Ep. 52: You're Not Innovating If You're Not Solving Problems

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***NOTE TO LISTENERS: We recorded this episode at the start of summer. Apologies for anything that feels dated.

EQ: How can the ed tech industry work with schools, teachers, and within its own ranks to create equity?

Guest: Holly Morris is an educational technology innovator whose work over the last 10 years has focused on facilitating the creation of engaging learning environments at every point on the spectrum: Pre-K to higher ed. She studied law at Berkeley and holds an MA in Education Policy from the University of Washington. 

Holly explains the meaning of ed tech - technology solutions that help schools on the back end (administrative tasks, payroll, etc.) and the front end (teacher, student, and classroom tools). She shares her experience with Global Voice - a tech platform to help all the stakeholders in the ELL system - and equity work within the tech sector, including racial and gender inclusion. Holly also drops some knowledge about how innovative educational technologies are funded, including through private grants and philanthropy (it’s expensive to fail!). She makes projections for the future of ed tech and emphasizes the importance of developing technology that serves users and their specific needs within schools. 

Champagne and Real Pain:

  • Champagne - we want to raise a glass/ pour one out for...

    • All the educators who are in the middle of their summer break. We know you won’t slow down - you’re probably at Target or at school and on Teachers Pay Teachers right, don’t lie - but it’s summer. Cheers!

    • Holly - open schools (Charter Schools Commission)

  • Real Pain - we want to call one out for

    • Summer day camps that don’t let campers go inside when it’s 90+ degrees outside. Give those kids some shade! Like actual shade!

Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Annie: Google search “assistive tech in education” and check out some of the amazing things people are creating to make learning more accessible for people with disabilities.

  • Hope: Global Voice website

  • Holly: check out IDEO popularized Design Thinking; Arizona State University Service Blue printing