By: Leah Rodgers
It’s no secret that districts’ pedagogical (and purchasing) priorities are much different than they were even five years ago. The edtech market continues to grow because technology has proven that it can help students and educators become proficient collaborators and critical thinkers. Meanwhile, new legislation and ideas have pushed education leaders to rethink their concept of “school supplies.” What does this mean for your edtech marketing strategy? Here are four trends that could affect your bottom line, along with action items for how to stay ahead of the curve.
- Data-driven instruction
Across the country, districts are using analytics tools that shed light on what is working across curricula and what isn’t. These platforms allow educators to monitor what a student is and isn’t understanding in class. From there, they can reassign different activities so a student can either go to the next level or focus on a concept until mastery. Whether you call this “personalized learning” or something, else, the practice of gathering and acting on data is more and more a part of everyday life for educators who are eager to improve classroom results and accountability at the same time.
Your action item: Create clear and concise messaging about how your product not only makes it easy for teachers to gather data, but also how it turns raw data into actionable insights.
- Information security
With the amount of information administrators, educators, parents, and students share electronically, IT security has been top-of-mind. Many companies provide software that protects the confidential information of everyone in the building. Districts are selecting frameworks that fit their priorities best.
Your action item: Before you tout your solution’s security features (and you should!), find out what security features your customers and prospects have in place, so that you can go beyond a product demo and offer them your expert advice.
- Gamified lessons
More and more studies are coming out about the effectiveness of play. Joyfully learning through gamified lessons keeps students engaged in exploring concepts in a hands-on way. Games take the intimidation out of lessons, and even decrease stress! The challenge here for educators and the providers who support them is to show doubters that gamification is not “just playing games” instead of learning.
Your action item: Start with the fun, but finish with the data. Games are a spectacularly efficient means of gathering information, and positioning them as part of a data-driven curriculum will help convert those who are skeptical of education seeming too enjoyable.
- From STEM to STEAM and Beyond
This year, more STEM educators are branching out and adding the arts to their curricula. An invigorating splash of creativity diversifies topics and allows students to see them from all angles. Educators are seeing that STEAM lessons have benefits such as promoting social-emotional skills and attracting more students to STEM fields.
Your action item: If your product or service can be used to support creative projects, make sure to let the world know! And if it doesn’t, consider the bigger picture: if STEM can become STEAM, how can the definition of STEAM expand—and how can you be a part of that evolution?
Amid all of these changes, one thing has stayed the same: districts have to make calculated decisions about how much they spend. Keeping on top of these trends will help you speak the same language as your customers and prospects, making them more likely to see you as the right partner in doing what’s best for their students.
Thanks for sharing!
