Edtech and Elearning 2016: Top 200 Influencers and Brands

Education is the doorway to the future, and we have a shared goal to create a better future for our children by providing them with the best education now, so they will have the best opportunities to succeed when they are older. In order to do this we must provide our teachers with the most up to date resources they need to succeed and make our schools more competitive.

Funding for edtech companies is booming. From 2010 to 2014 we saw more than a 503% growth in investment, and the first half of 2015 saw $2.5 billion of private investment in edtech companies. In the last 12 months alone, we’ve seen edtech start-ups raise close to $20m. Edtech is one of the fastest growing sectors and with new companies flooding to the market all the time, edtech innovation is likely to accelerate in the coming years.

We have conducted some analysis on edtech and elearning on our blog before, and it’s interesting to see how new influencers and brands have joined the community. This time we scaled our list up to include the top 200 influencers and brands driving the edtech and elearning discussion.

For information on how to keep kids safe online, you can read Staysafe.org’s guide on Internet Safety for Teens here.

WHAT ARE THE EXPERTS SAYING?

We reached out to some of the top 20 influencers to ask them for their views on edtech and elearning. We spoke to Alex Corbitt (#1), Monica Burns (#2), Vicki A. Davis (#3), Jeffrey bradbury (#9), Tom Murray (#11), Jaime Casap (#14), Mike Tholfsen (#15), Mark Anderson (#16), Kerry Gallagher (#17) and Shelly Sanchez Terrell (#20). Be sure to follow them to stay up to date on the best content and resources on edtech and elearning!

Alex Corbitt – English Teacher at The Bronx School of Young Leaders

“Edtech has the potential to reshape the landscape of modern education. Flipped learning enables students to learn new information at home, virtual field trips invite students to explore historical landmarks with ease, and innovative file sharing technologies empower students to collaborate with peers around the world. Edtech can accommodate students with an array of academic needs and provide educators with orienting assessment data. As a classroom teacher I’m always reflecting on how to best integrate new technologies into my instruction. I look to the Twitter community as a reflective professional learning network that leads the way integrating these revolutionary tools to affect meaningful change in the classroom.”

Monica Burns – Founder of Class Tech Tips, author of  Deeper Learning with QR Codes and Augmented Reality
“I’m excited about the way #ScannableTech is being used for deeper learning! Teachers are integrating scannable technology like QR codes and augmented reality into their instruction to provide meaningful, engaging learning experiences. I predict teachers will begin taking their formative assessment to the next level with technology tools. #FormativeTech lets teachers easily embed learning experiences to better understand student needs.”

Vicki A. Davis – Founder of Cool Cat Teacher

“Education, edtech, and elearning have far more in common that starting with the letter e. In fact, a great education while it starts with a good teacher, can be amplified and enhanced by an effective use of education technology. The modern educator is fluent in content but also in modern teaching tools. Great teachers have a wide variety of tools that engage learners both in the classroom and in their online / elearning classroom as well. Blending the classroom effectively for maximum effectiveness is the pursuit of effective teachers everywhere and Twitter is our tool that helps us educator ourselves on how to do that.”

Matt Miller – Teacher, Google-Certified Innovator, Author of Ditch that Textbook
“Using technology in education is opening more and more doors every day. New tools appear all the time, and established ones continue to gain ground with educators. They empower educators and learners to change their tasks and revolutionize learning. We’re better able today to do teaching and learning that was previously inconceivable, and tomorrow we’ll be able to do more. As more and more educators get on board with meaningful technology use, we’re gaining an invaluable resource to provide relevant education and prepare students for a future we can’t begin to predict.”

Jeffrey Bradbury – Founder of TeacherCast, Coordinator of Technology Integration, Westwood Regional School District
“In todays digital classrooms, it is essential that students learn how to create a dynamic digital hub and brand out their digital footprint.  Platforms such as WordPress, Edublogs, and Google Sites are excellent places for students to build their brands while leveraging the power of personalized learning spaces such as Twitter, Facebook, Periscope, and Pinterest.”

