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Ever wondered how a simple box of fresh produce can transform lives? Or how a nonprofit born out of the pandemic is tackling food insecurity, nutrition inequity, and sustainability all at once? Join us for Episode 127 of "Carlsbad: People, Purpose and Impact," where we sit down with the visionary founder and executive director of Plus Box, Wesley Burt.Wesley takes us through his fascinating journey from studying at USC and Northwestern to his diverse career spanning public policy, a presidential campaign, and the computer software industry. His path led him to a pivotal role in Chicago Public Schools, where his passion for education policy ignited a new mission.Tune in as we explore the inspiring story behind Plus Box, a nonprofit initiative started during the COVID-19 pandemic. Discover how Wesley, his father, and a chef friend began distributing fresh, healthy food to families in need, leveraging school partnerships to bridge the gap in food access.We delve into the threefold mission of Plus Box: addressing food insecurity, promoting nutrition equity, and fostering food system sustainability. Learn how they've grown from distributing 50 boxes a week to an impressive 730, thanks to community support and strategic partnerships.Join us for an episode packed with purpose, innovation, and community impact. You won't want to miss it!Wesley Burt's Bio:Wesley is the Founder & Executive Director of +BOX, a nonprofit delivering healthy food and fresh ideas to those who need it most. His 20+ year career has been focused on opportunities to develop meaningful solutions to real-world challenges, with an emphasis on enabling public and community organizations to solve problems at scale. Prior to starting +BOX, Wesley was a founding executive at LearnPlatform, an education technology company, and he has held roles at Chicago Public Schools, IBM, Los Angeles County, and with state and federal level electoral campaigns. Wesley has a BS from USC and an MPPA from Northwestern. He currently lives in Encinitas with his wife, Meghan, and two children.Links & Resources:- Plus Box Website: www.plus-box.org- Facebook page- Instagram- LinkedIn Did this episode have a special impact on you? Share how it impacted youCarlsbad Podcast Social Links:LinkedInInstagramFacebookXYouTubeSponsor: This show is sponsored and produced by DifMix Productions. To learn more about starting your own podcast, visit www.DifMix.com/podcasting
As we take a break after Season 4, we are rebroadcasting some of our favorite episodes. On today's episode, host Hayley Spira-Bauer talks to Karl Rectanus, founder of LearnPlatform. Tune in as Karl and Hayley explore how a school's purse strings affect the classroom, and how education leaders can lean into the realities around funding. Karl also dives into his 4 successful education innovation programs and how to work through the system to make it more effective for everybody.
On today's episode of the Learning Can't Wait podcast, host Hayley Spira-Bauer talks to Karl Rectanus, founder of LearnPlatform. Tune in as Karl and Hayley explore how a school's purse strings affect the classroom, and how education leaders can lean into the realities around funding. Karl also dives into his 4 successful education innovation programs and how to work through the system to make it more effective for everybody. Join us every Tuesday at fullmindlearning.com/podcast. Next week, we talk to Charlene Mack, Founder of 2541.org
On today's episode of the Learning Can't Wait podcast, we hear an eye-opening conversation between host Hayley Spira-Bauer and Dr. Mayme Hostetter, President at Relay Graduate School of Education. Tune in as Mayme explores the topic of teacher preparation, and why practice is essential to learning at any age. Hayley and Mayme also discuss how technology like AI is providing simulations that allow teachers to practice their work and receive feedback. Join us every Tuesday at fullmindlearning.com/podcast. Next week, we talk to Karl Rectanus, founder of LearnPlatform.
