@Epic_Null
"Ed Tech" as an industry is a racket. The appification of schools was a mistake. Things started going south when schools started removing dedicated Computer classes and instead "integrated" tech skills in all curricula. Most teachers, although I love them, did not/do not have the requisite tech skills to support embedded 1:1 device usage, to say nothing of making relevant use of software. It was often rammed into lessons that didn't need or benefit from it. And the "integrationists" tasked with providing both technical expertise and curriculum guidance were set up for failure.
Things worsened with age of the iPad, followed closely by the Chromebook and Google Apps and largely, the golden era of big tech. Everyone was so ensorcelled by the idea that everyone had to code—not for its intellectual value, but because all jobs would require it (lol). And of course with Google stuff in particular, schools were getting this stuff for such a low price, it was a no-brainer. Your elementary school, powered by Google Apps.
And in the midst of this you had the "maker" craze. 3D printers and Arduinos are cool, but basically nobody had useful lesson plans for these expensive toys. But they looked great on the website for the STE(A)M program.
At some point we started turning all K-12 into a STEM job conveyor belt, and everything suffered because of it.
@mike805 @AAKL @IncMagazine
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