The Origins of Innovation in the Edtech Ecosystem

The learning management system as we have known it is fading in its importance. Supplanting it are hundreds of tools and innovations, created by a plethora of vendors, institutions, students, and instructors in a frothy, bubbling world known as the edtech ecosystem. If the pace of innovation and experimentation persists, this could change instruction for the better. However, this transformation will not come about in the manner that many experts and pundits have predicted. Furthermore, IT leaders and CIO will need to dig in now and start contributing. Unlike all the tools that have come before, IT tools are much more malleable, almost obscenely so. Timeless tools like the hammer and the saw are made for a specific purpose and require just a bit of practice to master. The capabilities of other tools like the bow and arrow, the atlatl, and the sword become greatly enhanced with advanced skill, requiring dedicated and effortful practice.