Sandra Liu Huang on Partnering With Educators To Co-Build Tools That Solve Real Classroom Challenges

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the use of education technology in schools has skyrocketed. Schools have embraced a wide range of digital tools, from curriculum and instruction to assessment, professional learning, and family communication. One report found that school districts used an average of 2,591 different edtech tools in the 2022-23 school year — nearly three times as many as the year before the pandemic (Learn Platform, n.d.).

With the proliferation of technology in the classroom, ensuring that teachers and students have access to digital tools that have the greatest impact on learning requires meeting three key conditions. First, a digital tool should help teachers implement research-backed practices that lead to positive student outcomes. There must be a clear throughline from the science of learning and development to what teachers and students do in the classroom.

Second, education technology products must respond to the real day-to-day needs of teachers, addressing the pressing challenges they face and ideally giving them opportunities to learn and grow as professionals.

Finally, education technology must be efficient for teachers to use and fit within the school context. If it’s too clunky or bumps up against the structure or culture of a school, it will sit on the virtual shelf.

An effective way to meet these goals in our experience is to ensure that educators are full partners in building research-backed education technology tools that respond to the daily classroom challenges teachers face. At the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, we engage educators and students as co-builders of education technology by creating opportunities to elevate their voices and expertise. In partnership with teachers and students, we’re building easy-to-use technology tools grounded in the science of human learning and development.

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Excerpted with permission of Learning Forward, www.learningforward.org. All rights reserved.

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About the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative was founded in 2015 to help solve some of society’s toughest challenges — from eradicating disease and improving education, to addressing the needs of our communities. Through collaboration, providing resources and building technology, our mission is to help build a more inclusive, just and healthy future for everyone. For more information, please visit chanzuckerberg.com.