Like many others who teach in colleges, it’s not my only source of income. When not trying to shove similes down my students’ throats, I also act as a consultant to businesses (many of them of the edtech variety) on the products and services they offer to colleges and other institutions, trying to make them more relevant, useful and appealing. It puts food on the table (and the soul removal op wasn’t that bad).

And, with this insight, I’d like to offer a bit of advice to FE staff looking to spend their meagre budget on some tech that will help their students:

There is a huge range of undoubtedly useful tech tools out there. But what matters is the people behind the technology. Education is a market and there are some in the edtech business who see it as only that.

There are also those companies that are more thoughtful and values-driven. They’re honest and explicitly state limitations. They offer exhaustive customer support because they understand the ramifications and hassle if it all goes kaput in a college classroom. They care about what they’re doing because they care about education.

Seek those guys out.

Tom Starkey teaches English at a college in the North of England