Schools Pay Big for Unproven EdTech
14 posts across 9 communities in the last 30 days; 43% from r/edtech.
“I see and understand many arguments about screen time as if the only casualty were their attention or vocabulary. My problem is that a touchscreen does not foster any lifelong skills related to precise hand control and hand dexterity whatsoever. Swiping and tapping require…”
“Guided Access has a lot of names. Single-app mode Kiosk Mode Screen Pinning App Pinning Etc The biggest complaint that teachers have about devices in class is that the devices are distracting . But if you literally cannot access distrcations and can't even multitask on the…”
“Gift article, free to read and share, with no account required The stats for K12 American students' achievement cited in this article are alarming. Yet, given that this is hardly a new problem, why are we still struggling to understand the causes and apply remedies? The New York…”
Schools are implementing expensive educational tools like i-Ready, which claim to personalize learning and accelerate student growth. However, these tools lack credible, peer-reviewed evidence to support their effectiveness, raising concerns about the value and justification of significant financial investment. This creates a disconnect between marketing promises and actual student outcomes.
SOURCES (60)
“There are some new, futuristic approaches to learning that I've seen privately over the last couple weeks. The coolest one was self-correcting. When learners asked questions and there was not a good answer, a learning gap was identified. The system automatically reached out to SMEs…”
“I see and understand many arguments about screen time as if the only casualty were their attention or vocabulary. My problem is that a touchscreen does not foster any lifelong skills related to precise hand control and hand dexterity whatsoever. Swiping and tapping require almost no grip strength, no sustained pressure, no precision pinch, no bilateral coordination. They don’t demand anything, aside from your finger being in relatively the same area as the button. So, why is it that 95% of their”
“Anyone has done this? Are you planning to participate this year? What's going to be your project? submitted by /u/edfluency [link] [comments]”
“Guided Access has a lot of names. Single-app mode Kiosk Mode Screen Pinning App Pinning Etc The biggest complaint that teachers have about devices in class is that the devices are distracting . But if you literally cannot access distrcations and can't even multitask on the device, then it becomes much closer to paper. Many schools think that just because we've blocked TikTok, Shorts, Games etc, that that makes devices distraction free. Absolutely not. If you give a student a device locke”
“Gift article, free to read and share, with no account required The stats for K12 American students' achievement cited in this article are alarming. Yet, given that this is hardly a new problem, why are we still struggling to understand the causes and apply remedies? The New York Times asked 37 top academics and researchers who study education to rate a range of ideas for both effectiveness and cost, on a scale of 1 to 7. The results are not only informative, but could also serve as a practic”
“Most EdTech platforms are designed around universities, K-12 public districts, or standalone online course creators. When you actually spend time mapping the day-to-day operations of brick-and-mortar private language academies (ESL, language institutes, regional test-prep centers), you quickly realize why existing SaaS tools cause massive friction. Here are the operational bottlenecks that typical software completely misses: 1. The "Continuous Enrollment" Chaos Standard academic softwa”
“Andrew Liddell makes the case that most of EdTech is actually intended to steal data and capture kids' attention, not to make learning better. Curious what people here think about this? submitted by /u/Past-Rutabaga-2863 [link] [comments]”
“Hello! We have fairly strict screen-time rules in our house. As a teacher I see a lot of the negative effects of over usage including lost sleep, inability to have a conversation or know words, loss of critical thinking, etc. I'm not against screens, but just want to make sure my kids have a balanced day/life. Anyway, the point is we have rules. We only do an hour of educational screens during the week (usually Minecraft), and have Sunday be screen free. They can do almost whatever game on F”
“Disagree. First, it’s much more local than you’re claiming. Also, smartphones, social media, and the introduction of 1:1 devices have been much more damaging from my observation.”
“the gap you described is real but the problem with edtech is that students dont pay and teachers are slow to adopt. have you figured out who the actual buyer is yet? that matters more than the feature set tbh”
“I'm on the technology team for a district of about 14K students. We need a parent communication app tied to our SIS with support for five languages. Existing products either miss the integration or get expensive once the per-student pricing reaches 14,000. Our procurement templates work for laptops and SaaS licenses, not a custom development team. If another district has written this RFP, what did you require before the board would approve it? submitted by /u/Live_Solution_4504 [”
“All we have to do is design ONE consolidated software/app for schools that manages grades, communication, and calendars. Because clearly it doesn't exist. Otherwise, why would we need a half dozen random programs to handle everything? This is out of control. submitted by /u/TigerUSF [link] [comments]”
“I am a doctoral researcher conducting an academic study on coercive sales tactics and consent erosion in the Indian educational technology (EdTech) ecosystem. I am looking to speak with parents in India who have experienced aggressive or guilt-based sales tactics, including: Sales reps visit your home or call persistently. "Diagnostic/Aptitude tests" that claimed your child was falling behind, triggering anxiety/guilt. Being locked into third-party loans/EMIs (NBFCs) under the impressi”
“Have most states continued attempts to use value-added models to measure "student growth" and, in turn, "teacher effectiveness"? In Tennessee the TVAAS charade persists after 15 years. I've taught in two schools over that time, and the only constant for value-added scores (my individual ones and those of the subject area and/or school) is inconsistency. Of course, that's not the least bit surprising. As far back as at least 16 years ago, researchers noted value-added”
“One humid afternoon in the summer of 2025, representatives from Microsoft were waiting as some 200 teachers trooped into a conference hall in downtown Manhattan. The educators were there for a workshop on the school technology of the moment: artificial intelligence chatbots. The Microsoft team gave a presentation on their Copilot chatbot and asked the teachers to practice using it for tasks like generating emails to parents and customizing lesson plans. Microsoft instructors also screened an A.I”
“We use Genesis for attendance and grades IEP Direct (or whatever it's called this year) for IEPs Linkit for a "data locker" - which is a ridiculous thing...and "benchmarks) IXL for learning paths and whatnot Google classroom because...I actually don't know. Outlook for email One drive Some stupid login thing that I can't think of right now "single login" Deledao Oncourse lesson plan Remind. It's such an unbelievable waste of money. Most of the programs ov”
“Adaptive learning platforms often can get attention for their promise to personalize education, but in your experience, do these tools genuinely improve outcomes for diverse student groups? I’ve seen mixed results because, sometimes the tech adds value, other times it’s just another layer of complexity. I would love to hear from folks who’ve implemented adaptive tools in higher ed settings. What challenges or unexpected benefits have you encountered? submitted by /u/NoIntroduction947”
“I feel like it’s more infrastructure stuff and not educational. I think that’s where one of the best values for technology is, the admin piece. But is that still considered EdTech? submitted by /u/journe3y [link] [comments]”
“Why does it feel like, similar to video game companies ,the future of edtech is not in huge companies but small boutique firms with extremely specialized capabilities? I feel like we are going to see a balkanization of edtech firms which will coalesce into a sort of union of firms. Eventually we will have companies again. I think the best thing that edtech firms can do is teach teachers how to make products using ai for their classrooms. Eventually products will lead the pack then go from there.”
“It’s no secret that the attention span of most students has shrunk in the age of smartphones (could say the same for most adults too probably), and the rise of phone bans and a deemphasis on digital tech in the classroom are partly to reduce distraction. Nonetheless, I find a lot of admin and instructional leader types touting breaking lessons into chunks of 10 to 15-minute activities so as to keep kids’ attention. I adopt that sort of approach if it suits the material I’m covering, but in gener”
“This New York Times article (gift link, free to read and share) explores the unfavorable reaction that some American parents have to the increasing use of mobile devices and apps in K12 education - starting in kindergarten at times. Their concerns have become more urgent with the rapid advance of artificial intelligence—seemingly now present in nearly all education software, as well as some hardware. Clearly some edtech offers benefits that analog simply can't- e.g., real-time feedback and l”
“That will always be the case though. No education is perfect, it will lag behind infustry standard because it takes time for the curriculum to catch up and industry standard still evolves rapidly.I also think this view severely underestimates how much you actually end up using. For example you (are supposed to) learn at least one and more likely 2-3+ programming languages. We learned DSA which I very frequently see mentioned as "useless" which just tells me they never understood the topic to beg”
“We have been looking closely at how digital tools roll out across different districts lately, and a major friction point keeps coming up around student accessibility outside of standard school hours. A huge chunk of students rely heavily on mobile devices during their commutes or at home, but many district-approved platforms assume a stable, high-speed broadband connection at all times. The moment a student loses signal on the bus or has limited home data, their access completely drops, turning”
“Rule 3 says no market research. I respect the rules. Is there a subreddit anyone knows to get feedback from people who work in IT departments in school districts? submitted by /u/AutVincere72 [link] [comments]”
“I think its more like You need a licenses for a car, heavy machinery, construction, weapons, medicine, even a pen license in school. yet all staff get giving a laptop with near limitless digital potential where all the buttons are there, then told to use it in thier daily jobs without a license simply because it cannot become dangerous to us physically.”
“How much classroom screen time should K-12 students be exposed to? That's a question policymakers and school district leaders are debating far more frequently than they were just a few years ago. Facing growing pressure from parents and educators, schools are increasingly being asked to justify when — and why — students use digital devices in the classroom. At least six states — Utah, Iowa, Tennessee, Alabama, Virginia, and Maine — approved classroom screen-time legislation this year, and ro”
“I always hear teachers complaining about the lack of attention or the shorter attention span their students show. Then, while I was reading Fred Jone's Tools for teaching, I came across this sentence that impressed me. "A student who has been allowed to substitute television or videogames for reading may show a short attention span and little interest in classroom tasks". He wrote this essay back in 2007. I suppose it was already a big problem back then, but right now maybe it'”