By: Mandi Andrejka
In my various roles in education and school/library publishing, I’ve met more educators than I can count. Most recently, my time at one of Minnesota’s largest children’s publishers included meeting with library media specialists and other educators who are often at the forefront of their school’s technology initiatives.
I visited makerspaces, spoke with librarians on the phone and in person, and attended the Texas Library Association conference. The educators I’ve met cover every point along the spectrum when it comes to budget and interest in adapting technology in their schools. I’ve seen teachers who bring in every new tablet, robot, or software program they can get their hands on. I’ve seen teachers who are still using overhead projectors. I’ve seen teachers who would love to add computers or robotics into their classrooms and media centers, but don’t have the funds to do so.
There are several reasons why educators may struggle with technology in their schools, but one I’ve commonly heard is “I don’t know this new technology, yet I’m the one expected to introduce it into my school.” It seems that many educators believe that there are two camps: those who understand tech and those who don’t.
I once had a chance to meet with a library media specialist from Texas who is well-known in her state as a leader in coding in schools. She has spoken at conferences and events about her experience bringing coding into her makerspace, and has written several children’s coding books. I asked her whether she had been familiar with coding before she brought it into her school. She seemed so at ease when talking about coding that I figured she must have had some background in computer science or had learned it when she was in school herself.
I was shocked to hear her answer: everything she knows about coding, she taught herself. She took online tutorials and used support materials provided by the programs she was using to start with computational thinking and then expand into more complicated programming.
I told her that many of her colleagues would probably be surprised to hear that. She made it look so easy, and so many of them believe they’ll never be able to dive into tech fully because of their inexperience. She just smiled at me and said, “I thought the exact same thing when I first got started.” She told me it definitely took time to learn the skills she needed to bring these programs into her makerspace, but with the proper support and guidance from the materials she used, it became easier.
Technology in schools isn’t going anywhere—we all know that. But we’re moving forward from the first wave of edtech users who were largely already tech-savvy and had the budget to bring in new hardware and software. Using the latest technology in schools is coming to be expected, if not mandatory, in many districts. And there’s still a large population of educators who likely never thought they’d need to learn these programs and skills to do their jobs.
What can you as an edtech provider do? Provide them with support. Guide them as they learn along with their students. Let them know they’re not alone after purchasing your product—who better to teach them how to use a new product than the people who made it? For the educators whose schools or districts don’t have the budget to implement your latest and greatest offerings, consider what other ways you can reach them that would be more cost-effective. Are there low-tech or no-tech options for your product? Can you provide consultation or tutorial services outside of your product that would allow you to get a school’s business without requiring a larger cost commitment?
Where does PR with Panache! come in? We bring the marketing and PR expertise to support you, the edtech provider. Whether you’re trying to find new customers or maintain relationships with existing ones, there’s a lot for you to consider—a school or district’s willingness and economic ability to invest in new technology is just the beginning. As PRP’s newest client lead, I’m here to help you craft a strategy and create engaging messaging that appeals to your audience, no matter where they fall along the technology spectrum.
Thanks for sharing!