What can we expect from edtech in 2022?

After almost two years of edtech development in response to the pandemic, Dr Fiona Aubrey-Smith looks at what 2022 has in store for us

This is an edited version of an article that originally appeared on Headteacher Update

The digital divide is no longer just about access to devices and connectivity; as increasingly argued by many worldwide, the digital divide is more and more about choices made in the classroom. If these new forms of digital divide are left unaddressed, the gap between the under-connected and the hyper-digitalised will widen, aggravating existing inequalities.If we are not able to provide meaningful digital engagement within teaching and learning then are we – perhaps inadvertently – perpetuating or even amplifying the digital divide?

The availability of technology is a necessary part of removing the inequalities of living in a digital world, but access alone will not make a sufficient difference to the lives of those using it. For learning to be successful there need to be meaningful, two-way, interactions between students and teachers.

How do we assess?

Part of this is about improving how we listen to students – listening to what they want to tell us and using that information to identify not just what they know, but why and how they know it.

As TED prize winner Professor Sugata Mitra has said, “In a world where a child can learn anything using the smartphone in their pocket, we should not be testing them on their ability to recall information but on their ability to find something out, comprehend and communicate their findings.”

Prof Mitra champions the case for PhD, viva-style, approaches to assessment for children and young people – asking probing questions and listening not just to what students tell us but how they tell us. He is not alone in championing this cause.

One of the many consequences of pandemic lockdowns has been to accelerate the existing debate about the nature of assessment for children and young people. Much has been made about the widespread implications of cancelling national assessments and exams. These decisions have forced debates about the purpose of such assessments, the format they take, their relevance in today’s world and the ripples that summative assessment processes create for wider issues such as mental health, workload, consistency and workplace relevance.

In a world where recommendations, ratings and peer review inform our decision-making as much as any quality-assurance process, Professor Peter Twining has been leading the way in thinking about how such metrics could enable us to assess the things that matter. “We’re now at a stage where it’s far easier to evidence – and thus value – what young people can do, not just what they ‘know’,” he says. “This means that we are closer than ever to being able to use digital technology to enable non-standardised assessment, within a standardised system, in ways that are robust, practical and credible enough to become accepted in everyday practice.”

Parental engagement

One relationship that has changed significantly during the pandemic has been the one between parents and teachers. Where once parents were provided with updates and information, now a seemingly growing number expect insightful and real-time data about their child’s progress, curriculum, attainment and interactions so that they are able to have more meaningful conversations with their child.

The pandemic created a window into the realities of classroom life which no other generation of parents has been privy to. This has been a catalyst for all kinds of conversations about the many and varied needs of students across the world and the relevance of classroom activities to the ‘real world’ outside of school – for example, raising discussions about what equality looks like when considering technology in teaching and learning.

This is something which Ken Shelton, who often uses the term ‘techquity’, passionately champions. “This is about creating an inclusive culture within your learning environment, recognising that different students need different tools, different experiences and different forms of support. Intelligently used technology can open up opportunities or break down barriers that have previously defined the parameters of learning.”

A surprising finding

Achieving effective digital engagement may have very little to do with the technology itself. As research by OECD and others has consistently shown, once a minimal level of technology infrastructure is in place, the presence of the technology itself makes insignificant difference to the frequency and nature of use within teaching.

This minimal standard of infrastructure is below what the majority of UK schools have, and international TALIS data shows us that, even in schools with a comprehensive IT infrastructure, there can often be very low levels of meaningful digital engagement. Digital learning pioneer Dr Sonny Magana addresses this issue by challenging schools to think about moving from consumption to social entrepreneurship. “Technology itself can be disruptive, forcing us to move from automated processes and consumption of content, through the production of new knowledge and ideas towards meaningful, inquiry-centred, learning design and social entrepreneurship.”

Hopes for 2022

We need to think more precisely, more forensically, about what it is that we are trying to do – whether that be teaching or learning. This is why we need to change the narrative around technology. When we talk about edtech we create a false impression that we are focusing on teaching and learning, yet edtech remains stubbornly focused on technology – the systems, the processes, the data – rather than the individual human beings using it.

We need to shift that narrative in order to shift our thinking. In 2022 we should start talking instead about “PedTech” – focusing on human purposes and behaviours, the role of language, the nature of relationships, the enacted curricula and pedagogies. That’s where we will see meaningful and lasting change.

With the weight of responsibility still on the shoulders of our teaching profession to address the lessons of the pandemic, positive and negative, we are also under huge pressure to respond to new kinds of expectations – from leaders, parents, society, employers and students themselves.

The experts are telling us to ask probing questions and listen carefully to what students and societal trends tell us before responding diligently. Creating a personally meaningful learning experience for every individual learner should not mean an exponential workload increase; it just means utilising what technology offers.

In 2022 the role of technology is fundamentally about social justice and our responsibility to facilitate meaningful equality for all children.