In this episode, the guys sit down with Jennifer Mitchell (Global Product Marketing of Infrastructure) and Karl Rectanus (CEO of LearnPlatform and SVP of Strategy of Instructure K12), to discuss LearnPlatform's annual EdTech Top 40 report findings and New Products from Instructure k12. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/edutechguys-conference/support
This edWeb podcast is sponsored by LearnPlatform by Instructure.The edLeader Panel recording can be accessed here.Districts make significant investments—in budget dollars, professional development, and instructional time—in education technology (edtech). While edtech solutions can significantly impact student outcomes, understanding academic return on investment can be challenging.Listen to this edWeb podcast to hear from leaders at Edmonds School District in Washington and Darlington County School District in South Carolina who are leveraging rapid-cycle evaluation (RCE) in partnership with LearnPlatform by Instructure to analyze the impact of strategic edtech investments. They discuss why they chose to do this work, how they selected which edtech to evaluate, how they think about measuring outcomes, and how they see this data impacting budgetary, operational, and instructional decisions going forward.Listeners can expect to gain first-hand insights on evidence-based edtech management, best practices for district-generated research, and actionable tips for engaging with edtech provider partners in evidence work.This edWeb podcast is of interest to K-12 teachers, school and district leaders, and education technology leaders.LearnPlatform by Instructure Expand equitable access for students to teaching and education technology that works best for them.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Learn more about viewing live edWeb presentations and on-demand recordings, earning CE certificates, and using accessibility features.
In this episode, we ask some of our favorite guests (and Edtech C-suiters) to give their reviews of Edtech in 2022 and what we can expect to see in 2023. Karl Rectanus, CEO of LearnPlatform on Edtech Evidence in 2023 (2:54)Sarah Mauskopf, CEO of Winnie on Childcare and Teaching in 2023 (20:22)Maria Barrera, CEO of Clayful on SEL and COVID funding in 2023 (29:46)Sunil Gunderia, CIO of Age of Learning on Early Childhood Edtech (46:58)Anthony Kim, CLO of Scholarus Learning on AI and Learner Engagement in 2023 (59:24)Norma Padron, CEO of EmpiricaLabs on Workforce Development in 2023 (1:19:34)
This episode features special guest Joshua Broggi of Woolf University, the first global collegiate higher education institution that allows education organizations to join as member colleges and offer accredited degrees.In this episode we discuss:1) Higher Education's Sea Change (Axios)- Changes coming to higher ed from many directions- testing, rankings, enrollment woes, hybrid courses and more. How can Edtech best support HE in a time of great pressure and change?2) Credential Engine's Annual Report - In a world with over 1mm credentials available, how can Edtech help learners sort out which will work best for them?3) There's a Reason There Aren't Enough Teachers in America. Many Reasons, Actually. (NY Times)- The teacher shortage is leading to some new policy ideas, like a $60k minimum wage for teachers- Ben says it should be more like $100K.4) Edtech's brightest are struggling to pass (TechCrunch)- Edtech stars like Outschool, Bloomtech (formerly Lambda School) and Pluralsight continue to shed jobs and seek profitability5) Course Hero creates parent company Learneo- Course Hero takes a page from Google/Alphabet and creates an umbrella organization to manage all its acquisitionsFunding and M&A:Mathspresso raises $70m Series C Sana Labs raises $34M series BUolo raises $22.5MCareer Foundry raises 5M EurosZeraki raises $1.8MMcGraw Hill acquires Medical Training platform Boards & BeyondLate Breaking news: Instructure acquires LearnPlatform (!) To be discussed next week)
The pandemic has increased the use of tech-enabled learning in school districts across the nation. This rise in smart technology inside the classroom is here to stay according to Karl Rectanus, Co-Founder and CEO, and Mary Styers, Ph.D. Director of Research both with LearnPlatform, who sat down with Voices of eLearning hosts JW Marshall and Leena M. Saleh.“On average school districts are accessing more than 1,400 different Ed-tech tools each month,” Rectanus said. “It's time to modernize learning by building capacity, increasing evidence of what's working, and informing decision-makers.”For school districts to conduct the right studies and collect the right amount of data for their circumstances and their environment, they need the evidence to match what their current students look like at the moment. “We're helping districts to see how it works in their context, so these qualitative studies will help them see what the evidence looks like for them directly,” Styers said.Districts have also come to realize that a minimal amount of surveys that track the Ed-tech systems worked in a time when e-learning wasn't so vast. But with the rapid pace of technology inside school districts, more is needed to track the vast amount of work produced in the classroom.LearnPlatform, which delivers ground-breaking tools that assist educators in selecting digital learning products, offers an inventory dashboard to see which products are accessed among students and teachers. “It's game-changing because that would have taken months previously,” Rectanus said.What has traditionally been a limited amount of trust in the relationship between providers and school districts, “is now an opportunity to build a partnership that works, so when we have a level playing field as to what counts for evidence and how we are going to share that, it eliminates the tension,” Rectanus said.This kind of partnership is why LearnPlatform is launching Impact Ready, a certification solution providers can earn by “having a logic model, sharing data privacy agreements and being willing to share usage data for research,” Rectanus said. Because “districts are telling us, they have so many products, if they could get a signal of what has evidence and what has a privacy agreement would save so much time.”The bridge that LearnPlatform is building among tech providers and educators in creating the future for technology and learning in the classroom.
