Katie Boody Adorno is the Founder and CEO of Leanlab Education, a research nonprofit studying education innovations that have been codesigned with school communities. Driven by a desire to ensure all students have access to excellent education, Katie’s work has taken her from Kansas City classrooms to the founding of Leanlab, and most recently to the cofounding of the Global Edtech Testbed Network.
Why have so few edtech products engaged in efficacy research, and especially few in objective third-party research & development or evaluation studies?
Some attribute the lack of evidence to the lack of demand for evidence among school purchasers. Historically, many districts have relied on peer recommendations rather than a tools’ evidence base to make purchasing decisions.
Others note the noisy credentialing environment, in which organizations with no regulatory authority badge and credential products, makes it hard for decision makers to know which products are truly evidence-based.
Still others point to the cost of research—the painful, expensive, and time-intensive third-party evaluation processes that often don’t keep pace with the realities of a fast-moving tech sector.
However, as a flood of new AI-enabled edtech enters the market at the same moment that schools face the ESSER funding cliff, buyers are starting to cast a more discerning eye on which tools are truly moving the needle on outcomes.
Raising the Bar for Edtech Adoption
This June at ISTE Live, one group of education leaders sought to support the field by outlining some top considerations purchasers should consider when adopting new edtech solutions:
Does the tool have a credible evidence base?
Will the tool help us address a critical learning need?
Is tool adoption and implementation within our budget?
How much time will staff need to commit?
How will instructional time be impacted?
What data will be collected?
Is the tool safe for use with our students (e.g., will student data be collected)?
Is the tool just one more thing/initiative for our teachers to deal with (AKA: does the cost of getting buy-in outweigh the reward)?
These parallel developments point to a potential shift in the market; nonprofit organizations are engaging in collective impact work to send cohesive and consistent signals into the market, while purchasers are seeking safe, vetted, streamlined, and cost-effective solutions.
Inclusive Innovation: Preventive Medicine for Edtech
While there is a need for more evidence measuring the potential of edtech, the evidence that does exist is promising… at least for some populations. Laurence Holt’s remarkable EdTech Next article “The Five Percent Problem” cites studies demonstrating considerable student learning gains from leading products Khan Academy, Dreambox, and IXL. The problem he points out is that these gains were realized only by “students who used the product as intended.” How many of the students “use the product as intended”? Often, as few as five percent of students studied, and often those with additional benefits. The obvious question: what do we do about the other 95%?
Enter inclusive innovation, a R&D approach that aims to increase the usability and effectiveness of emerging solutions by focusing on the processby which products are created and evolve. Inclusive innovation refers to a systematic process that elevates the insights of users representative of the diverse backgrounds, needs, and abilities in American classrooms.
The theory underlying inclusive innovation is that when products are:
Developed in close proximity to diverse, representative users
Designed to incorporate the feedback of diverse users
Built on a pre-existing foundation of evidence-based best practices
… the resultant products are more likely to be implemented as intended, and thus more likely to demonstrate impact on student outcomes.
We see inclusive innovation as ‘preventative medicine’ for edtech companies. By incorporating early touch points and feedback loops with diverse student populations while products are being developed, companies can expect reliable usage that drives long-term results.
Various organizations in the field describe such inclusive innovation practices, as ”inclusive R&D”, “co-design”, “co-creation”, “co-development”,” inclusive design”, and “participatory methods”. In practice, all variants of inclusive innovation involve engaging teachers and learners early and often during product development. Whether it’s the creation of user surveys, the development of research questions for focus groups, or the work to match an edtech company with a school to co-design an efficacy study that addresses school-identified goals, inclusive innovation practitioners are working directly with learner communities.
The Importance of Inclusive Innovation in AI-Powered Edtech
While AI has the potential to revolutionize education through personalized learning experiences and increased teacher efficiency, it also has the well-documented potential to perpetuate bias, threatening to exacerbate existing inequities in education.
The speed at which AI technologies are developing is rendering traditional research methods (which can take multiple years) unhelpful or obsolete. So, how might R&D help guide AI-powered edtech toward its full potential; to advance educational equity rather than threaten it?
