Week in EdTech 8/13/25: Back-to-School Uncertainty, B2B vs B2C Learning, GPT-5 Backlash, School Choice Surge, Google’s Gemini Power Play, and More! Feat. Evan Harris of Pathos Consulting Group, Becky Keene of AI Optimism & Max Spero of Pangram Labs

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Join hosts Alex Sarlin, Ben Kornell, and guest co-host Matt Tower from Whiteboard Advisors for a back-to-school edition of Week in EdTech, covering market shifts, Big Tech’s push into education, the GPT-5 rollout, and the rising challenge of deepfake abuse in schools.

✨ Episode Highlights:

[00:03:40] Back-to-school funding uncertainty and “back-to-basics” mentality
[00:06:40] B2C vs. B2B: consumer learning grows while institutions tighten
[00:09:31] Big Tech moves from infrastructure to competing in applications
[00:13:40] GPT-5 rollout backlash and prioritization of B2C users
[00:17:34] Rethinking schools’ role: raising the floor vs. raising the ceiling
[00:19:52] School choice and flexible student pathways through ESAs
[00:20:58] Proposal for an AI user Bill of Rights
[00:27:36] Media panic: critiques of AI in education from major outlets
[00:34:19] SoftBank executive buys stake in UK university
[00:38:10] Workforce training gap: Google and Microsoft invest billions
[00:39:12] Google’s Gemini leads in image and video generation

Plus, special guests:
[00:49:18] Evan Harris, President of Pathos Consulting Group, on deepfake abuse in schools and crisis response
[00:56:02] Becky Keene, author of AI Optimism, on AI literacy for teachers and classroom integration
[01:03:47] Max Spero, Co-Founder and CEO of Pangram Labs, on building future-ready schools with emerging tech

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🎉 Presenting Sp

Innovation in preK to gray learning is powered by exceptional people. For over 15 years, EdTech companies of all sizes and stages have trusted HireEducation to find the talent that drives impact. When specific skills and experiences are mission-critical, HireEducation is a partner that delivers. Offering permanent, fractional, and executive recruitment, HireEducation knows the go-to-market talent you need. Learn more at HireEdu.com.

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Tuck Advisors is the M&A firm for EdTech companies. Run by serial entrepreneurs with over 25 years of experience founding, investing in, and selling companies, Tuck believes you deserve M&A advisors who work as hard as you do.

Chapters

1. Week in EdTech 8/13/25: Back-to-School Uncertainty, B2B vs B2C Learning, GPT-5 Backlash, School Choice Surge, Google’s Gemini Power Play, and More! Feat. Evan Harris of Pathos Consulting Group, Becky Keene of AI Optimism & Max Spero of Pangram Labs (00:00:00)

2. Back-to-school funding uncertainty and “back-to-basics” mentality (00:04:13)

3. B2C vs. B2B: consumer learning grows while institutions tighten (00:07:13)

4. Big Tech moves from infrastructure to competing in applications (00:10:04)

5. GPT-5 rollout backlash and prioritization of B2C users (00:14:13)

6. Rethinking schools’ role: raising the floor vs. raising the ceiling (00:18:07)

7. School choice and flexible student pathways through ESAs (00:20:25)

8. Proposal for an AI user Bill of Rights (00:21:31)

9. Media panic: critiques of AI in education from major outlets (00:28:51)

10. SoftBank executive buys stake in UK university (00:35:34)

11. Workforce training gap: Google and Microsoft invest billions (00:39:25)

12. Google’s Gemini leads in image and video generation (00:40:27)

13. Evan Harris, President of Pathos Consulting Group, on deepfake abuse in schools and crisis response (00:50:33)

14. Becky Keene, author of AI Optimism, on AI literacy for teachers and classroom integration (00:57:17)

15. Max Spero, Co-Founder and CEO of Pangram Labs, on building future-ready schools with emerging tech (01:05:02)

380 episodes

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