SmartTech Roundup: Shattering Barriers to Edu

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Shattering Barriers to Education

MIT plans to launch MITx, its first free, online course designed to be fully automated, this March.  With no fee or prior entrance requirements, this online program is breaking down the longstanding barriers of education. Now, all you need is a computer and Internet connection.

US News reported that open-source textbooks are most affordable for community college students among others. Is anyone surprised? That’s why California is working to create its own online library to advocate and improve the quality of OER.

TechCrunch recaps the buzz on open textbooks.

International LMS 

Edusys, a robust LMS, raised $7.5 million from Sequoia Capital to expand its product introductions and core team. This company has a competitive edge with its knowledge enrichments and content, says SME Times.

Apps for Education

GoSoapBox launched an e-learning application designed to assess students’ discussions, understanding, and confusion surrounding lessons. These tools are going to change the way educators assess student engagement and learning.

Startups On the Rise

Knewton, a leading adaptive learning technology, was named one of the 50 Most Innovative Companies and a top 10 innovator by Fast Company.

Business Insider named four other game-changers on the horizon this 2012: 2tor, Noodle, Tutorspree, and Skillshare.

Memrise, an online language-learning tool through public crowdsourcing, received $1.1 million in seed funding from Matt Mellenweg and several others. Users build a garden as they learn new foreign words.

2 Comments

ronne doe /

OERs have been shattering barriers to education but what’s different now is that they are getting recognized for it. Recent developments, like Washington’s OER K-12 Bill, Utah Open book project and the President’s challenge to school districts to embrace digital textbooks are all promising for increasing the reach and bridging the gap in education between different states and economic backgrounds. I think in the wake of these developments, it is right to commend OERs like CK12 that has been a central to various initiatives fostering truly differentiated learning with its customizable, high quality, free FlexBooks for STEM subjects.

Sarah Cargill /

Thanks for your comment, Ronne. We agree, CK12 has been doing na excellent job developing OER materials for STEM.