Any individual, company, or organization offering a product or service in the ed-tech industry is welcome to participate, and can submit in one, two, or all three categories.
What are the categories?
The three categories, which represent three ways research can be used to inform product development, are:
LEARNING SCIENCES: How developers use scientific research on how people learn to inform product design.
USER RESEARCH: How developers collect and use information about how people are interacting with their product.
EVALUATION RESEARCH: How developers determine whether a product contributes to solving a problem in education.
How do I apply?
Fill out an online form. All the questions are posted in this PDF document, in case you want to preview or draft responses prior to completing the application.
Send us your company’s logo in a PNG or JPG file via email (research@digitalpromise.org) if you’d like it to be included on the web announcement.
What is the timeline?
August 9: Submission form opens.
September 30, midnight PST: Deadline for ed-tech developers/companies to submit online.
October 3-21: Review by panel of Columbia Teachers College researchers.
October 24: Announcement of three top submissions in each category, and full list of all participating companies/developers published on Digital Promise website.
November (date to be announced): Article featuring the top submission in each category is published on Digital Promise and EdSurge websites, and promoted among both organization’s networks.
How are applications reviewed?
To select a top entry in each area, Columbia Teachers College reviewers will use a set rubric to consider the strength of each submission. Names of individuals and companies/organizations will be removed to reduce bias. Some key criteria they will consider:
Learning Sciences: How well the research connects to the product, and how rigorous the cited research is.
User research: How well the company got to know its users, which stakeholders were involved, and the methods used to gather feedback.
Evaluation research: The rigor of the evaluation design and methods, and whether the research context was matched to the product’s real world use.
For all submissions, reviewers will also consider whether you partnered with others to conduct your research, and how you inform your customers about the research you use.
What are the benefits of participating?
Get recognized for the hard work you do to incorporate research into your product design and development! Your product/company will be shared with Digital Promise’s wide audience of education leaders and ed-tech developers. If your company is highlighted in the final article, it will reach even more educators and developers through both Digital Promise’s and EdSurge’s networks.
You can help raise the bar for the ed-tech industry: moving the sector toward using research as an essential part of product development.
Can my company be named the top entry in more than one category?
We will highlight a total of three developers/companies. If one developer/company is exemplary in more than one area, we will mention their success in all areas.
My product is still in the design phase...can I apply?
Yes! In this case you would be eligible for the Learning Sciences category, which highlights developers/companies using research to inform their work in the early phases of product design/development.
What will the article on the three selected companies be about?
The article will provide an in-depth look at the strategies the developers/companies used to incorporate research into their product design and development. Along with these companies’ stories, we will provide ideas and tips that will make it easier for other developers to use research.
Where can I read more about using research in ed-tech?
Digital Promise’s Using Research in Ed Tech Guide, which provides more detail on the three phases of research use (the three categories) and examples for how to use research in product development
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