In K-12 education, people completely overstate the impact of tools and resources and understate the impact of educators. This leads to an overcrowded market of "things" to give to educators and a lack of coherence around the instructional models and associated training needed to actually capitalize on the "things". Building a new resource or edtech tool feels safe. You can control for all the variables. Imagine a set of constraints that allows your product to thrive. Demo it in ways that showcase its maximum potential. But introducing it into the messy world of teaching is tough. It's the hardest step. It's the riskiest step. But it's the only step that really matters.
Teachers aren’t lacking tools. They’re often drowning in them. What’s missing is trust in their expertise, sustained support, and coherence in what we ask them to implement. 👏
Kat Clark
8mo
Well said. We need fewer “things” and more alignment around what great teaching looks like—and how we can consistently invest in the people doing that work every day. Teaching is one of the only fields where so many people without lived experience feel comfortable designing solutions. That disconnect shows.
Nikky Willison
8mo
Yes! EdTech needs to realize that the classroom is a messy, ever changing space and varies depending on age, grade level, and subject. It can also vary from year to year. We are not able to control all of the variables and we need tools that are designed with that in mind. I've always wondered if these tools have ever been piloted in a real classroom prior to launch.
Deb Fuller
8mo
This is a constant pet peeve of mine. Teachers need to see concrete proof that it will work in THEIR classroom with their kids and their equipment. It has to set up quickly and be easy to use otherwise they won’t use it.
Cindi Halloway
8mo
The problem is that no one asks the stakeholders as a routine. They give lip service but nothing else. This hasn’t been the case with MCP and Dana at Wavio Pulse. Several of my colleagues, including myself, have started using Wavio. We are beyond impressed. I’ve had several meetings with Dana to discuss issues, and she has been amazing. She and her team hear us and make adjustments. This is the easiest and most beneficial tool I’ve used in education. Thank you, Dana & Kareem
Statewide Manager for STEM and Computer Science Professional Development @ Idaho STEM Action Center | Enhancing STEM Education
8moTotally agree with this take, it hits on something that’s often overlooked. There’s so much focus on creating the next big tool or resource, but way too little attention on the people actually using them: educators. Classrooms are unpredictable, ever-changing environments, and no tool is going to succeed unless it’s designed with that reality in mind. It’s one thing to build something in a controlled setting where everything goes according to plan, that’s the easy part. But once it hits a real classroom, with real kids, all bets are off. That’s the part that actually matters, and it’s where most tools fall short. I’ve always wondered the same thing: were these tools ever actually piloted with teachers in the room? Because if they were, you’d see a whole lot more focus on flexibility, ease of use, and alignment with how teachers really teach, not how we wish teaching looked. We need fewer shiny products and more meaningful support that meets educators where they are.