Episode 14
What Teachers Really Want From EdTech?
If a tool feels like one more thing on a teacher’s plate, it won’t get used—no matter how innovative it looks.” – Chris Nesi
Episode 14
If a tool feels like one more thing on a teacher’s plate, it won’t get used—no matter how innovative it looks.” – Chris Nesi
Husena Jadliwala
Hello everyone, welcome back to Educator Insights. I say back, but it’s been a while since we’ve had these sessions. So thank you all for joining us.
Husena Jadliwala
For this revival of Educator Insights, I am very, very excited to have Chris Nesi with us. Chris Nesi from House of EdTech. Chris works both as a teacher and a podcaster. And I’m just really excited to have a conversation with Chris on how he bridges the classroom with broader conversations in EdTech…
Husena Jadliwala
So Chris, thank you so much.
Chris Nesi
I am really excited to be here and until you mentioned it before we hit record, I didn’t realize that I was going to help to resurrect your podcast. So I feel honored.
Husena Jadliwala
I’m glad. Thank you so much for taking the time. So like I mentioned, Educator Insights is being revived. It has always been a space for teacher voices.
Husena Jadliwala
And we want to align it more with Magic EdTech’s mission as well, which is we want to create practical solutions and innovations that work with educators and not just for them.
Husena Jadliwala
So with the help of Chris today, what I want to do is help peel back the curtain on what teachers really want from EdTech beyond, all the buzzwords that we’re used to.
Husena Jadliwala
So Chris, are you ready?
Chris Nesi
Are you ready? Because I am ready.
Husena Jadliwala
All right. Sounds good. Sounds good. So I’m going to start by saying that you’ve been in the classroom, I’ve been in the classroom. We both know that the main thing that teachers have trouble with is time.
Husena Jadliwala
So there are so many exciting new tools out there. And sometimes the educator in me gets really excited when I see something cool. like, oh, man, that would be so cool.
Husena Jadliwala
But then there is the reality of classroom time constraints, right? So what are your thoughts on innovation and simplicity? Can they coexist in a classroom?
Chris Nesi
I don’t know how you can have a classroom that doesn’t have innovation and simplicity. As you said in the framing of where we’re starting today, teachers need to keep it simple.
Chris Nesi
Too often, teachers overcomplicate innovation in their classrooms. Okay. Sometimes you just have to kiss. Keep it simple, silly, right?
Chris Nesi
If you’ve ever heard that. So,
Husena Jadliwala
Yes, have. I love that.
Chris Nesi
Yes. I think the best innovations in education have to be simple, right? As an educator, I am juggling curriculum, grading, parent communication, and classroom management when I’m literally in the moment with my students.
Chris Nesi
And again, this is you know ninth grade world history. So
Chris Nesi
things can be pretty chaotic in the classroom. But as I like to say, it is organized chaos. So when I’m looking at an edtech tool, you know that that tool can’t feel like one more thing I have to do.
Husena Jadliwala
Yes.
Chris Nesi
And if a tool feels like that, it’s not going to last. It can’t be cumbersome. It can’t overwhelm an educator. It’s got to make my life easier as a teacher while also enhancing the student learning.
Husena Jadliwala
Mm-hmm.
Chris Nesi
I think one of the worst things you could do is use a tool just for the sake of saying, I’m using this shiny edtech tool. If that’s why you’re doing it, you’re not going to be successful with it and your kids are going to be miserable.
Chris Nesi
And the last thing we need is miserable students because of our approach to integrating technology in our classrooms. We need to think of tools that streamline the feedback.
Chris Nesi
We need to use platforms that allow collaboration between us and our students and students to students.
Husena Jadliwala
Yes.
Chris Nesi
That’s got to be seamless. It could be innovative, but if it requires hours of training or if you feel like you need duct tape and a drill and a hammer to make it work in your classroom, that’s not going to serve anybody.
Husena Jadliwala
Yeah.
Chris Nesi
So simplicity ensures that innovation is actually possible.
Husena Jadliwala
Yes, that is very true. I mean, as a teacher myself, the whole idea of you just want it to work, just just have it work without, you know, a steep learning curve, without tons of training sessions, just to learn how that one thing works.
