Ed Tech Insider | The Brainscape Blog: Learn How to Learn Faster

On screen with Tom Krieglstein – Founder of Red Rover

By Andrew Cohen, 5/17/2011 at 10:19 am

There’s an old college joke that “classes can really get in the way of your social life.” While intended to be ironic, people like Tom Krieglstein see a lot of truth in this statement. Tom’s startup Red Rover is the leading college network that helps students connect with peers and activities that will enrich their social college experience. Extracurricular activities, Tom says, can be the most professional enriching part of your time at a university.

I sat down with Tom this evening to discuss Red Rover, its activities to date, and its eventual vision to become a central activities hub, from a student’s college life through their professional career in the corporate world. Check out our video below, and be sure to tell Tom what you think!

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On Screen with Kirsten Winkler: Founder of Edukwest and Edupreneur

By Andrew Cohen, 4/4/2011 at 2:43 pm

Kirsten Winkler is the founder of Edukwest – a series of video interviews with interesting and disruptive edtech startups that are the frontrunners of the education 2.0 scene. In her interviews, Kirsten aims to find, “promising companies early on in their evolution as a startup…in verticals and niches…that are promising and interesting in the future of education.” Kirsten sees interesting developments in the increasing role of mobile technologies and “edutainment” (see our conversation with Voxy).

Kirsten recently interviewed me for her “Flashcards: Product or Feature?” series, and I thought it would be great to get her expert opinion on the EdTech scene for the EdTech Insider. In this interview we discuss the future of education on mobile platforms and the role of gamification in new learning curricula for children vs. adult learners. Check out the interview below for more of Kirsten’s thoughts on Education 2.0 as well as some hints as to what projects she’s got in the works!
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On Screen with Eren Bali: Co-Founder of Udemy

By Andrew Cohen, 1/28/2011 at 12:30 pm

Eren Bali is the co-founder of Udemy, an online course authoring and sharing platform that aims to “democratize online education.” Eren actually built the original prototype of this software while living in his home country of Turkey, before moving to Silicon Valley and partnering with Gagan Biyani to turn his idea into a real company and raise some funding. Udemy differs from other sites like YouTube or Blip.tv in that it is solely focused on education – combining series of instructional videos into full courses that can be purchased, shared, and even certified. Course creators can create lectures from videos, presentations, and articles, as well as doing live classes with video conferencing, presentations, white board etc.

I sat down with Eren today to discuss the future of Udemy and the field of education technology in general. Check out his thoughts on video education below, and tell him what you think!

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On Screen with Josephine Dorado – Professor of Virtual Learning & Director of KidzConnect

By Andrew Cohen, 1/26/2011 at 2:34 pm

Josephine Dorado is a professor of Virtual Learning at The New School, and a founder & director of KidzConnect, a program that connects young people in different countries via media art, performance and collaborative creation in virtual worlds. Josephine was an early pioneer in using virtual worlds – such as Second Life – in education. She sees these online communities as efficient media of exchange where the barriers to communication are low and the opportunities for integration with traditional face-to-face learning are high. Josephine even teaches her entire course online-only, even though most of her students live within two miles of campus!

I sat down with Josephine this evening (in the middle of a Pixable launch party – hence the beers) to discuss these issues and more. Check out her thoughts in the video below, and be sure to tell her what you think!

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On Screen with Brian Hughes – Dir. of Social Media at EdLab

By Andrew Cohen, 1/24/2011 at 11:20 am

Brian Hughes is the Director of Social Media at Columbia University’s EdLab. He and his colleagues see a coming shift toward online “learning networks” to fit diverse educational niches. Two current EdLab projects, Vialogues and Pressible, are already gaining decent traction and paving the way for future innovations in the field. I sat down with Brian this afternoon to discuss learning networks, the future of library services, and the evolution of education technology in general.

Check out more about Brian’s work and EdLab projects in the video below, and be sure to tell him what you think!

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On Screen with David deForest Keys – Founder of ClearPoint Learning Systems

By Andrew Cohen, 1/17/2011 at 11:45 am

David deForest Keys is the founder & former CEO of ClearPoint Learning Systems, a leader in the pharmaceutical sales training industry. ClearPoint began in 2001 with “flip-through” style eLearning modules with quizzes at the end, but the company’s courseware quickly evolved toward more interactive simulations with a deeper focus on skills-building. David sat down today with Brainscape’s founder Andrew Cohen to discuss past and future trends in corporate eLearning.

Check out David’s thoughts in the video below, and be sure to tell him what you think!

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On Screen with Matt Curinga – Assistant Professor of Education Technology

By Andrew Cohen, 1/3/2011 at 6:11 pm

Matt Curinga is an Assistant Professor at Adelphi Univeristy who is creating the institution’s first-ever Masters degree program in Educational Technology. Drawing on his strong leadership background in open source education solutions such as Study Place and CTELL, Dr. Curinga is planning to make Adelphi’s program one of the first that focuses on “Open Education”. The curriculum will also place special emphasis on collaborative projects, where students develop strong technical skills and apply educational and media theory in practice.

Hear more of Dr. Curinga’s thoughts on the Ed Tech industry and Open Education in the video below, and be sure to tell him what you think!

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On Screen with Paul Gollash – Founder & CEO of Voxy

By Andrew Cohen, 12/31/2010 at 1:10 pm

Paul Gollash founded Voxy with one thing in mind: To help people “learn a language from life.” While language immersion programs and grammar drills can be useful, Paul argues, they neglect the real-world types of news stories and life skills that they really need to learn. Voxy “adds a layer of education onto the real world” to make language learning more fun and relevant, and to reduce abandonment in the learning process. The future of Voxy will see an increasingly stronger set of features across the web and mobile devices, as well as a gradual expansion into all major languages that people may want to learn.

Check out more of Paul’s thoughts about Voxy & the language education industry in the video below, and tell him what you think!

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On Screen with Andy Lutz – Former Director of Product at The Princeton Review

By Andrew Cohen, 12/20/2010 at 6:09 pm

As our first interview here in our new Ed Tech insider, I thought it would only be appropriate if I interviewed my main business partner himself – Andy Lutz! Andy led product development at The Princeton Review – the world’s second-biggest test prep company – for many years, and he’s built himself a pretty solid understanding of what works and what fails in the industry. Andy seems convinced that the most successful test prep solutions in the next decade will be those that allow students to study in smaller, more convenient chunks that allow for greater personalization in education.