In order to better prepare educators, we have spent the last nine years developing learning science research and application. To find teaching and learning strategies supported by science, we have teamed up with amazing organizations. To help educators use technology like artificial intelligence (AI) to further district teaching and learning agendas, we have awarded funds to researchers and education organizations. We have also taken action and developed resources to assist educators in maximizing each student’s potential.
These investments and the efforts of our partners make me quite proud, and they also give us a better idea of what further our industry needs. One need is evident from my discussions with school district leaders: even if digital learning resources have proliferated in the past ten years, educators still bear a significant portion of the responsibility for assembling solutions to meet the demands of their pupils, whose requirements have expanded since the epidemic. We believe that as an edtech philanthropy, we can contribute in a special way to help the edtech ecosystem integrate science education more and collaborate more effectively for schools.
What We’re Building
We kept working on a number of items in 2024 to help teachers apply science learning more easily. We made improvements to Along, which we developed a few years ago in collaboration with Gradient Learning educators. We were pleased to obtain the prestigious SOC2 accreditation, which is a standard for security and trust in the US, and we added the capability to use Along to initiate class-wide conversation with the help of educators. We developed a number of AI-powered tools, such as Math Tailor, which helps middle school teachers create excellent practice problems, go over prerequisite knowledge, and effortlessly modify language levels on top of Illustrative Math.
Each product, such as Math Tailor and Along, has the potential to be powerful and helpful, but we have begun to identify common problems with each tool—and, we believe, the majority of edtech tools—that may be resolved with the help of shared technical solutions. This year, we launched two fresh initiatives to deal with them:
First, as edtech developers, we are aware of the enormous potential for quick advancements in AI to further enable teachers to better meet the unique needs of each student. However, until the education technology sector can show that AI tools are efficient, high-quality, rigorous, and dependable for teachers and students, the impact of technology will be limited. In order to accomplish that, we must determine whether the foundation models upon which we are constructing are suitable for the educational setting.
This month, we launched two new AI developer tools in private beta that start to bridge the gap between advances in generative AI and the needs of edtech developers, helping them to create better tools grounded in learning science. Starting with math, our Knowledge Graph will help developers enhance AI system inputs by aligning them with learning science research, state academic standards, and curricula. Starting with qualitative text complexity, our Evaluators will help developers assess AI system outputs to ensure they meet the accuracy, rigor, and quality essential for teaching and learning. Our team’s vision is to build the learning science-grounded developer tools that make it easier for AI edtech developers to improve their products towards impact. We’re eager to talk to those interested in joining this private beta or contributing to our next tools.
While improved AI tools are crucial, we believe that today is the time to look into technical solutions that assist edtech collaborate more effectively to support instructors’ learning objectives. Curriculum Sync, an application we are creating with a number of school districts and partners, is an example of this “middleware.” School districts can use it to incorporate open educational resources into their learning management system. These days, schools have free access to excellent, open curriculum, but teachers find it challenging to use or modify them. By taking individual classes and lessons and placing them in a manner that is both accessible and adaptable through learning management systems like Canvas, Curriculum Sync fills the gap.
How We Build
Sharing the process of constructing something is just as important as the final product. Because of the intrinsic cross-domain nature of our approach, we are dedicated to inviting academic professionals to the classroom to join us at the table. In order to lead our efforts to safely manage the difficulties of AI in education, we welcomed this year a new Education Advisory Board that includes luminaries from the fields of learning science, edtech, data protection, school districts, and AI.
By giving them the chance to share their knowledge and perspectives, we also include educators as co-developers of educational technology. We opened Render, our innovation studio devoted to co-creating tools with schools, during the summer. Additionally, we keep awarding funding to institutions creating high-caliber datasets that will be publicly accessible and useful for enhancing the caliber of AI models. This effort encourages innovation and transparency in the education industry by expanding the science of open learning.
I am incredibly appreciative of the potential that lies ahead as we approach the new year. All students, regardless of their identities or locations, can be engaged and equipped by the next generation of edtech tools, which can also empower and pleasure educators. However, I feel a strong sense of urgency because I am aware that we have important work to do with our partners in order to move that future ahead more quickly for the students of today.
