Why Ed-tech leaders need to cast their net wider?

Education conferences are a great way to share practice. It’s always insightful to see how other schools operate. At times it can be a validation of what you do at your school. Whether you are presenting or attending, most tend to be a worthwhile experience, even though for ed-tech leaders, they might not deliver the ‘bang per buck’ unless you count presenting and networking. That perhaps falls under the gamut of experience.

I wonder, though, what impact these have on the broader education technology space. Do the powers that be (i.e. tech makers) even listen in? Yes, some are present at these conferences but often in sales pitch mode. Some inquisitively jot down things, when suggested but very rarely anything comes out of them. Smaller developers tend to be more eager than the big ones.

​Often companies have their development roadmaps which are decided by developers rather than educators. Existing technology constraints and workflows guide these. A project manager or equivalent will determine what direction to go based on market penetration or even basic economics.

We need to cast the net wider, interact with industry, attend and present at their conferences to highlight issues and get them to innovate in a direction that benefits education rather than the bottom line. A lot of the tech industry events are often under represented by educators. Events like BETT (British Educational Training and Technology) show are rare in the international sector and often these are one-off events with very little follow up.

Establishing working relationships with the industry is crucial - one that goes beyond badges and the obligatory petition for the next feature set. A select few of us get actively involved in continuous working relationships with companies which involves consulting, beta testing, and piloting. This is the type of net that needs to be cast wider to ensure that we end up with an agile industry that responds to educators’ needs and, in turn, those of the learners.

Where do you start? Simple, shoot an email off to a vendor that you use and take it from there.