Check out Al Kingsley in The EDiT Spotlight
We’re proud to share that NetSupport’s CEO (developer of classroom.cloud), Al Kingsley, was recently featured in an in-depth EDiT Spotlight interview with EDT&Partners.
The discussion explores today’s educational technology landscape, moving beyond negative headlines to focus on the real challenges and opportunities where leadership, technology and policy meet.
Key highlights from the interview:
- Redefining “EdTech”: Al challenges the broad, negative umbrella the media often throws over educational technology. He points out that over half of a school district or multi-academy trust’s tech actually sits outside the classroom (e.g., access control, cashless catering, student information systems), performing essential administrative work that doesn’t dictate student screen time.
- Co-production is king: Building an impactful product isn’t a one-off transaction; it’s a relationship. Al highlights that the best tools are platform-agnostic, interoperable, and built in lockstep with schools to actively solve their direct operational or workload problems.
- The path to AI literacy: With frameworks like PISA’s MAIL (Media and AI Literacy) on the horizon for 2029, Al notes that forward-thinking schools are already treating AI literacy as a fundamental pillar of digital citizenship—teaching students to spot bias, question accuracy, and prevent harmful “cognitive offloading.”
- Inclusion through tech: Despite public pushback on school technology, Al reminds us that tech is one of our greatest tools for accessibility (from screen readers to reading pens). He argues that true inclusion occurs when all children use these supportive tools natively in the classroom, rather than singling out students with additional needs.
“An educational technology company working with a school is the start of a relationship and should involve significant amounts of training and support to ensure the school gets maximum value… Thinking of things in terms of relationships rather than transactions is at the heart of this.” – Al Kingsley MBA
Read the full interview below for more on Al’s perspective on evidence-informed EdTech, safeguarding and the future of digital learning. To learn more about Al, you can visit his website here.