This document discusses trends in education technology and transforming education through technology. It discusses how technology can both help and hinder transformation, and notes that while access to technology has increased, true transformation requires more. The document outlines different levels of digital learning contexts from disconnected schools to transformational schools personalized learning. It advocates for a holistic approach to innovation in schools through technology to support areas like leadership, pedagogy, curriculum and inclusion.
7. Education technology trends
The drivers of technology in the classroom
Trends impacting teaching I am privileged in my role that I get a chance aton tdra vleeal trhnei nwgorld and visit many
countries. Almost everywhere I go I am either shown something transformative,
or I am asked the question: Where or what have you seen that is transforming
education? And in most part, the question is underpinned by a curiosity about
how technology in particular, and often Microsoft technology is having a
transformative effect.
It is never an easy question to answer. In many ways we are still a long way from
transformation. In many ways, access to technology has been part of the
problem, and not only in the simplistic view that lack of technology is holding us
back. Often, in places where there is ubiquitous access to technology, to devices,
to services etc., it can be the dependence or blind faith in technology that
sometimes holds us back. Technology can be a double-edged sword…
8. Foundational
• Some
personalization
and blended
learning
Disconnected
schools
• No or little IT
provision and
use for learning
Digital learning contexts
Transformational
• Personalized,
blended learning
• Relatively few, in
e.g. US,
Singapore, UK,
Denmark
Emerging
• School just
starting in the
process of
applying ICT for
education
9. Vision of
Anytime
Anywhere
Learning
for all
Leadership and Policy
Planning and Sustainability
Evaluation
Partnerships
Teacher and Leader Capacity
21st Century Pedagogy
Curriculum, Content, and
Assessment
Inclusion and Accessibility
Personalized Learning
Learning Communities
Learning Environments
Technology for Efficient and Effective Schools
A holistic approach
to innovation in
schools through
technology
10.
11. Multiple means of representation
video, audio, slide show with
on-demand translation
reading materials at multiple
difficulty levels and embedded
supports
graphic representations such as
concept maps, graphic organizers,
diagrams and simulations
Multiple means of expression
alternative input: pen, speech,
touch
media-based: drawings, maps,
diagrams, video
reduced text: outlines, concept
maps, tables, graphs
supportive tools: spelling and
grammar checkers, inking,
noteteaking
collaboration: chat, messaging,
shared writing and peer editing
Multiple means of engagement
Interviews, role play, discussion
Games and simulations
Inquiry, projects
Supporting Teacher Innovation
Universal Design for
Learning
Good afternoon everyone. It is a pleasure to be here sharing with you our latest ideas on teaching and learning and how technology can empower educational change. Many education institutions are going through large, complex, significant changes and many are asking for help. From the implementing of new teaching strategies, to the influx of new technologies, through the emergence of data and analytics (and the challenges it presents), education finds itself at a crossroads.
This is my son. He took his first selfie aged 3 months and 24 days. I was trying to take a photo of him, when he grabbed my phone and pressed the camera button. I think I took my first selfie aged 21.
I took this photo on my birthday. He decided to crawl for the first time as a birthday present. My parents don’t have photos of those kinds of impotant moments – they would have had to go to the cupboard, take out the large single reflex camera, focus and hope the photo came out well when it was developed. I could just pull out my phone and get the shot.
This made me think about the generation gap in access. I decided to analyze my device access as a child compared to my son’s. He’s now 2, and so is getting pretty proficient at turning things on, and even navigating in simple games. As you can see I had a lot less devices – and usually the ones I had you could only use for one thing. Almost all the devices my son can access are able to do almost anything in the digital world. He’s not just a digital native – he’s hyperconnected. He’s going to start kindergarten next year– he’ll be expecting his school experience to be just as interactive as at home.
This is the kind of classroom he’ll get once he arrives at school. It actually looks really similar to the classroom I had when I went to primary school in the UK. And in many ways, it’s a good one – stimulating colours, displays showing students’ work, tables in clusters to encourage them to collaborate. But there is no evidence of any technology. And my son isn’t able to ask for technology to be included in his schooling – only the adults in the system take that decision.
The teacher is also the key decision maker and influencer for technology adoption in the classroom. I used to work at European Schoolnet, and while I was there we surveyed 200,000 teachers and students across Europe about their use of technology at school. We found that the number one factor influencing students’ use of technology in the classroom was the teacher: an e-confident teacher was a more important factor than the availability of technology. They could find ways to adapt to even poorly equipped settings by finding workarounds and encouraging students to use devices at home.
But the second most challenging issue that teachers and head teachers reported in the survey was the lack of equipment available to use for lessons.
At system level, education leaders need to devise ways to raise the level of the typical teacher to be more proficient in pedagogy, and in the use of technology to support their pedagogy – and improve the access available to students and teachers at school.
Teachers and schools are also under increasing pressure – new trends which are top of their mind and some are taking steps to reform their approach to meet these new challenges. Student expectations are high in terms of personalization, anytime anywhere learning, and interactive content. But unlike the health system, students have little say over how much these technologies are integrated into their schooling. In surveys, students are looking for more use of almost every type of educational technology by teachers, from digital content through to Learning Management Systems.
Explain the stages above, then point out we need system level change to move the needle. Most school heads and teachers still point to lack of infrastructure as a major challenge in deploying technology at school – but we can’t simply parachute technology in and expect it to bring about change. Countries, regions and municipalities need to look at at the wider educational vision to embed technology into a longer term change process.