Edtech Insiders
At Edtech Insiders, we interview founders, investors, operators, educators, and thought leaders about the future of education technology. You’ll hear from leaders across the education technology industry and learn about all of the important edtech trends happening globally.
Episodes
427 episodes
Year-End Special Part 2: 2026 AI & EdTech Predictions from Google, YouTube, Reach Capital, Owl Ventures & More!
In Part 2 of our year-end reflections, Alex speaks with educators, founders, investors, and platform leaders about what 2026 may bring for AI and learning at scale.🎙️ Featuring insights from:
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Season 10
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1:35:00
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What If School Worked Like a Video Game? Nolan Bushnell and Dr. Leah Hanes of ExoDexa Explain
Nolan Bushnell is the founder of Atari and Chuck E. Cheese and is widely known as the father of the video game industry.
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Season 10
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35:59
Week in Edtech 12/17/25: Coursera–Udemy Merger Shakes Online Learning, AI Platform Wars Heat Up, Purdue Mandates AI Skills, Higher Ed Faces Consolidation, and More! Feat. Isabelle Hau of Stanford Accelerator for Learning!
Join hosts Alex Sarlin, Ben Kornell, Michael Horn and Dhawal Shah as they break down major moves in online learning,...
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Season 10
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1:11:35
Year-End Special Part 1: Reviewing 2025 + 2026 AI & EdTech Predictions from Reach Capital, HMH, Brisk & More!
2025 was a defining year for AI in education. From rapid adoption to rising educator confidence and growing questions about what comes next.In Part 1 of our year-end reflections and predictions, Alex Sarlin and Ben Kornell revisit their ...
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Season 10
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2:04:21
Teaching AI to Teach: The National Tutoring Observatory’s Bold Mission with Rene Kizilcec
Rene Kizilcec is an Associate Professor at Cornell University, where he directs the Cornell Future of Learning Lab and leads the
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Season 10
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43:07
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Week in Edtech 12/10/25: OpenAI’s Teacher Certifications, Kids’ Online Safety Bills, Early Literacy Declines, College Admissions Shakeups, and More! Feat. Maya Bialik of QuestionWell, Peter Nilsson of Athena Lab & Emily Gill of LEVRA
Join hosts Alex Sarlin, Ben Wallerstein, and Matt Tower for Week in Edtech, exploring OpenAI’s teacher certifications, kids’ online safety legislation, early literacy declines, college admissions pressures, and what remains irreplaceable in edu...
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Season 10
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1:28:57
Announcing the Global EdTech Prize Winners — Live at the World Schools Summit in Abu Dhabi
This special EdTech Insiders episode, recorded live at the World Schools Summit in Abu Dhabi, spotlights the Global EdTech Prize winners and finalists sharing how they’re scaling impact across K–12 learning, teacher AI workflows, and dig...
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Season 10
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1:10:57
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe on Why Most Gamification Fails and How Trophy.so Does It Better
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe is the co-founder of Trophy.so, a gamification infrastructure platfor...
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Season 10
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47:26
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Week in EdTech 12/03/25: PhysicsWallah IPO Shakes Indian EdTech, Google & OpenAI Escalate AI Race, Higher Ed Adopts AI, New AI Leaderboard Launches, and More! Feat. Andrew Carlins of Songscription and Eric Tao & Austin Levinson of MegaMinds
Join hosts Alex Sarlin and Ben Kornell as they break down the biggest shifts in global edtech. From PhysicsWallah’s major IPO to Google–OpenAI competition, higher-ed adoption of AI, and new benchmarks shaping the future of learning. ...
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Season 10
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1:34:07
Turning Trusted Books into Personal Learning Agents with Aibrary
Frank Wu is the Co-founder of Aibrary and a Harvard Kennedy School MPP graduate. He led 20+ edtech and AI inve...
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Season 10
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54:20
The Rise of AI Companions: What Parents and Educators Need to Know with Dr. Sonia Tiwari
Dr. Sonia Tiwari is a Children's Media Researcher focused on how characters shape learning experiences. With a background spanning animation, game design, and a PhD in Learning Design ...
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Season 10
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53:50
Teaching Lab Studio: Co-Designing AI Tools with Educators
Dr. Sarah Johnson is the CEO and President of Teaching Lab and Relay Graduate School of Education, leading their AI-enab...
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Season 10
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57:06
Week in EdTech 11/19/25: OpenAI Launches ChatGPT for K–12, Google Deepens AI Push, Edtech Tools Face New Classroom Backlash, and More! Feat. Janos Perczel of Polygence & Dr. Stephen Hodges of Efekta Education
Join hosts Alex Sarlin and Ben Kornell as they break down OpenAI’s unexpected launch of ChatGPT for K–12, Google’s accelerating AI momentum, and what these shifts mean for schools, teachers, and the edtech ecosystem.✨ Episode Highligh...
