Giving Compass' Take:

• Liz Boyles from Illinois writes for Education Dive and argues that when school leaders think of ways to improve tech tools, other districts and everyone collectively will also benefit as well. 

• Where do teachers fit into the bigger picture as more edtech tools will be added to the map? 

• Learn more about why educators are the best edtech innovators. 

The advent of technology in schools has provided overwhelming benefits for decades. We’ve witnessed the rise of learning management systems, student information systems, 1:1 technology, and much more. Very rarely do those technologies remain static, though — school leaders investigate the latest, greatest developments in ed tech before semesters even end.

At its core, better technology is great for education. After all, we should give our students the best resources available. But who guides the latest ed tech enhancements? It may seem like programmers and executives create the roadmaps — hoping their predictions about the next big education trend lead to popular improvements. But is that really the case?

I’ve laid out three reasons for education leaders to contribute ideas to their district’s technology.

  1. Validate ideas. By participating in research and feedback sessions, more practical improvements can be applied without the usual guesswork and contemplation from technology decision-makers.
  2. Make technology work for you. Sometimes helping make your technology more intuitive is most valuable. Consider taking five minutes to perform a usability test.
  3. Advance education. If you have an idea about something that could be improved, odds are other districts could benefit, too.

Read the full article about ed tech and educator input by Liz Boyles at Education Dive.