Ed Tech Industry
Nearpod to Be Acquired by Renaissance
Renaissance
is adding to its portfolio of ed tech companies with the acquisition
of Nearpod.
Renaissance
is
known for its widely used Accelerated Reader and Accelerated Math
products and Star Assessments. In recent years the company also
acquired several players in the ed tech space, including myON (2018),
differentiated instruction provider Freckle (2019) and Schoolzilla
(late 2019).
“In
the past year, seismic shifts have changed education as we know it,”
said Chris Bauleke, chief executive officer at Renaissance. “With
the rise of COVID-19, this shift crossed a crucial threshold and
created a demand for the edtech industry to provide solutions that
don’t supplement or replace the teacher, but instead, pave the way
for a new way to teach and learn. The combination of Renaissance and
Nearpod will empower teachers to drive the full learner experience
with a deep set of real-time data, content, and tools to accelerate
learning and growth for all students.”
According
to Renaissance: “Nearpod offers an interactive instructional
platform that merges real-time formative assessment and dynamic media
for live and self-paced learning experiences, both inside and outside
of the classroom, giving educators the ability to adjust in
real-time, while easily seeing how their students are progressing.
Teachers can choose from more than 15,000 interactive lessons,
videos, and activities created in partnership with leading
organizations like Common Sense Education and Smithsonian to quickly
enhance their existing content.”
The
Nearpod acquisition is expected to be completed in March. Further
details can be found at renaissance.com.