Edtech Insiders

Brandon Cardet-Hernandez, founder and CEO of Medley Learning and former multilingual learner, teacher, and school leader, discusses AI-powered scaffolds for multilingual students. He explores embedding supports in core lessons, student-controlled scaffolds, using assessment data to align supports, and the risk of lowering rigor with careless AI. He stresses implementation and local champions for real impact.

Dr. Magdalena H. Gross, a Stanford-trained AI education leader who helps experts translate deep knowledge into AI-ready systems and runs community arts work. She explains how experts train AI through structured thinking. She discusses making invisible thinking visible, parallels between human learning and reinforcement learning, spiral curricula for scaling skill, and why interdisciplinary thinking matters.

Joshua Broggi, founder and CEO of Woolf, modernizing higher ed with competency-based pathways and prior-learning credit. Aaron Cuny, CEO of AI for Equity, building AI leadership capacity in K–12. They unpack NVIDIA’s platform push, agentic AI and solopreneur opportunities. They debate AI literacy versus screen bans, ASU’s AI playbook, school choice expansion, and shifting edtech funding trends.

Mindy Sjoblom, founder and CEO of OnYourMark, scales research-backed virtual high-dosage tutoring for early readers. Catherine Tierney, Head of Product and Program, designs human-centered, evidence-based learning tech. They discuss using AI as an insight layer rather than a replacement, translating RCT-backed research into practical tools, real-time tutor feedback, and how AI’s role should differ by student age.

Oliver Page, Co-founder and CEO of CyberNut, leads an AI-powered cybersecurity training startup that gamifies phishing defense for K–12 schools. He discusses why schools are uniquely vulnerable to phishing, how AI is fueling more personalized attacks, and why engaging, regular simulations beat once-a-year compliance training. He also explains student-focused reporting tools and scaling tactics for school adoption.

Charlie Thayer, Chief Academic Officer with 15+ years in online and blended learning, and Dr. Rachel Book, education leader with 20+ years in early childhood and curriculum development, discuss purpose-built AI for classrooms. They compare generic versus education-focused AI. They explore AI use cases that boost teacher visibility and reduce clerical work. They cover AI for younger learners, safety and age-appropriate design, and risks of AI shortcuts.

Josh Jones, CEO of QuantHub and serial entrepreneur in data and AI literacy. He discusses why education should teach durable meta-skills like critical thinking, ethics, and change management. He explains mapping AI skills to standards and why bans on tools can widen gaps. He urges modular curriculum updates and clear institutional AI policies to stay resilient.

Dean Celaj, Founder and CEO of GoTeacher and Forbes 30 Under 30 alum who built a national education platform in Albania, discusses K–12 data privacy challenges. He explains why districts struggle to stay compliant. He outlines privacy blind spots from “free” tools. He argues for blocking risky AI by default and shares practical fixes for systemwide enforcement.

Ariella Racco, founder and CEO of CoLab Education and former middle school teacher, builds collaboration tools for K–12 educators. She discusses why collaboration infrastructure, not content, is the bottleneck. Short takes cover AI-era moderation, limits of social platforms, scaling a teacher network, and how CoLab aims to connect educators to co-design learning.

Greg Hart, CEO of Coursera and former Amazon product leader who helped build Alexa, talks about making learning skills-focused and accessible. He discusses AI-powered personalized learning, partnerships with universities and industry, and treating skills as modular building blocks. The conversation highlights modular assessments, career-aligned courses, and the urgency to move fast in a changing education landscape.