How can you make your EdTech product scalable and easily adopted by schools?

Most of the edtech solutions for schools portray as a replacement for teachers in their brand communication or value proposition. One must be choosy with words..The edtech solution is a tool or aid not a replacement. To start with one has to focus on this before entering the market aggressively.

A value proposition which clearly addresses a viable gap is necessary . The viability is not just size of available market but a clear function of culture and adoption ease of the intended use case . Don’t assume a look alike market in defining the objective, as education as a market is a highly segmented approach of delivery , discovery and dedicated access of resources (in no specific standard baseline and geographic agnosticism). Focus on: 1. The analog that finds scale via the platform/tool/API 2. The digital data point which validates a learning objective 3. Curation of information via branding which makes it equivalent to selecting a competitive discourse (specially in a market like ours that spells survival of the fittest)

In my experience, there are numerous factors to consider in making an edtech product scalable and 'easily' adopted by schools. Understanding the school's needs is a key factor to consider and this will vary according to demographic data like type (private, public), locality (urban, rural), phase (Foundation, primary or secondary), user type (teacher, learner, or admin), and financial status (free, paid and sponsored) - which can also be expanded to who is the end-user/beneficiary and who is the paying customer.

Not all EdTech companies do a good job of explaining their value. They often bury potential customers with features and jargon. This would be very helpful, since not all potential buyers have time to spend an extended amount of time to understand the faculty that would benefit from the product. At the same time, EdTech companies would benefit from knowing the most pressing problems at each school and school district.

In the post-pandemic era, a comprehensive perspective on educational technology is crucial. Active involvement and virtual comprehension are essential for effective delivery. Enhancing lecture formats and encouraging frequent discussions are key to addressing students' problems and promoting active participation in virtual settings. Advancements in technology offer new methodologies.

EdTech could benefit by marketing itself to school and learning communities by focusing on the essential standards. Each state holds a different sent of standards set by the local Department of Education (or board of directors). By focusing on the most essential learning objectives, the EdTech market expands it’s reach across regions and international schools.

Standardization takes a long time to put in place, and once in place impose a structure, like the width of railroad tracks, that can be very difficult to change. Innovation comes when people are free to create. Some standards are very helpful like LTI and others have unstated problems that just get in the way like the CMI model. With all the great promise of xAPI, it's biggest adoption is as a language model for SCORM. It doesn't move the bar and we're still stuck in the CMI model.

Aligning EdTech with Educational Standards is a Must for Success. EdTech must align with curriculum, assessment, and accreditation standards. For instance, a math app adhering to Common Core standards ensures relevance and efficacy in U.S. classrooms. Similarly, language learning platforms like Duolingo and LingoCircle align with CEFR guidelines, providing globally recognized benchmarks. This alignment guarantees that technology enhances, rather than disrupts, the educational process. It aids in seamless integration, meaningful assessments, and accreditation. For EdTech to be truly impactful, it must reflect and support the frameworks shaping education today.

En effet, s'aligner sur les normes en vigueur est un impératif pour la formulation d'une solution éducative basée sur les technologies numériques. La période de COVID 19 a entraîné une vague de digitalisation de la formation et de l'enseignement dans tous les secteurs de l'éducation, il faudra analyser les dispositifs qui ont été déployés, les procédures et les acteurs institutionnels qui devront intervenir dans la conception ou la validation des contenus éducatifs

The biggest challenge in aligning technology and resources to academic standards/competencies is that it is a moving target - these proficiencies evolve over time. It's critical for the industry to embrace a consistent format to publish these standards and align digital curriculum. The Competencies & Academic Standards Exchange (CASE) as defined by 1EdTech provides such a framework to effectively import academic standards and competencies from issuing organizations and align curriculum accordingly. Adopting a consistent format for standards and competencies enables uniform reporting across various levels, including state, district, regional, and national levels.

Accessibility should not be negotiable, especially when it comes to schools choosing the tools they use. It should be one of the top priorities during the assessment process. When creating tools for students with disabilities, it is important to remember that improving the user experience for these students often results in better experiences for all students. Therefore, creation tools should provide multiple ways for students to input their knowledge and creativity.

