KPCB Education Leadership Salon

As part of the KPCB Leadership Salon series, KPCB General Partner John Doerr led a panel of education technology innovators to discuss how technology has – and will continue to – fundamentally change the way we approach education both in the U.S. and abroad. Panelists included Daphne Koller, Founder at Coursera and professor at the Stanford School of Engineering; Brett Kopf, Co-Founder and CEO of Remind101; and Dan Rosensweig, President and CEO of Chegg.

Clip 1: How Online Courses at American Universities Successfully Launched a Bakery in Bangladesh

Daphne Koller shares the story of a Bangladeshi woman who took Coursera courses online – including a microeconomics class from the University of Pennsylvania and model thinking from the University of Michigan – and learned how to run a business. She launched a successful bakery that employs eight other women, whom she now encourages to take Coursera courses as well. This type of advancement, especially in a country where women often find it difficult to start businesses, would not have been available without access to online education.

Clip 2: Text Messages Successfully Connect Teachers, Students and, Most Importantly, Parents

Brett Kopf discusses the impact the text-messaging platform Remind101 has had, including saving teachers time and engaging kids in the classroom. Most importantly, Remind101 helps get parents involved, especially in non-English speaking households. One teacher in New Orleans actually found that after introducing Remind101 to the mostly Spanish-speaking parents of his students, attendance at parent-teacher conferences increased from 10 out of 24 sets of parents to 21 out of 24.

Clip 3: The Need to Disrupt the Education System in the U.S. – And How to Help

It has taken technology some time to have an impact on the education market – but changers are starting to emerge. In this clip, Dan Rosensweig outlines why further changes to the U.S. educational system are critical – and how Chegg has helped make a difference through digital textbook rentals and other online services.

Clip 4: Dan Rosensweig’s Favorite Story

Dan Rosensweig tells how he asked four college students for directions on a street corner, struck up a conversation with them, and learned how all four of them were not only renting textbooks from Chegg, but how the service had actually helped them go to college in the first place.

Clip 5: How the Educational Establishment Is Reacting to Disruption

The panelists address the unease that technological disruptions are causing for established education institutions – and how to work with these players productively in order to help students, parents, and teachers.

Clip 6: Can You Do Good – And Still Make Money?

Daphne Koller and Dan Rosensweig discuss how a for-profit company can make a positive difference in the education market. Daphne also adds some insights on how to handle a non-profit competitor.