Rather than eschewing research altogether, we believe that inclusive innovation practices—like rapid-cycle evaluations and iterative co-design—can be leveraged to produce timely and actionable findings for companies. But what exactly are these approaches and how do companies access them?
Many organizations are engaging in this work, often through collaborative efforts. Here are a few examples from the field.
Leanlab Education: Building Communities and Co-Designing Innovations
Leanlab Education is a nonprofit with a mission “to study and grow transformational education innovations co-designed with school communities”. Leanlab acts as the intermediary between edtech companies and school environments, matching partners on projects and leveraging its in-house research team to facilitate product feedback and research studies aligned to the ESSA tiers of evidence. By involving educators and students in the research design and product development process, emerging learning innovations address real-world challenges and meet the needs of diverse learners—intentionally designing for the margins.
By pairing enthusiastic education partners trained in inclusive innovation methods with companies seeking third-party research, Leanlab has increased access to inclusive R&D; to date, Leanlab has engaged over 30,000 students in nearly 80 studies. This approach ensures that emerging innovations are equitable, user-friendly, and a value-add to school communities, and thus more likely to demonstrate significant impact.
Central to this work is the newly-launched American Group of Innovative Learning Environments (AGILE) Network, a cohort of public schools, charter schools, and nontraditional learning communities ready to partner in R&D through a centralized (and co-designed) infrastructure. While managed by Leanlab, the AGILE Network is a collective impact initiative built on findings from the Global Edtech Testbed Network and supported by a growing number of partners—including founding partner AERDF, Digital Promise, and ISTE.
ISTE: Edtech Index
ISTE (along with acquired non-profit ASCD) is a global education community working to accelerate innovation in education through the smart use of technology. Well-known for their marquee conference, ISTE Live, that convenes more than 17,000 educators annually, ISTE is now using its reach to elevate the importance of evidence-based edtech and inclusive innovation.
ISTE’s Edtech Index consolidates information and validations on over 1,500 edtech products in one accessible platform, as well as a free teacher ready evaluation tool that helps educators determine the usability of edtech products for their contexts. The Edtech Index measures products aligned to the five domains of quality identified by the partnership of groups in the field: safety, evidence-base, inclusivity, usability, and interoperability.
Digital Promise: AI, Equity, and Inclusive Networks
Digital Promise’s efforts to advance equitable education systems through R&D takes various forms, including AI literacy and digital equity initiatives, work through their Center for Inclusive Innovation, and the Learner Variability Project. By conducting rigorous human-centered research, making findings accessible, and providing resources for educators, Digital Promise helps create an environment where all students can benefit from edtech advancements.
The Center for Inclusive Innovation reimagines education R&D by building the capacity for districts and communities across the country to engage in R&D, with a focus on supporting students furthest from opportunity. After their network partners co-design and engage in R&D, project details and solutions are shared with the larger field, highlighting R&D practices in diverse contexts. Digital Promise has also been an early leader in AI in education policy guidance, creating an AI Literacy Framework, leading workshops for school leaders, and advocating with companies, government, and schools for keeping humans in the loop.
AERDF: Finding Bold and Equitable Solutions
The Advanced Education Research & Development Fund (AERDF) maintains an extensive portfolio of inclusive R&D projects that incorporate learner and educator perspectives from start to finish. Inspired by federal Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) initiatives, AERDF’s focus on equity-driven R&D ensures that breakthroughs are developed that address systemic inequalities in education, with a focus on Black and Latino students and students experiencing poverty.
AERDF’s advanced R&D projects involve sustained collaborations with educators, researchers, and communities to co-create solutions that are effective and inclusive. Their work creates bridges across the ecosystem, tackling challenges like assessments, math outcomes, and literacy, and showcases their findings for the larger field.
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative: Partnering to Co-Build
As a funder and collaborator in the edtech field, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) supports the development of evidence-based, co-created personalized learning experiences through the use of technology. CZI partners with organizations conducting and promoting inclusive R&D–including Leanlab Education, Digital Promise, and ISTE–as well as educators and students to co-build tools and reimagine education.
