Whiteboard.fi – Sebastian Laxell
Whiteboard is an interactive whiteboard space designed to give students their own space to explore learning as designed by the instructor. The instructor has full visibility of each students’ work and can use it as formative assessment, and can also make it available to view for other students. The platform allows for uploading PDF’s for view and response, can set pacing for students or have students pace with instructor instructions, and perhaps the best feature for public institution teachers is that all data is deleted upon exit of the session.
Founder
Sebastian Laxell graduated with a Masters in Mathematics and began inventing immediately. He founded multiple companies that put out products in the EdTech universe all while teaching math. After five years of teaching he took a job as the IT Manager for the town of Raseborgs Stad. Whiteboard was launched in August of 2020 and was purchased by Kahoot in 2021 which indicates its overall value to the market. Without a full interview with Sebastian, I can only surmise that he indeed embodies the entrepreneurial spirit; a clear work ethic and drive to add to the educational community, evidenced by two more products listed as forthcoming on his company website.
I have used this tool in a variety of settings and think the tool provides a number of solutions for educators and the industry. There are similar platforms however the added features of Whiteboard, along with it’s security features (COPPA) make it easier to implement into public institutions.
https://youtu.be/SndH9RLIt1U
Thanks for sharing Kyle – it is interesting to see so many similar tech solutions packaged so differently – this platform seems like a perfect, and simple, solution to an extremely common problem in the classroom. I’d say that given the breadth of initiatives visible on Laxell’s portfolio, he certainly at minimum has a healthy initiative and work ethic! It seems like there is a marriage here between core foundational skills, such as math and coding, and educational function gaps, such as this collaborative platform that meets educational security requirements. Despite not having a bounty of information on Laxell, I would agree with your assessment that he is a good entrepreneurial role model.
Hi Kyle. I’ve tried Whiteboard.fi and enjoyed the interface and variety of options there were to express ideas as a classroom. Putting out products while teaching math obviously requires grit. It sounds like Laxell has been advancing consistently in his professional career, making inventions along the way to build himself up for future projects. Overall, Laxell seems to have a strong work ethic and looks like a promising role model for greenhorn entrepreneurs.
What inspired me about Laxell is the continuation of multiple initiatives throughout his publicized life, and this is what I think makes a great entrepreneur. Anyone that can carry on multiple different ideas, concepts or products and using lessons learned from each across each initiative as needed is a key characteristic of a successful entrepreneur. Laxell marks an interesting point for educators alike as he successfully made the transition from teaching to development, and reminds us the importance of having educators in all fields in order to increase collaboration that ultimately leads to more usable products and services available to the education industry.