edtech

Analysis: Microsoft, Google, Apple — why is Amazon the lagging tech giant in the classroom?

by Frank Catalano on December 24, 2018December 26, 2018 at 6:08 am1 Comment

Is Amazon a sleeping giant of education technology? Or one of its biggest, underreported failures? Those are questions to which answers have varied, especially in 2018. But now it seems… Read More

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Lumen Learning raises more cash, aims to replace traditional textbooks with digital ‘open educational resources’

by Taylor Soper on December 21, 2018December 21, 2018 at 8:36 amComment

Portland, Ore.-based startup Lumen Learning has reeled in more investment to grow its open digital education course material platform. The company raised more than $5 million for its Series C round,… Read More

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As learning technologies enter a ‘heady place,’ DreamBox CEO thinks skepticism was justified

by Frank Catalano on October 14, 2018October 18, 2018 at 1:38 pmComment

Being a little late out of the gate with new tech may not be a bad thing when you’re dealing with kids. It’s not that DreamBox Learning‘s Jessie Woolley-Wilson is… Read More

What Amazon and Netflix can teach us about learning, according to DreamBox Learning CEO

by Monica Nickelsburg on October 3, 2018October 9, 2018 at 10:40 am1 Comment

Many of the technologies we use every day are constantly learning from us. We train Netflix in what genres of TV and movies we like. Amazon learns what we’re interested… Read More

Seattle education startup Actively Learn acquired by N.J.-based Achieve3000, terms undisclosed

by Frank Catalano on October 2, 2018October 1, 2018 at 10:49 amComment

A modestly sized Seattle startup is being bought by an established education technology company that says it reaches nearly 3 million students worldwide. Actively Learn, which has built a digital… Read More

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Amazon Alexa Fund invests in Bamboo Learning as startup introduces screen-friendly Alexa math skill

by Frank Catalano on September 27, 2018September 27, 2018 at 7:05 amComment

Seattle education startup Bamboo Learning is previewing its second Alexa skill at the same time it’s announcing an investment from Amazon’s Alexa Fund. Bamboo Math will be the next interactive… Read More

Microsoft launches ‘groundbreaking’ Flagship School initiative with 17 schools globally

by Frank Catalano on September 18, 2018September 18, 2018 at 1:54 pmComment

Microsoft is deepening its efforts in education by literally getting in on the ground floor. On Tuesday, it launched its Microsoft Flagship School Program, announcing partnerships with 17 schools around… Read More

Teachers and parents want more help with school technology, Microsoft and DreamBox surveys find

by Frank Catalano on August 29, 2018August 29, 2018 at 7:43 am1 Comment

Two different surveys, released by Microsoft and DreamBox Learning, find both parents and teachers would like to see more support for tech in classrooms — just in time for back-to-school.… Read More

‘Minecraft: Education Edition’ comes to iPad, as education features expand to mainstream version of game

by Frank Catalano on August 20, 2018September 6, 2018 at 11:49 am 2 Comments

Just in time for back-to-school, “Minecraft: Education Edition” is coming to Apple’s iPad. And also for the first time, a set of features created for the Education Edition has been… Read More

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TLDR: MLB commentary with robots, flying cars, facial recognition in schools

by Starla Sampaco on July 17, 2018July 17, 2018 at 3:58 pmComment

Today’s featured stories MLB partners with Amazon Web Services to predict pitches and analyze live games with robots Agent 007 James Bond’s next ride? Flying cars grab Farnborough Airshow’s spotlight… Read More

From virtual reality to ebooks, the future of digital media in schools is a total toss-up

by Frank Catalano on June 30, 2018June 30, 2018 at 7:02 amComment

The future of content in education is … robots? Well, not really. But it was easy to get that impression if you were walking the exhibit hall at the huge… Read More

Google, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, and tech’s battle for the hearts and classrooms of teachers

by Frank Catalano on June 28, 2018June 28, 2018 at 12:11 pm 4 Comments

If the ISTE 2018 exhibit hall was a high school, then Google and Microsoft were the enthusiastically competitive drama and glee clubs, Apple was the cool kid having a smoke… Read More

