Nina Iles
Head of EdTech, BESA
The past two years have highlighted the importance of technology and, as we emerge from the pandemic, we must find a way to embed edtech across the curriculum.
In March 2020, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the first UK COVID-19 related lockdown. He advised us to stay indoors, to stay safe and, where possible, to work from home, learn from home and live in bubbles. So began the implosion of normal.
Two years on and normal is making a comeback, but it is different – it’s adapting, like us, to a life post-lockdown. We have a choice: we can emulate the way things were or we can review, reinvigorate and replenish.
The long-term use of edtech solutions
One of the best examples of adapting I’ve seen has been from educators who had little option other than to embed education technology (edtech) into their pedagogical practices during lockdown and who continue to explore ways to sustain its use across the curriculum.
Edtech, which may have once felt imposed on them or maybe viewed as a temporary ‘emergency response,’ has become valued by many for the positive impacts it adds to the mix. Such impacts might be time saved with the use of lesson planning and marking solutions; increased engagement, wellbeing and class collaboration via online quizzes and interoperable web-based platforms or the access and inclusion provided by SEN solutions. As well as AI enabled resources that support teachers and pupil alike to ensure stamina across subjects such as english, science and maths, art, filmmaking and music.
There is so much to explore and embed, but school leaders first need to know that the edtech they choose to implement in their schools will achieve the results their pupils and teachers deserve. They, like BESA member providers of edtech solutions, know that evidence-led research on outcomes is key to the ongoing design and uptake of good edtech solutions.
Laurie Forcier, Chief of Staff and Director of Partnerships for Educate Ventures Research said: “At Educate Ventures, we believe that evidence is key to the success of the edtech sector. We work with Edtech founders to bring an evidence-focused mindset to their work so that they can regularly make improvements and share results with educators clearly and transparently.”
At Educate Ventures, we believe that evidence is key to the success of the edtech sector.
Laurie Forcier
Combining old and new practices
As we collectively untangle ourselves from the effects of the past two years and rebuild that which has been weakened by COVID-19, I hope that we will all continue to adapt the shape of normal where things can clearly be improved.
At BESA, we continue to take our LearnED roadshow round the country to enable teachers to share with peers best practice when it comes to finding, implementing, using and gaining the desired results with edtech as part of their teaching practices.