Yes and No here. EdTech needs to be fostering ways to make technology more interconnectable. I want to use system A with system B, and I just want it to work and not have to deal with technical support. If A is my core tech, such as LMS, I want that tech to be able to connect with other tech where that other tech are lightbulbs for my LMS lamp. Now that light bulb to be used in my LMS Lamp darn better cover the details this section outlines as long as it is relevant. For example, a course on driving a car probably does not need to deal with accessibility issues for folks who are legally blind and will never drive.

Echoing Katie’s contribution and elevating the importance of honoring participatory design processes when creating and developing tools through a lens of access, equity and inclusion. Gaining insights and feedback from the users you are designing for is invaluable to the iterative process as well as the impact that will be made by the tool or product itself.

The accessibility and inclusivity features that I consider when designing learning using LMS or digital books are; visual that offer color contrast options, text-to-speech functionality, and alternative text descriptions for images and graphics. Auditory: Provide transcripts for audio content, adjustable audio playback speed, and closed captioning support. Learning styles by offering gamified elements, interactive exercises, and differentiated learning pathways. Culturally Sensitive Content: Avoid stereotypes and ensure language and themes are appropriate for a global audience. Feedback and Support: Provide feedback and ensure support resources are available in multiple formats.

In my experience, EdTech tools target too narrow a set of teachers. It might be based on their user research, but rarely do I find a product that is used by a whole school. It is a UI/UX experience issue. There are at least a dozen teacher personas if you think about the grade level and subject of each teacher and their opinion of technology in the classroom. EdTech companies need to have an interface that suits a broad range of teachers.

Performance & Usability are Non-Negotiables in EdTech For EdTech, performance and usability are crucial. These tools must work seamlessly across varied environments, devices, and networks. High performance ensures consistent, reliable learning experiences, crucial in diverse educational settings. Usability is key for engaging students and educators, reducing the learning curve and increasing adoption. EdTech must be intuitive and responsive, catering to different tech proficiencies and infrastructures. This adaptability and user-friendliness are vital for effective learning in our digital age.

Data interoperability is key here as well. EdTech tools should utilize industry standards like LTI and OneRoster for data integration to make it easier for teachers to jump into using a tool with minimal configuration. This also ensures that EdTech tools are meeting district standards related to data sharing.

Engage the practitioners (teachers) meaningfully, deeply, and constantly while developing the purpose and functionality of the product.

I believe a well-designed UI/UX can significantly enhance students' engagement, motivation, and learning outcomes of an EdTech product. I always cater for incorporating user-centric design principles, such as intuitive interfaces, personalized learning paths, and engaging interactive elements. UI elements such as colors, font style, icons, animation, and similar other visual elements. UX focuses on how students interact with the edtech platform and learning materials. Effective UX design promotes students' engagement by incorporating elements such as leaderboards and point scale, and multimedia content such as authentic videos which keep learners motivated.

Usuabilidade e uma experiência fácil e intuitiva facilitam muito na adaptação do cliente. Garantir também que seja de fácil manutenção para tornar o uso recorrente e indispensável auxiliará na manutenção de carteira de clientes.

Training is the Achilles Heal of Edtech products. Even if the product is free, it takes significant effort to master the product and redesign the curriculum to maximize it. The product needs to be easy for teachers to get started and then discover additional capabilities over time. Too many features can be an impediment to adoption.

En effet, il est toujours important de prévoir un dispositif de formation pour l'appropriation de l'EdTech. Des ateliers peuvent constituer la modalité la plus efficace pour faciliter l'appropriation des pratiques mais les didacticiels avec des visuels peuvent également être très efficaces car ils permettront la répétition pour les apprenants, ce qui est très important pour la prise en main d'une nouvelle technologie

The adoption of EdTech platforms is possible if and only if it is user friendly and approachable. Interactive design system keeps the learners and target audience intact and there will be a scope for improvising the platform based on the feedbacks. An user expects support from the administrator and ultimately product satisfaction.

Providing comprehensive support and training is crucial for successful EdTech adoption, especially in my context of EFL/ES. One of the most challenging issues is the use of technology in English language teaching for teachers with limited experience. Here are some specific ideas on how to achieve this: Creating short, engaging video tutorials that demonstrate key features and functionalities of the EdTech product. Hosting webinars and live Q&A sessions to address common user questions and features of the EdTech product. Offering online or F2F workshops focusing on integrating the EdTech product into the curriculum and maximizing its learning potential. Developing guides and activities for the EdTech product.

