EdTech Genome Project Seeks Public Comment on New Standards for Education Technology

WASHINGTON, Nov. 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The EdTech Genome Project today announced the opening of a public comment period, seeking input from the entire education community -- including teachers, administrators, students, parents, and technology providers -- to help identify the contextual variables associated with edtech implementation success and failure.

In the initial phase of its work, the project steering committee reviewed and discussed existing research and then chose a set of 13 variables related to edtech implementation. Now, the public is invited to help select 10 of those 13 variables for further study. The variables up for comment are:

• Alignment of Technologies to Instructional Purposes
• Adoption Plan
• Coaching
• Competing Priorities
• Foundational Resources (Technology Resources, Operational Tech Support, Financial Resources)
• Implementation Plan
• Professional Learning (Development) / Support
• School (Staff) Culture
• Support from School and District Administration
• Teacher Agency/Autonomy
• Teacher Beliefs about Tech/Self-Efficacy & Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge
• Time and Scheduling
• Vision for Teaching and Learning with Technology

View a list of the 13 candidate variables with working definitions for each here.

"The success of this project depends on input from a broad community of educators, administrators, industry and tech leaders," said Verna Lalbeharie, Managing Director for Personalized Learning at the American Institutes for Research. "We're excited to welcome feedback and bring diverse perspectives to bear on improving the edtech decision-making and implementation processes."

A first-of-its-kind initiative coordinated by the nonprofit Jefferson Education Exchange, the EdTech Genome Project is creating an evidence-based framework to help educators make better-informed decisions about which technologies to use in their classrooms and schools -- and how to implement them most effectively. The project is led by a steering committee of more than 30 education and technology leaders, including ISTE, the National Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers, ASCD, Gallup,  Mathematica, and teachers and technology leaders from seven public school districts across the country.

"This is work that impacts every classroom in America," said Melissa Collins, a teacher at Shelby County Schools in Memphis, TN and co-chair of the project steering committee. "The more perspectives we bring to the table, the better we will be able to help teachers and students around the country make better use of education technology."

Once the list of variables is finalized, up to ten national working groups will be formed, one for each selected variable, to reach consensus about how each implementation factor can be quantified. Those ten contextual variables with definitions and measurement instruments will comprise the EdTech Implementation Framework, Version 1.0, which will be published in December 2020. The Framework will serve as the backbone for a platform where educators and education leaders can be matched to edtech implementation insights from peers in similar contexts.

"Effective edtech implementation depends on a range of factors as varied as reliable broadband access, school culture, and effective professional coaching for educators," said Joseph South, Chief Learning Officer at ISTE. "This is the first step in an effort to measure and map the factors that make the greatest difference in how we use technology to support educators -- and students."

To share feedback on the EdTech Genome Project variables, click here. The initiative is also seeking applications from industry representatives and other stakeholders with related expertise and experience to join individual working groups. To learn more about raising your hand to potentially participate in a working group, click here.

About the Jefferson Education Exchange 
The Jefferson Education Exchange is a nonprofit public charity committed to bringing educator perspectives to bear on edtech procurement and research. Supported by the University of Virginia's Curry School of Education and Human Development, the Jefferson Education Exchange''s work centers on research and development to guide the design of research protocols and tools that will enable educators to document and share their experiences with education technology products. Connect with us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

SOURCE Jefferson Education Exchange

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