There’s so much talk about how schools haven’t changed since the days of Fordism that even that criticism—with its image of a school from a hundred years ago and a photo of a contemporary school that looks exactly the same—is already taking on the same outdated air as the observation itself.

Another statement that’s been used so often it’s become a cliché is that the pandemic and lockdowns allowed people and educational institutions to adopt technology more quickly and with less resistance.

And it’s not that I disagree with that. In fact, I see it that way too, but what still makes me a little skeptical is that, despite these findings, the changes are still modest across much of the education sector. And this lingering skepticism bothers me because we’ve never had such a favorable environment for adopting technology both inside and outside the classroom.

In addition to the clear shift in mindset—brought about by necessity—we have endless opportunities to incorporate technology into every corner of the school, but that doesn't necessarily happen.

To give you an idea, in the most recent annual survey we conducted at the Education Committee of the Brazilian Association of Startups (Abstartups), we identified more than 700 startups focused on solving problems faced by educational institutions—the so-called edtechs. And globally, according to HolonIQ, there are startups in 50 different categories.

Given this situation, is it any wonder that technology isn’t being used in classrooms, school offices, cafeterias, and at school gates?

It certainly is, but perhaps what the edtech sector is still missing is precisely teaching those who have always taught us what these startups are all about—what technology can do for students, teachers, administrators, families, and the school community. But above all, in my view, what’s still missing is bringing administrators and educators closer to the ideation processes that edtech companies excel at—and increasingly creating solutions to the problems that most plague schools. 

With this approach—which, of course, requires willingness and commitment from both sides—I believe the gap between needs and solutions would narrow significantly, and as that happens, we’ll begin to be on the same side: the side of education.

And bridging the gap that separates education from the innovation ecosystem is precisely what Bett Brasil is deliberately seeking to do by bringing together an Advisory Board that focuses on verticals such as basic and higher education, as well as professional and corporate education, while also considering the cross-cutting nature of edtech solutions, which can help address these major challenges in each of these verticals.

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*This text does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bett Brasil.