Karl Rectanus is an educator, serial entrepreneur and the co-founder and CEO of LearnPlatform, a mission-driven "for benefit" corporation, where he leads a team of educators, researchers and technologists committed to expanding equitable access for students.LearnPlatform is an Edtech effectiveness system working to deliver safe, equitable, cost-effective learning for districts, states and their partners such as solution providers. Learnplatform's technologies are used by over 8,000 schools serving more than 7 million students across the United States.Recommended Resources#edchat or #superintendentchat on Twitter to put your finger on the pulse of what's going on in schools and states EdweekHechinger ReportEdtech Digest
In this episode, Hall welcomes Graham Forman, Founder and Managing Director at Edovate Capital. Edovate Capital is a seed and early-stage venture capital company whose leadership invests in companies that lead innovation in the education market. They know firsthand the pains and gains of growing early-stage companies into successful firms and they have passion and experience in the education market. They look for outstanding people to partner with for the long term who have products or services that will transform education.Edovate Capital partners with social entrepreneurs to scale companies solving education's hardest challenges. They identify capital-efficient education technology companies tackling education's hardest challenges, fund their growth, and help increase their impact. They have backed industry-leading K12 companies including Pear Deck, LearnPlatform, Paper Education, Kiddom, and BookNook Learning.Graham spent his career in education, entrepreneurship, and investing. The first phase of his career was in education policy where he worked for U.S. Senator Paul Simon and former California State Assemblyman, Senator, and Community College Chancellor Jack Scott. He worked with school leaders addressing some of their biggest challenges in leading large school systems.The second phase of his career was as a startup operator serving as head of sales, marketing, business development, and customer success in impact-focused SaaS companies serving education. His last role included leading sales and business development for Netchemia. During his tenure, the company grew to serve more than 2,400 school districts and 20,000 schools in the U.S. with a best-in-class talent management suite. Netchemia was acquired by People Admin (backed by Vista Equity Partners) in 2015, which kicked off Graham's third career phase where he founded Edovate. In this role, he backs impact-focused seed-stage K12 companies with investment and advisory support.He lives in Denver with his wife and two children and enjoys travel, tennis, the outdoors, and cooking.Graham discusses the rise of the edtech sector, classroom engagement, next-generation school segments, the primary trends in the sector, Edovate Capital's participation thus far, and more. You can visit Edovate Capital at , and via LinkedIn at . Graham can be contacted via email at , via LinkedIn at , and via Twitter at . Music courtesy of .
