Technology as a bridge, not a shortcut, to student relationships

Key points:

He investigation It’s clear: Connections are a game-changer in helping young people from low-income households achieve upward economic mobility in the future.

The critical role that relationships play in the opportunity equation was well documented in political scientist Robert Putnam’s 2015 book, Our children. Putnam’s argument was further confirmed in recent, large scale research by Harvard economist Raj Chetty and his team at Opportunity Insights, who mined 21 billion pieces of de-identified Facebook data to find that cross-class connections were a leading predictor of upward mobility in adulthood. The analysis also offered school level data chart the “economic connectedness” (or lack thereof) within individual high schools and colleges across the country.

What can school systems do with this research? At first glance, deeper economic integration between and within schools is essential.

But residential economic segregation is endemic; In fact, in large school districts, economic segregation has increased. 47 percent since 1991. At the same time, Chetty’s research suggests that integration alone is not enough. Forging a connection requires deliberate steps to overcome the “friendship bias” that can make it difficult to connect across lines of difference.

In other words, hope is not a strategy. But it does not have to be like that.

The technological advances of recent decades mean that we do not have to allow history to repeat itself, even if segregation persists. In addition to critical and ongoing efforts to integrate schools, education systems can turn to technological tools to forge new relationships across economic divides. What would that look like in practice?

For a student from the Bronx, New York, named Daniel, a unique relationship, maintained largely through virtual check-ins, radically expanded his sense of what was possible. Daniel, who would be the first in his family to go to college, hoped to become a software engineer. He was matched with a volunteer mentor, Munim, through the nonprofit iMentor. iMentor, along with a growing offering of access programs to virtual and online universities, provides a platform and curriculum that combines virtual and in-person tutoring.

When the program began, Daniel expected to go to a local college and live at home. But in his weekly online and once-a-month in-person check-ins, Munim saw how talented he was. As they talked about his future, Munim urged Daniel to apply to highly selective schools, schools that Daniel didn’t know about or that he hadn’t thought were realistic options. With Munim’s support during the college application process, Daniel was accepted to Williams College.

Daniel’s experience provides a powerful, yet unique snapshot of what a single supportive relationship can offer to help a young person achieve their academic and professional potential. Today, many more of these stories are possible with technology that allows students to access supports by eradicating all-too-common geographic or time limitations.

Expanding on these experiences to ensure that Daniel’s journey becomes not just an outlier but common practice for many other students requires a deep understanding of not only that educational technology tools to use, but as to use them effectively.

5 Strategies to Successfully Scale Connecting edtech

First, technology should not offer random connections; Decades of research confirm that similarity builds trust. Matching algorithms like those from iMentors, which match mentors and mentees based on shared interests; In the case of Daniel and Munim, it was a mutual enthusiasm for video games and programming.

Second, technology should encourage authentic exchange and reciprocity by stimulating conversations.. For example, the iMentor curriculum provides specific recommendations and direction on what each party should share and do at each point in its scope and sequence. Other organizations, such as EnrollThey recruit virtual coaches who are currently college students (just a few years older than current high school students) in an effort to lend authenticity and credibility to the conversations.

Third, inline and combined connections must be supported at every step. by a trained professional whose express goal is to help foster this connection. For example, the platform I could bewhich fosters year-long relationships between students and virtual mentors, offers dedicated full-time staff who track and support those connections, and intervene if engagement wanes.

Fourth, to reap the greatest benefits, schools must position technology to drive lasting connections, rather than fleeting interactions.. Repeated and supported interactions build trust; In turn, mentors like Munim can offer countless resources at different times, in tune with the interests and future possibilities of their mentees. In the case of iMentor, mentors and mentees spend an entire year building a relationship before the mentees make important decisions about their lives in 12th grade.

Fifth, ai tools should encompass relationships, not replace them. Business tools like ChatGPT and technology tools like Pillar They are already demonstrating that ai can multiply the resources, such as information and guidance, available to students. However, research highlights that relationships between students remain a critical component in connecting them to opportunities. After all, their findings highlighted the enormous role of social capital amid the rise of the Internet. This suggests that while the Internet can provide people with information about doors and pathways to opportunity, it is people who open those doors.

Those five investments may seem labor-intensive, but the benefits of infrastructure, support, and long-term vision are well worth it. In the case of iMentor, for example, mentees are 1.5 times more likely to enroll in college and almost twice as likely to graduate from college than students at peer schools. Without the strategic application of technology, this process of cultivating mentoring relationships for thousands of students each year would be unfeasible and would consume excessive school time and staff resources.

Expanding the frontier of educational technology that connects

There is a growing stock of technology platforms optimized for authentic human connection, demonstrating unprecedented scale and flexibility to help people who might not otherwise come together to forge meaningful connections. For example, organizations like Student Success Agency and Beyond 12 are expanding access to virtual “close peers” (those who are a few steps ahead in age or experience) to advise students to and through postsecondary institutions.

Other tools are fostering conversations between peers around the world. Soliya, a virtual exchange program, has honed its ability to host online dialogues where participants (mostly university students) discuss often divisive political and social issues with the support of a trained facilitator (many of whom are alumni of the program). Other companies, such as MentorSpaces and Candoor, are designed to help young professionals from historically underrepresented backgrounds converse with more experienced “in-the-know” professionals who can provide valuable career advice and references.

Tools like these represent a rapidly expanding frontier in educational technology that reflects what research is pointing schools toward: benefits abound in boosting young people’s connections with coaches, industry professionals, and peers from a wide range of backgrounds. For schools serving students growing up in poverty, these connections pave the way to economic opportunity in the face of stubborn economic segregation.

Daniel recently graduated from Williams with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and computer science and now works as a software engineer for a large financial services company. Munim was able to support Daniel at a critical moment in his journey. “My job was to help bridge his success from high school to college.” Munim said. Looking back, Daniel credits his relationship with Munim for taking him out of his comfort zone, both in the college application process and in life, to cross a bridge he never knew existed. .

These are precisely the bridges that schools must begin to build.

Related: 5 steps to build and strengthen student networks