WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.000 Have you ever noticed something like, it seems 00:00:03.000 --> 00:00:05.900 like schools just, they can never really quite 00:00:05.900 --> 00:00:09.279 get technology integration right. It's like every 00:00:09.279 --> 00:00:11.939 year there's a new program or device or platform 00:00:11.939 --> 00:00:14.380 and then it never really quite works the way 00:00:14.380 --> 00:00:16.739 it's supposed to. Right, right, it's like the 00:00:16.739 --> 00:00:18.920 promise is always so big. Exactly. And then the 00:00:18.920 --> 00:00:20.699 reality. It always falls short. Yeah, always 00:00:20.699 --> 00:00:23.050 falls short. Well, in today's deep dive, we might 00:00:23.050 --> 00:00:26.230 actually have an explanation for why that happens. 00:00:26.949 --> 00:00:30.050 We are talking about a blog post today from Gary 00:00:30.050 --> 00:00:33.649 Ackerman over at hackscience .education called 00:00:33.649 --> 00:00:40.009 EdTech for Ed Leaders. Choose two. Oh, I love 00:00:40.009 --> 00:00:42.170 that title. Yeah, it's very catchy, right? It 00:00:42.170 --> 00:00:44.829 really gets to the heart of the issue. It does. 00:00:44.850 --> 00:00:47.469 It really does. So the basic premise here, and 00:00:47.469 --> 00:00:49.509 I think this is going to resonate with a lot 00:00:49.509 --> 00:00:53.049 of people, is that There are three things that 00:00:53.049 --> 00:00:55.750 everyone wants when it comes to technology in 00:00:55.750 --> 00:00:58.729 schools, right? We want it to be inexpensive. 00:00:58.869 --> 00:01:01.590 Of course. We want it to be quick to deploy. 00:01:01.689 --> 00:01:04.269 Like we don't want to wait forever to implement 00:01:04.269 --> 00:01:06.870 this thing. We want it to be high quality. We 00:01:06.870 --> 00:01:08.709 want it to actually work well and do what it's 00:01:08.709 --> 00:01:11.209 supposed to do. But the problem, and this is 00:01:11.209 --> 00:01:13.890 what Ackerman highlights in his blog post, is 00:01:13.890 --> 00:01:15.989 that you could usually only choose two of those 00:01:15.989 --> 00:01:20.939 things. Yeah, it's so true. You know, and it's 00:01:20.939 --> 00:01:22.799 funny because it's not even just an education 00:01:22.799 --> 00:01:25.280 thing, right? This is like a universal... It's 00:01:25.280 --> 00:01:27.959 across all industries. Yeah, technology implementation 00:01:27.959 --> 00:01:30.599 dilemma. So it's like this technology triangle 00:01:30.599 --> 00:01:33.040 and you can only pick two sides. Yeah, and the 00:01:33.040 --> 00:01:35.959 third side is always going to have a trade -off. 00:01:36.680 --> 00:01:38.500 Always involves a trade -off. Always involves 00:01:38.500 --> 00:01:40.439 a trade -off. So let's kind of break down these 00:01:40.439 --> 00:01:42.780 different combinations and trade -offs. So first, 00:01:42.819 --> 00:01:45.859 let's say you go with inexpensive and high quality. 00:01:45.939 --> 00:01:49.760 Right. But the trade -off there is that it takes 00:01:49.760 --> 00:01:52.780 forever to deploy it. Right. So a great example 00:01:52.780 --> 00:01:55.959 of this that Ackerman talks about are open source 00:01:55.959 --> 00:01:58.879 tools. Now, for folks who might not be familiar 00:01:58.879 --> 00:02:01.260 with what open source means, it's basically that 00:02:01.260 --> 00:02:04.879 the core code of the software is freely available. 00:02:04.959 --> 00:02:08.000 Which is great. And it's often very high quality 00:02:08.000 --> 00:02:12.180 because it's been vetted and improved by this 00:02:12.180 --> 00:02:15.500 huge community of developers. So that's awesome. 00:02:15.639 --> 00:02:18.060 Right, it sounds amazing on paper. Yeah, so it's 00:02:18.060 --> 00:02:21.240 free? What's the catch? The catch is that open 00:02:21.240 --> 00:02:24.819 source often requires a ton of like... Setup. 00:02:24.960 --> 00:02:29.280 Setup, customization, configuration, and I can 00:02:29.280 --> 00:02:31.479 only imagine if you're a small school district 00:02:31.479 --> 00:02:34.319 or even a large one with a really small IT team 00:02:34.319 --> 00:02:36.400 that's already overworked. Totally. And then 00:02:36.400 --> 00:02:39.460 you want to implement this complex open source 00:02:39.460 --> 00:02:42.659 system. Forget it. It's not going to happen quickly. 