Our Beginnings
Created by educators, Jetlag Learning is focused on innovative online learning. Founded in 2019 by Derek Luebbe, Jetlag Learning is based in Hendersonville, NC.
Read Our Origin Story
Whereas most companies stem from an idea that was developed in someone's garage, Jetlag Learning's development might be traced back to passport stamps and Skype calls. As an international educator for 25 years in American-accredited schools in Egypt, Taiwan, China, and Hungary, founder Derek Luebbe took his classroom experience and gradually turned it into the interactive platforms you see today.
As an economics teacher, Derek wanted to teach investing through some of the popular simulations at the time, allowing students to use fictional money to purchase shares in companies. Frustrated with the fact that he felt students were just throwing darts on a board and not really understanding investing, he started a paper and pencil simulation of his own by allowing each student to create his/her own company. Those companies entered a classroom stock market, and then each student – with fictional investment dollars – could buy and sell shares in each other's company. With a burst of activity, students not only wanted to hand in their "buy" or "sell" slips, but they also started changing their company's business plan in an attempt to prove to others that their ideas had merit.
The future of learning will be more purposeful and interactive.
It was the power of that interactive learning experience stuck with Derek, and he knew that he had tapped into a much more dynamic model of learning (if only he could get it programmed). In 2011, Jetlag launched its first product, simCEO (Class Economy Online).
From there, simCEO won the SIIA award in 2013 as the Most Innovative Ed Tech start up, and continues being used in 1000s of classrooms in over 50 countries. A few of those users sparked an idea that was even bigger…
Through conversations with users, it became clear that some classrooms were less interested in the interactive stock market, and more interested in the broader concept that students could create solutions (business plans) and then give each other feedback on those solutions. They were frustrated by the current model of (online) education that simply advocated knowledge and recall – most visibly seen in the repetitive videos and quizzes that their students were experiencing. They wanted creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration. They wanted their students to learn more like the real world. Those conversations led to something much bigger.
And so, in 2020, from his laptop in Shanghai (and in the midst of the beginnings of Covid!) – and via the laptops of teammates around the world – the idea for Huddle Up took shape.
After initial pilot testing, we feel confident that the world in the 21st century is ready to move beyond the passive learning model of videos and quizzes. We look forward to the impact that Huddle Up will have to help change online learning for individuals and organizations through a more purposeful, interactive experience.
Our Mission
Our Values
We think big to transform learning.
We are guided by the research into Social Learning, Game-Based Learning and Problem-Based
Learning to create new models that better mirror the real world.
We believe in models where:
Who we are
Derek Luebbe
Founder / CEOHe now calls Hendersonville, NC home and loves spending time with his family, pretending he can still play sports, a good beer and (his favorite memory from 2020, pictured above) helping his mom play her first game fo frisbee golf.
Barry Johnson
Technology / EducationWhen Barry is not experimenting with cooking or watching the Green Bay Packers, he can disappear for hours at a time on what he calls "leisurely bike rides."
Dave Anderson
Business Development