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Former Amazon devices executive Ian Freed launches Bamboo Music skill for Alexa

by Frank Catalano on June 19, 2018June 18, 2018 at 8:44 pmComment

Kids and their parents are getting a new way to use Amazon Echo devices for learning about music. And it’s coming as an Alexa skill from the person who once… Read More

Microsoft buys edtech startup Flipgrid and makes the video discussion tool free for all schools

by Frank Catalano on June 18, 2018June 18, 2018 at 6:00 amComment

Microsoft has acquired education technology startup Flipgrid, Inc., and immediately announced that the subscription social learning platform will be free to all educators. Flipgrid, based in Minnesota, makes a video… Read More

Tablets or textbooks? Elementary students take on one of the great tech debates of our time

by Frank Catalano on June 16, 2018June 18, 2018 at 9:48 am1 Comment

In the ongoing discussion about whether tablets or textbooks are better for students, the kids have a lot to contribute. That was clear in a citywide debate involving elementary school… Read More

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Seattle Public Library and UW awarded $353K federal grant to help kids co-design digital activities

by Frank Catalano on June 4, 2018June 4, 2018 at 10:34 amComment

The Seattle Public Library and University of Washington Information School will work together to teach other libraries how to create kid-friendly digital learning projects — in which the kids are… Read More

Raspberry Pi Foundation picks Seattle’s Living Computers Museum + Labs as one of four US sites for ‘Picademy’

by Frank Catalano on May 14, 2018May 14, 2018 at 7:20 am1 Comment

The value of Pi will be unusually high this summer at Living Computers: Museum + Labs in Seattle. The Raspberry Pi Foundation, the UK nonprofit behind the incredibly popular and… Read More

How I got caught up in a Presidential barring of ‘media,’ but not the media that now matters

by Frank Catalano on May 12, 2018May 12, 2018 at 9:46 amComment

As the arm reached across to block my entry, I looked up, surprised. “I have a conference badge,” I recall saying, struggling to keep up with my former edtech industry… Read More

Project Unicorn signs first companies to help schools handle the hairball of edtech data

by Frank Catalano on May 1, 2018May 1, 2018 at 3:47 pmComment

The rise of education technology in schools has also expanded one of edtech’s biggest hairballs: exchanging school, teacher and student data across different apps and systems. Now, an initiative named… Read More

For investors, the future of education technology is now the workplace

by Frank Catalano on April 19, 2018April 20, 2018 at 4:51 amComment

SAN DIEGO — After several years of waiting for the K-12 market to grow faster, and a couple of years getting schooled in higher education, education technology investors seem to… Read More

Analysis: After Amazon’s TenMarks shuts down, what then for K-12 schools and Amazon?

by Frank Catalano on April 2, 2018April 2, 2018 at 11:03 am 2 Comments

The sudden, relatively quiet notice late last week that Amazon would shutter its TenMarks business and end its TenMarks Math and Writing products at the close of the 2018-19 school… Read More

Apple unveils $299 iPad for schools and free education apps in bid to regain its K-12 lead

by Frank Catalano on March 27, 2018March 27, 2018 at 10:59 amComment

It’s on, Google. You too, Microsoft. That might be the best way to sum up Apple’s big reveal of how it plans to compete with the current two leaders in… Read More

Can Apple return to the head of the class? Tech giant to reveal new education plans after long slide

by Frank Catalano on March 25, 2018March 25, 2018 at 7:35 am 5 Comments

One-time education technology leader Apple is now a distant third in new computing device shipments to K-12 schools in the U.S. But this week, it may become clear about how… Read More

Reality check: Microsoft Windows gains in U.S. schools in 2017, but Google remains dominant

by Frank Catalano on March 7, 2018March 7, 2018 at 8:34 am 3 Comments

The latest numbers from market research firm Futuresource are slightly better news for Microsoft in a U.S. K-12 education market dominated by Google and Chromebooks. U.K.-based Futuresource Consulting has released its… Read More

Varsity Tutors raises another $50M to expand globally, accelerate growth in Seattle

by Frank Catalano on February 14, 2018February 13, 2018 at 6:10 pmComment

Varsity Tutors, an education technology startup that combines live experts with an online and mobile platform for learners, today announced it has closed a $50 million Series C funding round.… Read More