Levi Belnap wants to make this clear from the beginning—artificial intelligence will never replace human teachers, at least not in our lifetime. What he and his colleagues at Merlyn Mind believe is that AI can enhance teachers' work. In this episode, Levi introduces us to his nascent company's offering and provides some insights on how they believe the classroom experience can be better for all involved.The company launched out of stealth mode last month to unveil the first digital assistant built specifically for education that empowers teachers to more naturally use the technology in their classrooms and simplify their work. The company also announces it has closed $29 million in funding to date, led by Learn Capital.The Merlyn Mind team spent the last three and a half years working in tandem with educators to create Merlyn, the first digital assistant built specifically for education. In 2021 alone, Merlyn Mind has piloted Merlyn in over 50 classrooms across more than 20 different schools as the company accelerates the release of Merlyn to help educators take back their classrooms from the complexities of technology. Merlyn gives teachers more natural command of the devices and digital services in their classrooms and untethers them from the front of the room. Responding to both voice and remote control, Merlyn empowers teachers with choices that simplify how they use classroom technology.“We've been investing in education technology companies for more than a decade at Learn Capital, and Merlyn Mind has brought together what is quite simply the dream team,” said Rob Hutter, Founder & Managing Partner at Learn Capital and board member of Merlyn Mind. “Incredible professionals from IBM Watson Labs, HP Education, Amazon Alexa, Google, Facebook, Broadcom, and Roku have come together to work on a unified product experience for an extremely urgent mission--that of reclaiming the classroom for teaching from the complexity of technology itself.”“I've worked closely with the Merlyn Mind team to understand what educators really need from their technology, and what we know is teachers don't just need more technology, they need the right technology,” said Emily Schindler, Associate Director at Creativity Labs, University of California-Irvine. “Merlyn Mind wants to give teachers what they need most, more time and freedom to think about student learning and the ability to better leverage their greatest asset, themselves.”Before COVID-19, teachers already spent half of their time focused on administrative tasks (McKinsey & Co., 2020), managing more than 900 different applications in the classroom according to LearnPlatform. After COVID-19, teachers' jobs have become even more difficult, with more than 97% of K-12 educators reporting learning loss in students over the past year when compared with children in previous years, according to Horace Mann Educators Corporation. Merlyn helps teachers manage the complexity of teaching with technology in the classroom and frees teachers to focus more of their time on the individual needs of their students.The Merlyn assistant is accessed through Symphony Classroom, an AI hub custom-built for the unique needs of education. With Symphony Classroom, teachers can control classroom devices like the front-of-room displays, teacher laptops, the internet browser, and the applications teachers use daily. Merlyn integrates with the apps and devices teachers already use and love, including Google Slides, Google Drive, Classcraft, Nearpod, Newsela, and more to meet teachers where they already are.
In the second part of our mini-series on education technology data, Mark Finstrom, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for Highline Public Schools, a district of 20,000 students in Washington state, joins the podcast to discuss data trends from the current year. What do the trends tell us and how can we apply them? Finstrom and MindRocket Media Group, discuss specific observations in Highline PS, as well as the ways in which these trends can be interpreted for broader understanding. Among the important topics discussed are the ways in which prior edtech planning benefited the district, along with some of the major surprises from the past year (4:35); how to make sense of large amounts of data and determine which data is truly useful and actionable (10:10); and the changes Highline is making in response to data trends from 2020-21 (20:20). This episode is part two of a mini-series supported by LearnPlatform. Learn more at learnplatform.com Engage further in the discussion on Twitter, follow: @CTO_Mark @CoSN @MindRocketMedia @EdCircuit @LearnPlatformUS The CoSN Podcast is produced in partnership with MindRocket Media Group and published on EdCircuit. To learn more about CoSN, visit www.cosn.org. Learn more about MindRocket Media Group
On the Season 2 premiere of The CoSN Podcast, host MindRocket Media Group speaks with a pair of leaders from Oak Park Elementary School District 97 in Illinois—Dr. Carol Kelley, the district's Superintendent, and Michael Arensdorff, Senior Director of Technology, join the show to discuss the equity initiatives they're leading in Oak Park. The guests describe their broader goals around equity and specifically how they're leveraging technology as a driving force. Among the important topics discussed are the quantitative and qualitative data Oak Park reviews to inform equity initiatives (1:46), how the equity conversation has shifted over the past year (7:15), and how the district uses edtech data to measure the success of its initiatives (22:35). This episode is part one of a mini-series supported by LearnPlatform. Learn more at learnplatform.com Engage further in the discussion on Twitter: @DrKforequity @marensdorff25 @CoSN @MindRocketMedia @EdCircuit @LearnPlatformUS The CoSN Podcast is produced in partnership with MindRocket Media Group and published on EdCircuit. To learn more about CoSN, visit www.cosn.org. Learn more about MindRocket Media Group
As unemployment numbers climb and student debt rises above $1.7 trillion, many of us wonder what this means for the next generation. Is there still room for students to pursue their dreams? Kevin examines the powerful data and its impact on our ability to adapt to maintain this opportunity. Joining Kevin is famed author Heather McGowan and the person behind the data, Karl Rectanus of LearnPlatform. Heather discusses her latest book on adapting and Karl shares the behind-the-scenes conversations U.S. school districts are having about the role of EdTech on education. This is, What I Want to Know...
