Importance of ROI When Considering Adopting EdTech

Teachers in today’s classroom are having to rapidly acquire new skills to adapt to new classroom technology for hybrid learning. The new learning technology can also create problems that eat into teaching time. There are multiple devices that require logins, internet connections, and secure cloud access. According to Education Week, teachers are often faced with the challenge of fixing access problems on online video calls, which can consume precious classroom teaching time, impacting all their students. 

With the education ecosystem focused on adapting to new teaching strategies, one way to improve is to look for technology that eliminates repetitive time-consuming tasks for teachers. For example, automated test scoring tools can free up time outside the lessons. Another way to optimize classroom time is the use of automated login technologies to enable teachers to faster access network and cloud-based files and classroom recordings. Logging into Google accounts, Zoom, and other infrastructure can be simplified and made faster and more secure with NFC-powered Tap 'N Teach technology, where a teacher can swipe a card in front of a display and start teaching in less than 20 seconds. Automated video conferencing apps and other tools can be loaded on the board to enable a one-tap connection, freeing the teacher from complicated logins. The best part? It doesn’t take hours of CE training to master, and once set up, is easily managed by the IT department to ensure it works every time. Learn in detail how BenQ boards help you save teaching time.

Administrators are now looking for non-proprietary solutions that can run their older platforms, such as Smart Notebook or Promethean ActiveInspire, while adapting to new curriculum ecosystems such as Microsoft Whiteboard or Google Classroom, on the same display. For school districts like Kankakee IL, this enables teachers to use whatever curriculum they are most comfortable with and eliminates the need for large amounts of teachers' training to learn new technology. See the Kankakee School District case study here.

One dramatic change we are observing that will have long term consequences is the need for remote and hybrid learning and working. While the temptation is to look at the COVID-19 pandemic as a short term event, the reality is that once students eventually graduate and enter the workforce, they are going to be working and communicating remotely regularly. Educause “Information Ecology“ assessment is an excellent tool to look at how to prepare your students for the hybrid learning environment in universities – and their future careers. New interactive displays that operate similar to smartphones and integrated cloud connectivity offer ways to leverage existing learning and user interfaces from common consumer products – but can extend the reach of the hybrid classroom without major infrastructure investment.

While these technologies can certainly deliver content and information, engaging the students on a human level is still a critical part of student success. According to Scientific American, many students find the classroom to be a great place to escape from social media and often “craved more human interaction, and wanted to unplug more during class”. Teachers can look to these new technologies as tools to use to increase their impact on students rather than electronic distractions.

After Covid-19, hybrid classrooms will be present in every school. So while currently, most of the effort is on keeping students safe by removing them from the school building, how can schools improve the health and safety of students learning within the classroom? Health experts are looking at these areas to improve classroom health and safety for students and teachers: