The Educational Technology Industrial Complex Timeline
*Updated 5/11/2024
Pre-Internet to Early Internet Era
1979
The International Council for Computers in Education (ICCE)
ICCE is founded, David Moursund is the executive officer and editor-in-chief of the organization. This organization later became known as the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) in 1989.
1984
Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST): This organization is founded by a small group of education researchers during a time of promise with technology and education. CAST later goes on to develop the Universal Design for Learning or UDL which it is referred to now. Funders over the years for this organization include: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Intel Education, New Profit, inc and the Oak Foundation.
1989
The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) formerly ICCE.
“Our vision is that all students engage in transformative learning experiences that spark their imagination and prepare them to thrive in learning and life.” Sponsors include Google and Microsoft. The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) is the premier nonprofit organization serving educators and education leaders committed to empowering connected learners in a connected world. ISTE serves more than 100,000 education stakeholders throughout the world.
1991
Overhead projectors are now being replaced by the digital Smart Board which allows teachers to display interactive information from their computers.
1994
William H. Gates Foundation is created. Its original mission was to use William Gates Sr. resources to improve reproductive and child health. This foundation will later become known as The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning,(CASEL) was formed in 1994 to establish high-quality, evidence-based SEL as an essential part of preschool through high school education.
1996
The Cost of School-Based Educational Technology Programs is published by RAND. “The study generates comprehensive estimates of what it costs a school to set up a technology program such as the use of computer, network, and multimedia technology to improve classroom-based instruction.”
The Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) “research focus shifts from individual students to issues of the classroom, school, and education system as a whole. The increasing availability of flexible digital tools and content makes customizable curriculum design feasible.” CAST: Timeline of Innovation
RAND (Education & Labor) The research organization has been around for decades and begins to show up in educational research articles moving forward. Supported by philanthropic donors and grantmakers, “RAND is able to pursue visionary ideas and develop innovative, evidence-based solutions to acute, complex, or provocative policy challenges. Our supporters share our commitment to quality and objectivity, entrust us with protecting these values in our work, and have partnered with RAND to help create positive change throughout the world.” *Funding for this organization has donors connected to big tech later on.
1998
NewSchools is Founded: “Kim Smith, John Doerr, and Brook Byers founded NewSchools Venture Fund with a deep belief in the power of entrepreneurs to drive change and a new vision for providing philanthropic support in education.”
October 21, 1998:
The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act was passed into law. Rule Summary: COPPA imposes certain requirements on operators of websites or online services directed to children under 13 years of age, and on operators of other websites or online services that have actual knowledge that they are collecting personal information online from a child under 13 years of age.
1999
NewSchools: makes early investments in 10 of the nation’s leading charter networks that would go on to reach more than 100,000 students in 200+ schools across the country and established its role as a field convener through its annual Summit.
2000
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Launches
The William H. Gates Foundation merges with the Gates Learning Foundation to form the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Starting in June 2000, this foundation began providing grants to school districts across the United States “to support personalized learning environments where all students achieve”. The organization goes on to spend Billions on education over the next 2 decades “Melinda: Our foundation spends about $500 million a year in the United States, most of it on education.” 2018 Annual Letter
The Gates Foundation 2000 ANNUAL REPORT Reveals The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) received $1,050,000 for 3 years to support the Center for Applied Research in Educational Technology.
March 1, 2000
Article from the New York Times: Gates Foundation Gives $350 Million to Education Programs Over the Next 3 Years
2002
January 8th, 2002:
No Child Left Behind Act: President George W. Bush signs the NCLB into law. With the initiating of this act, high stakes yearly testing begins in grades 3-8 and 11th for reading and math. No Child Left Behind: An Overview
The WWC was established in 2002 as part of an initiative of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) at the U.S. Department of Education. The mission of the WWC is to be a central and trusted source of scientific evidence for what works in education.
June 3, 2002
The American Institutes for Research® (AIR’s) which has “been involved in providing rigorous, impartial evidence-based research and resources on both pressing and perennial education issues spanning preschool through postsecondary education”. AIR released the report: Integrated Studies of Educational Technology (ISET) which stated “The Technology Literacy Challenge Fund (TLCF) was the first federal grants program to assist states in bringing educational technology into the nation’s elementary and secondary classrooms.”
*Clients for AIR include Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation,Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation,Council of Chief State School Officers
2003
July 7, 2003
NewSchools Press Release: Gates Foundation Sends $22M To School “The NewSchools Venture Fund now has more than $65 million in its Charter Accelerator Fund after a $22 million investment from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.”
2004
PNC Grow Up Great “Since 2004, PNC Grow Up Great® has helped prepare children from birth through age 5 for success in school and in life. We’re supporting programs, resources and experiences that plant the seeds for a lifetime of opportunities”. PNC Charitable Trusts administer grants only to select regions based on the donor's preference. *Financial support for PNC comes from the National Institute for Early Education and Research whose donors include: The Gates Foundation, SRI International, Alliance for Early Success, Learning Policy Institute.
2005
NewSchools: Alongside national investments in schools and human capital, we launched place-based funds in Boston, Newark and Washington, D.C. and created the Seed Fund to support high-impact K-12 education technology companies.
2006
February 16, 2006
NewSchools Press Release: Venture Capitalists Are Investing in Educational Reform “Venture capitalists of Silicon Valley, who have backed hundreds of high-technology entrepreneurs, are eagerly financing a new group these days: schoolmasters.”
October 2006:
Google Apps for Education was introduced which was free for qualified institutions. It was engineered for integration with existing mail and user account directory systems of large educational institutions, with tools for enabling migration of these to Google Apps.
2008
The National Institute for Direct Instruction (NIFDI) is a non-profit organization which is dedicated to:
· “Providing continuous administrative and curricular support to schools and districts as they implement Direct Instruction (DI) programs.
