Kidaptive is a

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that is a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical area of the Santa Clara Valley ...

–based developer of

educational technology Educational technology (commonly abbreviated as edutech, or edtech) is the combined use of computer hardware, software, and educational theory and practice to facilitate learning and teaching. When referred to with its abbreviation, "EdTech" ...

. Kidaptive's core product is an adaptive-learning platform, which powers a variety of learning domains including two Kidaptive-created apps for early learning. Kidaptive was founded by P.J. Gunsagar (co-founder of

Prana Studios Prana Studios, Inc. was an American animation and visual effects company, founded in 2003 in Los Angeles, United States, with a wholly owned subsidiary in Mumbai, India. Known for its high quality computer animation and visual effects. Prana St ...

) and Dylan Arena (

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

Learning Scientist). The creative director for Kidaptive's Leo's Pad series is Dan Danko, who has worked on numerous children's television shows such as

Rugrats ''Rugrats'' is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, and Paul Germain for Nickelodeon. The series focuses on a group of toddlers, most prominently Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, and Lil, and their day-to-d ...

and Fresh Beat Band. Investors in the startup include Formation 8, Stanford University, Cambridge University, Menlo Investors, Prana Holdings, New Schools Venture Fund, Veddis Ventures, CrunchFund, and VKRM Ventures. KidAptive was bought out by

McGraw Hill McGraw Hill is an American education science company that provides educational content, software, and services for students and educators across various levels—from K-12 to higher education and professional settings. They produce textbooks, ...

in March 2021, with all KidAptive employees brought into McGraw Hill.

Products

The company's technology is created with the guidance of professional educators, including two Stanford University Professors of Education, Dan Schwartz and Ed Haertel.

Adaptive Learning Platform (ALP)

Kidaptive's ALP is a Big Data platform that combines information from multiple learning contexts (digital & physical) to create a psychometric profile of each learner.

Leo’s Pad

Kidaptive launched its first app, Leo's Pad, in December 2012. The app is designed for preschool-aged children and is organized like a TV series, consisting of multiple chapters or “appisodes.” The series stars

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 1452 - 2 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested o ...

as a child, as well as his young friends

Galileo Galilei Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642), commonly referred to as Galileo Galilei ( , , ) or mononymously as Galileo, was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a poly ...

Marie Curie Maria Salomea Skłodowska-Curie (; ; 7 November 1867 – 4 July 1934), known simply as Marie Curie ( ; ), was a Polish and naturalised-French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. She was List of female ...

Confucius Confucius (; pinyin: ; ; ), born Kong Qiu (), was a Chinese philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. Much of the shared cultural heritage of the Sinosphere originates in the phil ...

Phillis Wheatley Phillis Wheatley Peters, also spelled Phyllis and Wheatly ( – December 5, 1784), was an American writer who is considered the first African-American author of a published book of poetry. Gates Jr., Henry Louis, ''Trials of Phillis Wheatley: ...

, and

Teresa Carreño María Teresa Gertrudis de Jesús Carreño García (December 22, 1853June 12, 1917) was a Venezuelans, Venezuelan pianist, composer, soprano, and conductor. Over the course of her 54-year concert career, she became an internationally renowned v ...

. The app combines education and entertainment as learners participate in a

curriculum In education, a curriculum (; : curriculums or curricula ) is the totality of student experiences that occur in an educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view of the student's experi ...

that integrates

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

math Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure o ...

, letters, and art. The activities also help develop cognitive skills including

executive function In cognitive science and neuropsychology, executive functions (collectively referred to as executive function and cognitive control) are a set of cognitive processes that support goal-directed behavior, by regulating thoughts and actions thro ...

working memory Working memory is a cognitive system with a limited capacity that can Memory, hold information temporarily. It is important for reasoning and the guidance of decision-making and behavior. Working memory is often used synonymously with short-term m ...

, and impulse control.

Learner Mosaic

Leo's Pad pairs with a companion app called Learner Mosaic, which allows parents to monitor their child's progress, identify areas of cognitive and non-cognitive development that might need more attention, and read research-based tips and recommendations for how to support learning in the real world.

Awards and recognition

Kidaptive founders Arena and Gunsagar have presented twice (Spring 2012 and Winter 2013) at Stanford's student startup accelerator StartX. Awards for the Leo's Pad series: *Winner LAUNCH Edu 2013 *Winner Startup World San Francisco 2013 *Winner Academics' Choice Awards for mind-building excellence 2014

References

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External links

''Kidaptive'' Official site
Software companies established in 2011 Companies based in Silicon Valley 2011 establishments in California Software companies disestablished in 2021 2021 disestablishments in California 2021 mergers and acquisitions American companies established in 2011 American companies disestablished in 2021