Chris Nesi
Yeah, the last thing you want is the last thing you want is more bumps in the road.
Husena Jadliwala
It’s just not worth it. Yeah.
Chris Nesi
You want it to be as smooth as possible.
Husena Jadliwala
Yeah. Exactly, exactly. And let’s talk about that a little bit more then. So what are the risks if, you know, innovation gets too complex?
Chris Nesi
People don’t use it. That is the first and foremost thing.
Husena Jadliwala
Exactly.
Chris Nesi
If it’s too complicated, I’m not going to use it
Chris Nesi
No matter how much my district is paying for it, if it’s not easy for me to integrate into my class and what I’m doing. And on top of that, if I or any teacher, if we don’t see and understand the value of a tool, we’re not going to use it.
Husena Jadliwala
Yeah, and I actually asked you that question because I knew that was going to be your answer. I just wanted it to be a segway to the next part of our conversation because teachers, like you said, are the frontline users, right?
Husena Jadliwala
but without the teachers agreeing to adopt a solution, there is no way it’s ever going to reach the student. The teacher is the gatekeeper for all of these edtech products.
Husena Jadliwala
So if the solution misses the mark, it’s never going to reach the student anyway. It misses the mark with the teacher is what I’m saying. So my question is, why is it critical for teachers to have a seat at the product design table?
Chris Nesi
I’ll be honest, it is, it says something where, why we have to even ask that question. I’m going to answer it. But the fact that if you have to ask that question, that means that there are edtech companies out there that are not consulting teachers, right?
Husena Jadliwala
There are, yes. Mm-hmm.
Chris Nesi
You get people who design products and services where the last time they were in a classroom, that was the last time they were in a classroom.
Husena Jadliwala
yes
Chris Nesi
So my message to all edtech companies is teachers, you said I’m on the front lines. I’m not on the front line. I’m in the trenches, okay? I’ll do a little World War II reference here, right?
Chris Nesi
I am in the trenches as an educator. Teachers understand the daily realities of the classroom like nobody else can, right? Even my vice principals or my principal don’t fully grasp what I do on a daily basis because they’re running the building, right?
Chris Nesi
Right.
Husena Jadliwala
Yeah,
Chris Nesi
Teachers know what’s happening. We know the constraints, we know the pressures, and all the other little things that can make a big difference, that will make or break what we’re doing with our students.
Chris Nesi
If we’re not at the table or we’re not consulted or you’re not surveying teachers about your products, you end up with a product that can look good in a demo, but when we go to put it in the classroom, nothing.
Husena Jadliwala
Yeah there’s such a gap between theory and practice. Right?
Chris Nesi
Oh, yeah, and some people only operate in theory.
Husena Jadliwala
So, yes, exactly. So you need those, the classroom tested insights from these teachers, you need that in order to bridge these gaps. If you’re just thinking from the point of view of when you were back in the classroom, that’s ah that’s a whole other conversation, but the fact that when you yourself were in the classroom and what happens in the classroom today, that’s already wildly different.
Husena Jadliwala
And if you’re just going off of that, then your theory is going to fail.
Chris Nesi
Yeah, you have to ground, I mean, anything, everything should be grounded in reality. This is going beyond education, right?
Husena Jadliwala
Yeah. Yeah.
Chris Nesi
Theory is nice, but until you actually experience the practical application of anything, especially edtech tools, you’re not going to be successful. That’s the difference between something that’s going to be impressive versus building something that will genuinely support and enhance student learning.
Husena Jadliwala
Yeah.
Husena Jadliwala
And Chris, you’ve been in the classroom, you’ve been talking about edtech quite a lot as well. So I’m sure you’ve used a lot of these tools, some that worked for you in the classroom, some that perhaps didn’t. So if you can give us some insight into what are some things that companies often overlook, especially if they don’t involve teachers early.
Chris Nesi
They overlook, and you know, there’s a big difference in teaching today.
Husena Jadliwala
Mm-hmm.
Chris Nesi
I don’t mean to date this conversation, but teaching in 2025 is different from teaching in 2015.
Husena Jadliwala
Mm-hmm.
