UNESCO’s World Teachers’ Day, observed annually on 5 October, is a celebration of the role teachers play in education. It is also an opportunity to recognise that they are more than mere facilitators in the educational landscape, but a catalyst for progress.
Even as EdTech solutions are more widespread and adoption is encouraged for its potential to significantly improve education outcomes across the continent, the role of the teacher remains critical. The sustainable adoption of technology, the improvement of learning outcomes and the cultivation of learner confidence all hinge on the human factor: the empowered educator.
The narrative of educational improvement often focuses on funding, infrastructure and hardware, but successful outcomes are about more than tech. This is the view of Kelly Fisher, Head of Marketing & Communications at Injini. “EdTech’s impact lies in empowering teachers, designing culturally relevant solutions and fostering community-driven adoption of EdTech.” She adds that technology is a tool and effectively harnessing digital tools to drive educational outcomes requires teachers that are empowered, skilled, confident and acknowledged for the critical role they play in a child’s educational journey. “The teacher’s role is as much about their presence and empathy, as it is their ability to ‘help’ learners achieve a particular outcome, and strengthen their confidence,” Fisher adds.
Heart-brain-craft
Successful EdTech integration, particularly in diverse and resource-constrained environments, starts with an approach – a mindset – that prioritises and elevates the teacher’s expertise.
Brad Keller, CEO of Keller Education, an organisation that offers professional development solutions for schools, outlines an approach that is explicitly people-first. “We start with people, not platforms,” he explains. Keller’s work centres on the intersection of three critical lenses: the brain, the heart, and the craft.
This framework moves beyond traditional training, focusing instead on neuroscientific principles (how the brain learns), psychological insights (what we feel shapes how we think and behave), and pedagogical techniques (the practical moves teachers use). “When teachers embrace this comprehensive view, they become ‘mind-brain-education practitioners’ and their classrooms are transformed,” Keller says.
While many EdTech solutions simplify the delivery of content, it does not always make provision for the “how” of teaching, which remains a fundamental part of education. Keller insists that while content matters, “the ‘how’ and the ‘why’ turn content into accelerated learning”.
To this end, the Keller Education coaches simple, high-impact routines that compound over time: greeting learners at the door to foster belonging, using short check-ins to surface prior knowledge, or building in “think-pair-share” before any quiz. “These small shifts create belonging, focus attention, and raise achievement. When teachers multiply the ‘how’ by the ‘why’, the ‘what’ becomes far more powerful,” Keller explains.
Time constraints
A chronic lack of time is a systemic challenge that is hampering the sustained and relevant adoption of new tools. “Teachers are time-poor and the curriculum is crowded, or as I like to say ‘over-stuffed’”, Keller shares candidly.
Transformative change needs to be driven by clarity and protection from leadership. “It’s not just about time management but we need to protect the time of teachers to ensure they have the capacity to do the actual teaching but, equally importantly, prioritise their own professional development,” Keller adds.
Principals, and school leadership, must “name the goal, protect time for practice, and make professional development a whole-school programme rather than a side project”.
It’s a shift that moves professional growth from an isolated task to a collective endeavour, fostering the “collective efficacy” needed for successful implementation. EdTech integration must start small – picking one or two workflows to improve – to build momentum through quick, visible wins.
Technology exists to serve, not replace, the essential human connection that education has relied on for centuries. “Our brains are fundamentally wired for connection, and screens must not weaken the student-teacher relationship,” Keller believes.
The Keller Education coaches teachers to put relationships first and use technology specifically to amplify interaction. This means utilising tools to free time for dialogue, setting up shared documents for group reasoning, or running short polls to ensure every voice is heard.
When teachers are empowered and encouraged to lead with their “humanness” and use EdTech to amplify collaboration, communication, critical thinking and creative problem-solving, students’ character and confidence grow exponentially.
Teacher wellbeing
Wellbeing is not a luxury; it is the foundation of stamina and joy in the job. It must be woven into the fabric of professional development. Keller Education integrates short wellbeing tools,such as micro-breaks, simple reflection prompts, and realistic planning habits, into every quarter of training. EdTech plays a supportive role here by reducing administrative load through automation, offering on-demand micro-learning, and creating supportive communities of practice where shared tools and language build strength.
“The most promising EdTech trends, and indeed solutions, are those that put teachers firmly at the centre,” Fisher believes. “Whether it is a tool that helps teachers plan lessons or assess learners more effectively, the tool’s job is to empower the teacher – be it with knowledge, time or confidence – which in turn creates space for their humanness to shine in the classroom.”
Too many solutions, Keller observes, attempt to “route around the teacher”. It’s an approach that is fundamentally flawed because “the teacher is the solution”, he insists.
By empowering teachers with relevant training, protecting their time, supporting their wellbeing, and giving them the space and guidance to reconnect with their purpose, EdTech becomes a transformative tool, rather than an added burden. “That’s when EdTech will revolutionise educational outcomes for all learners,” Keller says.