CZI engages in co-building through their edtech innovation studio, Render. With their collaborative product development approach, Render is creating AI-customized math materials, tools focused on elementary literacy, and administrative applications for classroom grouping. Reflecting their inclusive approach, Render’s co-building opportunities are posted online and matched to educator interests.
The Path Forward: Scaling Access to Inclusive Innovation
As AI continues to reshape the edtech landscape and schools look for breakthrough solutions that improve outcomes for all students,, there is an opportunity to establish inclusive innovation as an expected norm. Stakeholders across the edtech ecosystem—educators, researchers, solution providers, funders, and policymakers—can all engage in inclusive innovation and guide the transformation of K-12 education.
Through collective action, we can ensure the future of edtech, particularly AI-powered edtech, is not only innovative but also inclusive.
Here’s how each group can get started:
Educators, district leaders, and students can get involved in R&D projects, with opportunities aligned to their needs, interests, and capacity. Leanlab Education, In Tandem, Transcend, and Digital Promise are only a few examples of robust innovation communities.
Schools, when seeking out new edtech, can check validations in the Edtech Index, use Evidence for ESSA or other reviewing bodies, or include inclusive design criteria in RFPs.
Solution providers can co-build promising edtech with the communities they aim to serve, tapping third-party research organizations that use inclusive R&D methods or design internal R&D efforts on co-design principles.
Funders, policy makers, and solution providers can leverage open research, guidelines, and other resources to support inclusive R&D efforts, improve developing edtech, and collaborate more effectively.
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Join Our Edtech and AI Book Club!
Edtech Insiders and FOHE (Future of Higher Education) are joining forces to host an Edtech and AI Book Club! Our first book is Sal Khan’s new book Brave New Words: How AI Will Revolutionize Education (and Why That’s a Good Thing). We will be meeting on August 22 to discuss this title with an all-star group of edtech and AI industry folks.
To prepare, read the book (or at least have AI read and summarize it for you…).
For bonus points, check out Edtech Insiders’ interviews with Sal Khan, Khan Academy CLO Kristen DiCerbo and Sam Altman to learn more about the inside scoop on Khanmigo and the Khan/OpenAI partnership.
1. OpenAI's GPT-5 Set to Release Soon, Amidst Major Staff Exits
OpenAI's GPT-5, set to release soon, is anticipated to offer significant advancements in accuracy, reasoning, and multimodal capabilities, including video. Users and developers are hopeful about its potential to perform complex, multi-step tasks more efficiently and provide highly personalized interactions (a primary use case in educational settings).
Meanwhile, several high-profile executives at OpenAI are leaving- President Greg Brockman is taking an unexpected sabbatical, Co-founder John Schulman is leaving for rival Anthropic; product manager Peter Deng has also left. 3 of OpenAI’s 11 original co-founders remain; what this portends is unclear, but some are buzzing that OpenAI has quickly morphed from an AGI moonshot to a product company, bringing along the debt that can come with supergrowth, and some of the more CS-minded staff might be feeling a bit.
2. Meta Releases Llama 3.1, Google Deepmind Evolving
Meta has introduced Llama 3.1, its most advanced open-source AI model to date. The Llama 3.1 collection, including the 405B model, offers unmatched capabilities in general knowledge, multilingual support, and tool use.
Meanwhile, Google Deepmind has released an experimental LLM that is quickly making waves in the industry… more to come.
2U has filed for bankruptcy. The company cites the move as a strategy to regain financial stability, but this might prompt partner institutions to reconsider their contracts amid 2U's ongoing financial and legal challenges. This development raises significant questions about the future of OPMs and their partnerships with higher education institutions.
4. Will AI Disrupt the $3 Billion College App Industry?
Colleges are increasingly using AI tools to streamline their application process, employing these technologies to evaluate transcripts, recommendation letters, and personal essays. While this integration promises efficiency, it also raises ethical concerns about transparency and potential biases in the admissions process.