Husena Jadliwala
Yes.
Chris Nesi
Teaching in 2025 is different from teaching, so I don’t know, before March of 2020.
Husena Jadliwala
Yes.
Chris Nesi
Okay.
Chris Nesi
So the world has changed. This is that the pandemic, everything that happened with that worldwide changed education. So if you have people designing things and thinking about what education was when they were in a classroom, which is going to be before the pandemic, before they got their computer science degrees and got creative and built their products, they are going to miss the mark unless they have been talking to teachers or they spend time in schools. If they’re attending the conferences and talking to educators, whether it’s administrators,
Chris Nesi
teachers, that’s what they’re going to be missing. They have to talk to teachers.
Husena Jadliwala
Yes. And there are, and not to say that all of the companies don’t talk to teachers, that’s completely untrue. There are a lot of companies who really involve teachers in the direction of their product or their program.
Husena Jadliwala
Do you have any insight into that? Maybe a time when teacher input may have changed the direction of a product or program?
Chris Nesi
Well, so I’m not going to throw any one specific company or product under the bus.
Husena Jadliwala
Sure.
Chris Nesi
Cause that wouldn’t be fair, but yeah,
Husena Jadliwala
Yeah.
Chris Nesi
There have been times in my career where, whether it’s been a platform or a specific tech tool where they come out with their big flashy features.
Chris Nesi
Okay. And they might’ve gotten some feedback from teachers. I know that when I use a product, if I see any pop up to complete a survey, send us your feedback, I take advantage of that. And I don’t think enough teachers actually do that.
Husena Jadliwala
yeah
Chris Nesi
Okay. Now, I have experienced both ways where you know that while they might not have addressed my specific concern, you know that because they have changed their product or their services that they do listen.
Chris Nesi
But I think some companies give the illusion of asking for feedback and trying to get teacher input.
Chris Nesi
And nothing really happens. OK, so there is sometimes a shift in their roadmap and their product development. So I’ve seen both. yeah Maybe it’s a tool that is for presenting or now you get it a lot with a lot of these AI related tools.
Chris Nesi
OK, where, you know, it’s AI
Husena Jadliwala
right
Chris Nesi
with a splash of more AI, but what are we really doing? I’ll give one sort of specific example. So there was an AI tool that’s out there and they had a big marketing campaign to use our tool and you could get your students to interact with and talk to historical figures.
Chris Nesi
Right now, that sounds kind of interesting.
Husena Jadliwala
Okay, yeah, yeah, it does.
Chris Nesi
Go into the AI time machine. However, we should let the dead people be dead. Right. So, you know, if I shouldn’t get the opportunity to try to talk with, I’ll go history to talk to Thomas Jefferson.
Husena Jadliwala
Mm-hmm.
Chris Nesi
And I tried this particular tool and I said, alright, I want to talk to Thomas Jefferson, be Thomas Jefferson. And it was like, you know, I’m Thomas Jefferson. And, you know, let’s talk about the founding of the United States, but blah, blah, blah, blah.
Chris Nesi
And I went hardcore. I went right to Thomas Jefferson. Can you justify why you owned slaves? Right.
Husena Jadliwala
oh my gosh
Chris Nesi
Because I’m a history teacher and I yeah we can’t hide or run away from the facts that we are aware of and this AI Thomas Jefferson didn’t glorify slavery, but it certainly didn’t answer the way Thomas Jefferson, I believe, based on things I’ve read, for example, would have answered that question.
Husena Jadliwala
Right.
Chris Nesi
So that’s an example of, hey, looks, sounds really cool. Get kids involved and get them interacting with the content, but in this particular case, let the dead stay dead.
Husena Jadliwala
That is a very, very good example of why it is so important to build products based on what teachers actually need, right?
Chris Nesi
Yeah, and actually, if I can give one more little example, there’s a big company out there.
Chris Nesi
They are very big in providing a lot of education related technology from learning and management to you know being able to to type things up and maybe work in spreadsheets. Maybe you know where I’m going.
Chris Nesi
They, I think a lot of times they do listen to feedback, but the way they roll out their changes is just so off with the timing, right?
Chris Nesi
Don’t hype these features up in April and May, and then they’re not coming out until, I don’t know, November and Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Husena Jadliwala
Right.
Chris Nesi
I need them at the start of the school year. For some people, that’s August. For others, that’s September. Be ready to go with your new features and what you’re rolling out.
Husena Jadliwala
That is extremely, extremely true. And, going back to the whole concept of surveys, you said you fill out surveys as far as you can if you see a pop-up.
Husena Jadliwala
The thing is, there’s also, you know, just as if we move away from edtech for a moment, let’s say you go to a restaurant, right, and you enjoy eating at a restaurant, you necessarily leave feedback or review not as much.
Husena Jadliwala
However, you had a bad experience, the likelihood of you leaving a review of feedback is higher. So I’ve also noticed, and this is just from my experience working on products as well, that I’ve also noticed that we have, as edtech companies, a tendency maybe to deprecate something that we think no one’s using because no one actually gave any feedback about it.
Husena Jadliwala
But actually, everyone’s just using it. just works fine. And they’re actually actively using it.
Chris Nesi
Yeah.
Husena Jadliwala
We just didn’t hear from them, which is why modern surveys I genuinely think that as an edtech company, it’s important to have ongoing dialogue and partnership with the teachers who are using your products.
Chris Nesi
Yeah. In that example that you just gave, maybe it’s as simple as maybe it’s not a two or three minute survey.
Husena Jadliwala
Yeah.
Chris Nesi
Maybe it’s an email that says, we got one question. What do you love about us?
Husena Jadliwala
Mm-hmm.
Chris Nesi
Yeah and just hope that 3% of the people you sent it to send you something back. And that’s probably what’s going to happen.
Husena Jadliwala
Yeah. And it’s also about the transparency that you give teachers. Like you had mentioned,, marketing something in April and it only coming out in November, December, that kind of thing.
Husena Jadliwala
If the feedback that a teacher is giving cannot be acted on, it’s important to explain why and if the feedback is being acted on, then just an idea of how it is being acted would also help the teachers with their planning of how to use the tool in the future.
Chris Nesi
Well, for that, I will side with the edtech companies in those cases, because it’s one thing to ask for feedback. I don’t know how feasible it is to respond to every piece of feedback, good or bad.
Husena Jadliwala
Sure, yeah
Chris Nesi
I pretty much know that if they’re if they don’t take action on my specific feedback, either that’s not part of their plan or, it’s something that they can’t do.
Husena Jadliwala
Yeah, fair
Chris Nesi
And then it’s up to me to then continue to evaluate that tool and decide, do I still want to use it?
Husena Jadliwala
That’s true, that’s true. That said, what are some small practices that maybe edtech leaders can start doing and build trust with teachers, through the feedback that they’re giving or elsewhere? What are some other small practices that they can do?
Chris Nesi
Well, we’ve kind of hit on it a little bit in what we’ve talked about, and that’s going to be, one, listen to teachers. Seek out the opinions and point of view of the teachers who are using your products and services.
Chris Nesi
That has to be an ongoing partnership. That can’t just be a company checking a box saying, we ask for feedback and we can check that box.
Husena Jadliwala
Right.
Chris Nesi
If you’re checking a box, then you don’t take it seriously. And if you’re not taking it seriously, people are going to stop using your product. And when that happens, you’re going out of business.
Husena Jadliwala
Yes. The whole thing, the whole concept of ongoing, it has to be ongoing. It can’t just be, like you said.
Chris Nesi
And with it being ongoing, it also has to happen right away.
Husena Jadliwala
Mm-hmm.
Chris Nesi
Don’t launch a product having not spoken to teachers. Right?
Husena Jadliwala
Right.
Chris Nesi
And I see, we see that too. So collect teacher input early in the process and then it’s gotta be this ongoing thing.
Husena Jadliwala
That makes sense. That said, that was more for the edtech leaders, but how about for the educators? How can they advocate effectively for their needs in edtech?
Husena Jadliwala
What are some avenues that you would suggest?
Chris Nesi
If you are a connected educator and you’re leveraging X, or threads, or TikTok, or insert social media, start to build relationships and, you know, tag those companies, go to their websites, do the help at company dot, whatever feedback at,
Husena Jadliwala
Mm-hmm.
