education technology project

Digital learning and transformation of education

Digital technologies have evolved from stand-alone projects to networks of tools and programmes that connect people and things across the world, and help address personal and global challenges. Digital innovation has demonstrated powers to complement, enrich and transform education, and has the potential to speed up progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) for education and transform modes of provision of universal access to learning. It can enhance the quality and relevance of learning, strengthen inclusion, and improve education administration and governance. In times of crises, distance learning can mitigate the effects of education disruption and school closures.

What you need to know about digital learning and transformation of education

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The Hottest Topics in Edtech for 2022!

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For a few years now, we’ve shared on this blog the hottest edtech trends of the year based on the topics resonating with educators who submit proposals to present at the annual ISTE conference . The topics that presenters submit can tell us a lot about what educators are interested in — and experimenting with — in their schools and classrooms.

Often the topics don’t change much from year to year, but that hasn’t been the case the past two years. 

Last year, after many months of remote learning under their belts, educators were eager to share their best practices about online learning, as well as how to build equity and boost social emotional learning, which were three of the hottest topics going into 2021.

While those topics made the list again this year, there were some surprises at the top of the list. Here are the eight hottest topics for 2022, starting with No 8. 

8. Augmented, mixed and virtual reality 

The ISTE community has been excited about this topic for years now, but it’s been elevated recently as tools for immersive learning become more affordable, accessible and easier for both teachers and students to use.

“Education has just started to tap into what it can bring,” says Camilla Gagliolo, a longtime educator and ISTE’s senior director of event content. “Personally, I’m really excited about the growth in AR/VR and in immersive learning.”

Augmented reality involves superimposing a computer-generated image on your view of the real world. Think Pokemon Go. 

Virtual reality is a 3D, computer-generated environment that you can immerse yourself in. Using an Oculus or a similar headset, you can transport yourself to a another place or time and interact within it, whether it’s visiting the Great Pyramid of Giza or exploring the functions of the human body.

Some of the newer trends involve being able to interact with historical events that have been recreated in a virtual environment. So, you can show up at an event and actually be part of it — well, sort of.

The pandemic has caused a lot of educators to focus on how to better engage students in content online, and AR/VR is a sure-fire way to do that. 

In addition to having students experience learning through AR/VR, many educators are helping students create their own experiences.

Look for sessions on how to do this and much more with AR/VR in your classroom when the ISTELive 22 program goes live in February.

7. Social-emotional learning

As soon as COVID-19 closed school buildings in 2020, it was immediately clear that educators would need to do far more than teach their students. Every single student was struggling with something in addition to trying to adapt to a new way of learning, and educators were on the front lines of helping students feel safe, secure, emotionally stable and ready to learn. 

But many of their needs — like food, internet and medical care — were shared by the whole family, so educators realized they couldn’t help students in isolation. They had to work with families as a whole. 

In a way, roles were reversed — or at least blurred: Educators helped families meet their basic needs by assisting them with finding resources like meals, child care and other services, while parents took over a lot of the teaching tasks. 

What evolved was a whole-village approach to education, where, for the first time on a grand scale, teachers and schools were working in concert with students and families. 

“When the parent community took over the teaching, the teachers had to help the parents help the children,” Gagliolo said. “There is a new role for parents, and I think this is going to change how we work with parents going forward.”

Many individual educators and school systems as a whole developed innovative ways of working with parents and are eager to share what they’ve learned at ISTELive 22 .

6. Equity and inclusion

Never has equity and inclusion seemed more urgent than in the past two years. The pandemic brought inequities — whether they were due to socio-economic status, special needs or the family circumstances of the student — into sharp focus. 

The most immediate need was devices and bandwidth. Schools, government, the business sector and local communities combined forces to deliver devices and connectivity to nearly every household in the country, but that's not enough.

“ It took a pandemic to give every kid a device,” Gagliolo says. “Now the challenge is to get meaningful learning with these devices.”

Educators have been doing just that — experimenting with ways to make learning more engaging, student-centered and inclusive with technology tools.

 “Even Zoom has become a tool of access,” Gagliolo says. “The pandemic actually brought to the forefront what tech can do to bridge equity and meet the need for tools, platforms and access.”

Although the learning curve was high, many educators discovered strategies and ideas for making learning more accessible to a range of learners using various tools. And they are eager to share what worked at ISTELive 22.

5. Online tools and apps

This topic has been a favorite of presenters and ISTE conference participants for years because it appeals to the tech geek in all of us. But this time around, there’s an emphasis on highlighting tools that — just like students and educators themselves — have made a big leap in what they are capable of because of the pandemic.

“There’s been so much improvement in tools and apps,” Gagliolo said. “They were forced to be much more stable. They can handle more interaction and have developed features for connecting students with teachers.”

A lot of what the newest versions of tools are offering allow students to learn — and share their learning — in a variety of ways, whether it’s being able to quickly upload a video, make a comment via a sound recording, or create and quickly upload an artifact.

Free creation tools like Adobe Spark as well as myriad video-creation tools have taken a big leap in terms of ease of use and accessibility.    

4. Distance, online, blended learning

This was hands-down the hottest topic of 2021 as educators around the globe were still learning how to best transition their teaching to online formats. The biggest hurdle at first was how to use the tools. The learning curve was high as educators had to figure out everything from creating breakout groups in Zoom and Teams to establishing rules about cameras and appropriate backgrounds. 

This year the topic is less about how to use the technology and more about how to best engage students. 

And the stakes are high. Disengaged students can simply turn off their cameras when they are bored. But with the threat of learning loss looming, no educator wants any student to miss out on access to learning. So they’ve been coming up with lots of ways to stimulate collaboration and build community — online and in person. 

“There are a lot of new strategies and new tools developed over the past two years that engage students at a high level,” Gagliolo says. 

Although it’s not exactly new, she points to FlipGrid, as a tool that’s being used in diverse ways. It allows students to record comments, facilitates a connection between home and school, and lets students demonstrate their storytelling chops.

And speaking of tools, learning management systems, once the bane of educators’ existence, have enjoyed a resurgence. Educators in general have become more comfortable with these tools and are seeing the potential for communicating with students and parents in a much more streamlined way. 

3. Computer science and computational thinking

Computer science and computational thinking have long been a favorite topic of teachers who love technology and see it as a gateway for their students to enter STEM careers. So it’s no surprise that it made it to the No. 3 spot on the list.

What is more surprising is the evolution of computer science (CS) and computational thinking (CT) as something strictly reserved for math and science class to a discipline that has infiltrated all subjects, from literature and art to music and dance.

“You think of CS and CT as being for math and science, but we’re seeing educators incorporating it into language learning and storytelling quite a bit,” Gagliolo says. “It’s taking different shapes and forms and not just in the traditional areas.” 

Tools like Scratch, Snap, Tynker and KODU allow students to use programming to create stories. They develop their characters, or sprites, and build out their environments. “They can create their world and their scenario,” Gagliolo says.

2. Instructional design and delivery

Of all the topics on the list, this one is perhaps the most exciting because it illustrates a sophistication in how educators are thinking about educational technology, Gagliolo says. The focus is on educational strategies and instruction with technology for higher-order thinking — not tools and gadgets.

“The pedagogy and learning strategies are rising to the top more than the technology topics,” Gagliolo said. “It shows that awareness that learning comes first and tech tools are there to support.”

Instructional design and delivery covers an array of topics from designing content in online formats that is accessible to all learners to ensuring that the content is culturally relevant. It covers ways to encourage community and interaction among students and teachers as well as an awareness of research on how students learn and how online delivery differs from face to face. 

This information is not just from educators who have the instructional designer title. Remote learning  made educators of all subject areas and grade bands realize that they, too, were assuming the role of instructional designers. 

1. Project-based learning 

Also known as problem- and challenge-based learning, PBL is a model where students learn by actively engaging in real-world and personally meaningful projects. 

While this model isn’t new to ISTE presenters, what’s astonishing is that it landed on the top, Gagliano said. What it shows is that as educators become more comfortable with various tools, they are focusing more on pedagogy and how to guide students to use tools to practice their personal passions and achieve their goals.

“It’s a level of maturity that ISTE has advocated for for a long time,” she said. "It’s more about the learning strategy than the tool.”

Many of the conference proposals related to PBL are for poster sessions, which means these are from educators eager to show a project their students have taken on. What that shows is that PBL has moved from the theoretical to the practical. These are projects that have been tested in classrooms around the world.

Many of them, Gagliolo says, are related to design thinking. Students are coming up with problems and solutions, prototyping and iterating. 

Diana Fingal is ISTE's director of editorial content.

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What Is Educational Technology (Ed Tech), and Why Should Schools Invest in It?

Alexandra Shimalla is a freelance journalist and education writer.

Long gone are the days of overhead projectors and handwritten papers. Today’s teachers have robust technology at their disposal, and students have grown up in an  increasingly digital world . But, with so many software applications, devices and other technologies on the market, it’s easy for teachers to become overwhelmed with  the array of opportunities  available to them.

K–12 schools used, on average,  2,591 ed tech tools  during the 2022-2023 school year, according to a Statista survey. This is a 1.7 percent increase from the 2021-2022 school year and a nearly 190 percent increase from the 2018-2019 school year, when districts used an average of 895 tools.

With all the technologies available, K–12 IT leaders and administrators need to ensure they’re selecting the right tools for their users. The best way to ensure educational technology is being used is to invest in software and hardware that are valuable to both students and teachers.

Click the banner   to learn how to optimize your school’s device lifecycle.

What Is Ed Tech in K–12 Schools?

Educational technology, or ed tech, encompasses a wide variety of applications, software, hardware and infrastructure components — from online quizzes and learning management systems to  individual laptops for students  and the  access points  that enable Wi-Fi connectivity.

Interactive panels are a popular tool, and schools have recently implemented learning management systems that allow parents to connect with teachers. Even  virtual and augmented reality  can be found in some classrooms, says Rachelle Dené Poth, who teaches Spanish and STEAM (science, technology engineering, art and math) classes at  Riverview School District . An International Society for Technology in Education–certified educator, Poth is also an attorney and author.

“AR and VR transform how students are learning by immersing them in a different environment, giving them a more hands-on, authentic and meaningful experience,” says Poth. “This enables them to better connect with the content in a way that they understand and can build upon, leveraging the new with the knowledge they already have.”

MORE ON EDTECH:   Emerging technologies for modern classrooms steal the spotlight.

What Is the Value of Educational Technology Today?

Even if the district doesn’t have the latest VR tech, educational technology still plays a vital role in the classroom.

“I think ed tech is necessary in the sense that it allows us to do things that, if we were to go back, I could not imagine doing,” says David Chan, director of instructional technology for Evanston Township High School .

Before Chan  joined the administrative team  10 years ago, he spent a decade in the classroom — an experience that he believes allows him to do his job better. Having been in the teachers’ position, he can make more informed decisions from the perspective of how technology can impact, benefit or burden the hundreds of teachers in his school.

“First and foremost, the ed tech should support the teaching and learning,” he says.

Certain ed tech, such as quizzes in the middle of class, can  collect and analyze valuable data  for teachers in real time, Chan adds. Online quizzes provide snapshots of where students are in the moment, allowing teachers to capitalize on crucial learning opportunities rather than reviewing and grading a handwritten quiz later when that opportunity has passed.

“We have always been able to personalize learning for our students pre-technology; it just took more time, and we had fewer resources,” Poth says. “With the different tools available today, especially with artificial intelligence and robust LMS platforms, it helps us have a better workflow and reduces the amount of time it takes to move between tools.”

The average number of educational technologies K–12 districts used during the 2022-2023 school year

Incorporating technology into the classroom can also highlight potential career paths for students. Through coding, creating a podcast, taking apart a drone or learning graphic design, students can explore various technologies that will likely  play a role in their future .

“Technology allows students to get a bit more authentic with projects,” says Chan. “It makes them feel like it’s more than just a school project. It could be something they see themselves doing outside of school.”

What Is the Impact of Educational Technology?

When researching a new educational tool, the first thing to answer is the question of impact: How does this impact and provide value to teachers and students?

“We always want to focus on the why and the how, not the ‘wow’ factor,” says Poth. “Why should we use it, and how is it going to enhance or transform student learning? Because it worked for someone else’s class doesn’t guarantee that it’s going to have the same impact on other students. Always focus on the pedagogical value before purchasing the technology.”

DIVE DEEPER:   Planning and administrator support are necessary to sustain devices.

Tech that’s difficult to use presents a significant obstacle to adoption. Narrow the potential list to solutions that don’t require complicated setup for educators, or ensure that the proper training and support are in place. “The best compliment I get from teachers is that they didn’t have to call my team  to learn how to use it ,” Chan says.

It’s also crucial to consult  the privacy policy  of any new technology. Verify that it aligns with  the necessary laws and regulations , as well as your school’s own policies.

Tips for K–12 Schools Investing in Ed Tech

Chan’s advice for all ed tech purchases — from trying something new to renewing an existing license — is to be slow and intentional. One of the biggest mistakes schools can make is to jump in too quickly.

“Piloting allows us to scale up in a responsible way,” he says.

After doing the research to ensure a new device or software aligns with the school environment, do a pilot run with a few licenses or devices. Ask teachers and students who participate for feedback. Having those conversations can aid IT teams with the full launch or with other technologies in the future.

Rachelle Dené Poth Spanish and STEAM Teacher, Riverview School District

A helpful tip, shares Chan, is setting up a standard workflow so the IT department is carefully reviewing every item the school pays for before it’s renewed. These checks are opportunities to review existing data from companies to see if the ed tech is being used at the volume expected. If not, don’t be afraid to cut the cord with services, particularly if teachers are unhappy with them, which impacts  the return on investment .

Poth suggests enabling  single sign-on , which streamlines access and prevents roadblocks to adoption. “It’s super helpful for students and teachers, especially when trying to bring different tools into the classroom.”

Ultimately, ed tech is here to stay, and its presence in the classroom will only increase. Administrators and IT leaders can start by analyzing the tools they currently have, then begin having conversations with teachers and students about ways to improve.

DISCOVER:   District sets out to learn how its teachers are using technology.

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These 12 innovators are transforming the future of education

Quality education is vital in the UN Sustainable Development Goals, but this has been significantly disrupted by COVID-19. Image:  UNSPLASH/Ivan Aleksic

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Stay up to date:.

Listen to the article

• COVID-19 continues to disrupt schoolchildren’s right to a quality education.
• In March 2021, schools in 57 countries were still closed, according to the World Bank.
• Deloitte launched the World Class Education Challenge on the World Economic Forum's UpLink platform to search for innovators who are bridging gaps in learning and access.
• Deloitte will invest US$1 million in the 12 top innovations, announced today, supporting them to scale their solutions to impact more learners. This is part of Deloitte’s World Class ambition to provide educational opportunities to 100 million individuals by 2030.

Today’s students are tomorrow’s workers, problem-solvers and leaders. Access to a quality education is vital not just for children to thrive, but for social and economic development.

The United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals set out that every child should have a free, quality primary and secondary level education. It’s estimated that the disruptions to education resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic have set back progress in educational gains by 20 years . While all students were impacted by the pandemic, the difference between the privileged, and those being left behind, has widened even further.

In India, for example, one study suggests nearly 40% of students in less privileged households have not been able to study at all. And the government estimates some 30 million schoolchildren have no access to smartphones, devices or the internet to attend school online.

World Class Education Challenge

Deloitte is committed to using this moment to truly catalyze change. We must identify what is working, the new ways and innovations that are delivering results for students, and scale them. To find ideas with the highest potential for impact and scale, Deloitte ran the World Class Education Challenge on the World Economic Forum’s UpLink platform.

The Challenge had three focus areas: providing equitable access for students being left behind; investing in teachers’ development; and equipping students with the skills they will need in 2030. It focused on finding solutions in Africa, India and Asia Pacific.

From almost 400 submissions, 12 innovators have been selected. These individuals and their organizations will work alongside Deloitte professionals to help address the global education crisis. They will also receive up to US$1 million in professional services on a pro bono basis and financial grants.

Announcing the Top UpLink innovators

The 12 innovations chosen to be Top UpLink innovators are:

Developed with the needs of African teachers in mind, Learnable is an augmented teaching assistant that allows teachers to compose and distribute dynamic, interactive lessons via a dedicated mobile app and WhatsApp. Lessons can be saved offline, so that students do not need constant internet access.

Nomad Education

Nomad Education is a free mobile app which offers 350 academic certificates that helps more than 1 million francophone children every year to succeed in their studies, whatever their social, geographic or academic background.

