Frog Education
What do you think will be the main things we'll be seeing in ed tech in 2018?
This year, it's got to be about getting more from less. It’s no secret that school budgets are pinched, so it’s essential for schools to be able to see to how the edtech available to them can both enhance teaching and learning, and reduce costs.
There will be a bigger focus on 'what are we getting from this product?’ It’s not good enough any more to just buy a new tech solution each year, if they’re not being properly implemented. Schools will want to know what the measurable outcomes are, and have already started to ask tough questions like, ‘would our teachers/children be any worse off if we didn't have this product?'
We’re also likely to see an increase in tech that helps to automate time consuming, manual processes. Being able to automate or computerise these processes will help to save time and cost to schools, so there’s likely to be an increase in suppliers wanting to tackle this.
What do you think will be the main ed tech challenges in 2018?
In recent years, the digital revolution that’s been taking place in our classrooms has led to great technological leaps in facilitating better teaching and learning. However with all these new gadgets and tools shouting for attention, schools are having to work harder than ever to cut through the noise, and ensure their budgets are being spent on the right edtech solutions, not just the newest ones. This is what I think the edtech industry will need to be able to demonstrate to schools; how they can help save schools money and time, streamline processes and generally make teachers’ lives easier, without having to rely on having multiple different pieces of edtech to do so.
Ultimately, savvy suppliers should realise it’s about helping schools spend more efficiently, and ensuring all technology has a demonstrable outcome on teaching and learning.
Stand: C70