(2010-12-07) Usv Invests Edmodo

Union Square Ventures is investing in Ed Modo.

• First, much as with all other content, we believe the future of educational content are "micro-chunks." These can be videos on YouTube or on the amazing Khan Academy, or Flash simulations, or Scratch Java applets, or blog posts. The Internet has already turned into an incredible wellspring of these kind of Learning Object-s and many, many more will be created going forward.

• Second, we firmly believe in the Internet's ability to give "power to the people" by supporting decentralized decision making. In education, the decision makers who most need to be empowered are teachers. Donors Choose has shown how effective this can be. With learning objects becoming available and improving rapidly all over the Internet, the historic process of states and/or districts making decisions about educational content is becoming untenable (which made sense at a time when Text-Book-s would last a decade). Instead, teachers need to be able to easily pick what works best for their students. Hmm how about parents and students? (I know, they're working within the normal school paradigm. But it's worth remembering anyway.)

• Third, students today are growing up with the Internet and Mobile devices. They will measure the systems they use in school, and for learning more generally, against the websites they visit and the apps they download to their phones. We therefore believe that to succeed, someone needs to deliver an experience that feels instantly familiar and comfortable for a net native generation.