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What makes Pittsburgh different as an edtech hub? Collaboration — and Mister Rogers

by Frank Catalano on January 30, 2018January 30, 2018 at 8:30 am1 Comment

Ask those in Pittsburgh’s thriving education technology community what makes the city different from other edtech hubs such as Silicon Valley, Boston or New York City, and a single word… Read More

Minecraft gets free chemistry update, schools get HoloLens discounts as Microsoft ups edtech game

by Frank Catalano on January 22, 2018January 22, 2018 at 6:39 am1 Comment

Microsoft is upping its STEM game by introducing new chemistry and computer science options for Minecraft: Education Edition. Plus, the tech giant is adding more “mixed reality” products and offers… Read More

Microsoft apps to be embedded into edtech powerhouse PowerSchool’s ‘Unified Classroom’

by Frank Catalano on January 18, 2018January 18, 2018 at 6:32 amComment

Microsoft is making yet another push into the classroom. But this time, it’s using the buddy system, today announcing a high-profile partnership with education technology standard-bearer PowerSchool. PowerSchool has a… Read More

Global education technology investment hits record $9.5B, but K-20 is only 21% of the total

by Frank Catalano on January 10, 2018January 10, 2018 at 10:04 amComment

Seattle-area market research firm Metaari has released its annual tally of global edtech investment, and the numbers are eye-popping. Across all markets for learning technology, worldwide funding reached a record… Read More

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Analysis: Education technology startup funding rebounds, but what is ‘edtech’?

by Frank Catalano on December 30, 2017December 30, 2017 at 4:49 pm1 Comment

Education technology is heating up again. Yet edtech’s most fervent promoters may be masking the industry’s breadth by lumping everything digital under the monolithic label “edtech.” Part of edtech’s bubble… Read More

Analysis: Microsoft, Google, Apple — why is Amazon the lagging tech giant in the classroom?

Lumen Learning raises more cash, aims to replace traditional textbooks with digital ‘open educational resources’

As learning technologies enter a ‘heady place,’ DreamBox CEO thinks skepticism was justified

What Amazon and Netflix can teach us about learning, according to DreamBox Learning CEO

Seattle education startup Actively Learn acquired by N.J.-based Achieve3000, terms undisclosed

Amazon Alexa Fund invests in Bamboo Learning as startup introduces screen-friendly Alexa math skill

Microsoft launches ‘groundbreaking’ Flagship School initiative with 17 schools globally

Teachers and parents want more help with school technology, Microsoft and DreamBox surveys find

‘Minecraft: Education Edition’ comes to iPad, as education features expand to mainstream version of game

TLDR: MLB commentary with robots, flying cars, facial recognition in schools

From virtual reality to ebooks, the future of digital media in schools is a total toss-up

Google, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, and tech’s battle for the hearts and classrooms of teachers

Former Amazon devices executive Ian Freed launches Bamboo Music skill for Alexa

Microsoft buys edtech startup Flipgrid and makes the video discussion tool free for all schools

Tablets or textbooks? Elementary students take on one of the great tech debates of our time

Seattle Public Library and UW awarded $353K federal grant to help kids co-design digital activities

Raspberry Pi Foundation picks Seattle’s Living Computers Museum + Labs as one of four US sites for ‘Picademy’

Project Unicorn signs first companies to help schools handle the hairball of edtech data

For investors, the future of education technology is now the workplace

Analysis: After Amazon’s TenMarks shuts down, what then for K-12 schools and Amazon?

Apple unveils $299 iPad for schools and free education apps in bid to regain its K-12 lead

Can Apple return to the head of the class? Tech giant to reveal new education plans after long slide

Reality check: Microsoft Windows gains in U.S. schools in 2017, but Google remains dominant

Varsity Tutors raises another $50M to expand globally, accelerate growth in Seattle

What makes Pittsburgh different as an edtech hub? Collaboration — and Mister Rogers

Minecraft gets free chemistry update, schools get HoloLens discounts as Microsoft ups edtech game

Microsoft apps to be embedded into edtech powerhouse PowerSchool’s ‘Unified Classroom’

Global education technology investment hits record $9.5B, but K-20 is only 21% of the total

Analysis: Education technology startup funding rebounds, but what is ‘edtech’?

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