Pan-African Robotics Competition

The Pan-African Robotics Competition (PARC) is the largest robotics competition in Africa and has educated more than a 1000 African youth in Science, Technology, Engineering & Math (STEM), while also offering a Virtual Learning Platform (VLP) to enable the African youth to virtually learn to code, design and build their own robots. It also integrates a feature for collaboration and knowledge exchange.

A lack of quality STEM education directly impacts productivity and economic development in Nigeria. Millions of students have no access to traditional laboratories, which are expensive to build and maintain, says Oyebisi. StanLab is a cloud-based, 3D virtual laboratory platform, providing near real-life laboratory experience for students without access to physical laboratories.

UCT Online High School

UCT Online High School's mission is to turn physical limitations into digital opportunities for Africa’s children to access aspirational, quality secondary school education. Its purpose-built online school and free online curriculum pave the way for high quality, online and blended learning to be delivered at scale, and stimulate digital transformation of the education systems on the continent.

Call-A-Kahaani

Emotional intelligence, critical thinking and problem solving are key skills for the future of work. Call-a-Kahaani is Udhyam Learning Foundation's Interactive Voice Response (IVR) platform to empower youth with entrepreneurial mindsets, leveraging engaging interactive storytelling.

Ekatra is a tool for educators and organizations to deliver learning at scale, using text (including SMS and WhatsApp) message-based micro courses targeted to improve learning, with the mission to bring important knowledge to people no matter what their circumstances are.

Rocket Learning

Rocket Learning builds vibrant digital communities of parents and teachers to support foundational learning for some of the world's most underprivileged children. It is helping 20,000 teachers reach over 200,000 parents daily with contextualized content in their local language sent via WhatsApp groups. This supports parents with the crucial early years education, including teaching children to recognize letters and numbers.

ASIA PACIFIC

#GenEducators

An initiative of Generation Peace, this solution aims to empower educators to reinvent the way they teach. The web-based learning platform is designed to help Indonesian educators encourage innovation in their classrooms – and raise the next generation of critical thinkers. It offers practical tools, proven strategies, and best practices from around the world to inspire future change-makers.

Komerce is transforming the lives of rural Indonesian communities by unlocking e-commerce potential through education. The innovative platform teaches Indonesian youth e-commerce skills, and connects them with small and medium-sized enterprises in their rural towns, to both boost the local economy and provide opportunities for young people.

Scaling Skills That Matter

An innovation of The Posify Group, The Posify Academy is a student-led, evidence-based combined well-being and career development platform, arming youth with a sense of purpose and equipping them with future skills, so they can navigate this rapidly evolving world with confidence, and uncover and deliver their unique potential.

Tech-Voc Career Accelerator Program

An initiative of Edukasyon.ph, Tech-Voc Career Accelerator drives youth not in education, employment and training (NEET) in the Philippines to the frontlines of employment by transforming their interest into a passion for technical-vocational work through holistic skills development, industry training and linkages, and continuous learning.

The group of top innovators submitted to the education challenge were officially announced during the Sustainable Development Impact Summit. You can watch the session and find out more about the solutions here .

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World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

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Reskilling Revolution: The Role of AI in Education 4.0

REALIZING THE PROMISE:

Leading up to the 75th anniversary of the UN General Assembly, this “Realizing the promise: How can education technology improve learning for all?” publication kicks off the Center for Universal Education’s first playbook in a series to help improve education around the world.

It is intended as an evidence-based tool for ministries of education, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, to adopt and more successfully invest in education technology.

While there is no single education initiative that will achieve the same results everywhere—as school systems differ in learners and educators, as well as in the availability and quality of materials and technologies—an important first step is understanding how technology is used given specific local contexts and needs.

The surveys in this playbook are designed to be adapted to collect this information from educators, learners, and school leaders and guide decisionmakers in expanding the use of technology.  

Introduction

While technology has disrupted most sectors of the economy and changed how we communicate, access information, work, and even play, its impact on schools, teaching, and learning has been much more limited. We believe that this limited impact is primarily due to technology being been used to replace analog tools, without much consideration given to playing to technology’s comparative advantages. These comparative advantages, relative to traditional “chalk-and-talk” classroom instruction, include helping to scale up standardized instruction, facilitate differentiated instruction, expand opportunities for practice, and increase student engagement. When schools use technology to enhance the work of educators and to improve the quality and quantity of educational content, learners will thrive.

Further, COVID-19 has laid bare that, in today’s environment where pandemics and the effects of climate change are likely to occur, schools cannot always provide in-person education—making the case for investing in education technology.

Here we argue for a simple yet surprisingly rare approach to education technology that seeks to:

• Understand the needs, infrastructure, and capacity of a school system—the diagnosis;
• Survey the best available evidence on interventions that match those conditions—the evidence; and
• Closely monitor the results of innovations before they are scaled up—the prognosis.

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The framework.

Our approach builds on a simple yet intuitive theoretical framework created two decades ago by two of the most prominent education researchers in the United States, David K. Cohen and Deborah Loewenberg Ball. They argue that what matters most to improve learning is the interactions among educators and learners around educational materials. We believe that the failed school-improvement efforts in the U.S. that motivated Cohen and Ball’s framework resemble the ed-tech reforms in much of the developing world to date in the lack of clarity improving the interactions between educators, learners, and the educational material. We build on their framework by adding parents as key agents that mediate the relationships between learners and educators and the material (Figure 1).

Figure 1: The instructional core

Adapted from Cohen and Ball (1999)

As the figure above suggests, ed-tech interventions can affect the instructional core in a myriad of ways. Yet, just because technology can do something, it does not mean it should. School systems in developing countries differ along many dimensions and each system is likely to have different needs for ed-tech interventions, as well as different infrastructure and capacity to enact such interventions.

The diagnosis:

How can school systems assess their needs and preparedness.

A useful first step for any school system to determine whether it should invest in education technology is to diagnose its:

• Specific needs to improve student learning (e.g., raising the average level of achievement, remediating gaps among low performers, and challenging high performers to develop higher-order skills);
• Infrastructure to adopt technology-enabled solutions (e.g., electricity connection, availability of space and outlets, stock of computers, and Internet connectivity at school and at learners’ homes); and
• Capacity to integrate technology in the instructional process (e.g., learners’ and educators’ level of familiarity and comfort with hardware and software, their beliefs about the level of usefulness of technology for learning purposes, and their current uses of such technology).

Before engaging in any new data collection exercise, school systems should take full advantage of existing administrative data that could shed light on these three main questions. This could be in the form of internal evaluations but also international learner assessments, such as the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), and/or the Progress in International Literacy Study (PIRLS), and the Teaching and Learning International Study (TALIS). But if school systems lack information on their preparedness for ed-tech reforms or if they seek to complement existing data with a richer set of indicators, we developed a set of surveys for learners, educators, and school leaders. Download the full report to see how we map out the main aspects covered by these surveys, in hopes of highlighting how they could be used to inform decisions around the adoption of ed-tech interventions.

The evidence:

How can school systems identify promising ed-tech interventions.

There is no single “ed-tech” initiative that will achieve the same results everywhere, simply because school systems differ in learners and educators, as well as in the availability and quality of materials and technologies. Instead, to realize the potential of education technology to accelerate student learning, decisionmakers should focus on four potential uses of technology that play to its comparative advantages and complement the work of educators to accelerate student learning (Figure 2). These comparative advantages include:

• Scaling up quality instruction, such as through prerecorded quality lessons.
• Facilitating differentiated instruction, through, for example, computer-adaptive learning and live one-on-one tutoring.
• Expanding opportunities to practice.
• Increasing learner engagement through videos and games.

Figure 2: Comparative advantages of technology

Here we review the evidence on ed-tech interventions from 37 studies in 20 countries*, organizing them by comparative advantage. It’s important to note that ours is not the only way to classify these interventions (e.g., video tutorials could be considered as a strategy to scale up instruction or increase learner engagement), but we believe it may be useful to highlight the needs that they could address and why technology is well positioned to do so.

When discussing specific studies, we report the magnitude of the effects of interventions using standard deviations (SDs). SDs are a widely used metric in research to express the effect of a program or policy with respect to a business-as-usual condition (e.g., test scores). There are several ways to make sense of them. One is to categorize the magnitude of the effects based on the results of impact evaluations. In developing countries, effects below 0.1 SDs are considered to be small, effects between 0.1 and 0.2 SDs are medium, and those above 0.2 SDs are large (for reviews that estimate the average effect of groups of interventions, called “meta analyses,” see e.g., Conn, 2017; Kremer, Brannen, & Glennerster, 2013; McEwan, 2014; Snilstveit et al., 2015; Evans & Yuan, 2020.)

*In surveying the evidence, we began by compiling studies from prior general and ed-tech specific evidence reviews that some of us have written and from ed-tech reviews conducted by others. Then, we tracked the studies cited by the ones we had previously read and reviewed those, as well. In identifying studies for inclusion, we focused on experimental and quasi-experimental evaluations of education technology interventions from pre-school to secondary school in low- and middle-income countries that were released between 2000 and 2020. We only included interventions that sought to improve student learning directly (i.e., students’ interaction with the material), as opposed to interventions that have impacted achievement indirectly, by reducing teacher absence or increasing parental engagement. This process yielded 37 studies in 20 countries (see the full list of studies in Appendix B).

Scaling up standardized instruction

One of the ways in which technology may improve the quality of education is through its capacity to deliver standardized quality content at scale. This feature of technology may be particularly useful in three types of settings: (a) those in “hard-to-staff” schools (i.e., schools that struggle to recruit educators with the requisite training and experience—typically, in rural and/or remote areas) (see, e.g., Urquiola & Vegas, 2005); (b) those in which many educators are frequently absent from school (e.g., Chaudhury, Hammer, Kremer, Muralidharan, & Rogers, 2006; Muralidharan, Das, Holla, & Mohpal, 2017); and/or (c) those in which educators have low levels of pedagogical and subject matter expertise (e.g., Bietenbeck, Piopiunik, & Wiederhold, 2018; Bold et al., 2017; Metzler & Woessmann, 2012; Santibañez, 2006) and do not have opportunities to observe and receive feedback (e.g., Bruns, Costa, & Cunha, 2018; Cilliers, Fleisch, Prinsloo, & Taylor, 2018). Technology could address this problem by: (a) disseminating lessons delivered by qualified educators to a large number of learners (e.g., through prerecorded or live lessons); (b) enabling distance education (e.g., for learners in remote areas and/or during periods of school closures); and (c) distributing hardware preloaded with educational materials.

Prerecorded lessons

Technology seems to be well placed to amplify the impact of effective educators by disseminating their lessons. Evidence on the impact of prerecorded lessons is encouraging, but not conclusive. Some initiatives that have used short instructional videos to complement regular instruction, in conjunction with other learning materials, have raised student learning on independent assessments. For example, Beg et al. (2020) evaluated an initiative in Punjab, Pakistan in which grade 8 classrooms received an intervention that included short videos to substitute live instruction, quizzes for learners to practice the material from every lesson, tablets for educators to learn the material and follow the lesson, and LED screens to project the videos onto a classroom screen. After six months, the intervention improved the performance of learners on independent tests of math and science by 0.19 and 0.24 SDs, respectively but had no discernible effect on the math and science section of Punjab’s high-stakes exams.

One study suggests that approaches that are far less technologically sophisticated can also improve learning outcomes—especially, if the business-as-usual instruction is of low quality. For example, Naslund-Hadley, Parker, and Hernandez-Agramonte (2014) evaluated a preschool math program in Cordillera, Paraguay that used audio segments and written materials four days per week for an hour per day during the school day. After five months, the intervention improved math scores by 0.16 SDs, narrowing gaps between low- and high-achieving learners, and between those with and without educators with formal training in early childhood education.

Yet, the integration of prerecorded material into regular instruction has not always been successful. For example, de Barros (2020) evaluated an intervention that combined instructional videos for math and science with infrastructure upgrades (e.g., two “smart” classrooms, two TVs, and two tablets), printed workbooks for students, and in-service training for educators of learners in grades 9 and 10 in Haryana, India (all materials were mapped onto the official curriculum). After 11 months, the intervention negatively impacted math achievement (by 0.08 SDs) and had no effect on science (with respect to business as usual classes). It reduced the share of lesson time that educators devoted to instruction and negatively impacted an index of instructional quality. Likewise, Seo (2017) evaluated several combinations of infrastructure (solar lights and TVs) and prerecorded videos (in English and/or bilingual) for grade 11 students in northern Tanzania and found that none of the variants improved student learning, even when the videos were used. The study reports effects from the infrastructure component across variants, but as others have noted (Muralidharan, Romero, & Wüthrich, 2019), this approach to estimating impact is problematic.

A very similar intervention delivered after school hours, however, had sizeable effects on learners’ basic skills. Chiplunkar, Dhar, and Nagesh (2020) evaluated an initiative in Chennai (the capital city of the state of Tamil Nadu, India) delivered by the same organization as above that combined short videos that explained key concepts in math and science with worksheets, facilitator-led instruction, small groups for peer-to-peer learning, and occasional career counseling and guidance for grade 9 students. These lessons took place after school for one hour, five times a week. After 10 months, it had large effects on learners’ achievement as measured by tests of basic skills in math and reading, but no effect on a standardized high-stakes test in grade 10 or socio-emotional skills (e.g., teamwork, decisionmaking, and communication).

Drawing general lessons from this body of research is challenging for at least two reasons. First, all of the studies above have evaluated the impact of prerecorded lessons combined with several other components (e.g., hardware, print materials, or other activities). Therefore, it is possible that the effects found are due to these additional components, rather than to the recordings themselves, or to the interaction between the two (see Muralidharan, 2017 for a discussion of the challenges of interpreting “bundled” interventions). Second, while these studies evaluate some type of prerecorded lessons, none examines the content of such lessons. Thus, it seems entirely plausible that the direction and magnitude of the effects depends largely on the quality of the recordings (e.g., the expertise of the educator recording it, the amount of preparation that went into planning the recording, and its alignment with best teaching practices).

These studies also raise three important questions worth exploring in future research. One of them is why none of the interventions discussed above had effects on high-stakes exams, even if their materials are typically mapped onto the official curriculum. It is possible that the official curricula are simply too challenging for learners in these settings, who are several grade levels behind expectations and who often need to reinforce basic skills (see Pritchett & Beatty, 2015). Another question is whether these interventions have long-term effects on teaching practices. It seems plausible that, if these interventions are deployed in contexts with low teaching quality, educators may learn something from watching the videos or listening to the recordings with learners. Yet another question is whether these interventions make it easier for schools to deliver instruction to learners whose native language is other than the official medium of instruction.

Distance education

Technology can also allow learners living in remote areas to access education. The evidence on these initiatives is encouraging. For example, Johnston and Ksoll (2017) evaluated a program that broadcasted live instruction via satellite to rural primary school students in the Volta and Greater Accra regions of Ghana. For this purpose, the program also equipped classrooms with the technology needed to connect to a studio in Accra, including solar panels, a satellite modem, a projector, a webcam, microphones, and a computer with interactive software. After two years, the intervention improved the numeracy scores of students in grades 2 through 4, and some foundational literacy tasks, but it had no effect on attendance or classroom time devoted to instruction, as captured by school visits. The authors interpreted these results as suggesting that the gains in achievement may be due to improving the quality of instruction that children received (as opposed to increased instructional time). Naik, Chitre, Bhalla, and Rajan (2019) evaluated a similar program in the Indian state of Karnataka and also found positive effects on learning outcomes, but it is not clear whether those effects are due to the program or due to differences in the groups of students they compared to estimate the impact of the initiative.

In one context (Mexico), this type of distance education had positive long-term effects. Navarro-Sola (2019) took advantage of the staggered rollout of the telesecundarias (i.e., middle schools with lessons broadcasted through satellite TV) in 1968 to estimate its impact. The policy had short-term effects on students’ enrollment in school: For every telesecundaria per 50 children, 10 students enrolled in middle school and two pursued further education. It also had a long-term influence on the educational and employment trajectory of its graduates. Each additional year of education induced by the policy increased average income by nearly 18 percent. This effect was attributable to more graduates entering the labor force and shifting from agriculture and the informal sector. Similarly, Fabregas (2019) leveraged a later expansion of this policy in 1993 and found that each additional telesecundaria per 1,000 adolescents led to an average increase of 0.2 years of education, and a decline in fertility for women, but no conclusive evidence of long-term effects on labor market outcomes.

It is crucial to interpret these results keeping in mind the settings where the interventions were implemented. As we mention above, part of the reason why they have proven effective is that the “counterfactual” conditions for learning (i.e., what would have happened to learners in the absence of such programs) was either to not have access to schooling or to be exposed to low-quality instruction. School systems interested in taking up similar interventions should assess the extent to which their learners (or parts of their learner population) find themselves in similar conditions to the subjects of the studies above. This illustrates the importance of assessing the needs of a system before reviewing the evidence.