· Conducting, promoting, and publicizing high-quality research on the effects of DI implementations.”
The NIFDI begin to critique What Works Clearinghouse research and data, see here:
https://www.nifdi.org/research/reviews-of-di/what-works-clearinghouse.html
2009
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Commits $335 Million to Promote Effective Teaching and Raise Student Achievement
July 24, 2009
Race to the Top – District competition The Obama Administration launched a Race to the Top competition. This program invested nearly $400 million in schools “to create new models to personalize learning for students, so that they can engage their interests and take responsibility for their success”. Personalized learning becomes a buzz word connecting digital technologies to student learning throughout the next 15 years.
McGraw Hill (a leading global education company) Connect® launches; an all-digital teaching & learning platform for higher education -- reaching millions of learners within months. This is one of the largest curriculum developers in the US. Their history moving forward is highlighted to show the shift the company made in purchasing online digital education platforms.
2010
Approximately $500 Million is spent on education technology according to later reporting from HolonIQ.
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation release: Fewer, Clearer, Higher:Moving Forward with Consistent, Rigorous Standards for All Students
Jan 01, 2010
A Study completed by The Kaiser family Foundation, Generation M2: Media in the Lives of 8- to 18-Year-Olds is released. The study is one of the largest and most comprehensive publicly available sources of information on the amount and nature of media use among American youth at the time. Although it does not look into educational technology use, it provides insight into the increasing reliance on technology by those ages 8-18 years.
March 5, 2010
Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology
National Educational Technology Plan released by the Office of Educational Technology U.S. Department of Education: To achieve these goals, the National Educational Technology Plan (NETP) calls for revolutionary transformation rather than evolutionary tinkering. “Technology-based learning and assessment systems will be pivotal in improving student learning and generating data that can be used to continuously improve the education system at all levels.”
Google Launches the ChromeBook A small pilot program with a handful of schools. Council Bluffs in Iowa and Fond du Lac in Wisconsin were among the very first to use Chromebooks.
July 2010
Common Core standards were created which nationalized curriculum and textbook standards: The State of State Standards — and the Common Core — in 2010.
Page 8/373 Acknowledgements: Funding behind these standards include donations from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Generous support for this massive undertaking came from four sources: the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Louis Calder Foundation, The Brookhill Foundation, and our own sister organization, the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation. We are grateful to one and all.
August 2010
The Giving Pledge: 40 of America’s wealthiest people made a commitment to give the majority of their wealth to address some of society’s most pressing problems. Created by Warren Buffett, Melinda French Gates, and Bill Gates, the Giving Pledge came to life following a series of conversations with philanthropists about how they could set a new standard of generosity among the ultra-wealthy. While originally focused on the United States, the Giving Pledge quickly saw interest from philanthropists around the world.
October 19, 2010
Article EdWeek: Gates Foundation Turns Attention to Ed. Tech. “Educational technology advocates may call it a bold step forward or an idea long overdue.”
November 19, 2010
Prepared remarks by Bill Gates to the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) regarding the Common Core standards and changes that need to be made in education. “Aligning teaching with the common core – and building common data standards – will help us define excellence, measure progress, test new methods, and compare results. Finally, we will apply the tools of science to school reform.”
2011
EdSurge, a digital news and research magazine about education is founded.
*Originally funded by Lumina Foundation, Schmidt Futures, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation. now supported by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Dalio Philanthropies (Endless Network), ECMC Foundation, Imaginable Futures.
Project Mastery Grantees and Initiatives In 2011, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation extended grants to three organizations involved with competency-based education approaches. The grant initiative, called Project Mastery, funded the development of technology-enhanced tools, including curriculum materials and online learning management systems, as well as the implementation of these tools in secondary school classrooms.
2012
National education scores peak for 13 year olds in Math and Reading this year.
( NAEP Long-Term Trend Assessment Results: Reading and Mathematics)
February 1, 2012
The Digital Textbook Playbook is released by the FCC as a guide to help K-12 educators and administrators advance the conversation toward building a rich digital learning experience. *Contributors include: Apple, Aruba Networks, AT&T, Blackboard, Dell, Discover, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, Mobile Beacon, Mobile Citizen, One to One Institute, Pearson, Samsung, Software & Information Industry Association, Sprint, Verizon, Wireless Generation.
May 24, 2012
Reading linear texts on paper versus computer screen: Effects on reading comprehension. This study concluded: “The results of this study indicate that reading linear narrative and expository texts on a computer screen leads to poorer reading comprehension than reading the same texts on paper. These results have several pedagogical implications. Firstly, we should not assume that changing the presentation format for even short texts used in reading assessments will not have a significant impact on reading performance. If texts are longer than a page, scrolling and the lack of spatiotemporal markers of the digital texts to aid memory and reading comprehension might impede reading performance. Furthermore, our results suggest that implementing both reading assessment tasks (i.e., text reading and response tasks) in the same medium – the computer – leads to additional cognitive costs.”
May 25, 2012
Article EdWeek: Gates Foundation Awards $550,000 to NEA to Aid ‘Collaboration’
2013 (Big changes in education and technology begin around this time)
January 2013:
McGraw Hill SmartBook™, the world's first adaptive e-book, launches. There is no research on the McGraw Hill website supporting that their SmartBook product supports reading/literacy skills.
February 06, 2013
Education Week Article: Big Three’ Publishers Rethink K-12 Strategies “We are not beholden at all to the big textbook publishers,” says Superintendent Calvin Baker. “We used to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars every year in the textbook cycle, but we don’t do that anymore.”
March 13, 2013:
Norwegian study: Paper beats computer screens. “People comprehend what they're reading on a sheet of paper far better than when they read those same words on a computer screen.”
McGraw Hill’s education unit is sold to Apollo Global Management.
