Dear founders and CEOs: The sense of ownership you have as the leader of your organization is a gift that you simply can't transfer to someone else. Your employees are probably not as naturally motivated as you are to wake up in the morning and go to bat for your company.
Edtech employees have to find their motivation in other places.
To figure out what moves you to power through your day, I challenge you to look inside yourself.
Find belonging in the edtech industry
One of the most interesting things I’ve learned about the people who work in edtech, is that not everyone chose to be here. Here's what I mean.
I've met people who've worked in the industry for decades or recently transitioned out of teaching.
I've also talked to people who "fell" into the industry. Some fell in love right away. Others had trouble finding meaning in their work because they:
wanted a 180 turn from their previous industry—edtech was one of many options for them.
are role-focused workers, not company or industry-specific.
thought working in edtech would be different.
You have an advantage working in this industry. You're already connected to it whether you realize it or not.
Make your learning experience part of your professional story
When I was a little Gen Zer, I felt motivated to learn with startup platforms that were changing the face of education in the early 2000s.
I recognize that you may have unique memories using edtech. Or you honestly haven't thought about how the tools impacted you one way or the other.
Channeling your edtech kid isn't about calling out years of product knowledge. I want you to get in touch with how your younger self experienced learning new technologies. And learning period.
Edtech's history goes back a long way (to the 15th century if you can believe it)! Check out this list and remind yourself of the tools that impacted your school days.
Connecting your early learning years to your present-day edtech role can help create purpose behind why you do what you do.
If it helps, every time you have a kid flashback, write it down.
Use your kid insights to boost job performance
The Channel Your Edtech Kid blog is centered on using your kid insights to build knowledge about:
the kid version of yourself.
baby companies aka startups.
pop culture entertainment—what kid doesn't want to be entertained?
By the end of each blog post you'll feel:
in-the-loop about industry news.
entertained by messages about pop culture references in TV and beyond.
connected to your role as an industry player and motivated.
Channeling your edtech kid can motivate you to power through your workdays.
Are you ready to channel your edtech kid?