Edtech investor jumps ship; Senators watch robo-proctors; Vaccines for EDU

No. 513 | 12/9/20 | Subscribe to this newsletter This issue is sponsored by This year has left us all searching for answers, for which many of us literally turned to Google. Today, the company released its annual list of top trending searches based on trillions of queries in 2020. The double whammy of a pandemic and a contested U.S. Presidential election dominated the list, naturally. (In third place? Kobe Bryant).   Not all top trending searches were so grim. For TV shows, Tiger King took the throne. For food recipes, sourdough bread won the day. For booze recipes, White Claw slushie topped the chart. (Oh you millennials.) For queries starting with "why," chainsaws somehow sliced their way to the top spot.   What didn't make the final cut on Google's trends landing page is data related to education, which the company shared separately with EdSurge. As they relate to schools, the top trending searches were: When will schools reopen is school closed for the rest of the year is school going to be cancelled And if you were wondering about what to do with your kids, you were hardly alone if you searched for: Science experiments for kids at home Scavenger hunt for kids at home Crafts for kids at home Workouts for kids at home Lunch ideas for kids at home 📰 THE HEADLINES   VACCINES FOR SCHOOLS: News about safe, effective vaccines against COVID-19 has been a rare bright spot in a difficult year. But what will that ultimately mean for educators, schools and communities? Dr. Florian Krammer, a well-known professor of vaccinology, recently spoke to teachers about where they fall in line for a vaccine, how antibodies and vaccines work, and what he'd say to someone who's on the fence about getting the shot.   ISA IMPRESSIONS: More colleges are offering income-share agreements. But so far, with little data on outcomes and a pandemic that has impacted colleges and job markets, researchers say they need more time before drawing conclusions about whether they work. What they are learning, though, is whether students understand ISAs and how they decide to take one on. Here's the impression that ISAs get.   WATCHING THE PROCTORS: Companies offering proctoring tools that monitor students as they take online exams are now being watched themselves. Last week, six Democratic senators sent letters last week to three proctoring companies—ExamSoft, Proctorio and ProctorU—inquiring about the technologies they use to monitor users, how they ensure accuracy and reduce bias, and what steps they take to protect students' privacy.   Sponsored by AWS PARDON THIS DISRUPTION: "Science is a bit broken," says Jake Schofield of Labstep. "We see ourselves as a stepping stone to change the way all research is conducted." Employing cloud-based technology that encourages professional collaboration, he and his team aim to disrupt the norm on their way to becoming "the go-to, foundational tool for lab-based research."   TRUMP'S FOR-PROFIT COLLEGE LEGACY: Some higher-ed watchers say that Trump administration policies and practices have led for-profit colleges to rebound since he took office, even though for-profits tend to cost students more and yield lower student outcomes than nonprofit colleges.   Sponsored by Google CONTROL REMOTE: "If you look at our circumstances right now with remote learning, it's pretty much impossible for students that are struggling with basic digital and technology skills to connect with their education," explains middle school teacher Kay Vanzant-Bradney. She shows us how to build students' digital literacy to maximize remote learning success. 💰 KA'CHING!   NEW NEWS: New U Venture Partners, an edtech investment firm that launched in January 2020, is getting a new co-founder and partner: Maia Sharpley, formerly a partner at Learn Capital. Her experience and connections also means the firm will broaden its investment thesis to K-12 and global deal opportunities. And to cap off all these changes? A new name: Juvo Ventures.   Other Deals: Coursera, the Mountain View, Calif.-based provider of online courses for higher-ed and corporate institutions, is considering an initial public offering in 2021 that could give the online education provider a valuation of around $5 billion," Bloomberg reports. eThink Education, a Baltimore-based company that provides support and services for learning management systems, has been acquired by Learning Technology Group in a deal worth $20 million. ParentSquare, a Santa Barbara, Calif.-based developer of communication tools to connect K-12 districts and communities, has raised $7 million in a pre-Series A round led by KSHFO Group. Verbit, a New York City-based provider of AI transcription services used by over 700 educational institutions and service providers, has raised $60 million in a Series C round led by Sapphire Ventures. The following is a message from our sponsor Virtual learning like we've never seen before Vocareum & Tueetor are recognized by AWS EdStart, the AWS EdTech startup accelerator. The founders are featured in the AWS EdStart Global Founders Series, highlighting an exclusive group of EdTech founders who have demonstrated innovative solutions and growth on the AWS Cloud. See what they're doing and how it's shaping education worldwide. 🎧 ON THE PODCAST   A FRAMEWORK FOR INCLUSIVE TEACHING: How can educators make their teaching more inclusive? José Vilson offers a framework. He's co-founder and executive director of #EduColor, a nonprofit advocacy group dedicated to issues of race and social justice in education and the author of "This Is Not A Test: A New Narrative on Race, Class, and Education." EdSurge talked with him last week at the ISTE20 virtual conference.   