EdTech Stories

Join us as we take a deep dive into the fascinating journey of  @microsoftflip  the video discussion platform that revolutionized the way educators and students interacted. We'll explore its origins as a simple classroom project developed in Minnesota, how it grew into a global sensation, and what made it a go-to tool for teachers around the world. From its rapid rise to being acquired by tech giant Microsoft, we'll also unpack the challenges that #Flipgrid faced along the way and examine the factors that led to its eventual decline. Whether you’re an educator, tech enthusiast, or just curious about how tech tools shape learning, this video is for you! Discover the untold story of Flipgrid’s meteoric rise—and its sudden fall. Is this a cautionary tale for edtech, or a glimpse into the future of online learning? 

Watch to find out! If you'd like more of a deep dive on the topic of Flipgrid, let me know Please SUBSCRIBE, LIKE & SHARE our videos, and don't forget to hit that Notification BELL Button for new videos and uploads:

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* This podcast was created using Google Lab's NotebookLM podcast recording feature.  All voices are AI generated though the content came from primary sources.

In this captivating interview, we sit down with Nancy Knowlton, the co-founder and former CEO of SMART Technologies Nancy shares her incredible journey from the early days of selling maple syrup in her hometown to revolutionizing the education and business sectors with the creation of the #SMARTBOARD interactive whiteboard.

Discover how Nancy and her husband, David Martin, turned a simple idea discussed on a car ride into a multi-billion dollar industry, shaping classrooms and boardrooms around the world. Learn about the challenges they faced, including financial turbulence and the struggle to secure investment, and how their determination and innovative mindset drove them to success. This interview also dives into the technical advancements that set SMART Boards apart, the competition in the market, and the impact of partnerships and strategic decisions. Nancy reflects on her experiences, the highs and lows of leading SMART Technologies, and her ongoing work with Nureva.

This conversation was instrumental in the making of our documentary, Billion Dollar Board: The Rise and Fall of the Interactive Whiteboard Industry. If you’re intrigued by this topic, don’t miss the full documentary on the EdTech Hustle YouTube Channel 

https://youtu.be/kgAHElOOoZc?si=CuZae7vVPzzyqQnt

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Guido Kovalskys and Felipe Sommer were good friends from Argentina who migrated to the United States to start their business careers.   After working in the e-learning industry they noticed the influx of devices entering the classroom.  The two saw this as an opportunity to do something to help teachers and student utilize those devices - and that something was Nearpod!  On this episode discover the origins of the student engagement platform and the journey of how Nearpod made its into schools all around the world.

This episode features commentary from:

• Felipe Sommer - Co-Founder
• Guido Kovalskys - Co-Founder
• Steven W. Anderson - Digital Learning Evangelist
• Monica Burns - Education Consultant/Author
• Laurie Guyon - Technology Coordinator

Guest Links

• Nearpod - http://www.Nearpod.com
• Steven W. Anderson - Web20Classrooms.org
• Monica Burns - ClassTechTips.com
• Laurie Guyon - Nearpod Blog

* A special thank you to Melissa Elmer from ModernLearners.com for the audio clips of Guido.

Tech entrepreneur Dmitry Shapiro discovered code in school after immigrating to the US from Russia.  After successfully launching Veoh, a YouTube competitor in 2005, Dmitry was inspired to develop solutions that help make technology less scary.  His company GoMeta features two properties that does exactly that:

Metaverse, is a website used by thousands of educators to create Augmented Reality experiences for students.  

Koji aims to allow anyone to create interactive games without writing one-line of code.

In this episode, learn about Dmity's attempt to democratize code for teachers and students.  

