Howdy, folks! Welcome to another in a series of biweekly ed tech news roundups. We hope you enjoy — and if you have a story you’d like to see included, let us know.
A Bright Future
The recent Independence Day holiday got us thinking about rockets — and the bright students and teachers using rocketry in education. And if that’s not impressive enough, check out the “next-level science fair” showing off bold ideas from inventive high school students.
- Texas Monthly investigates the question: Why does Presidio, Texas have one of the best high school rocketry clubs in the country? [Texas Monthly]
- Magnetic trains and hurricane readiness are among the big-picture questions being tackled by teens in the 3M Young Scientist Challenge. [Fast Company]
High Praise
Recent commentary from policy institutes and policymakers pushes for large-scale potential in ed tech, particularly artificial intelligence (AI).
- Embracing AI may lead to breakthroughs in education. The massive data-processing technology being developed today could have benefits for pedagogy. [The Brookings Institution]
- From the World Economic forum comes a call for the use of digital content and AI technologies for creating future-ready learners. [World Economic Forum]
The Ed Tech Business
As the use of technology in the classroom continues to expand, new ed tech products and businesses are developed simultaneously. We looked into stories highlighting the potential and the challenges affecting the the ed tech industry.
- Interoperability is a vital issue for schools and districts, but solving the problem isn’t an easy task, and involves ed tech businesses as well as educators. [EdSurge]
- In India, home to a huge educational market, ed tech businesses face obstacles that can keep solutions out of the classroom. [Entrepreneur]
…And Finally
Readers of a certain age will instantly recognize the Walkman, the once-ubiquitous device that liberated music from the uncertainty of radio and the non-portability of heavy console cassette players.
Ready to feel old? The famed music player hit its 40th anniversary this month, and we’ve collected a few stories about Sony’s breakthrough player and its impact.
- Brian Jarboe offers a personal history of the launch of the Walkman for NPR.
- From The Atlantic in 2012, the story of how, for almost ten years after its arrival, “Sony’s Walkman retained a 50% market share in the U.S. (46% in Japan) in a space teaming with competitors, even as it enjoyed a price premium of approximately $20 over rival offers.”
- Emphasizing the device’s cultural relevance, a recent ed tech device dubs itself the “Sony Walkman for Making,” pointing to the device’s size, shape, and utility.