Show me the Impact: Measuring the Impact of EdTech

Insights from a panel of experts on the importance of measuring impact and what metrics can be applied to do this.

Educational technologies tend to generate a lot of hype, but how can we assess how impactful they are? A panel of experts* joined us at the EdTechX summit last June to discuss the importance of measuring impact and what metrics can be applied to do this. Here are the key takeaways…

Measuring impact in education is about determining if learning is actually happening. This is achieved by collecting the appropriate evidence needed so companies can make claims that are ethical about their products. However, education is context-based with a diversity of learners and multiple stakeholders, making it difficult to determine one universal metric that measures learning.

Measuring impact — Does this product work? For whom and in what context?

Research conducted by Goldstar Education found that the most trustworthy and impactful companies had a combination of six dimensions or “superpowers” covering areas such as business culture, mindset, the ability to pivot, and an understanding of research. Goldstar Education Founder, Anissa Moeini advised startups to start the process by conducting an assessment based on these dimensions. “This will help you learn which areas you need to improve on,” she said.

A key part of achieving impact in education is to ensure that the education we deliver is effective. “All learners vary and everything is context dependent in education”, noted Chief Strategy Officer at Digital Promise, Vic Vuchic. Contesting the use of Randomised Controlled Trials in the evaluation of learning outcomes, he advocated using research-based design instead: “Making sure you are intentional about your learning theory, that you know the research behind that learning theory, how you design that into your product, and then what your intended impact is”.

Communicating on impact — The “know like trust” (KLT) factor

When communicating on impact, Becky Sage, Director of Acceleration at Educate Ventures Research recommended the “know like trust” (KLT) approach, a marketing concept based on the principle that people do business with those whom they know, like, and trust — be known for your brand value (who are the people that are going to be impacted?), be likeable (share stories that bring to life the impact that you’re claiming), and be trustworthy (provide evidence that your product works).

Social impact and financial performance are intimately correlated

From a VC perspective, Marie-Christine Levet of Impact VC fund, Educapital highlighted a correlation between financial performance and impact: “Good EdTech companies will perform well financially. And if they perform well financially, they will create impact,” she explained. The fund looks at three criteria for impact — reach, inclusion and learning outcome — the latter being the hardest to measure. “To make this process easier,” she said, “the research world and startups should start to communicate better.”

*Thank you to our panellists Anissa Moeini, Founder & CEO at Goldstar Education, Marie-Christine Levet, President and Co-Founder of Educapital, Vic Vuchic, Chief Strategy Officer at Digital Promise, Becky Sage, former Director of Acceleration at Educate Ventures Research and Elyas Felfoul, Director of Policy Development & Partnerships at WISE (Moderator)

Access this panel session recording here

*To access the recorded sessions, registered ticket holders can log in using their registered email address. Non-ticket holders can purchase the 2022 OD Content Pass to access all the session recordings from the 2022 EdTechX Summit.