“...we have come to recognise an innovation deficit at the intersection of technology and education; students today inhabit a rich digital environment, but it is insufficiently utilised to support learning.” (Decoding Learning) Nesta 2013

In its report on the use and impact of learning technologies in schools, Nesta commented: “With hundreds of millions of pounds spent on digital technology for education every year – from interactive whiteboards to the rise of one–to–one tablet computers – every new technology seems to offer unlimited promise to learning. Many sectors have benefitted immensely from harnessing innovative uses of technology. Cloud computing, mobile communications and Internet applications have changed the way manufacturing, finance, business services, the media and retailers operate. But key questions remain in education: has the range of technologies helped improve learners’ experiences and the standards they achieve? Or is this investment just languishing as kit in the cupboard? And what more can decision makers, schools, teachers, parents and the technology industry do to ensure the full potential of innovative technology is exploited?”

Most schools will likely realise the irony in this statement -more and more has been spent over the years on digital technologies but this has often ended up gathering dust in cupboards for a variety of reasons, ranging from the person responsible has moved on, the ‘kit’ is too complicated to use, not enough staff get on board with the equipment and the like. In the majority of cases this is simply down to poor implementation planning.

In its recent publication Using Digital Technology to Improve Learning: Evidence Review (December 2019) the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) reviewed the impact of digital technology on learning and although found positive benefits they also noted that how technology is used is key and that future research should focus on identifying the specific conditions under which a positive impact is found. https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/tools/guidance-reports/using-digital-technology-to-improve-learning/

We will look at each of these in turn, providing an overview of the implications for schools.

1. Consider how technology will improve teaching and learning before introducing it

Key points:

  • Tech is not a solution looking for a problem
  • There needs to be a clear pedagogical rationale
  • A clear plan of support/training is vital
  • Cost v benefits analysis is a must

We would add that the consideration of how the technology will be used to improve teaching and learning should be made before buying it.

Here schools should consider the pedagogy of technology -transforming digital technologies into learning technologies.

Two models are useful to consider, although there are others, SAMR and TPACK enable schools to think through how the learning will be improved from the application of the technology

SAMR 

SAMR is an acronym of Substitution, Augmentation, Modification and Redefinition. We can see that both substitution and augmentation enhance the learning experience, whereas modification and redefinition transform it. It is important to understand that SAMR is not a taxonomy -we are not asking teachers to move through the model from S to R or that S is somehow low level and therefore to be avoided. In the following video, the analogy of SAMR being like a swimming pool is a useful reference point -where on occasion the learner will be in the shallow end, and on other occasions in the deep end -the learning experience is improved by the careful use of technology.

TPACK (TPCK)

The TPCK approach identifies the interaction between 3 forms of knowledge -content - C. pedagogy - P and technology – T. The approach emphasises the new kinds of knowledge that lie at the intersections between them. Considering P and C together we get Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK), Shulman’s idea of knowledge of pedagogy that is applicable to the teaching of specific content. Similarly, considering T and C taken together, we get Technological Content Knowledge (TCK), the knowledge of the relationship between technology and content. At the intersection of T and P, is Technological Pedagogical Knowledge (TPK), which emphasizes the existence, components and capabilities of various technologies as they are used in the settings of teaching and learning.

Finally, at the intersection of all three elements is Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK). True technology integration is understanding and negotiating the relationships between these three components of knowledge. A teacher capable of negotiating these relationships represents a form of expertise different from, and greater than, the knowledge of a disciplinary expert (say a mathematician or a historian), a technology expert (a computer scientist) and a pedagogical expert (an experienced educator). Effective technology integration for pedagogy around specific subject matter requires developing sensitivity to the dynamic, [transactional] relationship between all three components.

2.Technology can be used to improve the quality of explanations and modelling

  • How explanations and models are conveyed is less important than their clarity, relevance and accessibility (don’t assume the technology guarantees this!)
  • New technology doesn’t guarantee new teaching methods (think Interactive whiteboards that are rarely used interactively)
  • Tech can supplement modelling - perhaps showing how experts think and what they do

3.Technology offers ways to improve the impact of pupil practice Key points:

  • Increase quality and quantity of practice (inside and outside classroom)
  • Engagement factor of technology - but this is complex, if not careful it can widen gaps between successful and not
  • AI can enable teachers to use tech to adapt practice by increasing the challenge as learners progress (could be new contexts)
  • Tech can be used for retrieval practice and self-quizzing

Practice

Opportunities to enable learners to practice with a range of contexts ensures that learning is consolidated as well as connected to prior learning across subjects. Schools wishing to set systems up for themselves may resort to providing Google Classrooms with quizzes embedded into the schedules for learners to complete. In the same way, Google Forms may also be used – in both cases these can be setup as self-marking quizzes so the teacher does not have to mark, instead allowing the technology to do this!

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

An exciting area of learning technologies is that of artificial intelligence and machine learning, where the technology learns, analyses and adapts the content to suit the learner.
 

An example of this is Lexplore analytics, which uses eye tracking technology to analyse how a child reads a piece of text. As we can see in the rightmost example, this child is a weak reader with their eyes moving across large sections of text, overlapping and revisiting text several times. This child may have issues around decoding words and the subsequent analysis data highlights the most appropriate intervention to improve reading ability. https://www.lexplore-analytics.co.uk/

4. Technology can play a role in improving assessment and feedback Key points:

  • Tech has potential to improve assessment and feedback
  • Can increase the accuracy of assessment (and speed/ease of collection)
  • Direct feedback to pupils is possible -again supplemental to existing feedback mechanism

Often combined with practice (in aspect 3) and aligned with Underpinning Element: Assessment, this aspect of practice can provide significant savings in workload for teachers. As mentioned already, self-marking quizzes are a real timesaver and provide a wealth of data to support learning progress,

Systems such as Show My Homework enable teachers to easily schedule homework, collect electronically (or physically) and to track completion. This has learning gains when communicated with parents – a simple part of the system.