CAN WE MAKE PURCHASING CLASSROOM TECH MORE LIKE BUYING A CAR?

Right now teachers in classrooms across this country are introducing new technology into their classrooms. Everywhere. Thousands of teachers. By the end of the year, each of these teachers will be an expert on that particular tool and how to best implement it in her classroom. And hardly anyone else will benefit from this knowledge and expertise. What if we were able to harness the knowledge and expertise of individual educators to benefit the larger ecosystem?

My visit in September to Drexel University’s ExCITe Center was a welcome opportunity to share how we can better use evidence to make decisions about identifying, implementing, and evaluating education technology. The current system is broken. Schools nationwide are spending over $13 billion in K-12 alone and have little idea if any of it works and in what context. In a financial climate where funding for schools is shrinking, we can’t afford to spend this kind of money blindly.