About Beta Ascent
We empower students by enhancing digital curricula. In the sport of climbing, beta is advice on how to navigate a specific route or solve a climbing problem. This uniquely captures what we are about – providing guidance to learners and letting them practice the learning goal until they are able to complete the task with confidence.
About the Founder
Richard Monke, PhD, earned his doctorate in Education with a Specialization in Instructional Design for Online Learning. With a research background in formative assessment, he founded Beta Ascent to bring a more engaging, empathetic approach to digital education curricula.
Richard has spent his entire career designing digital interactives. As a higher education professor, he developed interactive Wolfram demonstrations to promote engagement and conceptual understanding in online learning. He has also led several K12 EdTech companies in engineering accessible Geogebra applets which were integrated in Learnosity to create robust, authentic assessments. With an eye toward the future, he sees H5P as the next generation of interactives that will bring formative assessment to students.