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Robert Barnett co-founded the Modern Classrooms Project, which has empowered 80,000+ educators in 180+ countries to meet every learner’s needs. Before that he taught math, computer science, English, social studies, and law, from the middle-school to university levels, at public and private schools in the U.S. and Switzerland. He graduated cum laude from Princeton University and Harvard Law School; speaks English, French, and Spanish; and lives in Washington, DC. His book, Meet Every Learner's Needs, comes out in February, and he hopes his two young children will learn in Modern Classrooms someday!

💡 5 Things You’ll Learn in This Episode:

1. How Modern Classrooms transforms the “operating system” of schools
2. Why teacher-created videos are more powerful than polished content
3. The case for paper-based mastery checks in a tech-driven world
4. Rob’s take on AI tools—and why teacher-facing AI holds promise
5. How to truly personalize learning while keeping it personal

✨ Episode Highlights:

[00:02:27] Rob’s journey from overwhelmed teacher to instructional leader
[00:03:46] What’s wrong with today’s classroom model—and how to fix it
[00:07:54] Inside a Modern Classroom: self-paced, human-centered learning
[00:13:33] Paper beats screens—for fast, meaningful feedback
[00:14:25] The power of personal: making your own instructional videos
[00:17:46] Tech should amplify, not replace, teacher-student relationships
[00:20:26] Why AI needs clearer use cases in classrooms
[00:26:59] Chronic absenteeism demands a new instructional model
[00:34:51] AI avatars: promising or uncanny? Rob weighs in
[00:39:32] Rob’s new book Meet Every Learner’s Needs—a guide for redesigning instruction

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🎉 Presenting Sponsor:

This season of Edtech Insiders is brought to you by Starbridge. Every year, K-12 districts and higher ed institutions spend over half a trillion dollars—but most sales teams miss the signals. Starbridge tracks early signs like board minutes, budget drafts, and strategic plans, then helps you turn them into personalized outreach—fast. Win the deal before it hits the RFP stage. That’s how top edtech teams stay ahead.

This season of Edtech Insiders is once again brought to you by Tuck Advisors, the M&A firm for EdTech companies. Run by serial entrepreneurs with over 25 years of experience founding, investing in, and selling companies, Tuck believes you deserve M&A advisors who work as hard as you do.