May 11, 2013
Education Week article: Districts push to go 1:1 in high schools. In 2013 and 2014 alone, schools purchased more than 23 million laptops, tablets, and Chromebooks for use by students and teachers in the classroom.
June 2013:
McGraw Hill acquires personalized learning software company ALEKS Corporation.
July 2013:
Revised Children's Online Privacy Protection Act goes Into effect. The modified rule, approved by the Commission in December 2012, widens the definition of children’s personal information to include persistent identifiers such as cookies that track a child’s activity online, as well as geolocation information, photos, videos, and audio recordings.
September 21, 2013
Bill Gates, speaking at the launch of The Harvard Campaign, said “It would be great if our education stuff worked. But that we won’t know for probably a decade.” (~45:20) https://youtu.be/cBHJ-8Bch4E See NAEP 2023 test scores, they peaked in 2012 and have been dropping ever since.
November 19, 2013:
Rand releases a study: Cognitive Tutor: Encouraging Signs for Computers in the Classroom. The research studied the effectiveness of Cognitive Tutor Algebra I (CTAI), a first-year algebra curriculum that blends tutoring software with conventional textbook learning.
2014
March 3, 2014
Early Education Plays Role in Bridging the 'Digital Divide' is released by RAND, sponsored by the PNC Foundation. “The report details the importance of early childhood education and the value of technology literacy — the ability to use computer-based devices, software, and networks — at an early age.”
*Financial support for PNC comes National Institute for Early Education and Research whose donors include: The Gates Foundation, SRI International, Alliance for Early Success, Learning Policy Institute.
May 20, 2014
RAND Convenes Experts to Examine Role of Technology in Early Childhood Education
A group of 45 scholars, policymakers, practitioners, and funders gathered at RAND's Pittsburgh office to examine the use of technology in early childhood education and efforts to address the digital divide. At this conference there is a push to change the narrative by the so-called experts: “shift in the conversation away from the contentious debate about whether technology is a threat to traditional learning, and toward a discussion of how and when technology can be used to complement other learning activities in the early childhood classroom”.
May 22, 2014
Research Article from Psychological Science: The Pen Is Mightier Than the Keyboard: Advantages of Longhand Over Laptop Note Taking “The studies we report here show that laptop use can negatively affect performance on educational assessments, even—or perhaps especially—when the computer is used for its intended function of easier note taking.”
September 2014
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation donates $500,000 to the National Education Association. The NEA Foundation for the Improvement of Education.
About the NEA “NEA has affiliate organizations in every state and in more than 14,000 communities across the United States. We bring the expertise, drive, and dedication of 3 million educators and allies to advancing justice and excellence in public education.”
December 11, 2014
Press Release from ISTE: ISTE Applauds FCC Vote to Increase E-Rate Fund
"ISTE is grateful to Chairman Wheeler for his bold leadership to increase the E-Rate fund. This additional investment to deliver high-speed connectivity to schools provides the basic infrastructure educators need to successfully deliver digital age learning," " said ISTE CEO Brian Lewis. "The future of learning means students need to be connected 24/7; the next step is to improve access for all students at home so learning isn' 't interrupted. ISTE will to continue to work with the commission to connect students where they live and where they learn beyond the bell."
2015
NewSchools returned to its roots — funding early-stage, innovative entrepreneurs. We launched a national strategy focused on Innovative Schools, Ed Tech and Diverse Leaders, and spun out EdForward DC, Educate78, and Reach Capital.
Pew Research Center: After years of growth, math proficiency of U.S. students dips.
March 16, 2015
Article: The Journal Transforming Education Through Technology: K-12 Digital Curriculum Growing; Print Shrinking Curriculum publishers in K-12 have been shifting their product development to digital and away from print, according to Education Market Research.
March 22 2015
Article from NJ.com: PARCC exams: How Pearson landed the deal to produce N.J.'s biggest test (2015) “The British corporation is the company behind PARCC, the controversial new exams New Jersey began administering in grades 3 through 11 this year. The state expects to pay Pearson as much as $108 million over the next four years to produce the PARCC exams. The for-profit company has similar contracts in nearly a dozen other states administering PARCC — short for the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers — in one of the largest testing deals in U.S. history.”
Throughout 2015…
McGraw Hill: The curriculum developer releases an efficacy study on their K-6 Wonders reading program. Balanced Reading Basals and the Impact on Third-Grade Reading Achievement The company shares on its website that there is a statistically significant increase of DIBELS scores for students using Wonders from the beginning of the year to the end of the school year yet they fail to acknowledge the small size of the study and that there was no control group to compare their results “…did not include a control group to compare the true impact of the independent variable since the entire district utilized McGraw-Hill Reading Wonders ™.”
Instruction Partners is founded. Our mission: We strengthen instructional leadership in schools, school systems, and states to ensure teachers have the support they need to improve learning experiences and learning outcomes for students—with attention to students of color, students experiencing poverty, multilingual learners, and students with disabilities.
*Funders include: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, New Schools
Curriculum Support Guide Is developed by Instruction Partners. Designed to help support educators choosing curriculum and they give many thanks to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation throughout their work.
EdReports is founded. “EdReports.org is an independent nonprofit designed to improve K–12 education. EdReports.org increases the capacity of teachers, administrators, and leaders to seek, identify, and demand the highest-quality instructional materials.” The term “High Quality Curriculum Material” or HQCM begins to be used when describing curriculum. EdReports goes on to become celebrated for their work and soon at least 12 states rely on their curriculum ratings to determine what curriculum will be used by school districts in their states. *Funded by Broadcom Corporation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, the Helmsley Charitable Trust, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Overdeck Family Foundation, the Samueli Foundation, the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation, the Stuart Foundation, the Walton Family Foundation, and the Oak Foundation.
