All articles tagged with #edtech
Kansas City Public Schools will become an all-Apple district, planning to replace more than 30,000 Windows PCs and Chromebooks with Apple devices over time, including 4,500+ MacBook Neos for students in 8th grade and up; younger students will use iPads and MacBook Airs. The Neo is priced at $499 for education, signaling Apple’s growing push into education and raising competitive tension with Microsoft in student devices.
A major hack knocked Canvas offline across California State University campuses and 116 community colleges, disrupting assignments and exams for more than a million students. While officials say core learning data wasn’t exposed, the outage highlights the vulnerability of centralized education software and has sparked calls for better data protections and potential audits of edtech reliance in the state.
NBC News examines i-Ready, the private-equity-backed edtech used by about 14 million students. Critics—parents, teachers, and students—say it wastes instructional time, offers little insight into individual errors, and can feel like a black box, while Curriculum Associates argues data show benefits and notes ongoing improvements; LA Unified and other districts have opened audits or calls to limit screen time, highlighting a growing backlash against edtech.
Cybercriminals from ShinyHunters breached Instructure, the maker of Canvas LMS used by roughly 41% of colleges, potentially affecting up to 9,000 schools and 275 million people. They issued a 'PAY OR LEAK' ransom and warned of releasing private messages if payment wasn’t made; Instructure says it has contained the breach, revoked privileged credentials, rotated keys, and increased monitoring, with data exposed mainly names, emails, and student IDs. Security experts say the attack illustrates vendor-supply-chain risk in higher education, as attackers target platforms used across thousands of institutions rather than individual campuses.
Instructure, the maker of the Canvas learning management system, confirmed a cybersecurity incident after the ShinyHunters gang claimed responsibility. The breach reportedly exposed some user PII (names, email addresses, student IDs) and private messages, but not passwords or financial data, and Affected institutions were notified that access keys were rotated and API access will require re-authorization as investigators probe the incident with third-party security firms and law enforcement. ShinyHunters claims the data set includes hundreds of millions of records across thousands of institutions worldwide; independent verification of these figures is still pending.
Gallup’s survey with the Walton Family Foundation and GSV Ventures finds Gen Z’s sentiment toward artificial intelligence growing more negative: 31% feel angry toward AI that speeds up tasks (up from last year) and only 22% feel excited (down from 36%). Among K-12, 74% say AI likely to make learning harder, a view shared by 83% of Gen Z adults. AI adoption is slowing (51% use it weekly), while 52% say knowing how to use AI will be needed in college. The report notes rising concerns about AI’s impact on work and education as colleges, OpenAI and Google expand AI tools.
First Lady Melania Trump launches Fostering the Future Together, a global coalition of 45 nations and major tech firms to expand children’s access to technology and education, focusing on EdTech tools, AI in education, online safety, and digital literacy; the two-day summit at the State Department and White House gathers world leaders and industry partners to advance public-private collaborations and regional initiatives.
Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho was placed on paid leave as federal authorities investigate the district, with the FBI executing search warrants at his home and at district headquarters. Interim operations chief Andres Chait will run the district while Carvalho is away. The probe reportedly centers on a 2024 deal with AllHere, an education-technology company tied to an AI chatbot project LAUSD paid about $3 million for before ending the contract; AllHere’s founder has been indicted, and a Florida property linked to the case was searched. Carvalho has said he had no personal involvement in selecting AllHere, and LAUSD says it is cooperating with investigators.
Pearson and Deloitte announced a strategic alliance to co-develop and deliver AI-powered learning, leadership and workforce development solutions for global enterprises and government, including AI-enabled skills platforms and scalable content delivery; Deloitte will accelerate AI adoption across its portfolio and deploy Pearson’s AI-powered learning products in-house.
An Indian tribunal court has initiated insolvency proceedings against Byju’s, once valued at $22 billion, following a petition from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to recover nearly $19 million. The ruling appoints an interim resolution professional to manage the company, sidelining its founder. Byju’s, which has faced multiple crises over the past two years, plans to appeal the decision and seek an amicable settlement with BCCI.
Spotify is making a foray into edtech, while stocks globally are declining and crypto is seeing gains. In Startup Land, Stability AI's CEO has exited amid discussions about the company's revenue growth and burn rate. U.S.-based tech companies are under scrutiny in the EU due to the new Digital Markets Act. Additionally, China is making moves in tech with the Vision Pro and efforts to replace Intel and AMD chips in state computers, while beverage startups are competing against industry giants for market share.
Camshaft Capital revealed in court filings that $533 million it managed for Byju’s Alpha was transferred to a U.S.-based subsidiary of Byju’s, refuting allegations of fund siphoning. Byju’s stated that the disclosure aligns with its position as the beneficiary holder of the capital, emphasizing that the Credit Agreement with lenders did not mandate specific fund usage. Byju’s is embroiled in legal battles with shareholders and employees, with some investors attempting to revoke a rights issue and prevent salary payments to over 20,000 employees.
Byju's, once India's most valuable startup, has seen its valuation plummet by 95% to $1 billion after alleged accounting irregularities and mismanagement, leading to setbacks such as investor stake cuts and ousting of founder Byju Raveendran as CEO. The company, which experienced exponential growth during the pandemic, faced a slowdown in online learning post-pandemic, resulting in layoffs and governance issues. Byju's struggled to repay a $1.2 billion loan, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and is raising funds to clear immediate liabilities and operational costs.
Byju Raveendran, founder of Byju’s, asserts he remains the CEO despite a shareholder group's vote to remove him, citing violations of local rules. The group, including Prosus Ventures and Peak XV Ventures, seeks governance changes and a leadership shift. Raveendran claims the meeting lacked quorum and majority support, and the startup, in need of funding, launched a rights issue. He believes the company's comeback is inevitable and accuses minority shareholders of spreading misinformation.
A group of Byju’s investors, including Prosus Ventures and Peak XV Partners, voted to remove founder and CEO Byju Raveendran and filed an oppression and management suit against the leadership to block a recently launched rights issue. The decision comes after more than a year of unrest among some of Byju’s largest investors, who assert that the $22 billion Indian edtech startup has played fast and loose with accountability. Byju’s has been facing challenges in its fundraising efforts and has been forced to abandon its plan for an IPO.