ANOTHER MODO: TechCrunch calls to our attention to a new edtech startup, Coursemodo, offering an "interactive" LMS focused on student engagement. (Are we running out of names, guys?) Details are sparse (but here's a video): features so far sound like a mash of gradebook, polling, quizzes, and SMS messaging. Still in early stages, the team is reportedly closing a seed round valued between $500k to $1 million with investors possibly including Scott Banister, Jonathan Levi and a Canadian syndicate. The founders include Salf Altimimi and Gabriel Chan are not new to the edtech scene; they previously involved in NoteWagon, an online marketplace for students to buy and sell notes. TechCrunch suggests the model will be similar to other LMS ventures: charge the students not the teachers.
And speaking of LMS developers, these newcomers will have plenty of competition from the likes of Instructure and even Lore. Launched 7 months ago, Lore emphasizes its Facebook-like social features, along with the requisite gradebook. The $6 million it raised has gone (at least partly) into a fresh site overall for the coming school year. Lore reports that instructors at over 600 schools have used its system.
