How to grasp how "EdTech" that integrates IT into education is actually used

ByWesley Fryer

Aiming for innovative education and human resource development by incorporating IT technology into the educational systemEdTech(Edtech) "is starting to attract attention in Japan as well. Although it is EdTech which can grasp student's learning progress and achievement degree by utilizing IT technology, it is not easy as "introduction = achievement up". In order to make full use of EdTech which we introduced carefully, we have summarized how to grasp how it is used by students.

A Clever Way to Measure How Students Actually Use Edtech (and Whether It Works) | EdSurge News
https://www.edsurge.com/news/2018-01-17-a-clever-way-to-measure-how-students-actually-use-edtech-and-whether-it-works

In the advanced countries of the United States and China, EdTech's implementation is focused on "creativity", "problem solving power", "science technology" etc. EdTech is a coined word that combines "Education" and "Technology", which features individual learning, digital art, and transcending subjects using digital technology. At the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan, a research group has been established to consider EdTech's future, and efforts began in January 2018.

"Establish" Future Classroom "and" EdTech Study Group "~ Consider the place of human resources development and EdTech to open up the future of industry and local creation ~ (METI / Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry)
http://www.meti.go.jp/press/2017/01/20180116001/20180116001.html


According to a survey by the American Software and Information Industry Association (Software & Information Industry Association: SIIA), in the United States from kindergarten to high schoolK-12A budget of 8.3 billion dollars (about 920 billion yen) is used for EdTech every year in education of a period called period. Even in such America, it is not easy to manually ascertain how students use various software and how much these tools are actually used. Many efforts are required to download data from software vendors over time, gather data by fighting with Excel table, and extract necessary information.

About this situation, Matthew Raimondi, the evaluation director of the school district "U - 46" in the suburbs of northwestern Chicago, said, "Go to various websites, find various use reports, talk to vendors There was a need to fly around various places in order to know whether the students are actually using the tools, "he says.

However, in this school district, since the autumn of 2017, we introduced Cleard's EdTech tool "Goals" to improve the situation. With Goals, educators, students and guardians can see how much time they spend on a number of digital learning programs, and the state of "progress" defined for each type of EdTech software, You can also set up an individual student's weekly usage goal and track progress against that goal.

Goals | Clever
https://clever.com/products/goals


Clever, who developed Goals, is a San Francisco-based company that previously provided an API to synchronize large volumes of data generated at school education sites with software vendors. Clever then develops a solution that allows students to use all applications with a single sign-in.

According to Clever, the company 's products are used in over 60,000 K - 12 educational institutions throughout the United States. In addition, it says that more than 300 educational applications are attached to the system. The company's CEO Tyler Bosmeny says that 20% of the nation's students have logged into Clever software.

According to Mr. Raymondi, using faster and more reliable data can help teachers get out of hand as soon as students hit the wall with a program. This seems to be making it possible to fine-tune follow by grasping "progress degree of individual students" which is not noticed simply by confirming that the application is standing up on the screen of the computer.

Goals may be a new source of revenue for Clever, which once was subject to access to the aforementioned APIs. "This is the first product that will allow us to provide additional premium offer if the school wishes," Bosmeny said. Mr. Bosmeny avoids mentioning the detailed price plan, but basically states that the price will change depending on the size of the school district and the need for additional development.