Knewton is an education technology startup that, by some accounts, have firmly begun the battle for mind-share in US educational technology. However, how much of its approach is actually known? This is what we knew, and still know.

Not everybody five years ago said adaptive learning was going to be the big deal. Knewton became a quintessential datum of the time, personalizing education for every student individually. US educators were looking for better tools, and in no time at all they knew Knewton could analyze a students strengths and weaknesses.

Teachers excited about the promise of Knewton — lessons tailored to each learner — were all with you. It also meant students in US classrooms learned improvements almost immediately, aided by the real-time feedback.

Why Knewton worked when everyone else failed? They knew how to leverage big data in education. The more places in the US which learned about Knewton, the broader its reach became.

Looking back on what we knew, it’s clear that Knewton made the technology change students and teachers relationship to content. As illustrated by Knewton, adaptive learning has enormous power when implemented with the right tools available, as has been seen at larger scales in the US.