00:02:43.000 --> 00:02:46.139 And that delay means that all those benefits 00:02:46.139 --> 00:02:48.300 everyone's hoping for. They're just pushed out 00:02:48.300 --> 00:02:50.419 further and further. They're pushed out further 00:02:50.419 --> 00:02:53.750 and further. And it's not just the cost of the 00:02:53.750 --> 00:02:56.689 software itself. It's also the cost of the staff 00:02:56.689 --> 00:02:59.449 time to make it work. Yeah, that's a really good 00:02:59.449 --> 00:03:02.169 point. And that staff time, like, it translates 00:03:02.169 --> 00:03:04.389 to money too. Absolutely. So even though the 00:03:04.389 --> 00:03:07.169 software might be free, the implementation might 00:03:07.169 --> 00:03:09.469 not be. Might not be. Yeah, and you know what 00:03:09.469 --> 00:03:12.759 else I was thinking about? Yeah. Is that... even 00:03:12.759 --> 00:03:15.960 if you have the staff and the time to implement 00:03:15.960 --> 00:03:19.580 this, this big complex system, sometimes by the 00:03:19.580 --> 00:03:22.000 time you get it implemented, technology has already 00:03:22.000 --> 00:03:24.240 moved on. It's already obsolete. Yeah. Yeah, 00:03:24.240 --> 00:03:26.139 and then you're stuck with this. Right, you put 00:03:26.139 --> 00:03:29.680 all this work into it. This dinosaur of a system 00:03:29.680 --> 00:03:32.699 that can't do what you need it to do anymore. 00:03:32.939 --> 00:03:35.840 Right, so what if we flip it? What if we want 00:03:35.840 --> 00:03:39.610 something high quality and we want it fast? So 00:03:39.610 --> 00:03:41.750 what's the trade off there? Well, in that case, 00:03:41.889 --> 00:03:43.789 you got to be ready to like open up the wallet, 00:03:43.870 --> 00:03:45.189 open up the wallet, because that's where you're 00:03:45.189 --> 00:03:47.810 looking at those like off the shelf proprietary 00:03:47.810 --> 00:03:50.449 proprietary software solutions. The ones that 00:03:50.449 --> 00:03:53.750 are like ready to go prepackaged, usually pretty 00:03:53.750 --> 00:03:55.710 high quality because they've been developed and 00:03:55.710 --> 00:03:59.229 tested by a company. Yeah. But that convenience 00:03:59.229 --> 00:04:02.870 and speed come at a price. They do a premium 00:04:02.870 --> 00:04:05.669 price. Yeah. But wouldn't you argue, though, 00:04:06.229 --> 00:04:10.300 that sometimes that higher initial cost is actually 00:04:10.300 --> 00:04:14.120 offset by the time you save by having a quick 00:04:14.120 --> 00:04:17.180 deployment. Totally. Instead of waiting months 00:04:17.180 --> 00:04:20.000 for a free system to get set up, maybe sometimes 00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:22.300 it is worth it to just pay the money. That's 00:04:22.300 --> 00:04:24.300 a really good point. It depends on the situation 00:04:24.300 --> 00:04:26.699 and the resources available. I think there's 00:04:26.699 --> 00:04:29.480 another caveat with those off -the -shelf solutions 00:04:29.480 --> 00:04:32.420 though, which is, you know what happens when 00:04:32.420 --> 00:04:35.540 the standard configuration just doesn't quite 00:04:35.540 --> 00:04:38.529 fit your specific needs? You're stuck. Right, 00:04:38.709 --> 00:04:40.269 you're stuck. With a system. And then you're 00:04:40.269 --> 00:04:42.089 compromising on quality. That doesn't really 00:04:42.089 --> 00:04:44.310 work. Yeah, because the system can't quite do 00:04:44.310 --> 00:04:46.769 what you need it to do. It's like buying a suit. 00:04:46.930 --> 00:04:49.569 Yes. Off the rack. Off the rack. It might look 00:04:49.569 --> 00:04:51.550 good, but it doesn't quite fit. Exactly. And 00:04:51.550 --> 00:04:54.129 then you're spending even more money to get it 00:04:54.129 --> 00:04:55.829 tailored. And time to get it tailored. And time 00:04:55.829 --> 00:04:57.970 to get it tailored. Right. So all right, well 00:04:57.970 --> 00:05:00.370 let's talk about the last combination. OK. The 00:05:00.370 --> 00:05:03.230 one that I think nobody really wants to admit 00:05:03.230 --> 00:05:05.189 that they've experienced. Yeah. But we've all 00:05:05.189 --> 00:05:07.639 been there. We've all been there. which is inexpensive, 00:05:08.680 --> 00:05:10.980 and quick deployment. Which usually means... 