UNESCO released a 2023 Global Education Monitoring Report. As you might suspect, the report makes these claims.

The Fading Attraction of EdTech

I had a laugh (then a cry) about this image:

Image above via Larry Cuban on Technology in Schools as cited by Dr. Gary Ackerman (@garyackerman@qoto.org)

Today, I am still enthusiastic about technology in schools. It is the enthusiasm of someone who uses technology every day to create and make. For me, technology inspires me, enables me to create in ways I couldn’t do without it. That is the promise of technology. But, our continued pursuit of edtech hyped solutions in K-12 to radically improve student achievement was never sustainable. Now, I am seeing the same pattern with AI.

Let us make an end of edtech hype, relegate technology to an everyday tool that amplifies our creativity and connects us to one another in fundamental human ways, like knowing how to read and write do.

Doubting Thomas

Now, I find myself in the position of a doubting Thomas, a disbeliever, who sees how edtech advocates (including myself) believed in several big lies about teaching and learning with technology. Those may have included:

  • Technology heightens engagement, and engagement leads to increased student learning and academic achievement
  • Constructivist approaches work, and technology is best paired with these approaches over traditional methods
  • Phonics doesn’t work, pleasure reading works better
  • Projects, Problems, and Inquiry-based learning can do the heavy lifting of engaging minds and getting them to process ideas in ways that leads to long-term information retention

It is sobering to realize how much truth, and inaccuracies, exist in those ideas. But if they aren’t the whole truth, then what is? And, should I worry so much about it now that I know better? After all, isn’t the whole idea to prove something wrong to find what is true?

Stop Drinking the Kool-Aid

For many who drank the Kool-Aid, the secret sends them down the path of folly. It is time to wake up. And, some have.

A lot of people have caught on, perhaps due to the perceived remote learning fiasco (you know, when thousands of teachers had to teach remotely without the benefit of years of blended learning experience, and students simply didn’t learn as well resulting in low scores on extremely expensive, high-stakes assessments on national and international tests. These expensive exams were paid for with taxpayer funding to little purpose).

This is evident as you look at these graphs in Joanna Glasner’s (@jglasner) article, Edtech is No Longer a Funding Fave.

UNESCO Report Claims

Let’s take a look at each of these claims in turn. To do that, I’m going to group them into “buckets” of interest:

Evidence-Based Teaching and Learning

  • Good, impartial evidence on the impact of education technology is in short supply.
  • There is little robust evidence on digital technology’s added value in education.
  • A survey of teachers and administrators in 17 US states showed that only 11% requested peer-reviewed evidence prior to adoption.
  • A review of 23 mathematics applications used at the primary level showed that they focused on drill and practice rather than advanced skills.
  • In Peru, when over 1 million laptops were distributed without being incorporated into pedagogy, learning did not improve.
  • In the United States, analysis of over 2 million students found that learning gaps widened when instruction was exclusively remote.
  • Mere proximity to a mobile device was found to distract students and to have a negative impact on learning in 14 countries.

Professional Development for Educators

  • Teachers often feel unprepared and lack confidence teaching with technology.
  • Only half of countries have standards for developing teacher ICT skills.
  • Few teacher training programs cover cybersecurity.
  • Around two-thirds of education software licenses were unused in the United States. (if teachers don’t know how to use edtech, it will sit unused).

Environmental Impact

  • One estimate of the CO2 emissions that could be saved by extending the lifespan of all laptops in the European Union by a year found it would be equivalent to taking almost 1 million cars off the road.

Consider this information, and you get some sobering takeaways:

  • EdTech has a negative effect on teaching and learning
  • Teachers lack professional development to use edtech they have, much less emerging technology
  • Saving the planet may involve NOT equipping every child in school with short-term laptops (like Chromebooks) and double use time

If you add AI’s environmental impact to the list above, it can be quite sobering.

AI’s Take on My Notes Above

I asked Perplexity Pro to evaluate the claims made above, providing additional citations. Below, you will find the results:

Evidence-Based Teaching and Learning

  • The report underscores the scarcity of good, impartial evidence on the impact of education technology, noting that technology evolves faster than it can be evaluated, with education technology products changing every 36 months[1].
  • It mentions the lack of robust evidence on digital technology’s added value in education and highlights a survey where only 11% of teachers and administrators in 17 US states requested peer-reviewed evidence before adoption[1].
  • A review of 23 mathematics applications used at the primary level showed a focus on drill and practice rather than on developing advanced skills[1].
  • The distribution of over 1 million laptops in Peru without integration into pedagogy did not improve learning, illustrating the importance of incorporating technology into teaching strategies[1].
  • In the United States, an analysis involving over 2 million students found that learning gaps widened with exclusive remote instruction, emphasizing the challenges of online learning[1].
  • The report also points out that mere proximity to a mobile device can distract students and negatively impact learning, a finding observed across 14 countries[1].

Professional Development for Educators

  • Teachers often feel unprepared and lack confidence in teaching with technology, highlighting a significant gap in professional development[1].
  • Only half of the countries have established standards for developing teacher ICT skills, indicating a lack of uniformity in teacher training on technology use[1].
  • The report notes that few teacher training programs cover cybersecurity, underscoring a critical area of need in the digital age[1].
  • It also mentions that around two-thirds of education software licenses were unused in the United States, suggesting that without adequate training, educational technology often remains underutilized[1].

Environmental Impact

  • The report includes an estimate of the CO2 emissions savings that could be achieved by extending the lifespan of all laptops in the European Union by a year, equating it to removing almost 1 million cars from the road[1]. This points to the significant environmental impact of technology in education.

These findings from the UNESCO 2023 Global Education Monitoring Report present a nuanced view of the role of technology in education. While technology holds immense potential for enhancing learning, its implementation and impact are contingent upon careful consideration of evidence-based teaching practices, adequate professional development for educators, and awareness of environmental implications[1].

Citations