On a personal note , I met Ian in 2013 when he guided me through a podcast on edtech and the EF accelerator , alongside two UK rising edtech stars in Code Club ’ s Clare Sutcliffe and Night Zookeeper ’ s Josh Davidson . We ’ ve worked together since on events and content to help push forward UK edtech innovation . That ’ s something we plan to continue here at DigitalAgenda .
The establishment of Edtech UK has been the logical outcome of Fordham ’ s passion for building an ecosystem for improving the delivery of education through technology , whether it be apps or online learning like MOOCs . He ’ s driven by a belief that education technology business can scale if it meets a need and has the right backing .
He ’ s also wise enough to see that challenges remain , including building the digital skills of teachers and the wait for the first big innovation that takes UK edtech truly mainstream .
Though Fordham remains an advisor , Edtech UK ’ s loss is Microsoft ’ s gain , as well as the vast numbers within its reach , and I ’ m looking forward to seeing what emerges from the tech giant through Ian ’ s work .
Originally posted on Digital Agenda : Technology for Change
Julian Blake Follow me � @ julianblake
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