This Week in Edtech: November 28th, 2022

Generative AI, McKinsey and Owl Ventures on Edtech, and Law Schools Revolt

Nov 28, 2022

Having finally caught COVID, I’m outsourcing the essay of the week to Hannah Celina, co-founder of Edtech company Kinnu, who wrote a fascinating breakdown of her experiences using Generative AI to create educational content.

“The Generative AI Revolution” can be read in full at Kinnu’s blog, but here’s an excerpt:

BIG FIVE HEADLINES

1. MCKINSEY EDTECH REPORT

Management consultancy McKinsey puts out a (short) new report, focusing primarily on upskilling and workforce education. “Five trends to watch in the Edtech Industry”.

The trends:

Capital inflows are higher than ever (“online education is becoming the new normal.”)
Edtech players are merging and partnering to achieve scale and efficiency
Large firms view employee reskilling and upskilling as a necessity
India becomes a leader in the edtech race with global aspirations (and conversely, China drops off the map)
Edtech leaders are focusing on supporting career progression (“some edtech players are building their internal capabilities and making acquisitions”)

2. OWL VENTURES’ OUTCOME REPORT

Owl Ventures, the largest dedicated Edtech VC firm, put out an extensive and interactive ‘2022 Education Outcomes Report’, setting a new benchmark for outcome measurements in Edtech.

We particularly appreciated Owl’s breakdown of how its portfolio companies measure education outcomes:

…and the extensive ‘deep dives’ into each sector and company.

Pre-K12 (Example below: Outcomes for Newsela)
Postsecondary (Example below: Outcomes for Quizlet)

Career Mobility (Example below: Outcomes for Mental Health startup Real)

3. ONLINE TUTORING FALLOUT

A scathing article from Chalkbeat, “Schools across the U.S. have turned to Paper’s online tutoring. Some worry it’s falling short” notes how some of the large online tutoring contracts signed during the pandemic are not resulting in nearly enough effective tutoring sessions, especially for the students who need them most.

4. EDX AND EMERITUS TEAM UP

Two large online higher ed Edtech companies join up for a distribution partnership; is this part of a larger scale strategy for Edx/2U to consolidate online higher ed? EdX Teams Up with Emeritus to Fuel International Expansion

5. TRADITIONAL QUALITY SIGNALS IN HIGHER ED DISAPPEARING

Two related stories this week, both (to us) about how some of the traditional signals in higher ed are starting to fade away, leaving a signal vacuum:

Six of the top ranked law schools in the US all simultaneously opted out of the US News and World Report ranking:

The test-optional movement in higher ed continues to gather momentum:

FUNDING + M&A

LISTEN

listen to the full episode »

READ

HIGHLY recommend reading from higher ed veteran journalist Jeffrey Selingo about the pendulum the test optional movement in higher ed: What Does an SAT Score Mean in a Test-Optional World?

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