Education technology is a fast-paced industry, continuously evolving to meet the challenges of 21st century education. Every now and again, a concept comes to light that claims to ‘revolutionize’ or ‘transform’ education as we know it. Over the years, as a result of these recurring promises that often fail to deliver, we’ve become cynical of far-reaching statements offering an alternative to our familiar ‘one size fits all’ approach to education. But regardless of the innovation that technology puts forward, as Sir Ken Robinson states, “teaching is a creative profession”, and one that requires an innovative mindset that will “mentor, stimulate, provoke, engage.” While technology providers will continue to form next generation solutions to reform education, we need to remember that educators are the key drivers of change in education. Here’s why:
1. Educators Have the Ideas
Edtech and education reform is all about ideas. While we all have an opinion on education as we’ve all been affected by it, and we all value its importance, educators are the only ones who know what will work, and what won’t. Continuously relying on innovation to calm a chaotic classroom or to reach an unreachable student, educators have the ideas to form lasting solutions, which makes it essential to involve them in every attempt at reform.
2. Educators Have the Passion
Teaching is a profession that demands passion. Without the passion that drives you to care about your students and about education itself, your teaching career will never reach the heights that you envision. Embodying all those essential qualities to inspire learning, educators with passion are the ones that we remember, and those that instil a similar passion in their students. Educators are essential in driving change in education because this passion is what turns ideas into movements.
3. Educators See the Need
While we all have some concept of where education is lacking and where reform is needed, only those surrounded by students on a daily basis really know where efforts need to be focused. Whether it’s freeing up teaching time to focus on individual students, cutting back on state assessments to bring focus on other skills, or providing more resources to meet student needs, educators see what is needed, and why.
These are but a few among the many reasons why EdTech providers and educators must work together to form better solutions. As this recent post by Robyn D. Shulman points out, every EdTech startup needs a teacher’s influence to really address the challenges they face. With the understanding that “pedagogy is the driver, technology the accelerator”, tools that are shaped by teachers are the ones that will succeed.
Fishtree’s innovative platform was built with one challenge in mind: reaching every single student. This next generation EdTech team, with the help of educators, are bringing one-to-one instruction to every single classroom, equipping educators with the very tools to help every student to succeed. A great example of how a simple idea can become a movement, Fishtree is working with educators to drive education reform and to move away from the ‘one size fits all’ model once and for all.
Like what you’ve read? Find out how educators are driving change in education with the next generation learning platform, making classroom innovation easy.
About the author:
Lorna Keane specializes in language teaching and has taught in second and third-level institutions in several countries. She holds a B.A in languages and cultural studies and an M.A in French literature, theory and visual culture. Follow her on Twitter or connect on LinkedIn.
Image credits: GollyGforce / CC BY 2.0
