The Stories We Were Told about Education Technology (2017)

2017 marks the eighth year in which I’ve reviewed the most important “trends” in education technology from the previous twelve months. (You can look at the topics I’ve covered in previous years here on research.hackeducation.com.)

This year I’m making a concerted effort to shift away from the language of “trends.” I don’t really identify “trends” per se. This project isn’t market research. It isn’t meant to serve as a list of products schools should buy.

Instead, I’m interested in the stories we were told about education technology. What, if you will, do investors and entrepreneurs and politicians hope will be “trends” based on the stories they tell about ed-tech. (Does this coincide with what is happening in classrooms? Does their storytelling coincide with investments or policies or legislation?) Why are some stories about the future of education so compelling? This project analyzes the steady of drumbeat of marketing throughout the year about the promises of education technology and offers a different interpretation. My hope is that more people learn how to read ed-tech’s powerful storytelling resistantly.

This project includes a blog where you can read supplemental stories about how I work as well as my thoughts throughout the year on these (and other) “trends.” You can also read more about the investments and investors that fuel these powerful education stories at funding.hackeducation.com.

Image credits: Bryan Mathers