Overcoming the Beta-Test Blues
The brainy, out-of-touch computer geek has long been a sitcom archetype. From Doogie to Leonard and Sheldon, these intelligent yet hapless characters’ struggles to communicate with normal folks is a source of amusement. But these delightful storylines about experts frustrated by the need to occasionally communicate their esoteric knowledge with the laypeople in their lives hyperbolizes […]
Grockit Raises $7 Million to Drive Social Learning
Previous Backers Lead Round; NewSchools Venture Fund and Michael Moe of GSV Capital Make First Investments in Grockit SAN FRANCISCO, CA. (October 17, 2011) – Grockit, a social learning company, announced today that it has received just over $7 million in Series D venture funding led by Atlas Venture, a current investor in the company. Benchmark […]
Bay Area Leading the Learning Revolution
Computers, then smart phones, then tablets changed how we engaged the world. Medical technology extended and entertainment technology enriched our lives. Energy saving technology made our lifestyles more sustainable. Bay Area entrepreneurs developed many of these disruptive technologies. New York and Boston are home to the publishers; metro D.C. is home to the giants of […]
Grockit Raises Money for Online Test Prep
About half of students who take the SAT do nothing to prepare. Grockit, an education start-up, wants to change that by making test prep social and taking it online. On Monday, Grockit announced that it raised $7 million in venture capital, for a total of $24 million, from GSV Capital and NewSchools Venture Fund, which invests philanthropic […]
Ed Tech Market Map Goes Live Today; Helps Investors, Donors, and Entrepreneurs
Visual Presentation of Ed Tech Ventures Cuts through Clutter Created by Highly Dynamic Market San Francisco, CA— October 12, 2011—NewSchools Venture Fund announced the release of a graphical, interactive representation of the burgeoning K-12 education technology market to help investors, donors, and entrepreneurs better evaluate today’s landscape of education technology ventures. After launching at The […]
Blended Learning Startup Education Elements Raises $2.1 Million
Blended learning startup Education Elements raises $2.1 million to expand upon early success Palo Alto, CA—October 5, 2011—Blended learning startup Education Elements announced today that it has closed a $2.1 million seed round of funding from a range of leading investors, led by Tugboat Ventures and NewSchools Venture Fund and joined by venture capitalist Wally […]
BetterLesson Grabs $1.6 Million to Let Educators Find and Share the Best Lesson Plans
Since launching, BetterLesson has attracted a community of “tens of thousands of educators”,according to the company’s blog post, and has collected hundreds of thousands K-12 lesson plans. Last year, KIPP, the 112-school charter network, joined the platform and helped the team “develop a suite of premium features” for schools. In less than a year, the site’s […]
The Future of Education
We invited leading education entrepreneurs to share their thoughts about the future of education. Hear their hopes and goals for the future of education and the education reform movement in this final installment of the NewSchools Presents video series. You’ll hear from Larry Rosenstock (High Tech High), Jessica Cunningham (KIPP DC), Sal Khan (Khan Academy), […]
NewSchools Presents “Innovation Challenge” at 2011 Education Nation Summit
Young entrepreneurs put their education innovations to the test to win $100,000 prize and support New York—September 24, 2011—Working with NBC News and Citi, NewSchools venture Fund announced today the “Innovation Challenge”, a multi-day competition between three teams of entrepreneurs to be aired as part of the 2011 NBC News Education Nation Summit. The competition […]
NewSchools Venture Fund Announces $150,000 Investment in LearnZillion
NewSchools Venture Fund Announces $150,000 Investment in LearnZillion, Personalized Learning Tool for Math and Literacy Education San Francisco, CA—September 21, 2011—NewSchools Venture Fund announced today a $150,000 investment in LearnZillion, a new web-based education tool and video library of math and literacy lessons, designed to accelerate student learning by helping teachers personalize instruction, and providing teachers […]