Preloaded hardware

Technology also seems well positioned to disseminate educational materials. Specifically, hardware (e.g., desktop computers, laptops, or tablets) could also help deliver educational software (e.g., word processing, reference texts, and/or games). In theory, these materials could not only undergo a quality assurance review (e.g., by curriculum specialists and educators), but also draw on the interactions with learners for adjustments (e.g., identifying areas needing reinforcement) and enable interactions between learners and educators.

In practice, however, most initiatives that have provided learners with free computers, laptops, and netbooks do not leverage any of the opportunities mentioned above. Instead, they install a standard set of educational materials and hope that learners find them helpful enough to take them up on their own. Students rarely do so, and instead use the laptops for recreational purposes—often, to the detriment of their learning (see, e.g., Malamud & Pop-Eleches, 2011). In fact, free netbook initiatives have not only consistently failed to improve academic achievement in math or language (e.g., Cristia et al., 2017), but they have had no impact on learners’ general computer skills (e.g., Beuermann et al., 2015). Some of these initiatives have had small impacts on cognitive skills, but the mechanisms through which those effects occurred remains unclear.

To our knowledge, the only successful deployment of a free laptop initiative was one in which a team of researchers equipped the computers with remedial software. Mo et al. (2013) evaluated a version of the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) program for grade 3 students in migrant schools in Beijing, China in which the laptops were loaded with a remedial software mapped onto the national curriculum for math (similar to the software products that we discuss under “practice exercises” below). After nine months, the program improved math achievement by 0.17 SDs and computer skills by 0.33 SDs. If a school system decides to invest in free laptops, this study suggests that the quality of the software on the laptops is crucial.

To date, however, the evidence suggests that children do not learn more from interacting with laptops than they do from textbooks. For example, Bando, Gallego, Gertler, and Romero (2016) compared the effect of free laptop and textbook provision in 271 elementary schools in disadvantaged areas of Honduras. After seven months, students in grades 3 and 6 who had received the laptops performed on par with those who had received the textbooks in math and language. Further, even if textbooks essentially become obsolete at the end of each school year, whereas laptops can be reloaded with new materials for each year, the costs of laptop provision (not just the hardware, but also the technical assistance, Internet, and training associated with it) are not yet low enough to make them a more cost-effective way of delivering content to learners.

Evidence on the provision of tablets equipped with software is encouraging but limited. For example, de Hoop et al. (2020) evaluated a composite intervention for first grade students in Zambia’s Eastern Province that combined infrastructure (electricity via solar power), hardware (projectors and tablets), and educational materials (lesson plans for educators and interactive lessons for learners, both loaded onto the tablets and mapped onto the official Zambian curriculum). After 14 months, the intervention had improved student early-grade reading by 0.4 SDs, oral vocabulary scores by 0.25 SDs, and early-grade math by 0.22 SDs. It also improved students’ achievement by 0.16 on a locally developed assessment. The multifaceted nature of the program, however, makes it challenging to identify the components that are driving the positive effects. Pitchford (2015) evaluated an intervention that provided tablets equipped with educational “apps,” to be used for 30 minutes per day for two months to develop early math skills among students in grades 1 through 3 in Lilongwe, Malawi. The evaluation found positive impacts in math achievement, but the main study limitation is that it was conducted in a single school.

Facilitating differentiated instruction

Another way in which technology may improve educational outcomes is by facilitating the delivery of differentiated or individualized instruction. Most developing countries massively expanded access to schooling in recent decades by building new schools and making education more affordable, both by defraying direct costs, as well as compensating for opportunity costs (Duflo, 2001; World Bank, 2018). These initiatives have not only rapidly increased the number of learners enrolled in school, but have also increased the variability in learner’ preparation for schooling. Consequently, a large number of learners perform well below grade-based curricular expectations (see, e.g., Duflo, Dupas, & Kremer, 2011; Pritchett & Beatty, 2015). These learners are unlikely to get much from “one-size-fits-all” instruction, in which a single educator delivers instruction deemed appropriate for the middle (or top) of the achievement distribution (Banerjee & Duflo, 2011). Technology could potentially help these learners by providing them with: (a) instruction and opportunities for practice that adjust to the level and pace of preparation of each individual (known as “computer-adaptive learning” (CAL)); or (b) live, one-on-one tutoring.

Computer-adaptive learning

One of the main comparative advantages of technology is its ability to diagnose students’ initial learning levels and assign students to instruction and exercises of appropriate difficulty. No individual educator—no matter how talented—can be expected to provide individualized instruction to all learners in his/her class simultaneously . In this respect, technology is uniquely positioned to complement traditional teaching. This use of technology could help learners master basic skills and help them get more out of schooling.

Although many software products evaluated in recent years have been categorized as CAL, many rely on a relatively coarse level of differentiation at an initial stage (e.g., a diagnostic test) without further differentiation. We discuss these initiatives under the category of “increasing opportunities for practice” below. CAL initiatives complement an initial diagnostic with dynamic adaptation (i.e., at each response or set of responses from learners) to adjust both the initial level of difficulty and rate at which it increases or decreases, depending on whether learners’ responses are correct or incorrect.

Existing evidence on this specific type of programs is highly promising. Most famously, Banerjee et al. (2007) evaluated CAL software in Vadodara, in the Indian state of Gujarat, in which grade 4 students were offered two hours of shared computer time per week before and after school, during which they played games that involved solving math problems. The level of difficulty of such problems adjusted based on students’ answers. This program improved math achievement by 0.35 and 0.47 SDs after one and two years of implementation, respectively. Consistent with the promise of personalized learning, the software improved achievement for all students. In fact, one year after the end of the program, students assigned to the program still performed 0.1 SDs better than those assigned to a business as usual condition. More recently, Muralidharan, et al. (2019) evaluated a “blended learning” initiative in which students in grades 4 through 9 in Delhi, India received 45 minutes of interaction with CAL software for math and language, and 45 minutes of small group instruction before or after going to school. After only 4.5 months, the program improved achievement by 0.37 SDs in math and 0.23 SDs in Hindi. While all learners benefited from the program in absolute terms, the lowest performing learners benefited the most in relative terms, since they were learning very little in school.

We see two important limitations from this body of research. First, to our knowledge, none of these initiatives has been evaluated when implemented during the school day. Therefore, it is not possible to distinguish the effect of the adaptive software from that of additional instructional time. Second, given that most of these programs were facilitated by local instructors, attempts to distinguish the effect of the software from that of the instructors has been mostly based on noncausal evidence. A frontier challenge in this body of research is to understand whether CAL software can increase the effectiveness of school-based instruction by substituting part of the regularly scheduled time for math and language instruction.

Live one-on-one tutoring

Recent improvements in the speed and quality of videoconferencing, as well as in the connectivity of remote areas, have enabled yet another way in which technology can help personalization: live (i.e., real-time) one-on-one tutoring. While the evidence on in-person tutoring is scarce in developing countries, existing studies suggest that this approach works best when it is used to personalize instruction (see, e.g., Banerjee et al., 2007; Banerji, Berry, & Shotland, 2015; Cabezas, Cuesta, & Gallego, 2011).

There are almost no studies on the impact of online tutoring—possibly, due to the lack of hardware and Internet connectivity in low- and middle-income countries. One exception is Chemin and Oledan (2020)’s recent evaluation of an online tutoring program for grade 6 students in Kianyaga, Kenya to learn English from volunteers from a Canadian university via Skype ( videoconferencing software) for one hour per week after school. After 10 months, program beneficiaries performed 0.22 SDs better in a test of oral comprehension, improved their comfort using technology for learning, and became more willing to engage in cross-cultural communication. Importantly, while the tutoring sessions used the official English textbooks and sought in part to help learners with their homework, tutors were trained on several strategies to teach to each learner’s individual level of preparation, focusing on basic skills if necessary. To our knowledge, similar initiatives within a country have not yet been rigorously evaluated.

Expanding opportunities for practice

A third way in which technology may improve the quality of education is by providing learners with additional opportunities for practice. In many developing countries, lesson time is primarily devoted to lectures, in which the educator explains the topic and the learners passively copy explanations from the blackboard. This setup leaves little time for in-class practice. Consequently, learners who did not understand the explanation of the material during lecture struggle when they have to solve homework assignments on their own. Technology could potentially address this problem by allowing learners to review topics at their own pace.

Practice exercises

Technology can help learners get more out of traditional instruction by providing them with opportunities to implement what they learn in class. This approach could, in theory, allow some learners to anchor their understanding of the material through trial and error (i.e., by realizing what they may not have understood correctly during lecture and by getting better acquainted with special cases not covered in-depth in class).

Existing evidence on practice exercises reflects both the promise and the limitations of this use of technology in developing countries. For example, Lai et al. (2013) evaluated a program in Shaanxi, China where students in grades 3 and 5 were required to attend two 40-minute remedial sessions per week in which they first watched videos that reviewed the material that had been introduced in their math lessons that week and then played games to practice the skills introduced in the video. After four months, the intervention improved math achievement by 0.12 SDs. Many other evaluations of comparable interventions have found similar small-to-moderate results (see, e.g., Lai, Luo, Zhang, Huang, & Rozelle, 2015; Lai et al., 2012; Mo et al., 2015; Pitchford, 2015). These effects, however, have been consistently smaller than those of initiatives that adjust the difficulty of the material based on students’ performance (e.g., Banerjee et al., 2007; Muralidharan, et al., 2019). We hypothesize that these programs do little for learners who perform several grade levels behind curricular expectations, and who would benefit more from a review of foundational concepts from earlier grades.

We see two important limitations from this research. First, most initiatives that have been evaluated thus far combine instructional videos with practice exercises, so it is hard to know whether their effects are driven by the former or the latter. In fact, the program in China described above allowed learners to ask their peers whenever they did not understand a difficult concept, so it potentially also captured the effect of peer-to-peer collaboration. To our knowledge, no studies have addressed this gap in the evidence.

Second, most of these programs are implemented before or after school, so we cannot distinguish the effect of additional instructional time from that of the actual opportunity for practice. The importance of this question was first highlighted by Linden (2008), who compared two delivery mechanisms for game-based remedial math software for students in grades 2 and 3 in a network of schools run by a nonprofit organization in Gujarat, India: one in which students interacted with the software during the school day and another one in which students interacted with the software before or after school (in both cases, for three hours per day). After a year, the first version of the program had negatively impacted students’ math achievement by 0.57 SDs and the second one had a null effect. This study suggested that computer-assisted learning is a poor substitute for regular instruction when it is of high quality, as was the case in this well-functioning private network of schools.

In recent years, several studies have sought to remedy this shortcoming. Mo et al. (2014) were among the first to evaluate practice exercises delivered during the school day. They evaluated an initiative in Shaanxi, China in which students in grades 3 and 5 were required to interact with the software similar to the one in Lai et al. (2013) for two 40-minute sessions per week. The main limitation of this study, however, is that the program was delivered during regularly scheduled computer lessons, so it could not determine the impact of substituting regular math instruction. Similarly, Mo et al. (2020) evaluated a self-paced and a teacher-directed version of a similar program for English for grade 5 students in Qinghai, China. Yet, the key shortcoming of this study is that the teacher-directed version added several components that may also influence achievement, such as increased opportunities for teachers to provide students with personalized assistance when they struggled with the material. Ma, Fairlie, Loyalka, and Rozelle (2020) compared the effectiveness of additional time-delivered remedial instruction for students in grades 4 to 6 in Shaanxi, China through either computer-assisted software or using workbooks. This study indicates whether additional instructional time is more effective when using technology, but it does not address the question of whether school systems may improve the productivity of instructional time during the school day by substituting educator-led with computer-assisted instruction.

Increasing learner engagement

Another way in which technology may improve education is by increasing learners’ engagement with the material. In many school systems, regular “chalk and talk” instruction prioritizes time for educators’ exposition over opportunities for learners to ask clarifying questions and/or contribute to class discussions. This, combined with the fact that many developing-country classrooms include a very large number of learners (see, e.g., Angrist & Lavy, 1999; Duflo, Dupas, & Kremer, 2015), may partially explain why the majority of those students are several grade levels behind curricular expectations (e.g., Muralidharan, et al., 2019; Muralidharan & Zieleniak, 2014; Pritchett & Beatty, 2015). Technology could potentially address these challenges by: (a) using video tutorials for self-paced learning and (b) presenting exercises as games and/or gamifying practice.

Video tutorials

Technology can potentially increase learner effort and understanding of the material by finding new and more engaging ways to deliver it. Video tutorials designed for self-paced learning—as opposed to videos for whole class instruction, which we discuss under the category of “prerecorded lessons” above—can increase learner effort in multiple ways, including: allowing learners to focus on topics with which they need more help, letting them correct errors and misconceptions on their own, and making the material appealing through visual aids. They can increase understanding by breaking the material into smaller units and tackling common misconceptions.

In spite of the popularity of instructional videos, there is relatively little evidence on their effectiveness. Yet, two recent evaluations of different versions of the Khan Academy portal, which mainly relies on instructional videos, offer some insight into their impact. First, Ferman, Finamor, and Lima (2019) evaluated an initiative in 157 public primary and middle schools in five cities in Brazil in which the teachers of students in grades 5 and 9 were taken to the computer lab to learn math from the platform for 50 minutes per week. The authors found that, while the intervention slightly improved learners’ attitudes toward math, these changes did not translate into better performance in this subject. The authors hypothesized that this could be due to the reduction of teacher-led math instruction.

More recently, Büchel, Jakob, Kühnhanss, Steffen, and Brunetti (2020) evaluated an after-school, offline delivery of the Khan Academy portal in grades 3 through 6 in 302 primary schools in Morazán, El Salvador. Students in this study received 90 minutes per week of additional math instruction (effectively nearly doubling total math instruction per week) through teacher-led regular lessons, teacher-assisted Khan Academy lessons, or similar lessons assisted by technical supervisors with no content expertise. (Importantly, the first group provided differentiated instruction, which is not the norm in Salvadorian schools). All three groups outperformed both schools without any additional lessons and classrooms without additional lessons in the same schools as the program. The teacher-assisted Khan Academy lessons performed 0.24 SDs better, the supervisor-led lessons 0.22 SDs better, and the teacher-led regular lessons 0.15 SDs better, but the authors could not determine whether the effects across versions were different.

Together, these studies suggest that instructional videos work best when provided as a complement to, rather than as a substitute for, regular instruction. Yet, the main limitation of these studies is the multifaceted nature of the Khan Academy portal, which also includes other components found to positively improve learner achievement, such as differentiated instruction by students’ learning levels. While the software does not provide the type of personalization discussed above, learners are asked to take a placement test and, based on their score, educators assign them different work. Therefore, it is not clear from these studies whether the effects from Khan Academy are driven by its instructional videos or to the software’s ability to provide differentiated activities when combined with placement tests.

Games and gamification

Technology can also increase learner engagement by presenting exercises as games and/or by encouraging learner to play and compete with others (e.g., using leaderboards and rewards)—an approach known as “gamification.” Both approaches can increase learner motivation and effort by presenting learners with entertaining opportunities for practice and by leveraging peers as commitment devices.

There are very few studies on the effects of games and gamification in low- and middle-income countries. Recently, Araya, Arias Ortiz, Bottan, and Cristia (2019) evaluated an initiative in which grade 4 students in Santiago, Chile were required to participate in two 90-minute sessions per week during the school day with instructional math software featuring individual and group competitions (e.g., tracking each learner’s standing in his/her class and tournaments between sections). After nine months, the program led to improvements of 0.27 SDs in the national student assessment in math (it had no spillover effects on reading). However, it had mixed effects on non-academic outcomes. Specifically, the program increased learners’ willingness to use computers to learn math, but, at the same time, increased their anxiety toward math and negatively impacted learners’ willingness to collaborate with peers. Finally, given that one of the weekly sessions replaced regular math instruction and the other one represented additional math instructional time, it is not clear whether the academic effects of the program are driven by the software or the additional time devoted to learning math.

The prognosis:

How can school systems adopt interventions that match their needs.

Here are five specific and sequential guidelines for decisionmakers to realize the potential of education technology to accelerate student learning.

1. Take stock of how your current schools, educators, and learners are engaging with technology .

Carry out a short in-school survey to understand the current practices and potential barriers to adoption of technology (we have included suggested survey instruments in the Appendices); use this information in your decisionmaking process. For example, we learned from conversations with current and former ministers of education from various developing regions that a common limitation to technology use is regulations that hold school leaders accountable for damages to or losses of devices. Another common barrier is lack of access to electricity and Internet, or even the availability of sufficient outlets for charging devices in classrooms. Understanding basic infrastructure and regulatory limitations to the use of education technology is a first necessary step. But addressing these limitations will not guarantee that introducing or expanding technology use will accelerate learning. The next steps are thus necessary.

“In Africa, the biggest limit is connectivity. Fiber is expensive, and we don’t have it everywhere. The continent is creating a digital divide between cities, where there is fiber, and the rural areas.  The [Ghanaian] administration put in schools offline/online technologies with books, assessment tools, and open source materials. In deploying this, we are finding that again, teachers are unfamiliar with it. And existing policies prohibit students to bring their own tablets or cell phones. The easiest way to do it would have been to let everyone bring their own device. But policies are against it.” H.E. Matthew Prempeh, Minister of Education of Ghana, on the need to understand the local context.

2. Consider how the introduction of technology may affect the interactions among learners, educators, and content .

Our review of the evidence indicates that technology may accelerate student learning when it is used to scale up access to quality content, facilitate differentiated instruction, increase opportunities for practice, or when it increases learner engagement. For example, will adding electronic whiteboards to classrooms facilitate access to more quality content or differentiated instruction? Or will these expensive boards be used in the same way as the old chalkboards? Will providing one device (laptop or tablet) to each learner facilitate access to more and better content, or offer students more opportunities to practice and learn? Solely introducing technology in classrooms without additional changes is unlikely to lead to improved learning and may be quite costly. If you cannot clearly identify how the interactions among the three key components of the instructional core (educators, learners, and content) may change after the introduction of technology, then it is probably not a good idea to make the investment. See Appendix A for guidance on the types of questions to ask.

3. Once decisionmakers have a clear idea of how education technology can help accelerate student learning in a specific context, it is important to define clear objectives and goals and establish ways to regularly assess progress and make course corrections in a timely manner .

For instance, is the education technology expected to ensure that learners in early grades excel in foundational skills—basic literacy and numeracy—by age 10? If so, will the technology provide quality reading and math materials, ample opportunities to practice, and engaging materials such as videos or games? Will educators be empowered to use these materials in new ways? And how will progress be measured and adjusted?

4. How this kind of reform is approached can matter immensely for its success.

It is easy to nod to issues of “implementation,” but that needs to be more than rhetorical. Keep in mind that good use of education technology requires thinking about how it will affect learners, educators, and parents. After all, giving learners digital devices will make no difference if they get broken, are stolen, or go unused. Classroom technologies only matter if educators feel comfortable putting them to work. Since good technology is generally about complementing or amplifying what educators and learners already do, it is almost always a mistake to mandate programs from on high. It is vital that technology be adopted with the input of educators and families and with attention to how it will be used. If technology goes unused or if educators use it ineffectually, the results will disappoint—no matter the virtuosity of the technology. Indeed, unused education technology can be an unnecessary expenditure for cash-strapped education systems. This is why surveying context, listening to voices in the field, examining how technology is used, and planning for course correction is essential.

5. It is essential to communicate with a range of stakeholders, including educators, school leaders, parents, and learners .

Technology can feel alien in schools, confuse parents and (especially) older educators, or become an alluring distraction. Good communication can help address all of these risks. Taking care to listen to educators and families can help ensure that programs are informed by their needs and concerns. At the same time, deliberately and consistently explaining what technology is and is not supposed to do, how it can be most effectively used, and the ways in which it can make it more likely that programs work as intended. For instance, if teachers fear that technology is intended to reduce the need for educators, they will tend to be hostile; if they believe that it is intended to assist them in their work, they will be more receptive. Absent effective communication, it is easy for programs to “fail” not because of the technology but because of how it was used. In short, past experience in rolling out education programs indicates that it is as important to have a strong intervention design as it is to have a solid plan to socialize it among stakeholders.

Beyond reopening: A leapfrog moment to transform education?

On September 14, the Center for Universal Education (CUE) will host a webinar to discuss strategies, including around the effective use of education technology, for ensuring resilient schools in the long term and to launch a new education technology playbook “Realizing the promise: How can education technology improve learning for all?”

file-pdf Full Playbook – Realizing the promise: How can education technology improve learning for all? file-pdf References file-pdf Appendix A – Instruments to assess availability and use of technology file-pdf Appendix B – List of reviewed studies file-pdf Appendix C – How may technology affect interactions among students, teachers, and content?

About the Authors

Alejandro j. ganimian, emiliana vegas, frederick m. hess.

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Major advances in technology, especially digital technology, are rapidly transforming the world. Information and communication technology (ICT) has been applied for 100 years in education, ever since the popularization of radio in the 1920s. But it is the use of digital technology over the past 40 years that has the most significant potential to transform education. An education technology industry has emerged and focused, in turn, on the development and distribution of education content, learning management systems, language applications, augmented and virtual reality, personalized tutoring, and testing. Most recently, breakthroughs in artificial intelligence (AI), methods have increased the power of education technology tools, leading to speculation that technology could even supplant human interaction in education.

In the past 20 years, learners, educators and institutions have widely adopted digital technology tools. The number of students in MOOCs increased from 0 in 2012 to at least 220 million in 2021. The language learning application Duolingo had 20 million daily active users in 2023, and Wikipedia had 244 million page views per day in 2021. The 2018 PISA found that 65% of 15-year-old students in OECD countries were in schools whose principals agreed that teachers had the technical and pedagogical skills to integrate digital devices in instruction and 54% in schools where an effective online learning support platform was available; these shares are believed to have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Globally, the percentage of internet users rose from 16% in 2005 to 66% in 2022. About 50% of the world’s lower secondary schools were connected to the internet for pedagogical purposes in 2022.

The adoption of digital technology has resulted in many changes in education and learning. The set of basic skills that young people are expected to learn in school, at least in richer countries, has expanded to include a broad range of new ones to navigate the digital world. In many classrooms, paper has been replaced by screens and pens by keyboards. COVID-19 can be seen as a natural experiment where learning switched online for entire education systems virtually overnight. Higher education is the subsector with the highest rate of digital technology adoption, with online management platforms replacing campuses. The use of data analytics has grown in education management. Technology has made a wide range of informal learning opportunities accessible.

Yet the extent to which technology has transformed education needs to be debated. Change resulting from the use of digital technology is incremental, uneven and bigger in some contexts than others. The application of digital technology varies by community and socioeconomic level, by teacher willingness and preparedness, by education level, and by country income. Except in the most technologically advanced countries, computers and devices are not used in classrooms on a large scale. Technology use is not universal and will not become so any time soon. Moreover, evidence is mixed on its impact: Some types of technology seem to be effective in improving some kinds of learning. The short- and long-term costs of using digital technology appear to be significantly underestimated. The most disadvantaged are typically denied the opportunity to benefit from this technology.

Too much attention on technology in education usually comes at a high cost. Resources spent on technology, rather than on classrooms, teachers and textbooks for all children in low- and lower-middle-income countries lacking access to these resources are likely to lead to the world being further away from achieving the global education goal, SDG 4. Some of the world’s richest countries ensured universal secondary schooling and minimum learning competencies before the advent of digital technology. Children can learn without it.

However, their education is unlikely to be as relevant without digital technology. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights defines the purpose of education as promoting the ‘full development of the human personality’, strengthening ‘respect for … fundamental freedoms’ and promoting ‘understanding, tolerance and friendship’. This notion needs to move with the times. An expanded definition of the right to education could include effective support by technology for all learners to fulfil their potential, regardless of context or circumstance.

Clear objectives and principles are needed to ensure that technology use is of benefit and avoids harm. The negative and harmful aspects in the use of digital technology in education and society include risk of distraction and lack of human contact. Unregulated technology even poses threats to democracy and human rights, for instance through invasion of privacy and stoking of hatred. Education systems need to be better prepared to teach about and through digital technology, a tool that must serve the best interests of all learners, teachers and administrators. Impartial evidence showing that technology is being used in some places to improve education, and good examples of such use, need to be shared more widely so that the optimal mode of delivery can be assured for each context.

CAN TECHNOLOGY HELP SOLVE THE MOST IMPORTANT CHALLENGES IN EDUCATION?

Discussions about education technology are focused on technology rather than education. The first question should be: What are the most important challenges in education? As a basis for discussion, consider the following three challenges:

• Equity and inclusion: Is fulfilment of the right to choose the education one wants and to realize one’s full potential through education compatible with the goal of equality? If not, how can education become the great equalizer?
• Quality: Do education’s content and delivery support societies in achieving sustainable development objectives? If not, how can education help learners to not only acquire knowledge but also be agents of change?
• Efficiency: Does the current institutional arrangement of teaching learners in classrooms support the achievement of equity and quality? If not, how can education balance individualized instruction and socialization needs?

How best can digital technology be included in a strategy to tackle these challenges, and under what conditions? Digital technology packages and transmits information on an unprecedented scale at high speed and low cost. Information storage has revolutionized the volume of accessible knowledge. Information processing enables learners to receive immediate feedback and, through interaction with machines, adapt their learning pace and trajectory: Learners can organize the sequence of what they learn to suit their background and characteristics. Information sharing lowers the cost of interaction and communication. But while such technology has tremendous potential, many tools have not been designed for application to education. Not enough attention has been given to how they are applied in education and even less to how they should be applied in different education contexts.

On the question of equity and inclusion , ICT – and digital technology in particular – helps lower the education access cost for some disadvantaged groups: Those who live in remote areas are displaced, face learning difficulties, lack time or have missed out on past education opportunities. But while access to digital technology has expanded rapidly, there are deep divides in access. Disadvantaged groups own fewer devices, are less connected to the internet (Figure 1) and have fewer resources at home. The cost of much technology is falling rapidly but is still too high for some. Households that are better off can buy technology earlier, giving them more advantages and compounding disparity. Inequality in access to technology exacerbates existing inequality in access to education, a weakness exposed during the COVID-19 school closures.

Figure 1: Internet connectivity is highly unequal

Percentage of 3- to 17-year-olds with internet connection at home, by wealth quintile, selected countries, 2017–19 Source: UNICEF database.

Education quality is a multifaceted concept. It encompasses adequate inputs (e.g. availability of technology infrastructure), prepared teachers (e.g. teacher standards for technology use in classrooms), relevant content (e.g. integration of digital literacy in the curriculum) and individual learning outcomes (e.g. minimum levels of proficiency in reading and mathematics). But education quality should also encompass social outcomes. It is not enough for students to be vessels receiving knowledge; they need to be able to use it to help achieve sustainable development in social, economic and environmental terms.

There are a variety of views on the extent to which digital technologies can enhance education quality. Some argue that, in principle, digital technology creates engaging learning environments, enlivens student experiences, simulates situations, facilitates collaboration and expands connections. But others say digital technology tends to support an individualized approach to education, reducing learners’ opportunities to socialize and learn by observing each other in real-life settings. Moreover, just as new technology overcomes some constraints, it brings its own problems. Increased screen time has been associated with adverse impact on physical and mental health. Insufficient regulation has led to unauthorized use of personal data for commercial purposes. Digital technology has also helped spread misinformation and hate speech, including through education.

Improvements to efficiency may be the most promising way for digital technology to make a difference in education. Technology is touted as being able to reduce the time students and teachers spend on menial tasks, time that can be used in other, educationally more meaningful activities. However, there are conflicting views on what is meaningful. The way that education technology is used is more complex than just a substitution of resources. Technology may be one-to-many, one-to-one or peer-to-peer technology. It may require students to learn alone or with others, online or offline, independently or networked. It delivers content, creates learner communities and connects teachers with students. It provides access to information. It may be used for formal or informal learning and can assess what has been learned. It is used as a tool for productivity, creativity, communication, collaboration, design and data management. It may be professionally produced or have user-generated content. It may be specific to schools and place-based or transcend time and place. As in any complex system, each technology tool involves distinct infrastructure, design, content and pedagogy, and each may promote different types of learning.

Technology is evolving too fast to permit evaluation that could inform decisions on legislation, policy and regulation. Research on technology in education is as complex as technology itself. Studies evaluate experiences of learners of various ages using various methodologies applied in contexts as different as self-study, classrooms and schools of diverse sizes and features, non-school settings, and at system level. Findings that apply in some contexts are not always replicable elsewhere. Some conclusions can be drawn from long-term studies as technologies mature but there is an endless stream of new products. Meanwhile, not all impact can be easily measured, given technology’s ubiquity, complexity, utility and heterogeneity. In brief, while there is much general research on education technology, the amount of research for specific applications and contexts is insufficient, making it difficult to prove that a particular technology enhances a particular kind of learning.

Why is there often the perception nevertheless that technology can address major education challenges? To understand the discourse around education technology, it is necessary to look behind the language being used to promote it, and the interests it serves. Who frames the problems technology should address? What are the consequences of such framing for education? Who promotes education technology as a precondition for education transformation? How credible are such claims? What criteria and standards need to be set to evaluate digital technology’s current and potential future contribution to education so as to separate hype from substance? Can evaluation go beyond short-term assessments of impact on learning and capture potential far-reaching consequences of the generalized use of digital technology in education?

Exaggerated claims about technology go hand in hand with exaggerated estimates of its global market size. In 2022, business intelligence providers’ estimates ranged from USD 123 billion to USD 300 billion. These accounts are almost always projected forward, predicting optimistic expansion, yet they fail to give historic trends and verify whether past projections proved true. Such reporting routinely characterizes education technology as essential and technology companies as enablers and disruptors. If optimistic projections are not fulfilled, responsibility is implicitly placed on governments as a way of maintaining indirect pressure on them to increase procurement. Education is criticized as being slow to change, stuck in the past and a laggard when it comes to innovation. Such coverage plays on users’ fascination with novelty but also their fear of being left behind.

The sections below further explore the three challenges this report addresses: equity and inclusion (in terms of access to education for disadvantaged groups and access to content), quality (in terms of teaching through and about digital technology) and efficiency (in terms of education management). After identifying technology’s potential to tackle these challenges, it discusses three conditions that need to be met for that potential to be fulfilled: equitable access, appropriate governance and regulation, and sufficient teacher capacity.

EQUITY AND INCLUSION: ACCESS FOR DISADVANTAGED GROUPS

A wide range of technology brings education to hard-to-reach learners. Technology has historically opened up education to learners facing significant obstacles in access to schools or well-trained teachers. Interactive radio instruction is used in nearly 40 countries. In Nigeria, radio instruction combined with print and audiovisual materials has been used since the 1990s, reaching nearly 80% of nomads and increasing their literacy, numeracy and life skills. Television has helped educate marginalized groups, notably in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Telesecundaria programme in Mexico, combining televised lessons with in-class support and extensive teacher training, increased secondary school enrolment by 21%. Mobile learning devices, often the only type of device accessible to disadvantaged learners, have been used in hard-to-reach areas and emergencies to share educational materials; complement in-person or remote channels; and foster interactions between students, teachers and parents, notably during COVID-19. Adults have been the main target of online distance learning, with open universities having increased participation for both working and disadvantaged adults.

Inclusive technology supports accessibility and personalization for learners with disabilities. Assistive technology removes learning and communication barriers, with numerous studies reporting a significant positive impact on academic engagement, social participation and the well-being of learners with disabilities. However, such devices remain inaccessible and unaffordable in many countries, and teachers often lack specialized training to use them effectively in learning environments. While people with disabilities used to rely exclusively on specialized devices to gain access to education, technology platforms and devices are increasingly incorporating accessibility features, which support inclusive, personalized learning for all students.

Technology supports learning continuity in emergencies. Mapping of 101 distance education projects in crisis contexts in 2020 showed that 70% used radio, television and basic mobile phones. During the Boko Haram crisis in Nigeria, the Technology Enhanced Learning for All programme used mobile phones and radios to support the learning continuity of 22,000 disadvantaged children, with recorded improvement in literacy and numeracy skills. However, there are significant gaps in terms of rigorous evaluation of education technology in emergencies, despite some limited recorded impact. Meanwhile, most projects are led by non-state actors as short-term crisis responses, raising sustainability concerns; education ministries implemented only 12% of the 101 projects.

Technology supported learning during COVID-19, but millions were left out. During school closures, 95% of education ministries carried out some form of distance learning, potentially reaching over 1 billion students globally. Many of the resources used during the pandemic were first developed in response to previous emergencies or rural education, with some countries building on decades of experience with remote learning. Sierra Leone revived the Radio Teaching Programme, developed during the Ebola crisis, one week after schools closed. Mexico expanded content from its Telesecundaria programme to all levels of education. However, at least half a billion, or 31% of students worldwide – mostly the poorest (72%) and those in rural areas (70%) – could not be reached by remote learning. Although 91% of countries used online learning platforms to deliver distance learning during school closures, the platforms only reached a quarter of students globally. For the rest, low-tech interventions such as radio and television were largely used, in combination with paper-based materials and mobile phones for increased interactivity.

