Using edtech tools has almost become a necessity. Modern learning styles need the support of technology in order to deliver impactful learning to students.
This year, when social distancing suddenly became an absolute necessity, the importance of edtech tools became critical to education almost overnight.
As teachers and students struggled to stay on schedule with their syllabus, educational institutions scrambled to find the right web conferencing solutions to continue delivering quality education.
As education becomes more and more digital with each passing day, the applications of edtech tools will not remain limited to video conferencing classes.
Now is the time for educational leaders to start thinking about picking the right edtech tools, if they want to avoid finding themselves in a situation that compels them to make impulse decisions.
The process of selecting an edtech tool is often led with the consideration of finding the right features. However, you can never truly know which features are ‘right’ for your organisation’s needs unless you understand your organisation and students’ needs.
To select the right edtech tool, begin by conducting the following internal analyses to determine the right set of edtech tools and features that will address your organisations’ learning goals:
Analyse Budget
Budget is the first consideration on this list because it is also the most obvious. Most business decisions are influenced heavily by the available budget and the selection of an edtech software is not an exception.
With that said, it is advisable to get a good idea of the most popular payment structures and the average industry rates for various software. For instance, many edtech software charge their clients on the basis of the number of learners that sign up for their course. With a large number of students and radically varied teaching situations, this type of payment structure may not be feasible in schools.
By understanding these concepts, you will be able to make a more informed and most importantly, accurate decision about your budget for the purchase of edtech tools.
Analyse Current Problems
Once the budget consideration is out of the way, it is time to focus on the problems that you hope to solve by implementing edtech tools.
Now, purchasing an english language arts (ELA) tool to “help language teachers” will never get you anywhere. It is important to pinpoint the exact challenges that you are trying to solve for your language teachers.
By understanding these problems clearly, you will be able to clearly point at the features and tools that you will need to overcome said problems and deliver more impactful learning.
Analyse Feature Requirement
Besides the problems with specific subjects and concepts, there are also unique problems that your teachers may be struggling with, especially with the sudden switch to online teaching.
Simply considering the current subject specific challenges is also not enough because in many organisations, multiple teachers are teaching the same subject, mostly to a unique audience.
Now, experienced educators know that truly impactful learning differs from classroom to classroom, with each one presenting its own unique teaching scenario and challenges. This means, not all teachers will require the exact same tools to overcome the unique challenges they face.
That’s why, understanding the unique challenges of your teaching staff is also important to find an edtech tool that will truly have a positive impact on student retention and comprehension.
Conclusion
Finding the right features in an edtech tool is quite a straightforward task when you know what problems you are trying to solve. In fact, once you have zeroed in on the features and your budget, you will not have many options left to consider and making the decision will only be a matter of trying out each prospect before making the final purchase decision.
