Spring is upon us and Arizona startups are in full bloom as ASU+GSV host the fifth annual Education Innovation Summit April 21st through 23rd.
This summit encompasses a whirlwind of tech innovators of all kinds, from entrepreneurs and investors to philanthropists, politicians, educators, and other advocates of education innovation. These innovators will come together to collaborate, brainstorm, and work together to drive change in the tech sector. The event also serves as a launch pad for emerging ideas and ventures. This year more than 225 new and emerging companies will pitch to an audience of venture capital firms, education companies, philanthropists and educators.
Four Arizona State University startup companies will feature developing technologies that range from virtual learning games to a platform for individualized literacy instruction. Two of the companies are building on technologies based on research from ASU’s Learning Sciences Institute, while another is partnering with ASU’s Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College. A third is conducting a pilot study of its software in partnership with ASU’s Department of English.
Sethuraman “Panch” Panchanathan, senior vice president of Knowledge Enterprise Development at ASU said, “The Education Innovation Summit brings together the who’s who in the education technology community and hence provides an exciting opportunity for ASU’s ideas, inventions, intellectual property and technologies to be profiled. This will open up opportunities for securing new partnerships, collaborations, funding and investments. This gathering of experts and organizations will have a significant impact for Arizona through the development of new technologies and the launching of new startups.”
In addition to partnering with ASU researchers, the companies directly utilize ASU’s resources and connections to advance their businesses: For instance, Adaptive Technology is based at SkySong, the Scottsdale Innovation Center, and Mercury Innovative has received funding and support from ASU’s Edson Student Entrepreneur Initiative. Working together to progressively better technologies and brainstorm – now that’s the kind of teamwork Arizona tech is all about!
The featured ASU companies are:
Adaptive Curriculum
Adaptive Curriculum aims to transform math and science education with its standards-based math and science software for grades 5–12, which uses interactive online learning to engage students and help them master math and science concepts. Based at SkySong, the ASU Scottsdale Innovation Center, Adaptive Curriculum partners with Technology Based Learning and Research in ASU’s Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College on curriculum alignment, classroom implementation and professional development services.
Embodied Games for Learning
Embodied Games for Learning creates vibrant, collaborative, “get-out-of-your-seat” games that get students physically involved in the learning process and help them master STEM concepts. Research conducted by ASU faculty in the Learning Sciences Institute shows that these innovative gesture-based games help students retain information significantly longer.
Learning Ovations
Based on research conducted by ASU faculty in the Learning Sciences Institute, Learning Ovations is a technology platform designed to support educators’ efforts to provide individualized literacy instruction to students from kindergarten through third grade. Using evidence-based algorithms, Learning Ovations links assessment results to recommendations for instructional strategies and activities. In third-grade classrooms where Learning Ovations is used, students are reading, on average, at a fifth-grade level.
Mercury Innovative
Mercury Innovative develops innovative language-processing tools and techniques that break new ground in language visualization and interpretation. Previously based at SkySong, the ASU Scottsdale Innovation Center, Mercury Innovative is a two-time winner of funding and support from ASU’s Edson Student Entrepreneur Initiative. The company is conducting a pilot study of its Rhetoristics software in partnership with the Writing Programs in ASU’s Department of English.
In addition to the company presentations, the summit features insights from leading educators, entrepreneurs, investors, philanthropists, politicians and other advocates of education innovation. Notable speakers at this year’s event include ASU President Michael Crow; former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush; former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor; NBA legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson; U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker; former football coach Lou Holtz; and Reed Hastings, co-founder and CEO of Netflix.
The ASU+GSV Summit takes place April 21st through 23rd at The Phoenician in Scottsdale. Learn more here( http://edinnovation.gsvadvisors.com/ )
