These 3 Building Voices Between EdTech Startups And Teachers

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There is no shortage of tech entrepreneurs who want to bring more technology into the classroom or within higher education institutions. Over the past five years, an ecosystem has emerged to develop and promote the latest services and products for schools.

Enthusiastic tech startups are propelled by excitement and can tend to run at full speed until they meet their most significant audience–teachers. Regardless of concept or product, there can often be a fundamental disconnect between the passion entrepreneurs bring and understanding or meeting teachers’ needs.

And more often than not, this gap can prevent critical technology from ever entering the classroom.

To fill this bridge, both parties must work together to meet student needs for the 21st-century. When bottom lines do not align, neither side can grow, and students can miss out on critical growth opportunities.

Entrepreneurs can make great companies that benefit students, while teachers have a significant impact in the classroom. However, entrepreneurs are not usually teachers, and there are very few former teachers turned entrepreneurs. Edtech developers rarely understand the daily lives of educators and their students.

And, although they are all critical to their environments, they don’t often get a chance to talk and learn from each other outside of edtech conferences and endless pitches.

Bridge the Gap between Information

There are hundreds of education magazines. Sometimes, it’s challenging to discover the most critical news, resources or publications to fit the needs of edtech entrepreneurs and teachers. Apart from standard industry offerings, there are organic publications, blogs, and podcasts that cover news for both edtech startups and teachers.

To stay up-to-date on the current happenings in the edtech and education fields, edtech entrepreneurs and teachers should follow these three originals below.

These outlets bring together the best of both worlds.

Sophie Bailey, Founder, and Presenter, The Edtech Podcast

Bailey is the founder of the iTunes new and noteworthy, The Edtech Podcast. The mission of The Edtech Podcast is to improve the dialogue between ‘ed’ and ‘tech’ for better innovation through storytelling. The podcast is downloaded 1500+ times a week, from up to 109 countries within the UK, US, and Australia in the top three. Bailey is also a mentor and advisor to the edtech community and runs events that bring together all sides (edtech startups and educators). In 2018, she will launch The Edtech Podcast Festival 2018. You can usually find her interviewing a university lecturer, school leader, former Angry Bird, NGO, or investor about education innovation.

Why you should follow Bailey: She’s a medium working in the sector. Bailey states, “It’s not about me, it’s about the hundreds of amazing guests on the show from education innovation globally. I share their stories, tips, trials, and tribulations. I also help connect people to work on amazing projects as a result of listening to my podcast.”