McGraw Hill begins offering digital materials via Inclusive Access, a course material affordability program that delivers digital learning resources to college students at a significantly reduced cost.
October 8, 2015
Article from Education Week: Gates Reaffirms K-12 Priorities Amid Shifting Political Landscape “Gates told the foundation’s U.S. Learning Forum in Bellevue, Wash., that the multibillion-dollar Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has been redoubling its efforts to make sure the troops on the ground, specifically teachers, have the tools they need to move forward on implementing college- and career-ready standards and closing gaps in student achievement.”
November 10, 2015
RAND Article on Personalized Learning “RAND's study was the largest and most rigorous attempt yet to test such a personalized approach to education. It followed 62 schools—most of them urban charter schools serving low-income students—as they implemented personalized learning programs between 2013 and 2015. All of the schools had received funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which has invested tens of millions of dollars in personalized programs, and brought in RAND to measure their impact.”
November 20, 2015
The FCC updates the Digital Textbook Playbook
*Contributors include: Apple, Aruba Networks, AT&T, Blackboard, Dell, Discover, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, Mobile Beacon, Mobile Citizen, One to One Institute, Pearson, Samsung, Software & Information Industry Association, Sprint, Verizon, Wireless Generation.
December 1, 2015
Mark Zuckerber and wife pen a letter to newborn daughter Max:
“Even better, students around the world will be able to use personalized learning tools over the internet, even if they don’t live near good schools. Of course it will take more than technology to give everyone a fair start in life, but personalized learning can be one scalable way to give all children a better education and more equal opportunity.”
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative was founded in 2015 and goes on to donate a significant amount of their fortune to educational technology organizations and research.
December 10, 2015
Congress passed the Every Student Succeeds Act to replace NCLB signed by President Obama. This bipartisan measure reauthorizes the 50-year-old Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the nation’s national education law and longstanding commitment to equal opportunity for all students. What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) helps educators use ESSA criteria to search for “high-quality research and evidence-based interventions” using four tiers.
2016
The Us Department of Education releases the NATIONAL EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY PLAN About the plan: “The National Education Technology Plan (NETP) sets a national vision and plan for learning enabled by technology through building on the work of leading education researchers; district, school, and higher education leaders; classroom teachers; developers; entrepreneurs; and nonprofit organizations. The principles and examples provided in this document align to the Activities to Support the Effective Use of Technology (Title IV A) of Every Student Succeeds Act as authorized by Congress in December 2015.”
EdSurge releases a 4 part series describing The State of Edtech 2016
“perspectives from different stakeholders on the trends and forces shaping how money is invested, how tools are created and how schools are designing teaching and learning experiences.” This is an indepth look at the trends of EdTech, how companies are profiting from the EdTech boom and the future of technology in the classroom.
Chapter 1: Technology Trends Shaping Edtech
Chapter 2: How Money Shapes Tools and Schools
Charter 3: How EdTech Tools Evolve
Chapter 4: How Schools Are Changing
*Originally funded by Lumina Foundation, Schmidt Futures, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation. now supported by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Dalio Philanthropies (Endless Network), ECMC Foundation, Imaginable Futures
February 12, 2016
Rhode Island Questions the Effects of Taking Tests Online
This article highlights that those who took the state test on paper scored, in some cases 17 points higher than those on the computer yet the response from the Education Commissioner Ken Wagner, was "Increasing technology is the right way to go," he said. "People have assumed that if there is a difference in scores, that the online ones are too low. But one could argue that the paper scores are too high. It's not clear which is the right score." The thought at that time was that students didn’t know how to use the computer tools needed to complete the tests, especially in math, and therefore they did not perform as well.
March 2016:
McGraw Hill's sales of digital units in the higher education market overtakes print for the first time in company history.
March 7, 2016:
Mark Zuckerberg develops student directed learning push. Tangled Web: Zuckerberg & Chan's Education Grants, Investments. “This story has been clarified to indicate that Zuckerberg Education Ventures has invested millions in ed-tech companies.”
May 1, 2016 :
The Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University releases their study: DREAMBOX LEARNING ACHIEVEMENT GROWTH Conclusion “The above results are encouraging but not conclusive. Students who used DreamBox Learning software at the average level witnessed a 2 percentile point gain on the MAP in HCPSS over similar students who did not use the software at all. However, as noted above, we could not rule out the possibility that the relationship we estimated was due to student motivation or teacher effectiveness, rather than to the availability of the software."
May 23, 2016
Article Education Week: Gates Chief Acknowledges Common-Core Missteps “...chief executive officer Sue Desmond-Hellmann acknowledged that the group had made some miscalculations regarding implementation of the Common Core State Standards.”
June 2, 2016
Article from Washington Post: Gates Foundation chief admits Common Core mistakes
August 31, 2016
Time article: Screens In Schools Are a $60 Billion Hoax
September 2016:
McGraw Hill acquires Redbird Learning, a leading digital personalized learning company. The website boasts “The study, performed by NYU’s Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools, found that EPGY program participants scored higher on average – in some cases by 45 percent – on standardized achievement tests compared to those outside the program.” However, after following links to the study, a report summary is provided, Using Stanford University’s Education Program for Gifted Youth (EPGY) to Support and Advance Student Achievement. This summary states numerous “studies” throughout their report but none are provided.
November 9, 2016:
Google apps become Google Suite A totally rebuilt Google Sites—now available to everyone.
2017
January 2017
2017 National Education Technology Plan Update Reimagining the Role of Technology in Education ‘“One of the most important aspects of technology in education is its ability to level the field of opportunity for students’. - John King, U.S. Secretary of Education.
