A new app called ScrollEd can turn text files, including PDFs and textbooks, into a vertical learning feed that works similarly to Instagram Reels or TikTok.
Instead of presenting users with long pages of text, the app converts the material into AI-generated videos, audio, text, and interactive quizzes. Users swipe up to move to a new topic or sideways to explore the current topic in greater depth. A quiz appears at the end of each section.
The idea is to address declining attention for longer educational material by changing what people scroll through rather than trying to stop them from scrolling altogether.
Who is Behind ScrollEd?
ScrollEd is a Palo Alto-based startup founded and bootstrapped this year by Utsav Gupta and his wife and co-founder Rebecca Neff. The pair started working on the project after both noticed they felt dissatisfied after doomscrolling before bed.
Both founders are students. Gupta studies AI and human purpose at Stanford, while Neff studies computer science at the University of Pennsylvania.
Learning Through a Vertical Feed
Gupta told TechCrunch that younger users are increasingly accustomed to short-form, vertical feeds, particularly the 18-year-olds the company has spoken with. He said this creates problems for media and educational content that require deeper attention.
Gupta said the app aims to meet users where they already are while deliberately avoiding the approach of maximizing engagement for its own sake.
He added that a short video can make someone curious about a subject, but users often have to search elsewhere for more information. ScrollEd instead tries to make moving deeper into a subject as simple as moving to another short video.
Free Feed With Pro Subscription
The app is designed for individual users, educational institutions, and corporate training programs. Gupta described the consumer audience as people who want “something better to scroll on.”
ScrollEd uses a freemium model. It offers a free consumer feed alongside a paid ScrollEd Pro subscription and annual licenses for institutions.
Educational institutions and other organizations can pay to distribute learning material through the platform. ScrollEd then provides reports covering engagement, lesson progress, and other data.
The company is also developing infrastructure that could eventually allow educators to assess individual learners and adapt educational material according to their needs.
Launch Coming Soon
Over the coming months, ScrollEd plans to focus on launching its consumer service, expanding its lesson library, developing its source-checking workflow and running pilot programs with institutions.
The company plans to launch its consumer business at TechCrunch Disrupt, which will take place from October 13 to 15 in downtown San Francisco. Gupta joked that the company hopes to “disrupt” social media and short-form content.
Gupta said the longer-term ambition is to create “a social network that’s better for you.”
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