On today's episode, we're joined by a former teacher and administrator in the US and overseas, who is now the Co-Founder and CEO of LearnPlatform, Karl Rectanus. Karl shared about LearnPlatform's commitment to expanding equitable engagement for all students to the teaching and tools that work best for them. He also highlighted a new research-backed infographic they recently released, which outlines digital equity gaps that have affected students across the United States in the past year. Mentioned Resources: Infographic: https://learnplatform.com/insights/infographic/2020-digital-equity-in-review?utm_source=social&utm_medium=infographic&utm_campaign=2021&utm_content=ktr Website: www.educatingalllearners.org Twitter: @educateall_org YouTube: Educating All Learners
Education technology is used widely in schools and districts across the U.S. Collectively, U.S. K-12 education spends more than $12 billion every year on edtech licenses. But on average, 27% of an edtech product’s licenses are never activated or used. That’s according to analysis from LearnPlatform, an edtech effectiveness system that aims to measure and inform schools about their use of technology. On November 20, the company released their annual usage trends report. This episode is also available in podcast form on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, and Stitcher. It is also available as a video on YouTube. eLearningInside.com Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/elearninginside?lang=en YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDeL-h1O9To3txtqFRMnhGA?view_as=subscriber Email: contact@elearninginside.com
Karl Rectanus is an educator, entrepreneur, advisor, and the co-founder and CEO of LearnPlatform, an organization with a team of educators, researchers, and technologists committed to leveraging data, delivering dynamic solutions, and making results matter. Karl leads K-12 districts, higher ed institutions and state education agencies in their efforts to use the research-based LearnPlatform to continuously improve standards of practice that drive blended and personalized learning at scale, increase student achievement, and expand equitable access to education technologies. So, needless to say, we’re big fans over here at PAST. To learn more, visit: (http://pastfoundation.org/) Resources: Learn more at (http://learnplatform.com/) Twitter: https://twitter.com/LearnPlatformUS Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LearnTrials Karl on Twitter: https://twitter.com/karlrectanus EdTech Top 40: https://learnplatform.com/edtech-top-40 Listen to Seth Godin’s Akimbo S3E9: Stop Stealing Our Dreams Learning Unboxed is produced in part by Crate Media Recorded by Eric French at (http://wosu.org/) in Columbus, Ohio
Karl Rectanus is an educator, entrepreneur and adviser. As cofounder and CEO of Lea(R)n, an education innovation Benefit Corporation that empowers educators and their institutions to organize, streamline and analyze education technology through its research-backed LearnPlatform, Karl leads schools and districts, states and networks, and colleges and universities in their efforts to simplify edtech selection, procurement, implementation and measurement. Karl works with learning organizations and networks across the country to establish and elevate standards of practice that drive personalized learning at scale, student achievement and equity in access. Originally an educator and administrator in the US and abroad, Karl has started and led multiple education innovation organizations, and currently advises districts, states and foundations. Karl has lived, worked and studied in over 12 countries, and was an NC Teaching Fellow and James M Johnston Scholar at UNC-Chapel Hill, and graduate courses at UCLA’s Anderson Business School and CalTech Executive Extension. Karl, his wife and three daughters now live in Raleigh, NC. Became a CFO for schools Fourth successful education company How they evaluate the ed tech solutions. Saving time, so we can focus on things that are most important. 5000 ed tech tools. 8 most important criteria for teachers. Saves administrators Grades based on teacher’s comfort and familiarity with technology. Ed Tech is a broken economy Results Matter Store contracts in the platform. Analyze usage. only 9% of individual licenses are actually being used. Lack of Transparency leads to pricing inconsistencies Forming, storming, norming, and performing Exploring, hacking, optimizing, performing Self-assessment for determining where you are on the personalized learning at scale journey. 