BECAUSE YOU WATCHED: Netflix offers personalized movie recommendations (although we sometimes question its suggestions), and its CEO ardently believes similar algorithms can help students learn. Reed Hastings has donated millions to charter schools, companies, Khan Academy, and lobbying groups and venture capitalists at the forefront of bringing technology to schools. Check out this Education Next profile of Hastings, which follows his journey into politics (he once served as president of the California state board of education), edtech products (he's an indirect investor in DreamBox Learning), and explores his fervent belief in charter schools, adaptive learning, and the inefficiencies of school boards.
