EdTech 10: The American Dream

We had a great three days sharing ideas about innovation and learning at the ASU+GSV #Edinnovation Summit in Scottsdale this week. This conference has grown in just a few years from an intimate gathering at the admin building at ASU SkySong to the most important EdTech innovation conference on the calendar.

Here are 10 exciting announcements made at ASU+GSV:

1. What Teachers Want. The newest report to come out of the Gates Foundation (@Gatesfoundation) launched yesterday, surveying over 3,000 teachers to find out not only what teachers want from technology in the classroom but what they are using now and how they gauge it’s current efficacy.

2. Getting Personal. Agilix Labs announced (@agilixideaworks) platform updates to improve personalized learning for all students. Agilix xLi powers blended learning in Detroit (see feature on EAA Buzz platform), course choice in Louisiana and GradPoint from Pearson (@pearson).

3. Good News for Parents and Kids. Parchment (@parchment) edtech company that already streamlines the request, delivery, and sharing of transcripts and verified credentials, has unveiled College Match- a new online tool to personalize the application process, helping students discover the colleges that best match their needs  nationwide.

4. Put A Bird On It. Smart Sparrow (@smart_sparrow) platform allowing educators to create rich, interactive, and adaptive learning experiences, announced in collaboration with ASU Online the launch of HabWorlds Beyond, to teach students about space exploration, climate science, and the search for life on other planets in a rich, blended environment. HabWorlds Beyond uses game-like simulations to expose students to the thought processes and practice of science.

5. No Speeding Tickets. Education Superhighway (@edsuperhighway) released a comprehensive report on national E-rate spending and where we stand on our current ConnectED goals while offering insight into expanding educational opportunities.

6. New App Store in Town.  Instructure (@Instructure) launched Open, Vendor-Neutral Website EdAppCenter.com, an open resource Learning Tools Interoperability catalog that already houses more than 130 education apps. The apps integrate with most LMS’s in K-12 and higher ed.

7. Personalized PD. Declara raises $16 million (@Declara) in venture funding (a total of $25 million) for personalized learning. The San Francisco startup has gained a foothold in Latin America providing personalized professional development for teachers.

8. Dr. in the House.  2U (@2Uinc) cloud based software program that partners with universities to create online programs announced their new partnership of USC Rossier School of Ed to launch the first doctorate degree delivered online, a Doctor of Education (EdD) in Organizational Change and Leadership.

9. Blame Game. Chegg (@Chegg) CEO Dan Rosensweig presented new data addressing the growing skills gap. The data comes from a new study of University educators, college students, and hiring managers–each of which have different perspectives and tend to play the “blame game.”

10. A The Winner Is…. The 2014 Return on Education Innovation Awards were handed out at the closing session on Wednesday night. Congrats to all the winners! Phoenix based transcript-management service Parchment won the overall #ROE14 award. Other winners included:

• New Schools goes to Summit Public Schools (see recent feature)
• Next Gen Content goes to Quizlet
• Modern Curriculum goes to General Assembly
• ROE Accelerator goes to Imagine K12
• Knowledge as Currency goes to Renaissance Learning (see recent feature)
• Teacher Support goes to TSL Education
• STEM goes to DreamBox Learning (see recent white paper)
• Learning Infrastructure, Analytics and Platform goes to Clever
• KaizenEDU goes to Learnist
• Partnerships goes to 2U
• Modern Student Support goes to Roadtrip Nation
• Modern Language goes to Code.org

Agilix, Instructure, Pearson, and DreamBox Learning are Getting Smart Advocacy Partners.