Writing about the latest and presumed greatest in edtech comes with the risk of sometimes being wrong. When a magazine title is 35 years old, as Tech & Learning will be next year, you can be sure there are a few clunkers.
Our recent track record looks pretty good though, at least according to the print issue covers: Here Come Tablets (February, 2010); Social Media: It Does Have a Place in the Classroom (February, 2012); (Flip It: 11 Reasons Why You Should (and 5 why you shouldn’t). The jury is still out on—Big Data Isn’t Bad, It’s Just Misunderstood (March, 2014).
We feel confident to trumpet that next “big thing” because we rely upon the insight from some of the wisest analysts in the business of edtech. And so it goes with this month’s cover, which points you to excerpts from the book The Invent To Learn Guide to 3D Printing in the Classroom: Recipes for Success. Written by T&L Most Influential awardee David Thornburg, along with Norma Thornburg and Sara Armstrong, the book gives prescriptions on how this emerging technology can be used to improve and enhance the learning experience in classrooms—our own content mission in a nutshell.
The other reason we feel confident to investigate and share these technologies before they have a widespread acceptance is because of our readers. You are the early adopters. You are the ones who will take this information and change your schools. So while market analysts like the Gartner group may poo-poo 3D printing as 10 years too soon, we focus on those educators who are finding success with it right here, right now. I hope you enjoy this issue!
— Kevin Hogan
Content Director
khogan@nbmedia.com
