EdTech Series: Technology and Trust
April 9, 2021
This post was written by Bradford Saines. Brad is an intern with the Alhambra US Chamber.
The EdTech Speaker Series is an interactive, engaging online monthly session where influencers from the education technology (also known as EdTech) industry discuss the current and future state of EdTech. Through the EdTech Series, the Alhambra U.S. Chamber is able to spread its mission of strengthening educational capacities around the world. Tap into EdTech startups and companies from The US, Europe and other parts of the world by joining The Chamber at our April session! Click here to register.
In March, Duleep Deosthale, Senior Consultant at Thinkubator, hosted the Q&A for Peter Fagerstrom, the co-founder and CEO of Teach Millions and Educraftor. These companies provide EdTech and entrepreneurship opportunities for students in nordic countries. Deosthale and Fagerstorm discussed two main challenges to successful EdTech businesses: 1) how to develop long-distance methods of teaching as the need for them increases and 2) how to develop trust between EdTech businesses and their consumers.
Long-Distance Teaching
Fagerstrom started Teach Millions in April 2020 facing many challenges, including the Coronavirus pandemic and lack of government funding. He utilized what was available to him, including 50 volunteers and resources from his other company, Educraftor. Through this new venture, Fagerstrom used technology to bridge the gap between teachers and students in a socially distanced world.
As Teach Millions grows, some of the changes Fagerstrom most wants to implement include:
Becoming more established internationally
Using a subscription model of service
Using Artificial Intelligence in EdTech
Fully monetizing the programs by which students learn.
He hopes that these changes will enable Teach Millions and other EdTech businesses to reach more students and provide better education in the era of COVID-19. Technology and methods of teaching that support socially distanced teaching have been building on each other exponentially in just the past year and will continue to change at a rapid rate.
Developing Trust in EdTech
For Teach Millions to move forward, investments need to be made in the business and those can only happen if there is trust. Fagerstrom says trust is created by forming an education innovation hub, bringing together stakeholders, corporate investors and startups and starting a dialogue to build stronger systems. He has faith in the future of virtual learning because he has seen the industry rapidly adapt to implement new teaching techniques, such as remote learning and accommodations for students with disabilities.
Fagerstrom stressed managing finances as a particularly tough aspect of starting a business and concluded that financing new education programs is a concern, because university graduates are feeling more disconnected from their alma maters. However, using education technology to reach students and alumni will greatly expand the capacities of schools to teach and connect with people across the world, despite any challenges that quarantine brings.
The stronger the EdTech industry becomes, the more trust it will command, which will in turn increase its ability to reach customers. Fagerstrom and Teach Millions are optimistic about the future of the industry in a post-COVID world. Although our interconnectedness allowed the virus to spread faster than it otherwise might have, it also enabled us to respond more quickly than in the past, and will allow us to bounce back stronger than before.
The Chamber wishes to thank Fagerstorm and Teach Millions for their dedication to EdTech.
Please join the Chamber and our special guest, Maria Spies, in the April session of their EdTech Series! Maria is the co-Founder and co-CEO of HolonIQ, a market intelligence platform focused on education research and trends. Make sure to register through this link: https://alhambrauschamber.org/spotlights/edtech-series
