Building a Better EdTech Future

I never set resolutions but made an exception for 2020. My goal was to conquer my fear of flying. Instead, between January and March 13th, I flew to London (twice), California (twice), Basel, NYC (twice), Madrid, Stockholm, and Copenhagen, all with white knuckles.

During my second flight to London with turbulence over the Atlantic, I panickily amended my resolution to spend more than 50% of my time at home (ha!). Little did I know the ‘VID-19 had other plans.

By now, words like pivot and resilience are firmly entrenched in our day-to-day vernacular. The plans and resolutions we made are tossed by the wayside. We are all different and the long-term impacts are impossible to imagine. That said, we have an extraordinary opportunity and great responsibility to recalibrate. If we do not, our rush to adapt will inadvertently leave some behind, reward the less-than-scrupulous, and create wider skill gaps.

In Toronto, the public libraries and coffee shops have been shuttered, cutting off a valuable digital lifeline. Since March, no matter the weather, people are sat in the parking lots or benches tethering to any available free public wi-fi. Employer expectations to join Zoom calls and work online can quickly erode a household data cap. Combine that with online schooling and the cost skyrockets. How many companies are offering stipends for home office operating expenses? Now is when we need to exert pressure on companies regarding the costs they are offloading onto employees so individuals are not paying to work.

The situation is far more precarious for those unemployed. Governments are stepping up, but the efforts are more kneejerk than strategic. Providing access to course libraries to upskill unemployed workers is a step in the right direction. Unfortunately, it does not address many systemic inequalities.

Content library provisions again assume access to wi-fi, as well as a modern laptop, tablet, or mobile. Often these libraries are not available in multiple languages, creating yet another barrier to entry. They can rely on video-heavy content, another challenge for people living outside of 4 and 5G networks, which generally have more affordable housing markets. Finally, content consumption does not equal the deep, hands-on, practice required to truly build new skills.

Right now, governments should be tackling upskilling in the same way supply chains are managed. The current buffet-style, spray-and-pray approach of content libraries will not ensure a fit-for-demand workforce. Instead, we need deliberate upskilling. This means determining the workforce gaps and seeking to close them via a more comprehensive learning experience which includes things like apprenticeships or mentorships, thus ensuring a pipeline of skills to meet future needs.

To create an upskilling ecosystem that truly caters to all and produces results we need to go further up the chain, which means rethinking our partnerships with EdTech providers. I will note upfront, there are absolutely many excellent, reputable, and evidence-based, solutions out there. That said, some did take advantage of the pandemic need to go digital. Content and platforms not fit for purpose have been—and still are—pushed as cure-alls to panicked buyers. Sadly, it will take time and money to unpick that hydra, and some of the damage to the reputation of digital learning may never be undone.

This is why it is important, now more than ever, to be extremely careful when it comes to vendor selection. At NilesNolen we always advise our clients to think beyond the feature list on an RFP and consider the broader relationship. For example, do they have a customer success mindset? Do they care about your business goals, and are they committed to helping deliver them?

Those questions are still important, but it is time to think deeper about values and capabilities as upskilling becomes more entrenched in the personal. We are staring down how our entire society rebuilds and L&D plays a crucial role. We need a sustainable upskilling strategy and with it, learning technologies that are not only effective and intentional, but equitable and inclusive. We need ecosystems designed to actually build necessary skills versus dump content on people and accrue as many active users as possible (translation: more ARR for those investors).

So, before you go out and start spending your 2021 budget on some shiny new platform, ask yourself: Will it actually equip people to develop skills—not just any old skills, but the ones your organization, or at least the broader workforce, needs? Is its efficacy backed by data and real results, beyond the usual vanity metrics?

But also: Do the founders have tangible experience and knowledge of learning science, or are they self-proclaimed thought leaders-slash-Edutainers? What are their core philosophies about learning and employee development? If they have completed a funding round, who are the VCs and are they driven by short-term profit or real progress? Do they walk the talk when it comes to diversity or engage in values theatre? In short: make sure their values are the ones that you and your organization would be proud to share in your annual report.

As we move forward, we cannot afford to be negligent. On the other side of the screen, there are real people, many of whom are terrified about staying relevant in a world that is changing way too fast for most to navigate on their own. We simply cannot let any talent fall by the wayside for reasons that are completely preventable.