Edtech Insiders

Jaksot

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  AI That Understands Teaching with Brian Johnsrud of OpenAI & Kristin Vincent of Learning Commons 17.09.2026 30min

  Send us Fan Mail Kristin Vincent is VP of Product at Learning Commons, where she leads teams focused on scaling proven teaching and learning practices. She has spent 20 years building Edtech products, including leadership roles at Pearson and K12.com/Strive. Brian Johnsrud, PhD is OpenAI’s Global Head of Educational Engagement. A former K-12 teacher, college lecturer, and education technology researcher, he focuses on helping educators and students use AI to build skills, agency, and new poss...
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  Week in Edtech 9/9/26: AI Cognitive Offloading, NYC School AI Restrictions, The Tech Backlash, The Paradox of Banning AI, and More! Feat. Shan Reddy & Vivek Vajipey of Aristotle and Dr. Ron Smith of Salesforce 16.09.2026 1t 24min

  Send us Fan Mail Join hosts Alex Sarlin and Ben Kornell as they unpack New York City and Los Angeles school AI restrictions, the launch of a new AI tutor from Aristotle, and how Salesforce is supporting educators, students, and career pathways in the AI era. ✨ Episode Highlights: [00:01:57] AI, cognitive offloading, and the future of learning [00:06:21] New York City restricts student-facing AI tools in schools [00:11:13] AI, edtech, and the growing technology backlash [00:15:08] The paradox ...
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  HigherEd Series: What Should Students Learn When AI Can Do the Work? with Nils Gilman of Berggruen Institute 15.09.2026 53min

  Send us Fan Mail Nils Gilman is Senior Advisor to the Berggruen Institute, an intellectual historian by training and a widely published essayist on the future of higher education and AI's impact on work and learning. His writing has appeared in Noema, The New York Times, Foreign Policy, and many other venues. He holds a B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. from UC Berkeley. Hosted by Matthew Rascoff This episode is part of the Edtech Insiders HigherEd Podcast Series, featuring conversations with leaders shap...
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  AI in Action: Emily Freitag of Instruction Partners on What’s Actually Working in Schools 14.09.2026 32min

  Send us Fan Mail Emily Freitag is Co-founder and CEO of Instruction Partners, a nonprofit focused on strengthening instructional leadership and support for educators. She previously served as Assistant Commissioner of Curriculum and Instruction for the Tennessee Department of Education and began her career as a seventh-grade math teacher in Louisiana. 💡 5 Things You’ll Learn in This Episode: What 20 AI products look like in real classrooms.Where AI is helping and hurting student learning.Why ...
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  Building AI-Native Learning for the Future of Work with Vinitra Swamy of Scholé AI 14.09.2026 51min

  Send us Fan Mail Vinitra Swamy is the CEO and Co-founder of Scholé AI, a UC Berkeley and EPFL spinoff building AI-native learning for the future of work. A former Microsoft AI engineer and AI-for-education PhD, she focuses on bringing learning science, personalization, and AI together to transform adult learning. 💡 5 Things You’ll Learn in This Episode: How AI enables truly personalized learning.Why Scholé uses multiple AI agents to teach.How learning science shapes AI-native education.The fu...
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  HigherEd Series: Can AI Help Higher Education Find Its Purpose Again? With Paul LeBlanc of Southern New Hampshire University 08.09.2026 52min

  Send us Fan Mail Paul LeBlanc is the former president of Southern New Hampshire University, the largest non-profit provider of online higher education in the country. His new book, Reclaiming Purpose: The University in an AI World, examines how higher education can respond proactively to leverage the rise of artificial intelligence and reconnect to its essential task of helping students discover lives of purpose. Hosted by Matthew Rascoff This episode is part of the Edtech Insiders High...
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  Can AI Actually Teach? Inside Oboe with Nir Zicherman 07.09.2026 48min

  Send us Fan Mail Nir Zicherman is the CEO of Oboe. Oboe's mission is to teach one billion people one trillion things. In 2015, Nir co-founded Anchor, which grew to become the world's largest podcasting platform. After Spotify acquired Anchor in 2019, he led Spotify's expansion into audiobooks as VP of Audiobooks. 💡 5 Things You'll Learn in This Episode Why AI should teach—not just answer questions.How personalized learning paths can outperform traditional chatbots.Lessons from building consum...
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  Week in Edtech 8/26/26: Federal EdTech Evidence Guidance, AI Backlash in Schools, OpenAI’s 55 District Deals, Harvard AI Faculty Avatars, MIT Rethinks Learning, and More! Feat. Carl Madi of Stepful & Manny Smith of EdVisorly 04.09.2026 1t 10min

