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Edtech Lessons Learned: Comparing inBloom and the AI boom

Date
Categories
Emerging technology
Security and privacy
Product management
Product Strategy

Lessons learned from the history of edtech shape the future of AI in education.

As generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) continues to buzz in education, it's crucial to reflect on past ventures like inBloom and learn from them to ensure future success and trust in promising technologies. By listening to the concerns of education stakeholders and incorporating the valuable lessons learned from recent history, your solution will have more success at enhancing educational experiences effectively and ethically.

Learning from History: The Case of inBloom

The history of edtech is filled with both successes and setbacks. One notable example is inBloom, an ambitious project launched in 2013 aimed to centralize the collection of student data for personalized learning. Despite its innovative vision, inBloom faced significant challenges.

  • Data Privacy and Security: Concerns about the extensive collection and potential misuse of sensitive student data led to public outcry.
  • Stakeholder Engagement: Parents, educators, and privacy advocates felt excluded from the decision-making process, leading to resistance and mistrust.
  • Over-Aggressive Pace: The lack of a clear business plan with very optimistic assumptions around rapid adoption in a slow-moving market, leading to an increased financial loss.

Ultimately, inBloom shuttered just one year later due to these issues. However, its failure offers valuable lessons for every GenAI edtech developer today.

A Comparative Success: eduCLIMBER vs. inBloom

While inBloom faltered, eduCLIMBER chartered a markedly different course. The same year inBloom was launched, Matt Harris, a systems engineer, wrote a program to support his wife Jaime Harris, a school psychologist, with data collection and analysis. Word spread quickly and eduCLIMBER was born.

The product continued to evolve and grow based on input from educators and administrators. Incorporating feedback into the development process allowed eduCLIMBER to adopt a more measured, realistic approach to adoption, clearly communicating its value and integrating seamlessly with existing systems, making it easier for users to adopt and benefit from the tool. It was acquired by Illuminate Education in 2017, who was later acquired by Renaissance Learning in 2022.

How this Applies to your GenAI Solution for Education

There is much to learn from both inBloom's missteps and eduCLIMBER's success. By applying the lessons learned from both of these cases, you can better understand and navigate the complexities of edtech adoption. Here are key strategies to ensure success:

  1. Prioritize Data Privacy and Security

    Ensure robust data protection measures and transparent data practices to build and maintain trust. Modern AI edtech solutions must comply with laws like GDPR and COPPA, use anonymization and encryption techniques, and clearly communicate data usage to all stakeholders. Building trust through stringent data privacy protocols is crucial for widespread adoption.

  2. Develop a Realistic Business Plan

    Avoid overly aggressive timelines and optimistic assumptions about adoption. Develop a clear, realistic business plan that includes thorough market research, pilot testing, and phased rollouts. Realize that schools plan in terms of 3-5 years of adoption, not 3-5 months. Understand the pace at which educational institutions can adopt new technologies and tailor your approach accordingly.

  3. Clearly Communicate the Value Proposition

    Ensure that your product's value is communicated in clear, simple language that speaks to buyers and users of your solution. Make sure it aligns to what schools really want and need. Stakeholders need to understand what your solution is, what it is not, and why it matters. Highlight real-world use cases with demonstrations, case studies, and pilot programs to show tangible benefits and build credibility.

  4. Engage Stakeholders and Address Their Needs

    Involving educators, administrators, parents, and students early and often in the development and implementation process fosters acceptance and trust. Their feedback should shape the design and application of tools to ensure it has real educational value. Regular communication and collaboration with these stakeholders can lead to more effective and widely accepted products.

  5. Develop Clear Policies and Ethical Guidelines

    Comprehensive policies and ethical guidelines are necessary for responsible GenAI use. Collaboration between tech developers, educators, and policymakers helps create regulations that protect student data while encouraging innovation. Ethical considerations, such as fairness and accountability, should be central to GenAI development. Clear policies can also provide a framework for addressing unforeseen ethical dilemmas.

  6. Demonstrate Clear Instructional Value

    Explicitly illustrate tangible benefits, moving beyond generic marketing platitudes. Cite real-world examples, case studies, and empirical evidence help communicate the instructional value of tools. Demonstrating these benefits convincingly to educators and administrators can drive adoption and trust in new solutions.

Guiding the Role of GenAI in Education

As the saying goes, "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it" (philosopher George Santayana, 1905). Now is the time to reflect on the past and chart a course for a more successful future. 

  • How can you better prioritize data privacy and security in your GenAI solution? 
  • How can you develop more realistic business plans that account for the pace of educational adoption? 
  • How can you improve communication of the value and tangible benefits GenAI can bring to educators and students?
  • How can you ensure education stakeholders' voices are heard throughout the development process? 
  • What clear policies and ethical guidelines need to be established to guide GenAI implementations responsibly?

Let’s collaborate and innovate to ethically harness the full potential of GenAI in education while earning the trust and support of education stakeholders. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you navigate the complexities of GenAI in education and create solutions that truly benefit educators and students alike.