3 Key Factors that Need to Take Place for the Ed-Tech Revolution in Schools to Succeed
Ed-tech has the power to make learning fun and reach all young people, says Jamie Bell…
- by James Bell
The Department for Education has kept a low profile for the past 18 months as the majority of public debate has been taken up by issues such as trade and the customs union.
That approach changed recently when Education Secretary Damian Hinds made a set-piece speech about one of the classroom’s best-kept secrets – education technology.
Currently, British schools spend around £900 million each year on education technology programmes. Mr Hinds’ speech has called on the sector to push this further and lead an ‘ed-tech revolution’.
He identified five core areas in which the private ed-tech sector can provide solutions – teaching practices, assessment, teacher training, administration and adult learning.
I have no doubt that education technology is the future; currently there are programmes to teach students everything from languages and history to reading and maths – the key building blocks of learning.
Through gamification ed-tech has the power to make learning fun and reach young people who do not usually engage with traditional education.
Working in the private ed-tech sector I know that we are always innovating and will gladly bring about the revolution that Mr Hinds’ calls for. However, this must be done while working closely with the Government, not separate from it.
The DfE has already made good progress in this respect by pledging to develop a series of packages for teachers to train them on ed-tech and announcing the provision of free online assessment for schools.
In the last budget the Chancellor invested funds in improving school broadband – an essential component of a successful ed-tech revolution.
With all of this in mind we are moving forward, but there are three other areas that we could focus on.
First, teachers need to be empowered with the confidence to embrace ed-tech. Many teachers that I speak with are sceptical of the role of technology in classrooms, or are concerned that navigating the online tools will eat into their teaching time.
These misconceptions remain a major challenge for us if we are to bring about the ed-tech revolution.
A part of my role at Renaissance is training teachers how to use our Star and Accelerated Reader and Maths programmes with confidence.
By providing schools with regular free training, such as interactive webinars they can attend online or download for viewing later, half-day and one-day workshops across the country, and online resources, we aim to support as many teachers as possible to get the best results for their students.
Because we take these steps the teachers that I work with feel confident to use education technology to its full potential.
Assessment technology doesn’t just make teaching easier or learning more fun, the data generated about student progress, demographic trends and the effectiveness of teaching methods is invaluable but still puts the teacher first and in control.
At Renaissance, the anonymised data generated can tell us everything from how well students are progressing to the most popular books in secondary schools last year (it’s David Walliams’ Gangsta Granny, in case you are wondering).
Therefore a second area to consider is the creation of dedicated assessment data champions in schools, and assessment data directors in Multi-Academy Trusts, to interpret the data generated through education technology and set progression strategies accordingly.
This is an important job, and would be unfair to leave it solely to teachers, so the appointment of dedicated experts, equipped with appropriate training would be a sensible step forward in ensuring that we make the most out of the data generated through ed-tech.
A third way to push forward the ed-tech revolution is to take it out of the classroom and into the home. Parent buy-in to the transformational power of ed-tech is vital.
Currently, few parents will be young enough to have experienced ed-tech during their own school years. Many are understandably sceptical about it’s value and, therefore, the development of wholesale strategies to convince parents about ed-tech’s value is important.
For example, in school data champions could prepare progress infographics on students for teachers to present to parents at parents’ evenings. Measures such as this would help parents understand the value of the programmes that their children are using.
Mr Hinds wants to see an ed-tech revolution, and he is right; technology now permeates all aspects of our lives and the classroom is no exception. When delivered properly, the power of ed-tech can be transformational and, while we have made huge progress in laying the foundations for the revolution more can be still done. Let’s get to work.
James Bell is Professional Services Director at Renaissance UK, a cloud-based assessment, teaching and learning provider used by over 1.3 million students across the United Kingdom and Ireland.
