NSF Launches Collaborative Effort to Build Ed-Tech Tools

As Stanford researchers have shown, ed-tech tools that are built around what vendors think students and teachers need — like efficiency, data dashboards, personalization and edutainment — fail in practice if they do not reflect the nuances of everyday classroom dynamics and school infrastructure. Through a new initiative, the National Science Foundation (NSF) aims to circumvent this oversight by including educators, tech specialists and researchers in the creation of new ed-tech tools.

According to a recent news release, the new NSF FINDERS (Fostering Interdisciplinary Network Driven Educationally Responsive Solutions) Foundry program will fund up to $8.5 million in both the planning and development of research-backed tech, with the intent of tackling ongoing challenges facing U.S. education. Unlike traditional ed-tech development, which often originates in either academic research labs or private companies, the FINDERS initiative requires interdisciplinary teams spanning universities, K-12 schools and community stakeholders.

Eligible applicants include higher education institutions, nonprofits and government entities, but each project must include educators, technologists and researchers working together — a structure designed to move tools from early-stage research to real-world classroom use and, ultimately, market adoption, the release said. In line with the initiative’s goal to facilitate a more bottom-up approach to ed-tech development, NSF emphasized on its website that these challenges were identified by students, guardians and educators themselves.

"By bridging longstanding gaps among learners, educators, researchers, technologists, parents and industry, as well as connecting those with complementary strengths and shared interests, NSF FINDERS Foundry aims to accelerate research-based innovations to the point of market uptake and adoption," Erwin Gianchandani, NSF assistant director for technology, innovation and partnerships, said in a public statement.

NSF said the program will bring educators, researchers and technologists together to co-design learning tools, with the goal of improving classroom outcomes and building students’ technical skills as the U.S. prepares for an AI-driven economy.

Despite significant grant cancellations and proposed budget cuts to NSF by the Trump administration last year, FINDERS Foundry is one of several initiatives the agency has announced in recent months to expand AI education nationwide. Last month, NSF allotted $11 million to train thousands of educators throughout the U.S. on AI and computer science topics.

The NSF has scheduled a webinar for April 8 to explain the new initiative.