  Send us Fan Mail Join hosts Ben Kornell and Alex Sarlin as they break down new federal guidance on edtech evidence and efficacy, the growing backlash against AI and big tech in schools, Harvard's AI faculty avatars, and MIT's evolving approach to teaching and learning in the AI era. ✨ Episode Highlights: [00:04:47] U.S. Department of Education issues edtech evidence guidance [00:14:21] AI tutoring research highlights mastery-based learning [00:16:36] The growing backlash against AI and big te...
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  HigherEd Series: What Would Higher Education Look Like If We Started Over? with Sasha Thackaberry-Voinovich of Newstate University 02.09.2026 51min

  Send us Fan Mail Dr. Sasha Thackaberry-Voinovich founded Newstate University in 2026, bringing 20+ years of education leadership from executive roles at SkillsWave, Pearson, LSU and SNHU. She holds a PhD from Kent State and authored "The Power Worker" and "How to Grow Enrollment in Online Higher Education." Hosted by Matthew Rascoff This episode is part of the Edtech Insiders HigherEd Podcast Series, featuring conversations with leaders shaping the future of higher education. 💡 5 Things You’...
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  Why Leadership Matters More Than Technology with Aneesh Sohoni of Teach For America 31.08.2026 21min

  Send us Fan Mail Aneesh Sohoni is CEO of Teach For America and a former high school English teacher and TFA corps member. He has also led TFA Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana and One Million Degrees. 💡 5 Things You’ll Learn in This Episode: Why leadership matters more than technology in education.How teachers can build practical AI fluency.Teach For America’s 4 Ds framework for using AI.Why AI can’t replace human connection in learning.How teachers are using AI to personalize learning.✨ ...
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  Week in Edtech 8/19/26: ChatGPT for Teens, $265M Reach Capital Fund, The EdTech Backlash, AI’s Competitive Shakeup, and More! Feat. Sabine Wallis, NWEA & Andy Rotherham and Marisa Mission, Bellwether 28.08.2026 1t 15min

  Send us Fan Mail Join hosts Ben Kornell and Alex Sarlin as they break down the biggest stories shaping AI, Edtech investment, the growing tech backlash, and the future of assessment. ✨ Episode Highlights: [00:05:47] ChatGPT for Teens introduces new safety and learning features [00:11:29] Generalized AI models raise new challenges for Edtech companies [00:13:47] OpenAI partners with CodeAI on AI learning and youth safety [00:17:07] Reach Capital launches a new $265M fund focused on early-stage...
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  Why Edtech Needs Less Hype and More Honesty with Tony Wan & Betsy Corcoran 24.08.2026 50min

  Send us Fan Mail Tony Wan is Head of Platform at Reach Capital and co-founder and former managing editor of EdSurge. Betsy Corcoran is a writer, speaker, serial entrepreneur, and co-founder of EdSurge who explores AI and learning through her work and podcast, Future Fluent. 💡 5 Things You’ll Learn in This Episode: How EdSurge helped shape the early edtech ecosystem.Why edtech needs more honest and nuanced storytelling.What the tech backlash gets right and where it misses the bigger picture.Wh...
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  Week in Edtech 8/12/26: Educator AI Adoption Hits 80%, Varsity Tutors Exits Schools, Higher Ed Rethinks Grading, Open vs. Closed AI, and More! Feat. Reg Leichty of Foresight Law + Policy & Mike Wales and Madison McCormick of CodePath 21.08.2026 1t 8min

  Send us Fan Mail Join hosts Ben Kornell and Alex Sarlin as they break down the biggest stories shaping educator confidence, tutoring, higher ed grading, AI models, education policy, and AI workforce development. ✨ Episode Highlights: [00:02:47] Edtech Insiders heads to Teach For America’s 35th anniversary [00:05:19] HMH survey shows educator AI adoption reaches 80% [00:08:45] Varsity Tutors exits school-based tutoring [00:11:46] What makes tutoring effective? [00:13:00] MIT drops freshman gra...
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  Inside Reach Capital’s $265M Fund V with Jomayra Herrera 18.08.2026 50min

