EdTech: Dusty Moore Of iCEV On How Their Technology Will Make An Important Positive Impact On Education

Don’t be afraid to get in the weeds. I think this is especially important as you scale. As a leader, you gain a lot of knowledge diving into the details with your team to solve a problem.

In recent years, Big Tech has gotten a bad rep. But of course, many tech companies are doing important work making monumental positive changes to society, health, and the environment. To highlight these, we started a new interview series about “Technology Making An Important Positive Social Impact”. We are interviewing leaders of tech companies who are creating or have created a tech product that is helping to make a positive change in people’s lives or the environment. In this particular installment, we are talking to leaders of Education Technology companies, who share how their tech is helping to improve our educational system. As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dusty Moore.

Dusty Moore is the CEO of iCEV, leading a dedicated team focused on building practical pathways for students from the classroom to high-demand careers. Under his leadership, iCEV partners with educators and industry leaders to deliver standards-aligned curriculum, industry-recognized certifications, and CTE data insights. He keeps the spotlight on teachers and students, measuring success by doors opened and futures launched.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory and how you grew up?

I grew up in a small town in the Texas panhandle called Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch. Boys Ranch is a home for at-risk children who are experiencing challenges in their homes, schools, or communities. My mom was a history teacher and coach, while my dad was an agriculture science teacher and part of the Career and Technical Education (CTE) program at the Ranch. I went to school there from pre-school to graduation.

Boys Ranch was heavily focused on CTE programs with most students enrolled in CTE classes and having after-school jobs that applied to the programs they were studying. I grew up involved in many activities, but I was especially engaged in our agriculture science program and Future Farmers of America (FFA) chapter. FFA is a Career and Technical Student Organization (CTSO). CTSOs are an important part of CTE programs as they tie directly to classroom instruction and reinforce what students learn in their CTE courses while also providing leadership and employability skill building activities and hands-on learning experiences.

My experience growing up at the Ranch, being involved with CTE programs, and seeing the positive, life-long impact those programs had on students who were residents at the Ranch instilled in me a desire to help serve those programs.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

I’m not sure I personally have a most interesting story, however I am fortunate enough to get to see interesting stories every day through our work with CTE programs. If you haven’t had the opportunity to visit a CTE class to see the amazing work students are doing day in and day out, I recommend visiting one as soon as possible.

Touring centers and classrooms, seeing the projects, and speaking with students on what they learn through CTE programs definitely fills the bucket for me on interesting stories in my career.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I have been blessed to have many teachers and mentors over the years to shape my career. One who sticks out is our company’s founder, Dr. Gordon Davis.

Gordon was an educator at heart. He started his career as a high school CTE teacher before becoming a college professor. He recognized the need to bring the expert to the classroom through VHS tapes to assist CTE teachers and that is how the company started.

Gordon taught me the value in taking calculated risks, investing in your people, and keeping your mission at the heart of what you do.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

One of my favorites is “when life hands you lemons, make lemonade.”

Although it’s pretty simple and sounds a bit cheesy, it is true. Within every challenge you face, there is an opportunity somewhere — you just have to change your outlook and how you tackle the challenge to find the opportunity.

You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

All of these traits are important:

• Never-ending curiosity — This is a statement I repeat to our team regularly: “The moment you lose your curiosity is the moment you stop growing.” Always be asking questions on why things are the way they are and how to make them better.
• Ability to listen — This obviously ties into the first one, but the ability to listen and learn from those around you will help you endlessly in your career.
• Execution — There are a lot of great ideas out there, but how do you execute on them? If you have the ability to create an idea, communicate that idea, and then execute on the idea, you have a winning formula.

Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion about the tech tools that you are helping to create that can make a positive social impact on our educational systems. To begin, what problems are you aiming to solve?

As a product of CTE, I know firsthand the immense value of these programs. At iCEV, we know that students need CTE, families need CTE, communities need CTE, our country needs CTE, and the world needs CTE.

Through CTE, students discover what they are capable of and how they can contribute to their communities. Hands-on learning helps them recognize their value, build confidence, and realize they have great options for shaping their future. The challenge is how do we expand these programs to make them accessible to students in all communities — whether rural, suburban, or urban — and give students the path to find their career passion and calling?

Several barriers exist for districts when trying to implement new CTE pathways, including the capital investment and resources needed to start a new program, finding and hiring the right educators, gaining community advisors and local business and industry support, and scaling the programs to accommodate all learners desiring to participate. At iCEV, we focus on removing these barriers and empowering educators to impact students’ lives through career training and preparation.

How do you think your technology can address this?

We serve CTE programs in four key areas:

1. Providing curriculum for more than 200 CTE courses across every major career pathway. Our ready-to-teach lessons include lesson plans with pacing blueprints, media-based instructional content, hands-on projects and activity guides, career interviews with professionals, and assessments. Having built out curriculum and instructional resources is especially important for CTE courses as many CTE teachers come straight from businesses and the industry to the classroom. They need a strong foundation to stand on as they start their teaching career.

2. Preparing students for industry certification success. We test for 19 industry certifications on our platform. Industry certifications are important for learners as they serve as a credential to show employers the knowledge and skills potential employees possess.