Time is extremely limited for educators so there is a high barrier of entry to get them to invest their time into learning a new EdTech product. The success of a product really boils down to 1) is this product easy to use out of gate and 2) is it going to save me time or effort relatively quickly. I would highly recommend investing the time and money to train a small set of educators on the product and then hiring them to develop the support materials from the educator's perspective.

In our context of network of schools, we found it valuable to create collaborative learning spaces. These spaces were managed by “Ambassadors” who are enthusiastic educators who can advocate for the benefits of the EdTech products. It is guided by regular feedback mechanisms to provide feedback on the product. This becomes more tangible than normal professional development sessions and creates more stakeholders who are invested in the success of the implementation of the product.

In the education sector, cultivating relationships with customers, partners, and influencers is key to gaining trust and visibility. Engaging with educators and institutions builds a customer base grounded in trust. Collaborating with partners, like curriculum developers, enhances product credibility and reach. Leveraging influencers, such as thought leaders in education, amplifies visibility and endorsement. Duolingo’s collaboration with schools and Quizlet’s partnership with teachers exemplify this strategy. These networks are vital for establishing a respected and recognized presence in the competitive education landscape.

A importância de ter um curso ou um jogo online no contexto EdTech (Tecnologia Educacional) reside na capacidade de combinar tecnologia inovadora com metodologias de ensino eficazes para proporcionar uma experiência de aprendizagem mais envolvente, flexível e acessível. EdTechs permitem personalizar o aprendizado às necessidades individuais, facilitando o acesso aos conteúdos educacionais de qualidade a qualquer hora e lugar, além de incentivar o desenvolvimento de habilidades digitais críticas na era moderna. Além disso, eles têm o potencial de transformar a educação, tornando-a mais interativa e adaptável às diversas formas de aprender de cada estudante.

Establish a platform for teachers to collaborate and exchange valuable insights and experiences regarding the adoption of the tool. This will enable them to overcome any challenges and learn from successful implementations, fostering a strong community of practice.

Redes. Lembre dessa palavra sempre que pensar em escalar sua EdTech. A chave é sustentação. Formar uma rede de conexões genuínas que proporcionem o crescimento saudável. Ouça, dê voz a pessoa usuária, amplie o grau de liberdade, promova comunidades e aprendizagem livre. Aliando estratégias adequadas ao contexto da sua EdTech tenho fé de que vai ter sucesso.

As edtechs precisam compreender a real necessidade e dinâmica de vida dia a dia dos usuários. Tratá-los personalizáveis para que o usuário tenha uma experiência positiva com o estudar.

It important to understand the underlying technology used. For example, if the technology is AI based, how protected is your IP really. Your actual IP may be protected but the logic behind the process is exposed during screening for things like pornography and terrorism. That logic might be accessible and be used for development of other products and services. Likewise if technology is highly proprietary or open source you have to consider how it will be supported, maintained and enhanced. I favor focusing on connectivity and letting the market place decide winners and losers.

To create an edtech product that is scalable and embraced by schools, start by conducting problem interviews with various stakeholders such as school agents, students, tutors, administrators, and parents. Identify challenges, problems, and gaps that the edtech solution can address. Additionally, perform solution interviews to ensure the product aligns with the specifications and expectations of those involved in education.

Based on my experience in the EdTech industry, to enhance any new EdTech product adoption. Firstly, provide onboarding training sessions to familiarize the users with the tool's features and functionalities. Ensure the tool uses a friendly interface to minimize the complexity and make it easily accessible and integrable with the existing LMS. Most importantly, offer engaging and interactive features that capture students' interest. Help the educators integrate it into their curriculum and assessments and advise them to give incentive grades to those students who actively use the EdTech tool. Provide usage reports and data analytics regularly to identify areas for improvement. Finally, remember to provide technical support channels.

Escalabilidade é diretamente relacionada a receita e custos. Você precisa distanciar-se dos custos para ampliar receita. Criar ecosistemas que automatizem processos, gerar padronizações e criar um ambiente simpoietico geram uma sinergia para o distanciamento dessa linha.