  Send us Fan Mail Jomayra Herrera is a Partner at Reach Capital, an early-stage venture fund investing across learning, health, and work. Previously, she worked at Emerson Collective and Cowboy Ventures, investing in companies including Handshake, Guild, Contra, and Career Karma. 💡 5 Things You’ll Learn in This Episode: Why Reach Capital is doubling down on pre-seed and early-stage investing with its new $265M Fund V.How learning, health, and work intersect to create new opportunities for inno...
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  AI Should Support Teachers, Not Replace Them with Joy Delizo-Osborne of Student Achievement Partners 17.08.2026 52min

  Send us Fan Mail Joy Delizo-Osborne is President and CEO of Student Achievement Partners, where she works to improve instructional quality and connect evidence-based practices with curriculum and edtech. A former teacher, instructional coach, and principal, Joy brings more than 20 years of experience in education. 💡 5 Things You’ll Learn in This Episode: How AI can support and not replace teachers and students.Why productive struggle still matters in AI-powered learning.What districts should ...
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  Week in Edtech 8/5/26: Higher Ed Leadership Turnover Accelerates, OpenAI Expands Its Education Push, AI “Slop” Floods Teachers Pay Teachers, Students Propose AI Rules, and More! Feat. Janice Jackson of Aspen Institute 14.08.2026 58min

  Send us Fan Mail Join hosts Ben Kornell and Alex Sarlin as they break down the biggest stories shaping higher education, AI adoption, school technology policy, and the future of learning. ✨ Episode Highlights: [00:05:13] Higher ed leadership turnover accelerates amid political, financial, and AI pressures [00:11:00] OpenAI launches new AI tools for college students, professors, and K–12 educators [00:17:27] OpenAI pushes deeper into higher ed with AI-powered academic workflows [00:20:40] AI c...
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  How Boddle Turned Classroom Math into a Game Kids Choose to Play with Edna Martinson 10.08.2026 49min

  Send us Fan Mail Edna Martinson is the Co-founder and COO of Boddle Learning, a gamified K–6 learning platform used by millions of students to build confidence in math, literacy, and science. She is passionate about combining great game design with research-backed learning experiences that teachers and students love. 💡 5 Things You'll Learn in This Episode Why Boddle was built to compete with video games.How gamification drives learning and confidence.What teachers want from classroom technol...
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  Week in Edtech 7/29/26: Gates Foundation Shakeup, OpenAI's AI Workforce Push, Y Combinator Backs AI Tutors, Coursera Invests $100M on AI Learning, and More! Feat. Kavitta Ghai of Nectir & Aidan McDowell of UniqLearn 07.08.2026 1t 33min

  Send us Fan Mail Join hosts Ben Kornell and Alex Sarlin as they break down the biggest stories shaping AI, edtech investment, philanthropy, the future of work, and AI-powered learning. ✨ Episode Highlights: [00:02:33] Bridges AI Summit brings district leaders together to discuss AI adoption, pilots, and edtech purchasing [00:05:19] Imagi raises $4.5M with backing from OpenAI, Lovable, Will.i.am, Kahoot!, and ElevenLabs [00:09:18] AI, cross-sector platforms, and portfolio consolidation drive e...
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  Inside the Inaugural Columbians in EdTech Showcase: Meet the Winners 03.08.2026 1t 19min

  Send us Fan Mail Inside Columbia's First EdTech Showcase, Alex Sarlin sits down with the founders and leaders behind the inaugural Columbia EdTech Showcase to explore the startups, ideas, and innovations shaping the future of learning from AI-powered discussion tools to health education, learning science, and content curation. 🎙️ Featuring insights from: [00:01:56] Pete Novak, Founder, Columbians in EdTech [00:14:48] Dan Wang, Co-Founder, CAiSEY [00:32:43] Kyleigh Sudlow, Lead Engineer, Puber...
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  Claude for Teachers: How Anthropic Is Reimagining AI for Educators with Drew Bent & Sandra Liu Huang 30.07.2026 27min

  Send us Fan Mail Drew Bent leads Education at Anthropic, where he oversees education initiatives including Claude for Teachers. A former math teacher, Khan Academy engineer, and co-founder of Schoolhouse.world, Drew focuses on applying AI to improve teaching and learning. Sandra Liu Huang is President of Learning Commons, where she leads the development of open AI datasets and learning science infrastructure for education. She previously held product leadership roles at Google, Facebook, and ...