Dive Brief:

• Dr. Michael Fullan, a Canadian educational researcher and the former dean of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), has been selected to sit on the board of Edsby, a cloud-based K-12 learning management system.
• Fullan is a recipient of the Order of Canada in recognition of his efforts in education reform, academia, and advisement to governments, and he also wrote "Great to Excellent: Launching the Next Stage of Ontario's Education Agenda" while serving as special adviser to the premier of Ontario.
• Edsby was attracted to Fullan because of his writings on coordinated leadership for creating meaningful educational change, as well as the fact that he has worked with education teams across the globe.

Dive Insight:

Bringing someone like Fullan on board not only boosts Edsby's ability to improve its products, but some would argue it also further validates the company's status as a quality tool for schools.  It is, of course, important to remember that names only go so far. Just because you have a brilliant person on your board does not suddenly change the product, ensuring that a product matches the direction and knowledge of board members is key. Additionally, as is noted by the The Silicon Valley Education Foundation (SVEF), it's not enough to just get feedback or advice on a product. Taking it to the next level requires diligence to find out if it's effective.

That said, the platform has reportedly seen success in U.S. districts thus far.