There is a reason that when an administrator really wants to know how something works in a classroom they focus on teachers. Look at the spectrum of the educational professionals in differing roles at this time; classroom teachers are really the only ones with practical experience with educational technology or #EdTech. Administrators have barely cleaned the overhead markers off their hands, let alone some of the ditto ink. Students do not have to ‘learn’ technology in the same sense that adults do, and the adults who are learning it are classroom teachers.
Teachers should not be over-charged
It makes fiscal sense to offer classroom level subscriptions to #EdTech products. But teachers putting out their own money is a tough one; it is a profession under-paid and under-represented as a profession.
Think of other pay structures. Most subscriptions offer a district or school discount. Why not a discount as each member of a school or districts add-on? Offer an incentive for the teachers currently paying for your service, possibly a referral code to share. The profit cannot be cut more than if a school or district discount was applied. Don’t starve your people, nourish them.
Teachers are not a crop to be harvested by #EdTech
Teachers have not risen to this point in their craft just to come work for you – they work for all of us in the most important work.
Please do not ask them to barter their integrity as there is a teacher code that none of us want to be broken.
Teachers are not disposable
Treat them as valued customers. Because even though we do not have mounds of disposable income we network and know if another teacher receives poor customer service.
This might be the pinnacle of the #EdTech bubble. When else will we experience such a lop-sided representation of school leadership versus classroom teacher technical understanding? #EdTech needs to nurture these teachers into the educational leadership positions of the future intact and happy.
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