In addition to the 19 industry certifications we test for, we also have curriculum alignments to more than 80 industry certifications commonly used in CTE programs. These alignments serve as a guide on how to use our curriculum and instructional resources to guide students to certification success.

3. Delivering powerful analytics. Through our data and analytics tool Eduthings, district administrators can spend less time collecting data and more time analyzing CTE data to make actionable steps to improve outcomes. Eduthings provides insights on important CTE indicators such as concentrators, completers, industry certification achievement, CTSO participation, and work-based learning activities.

4. Measuring growth with pre- and post-tests. Districts are able to track student progress and growth through our pre- and post-tests. These show how students are progressing in learning and obtaining course specific knowledge and skills.

By leveraging these tools, districts are better equipped to secure funding for programs; hire and retain high-quality CTE instructors; promote their programs to business, industry, and community partners; and provide more opportunities for learners.

Can you tell us the backstory about what inspired you to originally feel passionate about education?

As mentioned above, where I grew up showed me that CTE is not a supplement to a student’s education, it is a foundation of it. Some of my best memories and life lessons were learned through my CTE classes. And, several of my friends to this day were friends I made through the FFA when I was in high school.

I always knew CTE was important, but as I got older I increasingly recognized how valuable CTE is for students, families, and communities. I’m blessed to play a small role in helping make those programs available to students.

How do you think your technology might change the world?

At iCEV, we think of ourselves like Alfred from Batman or Q from James Bond. We work behind the scenes to give CTE educators the tools and support they need to be the heroes for their students. Just as Alfred and Q elevate the heroes of their stories, we elevate CTE educators so they can inspire and empower the next generation.

When students engage in CTE, they not only gain skills but also the confidence to see how they can contribute to their communities and the world — and our technology helps make those opportunities possible. Our technology won’t change the world, but the people we serve through that technology will, and our technology will help them with that important mission.

Keeping the “Law of Unintended Consequences” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?

As with any tool, knowledge in the best way to use and apply the tool is essential for maximum performance. A welder has to know how to use the welding machine they are working with. A carpenter needs to know the right situation for a hammer versus a drill.

We view professional development with our products as vital — not because there are drawbacks, but to make those using our products that much more impactful. That is why we are continuously encouraging educators using our products to do professional development sessions with our team in various formats that fit their schedules.

How do you envision the landscape of education evolving over the next decade, and how does your technology fit into that future?

As technology continues to evolve and become even more prevalent in learners’ lives, there will be a continuous need to evaluate automation versus the human touch. To my knowledge, there aren’t many students who come back for their 30-year reunion and say “thank goodness I had this software application when I was in high school or I wouldn’t be standing here today.” Instead, they are saying “thank goodness I had this teacher who believed in me, set me up with the proper tools, and encouraged me to succeed.”

While technology can be a great helper in developing students, the more the technology can be used to assist our educators in impacting students, the more powerful it will be.

Based on your experience and success, can you please share “Five things you need to know to successfully create technology that can make a positive social impact”?

1. Always keep the mission the center of attention. The moment the mission fades into the background, you have lost the plot.
2. Don’t be afraid to get in the weeds. I think this is especially important as you scale. As a leader, you gain a lot of knowledge diving into the details with your team to solve a problem.
3. Ask questions. As I mentioned before, unending curiosity is the key to finding ways to continue to grow and improve. Continue to ask questions of your customers, your future customers, and your team. Listen and learn.
4. It won’t be easy. New challenges pop up every day. Having the courage and the right attitude to tackle those challenges is essential.
5. Think big. Our founder used to encourage us to think big by saying, “no risk, no reward.” Put yourself out there. Think of what you can accomplish, then multiply it by 10.

In the world of EdTech, there’s often data collection involved. How do you ensure the ethical handling of user data, especially when it concerns students?

Professional development with the handling and analyzing of data is essential. Data should never be collected for the sake of vanity metrics. There must be a clear reason for its use, and it should always be tied to better outcomes for the learner.

Just as important, we are committed to protecting student privacy and ensuring that data is handled responsibly, securely, and transparently so that it is always used as a tool to serve students and educators.

If you could tell other young people one thing about why they should consider making a positive impact on our environment or society, like you, what would you tell them?

In my opinion, one of the most important aspects of building any product that will be implemented in an educational setting is to have a purpose of service. For young people, the same holds true. When you focus on making a positive impact, whether in your community or the world, you not only help others, you discover what you are capable of. Knowing and following that purpose makes the journey that much more enjoyable.

Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)

Mike Rowe! I really admire his mission championing students to find fulfillment in the trades. He not only highlights the critical need for skilled workers in our country, he emphasizes the personal and economic satisfaction that comes from building a career in the trades. Plus, I have no doubt with his sense of humor I’d spend most of the meal doubled over in laughter.

To me, nothing beats a great conversation about a shared passion, especially when it’s filled with plenty of laughter.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

The best place to follow our work is on our website at www.icevonline.com. We regularly share new posts, articles, and videos highlighting the incredible work CTE educators and students are doing across the country, along with resources to support and grow these programs.

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational, and we wish you continued success in your important work.