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Matthew Lynch published in Early Childhood & K-12 EdTech, EdTech Startups & Businesses, Featured, Fresh, Higher Education, December 11, 2018

How Edtech Companies Can Sell To the International Market

Edtech is a growing market, expected to increase by 17% yearly. However, a significant part of that growth is projected outside the U.S. As international schools begin to accept edtech, the market is becoming friendly for companies. Recent changes in the U.S. market have led to a decline in funding and support for edtech, so embracing international sales will be increasingly important for long term sustainability in the industry. Though the sales trajectory admittedly still needs some work for most edtech companies. Targeting and acquiring international clients comes with different challenges than landing U.S. deals.

What research and considerations does your startup need to address for the international market? How can you successfully sell edtech products to schools outside the U.S.? Here is a quick breakdown for any company wanting to make a move to international edtech sales.

Consider Market Demands

Before attempting to make an international sale, think about the market needs of each country. China, for example, is projected to reach $15billion in STEM spending by 2020. While U.S. spending on STEM learning falls, China continues to invest heavily in youth STEM education.

A 2010 German initiative to improve educational performance had a slow start. However, companies looking to target a global market may do well to focus on the developing European market. Germany, as the largest economy in Europe, is a sensible target for edtech entrepreneurs. The region, as a whole, has committed to improving education by 202 0. The potential within the EU is even more evident when you take a look at the success of edtech startups in Europe.

For those startups looking to branch into the African or South American markets, funding help by the World Bank may play a significant role. Additionally, edtech companies who target the Persian Gulf can get in on the ground floor of a promising market. Understanding the market potential for the countries you want investment from is imperative to international success.

Understand Educational Goals

Looking at the performance of students on the international market, it’s obvious which countries are currently excelling in science, mathematics, and reading, and which need work. While the U.S. didn’t rank in top 10 for any of the categories, educational policy is making edtech a hard sell in American schools.

Meanwhile, international schools are competing to produce the best workers of tomorrow, and those goals can be exploited by thoughtful edtech companies. The United Nations set education goals for the 2000-2015 period. Unfortunately, only three countries met the expectations. For edtech entrepreneurs, this can mean a chance to make a real contribution for the 2015-2030 period. New goals have been set out, and an increase of $22billion in funding is expected to achieve those goals globally.

The key to success will understand what is lacking in the education system of each country, and how your products can bridge the gaps.

Be wary of International Faux Pas

Even if you’ve done your research and investigated the international need for education products, that doesn’t equate to sales. Selling products internationally, requires an understanding of local culture, customs and business values. Each country is different. So, hiring an experienced liaison with an educational backgroun d in your target country can give you a head start to negotiations.

Regardless of your particular product or niche in the edtech sector, the international market is a growing opportunity waiting to be exploited. Have you sold products internationally? What have been your greatest challenges and successes with the global edtech market? We want to hear your experiences!

Matthew Lynch published in Early Childhood & K-12 EdTech, Featured, Fresh, Higher Education, Higher Education EdTech December 7, 2018

My Vision for the Future of Assessment in Education

Assessment is a big part of today’s education landscape. Most states use high-stakes assessments to measure student growth and proficiency at the end of each school year. But is this really the best way to use assessments? The future of assessment in education needs to change.

In order to really reimagine the future of assessment, we must ask ourselves what the purpose of assessments really are. In their current form, assessments are used to measure everything students have learned. High-stakes end-of-year assessments are used to determine whether students pass or fail a class. These same assessments are used to judge the performance of schools.

Rather than use assessments as the final test of what students have learned and how well teachers have taught them, we should be using assessments to measure student progress all year long. These formative assessments, as opposed to the traditional summative assessments, will change the way we think of assessments.

By using formative assessments throughout the year, teachers can measure what students have learned and where they’re struggling. This allows teachers to modify their instruction based on the results of their assessments, rather than waiting until the term is over to see what students know.

