As educational technology becomes more prominent in the classroom, many schools have taken to creating a 1 on 1 ratio between students and technology. Whether they are computers, laptops, or iPads, teachers have found great success when each student in their classroom has their own individual device to work on.

These devices are normally pre-loaded with all of the required apps and software that the student will need, locking down the ability for students to add anything additional that might distract them from instruction. And these programs have seen an increase in student engagement and interest in the coursework.

Not only are students more tuned into the work at their fingertips, teachers saw that student had an easier time communicating with their teachers about questions or issues with assignments. Having a digital tool like the phones and other devices that they use at home helped them better relay their problems.

With online coursework and digital quizzes and tests, teachers could spend less time grading and more time giving real-time feedback to students, saving them time to focus more on student instruction and less on reading over and constantly grading papers.

Costs also went down, as replacing an app on an iPad, instead of replacing a full digital camera set, costs next to nothing but the time it takes to download. CD players, speaker systems, scanners, and recorders that all used to need to be physical equipment, all go digital and immediately remove the old lines in an invoice, freeing up your budget to take on additional school projects.

Being able to provide direct instruction using technology is a boon to classrooms all over the country. And as more and more schools take on 1:1 projects, edtech will continue to show a marked improvement in overall course effectiveness.

A common assumption is that to stand out from the competition educational technology must have lots of different features. However, this can lead to making their product confusing for a new user or require an excessive amount of training time before the technology is able to be used effectively in the classroom.

Educators need technology that is user-friendly and quick to learn. While some training will never go amiss, your product should be easy for someone to interact with and quickly pick up how to integrate their new tool into their daily lessons.

Schools tend to have some hesitation investing in more complicated technology. Teachers already have a lot on their plate to juggle, between assisting students, creating and tweaking lessons, and more. Spending hours learning how to use an overly complicated tool sounds like the time investment might not be worth the reward.

Simplified devices stand a stronger chance to truly transform a classroom. The easier and friendlier the technology is to learn, the more likely even the most hesitant educators will take to using those tools in their classroom.

So how do you make sure that your EdTech tools are easy to use?

Decluttered User Interface

Having lots of bells and whistles can be useful. But if the interface is cluttered or overly complicated, this can intimidate users and confuse them. When a teacher needs to be efficient with their time, having to comb through rows and rows of different options looking for one item can be a deterrent to future use.

Simplify

The best tools are intuitive to use. The faster your learning curve, the less time it will take for anyone to be able to walk up and begin utilizing the EdTech effectively. So if a substitute teacher needs to take over a lesson, the ideal scenario is that they can walk into the classroom with little to no instruction and be able to keep the students on course.

Customization

If a user interface is customizable, users can quickly condense their tool bars down to the most productive features. This helps declutter the UI as well to make it easier to find the tools that you need.