00:05:10.980 --> 00:05:13.319 Which usually means low quality. Sacrificing 00:05:13.319 --> 00:05:16.060 quality. Yeah. And that's when you get the total 00:05:16.060 --> 00:05:18.120 flop moments, right? Yeah, where you have like, 00:05:18.139 --> 00:05:20.339 you know, maybe it's a rushed implementation 00:05:20.339 --> 00:05:22.639 of an open source system that hasn't really been 00:05:22.639 --> 00:05:24.899 tested, or it's a commercial product that looked 00:05:24.899 --> 00:05:27.720 really good on paper, but you know... But nobody 00:05:27.720 --> 00:05:30.790 actually did their research. Yeah, nobody really 00:05:30.790 --> 00:05:33.050 did their research on it or you know, or maybe 00:05:33.050 --> 00:05:35.370 they didn't pilot it properly Yeah, and it's 00:05:35.370 --> 00:05:38.170 not even always about just like glitches and 00:05:38.170 --> 00:05:41.149 bugs. Yeah, this whole conversation kind of reminds 00:05:41.149 --> 00:05:45.350 me of This time that my school Tried to roll 00:05:45.350 --> 00:05:48.889 out a new online learning platform and it was 00:05:48.889 --> 00:05:51.129 supposed to be like this amazing game -changing 00:05:51.129 --> 00:05:56.240 tool But it was so confusing and poorly explain 00:05:56.240 --> 00:05:58.899 that none of the teachers knew how to use it. 00:05:59.100 --> 00:06:01.240 Classic. And they just refused to use it. Yeah, 00:06:01.259 --> 00:06:03.459 it's a great example because it highlights another 00:06:03.459 --> 00:06:05.779 layer of this, right? Like even if a system checks 00:06:05.779 --> 00:06:08.899 all those boxes. It's free, it's quick, it technically 00:06:08.899 --> 00:06:11.819 works. If teachers don't understand it or they're 00:06:11.819 --> 00:06:14.220 not comfortable using it. Forget it. It's gonna 00:06:14.220 --> 00:06:17.300 fail. It's gonna fail. Yeah. So what does all 00:06:17.300 --> 00:06:19.860 this mean for our listeners? Because, you know, 00:06:19.980 --> 00:06:22.519 clearly there's no perfect solution here. There 00:06:22.519 --> 00:06:26.310 isn't. So how do we navigate this this tech triangle? 00:06:27.009 --> 00:06:29.569 Well, I think the big takeaway is there is no 00:06:29.569 --> 00:06:32.910 one size fits all answer. The right combination 00:06:32.910 --> 00:06:36.579 depends on a school's unique context, like what 00:06:36.579 --> 00:06:39.620 are their top priorities? What resources do they 00:06:39.620 --> 00:06:41.540 have? What are their needs? What trade -offs 00:06:41.540 --> 00:06:43.360 are they willing to make? Yeah, so it's really 00:06:43.360 --> 00:06:46.500 about making informed choices and having realistic 00:06:46.500 --> 00:06:50.300 expectations. Yes, exactly, and not trying to 00:06:50.300 --> 00:06:54.279 chase after this impossible ideal. Right, so 00:06:54.279 --> 00:06:55.439 you're not going to get everything. You're not 00:06:55.439 --> 00:06:56.899 going to get everything. You have to make some 00:06:56.899 --> 00:06:58.680 choices. You're going to have to compromise somewhere. 00:06:59.259 --> 00:07:01.600 And I think that kind of leads to a bigger question. 00:07:01.769 --> 00:07:04.310 that I think is really important for anyone to 00:07:04.310 --> 00:07:07.910 consider. Who's involved in making decisions 00:07:07.910 --> 00:07:10.870 about technology and education? Okay, I'm ready. 00:07:11.629 --> 00:07:15.610 What are the long -term costs of prioritizing 00:07:15.610 --> 00:07:19.009 speed or cost over quality? That's the question. 00:07:19.050 --> 00:07:21.610 When it comes to educational technology. Like, 00:07:21.730 --> 00:07:24.209 what compromises are we making? Are they truly 00:07:24.209 --> 00:07:26.670 serving the needs of our students and our educators? 00:07:27.189 --> 00:07:30.550 Because if we're not careful, we might be saving 00:07:30.550 --> 00:07:36.180 money. or time in the short term, but then really 00:07:36.180 --> 00:07:38.180 setting ourselves up for failure. The failure 00:07:38.180 --> 00:07:40.360 down the line. In the long run. And ending up 00:07:40.360 --> 00:07:43.040 spending even more money, time, energy to fix 00:07:43.040 --> 00:07:45.500 those problems. So that's something for everyone 00:07:45.500 --> 00:07:48.040 to kind of chew on and think about as they're 00:07:48.040 --> 00:07:50.959 making these decisions about technology in their 00:07:50.959 --> 00:07:53.339 schools. Absolutely. All right. Well, thanks 00:07:53.339 --> 00:07:56.399 so much for joining us for today's Deep Dive. 00:07:56.740 --> 00:07:58.459 I hope this has been helpful for everyone out 00:07:58.459 --> 00:08:00.699 there listening. Yeah, this was a good one. and 00:08:00.699 --> 00:08:01.620 we will see you next time.