3/10/2024 0 Comments Smarty ants login teacher sign upWith little regulation, companies have few incentives to prove their products work, according to the researchers at Harvard and universities in Norway and Germany. But a study of a ThinkCERCA literacy program found it had no impact on scores.Ī team of international researchers reported in September that edtech has generally failed to live up to its potential. The company Edmentum says Clark County students who used one of its programs did better on standardized tests. But nearly all schools spent some money on technology.Īs districts spend the last of their pandemic aid, there is no consensus on how well the investments paid off. Tech contracts released by Clark County amount to about 6% of its $1.2 billion in federal relief money. “What’s the point of having all this software in place when you don’t even have a teacher to teach the class? It doesn’t make sense,” said Lorena Rojas, who has two teens in the district.Įducation technology accounts for a relatively small piece of pandemic spending. Some Las Vegas parents say software shouldn’t be a priority in a district with issues including aging buildings and more than 1,100 teacher vacancies. The district declined an interview request. When they did use it, sessions averaged less than five minutes. Less than half of elementary school students used Freckle, a math app that cost the district $2 million. Some were widely used, such as literacy app Smarty Ants for young students. But some of the biggest contracts went to companies that promised to help kids catch up on learning.Ĭlark County schools spent more than $7 million on Achieve3000 apps. Many schools bought software to communicate with parents and teach students remotely. “It was distributed almost entirely on the strength of marketing, branding and relationships.” “That money went to a wide variety of products and services, but it was not distributed on the basis of merit or equity or evidence,” said Bart Epstein, founder and former CEO of EdTech Evidence Exchange, a nonprofit that helps schools make the most of their technology. The spending fed an industry in which research and evidence are scarce. “It’s unbelievable how many calls we got.” “I understand that they have a job to do, but when money is available, it’s like a vampire smelling blood,” she said. “It’s probably predatory, but at the same time, schools were looking for solutions, so the doors were open,” Ryan said.Īt the school offices in rural Nekoosa, Wisconsin, the calls and emails made their way to business manager Lynn Knight. Equipped with automated sales tools, marketers bombarded teachers and school leaders with calls, emails and targeted ads. Revenue skyrocketed and investors poured billions into startups.Īt the same time, new marketing technology made it easier for companies to get school officials’ attention, said Chris Ryan, who left a career in edtech to help districts use technology effectively. The pandemic sparked a boom for tech companies as schools went online. They include Achieve3000 (for a suite of learning apps), Age of Learning (for math and reading acceleration), Paper (for virtual tutoring) and Renaissance Learning (for learning apps Freckle and MyON). Clark County schools in the Las Vegas area, for one, signed contracts worth at least $70 million over two years with 12 education technology consultants and companies.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |