Elyse Klaidman, after 22 years at Pixar leading creative and educational programs, is now the CEO of X IN A BOX, where she leverages her background as an artist, educator and leader. Prior to co-founding X IN A BOX in 2020, Tony DeRose led the computer graphics research group for much of his 23 years at Pixar. He is passionate about project based learning and has been very active in the Maker Movement. Brit Cruise, Chief Learning Officer at X IN A BOX and creator of educational content and products, launched his career with the YouTube channel Art of the Problem, leading to working at Khan A ..read more

Jeff Wetzler has been on a quarter-century quest to transform learning opportunities. Blending a unique set of leadership experiences in the fields of business and education, he’s pursued this quest as a management consultant to the world’s top corporations, as a learning facilitator for leaders around the world, as Chief Learning Officer at Teach For America, and most recently, as co-CEO of Transcend, a nationally recognized innovation organization.  Jeff earned a Doctorate in Adult Learning and Leadership from Columbia University and a Bachelor’s in Psychology from Brown University. He ..read more

In this episode of Week in Edtech, Alex and Ben discuss: 1. AI Business Schools Are Going All In on AI Educators divided over AI's impact AI concerns grow even as more teachers adopt the technology 2. BigTech Microsoft's $100 billion 'Stargate' datacenter for OpenAI may be AI's 'Star Wars' moment OpenAI Unveils A.I. Technology That Recreates Human Voices OpenAI built a voice cloning tool, but you can’t use it… yet 3. K-12 Kids Missing school at an alarming rate A New Federal Taskforce Targets Cybersecurity in Schools 4. Edtech Edtech funding hits new low Bijal Shah named Guild CEO, Rac ..read more

Gabi Immelman is the founder and CEO of edtech start-up , Mindjoy, a platform for STEM teachers to 10x their impact for boundless classroom learning through unleashing student curiosity with the power of AI tutors. With Mindjoy, teachers can transform lessons they love and know using the power of AI to create engaging digital first learning experiences for their students. A former Reggio-educator turned EdTech founder with experience working globally in Africa & USA. Mindjoy is the third company she has founded - her first being a stick-on tattoo parlor at the beach where we used to go fo ..read more

In this episode of Week in Edtech, Alex and Michelle discuss: 1. AI OpenAI is pitching Sora to Hollywood on a Hollywood charm offensive before launching its Sora video generator AI May Be Coming for Standardized Testing Teachers Desperately Need AI Training. How Many Are Getting It?  2. BigTech Spotify Throws Its Hat in the Edtech Ring 3. K-12 K-12 Hybrid Schooling Is in High Demand Steve Daly from Instructure on “Learning Deserts” LAUSD bets big on AI chatbot “Ed" 4. Edtech GoStudent, now profitable McGraw Hill Introduces ALEKS Adventure 5. Higher Ed Universities Build ..read more

Julia Dixon is the Founder and CEO of ESAI (pronounced [ES] + [AY] + [EYE]), the first-of-its-kind generative AI platform for college applicants and young professionals. As a former college advisor, Julia saw a major inequality emerging as only the wealthiest families could afford resources for their students to stand out and get into the most competitive colleges and universities. She created ESAI to help level the playing field, so students of all backgrounds and resources could have a fair shot at telling their unique stories.  Recommended Resources: Rebecca Jennings, VoxEmbedded by Ka ..read more

In this episode of Week in Edtech, Alex and Ben discuss: 1. AI OpenAI ChatGPT + Humanoid Robot = Figure01 NVIDIA Launches Latest AI Chips and Software at Developer Conference Apple in talks with Google to embed Google Gemini behind AI features in the iPhone Apple Quietly Launches First Multimodal AI Model, MM1 Elon Musk and xAI open-source Grok 2. K12 Ed launches in LAUSD 3. Higher Ed The SAT Is Coming Back At Some Colleges. It’s Stressing Everyone Out. 4. Workforce Udacity is acquired by Accenture Special Guests: Pat Yongpradit, Code.org & TeachAI Quinn Taber, Immerse ..read more

When Alejandro Gibes de Gac was 7, his family immigrated to the US seeking educational opportunities for their children. His parents’ tireless efforts enabled Alejandro and his sister to overcome their circumstances and pursue their dreams. Alejandro published two books by 14 and was admitted to Harvard by 16. After graduating from college, Alejandro joined Teach For America and became a first grade teacher in Philadelphia. There he became frustrated that the school system treats marginalized parents as liabilities, rather than as assets. Alejandro founded Springboard Collaborative more than ..read more

Andrew Sachs is a retired successful tech entrepreneur with a passion for wanting to make the world a better place for others.  With three wonderful kids and a teacher-wife, Andrew saw how school and university were not preparing our youth with the needed technical, soft and leadership skills they needed to thrive in today’s quickly changing world. Having benefited from excellent teachers and continuous learning in the context of high-performing global project teams in his professional career, he’s now dedicated to providing that same opportunity for aspiring youth all over the globe rega ..read more

Edtech Insiders joined the first Common Sense Summit on America's Kids and Families hosted by Common Sense Media at Pier 27 in San Francisco on January 28–30. The conference brought together advocates, researchers, youth leaders, policymakers, and other experts to take stock of America's kids and families and explore solutions to the most pressing issues across four core topic areas: kids and technology, youth mental health, early childhood education, and K–12 education.  In this special episode (Part 2), Alex and Ben interviews:  Margaret Spellings, former U.S. Secretary of Educat ..read more