How to Choose (and Test) Tutoring Software Before You Buy

Education tutoring offers personalized learning, helping students progress at their own pace and address performance gaps. However, the right technology is essential to deliver that support efficiently. Before committing to a platform, educators should focus on several key factors to ensure the long-term success of their tutoring program. (more…)

• Take-aways
• Pros
• Cons
• Seminars

Take-aways

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1. incorporate data-driven leadership
2. adopt strategic decision making
3. insight into customer (people in general)
4. learn to navigate change
5. become cross-functional

Leadership today looks very different from what it did even a decade ago. Modern leaders operate in a world where information moves quickly, markets change rapidly, and business decisions often need to be made in real time. Success is no longer based solely on experience or intuition. Instead, organizations increasingly rely on data to guide strategy, improve operations, understand customers, and identify new opportunities.

Image source: Pexels–https://www.pexels.com

Before professionals develop advanced business analytics expertise, many of the foundational skills begin in the classroom. K–12 education plays an important role in helping students build the mathematical reasoning, problem-solving abilities, and analytical thinking that modern workplaces demand. From learning how to interpret graphs and percentages in middle school to exploring probability and statistics in high school, students gain experience working with data and identifying patterns. As organizations increasingly rely on evidence-based decision-making, these early educational experiences provide the groundwork for future leaders who must analyze information, evaluate outcomes, and make informed decisions in a data-driven world.

From global corporations to growing startups, leaders are expected to understand the information behind business performance. Every department generates data, whether it’s sales figures, customer feedback, employee productivity metrics, or marketing campaign results. The ability to interpret this information and turn it into meaningful action has become one of the most valuable leadership skills in today’s business environment.

As companies continue investing in digital transformation and technology-driven decision-making, leaders who understand analytics are becoming increasingly important. They are better equipped to navigate uncertainty, identify opportunities, and make informed choices that support long-term organizational success.

Data-Driven Leadership Is Becoming the New Standard

Organizations today generate more information than ever before. Every customer interaction, financial transaction, operational process, and marketing initiative produces data that can help leaders understand what’s happening within their business.

This abundance of information has transformed how leadership decisions are made. Rather than relying solely on instinct, leaders now have access to data that can help them evaluate performance, measure results, and identify trends. This shift has made analytical thinking an essential leadership skill.

As a result, many professionals seeking leadership roles are pursuing advanced education to strengthen their analytical capabilities. For example, individuals who want to improve their ability to interpret business data and support strategic decision-making often explore programs such as an online MS in business analytics to develop expertise in data analysis, predictive modeling, and business intelligence.

Florida Institute of Technology offers an online Master of Science in Business Analytics designed to help professionals build advanced analytical and decision-making skills. The program focuses on areas such as data mining, predictive analytics, business intelligence, and data-driven strategy, providing students with knowledge that can be applied across a variety of industries and leadership roles.

As organizations continue prioritizing data-driven decision-making, leaders with strong analytics skills are becoming increasingly valuable assets.

Business Analytics Improves Strategic Decision-Making

One of the primary responsibilities of any leader is making decisions that guide the organization toward its goals. Business analytics helps improve these decisions by providing accurate, objective information.

Without data, leaders may rely on assumptions that can lead to costly mistakes. Analytics allows decision-makers to evaluate facts, identify trends, and understand the potential impact of various strategies before taking action.

For example, a company considering expansion into a new market can analyze customer demand, competitive conditions, and financial projections before committing resources. This approach reduces uncertainty and supports more informed planning.

Analytics also helps leaders monitor progress over time. By tracking key performance indicators and business metrics, organizations can determine whether their strategies are producing desired outcomes.

Leaders who use data effectively often make decisions with greater confidence because they understand the evidence supporting their choices.

Leaders Must Understand Customer Insights

Understanding customers has always been important, but today’s organizations have access to far more information about customer behavior than ever before.

Analytics helps leaders identify what customers want, how they interact with products or services, and what factors influence purchasing decisions. These insights allow organizations to create more relevant experiences and improve customer satisfaction.