80% of schools are in the hacking phase. Really challenging to put together budget when you don’t know if tools are being used. How to be a transformative principal? Learnplatform.com/resources Schedule a call with Jethro Are you feeling like you are always behind at school? Do you feel like you need about 2 more hours each day to accomplish everything? Here’s how I help principals work manageable hours: Create your ideal week, so that you can leave work at work and enjoy your life! Please take a moment to rate this podcast in iTunes or on Stitcher. Please follow me on Twitter: @jethrojones for the host and @TrnFrmPrincipal for the show. Buy Communication Cards Show notes on TransformativePrincipal.com Download Paperless Principal. Take Control of your email Web Site Transformative Principal on Stitcher Refer A Principal Best Tools for Busy Administrators Survey
The TeacherCast Podcast – The TeacherCast Educational Network
What is the value of educational technology in the classroom? Should EdTech companies be spending more time in our classrooms learning how we teach? Or … should they be coming up with new and innovative programs and gadgets for us to be teaching … with? In this episode of the https://www.teachercast.net/episodes/teachercast-podcast/ (TeacherCast Podcast), we take a look at the ISTE Conference. Joining me on the program are three educators with unique perspectives on not just today's educational landscape, but on how edtech should be used in today's classrooms. We you at the http://teachercast.net/iste (ISTE Conference) this year? We would love to hear your thoughts on today's podcast or on how you found this years conference. Please leave us a comment below. In today's episode we discuss: What excited you about ISTE this year? New to ISTE 2018https://www.iste.org/membership/edtechadvisor (EdTech Advisor Program) powered by https://learnplatform.com/ (LearnPlatform) Standout Presentations / Sessions How do you spend the majority of your time at ISTE? What trends did you notice on the show floor or in presentations? Are school district and educator needs being met by today's edtech marketplace? What can edtech companies do differently to make sure they are meeting the needs of students? What do you hope to see at ISTE next year? Advice for anyone thinking about going to ISTE or another mega-conference in the future? Follow our PodcastThe TeacherCast Educational Broadcasting Network | http://www.twitter.com/teachercast (@TeacherCast) Follow our HostJeff Bradbury | http://www.twitter.com/jeffbradbury (@JeffBradbury) About our GuestsMichele HaikenCurrently middle school English teacher at Rye Middle School in Rye, New York, and an adjunct professor in the Literacy Department at Manhattanville College, Dr. Haiken has been teaching for the past twenty years. She is the author of Personalized Reading: Digital Tools and Strategies to Support All Learners (ISTE, 2018) and editor of the book Gamify Literacy (ISTE: March 2017). Dr. Haiken is the author of the blog http://theteachingfactor.com (The Teaching Factor) and has presented at numerous conferences including the National Council of Teachers of English, ISTE, and many others on topics relating to literacy, technology, and global collaboration. Website: http://theteachingfactor.com (http://theteachingfactor.com) Twitter: http://twitter.com/teachingfactor (@teachingfactor) Dr. Amanda Cadran Director of Implementation, Lea(R)nAmanda Cadran leads the implementation team for http://learnplatform.com/ (Lea(R)n), the creators of LearnPlatform. She uses her 10+ years of classroom teaching, curriculum development and technology director experience to empower educational organizations of all shapes and sizes to organize, streamline and analyze their edtech. Amanda earned her BA and MA from Lehigh University and her PhD from North Carolina State University in curriculum and instruction with a focus on instructional technology. In her work, she most enjoys finding the intersection between research, educational policy and classroom practice. Amanda has worked as a research fellow and consultant with the International Association of K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and has experience deploying school, district and state-level edtech-focused initiatives. Linkedin: http://linkedin.com/in/amanda-cadran-phd/ (linkedin.com/in/amanda-cadran-phd/) Twitter: http://twitter.com/amandacardran (@amandacadran) Dr. Sonny Magana, Founder Magana Education Marzano Research Associate Milken Educatorhttps://www.teachercast.net/product/1506359094/US/teach00-20/?cart=y ()Dr. Anthony J. “Sonny” Magana is an award-winning educator, speaker, pioneering educational technology researcher, and best-selling author. Sonny has been researching the relationship between technology and learning since 1983...
