Edtech and Teachers - Selecting Products to Support Diverse Learners

This edWeb podcast is sponsored by Digital Promise.The webinar recording can be accessed here.Even though many of us have returned to the classroom, COVID has sparked an intricate and lasting relationship between teaching, learning, and edtech. As a response to the needs of educators to understand how to make their edtech more accessible to all students, Educating All Learners Alliance (EALA), an organization dedicated to equity for complex learners, was formed and stepped up to curate resources. Its free Tech Tool Library, for example, is designed for educators to understand how to turn on the accessibility features that already exist within the tools they are using in the classroom, explore new accessible edtech products, and help schools and families find better solutions to meet their learners’ unique needs. This edWeb podcast features two EALA co-founding organizations, Digital Promise and InnovateEDU, as well as Newsela, an edtech tool to promote inquiry-based learning with inclusive content, to discuss the role we are asking tech to play, why it is important to consider the whole child and their learner variability, and how teachers can become part of the school or district’s edtech decision-making process. A Learner Variability Project national survey of American public school parents and teachers found that teachers more comfortable with edtech were significantly less likely to say the pandemic has worsened their ability to work with each student’s learner variability. Yet, as our speakers address, before developing a comfort with edtech is the need to understand the why within each student—their variability that can change over time and context. In this edWeb podcast, we discussHow equity, accessibility, and supporting the whole learner gives products more opportunities to address the needs of the full diversity of learnersResources for teachers on how they can enable features that make tools they use more accessibleAccess to clear and trustworthy information about edtech to ensure teachers can easily find tools that align with their prioritiesInternal school district decision-making processes for tech tool selectionThis edWeb podcast is of interest to preK-12 teachers, librarians, school and district leaders, ELL educators, and those involved in the edtech community.Digital PromiseDigital Promise's mission is to accelerate innovation in education to improve opportunities to learnDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Learn more about viewing live edWeb presentations and on-demand recordings, earning CE certificates, and using accessibility features.