Throughout 2017
Rhode Island Department of Education: Rhode Island continues to partner with EdReports, a nationally recognized, independent non-profit organization, who provides expert reviews of instructional materials. Legislation in 2019 required that all RI LEAs adopt high quality curriculum materials in K-12 schools which are determined by EdReports which is * Funded by Broadcom Corporation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, the Helmsley Charitable Trust, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Overdeck Family Foundation, the Samueli Foundation, the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation, the Stuart Foundation, the Walton Family Foundation, and the Oak Foundation.
New Approach for Education The Gates Foundation revises its approach to improve K-12 education, vowing to invest $1.7 billion over five years to focus on locally driven efforts to improve student achievement, develop curricula to advance professional development, and expand innovative research to accelerate progress for underserved students.
RAND *Leading lifetime donor: Open Philanthropy founded by Dustin Moskovitz, former co-founder of Facebook.
EdReports 2018 IRS form 990 ( see page 23/36) 1.5 million from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and a cohort of interested states launched the High-Quality Instructional Materials and Professional Development (IMPD) Network dedicated to ensuring that every student, every day, is engaged in meaningful, affirming, grade-level instruction. The states that CCSSO’s IMPD Network currently supports include Arkansas, Delaware, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Texas as they work with their districts to adopt HQIM and provide professional development opportunities aligned to those materials (Note: Wisconsin was an IMPD network state from August 2017 until January 2022).
*Sponsors of the CCSSO include some of the following: The American Institutes
for Research (AIR), ETS, McGraw-Hill Education, MGT Consulting Group, NWEA®
Measuring What Matters, Pearson, Project Lead The Way (PLTW), SAS, Scholastic, ACT, AdvancED, Amplify, Apple, Battelle for Kids, Curriculum Associates, Corwin a SAGE company, DRC, Google for Education, IBM Global Education,...
May 13, 2017
New York Times Article by Natasha Singer How Google took Over the Classroom
“In doing so, Google is helping to drive a philosophical change in public education — prioritizing training children in skills like teamwork and problem-solving while de-emphasizing the teaching of traditional academic knowledge, like math formulas.” “Schools may be giving Google more than they are getting: generations of future customers.”
*Natasha Singer wrote a series of articles critical of big tech in education called Education Disrupted in 2017.
June 2017
NYTimes article The Silicon Valley Billionaires Remaking America’s Schools
“DreamBox Learning tracks a student’s every click, correct answer, hesitation and error — collecting about 50,000 data points per student per hour — and uses those details to adjust the math lessons it shows.” “A report from Harvard University’s Center for Education Policy Research concluded that DreamBox use correlated with some improved math scores. But, the researchers cautioned, if those students had more effective teachers even without the technology, “then we might be falsely attributing” student achievement gains “to the software, rather than to the teacher.”
December 27, 2017
Study: Brain connectivity in children is increased by the time they spend reading books and decreased by the length of exposure to screen-based media “Screen time and time spent reading showed different effects on functional connectivity between the visual word form area and language, visual and cognitive control regions of the brain. These findings underscore the importance of children reading to support healthy brain development and literacy and limiting screen time.”
2018:
Feb 27, 2018
Study: Adverse physiological and psychological effects of screen time on children and adolescents: Literature review and case study “Excessive digital media use by children and adolescents appears as a major factor which may hamper the formation of sound psychophysiological resilience.”
Founded in 2018: Ed Tech Evidence Exchange The EdTech Evidence Exchange is a nonprofit dedicated to pioneering an entirely new approach to EdTech research by harnessing and sharing educator insights into the contexts where EdTech thrives. We help educators make better-informed decisions about technology.
*Funded entirely through grants from a growing list of funders, including the University of Virginia School of Education, Strada Education Network, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and Overdeck Family Foundation.
McGraw Hill launches innovative textbook rental program, adding to affordable options available for college students.
May 17, 2018
Article: Bill Gates gives $44M to influence state education plans Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, has given about $44 million to outside groups over the past two years to help shape new state education plans required under the 2015 law, according to an Associated Press analysis of its grant database.
June 2018
Report: The 2018 Brown Center Report on American Education: How Well are American Students Learning?
Jun 27, 2018
Business Insider Article: A $1 billion Gates Foundation-backed education initiative failed to help students, according to a new report — here's what happened The article discussing the results from a RAND report :Improving Teaching Effectiveness: Final Report The Intensive Partnerships for Effective Teaching Through 2015–2016 released on June 18, 2018.
October 2018
Bill & Melinda Gates Grant Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning - CASEL Committed amount $550,000
Nov 26, 2018
Curriculum Associates article in ForbesThree Lessons From Curriculum Associates' Explosive Growth. The company founded in 1969 focused on K–12 schools, has seen its revenues grow nearly 1,000 percent in the last 10 years to nearly $260 million.
December 17, 2018
Article released by FrameWorks Rebalancing The Narrative On Adolescent Development. About FrameWorks: “FrameWorks is a think tank that helps mission-driven organizations communicate about social issues in ways that build public will to support progressive change.” which is “Sponsored by the Funders for Adolescence Science Translation (FAST), this research is part of a larger effort to build understanding of adolescent development and increase support for policies and programs that support young people and their development.”
2019
The Nation's Report Card (NAEP) reveals math and reading scores have been dropping since 2012. See data charts below for 8th grade math and reading:
January 3, 2019
The British Medical Journal: Effects of screentime on the health and well-being of children and adolescents: a systematic review of reviews The review concludes that more time spent in front of screens is associated with a higher body mass index.
January 23, 2019
RAND publishes: Artificial Intelligence Applications to Support K–12 Teachers and Teaching: A Review of Promising Applications, Challenges, and Risks “In this paper, the author discusses several ways that AI applications can be used to support the work of K–12 teachers and the practice of teaching by augmenting teacher capacity rather than replacing teachers.”
McGraw HIll The Company's total digital billings (based on the last 12 months) were greater than 50% for the first time.
