Schools and districts need to clearly and proactively communicate their technology strategy inside and outside the classroom. They need clear information from their solution providers to do that.
As the school year winds down, one of the biggest conversations happening right now in K-12 is around the edtech backlash, and that conversation will definitely continue into the upcoming school year and beyond. In a recent K-12 Dive article, NSPRA Executive Director Barbara Hunter was quoted as saying “This is something that districts need to obviously have on their radar.” She expressed the need for schools and districts to get feedback from families, and to have a strategy for communicating education technology's use and impact in the classroom.
This need for a technology communication strategy should extend beyond the tools being used in the classroom.
Coherence Leads to Clarity
Communication planning becomes a lot easier when all of the technology being used in a school or district is clearly aligned to the overall strategic plan.
Digital Promise’s “K-12 Digital Equity Framework” provides a blueprint for implementing education technology that we can apply to tech outside of the classroom as well. One of the framework’s core pillars is “Coherent Systems, Resources, and Policies,” which “refers to the alignment and activation of systems, resources, and policies to a defined strategic and continuous improvement plan for deep technology integration.”
With that coherence in mind, these questions can apply to all technology used by a school or district:
- What is this technology?
- How are we using it?
- How does it align to the other technology we are using?
- How does it align to our strategic goals and the outcomes we are looking for?
With those questions answered, any technology should be easily explainable to a parent, family member, community member, or board member.
The Solution Provider’s Responsibility
Every technology provider should be equipping school and district leaders to answer those aforementioned questions. It’s not enough for tech providers to train educators and administrators how to use a particular tool or platform. They must equip them to have conversations about that tool or platform. That should be part of the training, as well as the ongoing support. Not only is that good partnership, it will also increase the fidelity of implementation for that tool or platform. It makes sense for everyone.
Before a website or app even launches, Edlio’s Client Education team is already working with school and district personnel to help them build the knowledge and confidence for a great launch. From updating content on the website to messaging across channels or setting up an online school store, all training starts with the fundamentals before providing ways to dive deeper through 1:1, group, and on-demand training. Regular Study Hall sessions throughout the year also provide opportunities to get the most out of the Edlio platform for any and all users. Our robust knowledge base including chatbot ensure answers are available 24/7, and personalized support is available as needed.
Edlio’s Commitment
From core features to AI-powered innovations, Edlio is committed to making our unified K-12 communications platform as easy to explain as it is to use. We will absorb the complexity, curate what is safe and effective, and deliver an experience to our education partners that is seamless, transparent, and built on more than two decades of trust.