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Season 10
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1:04:12
Inside the Google AI for Learning Forum: How Google Is Building the Future of Learning
This special on-site episode of Edtech Insiders was recorded live at the Google AI for Learning Forum in London on November 14, 2024, where we sat down with leaders shaping Google’s next generation of learning tools, including
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Season 10
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1:01:50
How Higher Ed Can Actually Prepare Students for Work with Brandon Busteed of Edconic
Brandon Busteed is the CEO of Edconic and a nationally recognized leader in work-integrated learning. Formerly President of Kaplan University Pa...
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Season 10
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49:20
Week in Edtech 11/12/2025: Google DeepMind AI Forum Recap, Duolingo Crash, Parents Turn to Screen-Free EdTech, AI Companions in Schools, and More! Feat. Michelle Culver (The Rithm Project), Erin Mote (InnovateEDU), & Ben Caulfield (Eedi)
Join hosts Alex Sarlin and Ben Kornell as they unpack the breakthroughs and backlash following the Google DeepMind AI for Learning Forum in London—and what it means for the future of edtech.✨ Episode Highlights:[00:03:30...
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Season 10
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1:12:14
EDTECH WEEK Shark Tank Champions: AI, XR, and The Future of Learning
This special EdTech Insiders episode features the four Shark Tank winners from EdTech Week. Each founder shares how their breakthrough approach is transforming learning, teaching, and workforce development across K–12, higher education, and glo...
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Season 10
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1:06:05
Pokémon to Prodigy: How Game-Based Learning Captivated 20 Million Students with Rohan Mahimker
Rohan Mahimker is Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Prodigy Education, a global leader in digital game-based le...
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Season 10
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46:41
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Teaching the AI Generation with Mireia Torello of Aikreate
Mireia Torello is the CEO and co-founder of Aikreate, an EdTech company revolutionizing AI Literacy for students and educators world...
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Season 10
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1:08:09
Inside the First VR Homeschool: Meta-Backed Optima Ed and the Next Era of Learning with Adam Mangana
Adam Mangana is the Co-Founder and CEO of Optima Ed, the first full-time VR homeschool backed by Meta. With over 15 years in edtech leadersh...
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Season 10
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54:34
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Week in EdTech 10/29/25: Alpha School's Backlash, Chegg Layoffs, Kaplan’s AI Pivot, Mem0’s “Memory Layer,” Big Tech vs. Higher Ed, and More! Feat. Rebecca Winthrop & Jenny Anderson, Authors of The Disengaged Teen and Justin Reich, MIT Teaching Systems Lab
Join hosts Alex Sarlin and Ben Kornell as they recap a post–New York EdTech Week full of highs and hard truths.✨ Episode Highlights: [00:00:00] Alpha School's backlash and what it reveals about AI-based education. <...
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Season 10
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1:38:38
Inside ECMC Group’s $250M Education Impact Fund with Joe Watt and Atin Batra
Joe Watt co-founded ECMC Group’s Education Impact Fund to back bold ideas expanding equity and opportunity in education. Today...
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Season 10
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1:01:38
GESAwards: Breaking Barriers with Innovation in AI, Music, and Prison Ed
In this special episode, we spotlight the GESAwards, often called the “United Nations of EdTech,” with founder Avi Warshavsky of
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Season 10
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41:47
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Week in EdTech 10/15/25: AI Adoption in Classroom Now Hits 85%, India’s EdTech Rebounds, Campus Acquires Sizzle AI, Learning Avatars, and More! Feat. Joy Chen of HeyGen & Daniel Pollack-Pelzner, Author of Lin-Manuel Miranda: The Education of an Artist
Join hosts Alex Sarlin and Ben Kornell as they explore the latest developments in education technology leading into NY EDTECH WEEK, from AI adoption in classrooms to major acquisitions and emerging trends across global EdTech.✨ Episod...
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Season 10
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1:26:14
Week in EdTech 10/8/25: Cell Phone Bans Sweep Schools, Federal Shutdown Hits Education, Higher Ed Faces Enrollment Crisis, ChatGPT Integrates Coursera, and More! Feat. Jim & Maurie Beasley of AIEDPro, and Stacey Brook of College Essay Advisors
Join hosts Alex Sarlin and Ben Kornell with guest Anna Edwards of Whiteboard Advisors as they unpac...
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Season 10
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1:34:26
