For many years, edtech has been plagued by a well-meaning hype cycle, whereby each new technology offers promise and inspiration for teachers and learners.
Yet despite huge investments in infrastructure, tools and training, the sector has found it very difficult to identify the impact or codify it at scale.
Our book tackles that challenge head-on, by summarising the vast body of existing research, setting out what leaders and teachers need to know, and then providing a sequence of activities that walk individual teachers as well as school teams, through what to do next.
If you are leading a school this year, you need to feed six key findings into your school improvement conversations:
1, Who’s driving the edtech bus?
Any decision in a school is ultimately a pedagogical decision because it will affect choices that can be made by teachers and learners. Therefore, any decision about edtech should be made by those who understand its pedagogical implications and possibilities (not just the technology, security, or training implications). As headteachers and senior teaching and learning leaders, you must lead these conversations, drawing in expertise to advise your own thinking – you must lead from the front.
2, Know thy pedagogy
Every teacher and leader needs to understand their individual pedagogical beliefs and how these translate into strategic intentions as well as everyday classroom practice. There are many things that influence teacher beliefs – most of which we rarely (if ever) unpack. We must all invest time in developing a meaningful understanding of our own pedagogical values and beliefs because these are the single biggest influence on the learners we work with. Think about your own childhood teachers – it is their beliefs about what it means to be a teacher that today are evocative for you even after so many years. So it’s vital to remember that pedagogy is not just about teaching and learning strategies – that is only a small part of the pedagogy picture. Teachers love exploring these ideas – it reminds us all of why we came into teaching. Reflection and precision are important here.
3, Develop an on-demand mindset
This means that learners need to be able to independently access and meaningfully use a laptop or tablet device as and when they feel it supports them in their learning. This is strongly influenced by educator beliefs about classroom relationships and power dynamics. It might mean a 1:1 device-to-learner ratio, but it doesn’t have to. Mindset about use matters far more than the number of devices, and it is mindset that results in greater impact.
4, Trust changes everything
Digital technology changes power relationships in the classroom. This can be intimidating for those in school contexts where there is a lack of trust of learners and/or teachers. However, digital technology offers the most benefit in a context where learners are taught to be agentive within their own learning. In our experience, schools which embrace this find significant improvements to behaviour, attendance, motivation, inclusion, and consequently, progress and attainment – notably, closing the gap for learners facing different forms of disadvantage. But it all starts with developing a culture of trust. Sometimes that is about taking a risk, creating a plan, and having faith in the plan and the people.
5, Monitor what you value
Leaders often talk about the importance of learners becoming confident, independent, curious, and collaborative, yet how often are these meaningfully monitored through robust data-analysis? Digital technology can have a profound impact on learning that is not explicitly captured by existing performance measures (e.g. autonomy, dignity, metacognition). These ingredients are the foundations for accelerated progression, sustained outcomes, and lifelong trajectories. So be clear about what you really value and then monitor that diligently and robustly. You will quickly see what the impact and implications are.
6, The evidence iceberg
Evidence and understanding about specific learners’ needs and about effective pedagogical approaches to meet them should be at the heart of all thinking, decision-making, and action. We are now in an evidence-informed era in education which can feel overwhelming for many. But we must be more discerning about research headlines and soundbites which are often misleading or heavily biased. Detail is key, and understanding how published research findings relate to your own specific and nuanced context really matters.
A practical handbook
From EdTech to PedTech was written to provide a practical handbook to support teachers and leaders in making sense of it all and to make some fairly complex research more accessible to practitioners. But we also wanted to provide practical activities to help readers unpack and understand their own practice more meaningfully and ultimately bring clarity and precision to support future improvement.
Through our own research, teaching, consulting, and advisory work around the world we have seen the transformational and significant impact that pedagogically underpinned uses of digital technology can have. We believe that every child and young person should benefit from these kinds of opportunities and accelerated learning experiences – not just the lucky few.
- Dr Fiona Aubrey-Smith supports schools and trusts with professional learning, education research and strategic planning. She is the founder of One Life Learning, an associate lecturer at the Open University, a founding fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching, and sits on the board of a number of multi-academy and charitable trusts. Follow her on X (Twitter) @FionaAS. Find her previous articles and podcast/webinar appearances via www.sec-ed.co.uk/authors/dr-fiona-aubrey-smith
- Peter Twining is professor of education (innovation in schooling and educational technology) at the University of Newcastle, Australia, having formerly been professor of education at the Open University in the UK. He has also been a primary school teacher, initial teacher educator, head of the department of education at the Open University, and the co-director of the Centre for Research in Education and Educational Technology. Follow him on X (Twitter) @PeterT
Further information & resources
- Aubrey-Smith & Twining: From EdTech to PedTech: Changing the way we think about digital technology, Routledge, August 2023: www.pedtech.education