http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140429083128-143352399-what-is-educational-technology

Every time someone asks me what I do, I always expect a the same reaction. My answer is pretty much a proud smile and saying that I work in educational technology. Which mostly leads to slight confusion and casually moving along in the conversation. This is hard term to define, but in my books it is all about making education more accessible through modern technology.

Slightly Misunderstood:

A common misconception that many have is that technology should replace a teacher -Nope! Edtech should rather facilitate, connect, inspire and support traditional learning. This is at least my personal mission. There is no doubt that teachers and tutors are key in terms of learning, and no app or device will ever be able to fully replace that human touch.

Huge Potential:

This new field is growing by the clicks. Never before have we seen so many ideas and apps in the educational space. Silicon Vally and other tech hot spots are now taking “edtech” as a heavy hitter in terms of future growth and potential. We are also seeing more accelerators for those working with education, which is exciting and encouraging for people on my side of the screen. There is more and more chatter around heavy investments being made in the space, and we are starting to hear of more success stories too.

Have you made the change?

Perhaps you are an edtech enthusiast, specialist.. or someone who might not be aware that they actively use it? Ever shared anything on google docs, worked on moodle or play with an app to learn something? Yupp, then you have been there and done that in one way or another. It wasn’t that bad, was it?

There are more seamless integrations happening out there, and students are becoming adaptive, interested and tech friendly. There seems to be a slight misalignment happening on the teacher and school side of things.

Should teachers make the same leap? There is no doubt that education needs a little shake up. Times are changing - for better or for worse, and adaptation is always key. If you enjoy using tech, then why not learn at the same time?

My last thought is this, tech isn’t here to replace teachers. Technology is here to help - let it help you in the best way possible. Thoughts?