Some countries are expanding existing platforms to reach marginalized groups. Less than half of all countries developed long-term strategies for increasing their resilience and the sustainability of interventions as part of their COVID-19 response plans. Many have abandoned distance learning platforms developed during COVID-19, while others are repurposing them to reach marginalized learners. The digital platform set up in Ukraine during the pandemic was expanded once the war broke out in 2022, allowing 85% of schools to complete the academic year.

EQUITY AND INCLUSION: ACCESS TO CONTENT

Technology facilitates content creation and adaptation. Open educational resources (OERs) encourage the reuse and repurposing of materials to cut development time, avoid duplication of work and make materials more context-specific or relevant to learners. They also significantly reduce the cost of access to content. In the US state of North Dakota, an initial investment of USD 110,000 to shift to OERs led to savings of over USD 1 million in student costs. Social media increases access to user-generated content. YouTube, a major player in both formal and informal learning, is used by about 80% of the world’s top 113 universities. Moreover, collaborative digital tools can improve the diversity and quality of content creation. In South Africa, the Siyavule initiative supported tutor collaboration on the creation of primary and secondary education textbooks.

Digitization of educational content simplifies access and distribution. Many countries, including Bhutan and Rwanda, have created static digital versions of traditional textbooks to increase availability. Others, including India and Sweden, have produced digital textbooks that encourage interactivity and multimodal learning. Digital libraries and educational content repositories such as the National Academic Digital Library of Ethiopia, National Digital Library of India and Teachers Portal in Bangladesh help teachers and learners find relevant materials. Learning management platforms, which have become a key part of the contemporary learning environment, help organize content by integrating digital resources into course structures.

Open access resources help overcome barriers. Open universities and MOOCs can eliminate time, location and cost barriers to access. In Indonesia, where low participation in tertiary education is largely attributed to geographical challenges, MOOCs play an important role in expanding access to post-secondary learning. During COVID-19, MOOC enrolment surged, with the top three providers adding as many users in April 2020 as in all of 2019. Technology can also remove language barriers. Translation tools help connect teachers and learners from various countries and increase the accessibility of courses by non-native students.

Ensuring and assessing the quality of digital content is difficult. The sheer quantity of content and its decentralized production pose logistical challenges for evaluation. Several strategies have been implemented to address this. China established specific quality criteria for MOOCs to be nationally recognized. The European Union developed its OpenupED quality label. India strengthened the link between non-formal and formal education. Micro-credentials are increasingly used to ensure that institution and learner both meet minimum standards. Some platforms aim to improve quality by recentralizing content production. YouTube, for example, has been funnelling financing and resources to a few trusted providers and partnering with well-established education institutions.

Technology may reinforce existing inequality in both access to and production of content. Privileged groups still produce most content. A study of higher-education repositories with OER collections found that nearly 90% were created in Europe or North America; 92% of the material in the OER Commons global library is in English. This influences who has access to digital content. MOOCs, for example, mainly benefit educated learners – studies have shown around 80% of participants on major platforms already have a tertiary degree – and those from richer countries. The disparity is due to divides in digital skills, internet access, language and course design. Regional MOOCs cater to local needs and languages but can also worsen inequality.

TEACHING AND LEARNING

Technology has been used to support teaching and learning in multiple ways. Digital technology offers two broad types of opportunities. First, it can improve instruction by addressing quality gaps, increasing opportunities to practise, increasing available time and personalizing instruction. Second, it can engage learners by varying how content is represented, stimulating interaction and prompting collaboration. Systematic reviews over the past two decades on technology’s impact on learning find small to medium-sized positive effects compared to traditional instruction. However, evaluations do not always isolate technology’s impact in an intervention, making it difficult to attribute positive effects to technology alone rather than to other factors, such as added instruction time, resources or teacher support. Technology companies can have disproportionate influence on evidence production. For example, Pearson funded studies contesting independent analysis that showed its products had no impact.

The prevalence of ICT use in classrooms is not high, even in the world’s richest countries. The 2018 PISA found that only about 10% of 15-year-old students in over 50 participating education systems used digital devices for more than an hour a week in mathematics and science lessons, on average (Figure 2) . The 2018 International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS) showed that in the 12 participating education systems, simulation and modelling software in classrooms was available to just over one third of students, with country levels ranging from 8% in Italy to 91% in Finland.

Figure 2: Even in upper-middle- and high-income countries, technology use in mathematics and science classrooms is limited

Percentage of 15-year-old students who used digital devices for at least one hour per week in mathematics or science classroom lessons, selected upper-middle- and high-income countries, 2018 Source: 2018 PISA database.

Recorded lessons can address teacher quality gaps and improve teacher time allocation. In China, lesson recordings from high-quality urban teachers were delivered to 100 million rural students. An impact evaluation showed improvements in Chinese skills by 32% and a 38% long-term reduction in the rural–urban earning gap. However, just delivering materials without contextualizing and providing support is insufficient. In Peru, the One Laptop Per Child programme distributed over 1 million laptops loaded with content, but no positive impact on learning resulted, partly due to the focus on provision of devices instead of the quality of pedagogical integration.

Enhancing technology-aided instruction with personalization can improve some types of learning. Personalized adaptive software generates analytics that can help teachers track student progress, identify error patterns, provide differentiated feedback and reduce workload on routine tasks. Evaluations of the use of a personalized adaptive software in India documented learning gains in after-school settings and for low-performing students. However, not all widely used software interventions have strong evidence of positive effects compared to teacher-led instruction. A meta-analysis of studies on an AI learning and assessment system that has been used by over 25 million students in the United States found it was no better than traditional classroom teaching in improving outcomes.

Varied interaction and visual representation can enhance student engagement. A meta-analysis of 43 studies published from 2008 to 2019 found that digital games improved cognitive and behavioural outcomes in mathematics. Interactive whiteboards can support teaching and learning if well integrated in pedagogy; but in the United Kingdom, despite large-scale adoption, they were mostly used to replace blackboards. Augmented, mixed or virtual reality used as an experiential learning tool for repeated practice in life-like conditions in technical, vocational and scientific subjects is not always as effective as real-life training but may be superior to other digital methods, such as video demonstrations.

Technology offers teachers low-cost and convenient ways to communicate with parents. The Colombian Institute of Family Welfare’s distance education initiative, which targeted 1.7 million disadvantaged children, relied on social media platforms to relay guidance to caregivers on pedagogical activities at home. However, uptake and effectiveness of behavioural interventions targeting caregivers are limited by parental education levels, as well as lack of time and material resources.

Student use of technology in classrooms and at home can be distracting, disrupting learning. A meta-analysis of research on student mobile phone use and its impact on education outcomes, covering students from pre-primary to higher education in 14 countries, found a small negative effect, and a larger one at the university level. Studies using PISA data indicate a negative association between ICT use and student performance beyond a threshold of moderate use. Teachers perceive tablet and phone use as hampering classroom management. More than one in three teachers in seven countries participating in the 2018 ICILS agreed that ICT use in classrooms distracted students. Online learning relies on student ability to self-regulate and may put low-performing and younger learners at increased risk of disengagement.

DIGITAL SKILLS

The definition of digital skills has been evolving along with digital technology. An analysis for this report shows that 54% of countries have identified digital skills standards for learners. The Digital Competence Framework for Citizens (DigComp), developed on behalf of the European Commission, has five competence areas: information and data literacy, communication and collaboration, digital content creation, safety, and problem-solving. Some countries have adopted digital skills frameworks developed by non-state, mostly commercial, actors. The International Computer Driving Licence (ICDL) has been promoted as a ‘digital skills standard’ but is associated mainly with Microsoft applications. Kenya and Thailand have endorsed the ICDL as the digital literacy standard for use in schools.

Digital skills are unequally distributed. In the 27 European Union (EU) countries, 54% of adults had at least basic digital skills in 2021. In Brazil, 31% of adults had at least basic skills, but the level was twice as high in urban as in rural areas, three times as high among those in the labour force as among those outside it, and nine times as high in the top socioeconomic group as in the two bottom groups. The overall gender gap in digital skills is small, but wider in specific skills. In 50 countries, 6.5% of males and 3.2% of females could write a computer program. In Belgium, Hungary and Switzerland, no more than 2 women for every 10 men could program; in Albania, Malaysia and Palestine, 9 women for every 10 men could do so. According to the 2018 PISA, 5% of 15-year-olds with the strongest reading skills but 24% of those with the weakest ones were at risk of being misled by a typical phishing email.

Formal skills training may not be the main way of acquiring digital skills. About one quarter of adults in EU countries, ranging from 16% in Italy to 40% in Sweden, had acquired skills through a ‘formalised educational institution’. Informal learning, such as self-study and informal assistance from colleagues, relatives and friends, was used by twice as many. Still, formal education is important: In 2018, those with tertiary education in Europe were twice as likely (18%) as those with upper secondary education (9%) to engage in free online training or self-study to improve their computer, software or application use. Solid mastery of literacy and numeracy skills is positively associated with mastery of at least some digital skills.

A curriculum content mapping of 16 education systems showed that Greece and Portugal dedicated less than 10% of the curriculum to data and media literacy while Estonia and the Republic of Korea embedded both in half their curricula. In some countries, media literacy in curricula is explicitly connected to critical thinking in subject disciplines, as under Georgia’s New School Model. Asia is characterized by a protectionist approach to media literacy that prioritizes information control over education. But in the Philippines, the Association for Media and Information Literacy successfully advocated for incorporation of media and information literacy in the curriculum, and it is now a core subject in grades 11 and 12.

Digital skills in communication and collaboration matter in hybrid learning arrangements. Argentina promoted teamwork skills as part of a platform for programming and robotics competitions in primary and secondary education. Mexico offers teachers and students digital education resources and tools for remote collaboration, peer learning and knowledge sharing. Ethical digital behaviour includes rules, conventions and standards to be learned, understood and practised by digital users when using digital spaces. Digital communication’s anonymity, invisibility, asynchronicity and minimization of authority can make it difficult for individuals to understand its complexities.

Competences in digital content creation include selecting appropriate delivery formats and creating copy, audio, video and visual assets; integrating digital content; and respecting copyright and licences. The ubiquitous use of social media has turned content creation into a skill with direct application in electronic commerce. In Indonesia, the Siberkreasi platform counts collaborative engagement among its core activities. The Kenya Copyright Board collaborates closely with universities to provide copyright education and conducts frequent training sessions for students in the visual arts and ICT.

Education systems need to strengthen preventive measures and respond to many safety challenges, from passwords to permissions, helping learners understand the implications of their online presence and digital footprint. In Brazil, 29% of schools have conducted debates or lectures on privacy and data protection. In New Zealand, the Te Mana Tūhono (Power of Connectivity) programme delivers digital protection and security services to almost 2,500 state and state-integrated schools. A systematic review of interventions in Australia, Italy, Spain and the United States estimated that the average programme had a 76% chance of reducing cyberbullying perpetration. In Wales, United Kingdom, the government has advised schools how to prepare for and respond to harmful viral online content and hoaxes.

The definition of problem-solving skills varies widely among education systems. Many countries perceive them in terms of coding and programming and as part of a computer science curriculum that includes computational thinking, algorithm use and automation. A global review estimated that 43% of students in high-income countries, 62% in upper-middle-income, 5% in lower-middle-income but no students in low-income countries take computer science as compulsory in primary and/or secondary education. Only 20% of education systems require schools to offer computer science as an elective or core course. Non-state actors often support coding and programming skills. In Chile, Code.org has partnered with the government to provide educational resources in computer science.

EDUCATION MANAGEMENT

Education management information systems focus on efficiency and effectiveness. Education reforms have been characterized by increased school autonomy, target setting and results-based performance, all of which require more data. By one measure, since the 1990s, the number of policies making reference to data, statistics and information has increased by 13 times in high-income, 9 times in upper-middle-income, and 5 times in low- and lower-middle-income countries. But only 54% of countries globally – and as low as 22% in sub-Saharan Africa – have unique student identification mechanisms.

Geospatial data can support education management. Geographical information systems help address equity and efficiency in infrastructure and resource distribution in education systems. School mapping has been used to foster diversity and reduce inequality of opportunity. Ireland links three databases to decide in which of its 314 planning areas to build new schools. Geospatial data can identify areas where children live too far from the nearest school. For instance, it has been estimated that 5% of the population in Guatemala and 41% in the United Republic of Tanzania live more than 3 kilometres away from the nearest primary school.

Education management information systems struggle with data integration. In 2017, Malaysia introduced the Education Data Repository as part of its 2019–23 ICT Transformation Plan to progressively integrate its 350 education data systems and applications scattered across institutions. By 2019, it had integrated 12 of its main data systems, aiming for full integration through a single data platform by the end of 2023. In New Zealand, schools had been procuring student management systems independently and lack of interoperability between them was preventing authorities from tracking student progress. In 2019, the government began setting up the National Learner Repository and Data Exchange to be hosted in cloud data centres, but deployment was paused in 2021 due to cybersecurity concerns. European countries have been addressing interoperability concerns collectively to facilitate data sharing between countries and across multiple applications used in higher-education management through the EMREX project.

Computer-based assessments and computer adaptive testing have been replacing many paper-based assessments. They reduce test administration costs, improve measurement quality and provide rapid scoring. As more examinations shift online, the need for online cheating detection and proctoring tools has also increased. While these can reduce cheating, their effectiveness should be weighed against fairness and psychological effects. Evidence on the quality and usefulness of technology-based assessments has started to emerge, but much less is known about cost efficiency. Among 34 papers on technology-based assessments reviewed for this report, transparent data on cost were lacking.

Learning analytics can increase formative feedback and enable early detection systems. In China, learning analytics has been used to identify learners’ difficulties, predict learning trajectories and manage teacher resources. In the United States, Course Signals is a system used to flag the likelihood of a student not passing a course; educators can then target them for additional support. However, learning analytics requires all actors to have sufficient data literacy. Successful education systems typically have absorptive capacity, including strong school leaders and confident teachers willing to innovate. Yet often seemingly trivial issues, such as maintenance and repair, are ignored or underestimated.

ACCESS TO TECHNOLOGY: EQUITY, EFFICIENCY AND SUSTAINABILITY

Access to electricity and devices is highly unequal between and within countries. In 2021, almost 9% of the global population – and more than 70% of people in rural sub-Saharan Africa – lacked access to electricity. Globally, one in four primary schools do not have electricity. A 2018 study in Cambodia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Myanmar, Nepal and Niger found that 31% of public schools were on grid and 9% were off grid, with only 16% enjoying uninterrupted power supply. Globally, 46% of households had a computer at home in 2020; the share of schools with computers for pedagogical purposes was 47% in primary, 62% in lower secondary and 76% in upper secondary education. There were at most 10 computers per 100 students in Brazil and Morocco but 160 computers per 100 students in Luxembourg, according to the 2018 PISA.

Internet access, a vital enabler of economic, social and cultural rights, is also unequal. In 2022, two in three people globally used the internet. In late 2021, 55% of the world’s population had mobile broadband access. In low- and middle-income countries, 16% less women than men used mobile internet in 2021. An estimated 3.2 billion people do not use mobile internet services despite being covered by a mobile broadband network. Globally, 40% of primary, 50% of lower secondary and 65% of upper secondary schools are connected to the internet. In India, 53% of private unaided and 44% of private aided schools are connected, compared with only 14% of government schools.

Various policies are used to improve access to devices. Some one in five countries have policies granting subsidies or deductions to buy devices. One-to-one technology programmes were established in 30% of countries at one time; currently only 15% of countries pursue such programmes. A number of upper-middle- and high-income countries are shifting from providing devices to allowing students to use their own devices in school. Jamaica adopted a Bring Your Own Device policy framework in 2020 to aim for sustainability.

Some countries champion free and open source software. Education institutions with complex ICT infrastructure, such as universities, can benefit from open source software to add new solutions or functionalities. By contrast, proprietary software does not permit sharing and has vendor locks that hinder interoperability, exchange and updates. In India, the National e-Governance Plan makes it mandatory for all software applications and services used in government to be built on open source software to achieve efficiency, transparency, reliability and affordability.

Countries are committed to universal internet provision at home and in school. About 85% of countries have policies to improve school or learner connectivity and 38% have laws on universal internet provision. A review of 72 low- and middle-income countries found that 29 had used universal service funds to reduce costs for underserved groups. In Kyrgyzstan, renegotiated contracts helped cut prices by nearly half and almost doubled internet speed. In Costa Rica, the Hogares Conectados (Connected Households) programme, which provided an internet cost subsidy to the poorest 60% of households with school-age children, helped reduce the share of unconnected households from 41% in 2016 to 13% in 2019. Zero-rating, or providing free internet access for education or other purposes, has been used, especially during COVID-19, but is not without problems, as it violates the net neutrality principle.

