Episode Details

Dave Hurwitt is an innovator. Over the course of his career, he’s led the development and launch of new products and services – from toothpicks to wind turbines – that have generated well over $1 billion in sales. 

Having worked in admissions through grad school, he was amazed by how little technology and the internet had impacted the college search and admissions process. And even more, he was dismayed to discover how often students were transferring or dropping out altogether. 

In early 2020, this led directly to his founding Troove, a 2-sided, AI-powered platform to help students discover their passions, people, and place based on the real experiences of recent alumni and current higher education students.

This episode is brought to you by AILeader.info, where you can learn all about AI specifically in a place designed for educators through 3-minute masterclasses. 

• How Troove works
• Take the idea of suggestions from Netflix or Amazon and apply it to college.
• 15-minute quiz, how do you ask the right questions to get the answers that make sense of the patterns?
• At any school, there is an in and out of the classroom experience and culture.
• Less self-awareness.
• Finding experts who can explain psychological safety.
• Keep layering in more and more data.
• Social culture preferences and learning culture preferences.
• Doesn’t have to be complete to start.
• Continue to explore the good stuff.
• Open to sharing data and information about yourself.
• Willingness to share and age are tightly correlated.
• How can we make that sharing of information safer, data safe, and help them see themselves more clearly?
• Incomplete information about schools without complete information.
• Making informed decisions about their future.
• Is this too complicated?
• Start taking steps - the request: go explore new technologies that might be useful that we can afford to trial.
• Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.
• Just get started.
• Connect with Dave

Learn more about today's sponsors, Playworks, IXL, and Renaissance Learning:

As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student. Learn more at renaissance.com.

We’re proud to be sponsored by Playworks, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with evidence-based practices that help schools improve the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe, meaningful play.

If you’re a school or district leader struggling with the challenge of chronic absenteeism, as so many are across the U.S., you may not realize that structured recess is a research-backed approach to keep kids in school. In fact, a UC Berkeley study of Title I schools found that those partnering with Playworks had significantly lower chronic absenteeism rates. Further, Mathematica research demonstrated that Playworks schools spent 27% less time transitioning from recess back to learning, saving teachers valuable instructional time. 

These results are possible for your students, too. Learn how Playworks can help you improve student-educator relationships, belonging, and attendance

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