Pearson and Knewton: Big Data and the Promise of Personalized Learning

"Sooner or later,"Knewton's senior marketing associate Will Fleiss told me in a recent email, "we'll convince the world we're no longer just a test prep company." And with the company'sannouncementthat its adaptive engine would be poweringPearson's digital courseware, indeed, that day is probably here.

Fleiss's email to me was a response to mycoveragea few weeks ago of Knewton's most recent round of funding -- $33 million, with Pearson leading the round of investment. And although yes, I had described Knewton with the adjectival phrase "test prep," I made it clear -- and in the headline at that -- that this was "big bucks for adaptive learning platforms."

Read the rest of the story at Inside Higher Ed, which by the way, is another place where you'll now find me blogging regularly -- Hack (Higher) Education.