What does it take to create digital learning that is truly for everyone? In this episode of Edtech Connect, host Jeff Dillon sits down with Dipesh Jain, Vice President of Revenue at Magic EdTech, a company with a 35-year mission to make learning accessible and transformative.
Dipesh shares his unique journey from physical therapist to tech leader and how that background shapes his empathetic, partner-first approach to client relationships. They dive into the critical challenges facing education today—from boosting student retention with modern platforms to navigating the urgent demands of accessibility compliance.
Dipesh offers a clear-eyed view on implementing ethical AI that serves real student needs, not just parlor tricks, and explains how his team is making static video content interactive and on-demand. For anyone invested in the future of inclusive, global education, this conversation is a masterclass in mission-driven innovation.
Key Takeaways
- Mission Over Transaction: The key to long-term partnerships (some lasting 15-20 years) is treating clients as true partners, not customers. This means acting as an extension of their team, understanding their deepest challenges with empathy, and focusing on delivering results that advance their educational mission.
- Accessibility and Ethical AI are Non-Negotiable Pillars: Digital learning must be built accessibly from the start, not retrofitted later due to compliance mandates. Similarly, AI implementation in education must prioritize safety, security, and reliability over being "cutting-edge," ensuring it serves the core mission of learning without bias.
- Innovation Must Be Incremental and Inclusive: Disruptive, large-scale innovation can leave learners behind. Effective change in education is slow, sequential, and designed to bring all students along, regardless of their resources or digital literacy. This ensures equity and prevents a wider digital divide.
- Solve Real Friction Points, Don't Just Chase AI Hype: The best AI applications solve specific, high-friction problems in the user journey. Examples include providing 24/7 academic support for adult learners or using AI to audit and remediate content for accessibility deadlines, moving beyond "parlor tricks" to tools with substantial impact.
- Understand the "Why" Behind the User: Deeply understanding the user persona—including their daily frustrations, life circumstances, and goals—is the foundation for aligning sales, marketing, and product development. This user-centric focus is crucial for creating solutions that genuinely improve engagement and retention for both traditional and non-traditional students.
- AI is Making Learning Bidirectional and Personalizable at Scale: Two of AI's most transformative roles are turning passive, unidirectional content (like videos) into interactive learning experiences and finally enabling true personalization for each individual learner, a feat that was impossible to achieve at scale in a traditional classroom setting.
Find Dipesh Jain here:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dj17/
Magic Edtech
And find EdTech Connect here:
Web: https://edtechconnect.com/
Chapters
- (00:00:00) - EdTech Connect: A Wealth of Knowledge in EdTech
- (00:02:27) - Jeff Smith on His Diversity of Career
- (00:03:26) - How Magic Edtech Works With Its Customers
- (00:05:20) - How Magic Leap helps clients navigate the shift towards AI and accessible digital
- (00:08:12) - What is MagicBox
- (00:09:37) - In the Elevator With Universities
- (00:11:39) - What is Inclusivity in Education?
- (00:14:30) - How are we building AI into our product?
- (00:16:01) - How Can Tech Companies Tackle Digital Transformation Challenges?
- (00:17:26) - How To Align Sales and Marketing Functions
- (00:18:30) - WSJD.com Understanding the University Customer
- (00:20:15) - How has your previous experience at Tally Solutions and other companies shaped
- (00:21:08) - The future of digital learning
- (00:22:34) - Magic EdTech: Tailoring Our Strategy for International Markets
- (00:24:06) - What Excites and Scares You About the Future of Learning
- (00:25:58) - EdTech Connect
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