Fishtree

Fishtree, an educational technology company, was established in 2012 by co-founders Terry Nealon (CEO) and Jim Butler (CTO). Drawing from his background in publishing and EdTech, Nealon envisioned a smarter platform to enhance learning for both students and educators. Butler, an accomplished CTO with over two decades in the tech sector and a B.Sc. in Applied Physics, spearheaded the development of the machine learning-based platform. The company was originally founded in Dublin, Ireland, and later relocated its headquarters to Arlington, VA, to focus on the U.S. market.

The firm operates in the K-12, higher education, and corporate training markets, providing an adaptive learning platform designed to scale one-to-one instruction. Fishtree's business model centers on its software that can be used as a standalone learning environment or integrated with existing legacy platforms to make them adaptive. The platform streamlines course creation, automates the alignment of content to educational standards or competencies, and personalizes the learning experience for each user. It uses machine learning to analyze student engagement in real-time, identify knowledge gaps, and then automatically provide differentiated resources to support individual learning needs. This process helps educators save time on lesson planning while providing deep insights into student progress and curriculum efficacy.

In July 2018, Fishtree was acquired by Follett School Solutions, a major distributor of educational materials and technology. The acquisition aimed to integrate Fishtree's AI-driven tools into Follett's Destiny content and resource management platform, which is utilized by over 70,000 schools and districts. Following the acquisition, Nealon took on a leadership role for the initiative within Follett, continuing to advance the vision of making personalized learning more accessible for educators and students globally. The technology developed by Fishtree became the foundation for Follett's MyDestiny product.

Keywords: adaptive learning, personalized learning, K-12 education technology, higher education technology, corporate training platform, machine learning in education, learning analytics, competency-based learning, curriculum management, educational software, student engagement, digital learning, online learning platform, Follett School Solutions, MyDestiny, Terry Nealon, Jim Butler, learning relationship management, OER integration, standards alignment