AI That Learns From You: The Future of Teachable Agents in Education with Adam Franklin

Send us a text In this special episode, Alex sits down with Adam Franklin, our very first guest on EdTech Insiders, who returns three years later with an exciting new venture.  Adam is a former high school history teacher turned edtech entrepreneur. He previously taught at YES Prep Brays Oaks HS in Houston, TX and coached the varsity soccer team. Adam earned a masters degree in Learning, Design, and Technology from Stanford GSE in 2016 where he also served as a researcher and writer for the Stanford History Education Group. In 2017, he joined Nearpod, then a Series A startup, to help lead the content arm of the business where he stayed through their $650M acquisition by Renaissance in 2021. In early 2024, Adam left Nearpod to join the Teaching Lab Studio as a fellow to build out innovative products at the intersection of AI and Education, with StudyBuds, a teachable agent practice platform, being his primary focus.  💡 5 Things You’ll Learn in This Episode:How AI-powered teachable agents help students learn by teaching.Why AI can boost engagement and deeper learning in classrooms.The limitations of multiple-choice assessments and AI’s role in fixing them.How AI can co-create with students instead of just giving answers.Why venture studios like Teaching Lab Studio are investing in AI-powered learning. ✨ Episode Highlights: [00:01:18] Adam Franklin’s journey from teacher to edtech founder. [00:06:46] How teachable agents create interactive student practice. [00:12:39] Training AI to “not know” and learn from students. [00:16:56] The Pokémon effect—why students love training AI characters. [00:22:57] Why students outsource thinking and how AI can change that. [00:31:23] StudyBuds aligns with curricula to support teachers. [00:37:20] Inside Teaching Lab Studio’s unique edtech venture model. [00:44:48] The future of AI in education and multimodal learning. 😎 Stay updated with Edtech Insiders! Follow our Podcast on:Apple PodcastsSpotifyAmazon MusicSign up for the Edtech Insiders newsletter.Follow Edtech Insiders on LinkedIn! 🎉 Presenting Sponsor: This season of Edtech Insiders is once again brought to you by Tuck Advisors, the M&A firm for EdTech companies. Run by serial entrepreneurs with over 25 years of experience founding, investing in, and selling companies, Tuck believes you deserve M&A advisors who work as hard as you do.