Of course, most teachers are already using assessments in just this way. Teachers adjust what they’re doing all year based on student performance. The problem is, these assessments aren’t used to make big decisions, like whether students should pass a course or how a school will be rated. By shifting our focus from what students know at the end of the year to how they’ve grown all year long, we can get a more accurate measure of student and teacher performance.

When schools are judged, the growth that students have made over the year should be weighted much more heavily than their overall achievement. This would create a more level playing field for all schools, regardless of location or students’ previous achievement.

To achieve my vision for the future of assessment in education, we need to create effective assessments that will help us measure student growth, not just achievement. This will require EdTech companies to get involved in the assessment process and create ways to track student growth. By incorporating technology into assessments, we can bring educational assessments into the 21^st century.

How do you envision the future of assessments? How will EdTech be a part of that future?

Matthew Lynch published in Early Childhood & K-12 EdTech, EdTech & Innovation, Higher Education, Higher Education EdTech August 10, 2018

Tips for Teaching with Apps

Teaching with apps is not new. We have compiled lists of apps and tech resources that can be used in the classroom and for education outside the classroom. However, we haven’t necessarily offered any tips for successfully using apps for teaching.

Finding, downloading, and having students use apps for learning is one thing. Teaching with apps effectively and making use of the data they track is another task entirely. The goal of using an app in education is not simply to use it because it’s available but to enhance learning and individualized teaching approaches.

We’ve listed some tips as to how you as an educator, or even parent, can optimally teach with apps in an effective way.

1. Set Goals & Expectations

When beginning to teach with apps, it’s important to set goals for student learning and to set guidelines and expectations for how students should use and interact with the app(s). Educators should outline goals about what they want students to learn through the app, how this will coincide with other learning material, and how students should interact with the app.

It’s also essential to set goals with your students so they have something to work towards and can recognize when they achieve the objectives. It’s important, too, that students understand the connection to the broader lesson and application of the learning experience.

2. Adjust the Learning Experience

Perhaps one of the most challenging parts of incorporating teaching with apps is contextualizing the experience and integrating it with other teaching methods. It’s critical that students see the connections between the broader lesson and the specific app activities.

Educators must also find a good way to combine and manage both traditional methods of teaching and technology-based methods. There must be a balance, routine, and a strong policy surrounding the use of apps for learning.

3. Establish a System of Handling Passwords & Login Info

Certainly, with the use of apps by a class full of students, logistics and the handling of information must be considered and organized. Educators should develop a system to enter, store, manage, and retrieve information such as usernames, passwords, issues, etc.

Whether it’s just a simple spreadsheet, another app for storing and managing such information, or some other tool like Google for Education, it will save a lot of headaches to have all the relevant info logged in one, orderly place.

4. Use Them in Conjunction with Books

Apps don’t replace textbooks and novels. It’s still important to teach with books and other resources so make sure you can find a good balance where one resource does not detract from the others.

For example, after introducing or teaching a lesson from a traditional textbook, educators can follow up on a particular topic or application of the lesson through a specific app.

Apps tend to be more activity-based and hone in on a more specific topic or skill, whereas textbooks contain a variety of information on a broad subject and novels offer personal experiences and perspectives. Each is important to the learning process and can be used to gain varied perspectives and different presentations of information about the same subject.

5. Be Aware of Apps that Abuse In-app Purchases

Always vet the apps you use in the classroom before introducing them to students. Some are sub-par, others irrelevant, and some others offer little functionality while trying to get you to purchase more and more.

It’s wise to research, and select apps that limit ads and in-app purchases, specifically because your students shouldn’t be exposed to some of the content nor should they be able to have the option to make an in-app purchase. These are also distracting to students and teachers. Fortunately, there are many resources for finding good apps that have already been approved by other teachers.

6. Self-Directed Learning

Finally, apps are good for self-directed learning. Some students might even know more than you about the technology or app – it’s ok! Let the students teach you, also. Additionally, students can direct their own learning through the use of apps.

