January 2016: Before becoming a teacher, I worked in tech startups. It was intoxicating to work on ideas that could help change people’s lives for the better. It seemed the whole world was in a race to adopt technology at an ever faster rate — except for the education sector. I felt the way we run our schools was too traditional — sitting in rows, listening to the teacher at the front just like we have been doing for the last 200 years. EdTech companies were hitting roadblocks that prevented them from moving into the classroom. The coronavirus has changed that — forever.
I want to carry technology into the classroom — that’s true today as it was four years ago when I started my teacher training. The plan was to study the education system from within, figure out what was stifling tech adoption and build a product that would steer clear of these roadblocks that apparently so many EdTech companies were hitting .
January 2020: As a teacher in my fourth year of teaching science to secondary students, I still find myself standing in front of the board, drawing the DNA structure and labelling plant cells with a board pen. Although we have a trolley with 30 laptops for the science department I hardly use them. Too many things can go wrong — someone forgot to charge the laptops, students forgot their logins, the WiFi is acting up again and students watching youtube videos instead of doing the actual task.
March 2020: Schools are closed. I find myself using a graphic tablet and a microphone in conjunction with a screen recorder app. I have a youtube channel where I post all my lessons. Students get to stop, slow down (or speed up) my lessons, complete a self-check quiz and ask me for clarification through Google Classroom. I can post my lessons in advance and students can complete the work at any time of the day. The switch was rough, but now that I’ve got the hang of it, I actually don’t have to spend more time on lesson planning than I used to.
Would I have tried out a graphic tablet or screen recorded my lesson if the coronavirus hadn’t occurred?
Unlikely.
Will I continue using my graphic tablet and record lessons after the pandemic?
Absolutely!
Then why did it take a global pandemic and a nation-wide school shutdown to turn a tech enthusiast like myself to actually start using technology?
Among the dozen factors I suspected to slow down tech adoption I found one in particular that plays a major role: routines.
You see, in the first few years of their career, teachers expend an exorbitant amount of time building lessons on hundreds of topics. Then they improve those lessons by repeatedly teaching them over the years. I couldn’t tell you how many weeks I spent working 70+ hours trying to craft effective lessons that are accessible to students of all abilities, fun and engaging, provide sufficient time for practice and gets students excited about the topic — only to discover how ineffective they were. I only started having a good work-life balance 3 years into my teaching career. That’s when I started to get a feel for what works and what doesn’t work in the classroom — I had routines.
Routines are the product of sweat, blood and tears. My colleagues are by no measure lazy. In fact, they are some of the most hard working people I know, but humans are inherently resistant to change. Why would teachers want to exchange a functioning routine that has been battle hardened over the years for an unproved technology? The incentive would have to be enormous and the transition phase very painless. Most technologies don’t make the cut so teachers rely on what they know works — their existing routines.
What EdTech is getting wrong
If you want teachers to use your product you have to understand their routines and build around them instead of building new ones. For example, there are many wonderful platforms that offer learning content that I can assign to students as homework or even in class when using laptops. However, I have no editing power over that ready-made topic. I may want to remove parts of the lesson that my class isn’t covering or add background information on which students can build. I find myself restructuring my lessons around the online content and not the other way around.
I run my own EdTech startup called ZenTeach that helps teachers plan lessons. I have broken down the science curriculum into small bits that teachers can use to custom-build their own lessons. With ZenTeach I try to build into existing teaching routines rather than disrupt them (if you’re a science teacher and interested in prototyping ZenTeach, then please sign up here.).
When change knocks at your door
The only time I have seen large-scale tech adoption succeed is when an external force demands changes. Two years ago, our school leadership decided to adopt Google Classroom for setting homework, assignments, quizzes and generally communicating with our students online. They organised many professional development sessions to help everyone get familiar with their new online environment. We had to invest a significant amount of upfront time creating new assessment routines, lesson resources and homework rules.
It paid off. I spend less time marking exams and preparing lessons — even before the pandemic. I can use my extra time helping individual students and they can rewatch or pause videos as many times as they like.
Which brings us to Covid-19.
With schools being shut, essentially all teaching and learning has moved into the cloud. There is a lot of trial and error happening right now across the country. Covid-19 acts as a catalyst for EdTech adoption. Teachers and students will have gotten used to online tools and will be more likely to continue using them once schools open again. When I asked my students for feedback on my video lessons they commented on the ability to rewatch, stop, and have access to a whole library of videos. I am certain that I’ll continue making videos now that I know how it’s done.
Covid-19 acts as a catalyst for EdTech adoption.
In summary, teaching online can be quite daunting for many teachers who are not as comfortable with technology. But now, millions of teachers are exploring EdTech out of pure necessity. It requires an upfront time investment and breaking with routines. Some solutions will stick, others will not, but the current situation is paving the way for long-term adoption of EdTech as we speak.
Thank you for reading! If you would like to signup to our newsletter to stay abreast of our development, sign up here.
