PADCASTER President Jon Goldberg, left, and CEO Josh Apter, demonstrate their Padcaster Studio for remote and virtual learning, at EDTECHWEEK 2023, in New York, Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023. As soon as the federal pandemic relief started arriving at America’s schools, tech companies by the dozens wanted a chance to prove that their software or equipment was exactly what schools needed.
The pandemic sparked a boom for tech companies as schools went online. Revenue skyrocketed and investors poured billions into startups. “I understand that they have a job to do, but when money is available, it’s like a vampire smelling blood,” she said. “It’s unbelievable how many calls we got.”“That money went to a wide variety of products and services, but it was not distributed on the basis of merit or equity or evidence,” said Bart Epstein, founder and former CEO of EdTech Evidence Exchange, a nonprofit that helps schools make the most of their technology.
“What’s the point of having all this software in place when you don’t even have a teacher to teach the class? It doesn’t make sense,” said Lorena Rojas, who has two teens in the district. In Louisville, Kentucky, education technology contracts totaled more than $30 million. The Jefferson County district signed contracts with online tutoring companies Paper and FEV for a combined $7.7 million. Millions more went to companies such as Edmentum and ThinkCERCA for software to supplement classroom teaching.