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I get extremely frustrated by the plethora of Edtech initiatives, all purporting to solve some problem but in reality simply making more work for teachers. In

I get extremely frustrated by the plethora of Edtech initiatives, all purporting to solve some problem but in reality simply making more work for teachers. In my school we have an MIS that seems to have evolved from an Access Database created in the 90s, that manages all student data, but has no API. We also have a VLE that was designed to look pretty, but offers almost no functionality and has a UI that is tortuous to use and actually lengthens the time it takes to mark work and record results. Every teacher I work with has a different way of operating. Some write assignments on the board and take in hard copies. Other's use the official VLE. Some use email or shared network drives, and others Edmodo or whatever platform is flavour of the month. Work is marked and fed back to students, and then inevitable placed in an Excel spreadsheet, exported as a CSV or transcribed into a paper mark book, only then to be then double entered into our MIS at a later date. The system is a mess, and every new Edtech tool I see just adds to the confusion - another URL to remember, another username, password, interface. I wonder how many Edtech startups have founders that were actual teachers, or bring teachers on board at an early stage. Judging by the tools on offer, I would guess that it's not many. There are a couple of exceptions. EdX, I think, is an amazing platform, but even though it is OpenSource, it is well beyond the capabilities of most schools to set up an in-house platform. Codecademy seem to genuinely want to engage with teachers (in the UK at least) but where are the Codecademy startups for Geography or French or Science. In my own teaching I find myself increasingly shunning new Edtech tools, and now barely bother clicking on the links I receive in my inbox every day. Until Edtech startups really engage with teachers, rather than just treating them as beta testers, I really don't see anything in the future other than increasing fragmentation and frustration.

fraserharris 12y ago
Check out Chalk.com - a "Google Apps for teachers". Has tens of thousands of teachers using it. Its free for a teacher to use. Schools can pay to enable collaboration features. Superficially it looks like a LMS, but usually exists alongside them. (i'm not affiliated, but have been impressed by the founder. They are bootstrapped)
mathattack 12y ago
Thank you for sharing this very important perspective. A lot of EdTech initiatives seem to neglect the variation in individual teaching. It seems like if you build a school around these tools, it could work a lot better than bolting on to existing schools. In that sense, charter schools may be good for experimenting with technology. The other observation - teachers are very busy. Each technology initiative takes time and attention. Reminds me of this Onion article. http://www.theonion.com/articles/magical-office-worker-able-to-turn-everything-he-t,36343/ http://www.theonion.com/articles/magical-office-worker-able-...
deleted 12y ago
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teachersuzy 12y ago
Marc I totally agree with you. I am a teacher from Ireland and now live in San Francisco. Thus I am surrounded by EdTech tools and products that claim to answer every problem they 'think' us teachers have! I am part of and see daily the frustration that teachers have being bombarded with tools clearly untouched by teachers and where teachers have never been asked for their opinion and have certainly never been engaged or approached in the early development stage. In response to this massive problem, I created a platform where EdTech developers can actually collaborate and share their products with our community of willing teachers. They get real time feedback and expert eyes on their products in the early stages. In your words, we hope that there will no longer be an excuse to not 'engage with teachers.' You can check out our site: http://tinkered.co http://tinkered.co We have 500 teachers onboard and they are taking on paid jobs for the summer to Tinker with new tools and take part in meaningful interviews and user testing studies. Their input leads to iterations of Edtech products that meet real classroom needs and solve real problems. It is a lot of fun and rewarding to both sides of the community, both teachers and EdTech entrepreneurs.
- rahimnathwani 12y ago
  "...EdTech tools and products that claim to answer every problem they 'think' us teachers have" "...both sides of the community, both teachers and EdTech entrepreneurs" Aren't students part of this community? Are EdTech companies trying to solve problems for teachers, or for students?
  - teachersuzy 12y ago
    Absolutely, if the teachers are user testing products with a live classroom they discuss student engagement, learning etc and also give student feedback to the developers too. "I was surprised how insightful my six year olds were." TinkerEd teacher. "My students loved that they got to share their ideas with a developer, they thought it was really cool." TinkerEd teacher.
  - jshute 12y ago
    I think the problem is a lack of understanding who the customer is. Many schools make centralized decisions: you either sell the school board or the IT department or both. The people stuck with the decision aren't the people you need to convince for a conversion. By the time teaching is happening, you are one level removed. By the time learning is happening (or not), you are two levels removed. If I were being adversarial and trying to design a system to achieve suboptimal results, this is the sales and feedback channel I would set up. This may be one of the most surprising innovations we've made at AltSchool; it's completely non-technical but running your own school lets you iterate on the metric that matters: learning.
megs_shah 12y ago
Hi everyone, I am not a teacher but have a lot of family and friends who are. I recently started a project with them, I would love to get your input on the project if you are willing? The design for the product is all done by help from teachers who used it to reduce their workloads in public schools not charters. Let me know if you would be interested to hear more or just provide very candid and honest feedback. You can check out the site http://www.kidhoo.co http://www.kidhoo.co, and if you are interested please send me a contact through the site and be sure to put YC comment board in the body of the contact. I really want your input so I hope to hear from you.
mikeleeorg 12y ago
I see a fair number of edtech startups really interested in teacher engagement and feedback, though they either: 1) Don't know how to get it 2) Only get it from only a handful of teachers that don't represent a wide range of teacher interests To be fair, I've seen the same problem in other industries too. In edtech, this problem is particularly noticeable because there's a new wave of edtech startups right now, driven by advances in web technology, decreased startup costs, and increased investor interest. This new wave has catapulted dozens upon dozens of new offerings, so it's very easy to get lost in the sea of choices. If it makes you feel any better, since markets tend to be cyclical, this expansion will eventually collapse and consolidate into fewer choices, I'd imagine. But back to edtech startups and teachers. It's hard for many founders to know how to find and engage with teachers meaningfully. Those that don't do it are doomed, IMO. For those that want to find out how, a handful of resources are rising up to fill this need, such as: + http://edtechhandbook.com/ http://edtechhandbook.com/ - A collection of informational articles. + https://www.edsurge.com/summits https://www.edsurge.com/summits - A series of conferences to bring teachers & startups together. + http://tinkered.co http://tinkered.co - A new teacher-created service to help startups employ teachers. If anyone else knows of others, please share!
- jshute 12y ago
  http://www.altschool.com http://www.altschool.com One way to get teacher engagement and feedback is to run your own schools, with your own teachers. Works like a charm. Disclaimer: I work there.
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]

