Edtech Insiders
Edtech Insiders
Alex Sarlin and Ben Kornell
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.
Teachers as Builders: Insights from Stephen Jull, Maruf Hasan & Sean McWeeney of Teach For All
Send us Fan Mail Stephen Jull is the Global Head of AI and Educational Technology at Teach For All, leading efforts to connect educators with frontier AI labs. He’s joined by Maruf Hasan, a Bangladesh-based educator building AI tools in low-resource settings, and Sean McWeeney, a UK teacher focused on AI’s impact in high-need schools. 💡 5 Things You’ll Learn in This Episode: How teachers are moving from AI users to AI builders Why the most impactful AI innovation is happening...
May 11
25 min
Kira 2.0: Real Voices from the Launch Event
Send us Fan Mail At the Kira 2.0 launch event in New York City, Sarah Morin captures rapid-fire insights from educators, administrators, and edtech leaders reacting in real time to one of the most ambitious AI learning platforms to date. 🎙️ Featuring insights from: Brandon Chitty, Executive Director of Innovations, Broken Arrow Public SchoolsBrett Roer, CEO & Founder, Amplify and Elevate InnovationHarl Roehm, CTE Teacher, Collierville High SchoolJesse Lubinsky, Principal Evangelist, Adobe...
May 4
40 min
The Math We Teach vs. The Math We Need with Ted Dintersmith
Send us Fan Mail Ted Dintersmith is an education advocate, author, and filmmaker who has spent the past 15 years working alongside educators to rethink what learning should look like in the modern world. He has visited more than 200 schools across all 50 states, listening to teachers and students and studying approaches that prepare young people for real life beyond tests. 💡 5 Things You’ll Learn in This Episode: Why school math focuses on skills that AI already does better than humans&...
Apr 27
32 min
Steve Tapp of ACT on Bridging Academic Assessment and Workforce Readiness
Send us Fan Mail Steve Tapp is the CEO of ACT, a leading nonprofit assessment organization best known for the ACT college admissions test. With over 30 years of experience in assessments across education, professional certification, and workforce testing, he previously led PSI Services and Lifelong Learner Holdings, helping scale global assessment platforms. 💡 5 Things You’ll Learn in This Episode How AI is transforming the assessment lifecycle—from test creation to scoring.Why fairness, vali...
Apr 20
29 min
Why Graduation Is Higher Ed’s Most Overlooked Growth Lever with Chase Rigby of Tassel
Send us Fan Mail Chase Rigby is the CEO of Tassel, a platform modernizing graduation experiences for universities worldwide. A former Google PM and Chief Product Officer at Canopy, his career sits at the intersection of education, technology, and product innovation. 💡 5 Things You’ll Learn in This Episode: Why graduation is a key (and overlooked) growth moment How Tassel simplifies complex commencement logistics Where AI improves the student and admin experience &nb...
Apr 13
27 min
Week in Edtech 4/8/26: Anthropic’s Mythos Sparks AI Security Concerns, EdTech Efficacy Debate Intensifies, Screen Time Backlash Grows, OpenAI Faces Pressure, AI Reshapes Entry-Level Jobs, Higher Ed Adapts, and More! Feat. Yoon Yang of Pensive
Send us Fan Mail Join hosts Ben Kornell and guest co-host Matt Tower, as they break down the biggest stories shaping AI, edtech efficacy, cybersecurity, and the future of work in education. ✨ Episode Highlights: [00:00:33] Rapid rise of AI-generated “vibe coding” raises concerns about software vulnerabilities and cybersecurity risks [00:02:44] ASU+GSV preview highlights the importance of relationships over deal-making at major edtech gatherings [00:08:26] Anthropic’s Mythos model withheld due...
Apr 11
1 hr 1 min
AI Without the “Slop” with Brandon Cardet-Hernandez of Medley Learning
Send us Fan Mail Brandon Cardet-Hernandez is the Founder and CEO of Medley Learning, a platform building AI-powered scaffolding tools for multilingual learners. A former multilingual learner himself, Brandon has served as a teacher, turnaround principal, Boston School Committee member, NYC education advisor, and edtech leader. His work focuses on closing the access gap, not lowering expectations. 💡 5 Things You’ll Learn in This Episode: Why education has an access gap, not just an achievement...
Apr 6
34 min
AI Doesn’t Learn Alone: Dr. Magdalena H. Gross of Mercor on Human Intelligence
Send us Fan Mail Dr. Magdalena H. Gross of Mercor is a Stanford-trained scholar and a leader in AI education. With a unique ability to understand how people think, she helps experts translate deep human knowledge into AI-ready systems. She designs AI curricula and training programs that empower individuals and organizations, while also leading in community arts and muralism. Learn more about her work at www.magdalenagross.com. 💡 5 Things You’ll Learn in This Episode: How human experts actuall...
Mar 30
21 min
Week in Edtech 3/18/26: NVIDIA’s Agentic AI Land Grab, ASU’s AI Playbook, AI Literacy vs Screen Bans, School Choice Expansion, Edtech Funding Shifts, and More! Feat. Aaron Cuny of AI for Equity & Joshua Broggi of Woolf
Send us Fan Mail Join hosts Ben Kornell and special co-host Steve Shapiro, Founder of Finetune.AI, as they break down the biggest stories shaping AI, workforce disruption, K–12 policy, and the future of higher education. ✨ Episode Highlights: [00:05:10] NVIDIA signals the shift from AI experimentation to a full-scale platform “land grab” [00:08:19] Early signs of AI-driven productivity gains point to real workforce disruption [00:13:16] Governments invest in AI retraining, labor upsk...
Mar 27
1 hr 29 min
Keeping Tutoring Human in the Age of AI with Mindy Sjoblom and Catherine Tierney of OnYourMark
Send us Fan Mail Mindy Sjoblom is the Founder and CEO of OnYourMark, a research-backed virtual tutoring organization serving thousands of elementary students nationwide. Catherine Tierney is Head of Product and Program at OnYourMark, bringing deep experience from Match Education, MyCoach, and ThinkCERCA to the design of human-centered, evidence-based learning technology. 💡 5 Things You’ll Learn in This Episode Why AI works best as an insight layer rather than a replacement for human tutorsHow...
Mar 23
28 min
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