Key takeaways
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Align vision and build the foundation: Create a shared vision and strategic plan that embraces scalable infrastructure and interoperable tools.
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Make learning the focus: Promote active, authentic learning using a classroom integration framework and invest in long-term PD.
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Implement in phases and improve continuously: Sustain progress by monitoring KPIs, meeting needs with AI or adaptive tools, and communicating results.
Technology developments have changed peoples’ lives around the world, so it makes sense that we would expect EdTech to make a significant impact on K–12 education, for both students and educators. The Office of Educational Technology within the U.S. Department of Education notes, “Technology can be a powerful tool to help transform learning.” But many educators and leaders are not seeing this transformation when implementing EdTech in their classrooms, schools, and districts. The good news is that we have academic research and real-world results that reveal key components of successful EdTech implementation without a need for any specific program or tool. Here are 7 action items for successfully implementing EdTech:
Establish a Shared Vision & Strategy
The first step in a successful EdTech implementation is to develop a shared vision, with emphasis on the “shared” aspect. Teachers, support staff, administrators, parents, students, and community members will all have input worth consideration. While it may seem more efficient for a leader to create this vision on their own, this may derail implementation later through a lack of stakeholder buy-in. Additionally, ensure that your shared vision aligns with established frameworks or standards so that you have a clear understanding of how you will define success as you go forward.
Once you have developed your shared vision, you will need to lay out a strategic plan for executing it. The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) recommends creating one that includes “building and sustaining technology infrastructure, evaluating and selecting digital learning resources, and providing and sustaining professional learning and coaching.” Each element plays an important role in heading off critical problems like failing to meet current and/or future needs, incomplete evaluations, and ineffective use of expensive resources.
As you build out your plan, investigate funding sources and possible partnerships that can sustain your efforts and improve your chances of success along the way. Finally, ISTE notes that leaders must be prepared to evaluate progress on the strategic plan, make course corrections when warranted, and measure impact on all stakeholders.
Somewhere between the promise of transformation and the barriers to realizing that promise lies the potential for states, districts, and schools to build systems that better ensure that [EdTech's] promise is afforded to all students, no matter their geography, background, or individual context.
Choose a Classroom Integration Framework
In light of the change that integrating technology into the classroom brings, teachers and support staff need “practical support, clear expectations, and time to build confidence.” This allows them to stay focused on instruction rather than troubleshooting. By choosing a classroom integration framework, leaders have a structured means of implementing EdTech in stages throughout a variety of learning environments.
While different classroom integration frameworks exist, not all are explicitly concerned with technology. One that is, the Technology Integration Matrix (TIM) developed by the Florida Center for Instructional Technology (FCIT), answers the question “With all the technology that is now being placed in schools, how can we assure that it is used in pedagogically sound ways that increase student achievement?” The TIM incorporates the five characteristics of meaningful learning environments:
- Active
- Collaborative
- Constructive
- Authentic
- Goal directed
It also incorporates the five levels of technology integration:
- Entry
- Adoption
- Adaptation
- Infusion
- Transformation
The resulting matrix of 25 cells can help you understand and track integration as it progresses. A driving concept behind the TIM is that as a classroom moves from entry-level technology integration to more advanced levels, students take increasing ownership of their learning and become lifelong, self-directed learners.
Other frameworks that schools or districts may choose to guide EdTech implementation include Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK); Bloom’s Cognitive Taxonomy; the Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition (SAMR) Model; and Universal Design for Learning (UDL).
Determine Governance and Vet Privacy and Security Policies
You will want to assemble and guide a team to establish technology policies that support learning across the entire student population. It may require adapting pedagogy, curricula, and assessments, and it will definitely require close monitoring and evaluation of effectiveness for long-term success.
In addition, privacy and security call for extra attention when using digital tools, not only for regulatory compliance but also for public and community relations. One option is to use a privacy vetting workflow to ensure COPPA/FERPA alignment and family-friendly transparency. For example, ISO 27001 certification means an organization has met all the requirements designated by the leading international standard for establishing, implementing, maintaining, and continually improving an information security management system. Similarly, SOC 2 reports offer an independent assessment of organizational management of customer data, evaluating whether specific criteria for protecting sensitive information are met.
Be sure to have privacy and data management policies in place for students and teams to follow and make them as clear and easy to understand as possible.
Build Scalable Infrastructure
Your infrastructure can be instrumental in minimizing barriers to instructional effectiveness, so it’s useful to apply this lens when evaluating existing and potential technologies. It’s also important to ensure that the resources and infrastructure you choose are sufficient and scalable to meet future needs.
