The GSV Big 10: All Eyes on India
Old Knowledge vs. New Knowledge, Bots to the Rescue, 1.5 Billion Reasons to Love India...
Chart of the Week
The Big 10:
The demise of the college lecture foretold | The New Indian Express
This week, I had the privilege to interview Sanjeev Sanyal, an economic advisor to Prime Minister Modi. He argues that the standard college lecture has been commoditized by AI, which will result in the cost of college dropping in kind. Bots can synthesize and enhance “old knowledge” while researchers at universities can focus on creating “new knowledge”.
The Passion Project Industry: How College Admissions Activities Lists Killed Intellectual Wonder | Minding The Campus
Regrettably, passion projects have become anything but as they’ve become part of the gamification of college admissions. The “bread and butter” play in the college counselors handbook is to have their client/student start a not-for-profit to save the whales or volunteer (minimal) time at the local food bank to show the commitment to help the people less fortunate than oneself. Obviously, when this is a sincere activity, it’s notable and admirable, but too often, its main purpose is to score points where reading a book or interacting with other teenagers might be a more authentic activity.
Trump says education secretary’s goal will be to ‘put herself out of a job’ as he pushes to abolish DOE | New York Post
You’re Fired! President Trump wants incoming Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to “do such a great job that it puts her out of a job”. There is a healthy debate around whether the Department of Education should be eliminated with power and money pushed to the states, but one thing is for sure – business as usual doesn’t work as we have a failing education system.
Betsy DeVos: Shut Down the Department of Education | The Free Press
Spoken from one who sat in the chair. Former Secretary DeVos’ argument isn’t so much that the Federal Government conceptually couldn’t have a Department of Education whose aspiration was excellence for all. But in reality, it’s far too bureaucratic, and its actions and results speak for themselves. 70% of Fourth Graders aren’t reading proficiently, and 60% of Fourth Graders are behind in Math. The Department of Education has become a “middleman” between the Federal Government and students, with it taking its cut to pay for itself and attaching a bunch of strings to the funds, creating huge friction.
➡️ Check out our recent Ed on the Edge interview with Secretary DeVos
When Everybody Gets a Trophy… | Forza…For Education
With NAEP a.k.a. “The Nation’s Report Card” coming out last week with dismal results (as expected), it’s not a surprise that only 24% of parents are satisfied with our public schools. The entrenched status quo has said, “Just give us more time and more money, and we will fix it!” The good news is the American people have decided 250 years is long enough, we need to fix it now.
India’s Ambitious Edtech Ecosystem | CNBC-TV18 on X
At our “All Eyes on India” conference in Gurgaon this week, a thousand leaders discussed ideas that can help students learn faster, cheaper, and better. India is the most important education ecosystem in the World with a rising economy, passion towards entrepreneurship, and prioritization of education as the foundational goal to achieve success.
Introducing Replit Agent | Replit
Replit showed us how you no longer needed to be a coder to create software. By just telling it what you want to build, it builds it for you. Now the ability to go from an idea to an app has been taken to the next level with Replit Agent that within seconds and sentences, voila…you have your solution. Technology like Replit will help put innovation into overdrive and accelerate advancements for humankind.
U.S. education policy is at a crossroads. This congressional hearing shows why | NPR
The proposed changes could lead to significant advancements in American education, opening doors for innovation and improved outcomes. While I strongly support school choice, I don't endorse completely dismantling the Department of Education, as national standards provide a valuable baseline for educational attainment across the country. The school choice debate offers a chance to enhance educational options for all students - especially in underserved communities - while preserving standards that ensure quality and equal opportunity nationwide.
Quality over quantity: Rethinking edtech time in the classroom | eSchool News
Necessity is the mother of all invention. With stimulus funds wound down in K-12 classrooms, teachers need to be more resourceful in terms of where they get a bigger bang out of what they have. Great teachers are finding ways to integrate often free or low-cost digital materials into their classroom with positive results. Even small gains accumulate over time.
All Eyes on India | Ashwin Demera
Shoutout to our partners at Emeritus and Arizona State for co-hosting our Third Indian Ed Tech Summit in Gurgaon!