fraserharris 12y ago

Check out Chalk.com - a "Google Apps for teachers". Has tens of thousands of teachers using it. Its free for a teacher to use. Schools can pay to enable collaboration features. Superficially it looks like a LMS, but usually exists alongside them. (i'm not affiliated, but have been impressed by the founder. They are bootstrapped)

mathattack 12y ago

Thank you for sharing this very important perspective. A lot of EdTech initiatives seem to neglect the variation in individual teaching. It seems like if you build a school around these tools, it could work a lot better than bolting on to existing schools. In that sense, charter schools may be good for experimenting with technology. The other observation - teachers are very busy. Each technology initiative takes time and attention. Reminds me of this Onion article. http://www.theonion.com/articles/magical-office-worker-able-to-turn-everything-he-t,36343/ http://www.theonion.com/articles/magical-office-worker-able-...

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

teachersuzy 12y ago

Marc I totally agree with you. I am a teacher from Ireland and now live in San Francisco. Thus I am surrounded by EdTech tools and products that claim to answer every problem they 'think' us teachers have! I am part of and see daily the frustration that teachers have being bombarded with tools clearly untouched by teachers and where teachers have never been asked for their opinion and have certainly never been engaged or approached in the early development stage. In response to this massive problem, I created a platform where EdTech developers can actually collaborate and share their products with our community of willing teachers. They get real time feedback and expert eyes on their products in the early stages. In your words, we hope that there will no longer be an excuse to not 'engage with teachers.' You can check out our site: http://tinkered.co http://tinkered.co We have 500 teachers onboard and they are taking on paid jobs for the summer to Tinker with new tools and take part in meaningful interviews and user testing studies. Their input leads to iterations of Edtech products that meet real classroom needs and solve real problems. It is a lot of fun and rewarding to both sides of the community, both teachers and EdTech entrepreneurs.

rahimnathwani 12y ago
"...EdTech tools and products that claim to answer every problem they 'think' us teachers have" "...both sides of the community, both teachers and EdTech entrepreneurs" Aren't students part of this community? Are EdTech companies trying to solve problems for teachers, or for students?
- teachersuzy 12y ago
  Absolutely, if the teachers are user testing products with a live classroom they discuss student engagement, learning etc and also give student feedback to the developers too. "I was surprised how insightful my six year olds were." TinkerEd teacher. "My students loved that they got to share their ideas with a developer, they thought it was really cool." TinkerEd teacher.
- jshute 12y ago
  I think the problem is a lack of understanding who the customer is. Many schools make centralized decisions: you either sell the school board or the IT department or both. The people stuck with the decision aren't the people you need to convince for a conversion. By the time teaching is happening, you are one level removed. By the time learning is happening (or not), you are two levels removed. If I were being adversarial and trying to design a system to achieve suboptimal results, this is the sales and feedback channel I would set up. This may be one of the most surprising innovations we've made at AltSchool; it's completely non-technical but running your own school lets you iterate on the metric that matters: learning.

megs_shah 12y ago

Hi everyone, I am not a teacher but have a lot of family and friends who are. I recently started a project with them, I would love to get your input on the project if you are willing? The design for the product is all done by help from teachers who used it to reduce their workloads in public schools not charters. Let me know if you would be interested to hear more or just provide very candid and honest feedback. You can check out the site http://www.kidhoo.co http://www.kidhoo.co, and if you are interested please send me a contact through the site and be sure to put YC comment board in the body of the contact. I really want your input so I hope to hear from you.

mikeleeorg 12y ago

I see a fair number of edtech startups really interested in teacher engagement and feedback, though they either: 1) Don't know how to get it 2) Only get it from only a handful of teachers that don't represent a wide range of teacher interests To be fair, I've seen the same problem in other industries too. In edtech, this problem is particularly noticeable because there's a new wave of edtech startups right now, driven by advances in web technology, decreased startup costs, and increased investor interest. This new wave has catapulted dozens upon dozens of new offerings, so it's very easy to get lost in the sea of choices. If it makes you feel any better, since markets tend to be cyclical, this expansion will eventually collapse and consolidate into fewer choices, I'd imagine. But back to edtech startups and teachers. It's hard for many founders to know how to find and engage with teachers meaningfully. Those that don't do it are doomed, IMO. For those that want to find out how, a handful of resources are rising up to fill this need, such as: + http://edtechhandbook.com/ http://edtechhandbook.com/ - A collection of informational articles. + https://www.edsurge.com/summits https://www.edsurge.com/summits - A series of conferences to bring teachers & startups together. + http://tinkered.co http://tinkered.co - A new teacher-created service to help startups employ teachers. If anyone else knows of others, please share!

jshute 12y ago
http://www.altschool.com http://www.altschool.com One way to get teacher engagement and feedback is to run your own schools, with your own teachers. Works like a charm. Disclaimer: I work there.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]