Lecture 2: Mapping the current use of edtech

Overview

After examining the growth of edtech in the last lecture and identifying some general trends and themes, the purpose of this lecture is to map the existing use of technology in education both at home and abroad.  What technology is currently being used?  Why is it being used? And how is it enhancing the learning experience?

Lecture notes

We started with a very brief recap of the key themes identified last week that emerged during the growth of edtech over the last half century.  I also reminded the class of the importance of subscribing to the following edtech weekly email feeds:

  • Mindshift –  on the bottom right hand side of the screen there should be a tab titled ‘MindShift’.  Click on the tab and enter your email address.
  • Edtechdigest – at the top right hand side of the screen it says ‘Subscribe Now”.  Enter your email below.
  • Edsurge – scroll down to the bottom, click Subscribe Now tab and enter email address.
  • Getting Smart – scroll down to the bottom and under ‘SMART Updates’ enter your email address.
  • Edtech Teacher – scroll down to the bottom and click ‘Sign up to our newsletter’.
  • Edtechupdate – enter your email into the blue box on the right hand side where it says ‘Sign up for our newsletter’.

This will provide you with a brief glimpse into the chaotic and fast moving world of edtech.  The lecture will now focus on the explosion of edtech hardware and software since 2000 and we will attempt to map all existing types of edtech in use today at home and abroad.

The class was separated into 3 groups and each was tasked with mapping the use of edtech in a different context (BETT, higher education and developing countries) using the following three themes: teaching, learning and assessment.   Each group then shared their findings with the rest of the class and we then identified some common themes, trends and issues.

Group 1: BETT Conference

The map below included some of the winners from the 2017 BETT Awards which can be found at the following link: Winner 2017 BETT Awards.  This is now one of the worlds leading edtech conferences and so I would recommend that you all visit each of the winners below as this will provide you with a good insight into some of the latest edtech initiatives.

Learning

Teaching

Assessment

It was clear from Group 1 that there was crossover between the three themes and so using a Venn diagram helped to reflect this.  A lot of these examples were focused on increasing student and teacher access to information in a variety of different sources.

Group 2: Higher education

Group 2 was asked to map the use of edtech in higher education by listing some of the technology that they currently use and by examining the following two links:

Learning

  • Lino – sharing post it notes
  • Quip – online collaboration
  • Camscanner – turn your phone into a scanner
  • Jing – capture and share video
  • Quizlet – create revision flashcards
  • Mindmiester – collaborative mind mapping
  • One tab – reduce tab clutter

Teaching

Assessment

Many of these apps were predominantly concerned with increasing the efficiency of both students and teachers.  The suggestion is that this edtech will therefore give people more time to engage in more productive or creative activities.

Group 3: Developing countries

Group 3 was tasked with mapping some of the edtech currently being used in developing countries and the following link was provided: Edtech Innovations in Developing Countries.

Learning

Teaching

Assessment

The majority of these apps were either mobile friendly or specifically designed for use on the mobile phone.

The class was then asked to explain how these examples of edtech were expected to enhance learning.  The following reasons were given:

  • increasing access to information
  • increasing student engagement
  • increasing connectivity
  • increasing convenience and speed
  • increasing student productivity

The following diagram also suggests a  number of other reasons why edtech may be helping to enhance learning.  Again a lot of these examples focus on supporting the existing content.  It is also difficult to see how many of these are encouraging creativity and collaboration.

Question:  if these edtech innovations are simply helping children to learn an outdated and irrelevant national curriculum, what is the real benefit?

Surprisingly some of the most interesting edtech innovations appear to be emerging in developing countries.  This is why it is important to keep an eye on these developments.  Take for example Ubongo Kids, an edtech initiative in Tanzania that I’m currently working with.  Its an interactive edu-cartoon that teaches maths and science through fun animated stories and catchy songs.  They are shown on national TV, online and on the radio and children can answer questions via their mobile phone.  To the best of my knowledge a similar interactive cartoon which is freely available to all does not exist in the UK!

There is however an enormous elephant in the room – its an edtech innovation that is now beginning to dominate our lives – the internet, the network of networks or the big global brain.  This is perhaps the one edtech innovation which has the potential to transform how we learn.

TASK:  Identify your favourite edtech innovation and tweet details of it to #edu2004.