Lessons I Have Learned about Technology and Reform

Years ago, I was a member of a panel held at Mission High School during San Francisco Design Week. Software developers and designers of ed-tech products attended this panel discussion. The moderator asked each of us to state in 7-8 minutes “what hard lessons have you learned about education that you’d like to share with the ed-tech design community?” My fellow panelists were two math teachers–one from Mission High School and the other a former teacher at Oakland High School, three product designers (one for the Chan/Zuckerberg Initiative, another for Desmos, and the lead designer for Khan Academy) who had been working in the ed-tech industry for years. In attendance were nearly 60 young (in their 20s and 30s) product designers, teachers, and ed-tech advocates . When my turn came to speak, I looked around the room and saw that I was the oldest person in the room. Here is what I said. Many designers and school reformers believe with aging, pessimism and cynicism grow. Not true. As…