For example, businesses can analyze buying patterns, website behavior, customer feedback, and engagement metrics to better understand their audience. This information helps guide product development, marketing strategies, and service improvements.

Customer expectations continue to evolve, making data-driven insights increasingly valuable. Organizations that understand customer needs are often better positioned to retain existing customers and attract new ones.

Leaders who can interpret customer data effectively help create stronger relationships and support sustainable business growth.

Analytics Supports Organizational Performance and Efficiency

Modern organizations rely on analytics to improve efficiency and optimize performance across multiple departments.

Leaders use data to evaluate productivity, identify bottlenecks, and uncover opportunities for improvement. Rather than relying on anecdotal observations, analytics provides measurable evidence that supports operational decisions.

For example, manufacturing companies may use analytics to improve production efficiency. Service organizations may analyze workflow data to reduce delays and improve customer experiences. Human resources teams can evaluate workforce trends to support employee engagement and retention.

The ability to measure performance accurately is critical for continuous improvement. Analytics helps leaders understand what is working, what needs attention, and where resources should be allocated.

Organizations that embrace data-driven performance management often achieve better outcomes because decisions are supported by reliable information rather than guesswork.

Business Analytics Helps Leaders Navigate Change

Change is a constant part of modern business. Market conditions shift, customer preferences evolve, technologies advance, and economic conditions fluctuate.

Leaders who understand analytics are often better equipped to navigate these changes because they can use data to identify emerging trends and respond proactively.

Predictive analytics, for example, allows organizations to forecast future outcomes based on historical patterns. This capability helps leaders prepare for potential challenges and opportunities before they occur.

During periods of uncertainty, data provides valuable guidance. Rather than reacting based on assumptions, leaders can evaluate evidence and make adjustments that align with organizational goals.

The ability to adapt quickly and confidently is increasingly important in competitive markets, making analytics an essential tool for effective leadership.

Analytics Enhances Cross-Functional Leadership

Leadership rarely operates within a single department. Modern leaders often oversee initiatives that involve multiple teams and functions across an organization.

Analytics helps create a common language that supports collaboration. Marketing, finance, operations, human resources, and sales teams all rely on data to measure performance and achieve objectives.

When leaders understand how different departments use data, they can make better-informed decisions that support the organization as a whole. Shared metrics and performance indicators help align teams around common goals.

Cross-functional leadership becomes more effective when decisions are supported by objective information rather than competing opinions.

Analytics provides visibility across the organization, helping leaders understand how various functions contribute to overall success and where improvements may be needed.

Business analytics has become one of the most important leadership skills in the digital age. Organizations depend on data to guide decisions, improve performance, understand customers, and respond to changing market conditions. As a result, leaders who can interpret and apply data effectively are becoming increasingly valuable.

Analytics supports stronger strategic planning, better customer insights, improved operational efficiency, and more effective change management. It also enhances collaboration across departments and helps organizations align efforts around measurable goals.

As businesses continue adopting data-driven approaches, the demand for analytically minded leaders will only continue to grow. Professionals who develop these skills position themselves to make more informed decisions, lead with greater confidence, and contribute meaningfully to organizational success.

In today’s business environment, leadership and analytics are no longer separate disciplines. Together, they form a powerful combination that helps organizations navigate complexity, seize opportunities, and achieve long-term growth.

Preparing Future Leaders Through Education

The growing importance of business analytics highlights the long-term value of strong mathematics and statistics education. The skills students develop in K–12 classrooms—such as critical thinking, data interpretation, logical reasoning, and quantitative analysis—often serve as the foundation for future academic and professional success. Whether pursuing careers in business, technology, healthcare, education, or public service, individuals who are comfortable working with data are better prepared to navigate complex challenges and contribute to informed decision-making. By strengthening these skills early through math and statistics education, schools help prepare the next generation of leaders for an increasingly data-focused economy.

Business analytics has become one of the most important leadership skills in the digital age. Organizations depend on data to guide decisions, improve performance, understand customers, and respond to changing market conditions. As a result, leaders who can interpret and apply data effectively are becoming increasingly valuable.

Analytics supports stronger strategic planning, better customer insights, improved operational efficiency, and more effective change management. It also enhances collaboration across departments and helps organizations align efforts around measurable goals.