Education technology is often underutilized. In the United States, an average of 67% of education software licences were unused and 98% were not used intensively. According to the EdTech Genome Project, 85% of some 7,000 pedagogical tools, which cost USD 13 billion, were ‘either a poor fit or implemented incorrectly’. Less than one in five of the top 100 education technology tools used in classrooms met the requirements of the US Every Student Succeeds Act. Research had been published for 39% of these tools but the research was aligned with the act in only 26% of cases.

Evidence needs to drive education technology decisions. A review in the United Kingdom found that only 7% of education technology companies had conducted randomized controlled trials, 12% had used third-party certification and 18% had engaged in academic studies. An online survey of teachers and administrators in 17 US states showed that only 11% requested peer-reviewed evidence prior to adopting education technology. Recommendations influence purchase decisions, yet ratings can be manipulated through fake reviews disseminated on social media. Few governments try to fill the evidence gap, so demand has grown for independent reviews. Edtech Tulna, a partnership between a private think tank and a public university in India, offers quality standards, an evaluation toolkit and publicly available expert reviews.

Education technology procurement decisions need to take economic, social and environmental sustainability into account. With respect to economic considerations, it is estimated that initial investment in education technology accounts for just 25% or less of the eventual total cost. Regarding social concerns, procurement processes need to address equity, accessibility, local ownership and appropriation. In France, the Territoires Numériques Educatifs (Digital Educational Territories) initiative was criticized because not all subsidized equipment met local needs, and local governments were left out of the decisions on which equipment to purchase. Both issues have since been addressed. Concerning environmental considerations, it has been estimated that extending the lifespan of all laptops in the European Union by a year would save the equivalent of taking almost 1 million cars off the road in terms of CO2 emissions.

Regulation needs to address risks in education technology procurement. Public procurement is vulnerable to collusion and corruption. In 2019, Brazil’s Comptroller General of the Union found irregularities in the electronic bidding process for the purchase of 1.3 million computers, laptops and notebooks for state and municipal public schools. Decentralizing public procurement to local governments is one way to balance some of the risks. Indonesia has used its SIPLah e-commerce platform to support school-level procurement processes. However, decentralization is vulnerable to weak organizational capacity. A survey of administrators in 54 US school districts found that they had rarely carried out needs assessments.

GOVERNANCE AND REGULATION

Governance of the education technology system is fragmented. A department or an agency responsible for education technology has been identified in 82% of countries. Placing education ministries in charge of education technology strategies and plans could help ensure that decisions are primarily based on pedagogical principles. However, this is the case in just 58% of countries. In Kenya, the 2019 National Information, Communications and Technology Policy led the Ministry of Information, Communications and Technology to integrate ICT at all levels of education.

Participation is often limited in the development of education technology strategies and plans. Nepal established a Steering and a Coordination Committee under the 2013–17 ICT in Education Master Plan for intersectoral and inter-agency coordination and cooperation in its implementation. Including administrators, teachers and students can help bridge the knowledge gap with decision makers to ensure that education technology choices are appropriate. In 2022, only 41% of US education sector leaders agreed that they were regularly included in planning and strategic conversations about technology.

The private sector’s commercial interests can clash with government equity, quality and efficiency goals. In India, the government alerted families about the hidden costs of free online content. Other risks relate to data use and protection, privacy, interoperability and lock-in effects, whereby students and teachers are compelled to use specific software or platforms. Google, Apple and Microsoft produce education platforms tied to particular hardware and operating systems.

Privacy risks to children make their learning environment unsafe. One analysis found that 89% of 163 education technology products recommended for children’s learning during the COVID-19 pandemic could or did watch children outside school hours or education settings. In addition, 39 of 42 governments providing online education during the pandemic fostered uses that ‘risked or infringed’ upon children’s rights. Data used for predictive algorithms can bias predictions and decisions and lead to discrimination, privacy violations and exclusion of disadvantaged groups. The Cyberspace Administration of China and the Ministry of Education introduced regulations in 2019 requiring parental consent before devices powered by AI, such as cameras and headbands, could be used with students in schools and required data to be encrypted.

Children’s exposure to screen time has increased. A survey of screen time of parents of 3- to 8-year-olds in Australia, China, Italy, Sweden and the United States found that their children’s screen exposure increased by 50 minutes during the pandemic for both education and leisure. Extended screen time can negatively affect self-control and emotional stability, increasing anxiety and depression. Few countries have strict regulations on screen time. In China, the Ministry of Education limited the use of digital devices as teaching tools to 30% of overall teaching time. Less than one in four countries are banning the use of smartphones in schools. Italy and the United States have banned the use of specific tools or social media from schools. Cyberbullying and online abuse are rarely defined as offences but can fall under existing laws, such as stalking laws as in Australia and harassment laws in Indonesia.

Monitoring of data protection law implementation is needed. Only 16% of countries explicitly guarantee data privacy in education by law and 29% have a relevant policy, mainly in Europe and Northern America. The number of cyberattacks in education is rising. Such attacks increase exposure to theft of identity and other personal data, but capacity and funds to address the issue are often insufficient. Globally, 5% of all ransomware attacks targeted the education sector in 2022, accounting for more than 30% of cybersecurity breaches. Regulations on sharing children’s personal information are rare but are starting to emerge under the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation. China and Japan have binding instruments on protecting children’s data and information.

Technology has an impact on the teaching profession. Technology allows teachers to choose, modify and generate educational materials. Personalized learning platforms offer teachers customized learning paths and insights based on student data. During the COVID-19 pandemic, France facilitated access to 17 online teaching resource banks mapped against the national curriculum. The Republic of Korea temporarily eased copyright restrictions for teachers. Online teacher-student collaboration platforms provide access to support services, facilitate work team creation, allow participation in virtual sessions and promote sharing of learning materials.

Obstacles to integrating technology in education prevent teachers from fully embracing it. Inadequate digital infrastructure and lack of devices hinder teachers’ ability to integrate technology in their practice. A survey in 165 countries during the pandemic found that two in five teachers used their own devices, and almost one third of schools had only one device for education use. Some teachers lack training to use digital devices effectively. Older teachers may struggle to keep up with rapidly changing technology. The 2018 Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) found that older teachers in 48 education systems had weaker skills and lower self-efficacy in using ICT. Some teachers may lack confidence. Only 43% of lower secondary school teachers in the 2018 TALIS said they felt prepared to use technology for teaching after training, and 78% of teachers in the 2018 ICILS were not confident in using technology for assessment.

Education systems support teachers in developing technology-related professional competencies. About half of education systems worldwide have ICT standards for teachers in a competency framework, teacher training framework, development plan or strategy. Education systems set up annual digital education days for teachers, promote OER, support the exchange of experiences and resources between teachers, and offer training. One quarter of education systems have legislation to ensure teachers are trained in technology, either through initial or in-service training. Some 84% of education systems have strategies for in-service teacher professional development, compared with 72% for pre-service teacher education in technology. Teachers can identify their development needs using digital self-assessment tools such as that provided by the Centre for Innovation in Brazilian Education.

Technology is changing teacher training. Technology is used to create flexible learning environments, engage teachers in collaborative learning, support coaching and mentoring, increase reflective practice, and improve subject or pedagogical knowledge. Distance education programmes have promoted teacher learning in South Africa and even equalled the impact of in-person training in Ghana. Virtual communities have emerged, primarily through social networks, for communication and resource sharing. About 80% of teachers surveyed in the Caribbean belonged to professional WhatsApp groups and 44% used instant messaging to collaborate at least once a week. In Senegal, the Reading for All programme used in-person and online coaching. Teachers considered face-to-face coaching more useful, but online coaching cost 83% less and still achieved a significant, albeit small, improvement in how teachers guided students’ reading practice. In Flanders, Belgium, KlasCement, a teacher community network created by a non-profit and now run by the Ministry of Education, expanded access to digital education and provided a platform for discussions on distance education during the pandemic.

Many actors support teacher professional development in ICT. Universities, teacher training institutions and research institutes provide specialized training, research opportunities and partnerships with schools for professional development in ICT. In Rwanda, universities collaborated with teachers and the government to develop the ICT Essentials for Teachers course. Teacher unions also advocate for policies that support teachers. The Confederation of Education Workers of the Argentine Republic established the right of teachers to disconnect. Civil society organizations, including the Carey Institute for Global Good, offer support through initiatives such as providing OER and online courses for refugee teachers in Chad, Kenya, Lebanon and Niger.

Digital Technologies in Education

The use of information and communication technologies in education can play a crucial role in providing new and innovative forms of support to teachers, students, and the learning process more broadly.

The World Bank Group is the largest financier of education in the developing world, working on education programs in more than 80 countries to provide quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all.

The WBG works in partnership with governments and organizations worldwide to support innovative projects, timely research, and knowledge sharing activities about the effective and appropriate use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in education systems -- "EdTech" -- to strengthen learning and contribute to poverty reduction around the world, as part of its larger work related to education .

The World Bank estimated the levels of “Learning Poverty” across the globe by measuring the number of 10-year old children who cannot read and understand a simple story by the end of primary school. In low- and middle-income countries “learning poverty” stands at 53%, while for the poorest countries, this is 80% on average.  With the spread of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), 180+ countries mandated temporary school closures, leaving ~1.6 billion children and youth out of school at its height and affecting approximately 85% of children world-wide. While most countries are working towards re-opening schools, there are still intermittent closures and use of hybrid learning. 

Reflecting on COVID Response and Remote Learning

Technology played and continues to play an essential role to deliver education to the students outside of school. Commendably, all countries were able to deploy remote learning technologies using a combination of TV, Radio, Online and Mobile Platforms. However, many children in low income countries did not participate in remote learning with about a third of low income countries reporting that 50% of children had not been reached in a joint UNESCO-UNICEF-World Bank survey . The pandemic has also led to significant losses in learning. School closures and limited access to remote learning means that Learning Poverty is likely to worsen from 53% to 63% especially in low-income countries if no remediation interventions are taken.  

The crisis has starkly highlighted the inequalities in digital access and that ‘business as usual’ will not work for delivery of education to all children. To close the digital divides in Education and leverage the power of technology to accelerate learning, reduce learning poverty, and support skills development a focus must be placed in bridging the gaps in: i) digital infrastructure (connectivity, devices and software); ii) human infrastructure (teacher capacity, student skills and parental support); and iii) logistical and administrative systems to deploy and maintain tech architecture.

Education systems must adapt. It is against this backdrop that the EdTech team at the World Bank has identified five key questions to address in the short to medium term. These questions touch on the need to re-imagine education, to provide an equitable, engaging and fun learning experience for all children.

How can countries leverage EdTech investments to develop resilient hybrid learning systems?   This question requires both reflecting on the lessons from implementation of remote learning during COVID and addressing the new digital infrastructure access divide.  The World Bank is working with countries to identify how to address issues of affordable connectivity, device procurement, cloud solutions and multi-modal delivery of education.  Moreover, the investments that countries have made in remote learning could be leveraged address existing challenges in education. Many countries are now thinking about a dual role for remote learning: as an insurance policy against future calamites especially in a world experiencing climate change as well as a way to reach out of school children and provide a lifelong education to all citizens.  

How can countries recover learning loss, more effectively harness data and personalize learning with technology? The World Bank is deepening its work on adaptive learning systems, remote assessment and how education systems can more effectively use learning analytics to personalize education.  A major part of this work will be developing a new strategy for Education Management Information Systems (EMIS 2.0) to support more effective use of data.  

What are the changing roles and new skills for teachers in hybrid learning systems and how can additional human connections be leveraged through technology? The World Bank is exploring teacher competency frameworks, teacher networks, and communities of innovative teachers to support countries to empower teachers.  Teachers are still central to learning even, or rather, especially in an environment rich with technology. Evidence is growing that bypassing Teachers and not engaging them with technology does not lead to student learning improvement.

How can countries leverage open technology ecosystems to expand access to quality content and learning experiences? The World Bank will collaborate with partners developing open global public goods and strategies to engage the large ecosystem of innovators in client countries to support the design and development of new educational content and curriculum.  The team will develop communities of practice around EdTech innovation hubs and creative talent to develop new open educational libraries.  A key content area of focus will be climate change.

How can technology support the development, measurement and accreditation of future skills? The World Bank will support countries to define 21st century competencies in students and teachers; explore ways to more effectively measure these skills and accredit these skills in collaboration with external partners sharing knowledge and experience in communities of practice on hard to measure skills and blockchain for education.  

Education technology by itself is not a panacea

Though investment in EdTech has been increasing, learning and outcomes as a result have not changed considerably in many countries. An OECD report found that, when it comes to impact of computer usage in schools as measured through PISA, “impact on student performance is mixed, at best."  COVID however has changed the debate on EdTech from a question of if to a question of how.  Experience to date highlights that teaching and learning remotely is not the same as face-to-face pedagogy.  Many teachers with access to e-content, for instance, use it like any another textbook to read from in class.  Some adjustments include shorter and more modular content, more engaging content such as edutainment, continuous feedback, smaller group on-line discussions on more open-ended questions. Education at its heart is about human connections and relationships.  While we can never replace the magic that happens between great teachers and students in an in-person environment, we should focus on the social aspects of technology to enhance connections from a distance. Much more attention must be directed on how technology will enhance teaching and learning in a blended learning environment reaching students, both in school and at home.

World Bank EdTech Strategy

As education systems invest in EdTech, the World Bank advocates these five principles for how to design and implement technology to re-imagine education:

1. ASK WHY:   EdTech policies need to be developed with a clear purpose, strategy and vision of the intended education change to address the learning crisis.

If technology is the answer, what is the question? Education technology should be focused on the “education” and not just on the “technology”. Before investing in and deploying EdTech, policymakers must ask what education challenges need to be addressed and what resulting change is desired.  Policies must be holistic to account for teacher capacity and incentives, appropriate digital learning resources linked to the curriculum, and formative assessments that capture learning.  Education at its core is a human-centered socially intensive endeavor. Technology is a means to these goals.

2. DESIGN FOR SCALE: EdTech design should be flexible and user-centered with equity and inclusion at its heart in order to realize scale and sustainability for all.

Design for scale begins with proactive engagement and empathy for all possible end-users -- students, teachers, administrators, parents, etc. Engagement with different users will reveal different needs. Understanding these needs will lead to inclusive and flexible designs that will be equitable and hence scalable.  Today, the use of EdTech has demonstrated and is exacerbating inequities in education systems.  This need not be the case.  Beginning the design process with how technology can be utilized for all will lead to initiatives that are equitable and adaptable to specific contexts and thereby sustainable at scale.

3. EMPOWER TEACHERS: Technology should enhance teacher engagement with students through access to content, data and networks allowing them to focus on personalized student learning.EdTech cannot replace teachers, it can only augment teaching.

Evidence from around the world shows that, over time, the role of teachers become more central, and not peripheral, as the result of the effective use of EdTech.  Technology will replace some of what teachers currently do, while at the same time supporting teachers as they take on new, often more sophisticated duties and responsibilities as a result of technological change. Teachers can be facilitators of learning, part of a learning team, a collaborator with outside expert mentors, a team leader on a project-based learning activity, etc. At the same time, in those circumstances where there is a scarcity of teachers or low-capacity teachers, technology can play an important role in assisting learners to, in part, overcome this absence. Where teachers lack content or pedagogical knowledge, technology can support structured lesson plans or text-based nudges to build this capacity. Teachers’ use of technology will empower them to leverage an array of resources to provide more focused, personalized learning to students.

4. ENGAGE THE ECOSYSTEM: Education systems should take a whole of government and multi-stakeholder approach to engage and incorporate the most innovative ideas to support student learning.Ministries of Education should leverage all stakeholders in the education system when developing and implementing EdTech programs and policies. The best content, software, applications, algorithms and edutainment will be spread across many innovators in the country and around the world.

Ministries of Education should actively identify ways to find, incentive, integrate and sustain the creators in their country. This content can be delivered over the most appropriate channel – radio, TV, mobile, web – and bundled with data on learning and feedback to support continuous learning.  This ecosystem includes key stakeholders such as students, teachers, school leaders, parents, NGOs, donors and the private sector including app developers, publishers, equipment manufacturers, telecommunication companies and cloud service providers. Clearly, EdTech requires that all these actors work in concert to a common goal taking a “whole of government approach.” Successful EdTech policies and deployments requires that Ministries of Education leverage all stakeholders – inside and outside the education system.

5. DATA DRIVEN: Transparent standards and interoperable data architecture supports evidence-based decision making and a culture of learning and experimentation.