Tom Murray – Director of Innovation, Future Ready Schools
“Educational technology can either be leveraged to unleash personal learning experiences for kids or it can be a tremendous waste of money. The key to the effective use of edtech is in the instructional pedagogy. Such tools can enhance great teaching practices or amplify poor ones. We must work to close the “Digital Use Divide” as too often, we see incredible 21st century tools sitting in 20th century learning environments, having little to no impact. When used to explore, design, and create, technology can be a tool that extends the human potential and connects our students with the world. Regardless of the type of technology in hand, we must always focus on creating high quality learning experiences for all kids.”

Jaime Casap – Google Education Evangelist

“Technology is not the silver bullet. Education is the silver bullet.  Technology is an enabling and supporting capability for teachers and students. Our job in technology is to make edtech easy to use and supportive of building great education.”

Mike Tholfsen – Principal Product Manager, OneNote Microsoft

“It’s exciting to see how edtech can empower educators to discover and explore new pedagogical possibilities with technology. In addition, any tool or solution that can help teachers save time during their busy day should be a top priority for our industry. From the student perspective, technology will allow for a more inclusive classroom, as well as deeper personalization to facilitate improved outcomes.”

Mark Anderson – Consultant, blogger, speaker, and author. ITL associate – ICTEvangelist
“Never before in the history of education technology have such opportunities for supporting learning been so available. The key to the success however lies not in the technology but in the training and support of the teachers; this is what is paramount.”

Kerry Gallagher – Digital Learning Specialist at St. John’s Prep, Director of K-12 Education at ConnectSafely

“As a teacher who knows first-hand how technology tools have helped my students feel empowered to find the resources they need, collaborate with one another and with me, and create professional quality work I know we are in the midst of a transformational time for education. As a digital learning specialist and director of education, I know that teachers want to both inspire and protect their students. Digital citizenship and data privacy education are quickly becoming hot topics in edtech for that reason.”

Shelly Sanchez Terrell, Author of The 30 Goals Challenge and Learning to Go

“The most innovative uses of technology integration and elearning are grounded in learner creation and collaboration with a choice of design tools, multimedia, research and content.”

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TOPIC ANALYSIS

We were interested in seeing which topics were most popular among the top edtech and elearning influencers, so we analysed their tweets and blogs from 1st January – 24th May 2016 and counted mentions of various topics associated with edtech and elearning which we then used to create a topic share of voice chart:

It’s interesting to note that the most popular topic among the virtual reality influencers was Video with a 17% share of voice, proving that the use of videos in teaching is leading the discussion and driving the most conversations among the top influencers. Online was the 2nd most popular debate driver, proving the importance of the internet in edtech and elearning. This was followed by mentions of Innovation and Apps whichboth received a significant 12% and 11% share of voice respectively. Other frequently mentioned topics among the top influencers included iPad, BYOD and Codingwhich all received a similar share of voice (ranging from 11-10%), followed by mentions of Mobile, Virtual Reality and Blended Learning.

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MAPPING THE COMMUNITY

We were very interested in seeing which virtual reality professionals and brands were leading the online discussion, so we analysed  554K+  tweets from 24th February – 23rd May 2016 mentioning the keywords: “edtech OR elearning OR e-learning”. We then identified the top 100 most influential brands and individuals leading the discussion on Twitter. What we discovered was a very engaged community, with much discussion between individuals and brands. Below you can see a network map of the online conversation with the number 1 brand Edsurge at the centre. This map was created with our Influencer Relationship Management software (IRM). Be sure to click on the map to enjoy the full size network diagram in greater detail.

 

#Edtech and #Elearning: Top 100 Influencers and Brands

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Below you can see another network map created with our Influencer Relationship Management software (IRM) showing the #4 brand Mindshift the centre, and the conversations to and from the different influencers in their field. If you are interested in learning more about identifying, managing and engaging with influencers click here to get in touch!

 

TOP 200 INDIVIDUALS

We looked at all the individuals engaging on Twitter to bring you a list of the top influencers in edtech and elearning. We found a rich mix of teachers, bloggers, enthusiasts, authors, keynote speakers and edtech professionals. Below is the top 50, if you want to see who ranks from 50-200 be sure to download the full report by clicking the download button below.

