Research Spotlights
Research Spotlight pieces are written by various contributing authors and reviewed by two academics in the EdTech field: Dr. Helen Crompton, Associate Professor of Instructional Technology Director of the Virtual Reality Lab and Director of the Technology Enhanced Learning Lab (TELL) at Old Dominion University and John Traxler, FRSA, is Professor of Digital Learning in the Institute of Education at the University of Wolverhampton. Both Dr. Crompton and Professor Traxler are members of the mEducation Alliance. If you are interested in submitting a research activity to highlight in a future mEducation Alliance publication, please fill out this form.
Guidance to Governments on the Use of Digital Technologies for Education of the
Most Marginalized Following COVID-19
Written by: Lyssa Bevan, M.A. International Education & Development
Due to the unprecedented nature of the current pandemic, many resources and response efforts across the world have been invested with good intent, but to date very little evidence of success in reaching the most marginalized. In response to this plight, a highly experienced team has come together with the intent to produce guidance notes for governments that could build on the educational experiences of COVID-19 to craft more resilient education systems in the future.
Past examples demonstrate that investing large sums of money into a system during a crisis does not always yield the desired results on the ground, particularly for the very persons most in need of that support. To enhance education for the most marginalized through the COVID-19 crisis, specific guidance to governments could prove critical, particularly since evidence to date suggests that digital technologies have already dramatically increased inequalities. There are few places that this is more apparent than in education, where digital technologies are being relied on more and more to make education accessible during shutdown. This poses even greater challenges for governments with limited resources, and for people already marginalized or limited in their education acquisition.
Recognizing that this situation provides the potential to positively restructure education systems in the longer term, a four-month initiative to develop guidance notes for low-resource governments in response to the COVID-19 pandemic has recently been completed. The initiative is headed by Tim Unwin and a core team of six researchers, supported by eight chief advisors and two EdTech Hub liaisons (see UNESCO Chair for ICT4D website for a complete list). The work is being funded by DFID and the World Bank through their EdTech Hub. Nine consultations have been held with 87 experienced participants (43 women and 44 men) from 34 countries, and based in large part on their recommendations the team is focusing on providing freely accessible guidance notes under a Creative Commons License for senior civil servants in governments across the world. These guidance notes will distill vast amounts of information into short succinct pieces, generally just three to four pages in length. These will initially be made available in English and French, with hopes that additional language translations, slide decks, graphics, and tools might be developed and made available with future funding.
A final draft of the report has already been approved by the EdTech Hub, and pre-publication of all materials is available on the website. The team collected data and information through interviews and consultations across the globe. The primary focus of these efforts is to help governments improve opportunities for the most marginalized while increasing the resilience of education systems. Whether through new digital technologies, existing technologies, or innovative approaches that do not rely on digital technology, the primary focus is on the need to provide quality education access for all persons through guidance materials that enable differentiated use according to the needs and resources of different governments. These guidance notes are grouped into five overarching themes of the most important areas governments need to address:
- Creating a whole society approach that delivers equity in education.
- Enabling access for all to digital technologies by providing resilient infrastructures for learning.
- Being context specific at all times, especially in terms of the technologies used in education and the content crafted for learners.
- Ensuring that appropriate pedagogies are used in the practices of teaching and learning.
- Using digital technologies wisely and safely.
Separate guidance notes specifically tailored for particular contexts were produced as well, such as small island developing states (SIDS), low resource regions, or refugees. Ultimately, the team hopes that these resources will inspire governments to increase efforts to make education systems more inclusive, while augmenting resilience to any crisis, current or future.
For further information on this initiative, please use the website listed below, which includes two preliminary guidance notes and the outcomes from the consultations in the form of mind-maps.
For further information:
Tim Unwin (Chairholder, UNESCO Chair in ICT4D, UK) – [email protected]
Paul Spiesberger (Chair of ICT4D.at, Co-Head of BRIC at INSO – TU Wien, Austria) – [email protected] | [email protected]
