Does New Federal Edtech Guidance Go Far Enough?

The Department of Education just issued its first major classroom technology guidance in years, urging schools to judge tools by outcomes rather than screen time. Digital Promise president and CEO Jean-Claude Brizard and outcomes-based contracting expert Brittany Miller join This Week with EdSurge to break down what the new Dear Colleague Letter gets right, what it leaves out, and what happens now that Washington has handed implementation to the states. They agree the letter marks real progress, but they do not agree on how much it accomplishes.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN

• The Dear Colleague Letter draws a clear line between recreational and instructional technology use, giving school leaders new language to push back against blanket bans, but it also leans on randomized controlled trials as a measure of evidence, a standard Brittany Miller says moves too slowly for how quickly edtech itself changes.
• Ten states already run statewide outcomes based contracting efforts, including a new Michigan law tying fifty million dollars in tutoring funding to results, which Miller points to as proof the model is working even without a federal mandate behind it.
• Jean-Claude Brizard argues schools should demand third party certification rather than commission their own research, compares scattered anti-technology sentiment to the anti-vaccine movement, and calls on school and district leaders to reclaim the public narrative around edtech.
• Both guests agree the guidance leaves out direct support for the teachers, principals, and superintendents actually implementing it, and both point to procurement, not classroom policy, as the real lever for turning the letter into practice.

STORIES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Department of Education Issues Long-Awaited Edtech Guidance for States and Districts

by EdSurge Staff

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HOST AND CONTRIBUTORS

Host: Ira Apfel

Featuring:

• Jean-Claude Brizard, President and CEO, Digital Promise
• Brittany Miller, Center for Outcomes-Based Contracting