Chris Nesi
Reach out to their support teams when you have questions. I would even go so far as to say, take the initiative to try and set up a meeting with a representative, even as a teacher. Again, as a teacher, you’re not the one who’s going to spend the money on a license if that’s what’s required. But if your district is paying for something and you have access to it,
Chris Nesi
Reach out to these companies and set up your own meetings. Force them to listen to you. It doesn’t have to be negative. You could try to meet with a representative and praise them up and down for all the wonderful things it’s done for you and your classroom.
Chris Nesi
I’m pretty sure any edtech company is going to want that too. Besides being criticized, they’ll also take the cosign and the shout out.
Husena Jadliwala
Yeah, for sure. For sure, and that goes back to what I was saying, where people tend to share when it’s negative rather than positive, but it’s equally important to share positive experiences as well.
Chris Nesi
And I pull that from podcasting, right?
Husena Jadliwala
Yeah.
Chris Nesi
As a content creator, I want my audience to send me feedback when they agree with me or disagree with me.
Husena Jadliwala
Mm-hmm.
Chris Nesi
If they like what I say, they don’t like it. Feedback is feedback. Okay. What I choose to do with it, that’s a choice I will make. But everybody will thrive, and does thrive, on feedback and communication with their audience.
Chris Nesi
So as a podcaster, as a teacher, I want feedback from my students. If I’m an edtech company, I want feedback from the people using my products.
Husena Jadliwala
Yes, that makes perfect sense. Well, Chris, thank you so much for your time. We are coming to a close. Before we end, though, I just wanted to ask, just you know just being forward-looking here, but what trends do you see shaping the next wave of digital learning?
Chris Nesi
We’ve talked about it a lot today, and that’s going to be AI with a sprinkle of AI and a whipped cream topping of AI with an AI cherry.
Husena Jadliwala
Yeah. Yep.
Chris Nesi
So AI is here.
Husena Jadliwala
Yep.
Chris Nesi
It’s not going anywhere. And I’ve been saying for over two years now, today is the worst it’s going to be.
Husena Jadliwala
I actually really, really agree with this.
Chris Nesi
So
Husena Jadliwala
I’ve had someone tell me that they think AI is a fad and it will go away and I was like, you were so wrong.
Chris Nesi
To the person who thinks it’s a fad, and there’s going to be at least one person listening to this who thinks it is a fad, what are you two talking about?
Husena Jadliwala
Yeah.
Chris Nesi
And to that person, I say, you’re going to get left behind. And I hope you’re at the end of your education career because being able to appropriately integrate it into education,
Chris Nesi
What you do with your students and what you do for yourself as an educator, right? Maybe, I mean, if you’re teaching, let’s say kindergarten, you might not have your kindergarten student do a lot with artificial intelligence, but,
Chris Nesi
should a kindergartner be aware that it exists in an age appropriate way? Absolutely. Can I, as the kindergarten teacher, find ways to integrate artificial intelligence and generative AI into what I do to plan and prepare and work with students?
Chris Nesi
Absolutely. So AI is not going to take your job, but the people who can use AI are going to.
Husena Jadliwala
That’s very, very true. I couldn’t agree more, if I’m being honest.
Chris Nesi
I would drop my microphone, but… It’s expensive, so I’m not going to.
Husena Jadliwala
I love that Chris, thank you so much for sharing your insights today. I think I learned a lot from you as well and I appreciate you taking time to do this. To our listeners, I do hope that you give away some insights as well.
Husena Jadliwala
And thank you so much for joining us on this, on the revival of Educator Insights.
Chris Nesi
I really enjoyed being on this episode today. I’m so excited to see the revival of this podcast. And for your listener, if they want to reach out or connect with me, feel free. You can go to my website, chrisnesi.com. And I would love it if you also checked out, if you enjoy this podcast, feel free to check out my podcast, The House of Ed Tech. And it was a pleasure to be here. Thank you so much.
Husena Jadliwala
I hope to see you at our next session soon. Thank you.
Chris Nesi
Thank you. Bye-bye.
