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The COVID-19 pandemic pushed education from schools to educational technologies at a pace and scale with no historical precedent. For hundreds of millions of students formal learning became fully dependent on technology - whether internet-connected digital devices, televisions or radios.
Table des matières
INTRODUCTION Defining ed-tech The origins and rise of ed-tech Ed-tech and technology solutionism Why tragedy? Situating the disruption A Netflix moment for commercial ed-tech
Act 1: THE HOPE OF TECH SALVATION Reformatting schools with technology Cut the red tape and catapult education to a better future
Act 2: FROM PROMISES TO REALITY Most learners were left behind Inequalities were supercharged Learners engaged less, achieved less and left state-provisioned education Education was narrowed and impoverished Immersion in technology was unhealthy Environmental tolls multiplied with the ed-tech boom The private sector tightened its grip on public education Surveillance, control and machine processes marked the move to ed-tech
Inter-Act: LOOKING BACK TO SEE AHEAD School closures, the shift to remote learning and public health Did technology-mediated remote learning contribute to the prolongation of school closures? If not ed-tech, then what? Was COVID-19 an education crisis? Ed-tech finds a new rationale - resilience Is technology a pillar of educational resilience? If ed-tech is the answer, what is the question?
Act 3: NEW DIRECTIONS FOR ED-TECH Prioritize the best interests of students and teachers Reaffirm the primacy of in-person learning Strengthen digital connectivity, capacities and content Protect the right to education from shrinking ground
CONCLUSION Remembering the ed-tech experiences of the pandemic The arc of tragedy Reorienting and steering the digital transformation of education
A propos de l'auteur
Mark West is Education Specialist at UNESCO, where he researches and writes about the future of education with a special focus on technology. He advises governments-from Sudan to Norway and Indonesia to Colombia-about opportunities and risks for education in an age of accelerating digital change.
