Damon Hargraves

April 9, 2025

Odd Software Dichotomy in Schools

Boy Scout Trail.jpeg


There seems to me to be an odd dichotomy of software use in schools.  

On the one hand, schools often use software designed for business.  You see Microsoft Office and Teams used for instance.  This software was made for large corporate environments that tend to rely heavily on meetings and back-and-forth email interactions.  Microsoft Teams promises to be a chat based collaboration platform, but again it leans towards a classic corporate environment structure with lots of permissions, dependencies, and endlessly sprawling nested file folders.  None of these tools were built for the ways that teachers need to work and collaborate.

On the other hand, schools will often use tools that fill a common need and are adopted over other tools because they have a "made for schools" sticker.  One great example of this are the many "CMS for Schools" tools that continue to exist, while half the internet runs on Wordpress.  Wordpress offers options for self-hosting, supported hosting, and there are many options for fully managed subscription based hosting.  It's expandable, proven, and there are many options for different levels of support and integrations with other tools.  However, many school districts don't even consider Wordpress because they don't have a booth at the Education Conference, and they don't have a "made for schools" sticker.  It boggles the mind, and is felt in the budget as well.  These hyper specific "made for schools" tools are exceedingly expensive.

So it's a tricky thing.  Schools and districts need tools that function in ways that schools and teachers need to work.  This is less of a top down heavy handed corporate structure, and more collaborative, self-initiating, self-organizing, and hopefully a more self-leading structure.  It's less about being able to seemlessly schedule meetings, and more about moving our projects forward.  As a rule of thumb, tools that are built for small businesses might be better suited.  Likewise, schools should be wary of tools that tout themselves as "made for schools" when there is a direct counterpart already out there serving the broader market.  


About Damon Hargraves

Elementary Principal & EdD Candidate
Kodiak, Alaska

Email me at hargraves@hey.com or find me on Twitter @damonhargraves.