Professional Background:

Elliot Soloway is the Thurnau Professor at the University of Michigan and serves as the Principal Investigator for College Essentials K-12. With 40 years of expertise, he is applying his knowledge to scale advanced AI and digital learning technologies. His recent work focuses on bridging the “literacy parity” gap for students in under-resourced communities using proven, data-driven platforms.

Expertise and Impact:

• At College Essentials, Dr. Soloway is primarily implementing the Roadmaps Platform, a digital-first curriculum management system designed specifically for “Generation Alpha.” The platform uses AI voice supports and recording features to assist struggling readers, providing real-time accommodations during independent work. A recent efficacy study showed that students using Roadmaps achieved a 9-percentile-point gain in reading growth compared to those using traditional paper formats.
• In addition to his work on AI tools, Dr. Soloway’s research on “mobilism” advocates for using technology to enhance children’s intelligence rather than solely enhancing the intelligence of machines.
• Deeply Digital vs. Digitized: His research distinguishes between “digitized” content (static PDFs and videos) and “deeply-digital” curricula. The latter are interactive, collaborative, and presented as visual concept maps.
• Collabrify Tool Suite: He developed this suite to facilitate synchronous collaboration. It enables students, whether at home or in the classroom, to work together on the same digital documents in real-time.

Research Results:

• Title I Impact: Soloway has focused his research on Title I schools, where over 65% of students receive free or reduced-cost lunch. His research demonstrates that digital transformation can significantly improve outcomes for students from low-SES backgrounds.
• Digital Libraries: His earlier work explored the relationship between digital libraries and project-based science. He emphasized the importance of “driving questions” to engage middle and high school students in authentic inquiry.

Educational Background:

• B.A. in Philosophy, Ohio State University.
• M.S. in Computer and Information Science, University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
• Ph.D. in Computer and Information Science, University of Massachusetts, Amherst