EdTech Startup Showcase

BE Podcast Network
  • 5.0 (8)
  • Education
  • Updated Biweekly

This series shines a spotlight on the innovative edtech companies working to make a difference for students and educators. Through conversations with the founders and CEOs, partner organizations, and the educators who are using their products in schools today, listeners hear about solutions relevant to their chronic challenges and opportunity-expanding ideas to go into uncharted directions.

  1. 5d ago

    Crescanova Global: Reimagining Education Without Borders with Katie Kelly & Sarah Merkt

    Host Eric Makelky sits down with Katie Kelly and Sarah Merkt, co-founders of Crescanova Global, an online (and in-person, via Crescanova Labs) enrichment program serving students across five continents. Katie and Sarah unpack their concept of "inspired learning" — designing classes around curiosity-sparking questions rather than rigid skill-based standards — and share real examples, from a class on designing alien life to a lesson born from a power outage. They discuss how they train teachers to follow student curiosity, how classes are structured for different age bands, and how they support parents navigating homeschool and supplemental education choices, including free consultations and their monthly "Student Sparks" webinar series.

  2. Jun 18

    Implementation Series, Part 2: Why Good Ideas Fail Quietly in Schools with Vidya Sundaram and Elisabeth O'Bryon

    Today we're sharing part two of the implementation series from Family Engagement Lab. Co-founders Vidya Sundaram and Elisabeth O'Bryan join us to discuss: When schools launch family engagement initiatives, what typically happens over time?What does it mean to "fail quietly?"What it typically looks like when a strong idea starts to lose momentum in a school systemThe most common (and least visible) reasons these efforts break downWhat do we miss when we treat this as a teacher or family problem instead of a systems problem?Listen to Implementation Series, Part 1: The Missing Instructional Layer Learn more about Family Engagement Lab: https://www.familyengagementlab.org About the guestsVidya Sundaram is co-founder and CEO of Family Engagement Lab. Over her nearly 20-year career in family engagement, Vidya has managed development, research, and strategy for digital resources used by more than half of US families with school-aged children. Before founding Family Engagement Lab, Vidya led research and insights at GreatSchools, championing a test and learn culture across the organization. Vidya also has an extensive background in software engineering and technology project management to engage diverse partners, and implement and study digital programs. She holds a degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University, a Masters in Public Policy from UCLA and her MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management. Vidya is mom to two kids and proud to be part of a lively multigenerational household.​ Elisabeth O'Bryon is co-founder and Chief Impact Officer of Family Engagement Lab. Elisabeth was previously the Director of Research and Evaluation at GreatSchools where she worked to design and implement evaluation projects, with a particular focus on rapid-cycle research approaches. Before GreatSchools, Elisabeth was a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence where she contributed to the development and evaluation of school-based social and emotional learning programming for children, teachers, and families. Elisabeth has a doctorate in psychology and experience providing school psychological services to preschool through high school-age students in both English and Spanish. Elisabeth recently co-authored 45 Strategies that Support Young Dual Language Learners, a resource that provides practical, developmentally appropriate strategies for supporting children and families from diverse backgrounds and creating inclusive early childhood classrooms that foster the success of young DLLs. Elisabeth is enjoying the many adventures of parenthood with her husband and sons. About the hostRoss Romano is a co-founder of the Be Podcast Network and host of The Authority Podcast.  Listen to The Authority at https://authoritypodcast.netLearn about more shows at https://bepodcastnetwork.com

    Implementation Series, Part 2: Why Good Ideas Fail Quietly in Schools with Vidya Sundaram and Elisabeth O'Bryon

  3. May 29

    Implementation Series, Part 1: The Missing Instructional Layer with Vidya Sundaram and Elisabeth O'Bryon

