The Learning Technologies graduate and undergraduate programs prepare people to design, develop, and evaluate educational technology tools and processes to improve teaching and learning in a variety of contexts, including K-12, higher education, and informal contexts like museums and after-school programs. We do this work in partnership with others and have launched numerous innovations: from far-reaching online courses, to edtech software like Flipgrid, to justice-oriented digital platforms. Below is a wonderful opportunity for our graduates and alumni within this space. 

The College of Education and Human Development has partnered with the Tools Competition, a multi-million dollar grant program promoting educational technology (edtech) innovation. The 2025 Tools Competition offers over $2 million in grants for the best edtech solutions supporting K-12 and higher education students. The competition is open to anyone, regardless of their background or stage of development. Prizes range from $50,000 to $300,000. This is a wonderful opportunity for you, whether you're a student, alumni, researcher, teacher, faculty, educator, or edtech innovator! Submit your abstract by October 25, 2024. 

We asked our faculty to share basic tips for successful educational technology innovations. Below is some of what they had to say! Good educational technology 

• Solves a problem, challenge, or headache that real users have. Talk to your end users to truly learn about their needs and problems.
• Is collaborative! It’s not just technology developers producing software, data scientists analyzing data, educational psychologists identifying learning principles, and teachers providing curriculum. These folks work together. Design informs development, tech affordances inform design, learning principles inform design, and iteration is key. 

You might also find these 5 questions that one of our faculty members created as an excellent starting point when thinking about your educational technology. The questions focus on AI-powered education technology, but they apply to any educational technology!

Best of luck in your pitches! 

For more information about the competition and how to apply, visit the Tools Competition website.