Education Article and Mini Rant: Can Ed- Tech Companies Survive Marketing Only to Teachers?

The title of this posts a question that I truly was intrigued by - "Can Ed- Tech Companies Survive Marketing Only to Teachers?"

I am always intrigued by how concepts and different processes function. I utilize ed-tech in my classroom on a daily basis and I have often pondered to the what if world.

I understand what makes a good tool for the classroom - but the concept of salesmanship is not within my daily thought process.

The author Jason Tomassini investigates the current trends and states "Within education technology startup and investment circles, there's a lot of chatter about the "consumer-ization" of the market. Basically, the end-users of ed tech—teachers—are becoming more proactive about choosing what they use in the classroom, and companies are developing and marketing products with those very end-users in mind. No longer are district-level procurement officers the primary gatekeepers for teaching tools and materials."

Tomassini continues and explains "Developing products based on teachers' experiences and preferences would help improve academic performance, which can't help but influence district-level officials with bigger checkbooks, Friedman believes. In an ideal world, it's a win-win for teachers and for companies. Similarly, some education industry onlookers I spoke with hope that "consumer-ization" is not the endgame for the market, but a means to enterprise sales and putting better technology into schools."

In my opinion teachers need to become the voice guiding the companies and the products - too often teachers simply modify bad tools and fit square pegs into round holes in the classroom. Teachers should be partnering to create the best tools to help fix the education situation. Teaching is not something an observer truly understands through observation - teaching requires practice and experience. Understanding the needs of the students and the capabilities of the staff while balancing the requirements of the subject is a delicate and imperfect science that in my opinion takes time, patience, and constant tinkering.