{"id":26861,"date":"2017-11-15T22:59:08","date_gmt":"2017-11-16T03:59:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/clever-ed-tech\/"},"modified":"2017-11-16T00:13:44","modified_gmt":"2017-11-16T05:13:44","slug":"clever-ed-tech-breaking-down-barriers","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/clever-ed-tech-breaking-down-barriers\/","title":{"rendered":"Clever Ed Tech: Breaking Down Barriers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Background<\/u><\/p>\n

These days, the most used buzzword in education seems is “personalization.” Though the word has been used for decades in classrooms, today it is short-hand for the ways in which technology can make learning a more individualized, tailored experience for students and free up teachers to provide more one on one teaching in the classroom.<\/p>\n

In order to power a personalized learning experience, the following things must be in place in classrooms: 1) high-speed wireless connectivity; 2) devices (i.e., tablets, laptops); 3) software capable of tracking student learning, \u201ctalking\u201d other student data systems, and ultimately providing real-time feedback to teachers, parents, and students; 4) a system that allows teachers, principals, and district IT heads to procure the digital apps in real time, with little friction between vendor and student.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, US school districts have increased broadband connectivity significantly, going from 30% of districts with connectivity in 2013 to 94% today [1]. And we are close to a future where all students will have a device in their classroom. Regarding items 3 and 4, ed tech companies like Clever have played a key role in digitizing the education content supply chain, while seamlessly and securely directing data flow from student to educator\/school. The question for a company like Clever is whether they continue to garner a critical mass of students and apps to support a robust platform, while remaining a sustainable business that can stay ahead of the digitization curve and fend off future competitors.<\/p>\n

Clever\u2019s Products and Operations<\/u><\/p>\n

Founded in 2012 by three 性视界 College classmates, Clever has grown rapidly. In 2015, it had raised $43 million from VC investors [2]. Now, over half of US schools utilize Clever. Its platform serves 300+ apps to students. Students with Clever\u2019s single sign-on credentials or QR codes can access apps on a variety of mobile and desktop platforms [3]. Meanwhile, they have made huge strides in cracking the education\u2019s procurement nut, allowing software start-ups like DreamBox Learning to easily reach new customers. Today, teachers can access to Clever\u2019s platform to select the different district-approved applications they want to use in their classrooms and instantly serve them up to students. Clever\u2019s systems also allow schools to securely transport data from the students using the apps to teachers and administrators.<\/p>\n

Though Clever is a private company, we know that one of their major sources of revenue comes from the companies whose apps are served to students. Schools can access the products for free, while the companies pay Clever to utilize the platform. It remains to be seen whether this revenue stream can sustain the company over the next decade.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Clever Innovation<\/u><\/p>\n

Thus far, Clever has managed to stay ahead of the digitization curve. To be clear, Clever isn\u2019t being shaped by the macro digitization trend, its products literally are digitizing the education supply chain, allowing ed tech companies access to the millions of students using their platform on a daily basis. In the next few years, Clever will continue to improve upon its current offerings and roll out new products to allow for an even more seamless digital, personalized experience for educators and students. Over the next decade, Clever plans on staying ahead of the competition and is considering expanding internationally. In addition, according to their CEO Tyler Bosmeny, they want to be achieve ubiquity: \u201cOur goal is to be able to help every school in America that wants to use Clever can use Clever, until\u00a0any application doesn\u2019t have to worry about data integration again. That\u2019s our north star, that\u2019s what we\u2019re focused on.” [4]<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Potential Headwinds<\/u><\/p>\n

As other vendors and companies serve up proprietary platforms of their own, it remains to be seen whether Clever can continue to be the largest education ecosystem. In 2015, the New York Times, noted that \u201ca few educational app developers that work with Clever said it was not yet clear whether the service would prove to be the ultimate solution for schools to manage learning app accounts, or merely a transitional technology.\u201d [5]<\/p>\n

Uncharted Waters<\/u><\/p>\n

In order to permeate each and every classroom in the US, and perhaps the world, Clever\u2019s might need to consider partnering with some of the major players like Google and Amazon to quickly achieve international scale. They also will need to continue to expand beyond their bread and butter (single sign-on, data sharing, procurement) and create even more seamless experiences for teachers and students\u2014allowing for more real-time learning feedback to teachers, students, and parents.<\/p>\n

Other Questions<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Are there corollaries in other industries that match Clever (core business includes digitizing the supply chain, data-sharing, and procurement)? How\/did they survive?<\/li>\n
  2. Do you think Clever can adapt to new trends re: AI and machine learning in education?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    (787 Words)<\/p>\n

    VIDEO: Clever CEO’s ASU GSV 2017 Presentation<\/a><\/p>\n

    References<\/span><\/p>\n

    [1] Education Superhighway, State of the States Report<\/a> (September 2017)<\/p>\n

    [2] Singer, Natasha, “Clever, a Software Service, Gives Schools a Way to Manage Data Flow to Apps,”<\/a>
    \nNew York Times <\/em>(Sept. 20, 2015)<\/p>\n

    [3]\u00a0DiBlasio, Natalie, “Passwords get the boot as students use their own QR codes<\/a>,” USA Today<\/em>\u00a0(Sept. 13, 2016)<\/p>\n

    [4] Lynley, Matthew, “Clever CEO Tyler Bosmeny Talks New Hires And EdTech In 2016<\/a>,” Tech Crunch<\/em>, (December 23, 2015)<\/p>\n

    [5] Singer, Natasha, “Clever, a Software Service, Gives Schools a Way to Manage Data Flow to Apps,”<\/a>
    \nNew York Times <\/em>(Sept. 20, 2015)<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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