EdBizWatch

Why Emotional Learning May Be As Important As The ABCs

Why don't all schools offer emotional intelligence lessons? Well, it's expensive.

Why Emotional Learning May Be As Important As The ABCs, Maanvi Singh, nprEd

Social Media Gains Momentum in Online Education

Social media tools allow online students to share information & build a sense of community.

Social Media Gains Momentum in Online Education, Jordan Friedman, US News

Brainly Scores $9 Million, Led by General Catalyst

Co now spans 35 countries, does 30M visitors/mo, with a total of 8M questions answered. 

Schoolwork Q&A Site Brainly Scores $9M, Steve O'Hear, TechCrunch

ClusterFlunk Raises $1 Million From Lightbank

Platform connects students outside class w IM, file uploading, note sharing, study tips.

ClusterFlunk Raises $1 Million From Lightbank, Kirsten Winkler, Edukwest

Declara Adds $9M from EDBI, Linden Venture Fund

Co offers an adaptive learning platform and has raised a total of $34 million.

Declara Adds Another $9M to its Series A, Kay Alexander, Edukwest

4 Higher Ed Tech Startups Mark Cuban Is Betting On

Cuban says higher ed is "a business that doesn't know it's going out of business." 

4 Higher Ed Tech Startups Mark Cuban Is Betting On, Roger Riddell, Education Dive

Who is Becky Splitt?

She's CEO of StudyBlue, a crowdsourced study guide platform with 5 million users.

Study Tools You Can Use on Your Phone, Share with Friends, Kendra R Naasel, FastCompany

Declara Raises $16 Million From GSV Capital, Others

“Declara looks like Facebook and Google had a baby,” Matt Ocko, Data Collective.

Declara Raises $16M for Personalized Continuing Education, Liz Gannes, re/code

Piazza Lands $8 Million From Khosla

Co allows classes to create Q&A hubs for students and teachers.

With Box, Yelp, & Palantir on Board, Piazza Lands $8M, Rip Empson, TechCrunch

Flashnotes Raises $3.6M, Led by Stage 1 Ventures

Boston-based co. is a peer-to-peer marketplace for college study materials.

Flashnotes Raises $3.6M, Led by Stage 1 Ventures, Ingrid Lunden, TechCrunch

OneClass Raises $1.6M, Led by SAIF

The startup provides a collaborative note, lecture & textbook platform for university students.

OneClass Raises $1.6M, Led by SAIF, Darrell Etherington, TechCrunch

Izzui Raises $1.4M to Build Learning Platform for Facebook

The platform lets individuals & brands create, publish, share, & sell courses on Facebook.

FB Learning Platform Izzui Bets Ed-Tech Will Take Off in Brazil, Rebecca Grant, VB

Who is Ramona Pierson?

She's the co-founder of Declara, and her story is incredible.

Who is Ramona Pierson? Ashlee Vance, BloombergBusinessWeek

Flashnotes Secures $1.5M to Scale Studying Platform

Boston Seed Capital, Atlas Venture, Softbank Capital, & angels D. Quazzo, J. Doyle B. Mason.

Flashnotes Secures $1.5M to Scale Studying Platform, Gillius Bernard, BostInno

Grockit Sells Test Prep Assets to Kaplan, Rebrands as Learnist

Co-fdr Farbood Nivi: Selling off test prep lets Learnist get more runway w/out diluting shares.

Grockit Sells Test Prep Assets to Kaplan, Rebrands as Learnist, Ki Mae Heussner, GigaOM

BookShout Raises $6M from Ambassador Enterprises

The startup aims to promote social reading and aid book discovery. To date, $8.75M raised.

BookShout raises $6M from Ambassador Enterprises, Laura Hazard Owen, paidContent

NovoEd Brings Group Learning To MOOCs To Fight Attrition

Platform makes it easier to break down huge classes of 40,000 into smaller groups.

NovoEd Brings Group Learning To MOOCs To Fight Attrition, Rip Empson, TechCrunch

NovoEd Aims to Make MOOCs a More Social Experience

NovoEd funding is undisclosed, but it's a safe bet that it's north of $2 million.

Startup Aims to Make MOOCs a More Social Experience, Betsy Corcoran, edSurge

Mendeley Bought for $69M-$100M by Elsevier

Platform for academics and orgs to share research & collaborate via a social network. 

Mendeley Bought for $69M-$100M by Elsevier, Ingrid Lunden, TechCrunch

Softbank-Backed Startup SmarTots Builds Facebook for Kids

Parents’ desire to set children apart from peers drives strong demand in China. 

Softbank-Backed Startup SmarTots Builds Facebook for Kids, Bloomberg News