Do teachers and students get the ed-tech products they need: The challenges of ed-tech procurement in a rapidly growing market

Abstract

Ed-tech courseware products to support teaching and learning are being developed and made available for acquisition by school districts at a rapid rate.  In this growing market, developers and providers face challenges with making their products visible to customers, while school district stakeholders must grapple with “discovering†which products of the many available best address their instructional needs.  The present study presents the experiences with and perceptions about the procurement process from 47 superintendents representing diverse school districts in the U. S.  Results indicate that, while improvements are desired in many aspects of the procurement process, the superintendents, overall, believe that, once desired products are identified, they are generally able to acquire them.  Difficulties lie in tighter budgets, discovering products that are potentially the best choices, and evaluating the effectiveness of the products selected as options.  These findings are presented and interpreted in relation to five major “Action Points†in the procurement process, and also with regard to implications for evaluating how educational technology impacts K-12 instruction.

 Keywords: Ed-tech, school districts, K-12.