Exploring the Future of Education – Ed Tech Collaborative 2021

The Futuresource Consulting Ed Tech Collaborative event held on the 24 and 25th of March in conjunction with Intel was a huge success. Over the two days, Futuresource held ten panels with a top line-up of industry experts, discussing the key themes around navigating change in a hybrid world. The panels offered a holistic view of challenges facing the industry and encapsulated the impact of COVID-19 on the future of the market.

Thirty-five industry leaders came together to discuss key issues facing schools during the pandemic. Intel kicked off the event with a keynote from Cigdem Ertem, Global Director for Education and Public Sector Sales at Intel on the ‘Future of Education in a Post-Pandemic Environment’. Ertem emphasized the importance of government and industry involvement in planning and developing the current education system, highlighting how improvements in connectivity and technology management will be needed. Industry thought leaders such as John Solomon (Google), Richard Henderson (Lenovo), Charles Radman (HP), Teddy Hartman (GoGuardian), Rich Nedwich (Commscope) and many others also attended and presented at the event, contributing to an insightful and thought-provoking day of discussions.

The education industry has faced an abundance of challenges over the last 12 months, including dealing with new approaches to student engagement and motivation, the homework equity gap, the safeguarding of students online and acceleration of device adoption globally.

Ed Tech Platform Integration within Schools

John Solomon (Google), Jim Gardner (DfE), Howie Bender (D2L) and Jon Coleman (Wonde) kicked off the panels exploring the huge growth in EdTech platform integration within schools; the panel discussed whether it was a temporary response to cope with remote learning or a catalyst for schools to continue to digitalise their classrooms in the future.

Remote Learning & Teaching Spaces of the Future

This was followed by an insightful panel on ‘Teaching Spaces of the Future - How is Remote Learning Shaping Technology Choices?’ with Nidhi Patel (Global Commercial Head of Education – Logitech), Charles Radman (Global BDM – HP), Craig Scott (CTO – ViewSonic), Jonathan Mangnall (MD EMEA – Utelogy). The panellists discussed the importance of technology and how the hardware and software solution can support educators and students during the pandemic and beyond.

Effectively Managing Security & Safeguarding

Teddy Hartman, Head of Privacy at GoGuardian, accompanied with key channel players including Al Kingsley, CEO/Chair of Multi Academy Trusts discussed ‘how to effectively manage security and safeguarding’. These industry experts debated the balance between having the procedures in place to protect the students through implementing security procedures and using safeguarding tools such as GoGuardian, whilst also teaching students about being responsible when accessing the internet.

Overcoming the Equity & Homework Gap Issue

A key theme discussed across many of the panels was the equity issues schools are facing. In the US, remote learning has brought to the forefront a clear divide between students from different backgrounds, with many low-income households not having access to broadband or classroom devices. Speakers from Kajeet, Promethean and CoSN joined together for an inspiring panel discussing in detail ‘How to Overcome the Equity and Homework Gap Issue’.

A clear message from the panels throughout the two days was the immense level of opportunity and growth potential in the education market to adopt technology in the classroom. However, there is still a long way to go. Further transformation is needed to be pushed at a central level, in addition to the right training to educators that will ultimately drive a greater student outcome.

To find out more about the event please visit here, or to view the full sessions from #EdTechCollab2021, please view or register for on demand access here.

About the author

Megan Lovell

Megan Lovell is a Research Analyst at Futuresource Consulting and joined the company in 2018 after graduating from Loughborough university with a BSc in Economics.

Megan works within Education team and is responsible for researching and analysing the Global K-12 PC market. Megan writes quarterly reports tracking trends and developments within the mobile PC segment.