“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler” –Einstein
I’ve heard some criticisms that the new generation of teacher tools lack sophistication. Simplicity should not be mistaken for simplistic. Because teaching is so complex, education tools, in particular, have suffered from bloated feature sets, non-intuitive interfaces and an utter lack of simplicity
Welcoming Ellevation to the NewSchools Portfolio
NewSchools Venture Fund is pleased to welcome Ellevation Education to our portfolio!
Ellevation provides a set of tools for teachers and administrators who work with English language learners (ELLs). It saves time and simplifies compliance requirements, so that educators can focus on their most important task—helping ELL students to succeed.
A closer look at K12 edtech venture funding part II
Learners from ages zero to eighteen have a lot to be excited about. In the last 365 days, 74 companies focused on the K12 demographic (both in and
‘Tis the season
“If we want America to lead in the 21st century, nothing is more important than giving everyone the best education possible — from the day they start preschool to the day they start their career.” —President Barack Obama We all know that our school system needs help. That our kids are not prepared well in […]
Introducing Jason Singer, our new entrepreneur-in-residence
Almost a year ago nearly to the day, at an edtech holiday party, I met Jason Singer, who shared his idea for an interactive e-reader with me. I was hoping he would act on his idea but as principal of KIPP King Collegiate High School and with a young family at home, I knew he […]
A closer look at edtech funding for K-12 startups
Last night at a packed Silicon Valley meetup, I joined Alan Louie of ImagineK12 and Nari Ansari of Technology Crossover Ventures for a panel discus
rational [edtech] exuberance
I’ve been enjoying the thoughtful pieces on the increased excitement about education technology from Frank Catalano in GeekWire, Betsy Corcoran in All Things D and Audrey Watters in Hack Education. From our vantage point at NewSchools, the excitement is palpable. Our education technology pipeline has increased 5x from last year and at least 10x […]
Pathbrite and readImagine: the cool ideas that didn’t get on the TODAY Show
Even if you didn’t see the TODAY show las
NoRedInk Wins Citi Innovation Challenge
A hearty congratulations and a warm welcome to NoRedInk this morning, winners of the 2012 Citi Innovation Challenge! Led by entrepreneurs Jeff Scheur and Leo Shmuylovich, NoRedInk creates content and tutorials from students’ favorite celebrities, friends, and personal interests to help them practice grammar and writing skills. The team will receive a $75,000 prize […]
The Innovation Challenge
Today marks the start of the Citi Innovation Challenge, which will culminate in a live pitch session at NBC News’ “Education Nation” Summit on Tues