This episode features commentary from:

• Dmitry Shapiro - Founder, GoMeta
• Richard Byrne - PracticalEdTech.com 
• Luis Chavez, Creative Director, GoMeta
• Randall Deich - STEM Coordinator, Lauderhill STEM-MED 

Guest Links

• Metaverse Studio 
• Metaverse App
• Koji
• Richard Byrne's PracticalEdTech.com
•  

Music:

• Theme - “Invincible” by Def Kev (No Copyright Sounds)
• “Spot" by OBOY by Soundstripe.com
• “Osaka Rain” by ALBIS (YouTube Audio Library)
• "Sunshower" by LATASHA (YouTube Audio Library)
• “Stone Steps” by Hale Licensed by Soundstripe.com
• “The Climb” by PALA Licensed by Soundstripe.com
• “Seasons” by roljui (YouTube Audio Library)
• “Lullaby" by Young Lugos (YouTube Audio Library)
• “Dynamite” by Patrick Patrikios(YouTube Audio Library)
• “Super Star” by AlterEgo Licensed by Soundstripe.com
• “Touch” by Patrick Patrikios(YouTube Audio Library)
• “No Favours” by Patrick Patrikios(YouTube Audio Library)
• "Welcome" by Anno Domini Beats (YouTube Audio Library)

Find more information on this episode at:

• http://www.EdTechStories.com
• Follow EdTechStories on Twitter at @HearEdTech 
• Follow Richard Colosi on Twitter at @RichardColosi 

At age 16 Josh Feinsilber began a high-school project to help him develop coding skills.  Two year later, that project became Gimkit - a financially successful EdTech startup and one of the most popular game-based assessment platforms today! 

In this episode of EdTech Stories discover the backstory of Gimkit, including the unique school system that made this discovery possible and some of the reasons why the platform took with teachers and students.  This episode is called "Gimkit: How To Build An EdTech Startup in High School"

This episode features commentary from:

• Josh Feinsilber - Co-Founder, Gimkit
• Jeff Osborn - Co-Founder, Gimkit 
• Julia Bambja - Principal, Gibson Ek
• Hillary Nadell- Advisor, Gibson Ek
• Ruth Valle, Educator/Blogger

Guest Links

• Gimkit
• Gimkit Blog
• Gibson Ek High School
• Gimkit It's Like Kahoot on Steroids

Music:

• Theme - “Invincible” by Def Kev (No Copyright Sounds)
• “Funkorama" by Kevin MacLeod (Incompetech.com)
• “Closer” by Max Sergeev (Icons8.com)
• "Blue Nude" by verified Picasso (YouTube Audio Library)
• “Giant iPhone” by RAGE (YouTube Audio Library)
• “Classic Rose” by Vibe Mountain (YouTube Audio Library)
• “Electric Cabello” by Kevin MacLeod (Incompetech.com)
• “Late Night Drive” by Nate Keefe and BeatMover
• “Grandma's Impala” by Sarah The Instrumentalist (YouTube Audio Library)
• “Romeo Chrobinson” by Watercat (Icons8.com)
• "Skip Rox" by Spazz Cardigan

Find more information on this episode at:

• http://www.EdTechStories.com
• Follow EdTechStories on Twitter at @HearEdTech 
• Follow Richard Colosi on Twitter at @RichardColosi 

This edition of EdTech Stories features 3 different properties from one company - Swivl.  After failing to secure investment in 2010, Brian Lamb and Vlad Tettlebaum launched The Swivl Robot.  Their success in serving the education community, led them down a path to develop the student video platform known as Recap.  

However, due to a number of circumstances including the rise of the website Flipgrid, Recap ultimately was shut down. Why did this happen?  And as a result, Swivl is attempting to take the lessons they’ve learned from Recap to develop a new podcasting platform named Synth. This episode is called “The Rise of Swivl. The Fall of Recap. The Comeback of Synth.”

