Classcraft to be Honored at 2018 EdTech Innovation Showcase at the Education Business Forum in New York

NEW YORK, NY,  November 27-28, 2018 - The Educational Technology Industry Network (ETIN) of SIIA and StartEd Inc., New York’s hub for EdTech innovation, announced that Classcraft will be one of six honorees recognized at the 2018 Education Business Forum (November 27-28, 2018 in New York City at the Ravel Hotel).

Classcraft Co-founder Devin Young will be an honoree and featured speaker during the Forum's EdTech Innovation Showcase. He will discuss Classcraft's proprietary Engagement Management System (EMS) which gives school leaders new insights into students’ progress and well-being by measuring academics, engagement, social emotional development, and school climate in real time.

“My district test scores went from 42% pass to 82% pass, and Classcraft is the only thing I changed,” says Grade 6 science teacher Lorrie Masey.

Launched in 2015, Classcraft is an award-winning, teacher-friendly gamification tool that is now used in more than 50,000 classrooms in 75 countries in 11 languages.

“Classcraft is giving educators tools to create a school climate and culture where students thrive,” says Young. “The social dynamics of the classroom are being rewired in powerful new ways by turning the school year into a game students play together all year round. Teaching to students in this new holistic way is creating new opportunities to drive meaningful impact. We’re seeing our students make important gains academic, SEL, and 21st century skill development, all while having more fun in school!”

Classcraft utilizes gaming principles to foster social emotional development and personalized learning, enabling educators to adapt curriculum and teaching style to an individual student’s needs. Highly customizable, this revolutionary educational approach can be adapted to any subject and has been proven to be very effective at improving student motivation, increasing student engagement, and creating a positive classroom community by fostering strong team building.

Designed for schools and districts, Classcraft’s EMS connects behavioral and academic data (captured in the classroom from real-life interactions between teachers and students) with traditional school data systems (grades, content, attendance, disciplinary referrals, etc.). The resulting insights help administrators to better manage their schools in real time. (See attached backgrounder on Classcraft 2018 achievements and milestones.)

The 2018 Ed Tech Innovation Showcase will honor the important and relevant work done by edtech startups within education and the role they play in driving technology and education innovation forward. Selected companies, including Classcraft, will have an opportunity to demonstrate their new, innovative products, solutions and/or services directly to industry leaders, decision-makers, and funding sources.

Classcraft Media/Interview Opportunities (at the Ravel Hotel, 8-08 Queens Plaza South
Long Island City, NY 11101):

• Tuesday, November 27, at 5 pm, Young will be recognized during the Innovation Showcase and reception in the rooftop lounge (5-7pm).
• Wednesday, November 28 at 9 am, Young will participate in a CEO Panel to share perspectives on small, medium, and large business edtech startups (9-10 am).
• Wednesday, November 28 at 10:15 am, ETIN and StartEd will co-host the 2018 Business Forum’s Ed Tech Innovative Showcase to honor Classcraft in a session entitled “Hot EdTech Tools.” During this event, Young will demonstrate and discuss Classcraft tools used by teachers, students, and school administrators.

For interviews during, and in advance of, the event Nov. 27-28, contact: Barbara Webber at 443-534-9928 ([email protected])

"The Ed Tech Showcase is a rare opportunity for early-stage companies to demonstrate their innovative products in front of hundreds of ed tech leaders," said SIIA President Ken Wasch. "If there is a faster way to accelerate ed tech growth opportunities, I have yet to see it."

Classcraft's 2018 Achievements:

• The launch of Classcraft’s Engagement Management System (EMS), which gives school leaders completely new proprietary insights into students’ progress and well-being by measuring social emotional development and school climate in real time.
• Development of Classcraft Quests, a new authoring tool to create personalized, self-paced lessons for students, and the accompanying Marketplace, resulting in thousands of teachers collaborating on gamified and personalized lessons.
• Rutgers University analysis and positive assessment of Classcraft as a SEL (Social Emotional Learning) and PBIS (Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports) teaching tool.
• Awarded American Association of School Librarians 2018 Winner for Teaching and Learning, selected as EdTech Digest’s 2018 Games for Learning Solution, CODiE Awards 2018 Finalist for Best Game Based Curriculum Solution, and Common Sense Media’s Top Pick for Learning (Best Classroom-Management Apps and Best Student-Collaboration Tool).
• Reaching a milestone of 6 million users in more than 75 countries worldwide.

In 2018, in order to expand its partnerships, Classcraft launched the Quests Marketplace, a community-based, Netflix-style center where teachers can share lessons they’ve created, which transforms a teacher’s existing lesson plans into self-paced, interactive learning adventures for students. The Marketplace also includes free curriculum content from partners such as Google Classroom, LRNG, Discovery Educator Network, and Newsela. To date, teachers have produced and shared 125,000 lessons.

The education technology startup, Classcraft, announced in August 2017 that it had closed a round of early-stage venture capital funding, securing $3.5 million to scale the platform.

About Classcraft

Founded in 2013 by brothers Shawn and Devin Young and their father Lauren Young, Classcraft is a Quebec- and New York City-based education technology company that uses gaming principles to address student motivation. By blending students’ physical and virtual learning, the platform reframes their progress in school as a game they play together. Using collaboration and play to build more empathetic and fun classroom culture, the game rewires existing social dynamics and facilitates a supportive environment where students thrive.

Media Contact

Classcraft
Barbara Webber​, Public Relations Manager
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 443-534-9928