Technology can and should be used to easily collect data from educational institutions, analyze this data and support decision making. Technology is currently available to measure outcomes, track student performance, manage student retention, track book distribution, manage teacher recruitment, track education system spending, etc. Without these, countries will not be as efficient in supporting schools, students and teachers. This data however is diffused through various systems in Ministries of Education and other parts of government. Countries must have flexible, scalable systems that avoid data silos that don’t talk to one another and vendor-lock in (where future decisions on the use of EdTech are constrained by technology choices made in the past). To operationalize this principle, Ministries of Education should promote transparent standards that facilitate interoperability of systems, data and content and remove barriers to competition in order to promote a data-driven decision-making culture.  Many times, learnings from this data is not fed back into the system.  A culture of gathering rigorous data about the ‘impact of EdTech’ must be priority. With the pace of technological change, evidence quickly becomes stale. Hence, constant learning through iteration, controlled experimentation, and nimble evaluations is critical to separate ‘hope’ from 'hype' surrounding different technologies and informing all further EdTech decisions. The culture of data-driven decision making must be strengthened.

In order to operationalize these principles, the World Bank focuses on the discovery, diffusion and deployment of new technologies.  

Discover, document, generate and analyze evidence-based technology solutions in education attuned to developing countries. 

The World Bank supports the EdTech community across countries to discover new innovations, build the evidence base and facilitate the transformation of ministries of education into learning organizations. In some sense, policy makers are supported to think like a system, but act like entrepreneurs. This is achieved through institutional support for Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) into projects that use EdTech; the inclusion of partnerships with like-minded organizations and the development of global public goods that can be used across multiple countries.

Diffuse this knowledge widely across policy makers in our client countries and support capacity development to better use this new knowledge. The World Bank promotes multi-stakeholder approaches, including partnerships beyond the traditional education sector, to support the effective, appropriate and impactful use of EdTech.

The World Bank works in partnership with governments, academic institutions, non-governmental organizations, private companies, civil society and communities worldwide to support innovative projects, timely research, and knowledge-sharing about EdTech with the ultimate goal of improving teaching and learning. To do this, it invests in the capabilities of its staff to identify and lead partnerships, drawing on relevant experience and expertise. The World Bank also recognizes the role played by the private sector and seeks to harness its innovation and ingenuity to strengthen efficiencies in the public sector.  This approach of networking expertise is critical to ensure that EdTech experiences are effectively shared across regions and that last-mile support to educational institutions supports implementation of government programs.

Deploy solutions, at the pilot level and at scale, tackling adoption barriers (including in procurement) and in ways informed by evidence, and which allow for efficient course correction. The World Bank supports countries as they seek to strengthen and expand existing educational practices and approaches through the use of new technologies, as well as to transform them. The World Bank works with partners to develop digital global public goods that adhere to its 5 EdTech principles. These digital global public goods are digitized knowledge and ideas that countries can build upon and adapt to their contexts.

To execute this strategy the World Bank will provide support to countries through lending operations, partnership networks, and development of digital global public goods in support of the overall World Bank education approach.

Reimagining Human Connections: Technology and Innovation in Education at the World Bank

Current and Past Projects

Notable recent projects include:

• In Burundi, the Burundi Skills for Jobs: Women and Youth aims at supporting job creation for women and youth, with a focus on digital skills and support the creation of a new Institute of Computer Science/Computer Engineering and Digital Transformation, anchored at the University of Burundi in partnership with world class universities.
• In Nigeria, the Edo Basic Education Sector and Skills Transformation Operation leverages technology to improve  teaching  and  learning  processes  in  basic  education  and has institutionalized remote learning EdoBEST@Home program to provide access to all students outside school.
• In Pakistan, the Higher Education Development Project  includes support to equip Students and Higher Education Institutions with Modern Technology and to leverage technology to improve the teaching, learning and research environment in Pakistan including upgrading Pakistan’s National Research and Education Network (NREN)).
• In Morocco, the pandemic created an electroshock on the education system that motivated the country to come up with a new system that prepares the schools for the new realities and for the future of education. Classrooms are kept smaller and new methods of teaching have been developed to enable teachers to animate classes in a way that students understand better. In addition, the schools are more connected than ever. System of evaluation of the new way of teaching and learning is being developed. Complementing, but not replacing in-person teaching by online classes. Developing pedagogical models that support the return to school and provide different learning formats for different situations/students. Morocco is introducing a hybrid-model for families to choose.
• In Turkey, an COVID emergency response Project – Safe Schooling and Distance Education Project aims to build future resilience in the education system by creating a new hybrid learning model to support access to digital resources, improve connectivity and access to education data. The Project will also build out the national ecosystem of innovators to support the development of new learning resources and build capacity of teachers to effectively use these digital resources to support hybrid learning.  
• EVOKE, an online alternate reality game supporting social innovation among young people around the world including a latest iteration on use of Blockchain for conditional cash transfer in Colombia. Also support for FabLabs in higher education institutions in countries like Bangladesh, research into the use of e-readers in schools in Lagos, and pilots of the Khan Academy in Nigeria and Guyana.
• Join Upcoming Events (Twitter Announcements)
• Learn about Past Events (Events Archive)

Resources 

We release a number of publications each year on specific projects and themes related to technology and innovation in education.  See attached a sample of some of these resources linked to the critical questions we will address in the coming year:

1. How can countries leverage EdTech investments to develop resilient hybrid learning systems?  

• What is Hybrid Learning?
• Exploring the potential of Digital Infrastructure
• Understanding the perceived effectiveness of remote learning – lessons from 18 countries
• How can countries implement low tech remote learning?
• Remote Learning During COVID-19 – how to implement multi-channel delivery

2. How can countries recover learning loss, more effectively harness data and personalize learning with technology? 

• Mitigating learning losses and accelerating learning through Adaptive Learning
• Considering an adaptive learning system – a roadmap for policy makers
• Remote Assessment – Potential of phone-based formative assessments to support learning continuity

3. What are the changing roles and new skills for teachers in hybrid learning systems and how can additional human connections be leveraged through technology?  

• Supporting teachers in the age of the pandemic
• The Changing Role of Teachers and Technologies amidst the COVID-19 pandemic  
• Transforming how teachers use technology
• How to use technology to help teacher be better

4. How can countries leverage open technology ecosystems to expand access to quality content and learning experiences?  

• Open Learning Management Systems – How to select and evaluate
• Open Educational Resources are free but you still need to invest to use them

5. How can technology support the development, measurement and accreditation of future skills?   

• Reimagining Youth Skills
• Leveraging Blockchain
• Digital Learning and Skills part I

Comprehensive list of past publications (Archive)

Download Knowledge Packs

Knowledge Packs are resources developed by the World Bank’s EdTech team to serve as short, practical guides on individual topics within education technology. 

• Virtual and XR Laboratories for Workforce Development (pdf, last version September 2023)
• Education TV Knowledge Pack  – (pdf, last version June 2020)
• EdTech Knowledge Pack on Remote Learning response to COVID-19 (pdf, last draft 8 April 2020). 
• EduRadio knowledge pack
• Mobile Distance & Hybrid Education Solutions knowledge pack
• More COVID-19-specific resources

Founded in 2019, the EdTech Hub was established to accelerate progress toward ending the global learning crisis by increasing the use of evidence to inform decision-making about education technology. Technology has the potential to help address the global learning crisis. But that potential is not yet being realised. Some reasons for this include:

• incomplete understanding of what works and what does not
• many under-researched issues
• intervention designs are often not evidence-based
• policy decisions are often not evidence-based
• stakeholders are disconnected
• the evidence that does exist is not easily accessible

The EdTech Hub aims to address these gaps. The EdTech Hub will synthesize existing evidence, conduct new research, support innovations to scale, and provide advisory support to governments and other country partners.

The EdTech Hub is collaboratively run by a partnership of organisations: Overseas Development Institute, Faculty of Education at the University of Cambridge, Results for Development, Open Development and Education, Brink, Jigsaw Consult, BRAC, Afrilabs and eLearning Africa. The EdTech Hub is funded by the UK Department for International Development, the World Bank and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Education Continuity Partnership under COVID-19 with OECD, Harvard & HundrED

In the wake of COVID-19, the Harvard Global Education Innovation Initiative , HundrED , the OECD Directorate for Education and Skills and the World Bank Group Education Global Practice is gathering information from around the world on the education response to the crisis. This includes a series of webinar conversations and a series of education stories.

Strategic Impact Evaluation Fund ( SIEF )

The World Bank’s Strategic Impact Evaluation Fund (SIEF) supports scientifically rigorous research that measures the impact of programs and policies to improve education, health, access to quality water and sanitation, and early childhood development in low and middle income countries. The majority of the evaluations are randomized control trials (RCTs) and they were chosen through a competitive process open to researchers worldwide.

On July 29, 2020, SIEF announced six evaluation teams that will receive funding through SIEF’s COVID-19 emergency window . These evaluations will rapidly generate evidence on how to keep students engaged with learning and remote education at home and how to prepare them for the return to school. Each evaluation will also collect detailed cost data that can help shed light on the resources required for scale and sustained implementation. Teams include: Bangladesh, Ecuador, Ghana, Guatemala, Pakistan, Sierra Leone.

Global EdTech Readiness Index Partnership

The Global Edtech Readiness Index is part of the Global Education Policy Dashboard (GEPD) funded by a partnership between the World Bank, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, U.K.'s Department for International Development and government of Japan.

The World Bank, with support from Imaginable Futures has created the EdTech Readiness Index (ETRI). The tool will enable countries to: (a) identify good practices and areas where EdTech policies can be strengthened, and (b) monitor progress as countries take action. 

The ETRI goes beyond measuring the availability of devices and the level of connectivity to capture key elements of the larger education-technology ecosystem in a country, guiding efforts to increase learning opportunities and reduce inequalities. ETRI is organized around 6 pillars: School Management, Teachers, Students, Devices, Connectivity, and Digital Resources. For each pillar, the ETRI reports on a practice indicator (to capture the practices at the school level), a de jure policy indicator (to capture whether there is a policy to inform each practice), and a de facto policy indicator (to measure the extent to which the policy is implemented)

Continuity and Acceleration of Learning

The Continuous and Accelerated Learning (CAL) program aims to support multi-modal continuous learning by supporting the development, dissemination and delivery at scale of new and existing global public goods and regional learning continuity approaches, in the short term to offset the impacts of school closures, and in the medium to long term to ensure continuity and accelerate learning after schools re-open while building resilience into the education system. Support will be focused on improving foundational learning and lowering learning poverty by adapting to students’, teachers’ and parents’ needs, anywhere, anytime in a more inclusive, equitable, effective and resilient way than pre-COVID-19.

As part of the Continuous and Accelerated Learning (CAL) program “Teachers for a Changing World: Transforming Teacher Professional Development Spotlight” (T4T) in partnership with HundrED a created a global contest to identify and promote scalable and impactful solutions for teacher professional development using technology.

The CAL work is supported by GPE and other donors and involves partnerships with UNESCO and UNICEF.

Reimagine Education: Digital Learning for Every Child Everywhere with UNICEF

UNICEF and the World Bank are joining forces to support countries to use technology as an accelerator to address key global education challenges related to equitable access to quality and relevant learning.  This partnership will build on, extend, and complement existing global joint initiatives partnerships and programs that use digital technology to address the learning crisis. It also supports the improvement of teachers’ effectiveness in the classroom; student development of skills needed to succeed in school, work, and life; connecting all schools to the Internet; and research on technological innovations for education. This partnership is unique, representing the convergence and alignment of the World Bank and UNICEF’s global and country-level expertise, reach and ability to support implementation at scale. 

mEducation Alliance

The mEducation Alliance is a non-governmental organization focused on the evidence-driven and sustainable role of technology in education to  advance quality educational outcomes. Formed in 2010, the mEducation Alliance is a  unique, multi-stakeholder convening platform for government and donor policymakers, other investors, researchers, and practitioners to work together, particularly in lower-resource, developing country contexts.

The mEducation Alliance is dedicated to strengthening formal and non-formal educational systems by:

• Convening: connecting EdTech investors, policymakers, and practitioners;
• Communicating: sharing good practices within the global EdTech community; and,
• Catalyzing: accelerating EdTech investments and the scaling of promising interventions and initiatives.

Key mEducation Alliance Key Activities and Product Highlights

• Ecosystem building for and acceleration of EdTech interventions
• Dissemination of good practices via a variety of multimedia channels
• Annual Symposia and other networking events (virtual and in person)
• EdTech research profiles and research roundtables
• Landscape and literature reviews
• Investment consultations for donors and EdTech service providers
• Catalyzing education grand challenges and competition calls
• Working groups for donors and policymakers
• Launch and support of a range of signature EdTech initiatives (e.g, Math Attacks!, Young Digital Champions, EdTech Academy)

The World Bank is an alliance member, along with the British Council, EdTech Hub, GIZ, Gesci, Global Partnership for Education, GSMA, IAmLearn, IDRC CRDI, ISTE, ITU, KERIS, Norad, OAS, Peace Corps, SPRIDER, US State Department, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNESCO, DFID, USAID, World Vision, World Wide Web Foundation, Brookings, and ADEA.

Publications

Flyer: EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY OR ‘EDTECH’ – April 2022

Blog:  EdTech hope or hype? Insights from East Asia Pacific

EduTech Blog Series

STAY CONNECTED

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A list of our current and past projects.

The project investigates the relationship between at-scale teacher professional development with technology, and the teaching and learning of numeracy skills in primary schools in Bangladesh.

A new approach to doctorate supervision

An innovative doctorate supervision approach in collaboration with a Natural History Museum in the US

The ARIDLL project aims to develop a cooperation partnership and a professional community in Augmented Reality (AR) instructional design for language learning.

The Every1 consortium brings together leading experts in energy, education, energy ecosystems and the social sciences to enable all European stakeholders to participate effectively in the digital energy market.

ExtenDT² aims to use Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality, 3D printing; and Virtual Robotics technologies, to enhance the pedagogical value, sustainable digitization and potential for wide deployment of Design Thinking - a promising pedagogical innovation that promotes learning through co-creation.

A global network for PhD candidates with a focus on open education

Informing the National Curriculum and Youth Policy for Peacebuilding in Kyrgyzstan, Rwanda, Indonesia and Nepal.

The project explores the impact of the growing use of digital/mobile technologies on regional and local ecologies of teaching, assessment and learning of English (TALE) in the four most populous countries in East and South Asia – Bangladesh, China, India, and Indonesia.

The PRIME project will broaden understanding of online harm and how it can be mitigated through new systems, tools and processes by focusing on Minority Ethnic (ME) communities' experiences of digitalised services, particularly in the areas of housing, health and energy.

Relationship between TOEFL iBT and Academic Writing Practices in English-Medium Universities in South Asia

This study explores the relationship between the TOEFL iBT test (Writing section) and academic writing practices in six universities in India, Bangladesh, and Nepal where English is the medium of instruction.

The iLED project aims to enhance digital readiness, resilience and capacity of HE through purposeful use of innovative digital pedagogies, tools and learning design.

Supporting people of all ages to design and take part in citizen science and citizen inquiry investigations

Exploring how virtual assistants could enhance disability support across the education sector.

ADMINS investigates administrative process, assessing the accessibility issues which affect students within higher education

Collecting positive mental health stories

ARETE builds a Europe-wide competitive ecosystem that supports fast dissemination of multi-user interactive augmented learning content

The Data-informed Learning Design for Future Schools project uses learning analytics to investigate the efficacy of patterns of learning design activities in online courses.

Beyond Prototypes

The Beyond Prototypes report provides an in-depth examination of the processes of innovation in technology-enhanced learning (TEL) and sets out what can be done to improve the process of moving from academic research and innovative prototypes to effective and sustainable products and practices.

This EU-funded project tackled the European challenge of enabling businesses, labour forces and universities to modernise; developing cross-sector knowledge exchange; and co-ordinating their activities and exploitation of the potential of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs).

Creating a rankings system to measure the of quality of online education comparing online universities and with face-to-face universities.

Changing Pedagogic Landscape

This project examined system level influences on pedagogic change at university level across Europe. The project focused on three areas that can influence pedagogic change at the national level: Curriculum, Funding and Quality Assurance.

CitSci diaries

Enhancing the engagement of citizens within science participation communities is a focus of attention for researchers and practitioners who want to amplify the impact on learning, science and society.

Close-Up on Heritage Language Learners: An Inquiry project

Close-up on Heritage Language Learners is an exploratory project that examines the integration of web and mobile technologies in the heritage language classroom.

Complex Trajectories

The ‘Complex Trajectories’ project explores how universities can better support students moving between institutions, changing course mid-study, or changing study mode.

