8 Edtech organizations every teacher should know about (and maybe become a member)
The following organizations have different structures and address different educational topics, but they also offer support to educators of all kind and provide platforms for them to connect with like-minded individuals, even world-wide.
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ISTE
International Society for Technology in Education- Reach: Worldwide
- Focus: Educating Educators
- Level: K-12 and Higher Education
ISTE's primary activities include hosting key learning events, chief among them the annual ISTE conference and expo. The organisation also developed the ISTE standards, a framework that enables educators to strive for innovation and tech enhancements in their classrooms.
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OII
Office of Innovation and Improvement- Reach: US
- Focus: Grant Management for Education Innovation
- Level: K-12 and Higher Education
The OII administrates over 20 competitive grants through five distinct programs (Education Innovation, Parental Options and Improvement, Charter School, Non-Public Education and Teacher and Principal Quality), alongside workshops, technical assistance and publications.
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CoSN
Consortium for School Networking- Reach: US
- Focus: Edtech Access and Advocacy
- Level: K-12
Through the provision of training, policy advocacy, professional events and forums, professional development toolkits and research, CoSN confidently asserts that it is at the forefront of developing a cohesive, empowered and knowledgeable community of edtech thought leaders.
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ITEEA
International Technology and Engineering Educators Association- Reach: Worldwide
- Focus: STEM
- Level: K-12
The association produces many resources and toolkits for members, and also hosts events throughout the year, building a worldwide community of passionate STEM educators. They have issued useful standards on technological literacy and also resources on computational thinking.
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FRS
Future Ready Schools- Reach: US
- Focus: District Level Education Innovation
- Level: K-12
This is a resource rich program supported by the non-profit Alliance for Excellent Education, specifically designed to offer districts an actionable program they can follow in order to become a “future-ready school”. At the heart of it all is the Future Ready Framework.
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iNACOL
International Association of K-12 Online Learning- Reach: US
- Focus: Digital Learning Advocacy and Research
- Level: K-12
Focussing on “breakthrough policies and practices” the association generates significant research, alongside annual workshops and symposiums about education in the US. Their main themes include personalized and competency based learning, blended and online learning.
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Digital Promise
- Reach: US
- Focus: Closing the digital learning gap
- Level: K-12
With an impressive number of programs, ranging from makerspaces to adult learning, Digital Promise also partners with Digital Promise Global to enhance curriculum with content that expands a students’ world view. It is also the home of the League of Innovative Schools.
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FLE
Foundation for Learning Equality- Reach: Worldwide
- Focus: Offline Digital Curricula
- Level: K-12
FLE was born of a desire to reach K-12 students with the direst need for equitable quality education. They developed an offline program called Kolibri to overcome this challenge. FLE also have a device grant program to enable the distribution of the software.
Resources
- 8 Edtech Organizations Every Teacher Should Know About
- ISTE
- CoSN
- ITEEA
- FRS
- iNACOL
- Digital Promise
- FLE
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