Celebrating Investments in the Future of Learning: $8 Million Awarded to 50 Cutting-Edge EdTech Projects
Eric Tucker
Leading a team of designers, applied researchers and educators to build the future of learning and assessment.
The Learning Engineering Tools Competition, the world’s largest edtech contest, has awarded over $8 million to teams creating innovative learning tools to revolutionize education. This year’s competition highlighted the potential of digital technology, data-driven insights, artificial intelligence, and learning science to address urgent educational needs globally.
Drawing nearly 2,000 submissions from 92 countries, the Tools Competition selected 50 winners from 18 nations, promising to impact 24 million learners worldwide. These projects range from AI-powered simulators for teacher training to support chatbots designed to prevent student dropouts, showcasing these innovations' diverse and impactful nature.
Notable winners include AI-powered simulators for teachers, support chatbots for preventing dropouts, and expanded data sets for educational researchers. "Winners are demonstrating the power of advanced technology to accelerate learning and are working with researchers to scale their impact for the benefit of the field at large," said Kumar Garg , President at Renaissance Philanthropy and a founding sponsor of the Tools Competition.
The competition's global reach is evident, with winners hailing from institutions and organizations worldwide. Supported by esteemed organizations such as Renaissance Philanthropy, Griffin Catalyst , Walton Family Foundation , Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation , Siegel Family Endowment , Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) , Ballmer Group , Calbright College , Axim Collaborative , Jacobs Foundation , Endless Networks , and OpenAI , the Tools Competition reflects a collective commitment to fostering educational innovation. It has awarded $17.5 million to 130 edtech innovators to date, underscoring its significant role in the edtech landscape.
Looking ahead, these winning projects promise to transform education. Continuous support and collaboration among educators, researchers, and technologists are crucial for driving these innovations forward. The Learning Engineering Tools Competition celebrates these visionary projects and inspires a broader movement towards enhancing learning experiences for millions of students worldwide.
Winners from the Accelerating & Assessing Learning Track
The Tools Competition recently announced 14 winners from over 700 entries in the Accelerating & Assessing Learning track. This competition addresses the global challenge of providing quality education essential for community involvement. By focusing on core subjects, fostering supportive learning environments, and aiding educators, the competition seeks to boost learning outcomes and advance learning engineering. The winning entries use AI for personalized learning paths, engage students with real-world scenario games, and offer tailored support for those with learning differences.
Winning Solutions
ASL Aspire is an innovative educational platform that uses game-based learning to teach STEM subjects to K-12 deaf and hard-of-hearing students, aligning seamlessly with U.S. national core standards.
Circles Learning | Ed4.One Corp?
Circles Learning enhances group teacher training by matching educators, managing schedules, offering engaging course materials, and using an AI assistant to help administrators provide feedback on assignments.
Coteach.ai | Stanford University?
CoTeach from Stanford University extends middle-school math curricula into personalized learning experiences with differentiated instruction and offers data-driven suggestions for optimal teaching adaptations.
KiwiWrite Math | KiwiWrite Software, LLC
KiwiWrite Math offers an intuitive online platform for completing math assignments digitally. It accommodates remote learners and caters to the sensory and motor needs of students with disabilities.
Socratic Mind | Socratic Mind Inc.?
Socratic Mind is an AI-driven platform that uses Socratic questioning to foster deep, reflective dialogues, encouraging individuals to articulate and reason through their ideas.
KOBI | Hopalai?
#KOBI is a specialized reading app for children with dyslexia that employs scientifically validated methods to deliver personalized reading sessions, improving their fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary.
LessonLoop | LessonLoop
LessonLoop ’s platform converts student feedback into immediate, actionable insights and personalized teaching recommendations, enabling educators to craft more engaging and practical lessons.
Proxima | Proxima Education Ltd
Proxima enables teachers and school leaders to hone their skills in a safe environment. It offers a collection of scenarios focused on essential teaching techniques, such as assessment, scaffolding, and behavior management, all supported by evidence-based practices.
Tyto Online: Math | Immersed Games
Tyto Online engages students in math through an immersive 3D video game. It uses problem-based learning scenarios, such as solving urban heat island effects with statistics and designing community parks using coordinate grids.
Yiya AirScience | Yiya Solutions?
Yiya AirScience delivers educational content to rural youth in Uganda using accessible technologies like radio, keypad phones, and USSD, bypassing the need for the internet and smartphones.
Annie The Student Support Bot | Annie Advisor?
Annie is a chatbot designed to assist students in seeking help. It provides schools with a bot builder and data dashboard to understand and address students' support needs and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions.
CatnClever is an interactive game-based math and literacy app for children aged 3–7 that combines social and emotional learning, body movement, and musical awareness to create an engaging educational experience.
Mind Movers | Reflection Sciences
Mind Movers ( Reflection Software ) engages families in understanding, measuring, and improving executive function at home through games and activities that build crucial cognitive skills essential for math learning and overall academic success.
The Portal by New Visions | New Visions for Public Schools?
The Portal by New Visions for Public Schools centralizes crucial student data into one platform, enabling staff to identify students needing attention, make informed decisions, track progress, and coordinate support within and across schools and other agencies.
