Tradgedy and the triumph

Tragedy and the triumph

Dear Colleague ,

Welcome to this first edition of the Edtech UK Community Magazine. The Edtech UK magazine seeks to celebrate, inspire and be ambitious about the role digital learning can play across education.

Edtech supports effective teaching and learners to consolidate knowledge, practice their learning and explore new worlds.

Edtech; ignored for too long

Edtech as a tool for school and college improvement had been ignored by policy-makers for too long.

Covid taught us all so much about what is important across our communities and public services. Schools stayed open, teachers used new tools for teaching - adopted by many overnight.

We had never seen such spend, investment or adoption of education technology across our education estate.We need to reflect whether all thisinvestment was timely, understood and an investment for the long or short term?

The House of Lords and the Public Accounts Committee ask hard questions of policy development, focus and co-ordination of England’s DfE.

All governments needed to move at speed, with sensitivity and a clarity of focus and communication. Leaders and teachers deserved praise not snarky commentators, directed to divide rather than celebrate the profession.

During the education lockdowns we also moved a system on-line, when needed, but faced barriers in terms of an out- dated web infrastructure, lack of devices, inconsistent broadband and capabilities.

We all learned that you cannot ignore digital infrastructure, digital poverty and the role technology plays in supporting education professionals and learners - and will continue in the future.

We are learning that assisitive technology can benefit eveybody.

Education did the best, with what it had available. That in itself was an everyday triumph.

There are different approaches to digital learning across the United Kingdom.

It is time for England to celebrate what it does well; but also learn about national collaboration, open access education resources platforms and digital pedagogy from the work of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. And we all need to push for more support for a world-class education system in the UK.

Our education nations will grow and thrive if we all understand the need for the inclusion of digital learning in initial teacher training, national professional qualifications and the urgent need for inspectorates to have deep reserves of expertise that can support educators with their own professional digital journeys.

Too often, edtech has been conflated with real worry over social media use and the wider changing nature of childhoods. We need to prioritise safety and security - and need up to date systems. The

House of Lords report which we cover in page 28 looked aghast at comments that suggested that the computing curriculum was the same as digital literacy.

Technology with a purpose

We understand that people who use edtech can also love books. It is about using technology to support or enhance tasks. Using technology to encourage teacher collaboration; lessen workload and encourage family involvement and support in schools.

A binary world view may provide solace; but it undermines the real value of blended learning and the increasingly hybrid world we all may experience.

We just need to listen.

Pioneering colleges in the Further Education sector can teach us much already about ‘catch up’ and so-called recovery.

Our Colleges already lead work around the changing nature of the workplace with Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality. High level skills can be practised using technology, without humans being put at risk.

Edtech supports mastery, joy of making and learning

Ignoring the positive role that digital can play for our education institutions makes no economic sense in this day and age. Ignoring digital skills in our schools, in any meaningful way, is neglectful of the future. But to ignore digital learning for consolidating knowledge, practice of new skills, the joy of making and learning in new ways verges on the bizarre.

And we share the stories of education leaders, teachers and edtech business leaders who contribute so much to this vibrant, vital and growing sector for UK plc.

There are growing edtech clusters across the UK, employing many, offering opportunities to a new diverse and inclusive workforce, attracting investment to create jobs and growth.

It was a time of tragedy; but a triumph of everyday heroes.

We celebrate the whole profession on pages 14 and 15 and we want to thank the everyday heroes that kept the school day going for millions of families across the UK.

We are optimistic , but also realistic about how far we all have to go to inspire confidence, support teachers’ professionalism, well-being and better understand and articulate those real areas of edtech promise.

Come and join us.

Ty & Nic

Co-editors, Edtech UK Magazine

www.edtechuk.org

June 2021