Students can be taught by educators in the classroom, and some can take the lesson further by exploring the key points using apps on their own time. After all, andragogy and heutagogy are gaining increasing popularity in education.

7. Do Further Research on Best Practices

Finally, it is said that we should always be learning and improving. Educators should understand and practice this, too. The tips here are only a few to get you started teaching with apps, but it’s highly recommended that you research best practices and tips from other teachers on your own.

Apps are beneficial to teaching, but they must be used carefully and with an organized plan of execution to be effective.

What tips do you have for those just starting to teach with apps? Tell us about them!

Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation, Teachers August 6, 2018

My Vision for the Future of Neuroscience in Education

Researchers are uncovering how the human brain functions, learns and stores memory. The implications of this work have the potential to create disruptive change. Still in its infancy, neuroscience has the potential to change how educators approach instruction and learning.

I base my vision for the future of neuroscience in education on cooperative interaction between researchers and teachers. Already neuroscientists cannot study learning and memory without the assistance of educators who are working alongside students, and teachers must consider the implications of neuroscience for their teaching.

In the future, you can expect to see a strong focus on learning and memory, a strengthened partnership between science and education, and improved student achievement.

Learning and memory

We already know that learning takes place as a result of synaptic plasticity, or the ability of nerve cells in the brain to increase or decrease connectivity.

To say that the brain grows more brain cells is a misconception. The brain cannot produce more cells to increase learning and memory. Instead, it strengthens the nerve endings on either side of the synapses, thereby creating a stronger connection. By adding layers of connections, the brain’s memory is reinforced. This process is called plasticity.

The implication for the future of neuroscience in education is that teachers will have to find ways to strengthen synaptic plasticity. It’s unlikely, however, that they will be able to help build these connections with the aid of digital technology.

The science-education partnership

Medicine and science often lead the way for schools by providing extensive brain theory research. In the future, educators will continue to take their cues from science, and doctors and scientists alike will use the techniques developed by educators to maximize learning and memory.

In the future, educators and science will collaborate on gathering and analyzing research. The science-education partnership will improve learning and memory, and it will likely shorten the learning process and increase memory.

Tech and medical science education go together, and the applications of scientific theory and discovery to educational practice are clear. Researchers have proven the cognitive connection between digital gaming and learning. Learning comes about as a result of edtech games and simulations that incorporate adaptive branching and require higher order thinking skills.

Improved student achievement

According to Scott Bolland, improved engagement comes about when we align learning with brain theory.

That improved engagement is the result of better synaptic plastic, which in turn is developed through digital technology that provides authentic simulation as well as stimulation.

The future of neuroscience in education looks promising because I visualize a future where neuroscience leads instructional practice and instructional practice influences neuroscience.

Matthew Lynch published in Higher Education, Higher Education EdTech August 3, 2018

A Vision of the Future of Higher Education

Every new generation sees changes in the landscape of higher education, but the essential tenets have always remained the same. Students live in dorms or student apartments and go every day to sit in classrooms where they hear lectures from professors.

However, many things we used to take for granted about the college experience may be changing. In fact, the higher education of future generations may be unrecognizable to those of us who came of age in the 20th century.

Here are some of the changes that seem to be emerging.

Adaptive learning

We are already witnessing technologies that adapt to learner needs. These tools can track student progress, making learning far more personalized. Students will no longer have to adjust to the lecture styles of various instructors. Instead, their online teachers will easily adapt to them. As AI (Artificial Intelligence) becomes more advanced, technology will adapt even more intuitively, responding to physical gestures and facial expressions.

Changes in concepts of the classroom space

The increasing popularity of the flipped/blended classroom models foreshadows a reimagining of the classroom space as we know it. Universities will investigate more creative approaches to learning spaces, similar to the global microcampuses proposed recently by the University of Arizona. As devices become smaller, classrooms themselves may be equipped with “smart” functions, able to adjust to the students that enter them as well as to connect to a wide range of teaching materials from around the world.