As businesses continue adopting data-driven approaches, the demand for analytically minded leaders will only continue to grow. Professionals who develop these skills position themselves to make more informed decisions, lead with greater confidence, and contribute meaningfully to organizational success.

In today’s business environment, leadership and analytics are no longer separate disciplines. Together, they form a powerful combination that helps organizations navigate complexity, seize opportunities, and achieve long-term growth.

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Jacqui Murray has been teaching K-18 technology for 30 years. She is the editor/author of over a hundred tech ed resources including a K-12 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum. She is an adjunct professor in tech ed, Master Teacher, freelance journalist on tech ed topics, and author of the tech thrillers, To Hunt a Sub and Twenty-four Days. You can find her resources at Structured Learning.

Dear Otto is an occasional column where I answer questions from readers about teaching tech. If you have a question, please add a comment below and I’ll answer it here. For your privacy, I use only first names.

Here’s a great question I got from Barbara, a principal at a local school:

Dear Otto,

May I ask your thoughts on giving grades in Computer Class? I can’t find research on this topic.

..

Anecdotally, grading tech classes is all over the board–whether teachers grade or not, and if they do–how. The short answer to this question is: It depends upon your expectations. If it’s fully integrated into the classroom, treated more as a tool than a ‘special’ class (some call them ‘exploratories’, akin to PE, Spanish, music), then you probably want to hold it rigorously to the grading scale used in the classroom. The projects created will be evidence of learning, more like summative (or formative) assessments of academic work than tech skills.

(more…)

No topic is more discussed in today’s education meetings than the impact of Artificial Intelligence–AI–on teaching and learning. Guest contributor to Ask a Tech Teacher, Tess Dodson, has fresh ideas on how to incorporate AI into your classroom in ways that are moral and principled:

Simple Ways Teachers Can Integrate AI Ethically in the Classroom

Artificial intelligence (AI) is already shaping modern education. From generating lesson ideas to helping students brainstorm essays, AI in the classroom is becoming increasingly common. For educators, this shift presents both exciting opportunities and important responsibilities. Teachers need a thoughtful approach and practical strategies to ethically integrate AI into everyday teaching.

Create Clear Guidelines for AI Use

Students are already using AI, and it is here to stay. A survey of more than 1,100 U.S. students found that 90% have used AI-driven tools in academic settings. As such, it is vital that the first step in using AI in the classroom is setting clear expectations. Students are already experimenting with AI tools, but they may not fully understand when or how to use them appropriately. Without guidance, misuse — intentional or not — becomes more likely.

Teachers should create a simple classroom policy around AI. It can include clear rules on when AI use is allowed for assignments and how students should acknowledge or cite AI use. For example, a teacher might allow AI for information gathering but not for generating final answers.  Students may also be required to include a short explanation of how the tool was used.

Strengthen Academic Integrity in an AI-Enabled Classroom

One of the main challenges of using AI in education is the concern that students may use these tools to plagiarize or cheat academically. With tools that can instantly generate essays and solve problems, it has become easier for students to submit work that is not their own. As such, teaching practices must adapt.

Teachers can take a proactive approach by clearly defining what constitutes original work. Instead of banning AI outright, educators can guide students on acceptable use. For example, AI might be allowed for outlining ideas or checking grammar, but not for producing complete work. Another effective strategy is requiring students to document their process by providing draft submissions that show revisions over time and reflection paragraphs explaining how they completed the task. (more…)

How complicated is it to make the right decisions for students, that are supported by parents, and doable in the time frame you have? The Ask a Tech Teacher team has some ideas:

The Art of Making Smarter Decisions in the Classroom

Image credit: Pexels

Every teacher makes hundreds of small and big decisions every day — which activity to start with, how to group students, or when to adjust a lesson plan. These decisions shape how well students learn and how engaged they feel. Yet many teachers admit they rely mostly on instinct and experience when making those choices.

The challenge is that classrooms change constantly. What works for one group of students may not work for another. Relying only on memory or routine can make it hard to see what truly improves learning outcomes. The good news is that smarter classroom decisions don’t depend on expensive tools or complex systems. They begin with simple habits that help teachers observe, reflect, and act on what’s actually happening in their classrooms.

