How Ed-Fi’s Solutions help in the Classroom from Ed-Fi Alliance on Vimeo.

This spotlight video (the third in the series) is a compilation of testimonials from all over the country—from Wisconsin to Florida to Arizona—delivered by Ed-Fi community members including Department of Education employees, district-level IT and support specialists, and vendors. A common theme emerged when we spoke with these individuals, totally unbeknownst to them: Ed-Fi is nothing without them.

Each leader featured in this video has a different primary reason why they value the Ed-Fi technology and community. They mention that it speeds up the data collection and analysis process, provides educators with the ability to enter or reference information in real-time, is a powerful intervention tool when student issues are still small and can be rectified, and allows them to draw unique connections between students and staff.

Underlying all of these responses is a clear sense of determination and devotion to making the most of the technology. These implementers are in constant conversation with the educators they represent, asking “What’s the quick win?” “What can we focus on first?” “What is most important for you to have access to right now?”

This paradigm—placing educators and students at the forefront—is certainly what we strive for internally, but it is made real only by those of you on the front lines who are implementing our tools. Shane Fairbairn with NEFEC says it perfectly in the video: “Rather than, ‘hey, here’s another product,’ this is more of a community. This is more of a mindset than it is a product.” Hearing these words is a dream come true for us. We can promote this shared mindset all day, but we can’t achieve it without the buy-in and commitment of you, the implementers.

So thank you all for putting the students and educators you impact first. By taking our technology and getting creative with it, always finding new ways to organize and visualize data for the sake of improving the classroom experience, you are making our work worthwhile.

The Ed-Fi Solution in Classrooms from Ed-Fi Alliance on Vimeo.

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