June 8, 2019
Story from CNBC regarding an expensive private school that has extreme limits on technology use where many high profiled parents associated with big tech companies send their own children. Inside A Tech-Free School Where Tech Executives Send Their Kids
August 1, 2019
Newsletter by Ellen Galinsky regarding how the Funders for Adolescent Science Translation (FAST) began. FOUR KEY SCIENTIFIC FINDINGS FROM THE PROMISE OF ADOLESCENCE The FAST group funding this initiative were the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Bezos Family Foundation, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the Ford Foundation, the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, the Raikes Foundation, the National Public Education Support Fund, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
August 22, 2019
AIR Assessment Acquired by Cambium Learning (Cambium Learning), a leading provider in education software and portfolio company of Veritas Capital, acquired AIR Assessment, the student assessment division of the American Institutes for Research (AIR). …”AIR Assessment uses technology to measure student progress and provide educators and families with timely, relevant information about teaching and learning. In 2018, AIR Assessment delivered nearly 60 million online tests in more than 20 states. The newly combined entity brings together advanced K-12 assessment services with research-based, individualized instruction.”
CAST, together with the American Institutes for Research (AIR), establishes the Center on Inclusive Technology and Education Systems (CITES) to address a pressing nationwide need to improve the effective use of assistive and instructional technology for students with disabilities and their families.The US Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs is the funder.
* Funding Partners: include Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Intel Education, New Profit, Inc.
TLP Education is formed. It is an instructional and tutoring company dedicated to preparing students for 21st century education and today's competitive economy. A nonprofit organization led by educators, and in partnership with the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and later becomes known as Gradient Learning.
McGraw Hill: Research and Success for StudySync: A 6–12 ELA Curriculum
“While there were some compelling results found in the study, there are some notable caveats that must be made when interpreting these findings. Although cohorts of students were utilized to provide a standard of comparison, the groups themselves may not have been equivalent. For example, it is not known whether or not students received special education services, the method in which students were selected for participation, the type of classes in which students were placed (e.g., Honors or Advanced classes or general courses) or the demographics of students. Additionally, an index of fidelity of program implementation and information about the amount of time students spent using the program were absent.”
September 1, 2019
Study from the Academy of Pediatrics: This study is the first to show that adequate sleep and reduced ST are linked with less impulsive behavior among children. 24-Hour Movement Behaviors and Impulsivity.
November 4, 2019
Study: Associations Between Screen-Based Media Use and Brain White Matter Integrity in Preschool-Aged Children “This study found an association between increased screen-based media use, compared with the AAP guidelines, and lower microstructural integrity of brain white matter tracts supporting language and emergent literacy skills in prekindergarten children. The findings suggest further study is needed, particularly during the rapid early stages of brain development.”
November 6, 2019
Press Release: EdSurge joins ISTE to accelerate innovation in education
“For ISTE, the acquisition of EdSurge will deepen and expand its commitment to accelerate effective practices around the use of technology to expand opportunities and solve tough problems in education. “Our mission is to support and empower education change-makers around the world,” said Richard Culatta, ISTE’s chief executive officer. “Expanding access to EdSurge’s reporting and research products is critical to accomplishing that vision.”
2020
February 10, 2020
Article: The Washington Post Bill and Melinda Gates have spent billions to shape education policy. Now, they say, they’re ‘skeptical’ of ‘billionaires’ trying to do just that.
GatesNotes 2020 Annual Letter Why we swing for the fences
HolonIQ is a global data platform for the climate, education and healthcare marketsVenture Capital investors can see the favorable dynamics of the global education and training market, investing $16B in 2020, up from $8.2B in 2018. This will continue to grow, but is not evenly spread across the globe and weighted heavily towards late-stage mega-rounds. See chart below:
March 13, 2020
States begin to close down and impose lockdowns due to the Covid pandemic. School districts scramble to begin providing virtual learning to all students, Prek-12. As a result of this response, students participating in virtual learning are issued a device.
March 2020
Study from Ophthalmic & Physiological Optics The association between digital screen time and myopia: A systematic review “The results for screen time and myopia are mixed. Further studies with objective screen time measurements are necessary to assess evidence of an association between screen time and myopia.”
Spring 2020
Article from Education Next: A Decade On, Has Common Core Failed?
May 12, 2020
Through the American Instructional Resources Survey (AIRS), RAND is investigating the use of instructional materials in K–12 English language arts, mathematics, and science classrooms across the United States. AIRS is intended to examine the factors related to the use of standards-aligned curricula, and how curriculum use and support for curriculum use are related to teaching. The AIRS project has been made possible through generous support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Foundation, and theOverdeck Family Foundation.
July 8, 2020
Number of Ed-Tech Tools in Use Has Jumped 90 Percent Since School Closures
“Significantly more—1,327 ed-tech tools—were accessed on average each month after the coronavirus-related closures. That’s a nearly 90 percent increase over the previous monthly average for the 2018-2019 academic year, when just 703 were accessed.”
September 2020:
Gradient Learning Connected to the Zuckerberg initiative Our organization, originally formed as TLP Education in 2019, became Gradient Learning in September 2020. Gradient Learning offers the Summit Learning program and is led by Andrew Goldin, who has worked with the Summit Learning program for many years.
2021
March 2021:
McGraw Hill acquires Kidaptive, Inc., an adaptive and personalized learning company.
Mar 09, 2021
Google releases this article Celebrating 10 years of Chromebooks in education.
May 2021:
McGraw Hill acquires Triad Interactive, developer of SIMnet online training platform.
May 25, 2021
ISTE: Need an Edtech Grant? Then Get Writing! Blog on ISTE website to support grant writing to acquire edtech for school.
June 9, 2021
A-Street was founded after Marc Sternberg left the Walton Foundation. It is an investment fund which manages $325M for digital-firsts educational curriculum.