Edtech in the Classroom – The TeacherCast Educational Network
In this episode of (https://learnplatform.com/) is helping school districts of all sizes make data-based decisions about the technologies that are implemented in classrooms. In this episode, you will learn: What challenges do school districts face in today's rapidly growing edtech market? Why is important for school districts to make the right decisions when it comes to their edtech purchases? What role does/should social media play in the gathering of data when deciding on bringing in a technology for classrooms? How does LearnPlatform create a partnership with school districts to provide the best solution for technology decisions? Is LearnPlatform the best option for both large and small school districts? How can LearnPlatform help shape what Professional Development looks like for teachers? How can parents learn about the technologies that are being put in front of their students? Follow our PodcastThe TeacherCast Educational Broadcasting Network | @TeacherCast (http://www.twitter.com/teachercast) Edtech in the Classroom Homepage – www.EdtechInTheClassroom.com (http://www.edtechintheclassroom.com) Follow our HostJeff Bradbury | @JeffBradbury (http://www.twitter.com/jeffbradbury) Why LearnPlatform? LearnPlatform (https://learnplatform.com/) is the comprehensive edtech management and rapid-cycle evaluation system for educators and administrators to organize, streamline and analyze their classroom technology to improve instructional, operational and financial decisions. The SaaS edtech system of record allows education organizations to effectively inventory and select digital learning tools, establish and maintain regulatory compliance, and measure outcomes to gain meaningful, actionable evidence to ensure learning ecosystems are safe and cost-effective. K-12 districts, higher ed institutions, and state education agencies use the research-based LearnPlatform to continuously improve standards of practice that drive blended and personalized learning at scale, increase student achievement and expand equitable access to education technologies. Lea(R)n, founded on the mission of expanding equitable access for all students to education technology that works, is the creator of LearnPlatform, the comprehensive edtech management and rapid-cycle evaluation system for educators and administrators to organize, streamline and analyze their classroom technology to improve instructional, operational and financial decisions. Built by, with and for educators, LearnPlatform empowers both individual educators and organizations with consistent, proven data that they can trust. LearnPlatform has a product library of more than 5,000 tools with more than 100,000 verified educator reviews. The platform is unbiased, meaning there is a level playing field for all: the only thing that matters is what works. Educators and leaders will get a comprehensive-yet-digestible overview of the edtech tools available, the needs they can help you address, and their relative effectiveness for educators in similar situations to yourself; save both time and money, and avoid non-compliance in edtech purchasing, implementation, evaluation, and management; and gain rapid, comprehensive insights on the way your edtech tools are used and how effective they are in achieving your goals so that you can make data-driven instruction and budget decisions. About our GuestKarl Rectanus Karl Rectanus is an educator, entrepreneur and adviser. As cofounder and CEO of Lea(R)n, an education innovation Benefit Corporation that empowers educators and their institutions to organize, streamline and analyze education technology through its research-backed LearnPlatform (https://learnplatform.com/) , Karl leads schools and districts, states and networks, and colleges and universities in their efforts to simplify edtech selection, procurement, implementation and measurement. Karl works with learning organizations and networks across the country to establish...