Sandboxes: our approach to scaling impactful EdTech interventions
8 reasons why EdTech isn’t scaling which have informed the design of our sandbox method
EdTech Hub’s innovation experts have designed our sandboxes to help generate real-time evidence. Blending methods and mindset to support implementers to get to learning as fast as possible, and to make interventions as robust as possible.
In this video, we talk about 8 reasons why EdTech isn’t scaling which have informed the design of our sandbox method.
Why do we use the sandbox method?
EdTech Hub aims to push the effectiveness of EdTech interventions up, drive costs down and generate evidence on how to implement EdTech at scale.
We provide the space for partners, working in conditions of uncertainty, to test and grow ideas through fast-paced, iterative experiments in the real world. We provide the tools, access to experts and funding to make that happen. We call this a sandbox.
Many sectors have launched sandboxes, to try new things and mimic a would-be “real world” environment to see what happens. Drawing on these approaches, we have designed sandboxes to test and trial technology products, pedagogical approaches, and even ways of funding or policy to understand what works, when, and in what combination.
You can learn more about sandboxes here.
Do you want to run your own sandbox?
Past sandboxes
Between June 2020 and March 2021, we completed 5 sandboxes, each responding to school closures caused by Covid-19. They were designed to rapidly test promising EdTech interventions, using a mix of funding, support and access to evidence.
Each was an opportunity to try out new ideas at small scale, and see how they actually work for real students, teachers and other participants.
We break sandboxes up into short sprints, learning and iterating as we go. Each sprint informs changes and new ideas for the next.
The pages linked below introduce and briefly outline the progress we’ve made so far, including key facts and references for further reading. These pages are a starting point; in every case, there’s a great deal of supporting material that we encourage you to explore.