Walton Foundation Executive Leaves to Launch New K-12 Investment Fund
“A-Street intends to invest in a mix of early-, growth- and late-stage ventures, with a current focus on digital-first instructional materials in curriculum and new paradigms for student assessment.” -Co-Founder Marc Sternberg. See list of educational curriculum developers receiving funding from A-Street here.
July 2021:
EdReports received $6,750,000 from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. EdReports purpose is to provide free reports regarding the quality of instructional resources. At Least 12 states use their guidance to choose which High Quality Curriculum Materials can be used in their states.
McGraw Hill sold to Platinum Equity.
September 27, 2021
Collaborative for Student Success is launched. This new platform focus is on developing high-quality instructional materials.
* Supported by: Bloomberg Philanthropies, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, Charles Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, Walton Family Foundation.
CurriculumHQ is a project of the Collaborative for Student Success, a national nonprofit committed to high academic standards and high-quality, aligned assessments and learning materials.This site then directs users to the EdReports website to find HQCM in their state.
November 2021:
McGraw Hill acquires Achieve3000, a leader in differentiated instruction and learning acceleration.
McGraw Hill Study released “supporting” the ALEKS digital math program.
Findings are Tier 3, Promising Evidence, under the ESSA criteria. The study is a comparison study and has significant limitations “ Note that these results only establish an association between course-level average usage and aggregate student outcomes. They cannot be used to predict the effect of an increase in ALEKS usage on individual students or infer an optimal level of use.”
2022
NewSchools spun out the Advanced Education Research and Development Fund, which it incubated since 2018, to support ambitious inclusive R&D programs designed to address teaching and learning challenges.
Report released by UCLA Center for Developing Adolescent
National Scientific Council on Adolescence Council Report No. 2
About the NSCA: ”The NSCA works to integrate and disseminate scientific knowledge about adolescent development to policymakers, practitioners, and the general public. Their efforts are essential to the Center for the Developing Adolescent’s mission to improve adolescent health, education, and well-being through developmental science.”
*Funders: …generously supported by the Bezos Family Foundation, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and the Stuart Foundation. Major funding is also provided by the Funders for Adolescent Science Translation (FAST), a consortium that includes the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the Bezos Family Foundation, the Ford Foundation, Hemera Foundation, the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Pivotal Ventures, Spring Point Partners, the Stuart Foundation, and Raikes Foundation.
February 15, 2022
Study released by the BMC: Screen time and developmental health: results from an early childhood study in Canada “Daily screen time that exceeds the recommended one-hour limit for young children, as suggested by the Canadian 24-h Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth… is negatively associated with developmental health outcomes in early childhood.”
Feb 24, 2022
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt This curriculum developer posts profit gains: HMH Posts Gains in 2021
July 29, 2022
There were 36 edtech unicorns globally. As reported by Forbes “Together, they have raised more than $30 billion over the last decade. The total market value of these companies has reached $105 billion. There are eight edtech unicorns in China, 16 in the USA and seven in India.”
August 2022:
McGraw Hill launches Sharpen, a mobile study app that delivers learning via a continuous content feed, bite-sized videos, swipeable study tools, and a personalized activity dashboard.
Curriculum Associates study The Impact of i-Ready Personalized Instruction With Fidelity on 2021 MCAS ELA Achievement This is a poorly designed study. Questions include how the comparison group was identified, accounts for variabilities not addressed and data that claims using iReady raises test scores. Here is the summary of findings posted on the website with very questionable claims noted on graph 1. Summary: Impact of i-Ready Personalized Instruction with Fidelity on Student Achievement in English Language Arts
November 2022
Study from Scientific Reports: Associations between digital media use and brain surface structural measures in preschool-aged children
“This study found associations between higher digital media use and lower cortical thickness and sulcal depth in brain areas supporting primary visual processing and higher-order functions such as top-down attention, complex memory encoding, letter recognition and social cognition. These findings are consistent with those from a large study involving adolescents, suggesting that differences in cortical structure related to screen use may begin to manifest in early childhood. They also complement associations between higher media use and lower cognitive skills and related white matter microstructure previously found at this age. Further studies are needed to determine the longer-term evolution and relevance of these structural differences in terms of cognitive, social-emotional and overall development.”
Nov 14, 2022
ISTE and ASCD combine ASCD and ISTE to Merge in Partnership Aimed at Reducing Education Silos: “Today, after a key vote, it's official: Two giants in the education space will join forces, creating a professional development powerhouse for their educator members. The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) will merge, beginning in January, a move that leaders hope will help to speed up the pace and smooth the process of innovation in education.”
December 2022:
McGraw Hill acquires Boards & Beyond, a provider of on-demand video libraries and comprehensive online resources for medical students.
Dec 26, 2022
Forbes releases the following article The Future Of EdTech reporting “The value of the global edtech market in 2021 was $106.46 billion, and it’s just the beginning. From 2022 to 2030, this market is expected to grow annually by 16.5% and is expected to expand 2.5 times from 2019 to 2025, up to $404 billion in 2025”.
Winter 2022
The Nation's report card releases Reading and math scores decline during COVID
This Highlights report compares performance on the NAEP long-term trend reading and mathematics assessments for age 9 students from the winter of 2020 to results of long-term trend assessments in the winter of 2022. See below:
Google released their Google Trends in Education Report Trend 2: “Change in the skill sets required for work: As technology advances, education will focus on equipping students with the high-demand skills they’ll need to thrive in a new world of work.”
2023
Chalkbeat releases an article on Mark Zuckerberg Mark Zuckerberg tried to revolutionize American education with technology. It didn’t go as planned.
The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) and The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) organizations join together: “merged with education nonprofit ASCD, bringing together expertise in technology and innovation with deep knowledge of curriculum and instruction. As a collective organization, we’ve expanded our ability to serve educators throughout their careers, and are setting a course to design the future of education by preparing educators in effective pedagogy practices supported by technology.”
