning experience platform designed for PreK-5 students. With over 20 years of experience in education and edtech leadership, Matt has held executive roles at Kaplan, Catapult Learning, and EdisonLearning. Known for his expertise in universal design for learning and his ability to b...

Send us Fan Mail Arman Jaffer is the founder and CEO of Brisk Teaching . Brisk is an AI tool that helps educators personalize their instruction and save hours of time on administrative tasks. Emily Bennett currently serves as a Principal investor at Owl Ventures .  💡 5 Things You’ll Learn in This Episode: How Brisk Teaching’s AI tools streamline teacher workflows and enhance instructional efficie...

Send us Fan Mail Join hosts Alex Sarlin and Ben Kornell for a post-election edition of "Week in Edtech," featuring insights from Anna Edwards and Ben Wallerstein of Whiteboard Advisors .  ✨ Episode Highlights: [00:02:16] 🇺🇸 New trends in education policy post-election [00:04:42] 🏛️ Why state policies will shape the future of K-12 education [00:08:10] 💸 The looming financial gap for dis...

Send us Fan Mail Chuck Cohn is the Founder, Chairman & CEO of Nerdy (parent company of Varsity Tutors ). Chuck founded the company in 2007 during his junior year of college after experiencing frustration finding the personalized help he needed for a calculus course. He spent his early career working in energy & power investment banking at Wells Fargo Securities (Wachovia) and healthcare pr...

Send us Fan Mail Mark Miller is the founder and Managing Director of Good Harbor Partners (GHP) , a boutique M&A advisory firm specializing in the education technology and publishing sectors. With over 20 years of experience as an edtech entrepreneur and advisor, Miller has a proven track record in guiding Pre-K-12, Higher Education, and Workforce clients through strategic growth, fundraising,...

Send us Fan Mail Libby Hills co-leads the Jacobs Foundation ’s global EdTech investment portfolio, focusing on the intersection of technology, research, and education. With over 15 years in education, including roles in teaching, tech leadership, and charity boards, she also co-hosts the Ed-Technical   podcast. Libby holds degrees in Education and Social Business from Oxford and LSE. Owen Henkel i...

Send us Fan Mail Join hosts Alex Sarlin and Ben Kornell as they explore the political and technological currents reshaping education, from college ROI and student loans to AI’s expanding role in higher ed. ✨ Episode Highlights: [00:04:28] 🗳️ Election’s Impact on Education Policy [00:12:11] 🎓 Debating the Value of College Amid Rising Costs [00:15:12] 📉 Freshman Enrollment Sees Largest Drop Since...

Send us Fan Mail Roosh X is an investment arm of Roosh Investment Group. Nathan Maynard is the CEO and Founder of HighFive , a company using mobile technology to foster connected school communities and reduce recidivism for negative classroom behaviors. With over 11 years of experience as a youth worker, teacher, and school administrator, Nathan co-authored the best-selling book "Hacking Scho...

Send us Fan Mail Join hosts Alex Sarlin and Ben Kornell as they explore the latest in education technology, AI developments, and key edtech funding moves. ✨ Episode Highlights : [00:02:53] 🗽 Recap of New York EdTech Week, highlighting key themes and vibrant energy from the event. [00:04:37] 📈 Discussion on the rise of micro companies, with lower barriers leading to a surge in niche startups. [0...

Send us Fan Mail Brian Shaw is the CEO of Discovery Education , a global leader in educational technology that reaches over 45 million students and 4.5 million educators across 100+ countries. With a background in finance and corporate strategy from his roles at Red Ventures and Time Warner Cable, Brian has extensive experience in M&A and business integration. At Discovery Education, he drives...

Send us Fan Mail Auditi Chakravarty is CEO of AERDF (the Advanced Education Research and Development Fund) . AERDF applies Advanced Inclusive R&D to find potentially transformative teaching and learning solutions that can scale, centering on the assets, strengths, and needs of Black and Latino learners and all learners experiencing poverty. Auditi also chairs the Board of Bottom Line, a nation...

Send us Fan Mail Stephen Jull was the COO/CFO and co-founder of GeoGebra GmbH (acquired by BYJU’S in 2021), and a limited partner at Emerge Education. With a PhD from Cambridge and over two decades of experience in EdTech, Stephen has led transformative projects in mathematics, STEM education, and AI-driven learning at a global scale. He is also the former interim CEO of Epic! and a dedicated advi...

Send us Fan Mail Katie Kurtz is Managing Director and Global Head of Youth and Learning at YouTube where she is responsible for developing the ecosystem to engage, inform, and educate kids, teens, and adults. Katie joined YouTube in 2019 after serving as Chief Product Officer at Noodle Partners, an online program manager designing and building fully online degree programs for universities. Previou...

Send us Fan Mail Join hosts Alex Sarlin and Ben Kornell as they explore the latest in education technology, AI developments, and key edtech funding moves. ✨ Episode Highlights : [00:05:12] 👩‍🏫 OpenAI raises $6.5B and launches OpenAI Academy [00:09:05] 📚 Google’s $120M AI Education Fund and NotebookLM tools [00:15:03] 🦜 Duolingo’s AI strategy and record stock prices [00:22:05] 📉 Udemy lays of...

Send us Fan Mail Oliver Page is the Co-founder & CEO at CyberNut . Starting his journey as a teenage founder of NutKase Accessories, Oliver scaled the business to 60 countries before transitioning to cybersecurity. Now, with CyberNut, he focuses on providing schools with gamified, easy-to-use cybersecurity training. He is also an Angel Investor, and Startup Advisor. 💡 5 Things You’ll Learn in...

Send us Fan Mail Tal Havivi is the Managing Director of R&D at ASCD + ISTE , focusing on initiatives to improve the health and effectiveness of the EdTech market. He leads research around high-quality EdTech design, programs focused on improving evaluation processes in school systems, and supports EdTech providers. Previously, he led Education Strategy at Amazon Business focused on improving e...