During the annual ASU+GSV Summit, the U.S. Department of Education released a free guide for education technology developers to better understand the needs of the nation, with one of those being the need to better serve disadvantaged students.

The ASU+GSV Summit as an annual gathering of people that deals with the " conversation and activism devoted to accelerating learning innovation around the world," according to its site. 

During the summit, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan addressed over 2,500 attendees. He discussed the technology guide, which "is the result of two years of research by Department of Education officials, who interviewed educators, entrepreneurs, parents and students. Its goal is to help technology developers better understand the key needs of the nation’s school system," according to an article TheHechingerReport.org.

"It identifies 10 'persistent problems in education,' among them increasing family engagement, improving professional development for teachers, creating tests that accurately measure what students have learned, and closing achievement gaps."

Duncan prompted developers to consider the needs of disadvantaged students. 'If the technology revolution only happens for families that already have money and education, then it’s not really a revolution,' Duncan said," the article said.

He also asked developers to include teachers in their development process earlier rather than later. "Those who are developing new tools must include teachers earlier in the development process, Duncan said, and he asked them to do so immediately, pointing out a teacher in the audience as an example of who should be top-of-list for meetings at the conference," according to the article.

The free guide is available for download at tech.ed.gov/developers.

Read the full article here and comment below.

Article by Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor