Edtech that helps teachers beats edtech that replaces them

COVID-19 FORCED ten years of digital transformation in schools to take place in a month, says John Martin, the former leader of Sanoma Learning, an education technology (edtech) company. Teachers suddenly became more willing to use technology because the alternative was not to teach. Much of this technology will remain as pupils head back to the classroom this term. But the experience has refined what edtech is really for.

School closures also forced entrepreneurs to grapple with a stark truth: few are interested in completely disrupting the classroom. For decades innovators imagined a future without traditional learning. MOOCs (massive open online courses), like Udacity and Coursera, were supposed to replace in-person learning. Teachers and school administrators feared that technologists were aiming to replace them. Before the pandemic, most American schools were hesitant to adopt technology, says Jean Hammond, co-founder of LearnLaunch Accelerator, a startup programme. “Lots of cool, amazing little things would come along. But because…schools hadn't been trained in how to adopt new technology, change was very slow.”

Tech entrepreneurs “put the tech before the ed” before the pandemic, explains Mr Martin. Innovators have since grasped that their technology must support teachers in the classroom rather than attempt to...