Sprint touts its campaign to provide devices and services as the “largest corporate initiative in U.S. history to bridge the digital divide.”
K-12 data platform Schoolzilla acquired Decision Science Labs. Also, codeSpark, an online platform that teaches children how to code, raised $4.1 million.
A beta version of an online national marketplace for K-12 procurement opens for educational leaders today. Called Noodle Markets, the platform has been under development for more than a year.
McGraw-Hill Education acquired Redbird Advanced Learning, LLC, a digital personalized learning company; in addition, educational content company Cengage acquired WebAssign.
Five non-profits and 24 districts and schools received grants to advance literacy for pre-K-12th grade students in high-needs schools.
Opportunities for digital innovation abound in the new ESSA law, but many district leaders are still trying to figure out how to make sense of that new flexibility, panelists at the EdNet conference said.
“Think big, start small, and scale fast,” futurist Jim Carroll advised hundreds of education companies working in the historically slow-paced K-12 marketplace.
An Amazon Education executive will lead a company that uses a software platform and consulting to help schools use data to address specific financial and instructional goals.
Recent deals include Finnish learning game developer Lightneer and social learning platform Yellowdig receiving new investments from the venture capital world.
Competition is increasing among communities pitching themselves to ed-tech entrepreneurs. On Thursday, Rhode Island’s governor made the case for her state as a hub for K-12 digital innovation.