    Today we're excited to bring you part one of a series from Family Engagement Lab. Co-founders Vidya Sundaram and Elisabeth O'Bryan join us to discuss: How the common idea of “family engagement” differs from what families actually needThe “missing instructional layer” in school-home communicationThe difference between communication that informs families and communication that actually supports learningHow this shift changes the role of teachers, school leaders, and the systemIf schools got this right, what would families experience differently day to day?Learn more about Family Engagement Lab: https://www.familyengagementlab.org   About the guestsVidya Sundaram is co-founder and CEO of Family Engagement Lab. Over her nearly 20-year career in family engagement, Vidya has managed development, research, and strategy for digital resources used by more than half of US families with school-aged children. Before founding Family Engagement Lab, Vidya led research and insights at GreatSchools, championing a test and learn culture across the organization. Vidya also has an extensive background in software engineering and technology project management to engage diverse partners, and implement and study digital programs. She holds a degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University, a Masters in Public Policy from UCLA and her MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management. Vidya is mom to two kids and proud to be part of a lively multigenerational household.​ Elisabeth O'Bryon is co-founder and Chief Impact Officer of Family Engagement Lab. Elisabeth was previously the Director of Research and Evaluation at GreatSchools where she worked to design and implement evaluation projects, with a particular focus on rapid-cycle research approaches. Before GreatSchools, Elisabeth was a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence where she contributed to the development and evaluation of school-based social and emotional learning programming for children, teachers, and families. Elisabeth has a doctorate in psychology and experience providing school psychological services to preschool through high school-age students in both English and Spanish. Elisabeth recently co-authored 45 Strategies that Support Young Dual Language Learners, a resource that provides practical, developmentally appropriate strategies for supporting children and families from diverse backgrounds and creating inclusive early childhood classrooms that foster the success of young DLLs. Elisabeth is enjoying the many adventures of parenthood with her husband and sons. About the hostRoss Romano is a co-founder of the Be Podcast Network and host of The Authority Podcast.  Listen to The Authority at https://authoritypodcast.netLearn about more shows at https://bepodcastnetwork.com

    Implementation Series, Part 1: The Missing Instructional Layer with Vidya Sundaram and Elisabeth O'Bryon

  4. Feb 12

    Trading the Classroom for a Startup with Mike Cronley

    In this episode of the EdTech Startup Podcast, host Jeff Bradbury interviews Mike Cronley, co-founder and CEO of Class Composer and former third-grade teacher. Mike shares his journey from the classroom to entrepreneurship, sparked by a casual conversation with his school's music teacher about students being incorrectly placed together. This "aha moment" led him to develop Class Composer, a software solution that helps elementary schools create balanced, equitable classroom rosters. Over seven years, Mike transitioned from teaching while developing his idea as a side project to fully committing to his startup. The conversation explores the challenges of the traditional paper-based class placement process, the importance of listening to customers, and advice for educators considering entrepreneurship.

  5. Feb 5

    Family Engagement Lab with Vidya Sundaram & Elisabeth O'Bryon

    In this EdTech Startup Showcase episode, host Jethro Jones interviews Vidya Sundaram (CEO) and Elisabeth O'Bryon (Chief Impact Officer) from Family Engagement Lab. The conversation explores how their platform bridges the gap between classroom learning and home support through bite-sized, actionable text messages that help families understand what their children are learning and how to reinforce those skills at home. The founders share their personal motivations—Elizabeth's experience as a bilingual school psychologist working with diverse families, and Vidya's childhood experience of disconnect between her immigrant family's educational values and school communication. They discuss their FAST Talk model (Families and Schools Talk), which has supported over 70,000 students across 50+ districts, and their new AI learning coach that provides personalized support for parents' questions. Key Takeaways Family engagement works best when it's accessible and actionableShort text messages (160 characters) with specific, grade-level appropriate activities are more effective than lengthy emailsThe impact is greatest for underserved studentsResearch shows the most pronounced learning gains for students whose families don't share a common language with teachers and those who started the year behind academicallyParents want to help but need the right informationFamilies have passion and interest in supporting learning but often lack insight into what's happening in the classroom and how to help at the right developmental levelSustainable implementation requires cross-functional coordinationSuccess comes from communications experts working alongside curriculum teams to create a shared responsibility for family engagementAI can personalize family supportTheir new AI learning coach allows parents to ask specific questions about their child's needs and build their own confidence in supporting learning at home