Equity around the globe

Institutions of higher learning are taking on the mission of making education accessible to students from a wide variety of ethnic, cultural and economic backgrounds. Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) have opened up a whole world to people that never could have considered a college education before. Although some issues of digital equity still remain, future generations will find educational opportunities increasingly available to the geographically remote and the economically disadvantaged, leveling the playing field to a greater degree than ever.

Collaboration

Technological advances have broken down walls, connecting students to real-world problem-solving and to leaders in their chosen field. Soon, possibilities for partnership between academia and the corporate world will surpass what anyone could have previously imagined. In addition, students and instructors will have the capacity to problem-solve together, resulting in deeper and more relevant learning experiences.

It seems clear that higher education of the future will turn our expectations upside down in many ways. It’s time to prepare to meet this brave new world.

Matthew Lynch published in Education Leadership August 2, 2018

My Vision for the Future of Education Leadership

Education leadership is changing, and so must our perception of what it is to be a leader.

My vision for the future of education leadership places leaders in a dynamic environment in which they will find themselves collaborating with other stakeholders. To be effective, future education leaders must understand how they will impact the lives of the people around them, what role technology will play in learning, and their ability to foster meaningful change.

Impact

Making an impact and understanding the implications of that impact are two different things. Future leaders in education will do both.

Educational leaders consistently impact academic achievement, whether through commission or omission. A good leader in education will influence others and create a ripple effect that carries learners far into the world.

In my vision for education leadership, future leaders recognize their impact, and they understand what that impact means for their future.

The role of technology

Educational leaders will rely on edtech for a variety of functions, and they will integrate its use seamlessly in schools.

Having lost their mistrust of digital learning, future leaders will incorporate technology with ease. Edtech will be a common tool in classrooms everywhere. Leaders will integrate digital technology as they prepare for the future.

Students will engage in application based learning – the kind that is hands-on and helps learners connect with their world. You will find a greater number of STEM classes, and the approaches used in STEM will permeate other subjects as well. Social studies and English language arts classes will become more hands-on in response to the demand that instruction becomes more aligned to our findings in neuroscience. For example, students may interact with holistic images of authors and historical figures.

Edtech’s role in this change is to equalize the playing field in the classroom, giving every learner the opportunity to access the individualized learning.

Change agents

Education leaders of the future will be change agents who create disruptive learning. The leadership may come from the classroom or other unlikely areas, but they will all have one thing in common: they will no longer accept the status quo. Ultimately, education leaders of the future will have the capacity as well as the conviction to bring about meaningful change.

In my vision for the future of education leadership, our leaders will come from diverse backgrounds, and they will embrace digital technology as a way to improve learning.

Matthew Lynch published in Early Childhood & K-12 EdTech, EdTech Startups & Businesses, Higher Education, Higher Education EdTech June 21, 2018

What Is the Best Time of the Year to Sell to Schools?

Selling your edtech products directly to schools is a big undertaking. If successful, school and district sales can be the breakthrough for your edtech startup. However, top-down sales are time-consuming and take a lot of investment on the front end. It’s important to understand the process of district purchasing to succeed. One major question posed by edtech entrepreneurs is, when is the best time of the year to sell to schools?

Unfortunately, this can be a tricky subject with multiple variables. Here are some tips for determining the right time to approach schools about your edtech offering.

Spring Fling

The most common time for startups to contact districts is the spring. That is because budgets for the coming fall are being approved and schools are often shopping for products to implement. While the spring season is busy, it may not be the right time for your product. Take into account the type of product you’re offering and what kind of financial commitment you’re pursuing.

Schools are inundated with sales requests through the spring, and if your proposal isn’t on their priority list, you won’t get a meeting. Spring sales should be reserved for products with whole school implementation which will be used for the coming school year. Software products take longer to approve than hardware, so if you’re pitching a new LMS get in with the spring rush.