5. The Best and Worst Arguments for Keeping Your Product in a School District Budget, Post-Stimulus
In the wake of post-stimulus budget constraints, school districts are evaluating what educational products to continue paying for.
If you’re looking to keep your product in school districts, effective strategies include demonstrating clear evidence of the product's impact on student outcomes and aligning the product with long-term educational objectives. Conversely, arguments focusing solely on cost savings without showcasing educational value may be less compelling to administrators looking to make data-driven decisions.
6. ‘Freemium’ Ed-Tech Products Come Under Scrutiny as Cybersecurity Concerns Rise
With rising cybersecurity concerns, "freemium" ed-tech products are increasingly under scrutiny from school districts. Educators are encouraged to experiment with free tools, but only those that don't require student-level data, ensuring tighter data privacy controls.
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Scott Kirkpatrick’s Career Path and Vision for BrainPOP
During our conversation, Scott Kirkpatrick shared his impressive career journey from the U.S. Coast Guard to leading BrainPOP. His experience spans various educational organizations, emphasizing the importance of higher-order skills like critical thinking and creativity, which he aims to cultivate at BrainPOP.
“I think the biggest need we have... is actually developing those higher order skills, critical thinking and creativity... kids need to be empowered to think for themselves. And I was lucky enough to find BrainPOP, who had been doing that for 20 years...” - Scott Kirkpatrick
BrainPOP’s Evolution and Mission
BrainPOP has evolved significantly over its 25-year history, from its early days as a subscription service for schools to its current status as a leader in edtech. Scott emphasized BrainPOP’s mission to empower kids to shape the world around them and their continuous focus on joy in learning.
“Our mission statement is to empower kids to shape the world around them and within them... Our vision is to build and measure the skills needed to thrive in tomorrow's world, which as we know, is changing all the time...” - Scott Kirkpatrick
Impact of BrainPOP’s Acquisition by Kirkby (LEGO)
BrainPOP’s acquisition by Kirkby, the parent company of LEGO, has been highly beneficial, fostering an aligned culture focused on long-term goals and impact. Scott highlighted the importance of maintaining BrainPOP’s independence while leveraging the synergy between the two brands.
“They have an absolutely long-term outlook for the business... we're thinking about what's best for kids, how do we serve educators... Everything that we talked about is around that. And if we actually move towards this goal, financial returns will come.” - Scott Kirkpatrick
New Developments and Innovations at BrainPOP
BrainPOP is planning to introduce several new features, including grade-level texts, vocabulary builders, and enhanced quizzes. The new BrainPOP Science product focuses on real-world scientific investigations and engineering practices, incorporating AI to assist in grading and providing valuable data to teachers.
Quote: “Everything that we're doing is in the spirit of the challenges that educators, families, kids are struggling with... We've launched our patented assisted grading process for open-ended responses... giving them data at their fingertips that they can actually really make an impact in real time.”
The Future of Assessment with AI
Scott envisions a future where AI transforms assessment by providing personalized, real-time evaluations that measure a broader range of skills, including creativity and critical thinking. This shift could replace traditional standardized testing and support more individualized learning paths.
“The ability to assess students, and especially at different levels of background knowledge, I'm just so excited about this opportunity where kids can choose what they want to learn.” -Scott Kirkpatrick
Curious to Learn More?
You can listen to our full interview with Scott, as well as interviews with many other edtech founders, investors, and thought leaders at The Edtech Insiders Podcast! Check it out, and as always, we’d love to hear what you think!
This edition of the Edtech Insiders Newsletter is sponsored byTuck Advisors.
Since 2017, Tuck Advisors has been a trusted name in Education M&A. Founded by serial entrepreneurs with over 25 years of experience founding, investing in, and selling companies, we believe you deserve M&A advisors who work as hard as you do. Are you a founder thinking of selling your company? Have you received any UFO’s (unsolicited flattering offers) and need help determining if they’re real or hoaxes? We can help! Reach out to us at confidential@tuckadvisors.com.
