Sights on EdTech Jessica Triant and Tanner Higgin from WestEd
Oct 29, 2024
Tanner Higgin, a senior ed tech researcher at WestEd, and Jessica Triant, a senior research associate, discuss the critical importance of evidence-based design in educational technology. They emphasize that meaningful collaboration between researchers and developers is key to creating impactful tools. The duo also tackles the challenges of conducting efficacy studies and the need for a holistic approach to learning that values student engagement. Additionally, they explore how external evaluations and test beds can enhance product development while navigating the complexities of the ed tech landscape.
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Tanner Higgin's EdTech Journey
- Tanner Higgin transitioned from teaching and media studies to edtech by joining an educational game developer in LA.
- He has blended research with content creation during his career, now focused on edtech research at WestEd.
Jessica Triant's Career Shift
- Jessica Triant started aiming to be an elementary teacher but switched to education research due to unanswered questions.
- She has grown at WestEd from data collection to leading edtech partnerships and research projects.
WestEd's Evidence-Based Approach
- WestEd EdTech partners with companies to evaluate and improve their products using classroom feedback.
- Their work is grounded in logic models that link product features to learning outcomes.