Additionally, if your product takes a significant investment, spring is the time to approach schools. You will need to come in on a new budget, not pick up the slack of the previous year.

Summer Sales

Conversely, if you’re offering smaller applications for individual use or hardware, you may have an easier time in the summer. School officials only have so much time for sales calls. So, approaching them when they’re less busy with more substantial purchases will be a smart strategy.

Summer is also an ideal time to contact teachers if you’re using a bottom-up model. Teachers are busy in the spring and fall. Furthermore, most teachers plan their coming year in the summer months. Offering a system to help with classroom organization or provide interactive lesson plans will be more successful during the planning phase.

Winter Wonderland

While the budgets of most schools will be tapped by winter, you may be able to pull in some last minute sales. Smaller purchases like supplementary tools and hardware can be offered to use any unallocated funds before the new budget year.

Autumn Strategy

Regardless of your product, remember that schools officials are excessively busy in the autumn months. They will have a lot on their calendars with implementation of new software, student orientation and smoothing out bumps. The fall season is the best time for relationship building with current and potential clients.

Instead of pitching ideas, helping with product setup or giving teachers and administrators one on one attention is best. Making yourself an asset to teachers and administrators will be a smart move for future contact. Selling to schools is just like any high stake sales industry and requires a bit of schmoozing which will undoubtedly help you land meetings during the summer, spring and winter months.

The process of selling to schools is slow. Some purchases take weeks for approval; others may take up to nine months. Patience, resilience, and planning are the keys to success in edtech sales.

What plans have you found successful for school sales? How do you get your foot in the door with administrators? We’d love to hear your feedback.

Matthew Lynch published in Higher Education, Higher Education EdTech April 14, 2018

Higher Education Accreditation Is Broken – It’s Time to Fix It

Accreditation was designed to protect students by safeguarding higher education standards, but it’s no longer fit for purpose.

Today, the United States is home to low-quality for-profit colleges willing relieve students of their money in exchange for an education that costs as much, if not more, than a non-profit school. The education they provide is in some cases also inferior to other schools in part because of low academic standards but also because of poor management.

Accreditation used to work – and it can again. But it must be fixed.

What Is Accreditation?

Accreditation is given out by agencies in the federal government. These agencies began life within colleges as a way for institutions to establish wider standards. These agencies also opened communication between institutions to make it easy for students to transfer or graduate.

After accreditation agencies no longer suited their purpose within the community of schools, the federal government took them over to continue to standardize education but also to protect the government’s own investment in higher education, which began in earnest in the 1950s.

Today, accrediting agencies are responsible for two things:

Making sure students get a quality education
Making sure the quality of the college’s management is sufficient (fraud prevention, etc.)

Accreditation Agencies Aren’t Doing Their Job

Yet, accreditation agencies are not doing their job in part. This is in large part because the government doesn’t supply the money needed to do it.

Even though the accrediting agencies are supposed to be working for the federal government, they still need money from colleges.

The system as it stands today works in a way where accrediting agencies are responsible to the government but receive funding from colleges in the form of fees that aren’t tied to colleges’ performance.

With a small budget, lack of staff, and the ability for one lawsuit to wipe out a third of the money available for oversight, accreditation is no longer up to the task of providing both quality standards of education and management.

The result has been rampant and glaring cases of fraud and the rise of diploma mills. The case of Corinthian Colleges, which was found to harbor massive academic and financial fraud, is only one example of these failures.

We Must Fix Accreditation to Improve Education and Prevent Fraud

Fixing accreditation won’t be easy. According to Antoinette Flores, a senior policy analyst at the Center for American Progress, accreditors will need to set minimum fees to ensure it is well funded, increase fees for colleges for poor performers to pay for the additional oversight required, and need additional legal protection from lawsuits.

Indeed, accreditation is broken, but just as before, it can evolve to meet the changing needs of students and schools.