Smarter decision-making is not about perfection; it’s about awareness. When teachers start to notice patterns, ask the right questions, and test small changes, they begin to understand what drives real learning. This article explores how educators can make clearer, more confident decisions using practical, everyday strategies that keep students—and their needs—at the center. (more…)

Many (most?) states now administer yearly assessments online. If students haven’t used online testing tools before, this can be a daunting task. Having computer devices as optional education tools is a massive difference from requiring students to use them for graded assessments. This can be intimidating for both students and teachers.

The good news: It doesn’t take as much time and practice as you might think to prepare. What it does require is a techie mindset, the acceptance that technology is part of the daily landscape, that it be integrated into assignments, practice, modeling, homework, assessments, projects, portfolios, grading rubrics, expectations.

There are ways to get students in shape that won’t take much out of your already-packed day.

“The future of education will be shaped by technology and educators who use technology effectively will stand out from the crowd.” – Dr. Anil Singhal

Here are strategies that will make your teaching life easier, bump up your effectiveness with students, save time complying with state standards, and prepare students effectively. As you’re in grade-level teams, planning lessons for next year, include these. They will add spice to classes, build flexible learning paths, and contribute to sustainable, transformative learning. Once you start using tech in the classroom as a tool (not a separate activity), you will find students self-selecting it when given a choice, coming up with their own ways to make tech today’s adaptive answer:

(more…)

Even before COVID burst on the scene and drove many schools into online versions of themselves, remote teaching had been gaining popularity. Driven by reasons like flexibility, personal needs, and accessibility, the positives associated with online schooling were convincing many to take a second look. The Ask a Tech Teacher team has done that with this article on–

Is Online Schooling a Good Fit for Teens?

Online education has become more than just an alternative. It’s a mainstream option for students looking for flexibility, independence, and a more personalized learning environment. For teenagers, high school is a critical time of development both academically and socially. As more families explore options like online high school in Washington state, it’s worth considering whether virtual schooling supports or hinders a teenager’s growth. (more…)

Legal Risks and Obligations for Schools Using AI Tutors

AI tutors are quickly changing how students learn, offering personalized support across different subjects and formats. But as these tools become more common in schools, serious questions about their legal impact arise. 

Who is responsible if an AI gives bad advice or shares sensitive student data? What happens when these systems enter specialized areas like medical training or behavioral support? 

Many educators and administrators feel unprepared to manage these legal and ethical challenges effectively. Schools must now balance innovation with compliance, oversight, and long-term accountability. 

This article will explore the legal risks and obligations schools face when integrating AI tutors into education. (more…)

Blending Montessori and Technology: Finding the Right Balance in Early Childhood Education

These days, it seems that all toddlers master how to swipe across a screen before they learn to tie their shoes. Technology is everywhere and is not leaving anytime soon. For parents and educators who follow or are interested in the Montessori approach, which emphasizes hands-on activity, self directed learning, and natural curiosity, this article will come in handy. Can the Montessori ideology and technology coexist? Is it possible for children to continue using tablets, phones, etc. without losing that tangible, earthy learning process?

The quick answer is yes. But it takes thoughtfulness, balance, and a profound grasp of why Montessori works in the first place.

What Montessori Is Really About

First and foremost, we must understand a bit more about the Montessori approach and where its heart is. Dr. Maria Montessori’s belief was in child-directed learning. Rather than being told what to learn and how to do it, children find out about their world through materials that are fashioned to meet their needs at various levels of development.

Montessori materials, most commonly known as Montessori toys, are hands-on tools used in many Montessori classrooms. These tools are not noisy or flashy, most of the time these are materials made of wood. They’re meant to help develop fine motor skills, improve concentration, problem solving skills, and help a child be self sufficient. While these materials can be entertaining, that is more of a bonus than their main purpose. For example a knobbed cylinder or a bead chain, each material has a unique function that guides a child to master a skill through repetition and exploration.

Technology should compliment and never replace these moments of learning. (more…)