March 23, 2023
Article by HurixDigital highlights the positives for online learning. Online Learning Courses – The New Reality for Institutions and Students. This company describes themselves as “We are a team of experts dedicated to transforming the world by creating and delivering engaging digital content, educational technology solutions, and interactive learning experiences through cutting-edge technologies.”
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) administered the NAEP long-term trend: Scores decline again for 13-year-old students in reading and mathematics NAEP Long-Term Trend Assessment Results: Reading and Mathematics
May 18,2023
Study: Higher theta-beta ratio during screen-based vs. printed paper is related to lower attention in children: An EEG study “These results provide neurobiological support for the greater cognitive load and reduced focused attention during screen-based compared to print-based reading and suggest a different reliance on attention resources for the two conditions in children.” This study measures brain activity during reading print versus reading on a screen and suggests that children's attention is overloaded when exposed to screens.
July 26, 2023
Unesco report: Global education monitoring report, 2023: technology in education: a tool on whose terms? Key takeaways from the report:
1. Good, impartial evidence on the impact of education technology is in short supply.There is little robust evidence on digital technology’s added value in education. Technology evolves faster than it is possible to evaluate it: Education technology products change every 36 months, on average.
2. A lot of the evidence comes from those trying to sell it. Pearson funded its own studies, contesting independent analysis that showed its products had no impact.
August 08, 2023
Article from the American Academy of Ophthalmology discussing the harms of excessive screen time on the eye. Computers, Digital Devices and Eye Strain.
August 21, 2023
Research Study: Screen Time at Age 1 Year and Communication and Problem-Solving Developmental Delay at 2 and 4 Years
October 2, 2023
ACLU Report: Digital Dystopia: The Danger in Buying What the EdTech Surveillance Industry is Selling
“Capitalizing on school safety concerns, lobbyists have secured over $300 million in federal funds, allegedly to improve school safety.2 The EdTech Surveillance industry relies on these large pools of government funds to make their immediate monetary costs to schools either low or nonexistent.”
October 9, 2023
Associated Press Article: Schools’ pandemic spending boosted tech companies. Did it help US students?
November 2023
Bill & Melinda Gates Grant Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning - CASEL Committed amount $1,000,000
December 5, 2023
PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) releases results for the US from the 2022 school year. Trends in performance in mathematics, reading and science
Findings include the following:
· Average 2022 results were down compared to 2018 in mathematics, and about the same as in 2018 in reading and science.
· Overall, 2022 results are among the lowest ever measured by PISA in mathematics. In reading and science, however, results confirm a long-term stability in results.
2024
January 2024
What Role Do States Play in Selecting K-12 Textbooks? From State Education Standard, National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) “Many states use EdReports ratings as a foundation for their state-specific material ratings or recommendations.” NASBE elevates state board members’ voices in national and state policymaking, facilitates the exchange of informed ideas, and supports members in advancing equity and excellence in public education for students of all races, genders, and circumstances.
*Funding for NASBE include Programmatic Funders: The Bainum Family Foundation, Foundation for Child Development, The Joyce Foundation, The Wallace Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation Principal Sponsors: ACT, College Board, Curriculum Associates
Article from Journal of the National Association of State Boards of Education, January 2024 volume 24, “Quality of materials must be verified by an evidence-based review process. EdReports is considered the national leader in providing free, rigorous, educator-led reviews. Several states have partnered with EdReports to conduct state-specific program reviews or have learned from the EdReports process to create their own.”
Department of Education Office of Educational Technology release their
2024 National Educational Technology Plan A Call to Action for Closing the Digital Access, Design, and Use Divides. “This 2024 National Educational Technology Plan (NETP) examines how technologies can raise the bar for all elementary and secondary students. It offers examples of schools, districts, classrooms, and states doing the complex work of establishing systemic solutions to inequities of access, design, and use of technology in support of learning.”
Some organizations with ties to big tech are mentioned and referred to in this report include:
Universal Design Learning by CAST, funded by see here
Common Sense Media: See list of foundation partners here.
The Digital Wellness Lab: See funding partners here.
Harvard Center for Digital Thriving : Our work is catalyzed by generous founding grants from Susan Crown Exchange and Pivotal Ventures, a Melinda Gates Foundation.
The Learning Accelerator See funding partners here.
Digital Promise: See funding partners here.
January 19, 2024
RAND American Youth Panel “$13.9 Million in Grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Will Support RAND Research Panels. The grants will allow RAND to extend the American School District Panel, add preschool teachers to the American Teacher Panel, and create two new panels: an American Youth Panel and American Parent Panel”.
February 13, 2024
McGraw Hill Reports Third Quarter and Year-to-Date Fiscal 2024 Financial Results
“The company delivered $1.6 billion in billings and nearly $1 billion in digital billings in the year-to-date period” The article goes on to describe the company “McGraw Hill is a leading global education company that partners with millions of educators, learners and professionals around the world. Recognizing their diverse needs, we build trusted content, flexible tools and powerful digital platforms to help them achieve success on their own terms.”
March 15, 2024
Article by NewSchools: How Generative AI Can Engage and Empower Students
One of the goals of NewSchools is Teaching Reimagined: “Our goal is to build on current efforts, catalyze new approaches and leverage generative AI to accelerate progress and make teaching a more sustainable, effective, and joyful profession that attracts a diverse group of educators.” Their website also states: While not mandatory, we’re enthusiastic about solutions that: leverage generative artificial intelligenceto improve teaching and learning & support students in achieving college and career success.
March 18, 2024
Article posted on HurixDigital, Top 15 K-12 eLearning Companies in 2024 for Curriculum Development and Online Learning, discusses trends for on-line learning. It appears to be published in 2024 however the second company mentioned, Edmodo, closed down in 2022 due to FTC concerns regarding student privacy.