  6. Jan 20

    Jamie Rosenberg, Founder & Executive Chairman of ClassWallet

    Jamie Rosenberg is a two-time founder of technology platforms, including education philanthropy platform AdoptAClassroom.org, and the subject of today’s conversation, ClassWallet. We discuss: Jamie's entrepreneurial background and how he got into educationThe problem ClassWallet is aiming to solveHow many states, districts, and schools ClassWallet is working withIf Jamie was starting the company again today, what would he do differently?With the growth of ESAs and personalized funding, what do the next 5 years look like?Learn more at https://classwallet.com  About the guestJamie Rosenberg is a visionary entrepreneur and a two-time founder of technology platforms that have transformed how public funds reach communities in need to drive large-scale, systemic change. He is the founder and Executive Chairman of ClassWallet, a transformative digital wallet financial technology company reimagining how public funds are distributed to citizens, and spent. Prior to ClassWallet, he founded AdoptAClassroom.org, one of the country’s leading education philanthropy platforms, ensuring classroom teachers get the support they need. With a lifelong passion for social impact, Rosenberg has dedicated his career to reducing poverty and inequality by leveraging technology to improve educational opportunities, enhance government efficiency, and foster trust and transparency between citizens and public institutions. About the hostRoss Romano is a co-founder of the Be Podcast Network and host of The Authority Podcast. Listen at https://authoritypodcast.net

    Jamie Rosenberg, Founder & Executive Chairman of ClassWallet

  7. 10/03/2025

    Inside Greenville County's System for Improving Instruction Through Classroom Observation Data

    Ben Gustafson, founder of Classroom Mosaic, returns to the show along with Jeff McCoy, associate superintendent for Greenville County Schools in South Carolina.  Jeff and Ben discuss: How Greenville "electronicized" observation with Classroom Mosaic Greenville's objective to get more insight into classrooms and transform instructionHelping principals become better instructional leaders and the impact on student achievementExcellent support for new administrators and new coachesHow to use proven frameworks and modify them for local needsHear more about Classroom Mosaic:We help K-12 leaders support, develop, and retain their teachers. For over a decade, we've worked with educators worldwide from districts large (100k students) and small (150 students) to transform instructional practice, guide professional development, and impact student learning. We believe every student deserves a great education. And a great education starts with great teachers supported by great leaders. Learn more:  classroommosaic.comtwitter.com/ClassroomMosaic linkedin.com/company/classroommosaic/twitter.com/Ben__Gustafson linkedin.com/in/bengus28/About today's host:Scott Schuette is a Learning and Development Executive with years of experience driving the creation of innovative, multi-million dollar learning platforms and education programs for major corporate enterprise companies.  He is cohost of The Fabulous Learning Nerds, a podcast sharing new ideas, learning tools, approaches and technology that increase learner engagement and impact — All while having FUN! Listen to the show and subscribe here: https://fabulouslearningnerds.transistor.fm

    Inside Greenville County's System for Improving Instruction Through Classroom Observation Data

  8. 08/01/2025

    Relevancy and Authenticity with Kali Frederick of High Tech High Graduate School of Education

    It's a delight to be joined by Kali Frederick, Professional Learning Designer with the High Tech High Graduate School of Education who has 20 years of teaching and designing learning experiences in PBL classrooms at High Tech High and NYC. In this insightful episode, she and Scott discuss: How Inkwire supports collaborative curriculum design at High Tech HighHow Kali learned the necessity of relevance in lesson designThe design principles that enable High Tech High students to have a transformative experienceUsing Inkwire to support project-based learningBuilding a space for innovative educatorsAbout today's host:Scott Schuette is a Learning and Development Executive with years of experience driving the creation of innovative, multi-million dollar learning platforms and education programs for major corporate enterprise companies.  He is cohost of The Fabulous Learning Nerds, a podcast sharing new ideas, learning tools, approaches and technology that increase learner engagement and impact — All while having FUN! Listen to the show and subscribe here: https://fabulouslearningnerds.transistor.fm

    Relevancy and Authenticity with Kali Frederick of High Tech High Graduate School of Education
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This series shines a spotlight on the innovative edtech companies working to make a difference for students and educators. Through conversations with the founders and CEOs, partner organizations, and the educators who are using their products in schools today, listeners hear about solutions relevant to their chronic challenges and opportunity-expanding ideas to go into uncharted directions.

Information

  • Creator
    BE Podcast Network
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    34
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2024 BE Podcast Network
  • Show Website
    EdTech Startup Showcase