242 - EdTech: Past and Future with Larry Berger

<p><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif;">This week on the podcast, the Getting Smart team is talking about the past and future of EdTech with Larry Berger!</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif;">After his Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University, Larry Berger served as a Whitehouse Fellow working on educational technology at NASA. In 2000, he co-founded Wireless Generation, an early leader in reading assessment. After being acquired in 2010, the company then became Amplify. And just five years ago, after a spinout, the company became a leader in digital K-8 English, math, and science curriculum.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif;">Tune in as Larry describes the history and the future of education technology, shares the mission and the work that they’re doing at Amplify, and highlights many of the important factors in EdTech today!</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif;"><strong>Key Takeaways:</strong></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif;">[:07] About today’s episode.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif;">[:43] Tom Vander Ark welcomes Larry Berger to the podcast.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif;">[:51] Larry speaks about why he studied English at Yale University.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif;">[1:21] Larry shares how he is still involved in poetry to this day.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif;">[1:55] Larry speaks a bit about his favorite poems and poets.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif;">[2:29] Fastforward to the origin story of Wireless Generation, Larry speaks about what his inspiration was for his career in EdTech.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif;">[4:05] Tom and Larry paint a picture of what EdTech looked like around the time he started his company, Wireless Generation.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif;">[5:37] Larry speaks about the initial ideas th