Over the past decade, the education world has embraced the idea that respect, social awareness, and relationship skills are integral to a student’s success in school. These qualities are fundamental to a student’s social-emotional learning, or SEL. After all, data shows that when a student doesn’t have to worry about bullying or knows how to […]

When we talk about the “future” of edTech, we sometimes risk leaving teachers and their students out of the equation entirely. No wonder edTech is beleaguered by accusations of wanting to “replace” teachers in the classroom! At Backpack, we believe the best classroom technology amplifies a teacher’s ability to help their students learn. Sometimes that […]

User testing is exciting. You finally get to see your edTech product at work as 25 little people in a classroom begin pushing all the buttons on your product at once. Testing digital products in schools also presents a number of challenges for product designers. For example, there might not be enough time in your […]

Strong visual design strategy is crucial for creating an effective edTech product that engages your users and helps learners understand new concepts. The right visual design also helps adult learners develop new skills and teachers make better decisions about what’s happening in their classrooms. But the visual design process can be difficult for stakeholders in […]