TEO Academy founder Lisa Hourihan explores how women in EdTech are making online education more accessible, inclusive and human.
Technology can expand access to education, but it is the people behind it who decide whether the experience feels distant and transactional or personal, fair and genuinely useful.
I did not begin my career in technology. I began in nursing, where communication is never simply about finding the right words. It is about trust, understanding, safety and human connection.
More than 15 years of working in healthcare taught me that the systems surrounding people matter. A well-designed system can make someone feel supported and capable. A badly designed one can create confusion, pressure and unnecessary barriers.
That lesson has shaped the way we have built TEO Academy. Technology gives us the ability to connect learners and specialist educators across countries and time zones. But technology alone does not create meaningful learning.
The real value comes from the knowledge, judgement, care and lived experience of the people behind the screen.
I did not wait until I felt like a technology expert
Moving from nursing and communication education into building an online learning platform required me to learn constantly. There were new systems, unfamiliar terminology, technical problems and plenty of moments when the easiest response would have been to assume that someone else was better qualified.
But expertise is not limited to knowing how to build software. It also means recognising a real problem, understanding the people affected by it and being prepared to keep learning until you can create something better.
My contribution to EdTech comes from understanding how people learn, how confidence develops and how communication can change a person's opportunities. It also comes from listening to the tutors and learners using the platform rather than expecting them to adapt silently to systems that were not designed around their needs.
What does human-centred EdTech actually look like?
Human-centred technology does not mean rejecting automation, artificial intelligence or digital tools. It means remembering what those tools are there to support.
In education, the aim should not be to move as many people as possible through an impersonal system. It should be to help each learner find the right expertise, practise relevant skills and develop the confidence to use those skills in real situations.
Human connection
Learners need more than content. They need feedback, encouragement and a relationship with someone who understands the situation behind the language.
Relevant expertise
A professional preparing for a clinical handover, university seminar or leadership meeting should be able to find a tutor who understands that specific context.
Fairness for educators
Tutors should be recognised as skilled professionals. A sustainable education platform should respect their expertise, autonomy, time and contribution.
Access to opportunity
Online education can connect people who would otherwise be separated by geography, working patterns or limited access to specialist support.
Putting those principles into practice
TEO Academy was created to connect ambitious adult learners with tutors who understand professional, academic and specialist communication.
We wanted learners to be able to search for genuine expertise, rather than simply choosing from the profiles given the greatest visibility by an algorithm. We also wanted tutors to retain control over their availability and lesson rates while keeping more of what they earn.
This approach is still developing. Building a platform means reviewing what works, acknowledging what does not and improving the experience as the community grows.
That willingness to listen and adapt is not separate from innovation. It is one of the most important parts of it.
There is no single way to be a woman in EdTech
Women enter education technology from many different directions. Some are developers, researchers or product leaders. Others arrive through teaching, healthcare, publishing, design, business or community work.
Those different routes matter because they bring different questions into the room.
Who is this system really designed for? Who may be excluded? What pressure does it place on the people delivering the service? Does it solve a genuine problem, or has technology become the objective in itself?
Human-centred leadership is not exclusive to women, and women do not all lead in the same way. But education technology benefits when more women can contribute their knowledge, question assumptions and build solutions informed by a wider range of professional and personal experiences.
You do not have to know everything before you begin
Many women have valuable ideas but hesitate because they do not yet see themselves as founders, technology leaders or innovators.
You may not know how every part will work. You may need advice, collaborators and skills you have not developed yet. That does not make your existing knowledge less valuable.
Start with the problem you understand. Listen carefully to the people experiencing it. Learn what you need to learn and remain willing to change direction when the evidence tells you to.
You do not need to become someone else before you are allowed to contribute. The experience you already have may be exactly what helps you see the solution differently.
Discover the people and principles behind TEO Academy
Explore why we built TEO around professional expertise, fairer opportunities for tutors and meaningful human communication. Educators who share those values can also apply to join our international tutor community.
