The Present and Future of Education Technology: Voices of eLearning

Voices of eLearning host, JW Marshall, spoke with Harris Goodman, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and Strategy at Achieve 3000, a 20 year old education software provider focused on K-12 literacy and other edTech products and services.

Marshall kicked off the conversation with the topic of data interoperability. “There’s a lot of data being generated by teachers and students,” said Goodman. Connecting information from different sources and syncing them together is a significant challenge. Being able analyze data on the whole can help determine where the student is coming from and where the student is going. Goodman also spoke of his work to promote open API platforms to improve data collection and analysis.

The discussion then moved into the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and how it has changed the mindset of eLearning companies and their willingness to work together to solve problems. Goodman spoke about companies being more open to interoperability as well as other challenges such as student authentication, authenticity, and creating a culture of anti-cheating in a home learning environment.

When asked about other challenges that have arisen from the pandemic, Goodman noted, “One thing we all need to think about is the social and emotional welfare of our students.” The lack of regular play, interactions with friends, and other social activities can have adverse impacts on a child’s learning and development as well.

“What has been your experience as far as helping facilitate that parent involvement in a brand new way?” asked Marshall, as parents are now more involved with a child’s learning from home. Harris describes the challenges for parents and the importance of reaching the parents in a meaningful way. “The research has shown this for years. The more involved the family is in the child’s education, the better off that child will be.”

The pair also touched on a number of other topics such as adult learning, career opportunities from eLearning, value of higher education opportunities, roles of universities in preparing students for the workforce, advice for entrepreneurs in the eLearning and technology space, startup mentorship, and insights into leadership.

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