Education Innovators Predict Rapid Scaling and Improved Student Success From Education Technology at Annual LearnLaunch Conference

CAMBRIDGE, MA--(Marketwired - Mar 4, 2014) - More than 500 entrepreneurs, educators, students and industry participants gathered at Harvard University this weekend for 2^nd annual "Across Boundaries" conference held by LearnLaunch, New England's leading edtech organization. The conference, co-sponsored by the Harvard Graduate School of Education, explored how education technology can scale student success and the future impact of digital learning on K-20 education in the United States.

Forty percent (40%) of the surveyed conference attendees predict that rapid scaling and improved student success from education technology will take place in the next 5 years. They project that college students will be exposed to personalized learning technologies sooner that K-12 students. Seventy five percent (75%) attendees believe that 80% of college freshmen will be learning through adaptive learning technologies in the next 5 years and 26% believe that 80% of K-12 students will be in a 1:1 school in 5 years. 

In the keynote address, Heather Staker, Senior Research Fellow at the Clayton Christensen Institute and one of the world's foremost experts on K-12 blended learning, predicts that 50% of all college students would participate in at least one on-line course in the next 18 months. Based on research, she also predicts that 50% of all high school courses would be online by 2019-20 as compared with 1% of high school courses delivered online in the 2008-09 school year.

James E. Ryan, dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE), kicked off the proceedings on Friday, remarking that, "This is the perfect time to be talking about digital innovation and the future of education, as I fully believe that learning technologies have the very real potential to be genuinely transformative. This is also the perfect place to be hosting this conference, given the dramatic growth of education technology startups in Massachusetts, the critical role that LearnLaunch has played in the growth of this sector, and the deep engagement of our faculty, students, and alumni in edtech."

Daniel Arrigg Koh, Chief of Staff to Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh, greeted the conferees on Saturday. "A strong edtech sector is a natural for Boston and our surrounding area," said Koh. "As with the life sciences sector, all the ingredients are here: ambitious educators and entrepreneurs, thoughtful academics and investors, and a network of schools and accelerators. I believe that edtech is one of the next great sectors of our economy."

LearnLaunch also announced today that EdTrips (https://www.edtrips.com) took the top prize as the winner of the LearnLaunch Pitch Competition held at the conference, after being chosen from a group of 12 edtech startup companies. EdTrips makes experiential learning easier to arrange for teachers, venues and parents, providing a simpler way to manage school trips from around the corner to around the world. Finalists were selected at the LearnLaunch Investor Summit by a panel of judges including venture capitalists and angel investors and conference participants selected the winner. Judges included Frank Bonsal, Venture Partner, New Markets Venture Partners; Matt Greenfield, Managing Partner, ReThink Education; Michael Staton, Partner, Learn Capital and angel investors Dave Balter, Venture Advisor, Boston Seed Capital, Barbara Clarke, Topstone/Pipeline/Astia, Gail Hoffman, Managing Director Golden Seeds Boston Forum and Launchpad Venture Group; and Jess McLear, Launchpad Venture Group. 

About LearnLaunch
LearnLaunch is dedicated to connecting, educating, and growing New England's ecosystem of edtech entrepreneurs, educators, investors, companies, and policy leaders to drive innovation and transform learning. It provides a vibrant community, events, the LearnLaunchX accelerator program, and a collaborative co-working space to promote the growth of education technology entrepreneurship in Boston, the education capital of the world. For more information, please visit us at www.learnlaunch.com and follow us on Twitter at @learnlaunch.

All logos, company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.