As students gain more opportunities to learn outside of school, it’s up to educators and education businesses to figure out how to make learning inside school relevant, said Anthony Salcito, Microsoft’s vice president of worldwide education.
Forty-seven percent of K-12 teachers report using game-based learning environments in their classes, up from 23 percent in 2010, according to Project Tomorrow.
The use of online instructional videos in classrooms, meanwhile, has risen over that stretch from 47 percent to 68 percent.
The Redmond, Wash., company has purchased MinecraftEdu, the education version of the Swedish, wildly popular video game that invites users to build, create, and explore.
Four education companies brought in more than $20 million of venture capital.
Vulcan Inc., a company co-owned by Paul Allen, Microsoft’s cofounder, recently underwrote research to pinpoint the top opportunities for social impact investing in K-12 education.
Four ed-tech companies raised more than $50 million of venture capital and Rosetta Stone entered a partnership that could increase its footprint in high schools.
PowerSchool, a student information system that Pearson says is the most widely used student information system in the United States, will leave the company’s fold.
Sandbox Partners is buying the Family Education Network, a Pearson “edu-tainment” platform, for an undisclosed amount.
Four ed-tech companies secured big venture capital deals, while one of the largest education publishers might go public this fall.
Congress has appropriated $950,000 for the development of “engaging” Web and mobile apps about how it works, and civic participation, for K-12 students.