Sparking Student Interest in STEM By Bringing Industry Experts into the Classroom
I vividly remember scouring my bathroom and kitchen cabinets to identify chemicals in the products I used everyday. Sure enough the chemical formulas I was learning to write in chemistry class were listed as ingredients in my toothpaste, shampoo, and laundry detergent. I was fascinated that chemistry had real world application and was inspired to become a chemical engineer at Procter and Gamble. According to a Microsoft STEM Perceptions Study, 57% of boys and 68% of girls who chose a career in science technology engineering and math (STEM) had a teacher or class that sparked their interest.
The Future of Standardized Testing
The College Board recently announced it is changing the SAT to better align with schoolwork. While I applaud their initiative to make the test relevant to what students are actually learning, emerging efforts in learning analytics and data backpacks will cause a shift in the underlying model of standardized tests.
Real Pain Points, Real Solutions: Oakland Startup Weekend Education
When we met Nina Portugal two weeks ago at a Teach For America information session about Oakland’s first-ever Startup Weekend EDU, she described the specific struggles of her long-term English learner students at Castlemont High School in Oakland. Nina was on the fence about pitching her idea in front of hundreds of strangers, but eventually joined the other 32 brave souls who pitched ideas to improve education. Little did Nina expect that over the course of just 54 hours, her team, Rock Your Voice, would create a product she could put to use on Monday morning in her classroom. Nina now has a voice transcription tool to better assess her students’ language and literacy skills.
EdSurge, connector for Edtech and Educators
This weekend Edsurge will bring its Tech for Schools Summit to Baltimore. Acting Deputy Secretary for the US Department of Education, Jim Shelton, will keynote and 900 educators have signed up to learn about new tech tools and digital content. The Baltimore Summit comes on the heels of the wildly successful EdSurge Silicon Valley Summit which drew 600+ educators. Prior to Silicon Valley, EdSurge hosted similar events in Chicago and Rhode Island.
Socrates Meets Edtech: 51 Questions that Teach
Earlier this week, NewSchools and Silicon Valley Education Foundation collaborated on launching a new learning innovation zone. Ten companies competed for the chance to run pilots throughout Silicon Valley school districts. They were drilled with dozens of questions from a panel of both educational leaders and business leaders.
One Giant Step Forward for Education
Today, the National Education Association, the largest teachers union in the United States and a political powerhouse, announced a partnership with
A closer look at K12 edtech venture funding in 2013
Venture investment in K12 education technology was up 6% in 2013 totaling $452 million. Over half of these investments were seed stage transactions mirroring the overall venture trend of increased financing from non-traditional sources (angels, super angels, micro-VC’s, incubators) at the seed stage. The NewSchools Seed Fund led and/or participated in nearly a quarter of […]
Who’s Funding K-12 Edtech?
“What other funders do you recommend?” This is one of the most common questions I get from edtech founders so I have compiled this list to help entrepreneurs navigate the edtech investor landscape and identify potential funders. This list is by no means exhaustive and is aligned to our focus on the U.S. K-12 student population.
ReimaginED: The Future of K12 Education
(link) From TED talk playlists to government speeches, everyone agrees: education is changing. Exactly how, why, or what it all means is still up for debate. Are the low United States PISA scores a sign of stagnation or creativity? Does technology replace or enhance face to face interaction? Are we trying to teach skills, concepts, or learning mindsets? At NewSchools Venture Fund, we’d like to set the stage […]
The NewSchools Notebook: tech, teaching, and inspiration
At NewSchools, we are constantly being exposed to new ideas in education from a variety of sources. Given that we invest in technologies that sprea