Kidaptive
Educational technology
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kidaptive was a Silicon Valley–based developer of educational technology. Kidaptive's core product was an adaptive-learning platform, which powered a variety of learning domains, including two Kidaptive-created apps for early learning.[1][2][3][4] Kidaptive was founded by P.J. Gunsagar (co-founder of Prana Studios) and Dylan Arena (Stanford University Learning Scientist).[2][5][6][7][8] The creative director for Kidaptive's Leo's Pad series was Dan Danko, who had worked on numerous children's television shows, such as Rugrats and Fresh Beat Band.[1][9]
| Founded | California, 2011 |
|---|---|
| Founder | P.J. Gunsagar, Dylan Arena |
| Headquarters | , United States |
Key people | Josine Verhagen (Senior Director of Psychometrics and Data Science), Ashraf Jahangeer (VP of engineering) |
| Products | ALP (Adaptive Learning Platform), Hodoo English, Learner Mosaic, Leo's Pad |
| Services | Infrastructure platform for adaptive learning |
Number of employees | <150 |
| Website | www |
Investors in the startup included Formation 8, Stanford University, Cambridge University, Menlo Investors, Prana Holdings, New Schools Venture Fund, Veddis Ventures, CrunchFund, and VKRM Ventures.[5][6][10]
KidAptive was bought out by McGraw Hill in March 2021, and KidAptive employees transferred into McGraw Hill.[11]
Products
The company's technology was created with the guidance of professional educators, including two Stanford University Professors of Education, Dan Schwartz and Ed Haertel.[2][5][9][12][13]
Adaptive Learning Platform (ALP)
Kidaptive's ALP was a Big Data platform that combined information from multiple learning contexts (digital & physical) to create a psychometric profile of each learner.
Leo’s Pad
Kidaptive launched its first app, Leo's Pad, in December 2012.[2][5] The app was designed for preschool-aged children and was organized like a TV series, consisting of multiple chapters or “appisodes.”[1][2][6][12][14][15] The series starred Leonardo da Vinci as a child, as well as his young friends Galileo Galilei, Marie Curie, Confucius, Phillis Wheatley, and Teresa Carreño.[1][3][15]
The app combined education and entertainment as learners participated in a curriculum that integrated physics, math, logic, letters, and art.[16][17] The activities also helped develop cognitive skills including executive function, working memory, and impulse control.[6][9][15][18]
Learner Mosaic
Leo's Pad paired with a companion app called Learner Mosaic, which allowed parents to monitor their children's progress, identify areas of cognitive and non-cognitive development that needed more attention, and read research-based tips and recommendations on how to support learning in the real world.[5][9][10][18][19]