领英推荐
Shout out to the judges:
Folarin Adesalu Jr of Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies ; Tracey Albert of Columbia University; Armando Ali of the PAL Network ; Angela Bahng of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Francis Bizoza The African Travelling Teacher of Learning Equality , Joanna Cannon of the Walton Family Foundation; Jennifer Darling-Aduana of Georgia State University, Kumar Garg , Heather Graham at Oak Foundation , Gouri Gupta of Central Square Foundation , Lindsey Henderson of Utah State Board of Education; Natashia Hill of Phoebus High School/Hampton City Schools; Laurence Holt of XQ Institute ; Kate Howland of University of Sussex; Kysie Miao Jensen of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Sarah J. Johnson of Teaching Lab ; Micah Joselow of One8 Foundation ; Natalia Ingebretsen Kucirkova of University of Stavanger and WiKIT; Shashanka Lakshmipathy of Kizazi ; Liz McCreary of Digital Harbor Foundation ; Alfons Prince of Center City PCS; Lucas Machado Rocha of Lemann Foundation; Maria Mercedes T. Rodrigo of Ateneo de Manila University; Josefa Rubilar Matamala of Ense?a Chile; Sameer Sampat of Pousaz Philanthropies ; Arielle Starkman of ACS Creative Services, LLC , Josh Taylor of Carina Initiatives , Daniel Uribe Villa of VélezReyes+
Winners from DARPA’s Building an Adaptive and Competitive Workforce Track
DARPA’s Building an Adaptive and Competitive Workforce track announced six winners in the 2023-24 Tools Competition. These solutions help adult learners develop skills essential for the national security workforce, overcoming barriers to 21st-century skill development. Dr. Wil Corvey of DARPA emphasized the importance of rapid upskilling to maintain US strategic advantage and the economic promise of these tools in STEM and data science education.
Utilizing AI, these tools offer personalized learning experiences for high-demand sectors. DARPA will award $750,000 to the six winning tools, showcasing their groundbreaking innovations.
Winning Solutions
Scholé ?
Scholé simplifies data science upskilling for adult learners by offering goal-setting, progress tracking, and personalized study habit recommendations.
Codesafe | University of California, Irvine
Codesafe is an adaptive computer science education platform that uses AI and large language models to enhance existing curricula, emphasizing code comprehension and software security.
HVAC Hero expands access to high-quality skilled trades training through personalized, simulation-based virtual learning experiences designed to prepare adult learners for careers in the HVAC workforce.
CrystalSTEM is an AI-driven interactive tool enabling continuing education departments to offer targeted upskilling by analyzing local STEM skill needs, predicting trends, and recommending non-credit programs and micro credentials to bridge data science and STEM skills gaps.
QuantHub Challenge | QuantHub
The QuantHub Challenge is an AI-driven assessment platform offering personalized, real-world data science challenges designed to enhance the skills and employability of adult learners.
Haiku, Inc. is enhancing its inclusive game-based platform to offer practical training in 5G wireless engineering. This will equip a diverse range of learners with the necessary skills to secure high-paying jobs in the industry.
Winners from the Instructional Coaching for Early Childhood Education Track
The Tools Competition announced four winners from 99 Instructional Coaching for Early Childhood Education track submissions. Coaching is vital for helping educators improve their teaching practices, but there's a pressing need for adaptable and practical tools for early childhood education. This track aimed to find solutions enhancing teacher-centered coaching and advancing learning engineering.
The winning tools address key issues, such as effective instruction for multilingual learners and improving educator awareness of responsive interactions. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation supported this track.
Wining Solutions
AI-BRIDGE: Advancing Instruction through Bilingual Recommendations for Inclusive Data-driven Guidance for Equity in Early Childhood Education | University of Minnesota
AI-BRIDGE offers educators a cutting-edge system that adapts to optimize evidence-based instructional practices for multilingual children, ensuring precision learning tailored to individual needs. By integrating innovative technology with impactful educational strategies, this platform fosters inclusivity and equity in early childhood education.
COEMET Coach: Classroom Observation of Early Math: Environment and Teaching Coach ? | University of Denver
COEMET Coach is an evidence-based observational app designed to assess the quality and quantity of math teaching and classroom learning environment from preschool through second grade. This validated tool provides educators with insights to enhance early math education by focusing on effective instructional strategies and rich learning environments.
The COEMET Coach team received the Implementation Impact Prize, along with an additional $100,000, to enhance the use of instructional coaching tools in publicly funded preschools. Competitors submitted plans for co-designing, user-testing, piloting, or validating their products.
FIND-C: Filming Interactions to Nurture Development in Classrooms | Stanford University?
FIND-C is a research-backed, video-based coaching program that empowers educators by focusing on and enhancing their responsive interactions with children through strengths-based feedback.
LENA Grow leverages AI-driven coaching to enhance early childhood interactions, utilizing early talk technology and data insights to transform children's developmental outcomes.
South out to the judges: Ely Amador of Berkeley Unified School District; Gary Bingham of Georgia State University , Barbara Chow of Heising-Simons Foundation , Caroline Ebanks of Teachers College, Columbia University; Todd Grindal of SRI Education ; Sunil Gunderia of Age of Learning ; Snow Li of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; Sara Mead of District of Columbia Office of the State Superintendent of Education; Jenny Mosley ofBill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Carly Roberts of Overdeck Family Foundation ; Priyanka Shah of Boston Public Schools .
Conclusion
The Learning Engineering Tools Competition highlights the potential of tech innovation, celebrating groundbreaking projects that promise to revolutionize education. With continued support from educators, researchers, and technologists, these tools can potentially drive significant advancements in learning experiences for millions of students worldwide.?
#EdTech #Innovation #LearningEngineering #EducationRevolution