6 Books Every Edtech Founder Needs to Read in 2023 📚 Newsletter #63
Hi there! Alberto here, joining from Madrid this week.
The Transcend Newsletter explores the intersection of the future of education and the future work, and the founders building it around the world.
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Last month, we explored our top predictions for 2023. Those predictions are based on data as much as they are based on intuition. We know how to get better data… but how do we improve our intuition? We train it by feeding it great books!
Today, we are going to share 6 book recommendations that you should read in 2023. Each book here is a treat and will prepare you to take on this year of massive change.
How did we select these? We asked the Twitterverse for answers and selected some of our favorite reads. We got some seriously amazing replies, which you should check out below.
We’ve compiled every single suggestion into one list, which you can check out here. As friend of Transcend Rob suggested, we recommend you "read both the top recs and some weird oblique stuff”.
Hope you enjoy our six recommendations!
1: Teachers vs Tech?: The case for an ed tech revolution, by Daisy Chistodoulou
A great introduction to exploring what we know about learning. Daisy Christodoulou is a former teacher who dives into pedagogy and psychology academic papers, and the final product is a very approachable guide that can help founders right away.
My favorite part about this book is how effectively it breaks down very popular myths about learning, like learning styles (spoiler alert: they don’t really exist), how self-guided learning isn’t always optimal and why simply Googling isn’t a substitute for memory.
If you are looking for an approachable breakdown of the science of learning, this is your book.
👉 Teachers vs Tech? by Daisy Christodoulou on Amazon
2: The Children's Machine: Rethinking School In The Age Of The Computer
Seymour Papert was one of the biggest advocates of constructionism, an approach to learning that emphasizes one’s own creation of knowledge by experiencing the world and reflecting, rather than being fed that information in a blackboard.
His book Mindstorms inspired me deeply and influenced a lot of my own ideas about learning, however, The Children’s Machine is in a league of its own. It is highly acclaimed (got a ton of praise in our tweet replies), and presents an incredible analysis of the introduction of the computer in the classroom at a time when computers were just being introduced in day-to-day society (Published in 1994!)
If you are looking for an inspiring read to learn about education and pedagogy, this is your book!
👉 The Children’s Machine by Seymour Papert on Amazon
3: A New U: Faster + Cheaper Alternatives to College
Ryan Craig has been a vocal critic of the higher education establishment ever since he published the popular College Disrupted. In it, he criticized US universities for losing relevance with out-of-date programs and ballooning tuition.
The New U focuses less on the problem and more on the solution – cheaper and more relevant programs that help higher ed students get to employment faster.
If you are building an alternative to the traditional university model, this is your book.
👉 A New U by Ryan Craig on Amazon
4: The Child Is the Teacher: A Life of Maria Montessori
Maria Montessori is one of history’s most well-known educators, and "The Child Is the Teacher" is her biography. An Italian physician and educator, Maria developed the Montessori method of education. The book explores her life and work, including her development of a child-centered approach to learning and her efforts to promote peace and global education!
If you want to get inspired by a story of how to rethink education systems, this is your book!
👉 The Child is the Teacher by Cristina De Stefano on Amazon
5: Obviously Awesome
This quick read is a masterpiece on positioning, and how you can differentiate your product in a saturated world. With tighter wallets in 2023, positioning is as important as ever, and every founder thinking about it should make Obviously Awesome their weekend read.
If you are launching a new product or going through a pivot, this is your book.
👉 Obviously Awesome by April Dunford on Amazon
6: Bullshit Jobs: A Theory
We’ve all done some job that made us wonder why anyone would pay us to do them… and David Graeber writes about how this is an increasingly common thing in Bullshit Jobs: A Theory. He argues that many jobs in modern society are pointless and do not contribute to the greater good, and explores how it impacts individuals and communities.
If you are building a startup in the future of work, this is your book.
👉Bullshit Jobs: A Theory by David Graeber on Amazon
That’s all from us this week! Hope you enjoyed going through our recommendations. Let us know what books we have missed in this list by commenting on Substack below! 👇
The Roundup ☀️
👩🏫 Building an AI Edtech Startup? Here Are Important Lessons to Keep in Mind - Read article by Reach Capital
💵 Indian admission services platform AdmitKard raises $6M from GSV Ventures.
🌍 Co-Creation Hub’s edtech accelerator puts $15M towards African startups.
🦾 Data Science was the top skill acquired in 2022; 83% plan to upskill in 2023: Great Learning
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Thank you so much Alberto!
Hey Alberto - recent subscriber. I work in edtech and find your newsletters really useful. Carry on.