Joel Kupperstein is Senior Vice President of Product Strategy, Learning A-Z.

All teachers have a toolbox of strategies to help with classroom management, crafting differentiated lessons and assessments, coaxing students to practice, guiding them to master challenging concepts and much more.

Educators need these strategies because teaching isn’t a one-size-fits-all proposition. Students don’t process and learn information the same way, perform identically or grasp information at the same pace. Educators don’t teach the same way in lockstep, either. They do, however,face many challenges while navigating cultural barriers, financial constraints and limited resources hindering student achievement.

Education constantly strives to narrow the achievement gap among different student populations. Educational technology — or edtech — enables teachers to adapt their instruction, practice and assessment to meet individual student needs. Significant elements of its value proposition include:

• Providing individualized support to students who need it.
• Offering extra practice to help students master a concept.
• Allowing students to progress at their own pace.
• Facilitating student learning by providing instant feedback.
• Giving students access to a variety of learning resources.
• Engaging students in learning, encouraging ownership of their educational journey and helping them to build confidence.

In short, edtech is another essential strategy for 21st-century teachers, allowing them to meet the needs of all learners and help them succeed.

Technology: A partner in learning

Today’s students are part of an integrated digital generation. They’ve never lived in a world without the internet, cell phones, computers or graphing calculators. 

With tech-enabled resources, students can work at their own pace with individualized support and extra practice to gain mastery and build confidence. Edtech platforms can assess work, provide feedback and offer recommendations for other activities. The platforms also give teachers and students access to treasure troves of diverse learning experiences and resources.

Edtech examples

Edtech offers a tremendous breadth of use cases — and they’re still expanding even as more tech enters the market.

• Assessment and quiz tools help educators create, deliver and grade assessments online. They also provide data analysis and reporting to help teachers identify trends in student performance, surface learning gaps and inform instruction.

• Digital libraries provide access to a vast collection of educational materials, including digital articles, interactives, textbooks and videos. Whole group, small group and independent practice scenarios benefit from this technology. 

Digital libraries are versatile, providing equitable access to educational materials for all students — regardless of location or socioeconomic status. They empower students to pursue their own interests and learn at their own pace. Because they don’t require the purchase and maintenance of physical materials, digital libraries are more cost-effective. Finally, they’re customizable to meet specific school, grade or class needs.

• Game-based learning platforms use games to teach different concepts, engaging students with elements like badges, leaderboards and points. Many products use adaptive technology to personalize learning, facilitate self-paced practice, develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills, and increase motivation and engagement.

• Tech-enabled utilities help teachers manage courses more effectively and ease administrative loads. These tools supplement the core curriculum with utilities, classroom management resources, content creation tools and lesson-building tools. 

There’s been a notable shift toward personalized and adaptive learning approaches in the K-12 education market. Advancements in edtech enabling customized, data-driven learning experiences have accelerated this trend. These edtech resources equip educators and students to navigate an increasingly digital world.