Smart Sparrow gets $4.5m grant for Inspark project

Australian adaptive learning vendor Smart Sparrow and Arizona State University have launched the new Inspark Science Network, with the help of a $4.5 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Inspark has been established to help develop and share general science courses for university students.

Smart Sparrow is providing its adaptive learning authoring technology for the initiative, which will enable faculty to create and share digital courses tailored to individual educators. The platforms will also allow educators to track student progress using analytics tools.

Inspark launched on Friday at Arizona State University’s Tempe campus. It is a joint initiative between Smart Sparrow and the university’s Center for Education Through Exploration.

An initial 24 teaching partners have signed onto the project, including universities and community colleges.

“The Inspark Science Network will empower teachers to create learning experiences that combine the power of adaptive learning with the magic of great classroom instruction,” Smart Sparrow founder and CEO Dr Dror Ben-Naim said.

In the US, success in general science courses is often a barrier to college completion, particularly for low-income students and first-generation immigrants.

Image courtesy of Colin Howley under CC