There is always another educational technology tool promising to make teaching easier, learning more engaging, or course development faster. For an instructional designer, especially one working with several clients, it can be tempting to jump in and try the newest thing.
A better approach is to slow down and ask a few practical questions.
What problem does the technology solve? Is it easy for faculty and students to use? Is it accessible to people with disabilities? Does it work on different devices? What happens to the information users enter into it? And perhaps most importantly, does the tool improve the learning experience enough to justify adding another piece of technology?
Cost matters, too. A free tool may seem like an easy choice until important features move behind a paid plan. A more expensive product may actually be the better value if it replaces several other tools or saves faculty and staff many hours of work.
Artificial intelligence adds another layer to this evaluation. Many educational products now advertise AI features, but the words “powered by AI” do not automatically mean a product is better. Ask what the AI actually does. Does it solve a real problem? Does it save meaningful time? Can users review and correct what it produces? How does the company handle the information entered into the system?
Freelancers also need to remember that we are often guests in someone else’s technology environment. A university, nonprofit organization, or business may already have approved systems, security requirements, accessibility standards, and support processes. Introducing another tool may create more work rather than less.
Sometimes the best educational technology decision is adopting something new. Other times, it is discovering a better way to use what the organization already has.
Good technology should remove barriers, not create new ones.