This episode features commentary from:

• Brian Lamb - Co-Founder, Swivl
• Dr. Casey Kosiorek & Jim Thompson - School Leaders
• Rachelle Dene-Poth - Educator, Speaker and Consultant
• Jeff Bradbury - Educator & Podcaster 

Guest Links

• Synth.Audio - Check out Synth 2.0
• A Quick Guide to Video Coaching by Dr. Casey Kosiorek & Jim Thompson
• Through Students Eyes by Rachelle Dene Poth
• ThriveinEdu Podcast by Rachelle Dene Poth
• Teachercast.net Podcasts and more

Music:

• Theme - “Invincible” by Def Kev (No Copyright Sounds)
• “Howling” by Gunner Olson (YouTube Audio Library)
• “Awaken” by Anno Domini Beats(YouTube Audio Library)
• “Space Navigator” by Sarah The Instrumentalist (YouTube Audio Library)
• “Memory Card Full” by Birocratic (YouTube Audio Library)
• “Orange Foot” by Dan Hening
• “Pluck It Up” by Dan Hening
• “Melissa” by Eveningland
• “Let’s Go Home” by Jeremy Blake

The following music was licensed through a Creative Commons NonCommercial 4.0 license.  Thank you to The Blue Dot Sessions. You can find their music at http://sessions.blue.

• “Vinyl Couch” by The Blue Dot Sessions
• “Gotta Find Out” by The Blue Dot Sessions
• “Rodney Skopes” by The Blue Dot Sessions

Find more information on this episode at:

http://www.EdTechStories.com

Follow EdTechStories on Twitter at @HearEdTech 

Follow Richard Colosi on Twitter at @RichardColosi 

In next week's episode of Ed Tech Stories, we'll be profiling the company Swivl and three of their well-known products - the Swivl Robot, Recap, and Synth.

But in particular we'll be exploring why Recap, the once promising student response platform, was ultimately shut down.  You'l learn why Swivl made the choice to close Recap, as well as their attempt at a comeback with a new podcasting platform called Synth.

In this exclusive preview of next week's podcast, you'll learn about the origins of the parent company Swivl.

The full episode features interviews from:

Brian Lamb, Swivl Co-Founder

Dr. Casey Kosiorek and Jim Thompson - Authors 

Rachelle Dene-Poth, Education Consultant

Jeff Bradbury, Podcaster (TeacherCast.net)

On the debut of EdTech Stories, we profile the company Wakelet in this episode called “Inside The Wake.”  Wakelet is a company and platform created by Jamil Khalil, a former Airbus employee, who sought an easier way to organize the abundance of information available on the internet.  He overcame several obstacles in his path to develop a platform which makes it easier to organize the web. Through some hard work, perseverance, and of course a little luck, Jamil and his team at Wakelet have designed Wakelet - a platform used by millions of educators each year.  

This episode features commentary from:

• Jamil Khalil - CEO Founder, Wakelet
• Misbah Gedal - Head of Partnerships, Wakelet
• Rick Butterworth - Head of UX/UI, Wakelet
• Dr. Randall Sampson - Education Consultant
• Kathi Kersznowski - Technology Integration Specialist
• Mike Tholfsen - Product Manager OneNote/Immersive Reader, Microsoft

Music:

• “Invincible” by Def Kev (No Copyright Sounds)
• “Le Freak” by RAGE (YouTube Audio Library)
• “Chef Brian” by Latasha (YouTube Audio Library)
• “Space Navigator” by Sarah The Illusionist (YouTube Audio Library)
• “We March Together” Patrick Patrikios (YouTube Audio Library)
• “Good Times” Patrick Patrikios (YouTube Audio Library)

Find more information on this episode at:

http://www.EdTechStories.com

Follow EdTechStories on Twitter at @HearEdTech  

We would love for you to write an honest review of EdTech Stories!  

Welcome to the EdTech Stories podcast. This is the trailer episode which will give you an idea of what you can expect from this podcast.  

In this episode, I interviewed Wakelet co-founder Jamil Khalil and several other Wakelet employees, educators, and even a product manager from Microsoft to help share the journey of this startup from the UK. 

Some links to check out:

http://www.EdTechStories.com

@HearEdTech

@RichardColosi