Sponsored by AI Explorations STRENGTH IN NUMBERS: "It was just a great chance to learn more about artificial intelligence and machine learning and how to encourage K-12 teachers to use more AI tools in their classrooms," says Jill Hill, one of five Detroit area educators who enrolled as a group in ISTE's AI Explorations course last year. We spoke with the cohort to learn how the collaborative experience impacted their practice and expanded access to AI learning across their schools. 📊 JUST ONE CHART Source: McKinsey & Company   IN BAD COMPANY: "The pandemic has set back learning for all students, but especially for students of color." So begins a new report from McKinsey analyzing assessment data from public sources and private companies. In math, students of color could end up being 6 to 12 months behind than where they would normally be, compared to 4 to 8 months for their white peers. It is—unfortunately—the latest in a growing list of studies on the disparate impact of COVID-19 on different communities. 🗨️ JOIN THE CONVERSATION   INSIDE ISAs: Many colleges now offer income-share agreements (ISAs) to students to finance their education. But are students onboard? And what do we know so far about what determines whether or not ISAs make sense for programs and students? Hear from a researcher and students on our next EdSurge Live on Dec. 15!   Events horizon: Education industry conferences are changing plans for 2021. Among the latest updates: IMS Global's Learning Impact conference is moving from the spring to Oct. 4-7, 2021 and will likely be hybrid event. See the latest updates in our tracker of U.S. education industry events. 🏃 MOVERS & SHAKERS   Sarah Bond has joined the board of directors of Chegg, the publicly traded provider of online textbooks, study tools and tutoring services.   Mike Howells has been named chief strategy officer at Pearson.   K-12 cybersecurity researcher Doug Levin is now national director of K12 SIX, a Herndon, Va.-based nonprofit that shares information to help schools prevent and respond to cyberthreats. David Reiling has been named chief client officer of Frontline Education, a Malvern, Penn.-based provider of K-12 administrative software. 👀 ALSO ON OUR RADAR   Former teachers union president Lily Lily Eskelsen García is "is working to lock up support from Republican senators and Hispanic leaders in her bid to be picked as Education secretary." (Politico) "Money can lead to better pandemic parenting, study finds." (Hechinger Report) Looking for a job in edtech? You've come to the right place. EdSurge has the leading edtech jobs board with over 400 openings from schools, nonprofits and companies. Post a job See all edtech jobs The Edward John Noble Foundation Deputy Director for Learning and Audience Engagement DRG The DDLAE will lead and oversee the design of bold and inspired educational strategy, programming, and community building experiences across the Museum that align with and amplify MoMA's global mission as a leader in connecting audiences with art. C-Level Executive Leadership   •    Non Profit   •   New York, NY   Manager, E-Learning Peer Health Exchange PHE is looking for a Manager, E-Learning who will build interactive online modules and digital learning materials for PHE's program. The ideal candidate will have 3-5 yrs exp, including 1-2 years in designing and delivering training interventions. Curriculum Design •    Non Profit   •   Multiple   Customer Success Manager  Amira Learning Amira Learning is looking for a Customer Success Manager to help school districts successfully implement an AI-powered early literacy program. Customer Implementation / Customer Success  •    Startup   •   Remote   Direct Sales Representative, Northwest and Midwest  ENA ENA seeks experienced Direct Sales Representative for our CatchOn affiliate, an expansive data analytics tool that enables K-12 stakeholders to identify the apps and online tools that students and teachers are using in and outside of the classroom. Sales   •    Large Company   •   Multiple or Remote   Business Development Executive  GiveCampus We're looking for a Business Development Executive to help drive GiveCampus' growth in the pursuit of improving access, quality and affordability. Sales  •    Startup    •   MultipleRemote   Regional Membership Manager: Midwest_Northeast Territory The NROC Projects The NROC Regional Membership Manager (RMM) is responsible for sustaining and growing revenue through memberships and custom engagements within a specified US geography – target area Midwestern and Northeastern states. Sales   •   Non Profit   •   Chicago, IL or Remote   Events Post an event   •   See all events and meetups   Learning Design at Boston College Join our 60-minute webinar hosted by our Program Director, Dr. Brian Smith, to learn more learning design, the learning sciences, and our Master's Program in Learning Engineering. Dec 21   •   Online   •   Free   THANKS FOR READING   ➔ Got any feedback? We love hearing from readers. Shoot us a note, critiques, a joke—whatever you've got! ➔ Interested in reaching our readers? Sponsor this newsletter. ➔ Event planners: Feature your in-person or virtual event on our calendar & newsletters. EdSurge covers and connects the people, ideas and technologies that shape the future of learning. We are an independent news and research initiative of the International Society for Technology in Education. International Society for Technology in Education, 621 SW Morrison Street, Suite 800, Portland, Oregon 97205, USA, 800.336.5191 (U.S. & Canada) or 503.342.2848 (Int'l) Unsubscribe Manage preferences