#88 – Erik Harrell, CEO, at Kahoot!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
The penultimate edition of the ASU GSV Summit Series on The Edtech Podcast.
Hello! and welcome everyone to this penultimate edition of the ASU GSV Summit Series on The Edtech Podcast. My name is Sophie Bailey and this is the podcast dedicated to bringing together the whole spectrum of learning and talent innovation from around the world, so do let us know where you are listening in.
This week I’m in conversation with the “newish” CEO of Kahoot, Erik Harrell. (He’s been in the job for a year now, whilst David Levin, CEO, McGrawHill announced he was leaving minutes after I recorded this intro)!
We talk about everything from experiencing British International education in Thailand and sailing around the Nordic Fjords to commercialising Kahoot and why class participation is so important. With the co-founders of Kahoot and the new incoming CEO being quite different animals, it’s a fascinating listen.
If you’d like to delve into more content on the theme of edtech leaders, check out this week’s additional content featuring former McGrawHill CEO David Levin, 2U CEO Chip Paucek and Cindy Mi, CEO of VIPKID. For all this and more join our weekly email, check in via the ASU GSV Summit website asugsvsummit.com where the whole series is listed, or follow @podcastedtech
A big shout out to the ASU GSV Summit, Qatar Foundational International, and Ed Academy for sponsoring this week’s episode.
Don’t forget to sign up to our newsletter to find out about our upcoming meet up drinks, cool jobs currently circulating, and other announcements. For full references, show notes and book recommendations go to theedtechpodcast.com and, for competitions and more go to our Facebook page www.facebook.com/podcastedtech. If you like what you hear why not drop us a loving review on iTunes?
If you’re an edtech company listening in and you happen to be in London why not sign up to Ed Academy’s launch party in November? Go to: edacademy.co/launch-party
If you like what you hear why not drop us a loving review on iTunes? And come back next time for our final episode in this series looking at design thinking in education, just in time ahead of Innovate Edtech on the 11th November!
What’s in this episode?
- Message from this week’s episode sponsors Qatar Foundation International and EdAcademy
- Sophie Bailey introduction with Deborah Quazzo, GSV Partners
- 1:1 interview with
- Erik Harrell, CEO, Kahoot!
- Sophie Bailey outro – letting you know about the final episode in the series
Don’t forget to also check out the reference links below, for more follow up videos, podcasts and reading on this topic!
Sample quotes:
“Latest numbers are we have over 45m monthly users”
“Over 1/3rd US students used Kahoot in last month”
“The growth continues.”
“This phenomenon continues to grow in English speaking countries”
“You’re absolutely right, we have to keep it fun and we have to keep it simple.”
“It’s an inclusive product, everybody has to play”
“Our goal is to keep this product free for teachers”
“What you see in class today is a lot of disengaged children”
“What Kahoot does is it engages every single child”
“We have 35m k-12 students globally, but there are a billion students on a global basis, so there is a tonne of headroom.”
“In terms of monetisation, what we see is a lot of traction in corporate environments. We have many Fortune 1000 companies using the product.”
“Just like Youtube is a content platform, we are a content platform”
“In the US alone we have over 2million teachers signed up to Kahoot”
“My father was a diplomat so I grew up in Thailand and went to a British school, so it was a very strict education from the very beginning!”
“At my MBA programme it was all class participation, from a learning point of view..that’s one thing I really gained a lot, the value of class participation.”
On Andre Agassi: “He’s a guy who didn’t have an education. He didn’t get the education that he really wanted. That’s an example of a guy who is very, very inspirational. He’s trying to make a difference in education.”
References:
Like this episode? Check out these related videos and podcasts on edtech leaders:
McGraw-Hill Education with David Levin. (Levin just left MHE! What will he do next)?
2U with Chip Paucek.
VIPKID with Cindy Wenjuan Mi
Thank you to this week’s sponsors:
The ASU GSV Summit annually brings together the most impactful people from diverse constituencies – entrepreneurs, business leaders, K12 and higher ed leaders, policymakers, leading tech companies, and philanthropists – to create partnerships, explore solutions, and shape the future of learning and talent innovation.
Go to: https://www.asugsvsummit.com/
Qatar Foundation International (QFI), LLC, is a U.S.-based member of Qatar Foundation (QF). QFI operates as both a grant-making organization, and a convener of thought leaders on issues related to global and international education, open education and education technologies as they intersect with the three core QFI programmatic areas: Arabic language and Arab culture, STE{A}M (STEM plus the Arts), and Youth Engagement.
Go to: http://www.qfi.org/
This week’s episode is brought to you by Ed Academy.
Up until now, the size of your marketing budget, not the quality of your product, has been a key factor in deciding whether or not you make it into schools. EdAcademy, the new interactive education marketing platform, want to level that playing field. Developed by their expert team with over 11 years education marketing experience, EdAcademy gives you all the tools and expertise you need in order to get your product out there and in front of teachers. You’ll learn the tricks of the trade through their interactive online marketing and sales lessons, as well as industry expert interviews, PLUS direct 1:1 access to their expert marketing team, to ensure your success.
Say goodbye to big marketing budgets. Visit edacademy.co and join the education marketing revolution.
Messages from The Edtech Podcast:
- Sign up to our latest meet-up in London, October 23rd, here
- Sign up to Ed Academy’s launch party in November. Go to: edacademy.co/launch-party
- Our website has just launched! You can check it out here
- 10 tickets for listeners available for GET, China at 40% discount using the code 40OffSuperVIP redeem here
- Applications to host a guest episode of The Edtech Podcast are now open. Find out more here
- Check out our friends at Innovate My School and their 2017/18 trends guide here
- Have you checked out Innovate Edtech yet? It takes place in November and focuses on learner experience. More here
- Do you love The Edtech Podcast? Share the love by checking out our Patreon Campaign and joining our list of awesome Patrons!
- Don’t forget to subscribe to The Edtech Podcast on iTunes or Stitcher
Subscribe to The Edtech Podcast:
Never miss an episode! Subscribe to The Edtech Podcast via iTunes, TuneIN Radio, Stitcher, Pocket Cast and many more. You can also subscribe to The Edtech Podcast weekly for news, events updates and episode links: Sign up to The EdTech Podcast Weekly 🎧 – Latest Episode Links & News 📢
Thank you for your podcast reviews!:
‘I am both a listener and a past interviewee on The Edtech Podcast and I can’t recommend it highly enough: it’s an excellent resource.’
Your written iTunes reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the edtech conversations I share, please write your own review on iTunes or Stitcher!
Feedback:
We love to hear from you! Add your thoughts and feedback for inclusion in the next episode, by recording a quick VM for free at speakpipe.com/theedtechpodcast and recording a quick comment. You can also post below, or tweet to @podcastedtech.
