Frank Hecker

A good outside overview of and commentary on the Ben Somers-led/Reed Hastings-financed updated version of the Bloom 2-sigma tutoring study. Key quote: "[The study] is a stronger test of what the full tutoring package can do under ideal conditions. But it will still test the package as a whole. Whatever result it gets, the next question will be: what, exactly, did the tutor add?" Three possibilities: "chooses the right next work", "keeps the child working", "provides good instruction".

Frank Hecker

A good interview with Bluesky CEO Toni Schneider that includes a lot of discussion of AT Protocol and the Atmosphere. Schneider seems relatively politically savvy and eager to give others (like Blacksky) credit for their work---which is an attitude you want in someone leading the dominant player in a technology and business ecosystem.

Frank Hecker

Yet another AI-based edtech startup, albeit one with more history behind it. Uncharitable take: An attempt to resuscitate a stagnant edtech company (Coursera/Udemy) via a AI Hail Mary. Key questions: How much will this incorporate proven learning science and the techniques seen in services like Math Academy, PhysicsGraph, et al? Is a $100M investment in a sense too much, given what small self-funded teams (MA, PG) have been able to accomplish?

Frank Hecker

This is a thought-provoking point about turning bookmarks into more than just bookmarks. It seems similar at first glance to what Sublime is trying to do, but on an open platform. I need to look more into how connections work in Semble and where it would be useful to use them.