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Rank	Twitter Handle	Name	Company	Influencer Score
1	@Alex_Corbitt	Alex Corbitt	Bronx School of Young Leaders	29.42
2	@ClassTechTips	Monica Burns	Class Tech Tips, LLC	19.47
3	@ShakeUpLearning	Kasey Bell	Shake Up Learning LLC	17.15
4	@coolcatteacher	Vicki Davis	Westwood Schools, Cool Cat Teacher	14.93
5	@sylviaduckworth	Sylvia Duckworth	Crescent School	12.81
6	@jmattmiller	Matt Miller	Ditch That Textbook	12.21
7	@elearning	David Anderson	Articulate	10.9
8	@JasonSeaver1975	Jason Seaver	MSD Decatur Township Schools	10.55
9	@TeacherCast	Jeffrey Bradbury	Westwood Regional School District	10.23
10	@E_Sheninger	Eric Sheninger	International Center for Leadership in Education	10.2
11	@thomascmurray	Tom Murray	Alliance for Excellent Education	9.72
12	@NoApp4Pedagogy	Eric Patnoudes	CDW Corporation	9.63
13	@s_bearden	Susan M. Bearden	Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy	9.39
14	@jcasap	Jaime Casap	Google	9.24
15	@mtholfsen	Mike Tholfsen	Microsoft	9.12
16	@ICTEvangelist	Mark Anderson	Independent	8.99
17	@KerryHawk02	Kerry Gallagher	St John’s Prep	8.97
18	@KleinErin	Erin Klein	Cranbrook Educational Community	8.58
19	@EdWeekSCavanagh	Sean Cavanagh	EdWeek Market Brief, Education Week	7.5
20	@ShellTerrell	Shelly Sanchez	American TESOL Institute	7.14
21	@cultofpedagogy	Jennifer Gonzalez	Cult of Pedagogy	7.02
22	@alicekeeler	Alice Keeler	Microsoft	6.99
23	@MJMadda	Mary Jo Madda	EdSurge	6.91
24	@jonathanwylie	Jonathan Wylie	Grant Wood Area Education Agency	6.91
25	@eLearning_Laura	Laura Dickinson	North Tyneside Learning Trust	6.8
26	@markbarnes19	Mark Barnes	FreshGrade	6.76
27	@SNewco	Scott Newcomb	St Marys Intermediate School	6.59
28	@courosa	Alec Couros	University of Regina, Open Thinking	6.29
29	@rmbyrne	Richard Byrne	MindRocket Media Group	6.13
30	@DavidGeurin	David Geurin	Bolivar R-1 Schools	5.96
31	@EduWells	Richard Wells	Orewa College	5.87
32	@TeacherToolkit	@TeacherToolkit	TeacherToolkit	5.82
33	@JenWilliamsEdu	Jennifer Williams	Saint Leo University	5.67
34	@brholland	Beth Holland	EdTechTeacher	5.59
35	@Edtechnerd	Bryan L. Miller	Edventure Quests	5.56
36	@tvanderark	Tom Vander Ark	Getting Smart	5.5
37	@DBaker007	Duane Baker	Independent	5.44
38	@BryanAlexander	Bryan Alexander	The New Media Consortium	5.4
39	@Lynch39083	Matthew Lynch	Huffington Post	5.05
40	@chatzopoulosn	Nikolas Chatzopoulos	Plato Academy Schools	5.01
41	@aseoconnor	Sean O’Connor	Mentored.com	4.94
42	@jeffherb	Jeff Herb	District 300 Schools	4.91
43	@RafranzDavis	Rafranz Davis	Lufkin 1SD	4.88
44	@AndoniSanz	Andoni Sanz	Sagrado Corazón Ikastetxea (aldaketa bilatzen)	4.65
45	@gcouros	George Couros	Parkland School Division	4.65
46	@EWmdavis	Michelle Davis	Education Week	4.64
47	@cpappas	Christopher Pappas	elearningindustry	4.53
48	@willrich45	Will Richardson	Modern Learner Media	4.36
49	@teachintechgal	Katrina Keene	Dell	4.32
50	@TheTechRabbi	Rabbi Michael Cohen	Harkham Hillel Hebrew Academy	4.16

 

TOP 200 BRANDS

In the top 200 brands we can find a great selection of edtech companies such as EdSurge and MindShift, as well as some tech publications and industry resources and industry heavyweights such as Microsoft and Amazon. Below is the top 50, be sure to download the report to get the full top 200 list, and see who are most influential edtech and elearning brands.

DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT

Rank	Twitter Handle	Name	Influencer Score
1	@EdSurge	EdSurge	100
2	@EdTech_K12	EdTech K–12 Magazine	57.27
3	@elearnindustry	eLearning Industry	33.02
4	@MindShiftKQED	MindShift	29.15
5	@zoom_us	Zoom	24.46
6	@geiendorsed	Global Educator Inst	21.84
7	@EdTech_HigherEd	EdTech Higher Ed	20.89
8	@edutopia	edutopia	19.54
9	@Microsoft_EDU	Microsoft Education	17.14
10	@educationweek	Education Week	15.8
11	@eschoolnews	eSchool News	13.75
12	@TeachThought	TeachThought	12.34
13	@elearningfeeds	elearningfeeds	11
14	@OneNoteEDU	@OneNoteEDU	10.87
15	@BookCreatorApp	Book Creator Team	9.91
16	@isteconnects	ISTE	8.66
17	@HigherEdSurge	EdSurge Higher Ed	8.2
18	@Jisc	Jisc	8.02
19	@nearpod	Nearpod	7.7
20	@edtechteam	EdTechTeam, Inc.	7.66
21	@MHEducation	McGrawHill Education	7.24
22	@Getting_Smart	Getting Smart	7.2
23	@techlearning	techlearning	6.86
24	@ClassDojo	ClassDojo	6.7
25	@DigitalPromise	Digital Promise	6.27
26	@IntelEDU	Intel Education	6.27
27	@asugsvsummit	ASU GSV Summit	6.19
28	@Blackboard	Blackboard	6.17
29	@iLearn2Apps	iLearn2	6.1
30	@CoSN	CoSN	6.01
31	@GoogleForEdu	Google For Education	6.01
32	@BAMRadioNetwork	Education Radio	6.01
33	@OfficeofEdTech	Office of Ed Tech	5.77
34	@Graphite	Graphite	5.7
35	@GetKahoot	Kahoot!	5.67
36	@etr_in	EdTechReview	5.51
37	@gatesfoundation	Gates Foundation	5.31
38	@goguardian	GoGuardian	5.16
39	@SXSWedu	SXSWedu	5.07
40	@AmazonEdu	Amazon Education	4.94
41	@EducationDive	Education Dive	4.87
42	@Brightspace	Brightspace	4.5
43	@OpenEdX	Open edX	4.48
44	@CommonSenseEdu	Common Sense Edu	4.14
45	@quizizz	Quizizz	4.12
46	@Articulate	Articulate	4.06
47	@usedgov	US Dept of Education	4.04
48	@AdvocateforEd	The Edvocate	4.01
49	@edtech_rr	EdTech	3.98
50	@ASCD	ASCD	3.93

 

At Onalytica we love building these lists and want to give back to our loyal readers as much as we can. If you’re interested in other topics (such as Virtual Reality, Digital Health, Digital Marketing) be sure to have a gander on our blog or why not propose some topics to us on twitter? We also build some very cool software to manage all of these influencers. Get a free demo today by clicking the button below!

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Disclaimer: As ever with these lists, it must be stressed that the ranking is by no means a definitive measurement of influence, as there is no such thing. The brands and individuals listed are undoubtedly influential when it comes to driving discussion in the edtech and elearning debate.

The PageRank based methodology we use to extract influencers on a particular topic takes into account the number and quality of contextual references that a user receives. These calculations are independent of a user’s number of followers, but we do filter our lists based on how much a user is engaged in the conversation and the influence they drive through their networks.

Vector Graphics from: Vecteezy

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