The past couple school years have been filled with massive disruptions that have fueled a new wave of investment in educational technology. EdTech solutions filled crucial roles in allowing schools to continue offering instruction despite many uncertainties.
The surge in new technology tools has had some challenges, though: often, teachers bore the brunt of learning, rolling out, and then teaching students how to use new devices, apps, and tools. And administrators bore the burden of showing teachers that the benefits were worth the effort.
Given this, we understand that teachers and administrators alike may feel a sense of tech burnout. The idea of implementing yet another new tech solution is exhausting, if not overwhelming.
Yet it’s clear that the future of classroom instruction involves more tech, not less. There are plenty of tools already on the market that actively aim to serve educators and schools. We’ve already reviewed plenty of them on our blog (like in 20 Classroom Technology Tools You Might Not Know).
What’s less often discussed is how and when to implement new technology tools in schools and classrooms.
Read on for our guide on how to do it right! And listen to this episode of EdTech Heroes to see how teachers can maximize tech stacks!
While we’re definitely all in on EdTech in the classroom (we are an EdTech company, after all!), implementation must be handled carefully. Technology can greatly aid teachers and students, but technology run amok can hinder more than it helps.
Teachers and administrators should be aware of these five considerations as they consider bringing any new tech tool, platform, service, or device into classrooms.
First, how familiar is the typical student or teacher with the type of technology resource you’re considering introducing?
If students and teachers have existing experience with a particular technology, it may take less time to get the new resource up and running. You may also notice better adoption of a tool that’s at least somewhat familiar than with something totally outside students’ and teachers’ experiences.
To be clear, this isn’t to say you should never introduce an unfamiliar technology resource. Otherwise, EdTech adoption would never make any progress. The classroom ought to be a place of learning, and students need familiarity with the types of tools they’ll use in future careers.
The point here is that, before implementing new classroom technology, you should consider how familiar or unfamiliar that educational technology will be (to teachers and students alike). Don’t introduce too many unfamiliar tools too quickly, and be sure to provide appropriate training for any new tool introduced.
Many educational tech tools promise to reduce time, increase efficiency, improve student learning outcomes, and so on. What they don’t focus on in their slick marketing materials is what it’s going to take to fully integrate the new tool or service.
But decision-makers must evaluate the time, cost, and learning curve that come with fully integrating something new.
Then, beyond the initial setup and integration costs (time⏱ and money 💵 ), there’s also a question of genuine, long-term usefulness:
Related: Watch below to see how tech consolidation combats tech fatigue for teachers.
