[Editor’s Note: “Build on This” is a letter series between education leaders. Our second pair is Karen Cator, who leads the nonprofit Digital Promise, and David Liu, the Chief Operating Officer of Knewton, an educational technology company. This is the third of four letters.]

Thank you, David, for your thoughtful response. Your question of how we can best “create learning environments in which technology is used to help students address deeper questions, encourage participation, and grow as critical thinkers” is a good one.

The first response that comes to mind is — invest in teachers! Sometimes technology is pitted against teachers, but what I have seen over and over is that putting the right tools in the hands of competent teachers (and in the hands of each of their students) is powerful.

For starters, research-based technology can provide relevant and rapid feedback directly to the student, so the teacher is not the only assessor. This help teachers empower students to take responsibility for their own learning. Technology can also support students’ inquiry skills as they ask questions, find answers, and create their own content.

Further, technology can be used to help students think critically and integrate different concepts as they tackle real-world challenges. For example, Samsung’s 2015 Solve for Tomorrow competition engaged schools from around the country on real-world challenges such as water pollution, public safety, and urban food deserts. Students shared their ideas for solving these entrenched problems with a diverse audience that offered insights from multiple perspectives.

These engagements require that the teacher be competent and able to orchestrate these interactions. Technology can accelerate the development of all the 21st century skills needed for success with education, work, and many of life’s endeavors.

Yet, while there is a subset of teachers who are fully immersed in technology, our great challenge is in supporting teachers as they learn new skills and adapt their teaching methods in response to the strikingly different educational environment of today. All teachers are college educated, and most already use the Internet and technology tools in their personal lives to shop, find information, and learn new skills for personal pursuits, such as cooking, crafts, or home improvement.

Bridging teachers’ personal technology use to their professional learning networks is a logical progression. They already rely on the expertise of peer networks for support as they implement new teaching methods or grapple with a learning challenge. Online communities can make it easier for teachers to connect with colleagues facing similar challenges, and to find support next door or across the globe from those successfully improving student learning.

Mentoring teachers as they learn to design the sort of learning environment we both are talking about is critical, as is fostering broader conversations about the kind of teacher preparation needed for this generation of teachers to fully utilize new and emerging technology.

And again — equity is key. Teachers in high- and low-income schools must adopt new teaching methods that position students at the center of the learning experience, and address complex, interdisciplinary real-world challenges. As we discussed in our last exchange, we all must continue to advocate for greater access to the Internet and technology in schools.

I agree that we need to get beyond “stopgap measures.” And, hopefully if we make progress in both access and teacher development, eventually all schools will have both the technical and human capital to create optimal learning environments for each and every student. Teachers are key.

Teachers across the country are committed to improving student learning, and it’s time to make sure they are fully prepared with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed. I am interested to know your thoughts, David, about the role of organizations outside of education — especially corporations — in supporting teacher professional learning. An even bigger question is, what does the ideal partnership look like between education and technology companies as we look to transform all of our schools?

Karen

Here is David’s final response: