The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has contributed $2 million in funding to a Facebook application with the hope that it will help improve postsecondary education graduation rates in the U.S.
Inigral’s Schools App creates a closed community of students within Facebook’s platform. Retro Venture Partners and Founders Fund also contributed to what totaled to a $4 million round of Series B funding.
About 11 schools use customized versions of the app, which Inigral’s CEO and founder Michael Staton describes as “a cross between Yammer and Twitter.” Essentially, each student gets access to two real-time streams. One provides updates from everyone at the school. The other contains updates that only pertain to topics the student has indicated she or he is interested in. Students can join groups and interact without friending other participants.
The Schools App offers an appealing value proposition for schools, a likely payout for investors, and an intriguing experiment for organizations, like the Gates Foundation, that are focused on improving graduation rates
Inigral’s Schools App creates a closed community of students within Facebook’s platform. Retro Venture Partners and Founders Fund also contributed to what totaled to a $4 million round of Series B funding.
About 11 schools use customized versions of the app, which Inigral’s CEO and founder Michael Staton describes as “a cross between Yammer and Twitter.” Essentially, each student gets access to two real-time streams. One provides updates from everyone at the school. The other contains updates that only pertain to topics the student has indicated she or he is interested in. Students can join groups and interact without friending other participants.
The Schools App offers an appealing value proposition for schools, a likely payout for investors, and an intriguing experiment for organizations, like the Gates Foundation, that are focused on improving graduation rates
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