Why Investors Are Going Back To School

John O'Connor / StateImpact Florida

The exhibit hall at FETC, an annual education technology conference in Orlando.

Marketplace, the daily business news show from American Public Media, is launching a new series on education technology.

The U.S. education market is worth $2 trillion, Adriene Hill reports.

The first story takes a look at where venture capitalists are spending their money. Some are investing in projects like Remind101, which lets teachers send out mass reminders for homework, field trips and any other deadlines.

Remind101 is representative of a power shift towards teachers. In the old days, a salesman would make his or her pitch to the top of the school food chain. Now, teachers can discover and experiment with apps on their own.

But some worry a lot of money is being invested in projects with a lot of sizzle that are really just converting old teaching methods to a new technology.

Florida lawmakers have required schools deliver half of all classroom lessons digitally by the start of classes in 2015. That means schools are preparing right now for the switch. That could mean schools give laptops or tablets to every student, add interactive whiteboards or projectors to classrooms and bulk up Internet capacity and speed.

Read the full story here and follow the series at Marketplace.