Matthew Lynch published in Early Childhood & K-12 EdTech, Higher Education, Higher Education EdTech February 22, 2018

Student Outcomes Is the Only Metric That Matters in EdTech

EdTech companies use lots of metrics to measure the success of their products. Profits, number of products sold, and market share are among the ways that EdTech firms use to determine whether a product has been successful. But none of these metrics are as important as one thing—student outcomes.

In most industries, companies are primarily focused on profits. In EdTech, you have to do business with schools or universities. These institutions don’t operate like traditional businesses. Working with non-profit institutions requires a different mindset than the corporate world.

The goal of education is to teach students, not to make money. That means when designing an EdTech product, the only metric that companies need to look at is student outcomes. Student outcomes are the first thing schools will want to hear about when purchasing an EdTech product. If you can show that your product will deliver the results they want, other factors won’t matter.

EdTech companies that put student outcomes at the center of their product will not only impress schools, they’re more likely to make big sales. Like in any other industry, trends move fast in education. If school districts or universities see neighboring districts or competing institutions doing something that works, they’re going to want it too.

Too many companies get into the EdTech business thinking they can focus on student outcomes while also squeezing every last penny out of customers and cutting costs. These companies would be wiser to focus solely on student outcomes and let the money work itself out. A truly great EdTech product sells itself.

Of course, there’s another reason student outcomes matter so much. EdTech companies, by entering into the world of education, have a responsibility to students. Although the goal of any business is typically to make the biggest profits possible, EdTech companies must operate within a world not driven by profits. By choosing to go into this industry, companies also must accept the responsibility of working to improve outcomes for students.

So yes, while EdTech companies need to be profitable to stay afloat, money cannot be the sole driving factor behind an EdTech firm. Student outcomes should be the only way that we measure the success of an EdTech company, and student outcomes should be the only metric that matters to EdTech entrepreneurs.

How do you think EdTech companies can strive for better student outcomes? Do you think we need more focus on student outcomes in EdTech?

Matthew Lynch published in Early Childhood & K-12 EdTech, Higher Education, Higher Education EdTech February 12, 2018

How to Create Your Own Classroom Edtech Tools

You know you need to get on board with using educational technology in your classroom. But you’re having trouble finding just the right app to meet the needs of your students. Sometimes, it can seem like the implementation of new edtech tools drains the valuable time that it’s supposed to save.

If that’s the case, have you considered creating edtech tools of your own?

You may think you don’t have enough time or expertise, but building edtech for your own students is easier than you think.

Here are some ways to get started.

Learn Relevant Technical Skills

Never tried coding or UX design? Do you think it’s too hard to learn? Think again! You can pick up coding skills for free at sites like Codecademy, or take a tutorial on computer programming at Khan Academy. Share your knowledge with others and take advantage of the expertise of your colleagues, too.

Collaborate With Edtech Companies

These companies are eager to serve the needs of educators, but they are limited in their understanding of tools that teachers would be most likely to use. Many entrepreneurs, although they have ample technical expertise, have not spent enough time in classrooms to have a practical understanding of the day-to-day life of a classroom. For this reason, they constantly seek input and feedback from teachers. Partnerships with edtech companies can provide helpful connections while you build your entrepreneurial and technical skill.

Work With Other Teachers

In 2015, a group of teachers at a charter school called KIPP Bay Area created an app that customized Khan Academy playlists by aligning them with MAP assessments and with the Eureka Math curriculum. Because of their collaboration, these teachers were able to identify a need within their teaching community and pool their expertise to create a solution. Powerful things happen when teachers work together to solve problems.

Pilot a Program

Once you have acquired the skills and the connections and identified a problem in your school or district, it’s time to start a pilot program. Whether it’s an app to facilitate the flipped/blended learning process or a tool to easily aggregate assessment data, get your colleagues on board with testing it in their classrooms. Make sure you track and document the effect of your pilot on student achievement and learning. You may be amazed at what you are able to accomplish.

Teacher-created tech tools are well within your reach, effectively putting you in the driver’s seat of edtech in your own classroom.