End Users: The Untapped K-12 Market

We all went through it in grade school: staring blankly at the chalkboard after being unexpectedly called on by the teacher. Or worse yet -- standing at the front of the class, chalk in hand, hoping the answer to an algebra equation miraculously appeared on the board. Torture.

The next generation of K-12 students might not have to go through the experience if a trial program takes off in New York City and filters to other districts and beyond. Apparently, students of the New York City Department of Education are being equipped with handheld devices that they can use to participate in class. The devices are similar to those used at industry conferences to keep attendees engaged. Students respond to questions from the instructor without risking the embarrassment of a wrong answer or no answer at all. At the same time, the appeal of technology encourages them to pay attention. Teachers can gauge progress using the results and adjust the curriculum accordingly.

So far, the program is receiving rave reviews from instructors, who see major increases in participation. For the channel, that's good news. It drives home a point that was stated by Irene Spero, vice president of external relations for the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), in her April Industry Insight column: "Solution providers have to understand not only the end customer that holds the funds; they must also understand the customers that actually access the technology, and therefore influence what's considered worth a school district's time."

In other words, don't forget the end users. A misconception continues to circulate through the education IT market, with industry convinced that faculties are too set in their ways to accept new technologies in the classroom. The reality is that they simply need a taste of what's available -- as the New York City schools project shows.

So, as solution providers accommodate administrators with ways to improve back-office processes and cut costs, they shouldn't neglect the needs of faculty and students that want new ways to teach and learn. Instead, they should recognize the opportunity of what very well may be the public sector channel's greatest untapped market.