One recommendation is to prioritize untethered broadband and reliable connectivity, which can be considered prerequisites for incorporating AI, adaptive platforms, and continuous classroom use. What’s more, you should address affordability and accessibility (both devices and content) to reduce instructional variability, and you may want to partner with community groups to support these initiatives.
Incorporate Professional Learning & Coaching
Ultimately, students benefit from the knowledge gains that teachers, staff, and administrators make by participating in ongoing, relevant professional learning. Both ISTE and the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) offer guidance on meaningful ways to account for professional learning in EdTech implementation, including to:
- Empower educators to exercise agency, build leadership skills, and pursue personalized learning
- Design and maintain systems that support continuous learning for new and experienced teachers and administrators, and give them the time and space needed to design learning opportunities
- Provide professional learning that supports the development of digital literacy skills, which can then be modeled for students and the community
- Inspire a culture of innovation, creative problem-solving, and collaboration that allows the exploration and expansion of teaching practices with digital tools
In fact, CoSN highlights building the human capacity of leaders and educator agency as accelerators of successful change.
Evaluate AI, Analytics, and Adaptive Technologies
Based on educator and administrator feedback in Rand’s 2024 report “Using Artificial Intelligence Tools in K–12 Classrooms,” AI, analytics, and adaptive technologies are hot topics. Though many educators and leaders are optimistic about AI’s potential, Discovery Education’s 2025–2026 Education Insights Report notes, “Without clear guidance, professional development, and regular exposure to success stories, AI may feel like one more challenge rather than a helpful tool.”
Where analytics and adaptive technologies, such as AI-powered platforms and generative AI tools, shine for students is in tailoring learning experiences to their individual needs and abilities. Educators can identify areas in which students need extra support or more advanced material within a classroom where not everyone will be learning at the same level. And much of the work comes from adaptive technologies themselves: analyzing student performance and adjusting instruction in real time. However, the best approach to choosing these types of technologies is by focusing on solving student challenges, not technology features.
Because AI and adaptive technologies are still rapidly evolving, school and district leaders report difficulty in policymaking regarding student use, but they have made more progress regarding teacher use. Leaders embrace potential efficiency gains, and those in mid-size or small districts “saw generative AI as a potential way to fill resource and capacity gaps.”
Follow a 3-Phase Implementation Pathway
Before you begin executing any EdTech implementation strategy, take the time to perform some pre-implementation steps like conducting a needs analysis that is tied to student outcomes, making technology selections using evidence and UDL-aligned design, and defining success criteria and an evaluation plan. Don’t overlook the importance of a communications plan at this point, so you can start building buy-in and excitement by sharing targeted and relevant information. The plan should specify who, how, when, and what to stakeholders.
1. Pilot
Now you are ready to pilot the EdTech you selected. For the pilot, keep the scope limited and incorporate coaching; monitor active use (e.g., using TIM), teacher workload, accessibility, and early impact indicators; and gather feedback from both users and those affected by the new technology, such as family or the community.
2. Scale
Once you determine you have a successful pilot, you can begin to scale up your EdTech implementation. Actions may include:
- Strengthening infrastructure and interoperability
- Expanding professional learning and coaching
- Formalizing responsible use and privacy procedures
- Maintaining fidelity and instructional quality
- Iterating based on data from KPIs and dashboards
- Sustaining the process and managing risk
3. Continuously Improve
Strive to establish a culture of continuous improvement in which insights gathered from analytics drive decision-making in a variety of areas, such as instructional adjustments, resource allocation, and training. Also, your implementation supports should change over time to adapt to evolving needs and technology. Consider gathering feedback from stakeholders via surveys, focus groups, or interviews to stay up to date.
Even though you have this blueprint to EdTech implementation success, you will likely still run into challenges along the way. Read about five common implementation challenges leaders should anticipate and what solutions apply to each in our companion article.
Explore Discovery Education Programs and Resources
Discovery Education offers a variety of digital programs and resources, including curricula, high-quality instructional materials, activities, and content. We partner with districts to deliver innovative solutions rooted in research-backed pedagogy, real-world context, and time-saving supports for teachers. All partners have access to our all-in-one implementation toolkit to streamline the implementation process and ensure a seamless launch. Plus, partners can join the Discovery Educator Network (DEN), a thriving professional learning network composed of educators who are passionate about continuous learning and student progress.
