Teachers are drowning in new edtech tools. How can you help them stay afloat?

1. Ground in your vision, goals, and opportunities. Where are you head? What problems are you experiencing? What opportunities exist? 2. Identify the appropriate solution - can I solve this? Can my team solve this? Can an outside partner/tool support? 3. Values/resource alignment - can I afford this? Does this partner value the same things I do? 4. Identify the most aligned tools based on #1-3 5. Of those tools, which is going to most support you once they have your money? Who's supporting with an ongoing training in October when we are in the thick of it?

One key point before tackling this question is focus. You must have a clear focus from student, teacher, and admin before moving on an EdTech tool. I jumped in head first into all the tools and quickly got overwhelmed. I now use about 3-4 of the 25 I signed up for. Focus on the specific needs of the district, or better yet the teachers, and you will find success in choosing an EdTech tool. In order to arrive at this focus, conversations are integral. Learn where your teachers stand and what is the biggest pain point; then search for solutions together. EdTech tools may not always be the solution, so don’t think they have to be.

Find solutions that benefit everyone and don't add complexity. 1. Solutions that deploy easily & integrate seamlessly: with your existing tech stack (like Google Classroom or Microsoft Teams). 2. School-wide solutions: that cater to various needs will streamline the experience for teachers, students, and admins. Reduce multiple tools and logins. 3. Avoid niche tools: that only serve a small group of teachers. The most valuable solutions everyone can use. Consistency brings easier and deeper adoption and best-practice sharing. Tools that can be customized to different subjects, different learning needs and different teaching styles are ideal. Prioritize tools that simplify, unify, and truly empower everyone in the school community.

There are many days when I am overwhelmed with the number of new edtech/AI tools. We typically ask our faculty the following questions. 1. Does the tool help your students connect learning objectives with learning outcomes? 2. We then ask the faculty to "test it then request it." From the faculty feedback, we have developed a list of vetted edtech platforms that the school supports. 3. At our back to school Unconference, we ask teachers who are "power users" to facilitate a session. 4. We also provide a list of "power users" to our faculty. This helps facilitate conversations between faculty about different platforms. This approach empowers everyone as an "expert" in some capacity.

Be the noise champion in your school - cut through it all and help teacher fatigue. Provide your school with a slimmed down version of tools that will have the greatest impact on learning. Then go deep on these tools - host quality professional learning sessions with a hands on approach, aligning the PL to the teacher's curriculum needs.

Digital content curation is key to leveraging the benefits of digital culture. Enabling teachers to know and develop their own set of personalized digital tools enriches the diversity and potency of learning experiences. In this era, the role of the teacher is more crucial than ever. We can adopt the CODE method, adapted by Thiago Forte, to modernize content curation. Furthermore, it's essential to evaluate these tools within a culture of evidence-based educational technology.

To alleviate decision fatigue caused by the abundance of edtech options, streamline the selection process for teachers. Curate a shortlist of tools that directly align with their teaching goals and student needs. Provide clear comparisons of these tools, highlighting features, ease of use, and potential impact on learning. This approach saves time and empowers teachers to make informed decisions confidently. By simplifying choices, you help teachers focus on effective technology integration, enhancing both teaching and learning experiences without the overwhelm of too many options.

EdTech tools need to be vetted by heads of schools or districts for privacy policies and safety concerns. When districts do that work in advance and offer teachers vetted lists of tools, they eliminate data privacy risks and help streamline choices for teachers. Additionally, systems need to exist when a teacher discovers a great tool they can easily see it through the vetting process if it hasn’t been vetted already.

To support teachers in integrating edtech tools, offer concise and practical training sessions. Organize workshops or online tutorials focused on real classroom applications. Facilitate peer-to-peer learning sessions where teachers can exchange experiences and strategies. This approach builds confidence in using new technology and fosters a supportive community. By providing targeted training and encouraging collaboration, teachers can effectively navigate and utilize edtech tools, enhancing their teaching without feeling overwhelmed.

Training should be partnered with a true school commitment. Pay for a lead tech teacher to have time in the day to collaborate with teachers, build a resource platform, and drive the intentional use. Keeping the training at the forefront with ideas is key.

One thing I have found very helpful is to show the ed-tech tools to teachers before they have to actually use them in class. They can navigate and use them to see if they will be helpful or not. They MUST have training sessions, not just an introductory session, but real hands on training with real problem solving situations. Sharing experiences among peers can also be helpful, but teachers need to feel confident about how to use those tools before they start teaching with them.

Proper training is key to effective edtech integration! Concise workshops and online tutorials that focus on real classroom scenarios can help teachers confidently apply new tools. Peer-to-peer learning sessions further foster a supportive community, where teachers share experiences and strategies, building confidence and collectively navigating the edtech landscape. This collaborative approach ensures teachers are empowered to harness technology for enhanced student learning.

Introducing tech for the sake of it or just to show off is pointless. The technology should make life easier and not create more stress on teachers.

Bangladesh has introduced a new assessment system and tools in secondary education. Most of the teachers fail to provide input on students' performances. even they forget their login passwords and provide private passwords to unknown persons for their support. In this case, a2i is developing an online training for teachers through the National E-learning Platform with the support of NCTB and Unicef.

Collaboration among teachers is essential to overcome the structural barriers that formal educational institutions face in providing adequate support to their communities. In this context, I have co-founded CompetenciaDigitalCero.com with colleagues from Mexico, Peru, Chile, and Spain. This platform encourages synergy among educators to mobilize knowledge and close digital learning gaps. Our experience underscores the importance of horizontal growth and mutual support among teachers, promoting the development of collective intelligence in the era of artificial intelligence.

Encourage the formation of teacher networks to foster collaboration and reduce the stress of managing edtech tools. By sharing insights and best practices, educators can collectively evaluate the effectiveness of various tools and learn how to integrate them seamlessly into their teaching. This collaborative approach leverages collective wisdom, providing support and practical solutions for those feeling overwhelmed by edtech options. Establishing such networks helps teachers navigate the edtech landscape more confidently and efficiently.

Collaboration is key! When teachers work together, they can share the load and learn from each other's successes and challenges." - "Edtech can be overwhelming, but collective wisdom makes it manageable. Teacher networks are a great way to tap into shared expertise." - "Sharing insights and best practices helps teachers avoid reinventing the wheel. It's a time-saving and stress-reducing approach to edtech integration." - "Teacher networks can help identify effective tools and strategies, saving time and resources. It's a smart way to navigate the edtech landscape." - "Collaboration fosters a sense of community and support. It's essential for teachers to feel connected and empowered when navigating edtech."

La formación de comunidades de aprendizaje potencian las habilidades digitales de los docentes. Para ello se deben establecer mecanismos de capacitación según niveles de dominio, se pueden aplicar estrategias de tutoría o mentoría.

Absolutely streamline. Use tools that you already have in place to drive the use of other tools. Adding one more click to get to a resource typically creates less use. Create a web inside what they use!

Advocate for integrating edtech tools that complement existing workflows and systems to prevent teachers from feeling overwhelmed. Recommend tools that are compatible with current systems and support easy data migration and interoperability. This approach minimizes the learning curve and disruption, enabling teachers to adopt new technologies with ease and less resistance. Streamlining integration ensures that technology enhances teaching rather than complicating it, making the transition smoother and more efficient for educators.

Ensure that institutions have offices or centers where EdTech platforms are managed from selection, acquisition, onboarding, mastery and evaluation.

Regularly evaluate the impact of edtech tools on teaching and learning by facilitating feedback sessions with teachers. These sessions allow for open discussion about what tools are working and which are not, helping to make necessary adjustments and avoid redundant or ineffective technology. Continuous assessment ensures that edtech remains a valuable resource and not an additional burden. This approach helps maintain a focus on enhancing educational outcomes and supports teachers in using technology effectively.

So often this seems like the most missed aspect of implementing new technologies or strategies. I feel that often so much feedback is taken before making these decisions, but once things are put in the place the feedback loop just ends. It's vital to continually evaluate and assess the effectiveness of a new technology, even after it has been implemented. With obtaining continuous feedback and evaluation, how can an educational leader assure that teachers and staff: - Use the tech correctly and effectively? t - Have all of the necessary resources? - Utilizing the tech to target student achievement goals? And so much more. Let's prioritize ongoing support and assessment to empower our educators and enhance student outcomes!

Enquanto o professor não tiver o treinamento adequado e tempo para aperfeiçoamento, não será possível a interação. Se a carga horária de trabalho total, não tiver qualidade de aplicabilidade , entre aulas e aperfeiçoamento entre outras demandas, ficará inviável pensar em interação de ferramentas ao seu trabalho. Se os recursos sempre estiver escasso para todos ,incluindo o aluno ,o sucesso da ferramenta não será garantido.

For innovation to thrive, administrators need to cultivate pedagogical risk taking by acknowledging and celebrating new practices, even and especially when they don’t work exactly as planned. Educators need to feel supported in tinkering with new tools in a safe way. Of course it’s key to ensure the digital tools being used are safe and secure, but beyond that, it’s important to model how we reflect on why we are trying a new tool, what we hope to gain from it, and seek feedback on how it worked. Creating a way for faculty to experience this modeling by leaders and share about how they’ve tried new tools can reduce the fear of failure which is part of feeling “overwhelmed” by so many tools.

Time constraints and age group : Edtech tools are very attractive and grab your attention the moment you come across them but are they really applicable to the age group you are teaching? Is it effective to implement in your classroom? Because what works for your colleague may not work for you. Hence it is vital to assess the needs of your classroom and implement the tool that is more age appropriate and time effective which yields quality teaching and learning and consider reflecting on your own practice and the impact of it on the teaching and learning by taking student feedback regularly and by making amendments accordingly.