Developmental Coordination Disorder Stigma Capture

Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD/Dyspraxia), is a common, lifelong, yet understudied movement coordination disorder, affecting everyday activities, and often complicated by stigma and isolation from peers. We will investigate the stigma that people with this disorder expertience.

Digital Badges for Teacher Professional Development in India

To explore the range of ways that digital badge technology could be used to support effective teaching practice and professional development at scale with a focus on India.

Digital Decisions

Analysing decision making by staff in African higher education institutions as they move to greater use of online and digital technologies in their teaching.

European SLPs for continuous professional development and lifelong learning.European SLPs for continuous professional development and lifelong learning

Enabling scalable, flexible training on MOOC platforms for the European labour market

Supporting uptake and innovation in OER to build the European educational ecosystems of tomorrow.

This project proposes to examine the impact of Augmented Reality (AR) in the training of users on the assembly of composite materials.

Our project focuses on determining equitable access to, and improving the quality of, international distance education (IDE) in South Africa.

Ed-ICT is an international network that brings together practitioners and researchers to share perspectives and bring about solutions on a world-wide scale.

Developing citizen science capacity in organisations and citizens

Empowering Design Practices

Empowering design practices is a five-year AHRC-funded research project that aims to explore how community-led design can help empower those who look after historic places of worship to create more open, vibrant and sustainable places that respect and enhance their heritage.

Engaging research in the digital university: A civil society perspective

Connecting open research and the public.

EVALUATE will test one online collaborative approach – telecollaborative exchange – and assess its impact on the development of linguistic, intercultural and digital-pedagogical competences for trainee teachers

ExplOERer was a European Commission co-funded project, under the Erasmus+ programme. ExplOERer aimed to promote Open Educational Resources (OER) adoption and re-use in educators’ professional practice.

The evaluation examines the Frontline Immigration Advice Project, one of Refugee Action’s flagship projects.

Facilitating equitable access and quality education for development: South African International Distance Education

This project focuses on two areas vital to the future success of IDE in Africa: equality of access to education, and the quality of that education.

Fleming Fund: Tackling AMR

Our work contributes to Global Actions to address the global challenge of rising drug resistance by providing and testing educational approaches to Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Education.

IET leads development of new standard for Augmented Reality Learning

ARLEM specifies how users can interact with both the real world and virtual augmentations.

Improving social capital for learning

This study gives insight into how people learn to become Wikipedia editors, highlighting the emerging roles and responsibilities.

Increasing diversity in GO-GN

Promoting diversity of the GO-GN Network in the Global South.

Learning analytics is the measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of data about learners and their contexts, for purposes of understanding and optimizing learning and the environments in which it occurs. The Learning Analytics Community Exchange originated as an FP7-funded European project. Its objectives are to promote the creation and exchange of knowledge, to build the knowledge base, to help guide the development of the field and to build consensus on interoperability and data sharing.

LAEP investigated the state of the art of learning analytics in Europe and beyond. It also looked at what may happen in the field during the next 10–15 years.

LEARN CitSci

This project investigates the best ways to engage young people with citizen science learning through a collaboration with National History Museums in the UK and US

Investigating how energy companies learn to work safer by distributing information about incidents

Learning Design Work Planning Tool

Developing an online tool to enable staff involved in course design and production to map the workload of a module.

Learning Gains

The HEFCE/Office for Students Learning Gains project aimed to explore an Affective-Behaviour-Cognition (ABC) model of learning, to broaden the concept of learning gain, and - more importantly - to develop, test, implement, and evaluate a range of measurements for learning gains at each of the ABC level.

Linked Journeys

This project built on the original design of Our Journey - an interface for students to represent their study journeys. It developed understanding of the links between the events that occur in these journeys, other forms of student data, and student mental health and wellbeing. This provides opportunities for feedback to the institution, dialogue between students and staff, and new forms of student support.

Mobile apps to support young children and maths learning.

MASELTOV recognises the major risks for social exclusion of immigrants from the European information society and identifies the huge potential of mobile services for promoting integration and cultural diversity in Europe.

MAZI means “together” in Greek and project aims to provide technology and knowledge to: Empower those who are in physical proximity, to shape their hybrid urban space, together, according to the specificities of the respective local environment. Generate location-based collective awareness as a basis for fostering social cohesion, conviviality, participation in decision-making processes, self-organization, knowledge sharing, and sustainable living. Facilitate interdisciplinary interactions around the design of hybrid space and the role of ICTs in society.

The METIS project aimed to facilitate the adoption of innovative pedagogies in online teaching.

This research examines how migration can foster inclusive economics across four African countries; Kenya, Nigeria, Mozambique and Ghana.

MOOC Italiano Inglese in Tandem

Developing a learning path for the development of language fluency in academic contexts.

OER Research Hub (OER Hub)

World leadership in open education research

OER World Map

The OER World Map is the place on the web where anyone involved in Open Education can share information, resources, experiences and ideas related to their work.

Examining existing practice of OOFAT (Open, Online, Flexible and Technology enhanced) learning in higher education across the globe, with a focus on exemplary distance provision models which have become common practice for some providers, but would require a pathway to innovation for many others.

OOFAT Models

Developing a deeper strategic understanding of contemporary education systems

Establishing modern methods for online open worldwide learning to be accessed by those who need it most.

OpenReal (pilot)

With this pilot, the Institute of Educational Technology (IET) seeks to evaluate the impact of eXtended Reality (XR) learning on student experience, engagement, and learning effectivity. Expanding from the pilot version of the OpenReal project, during the proof of concept phase IET will develop cost-efficient models for production and roll out of eXtended Reality (XR) learning across the student population of The Open University.

OpenReal (proof of concept)

How can we augment learning at home, at work, and in labs, workshops, or other professional environments with digital material in order to render learning at The Open University more engaging, authentic, apprehensible, and accessible?

Our Journey

A set of tools to support students to chart the highs and lows of their study journeys and the important events that happen along the way.

Delivering packages of teaching for educators in Africa

Pathways - e-Assessment for African Higher Education

Meeting the needs of African tertiary educators to develop understanding of e-assessment

The overall objective for RAPIDE is to co-create, implement and share innovative pedagogies and aligned assessment for relevant and inclusive digital education in order to deal with the COVID-19 induced and similar crises and to support meaningful digital transformation of HEIs on the EU level.

Exploring how the OU design students could work remotely.

The Reaching out to marginalised populations in low-income countries (ReMaLIC) project is collecting first-hand accounts of the educational experiences of marginalised young people aged 13-15, their parents and their teachers in four low-income countries in Africa and Asia.

Research disruption during PhD studies and its impact on mental health

While disruptions, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, have a negative impact on PhD students' mental health and research progress, there are ways to support them, such as providing access to mental health support services and encouraging approach coping behaviours.

SALSA explored how smartphones can be used to prompt language learning.

Social Transition Research into International Doctoral Experiences (STRIDE) is a UKCISA-funded project that seeks to understand and unpack the role of holistic social support networks in postgraduate students’ educational transitions, with a particular focus on international students.

Science learning with Angry Birds

The project examined the potential of game-based mobile applications to support science learning.

Skills for Prosperity Kenya

Skills for Prosperity Kenya is a programme funded to strengthen existing digital (online, blended) education capacity for selected Public Higher Education Institutions (HEIs).

Study on models for online, open, flexible and technology enhanced higher education

Exploring innovative, sustainable practice, examining Open, Online, Flexible and Technology enhanced.

Supportive Automated Feedback for Short Essay Answers

The aim of this research was to produce an effective automated interactive feedback system that provides an acceptable level of support for university students writing essays in a distance-learning or e-learning context.

The TeSLA project aimed to develop an e-assessment authentication system to help verify that learners in online assessments are who they say they are.

This projects responds to the need of Industry 4.0 that will develop and nurture the vision and solutions of how to accelerate the corresponding transition within HEIs - in the field of Computer Science and related disciplines - towards Education 4.0 where humans and technologies are aligned with the aim to enable achievement of skills, competences and knowledge necessary in 21st century.

Technology-enhanced Personalised Learning In Schools

A report to help German educators and policy makers make good informed decisions about how best to personalise learning in German schools.

The effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on OU students

This is an Open University (OU) Covid-19 Rapid Response project that explores the impact of Covid-19 on the wellbeing and progress of PhD students in the UK.

Understanding and Improving ‘Fair and Equitable Research Partnerships’ in Response to Global Challenges

This programme of strategic research and capacity building aimed to inform UKRI’s work on ‘fair and equitable research partnerships’ by eliciting a partners’ perspective on partnerships.

Virtual museums in the covid era

The VISITOR project will develop virtual visits to museums, via a game-based application, for schools to use and align with their curriculum activities.

The project aimed at devising evidence-based guidelines about the design of educational apps for children.

nQuire: Young Citizen Inquiry

The project aimed at supporting young people act as scientists.

How Important Is Technology in Education? Benefits, Challenges, and Impact on Students

Many of today’s high-demand jobs were created in the last decade, according to the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). As advances in technology drive globalization and digital transformation, teachers can help students acquire the necessary skills to succeed in the careers of the future.

How important is technology in education? The COVID-19 pandemic is quickly demonstrating why online education should be a vital part of teaching and learning. By integrating technology into existing curricula, as opposed to using it solely as a crisis-management tool, teachers can harness online learning as a powerful educational tool.

The effective use of digital learning tools in classrooms can increase student engagement, help teachers improve their lesson plans, and facilitate personalized learning. It also helps students build essential 21st-century skills.

Virtual classrooms, video, augmented reality (AR), robots, and other technology tools can not only make class more lively, they can also create more inclusive learning environments that foster collaboration and inquisitiveness and enable teachers to collect data on student performance.

Still, it’s important to note that technology is a tool used in education and not an end in itself. The promise of educational technology lies in what educators do with it and how it is used to best support their students’ needs.

Educational Technology Challenges

BuiltIn reports that 92 percent of teachers understand the impact of technology in education. According to Project Tomorrow, 59 percent of middle school students say digital educational tools have helped them with their grades and test scores. These tools have become so popular that the educational technology market is projected to expand to $342 billion by 2025, according to the World Economic Forum.

However, educational technology has its challenges, particularly when it comes to implementation and use. For example, despite growing interest in the use of AR, artificial intelligence, and other emerging technology, less than 10 percent of schools report having these tools in their classrooms, according to Project Tomorrow. Additional concerns include excessive screen time, the effectiveness of teachers using the technology, and worries about technology equity.

Prominently rising from the COVID-19 crisis is the issue of content. Educators need to be able to develop and weigh in on online educational content, especially to encourage students to consider a topic from different perspectives. The urgent actions taken during this crisis did not provide sufficient time for this. Access is an added concern — for example, not every school district has resources to provide students with a laptop, and internet connectivity can be unreliable in homes.

Additionally, while some students thrive in online education settings, others lag for various factors, including support resources. For example, a student who already struggled in face-to-face environments may struggle even more in the current situation. These students may have relied on resources that they no longer have in their homes.

Still, most students typically demonstrate confidence in using online education when they have the resources, as studies have suggested. However, online education may pose challenges for teachers, especially in places where it has not been the norm.

Despite the challenges and concerns, it’s important to note the benefits of technology in education, including increased collaboration and communication, improved quality of education, and engaging lessons that help spark imagination and a search for knowledge in students.

The Benefits of Technology in Education

Teachers want to improve student performance, and technology can help them accomplish this aim. To mitigate the challenges, administrators should help teachers gain the competencies needed to enhance learning for students through technology. Additionally, technology in the classroom should make teachers’ jobs easier without adding extra time to their day.

Technology provides students with easy-to-access information, accelerated learning, and fun opportunities to practice what they learn. It enables students to explore new subjects and deepen their understanding of difficult concepts, particularly in STEM. Through the use of technology inside and outside the classroom, students can gain 21st-century technical skills necessary for future occupations.

Still, children learn more effectively with direction. The World Economic Forum reports that while technology can help young students learn and acquire knowledge through play, for example, evidence suggests that learning is more effective through guidance from an adult, such as a teacher.

Leaders and administrators should take stock of where their faculty are in terms of their understanding of online spaces. From lessons learned during this disruptive time, they can implement solutions now for the future. For example, administrators could give teachers a week or two to think carefully about how to teach courses not previously online. In addition to an exploration of solutions, flexibility during these trying times is of paramount importance.

Below are examples of how important technology is in education and the benefits it offers to students and teachers.

Increased Collaboration and Communication

Educational technology can foster collaboration. Not only can teachers engage with students during lessons, but students can also communicate with each other. Through online lessons and learning games, students get to work together to solve problems. In collaborative activities, students can share their thoughts and ideas and support each other. At the same time, technology enables one-on-one interaction with teachers. Students can ask classroom-related questions and seek additional help on difficult-to-understand subject matter. At home, students can upload their homework, and teachers can access and view completed assignments using their laptops.

Personalized Learning Opportunities

Technology allows 24/7 access to educational resources. Classes can take place entirely online via the use of a laptop or mobile device. Hybrid versions of learning combine the use of technology from anywhere with regular in-person classroom sessions. In both scenarios, the use of technology to tailor learning plans for each student is possible. Teachers can create lessons based on student interests and strengths. An added benefit is that students can learn at their own pace. When they need to review class material to get a better understanding of essential concepts, students can review videos in the lesson plan. The data generated through these online activities enable teachers to see which students struggled with certain subjects and offer additional assistance and support.

Curiosity Driven by Engaging Content

Through engaging and educational content, teachers can spark inquisitiveness in children and boost their curiosity, which research says has ties to academic success. Curiosity helps students get a better understanding of math and reading concepts. Creating engaging content can involve the use of AR, videos, or podcasts. For example, when submitting assignments, students can include videos or interact with students from across the globe.

Improved Teacher Productivity and Efficiency

Teachers can leverage technology to achieve new levels of productivity, implement useful digital tools to expand learning opportunities for students, and increase student support and engagement. It also enables teachers to improve their instruction methods and personalize learning. Schools can benefit from technology by reducing the costs of physical instructional materials, enhancing educational program efficiency, and making the best use of teacher time.

Become a Leader in Enriching Classrooms through Technology

Educators unfamiliar with some of the technology used in education may not have been exposed to the tools as they prepared for their careers or as part of their professional development. Teachers looking to make the transition and acquire the skills to incorporate technology in education can take advantage of learning opportunities to advance their competencies. For individuals looking to help transform the education system through technology, American University’s School of Education online offers a Master of Arts in Teaching and a Master of Arts in Education Policy and Leadership to prepare educators with essential tools to become leaders. Courses such as Education Program and Policy Implementation and Teaching Science in Elementary School equip graduate students with critical competencies to incorporate technology into educational settings effectively.

Learn more about American University’s School of Education online and its master’s degree programs.

Virtual Reality in Education: Benefits, Tools, and Resources

Data-Driven Decision Making in Education: 11 Tips for Teachers & Administration

Helping Girls Succeed in STEM

BuiltIn, “Edtech 101”

EdTech, “Teaching Teachers to Put Tech Tools to Work”

International Society for Technology in Education, “Preparing Students for Jobs That Don’t Exist”

The Journal, “How Teachers Use Technology to Enrich Learning Experiences”

Pediatric Research, “Early Childhood Curiosity and Kindergarten Reading and Math Academic Achievement”

Project Tomorrow, “Digital Learning: Peril or Promise for Our K-12 Students”

World Economic Forum, “The Future of Jobs Report 2018”

World Economic Forum, “Learning through Play: How Schools Can Educate Students through Technology”

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64 Edtech Companies Changing the Way We Learn

These companies are shaping the industry, tackling questions of pedagogy and business one day at a time.

Edtech companies play a crucial role in upgrading education through  various technologies , especially with issues like accessibility and  remote learning in the spotlight. Education technology platforms, ebooks and game-based learning apps have fueled the desire for a tech-driven student experience. As a result, the edtech industry is expected to reach a valuation of $348.41 billion by 2030, despite hiccups in venture funding . 

This growth has led to an increasing number of edtech companies supporting schools, teachers and students. While education companies like Course Hero and Coursera offer students  online courses on specific topics, technology platforms like PowerSchool help teachers and administrators manage and track students’ progress.

5 Types of Edtech Companies

• Learning management platforms
• Online learning providers
• Interactive learning and gaming platforms
• Online studying and tutoring services
• Language learning platforms

An expanding edtech sector also means more jobs and a  greater demand for skilled professionals among edtech brands.  Front-end and back-end developers, UX designers and cybersecurity analysts are some of the most popular roles. While these jobs require knowledge in areas like  programming languages , data science and  UX design , edtech companies still look for well-rounded candidates.  Interpersonal skills like emotional intelligence aid tech workers in understanding and meeting the diverse needs of students, teachers and school systems.     

Expectations have never been higher for edtech companies, resulting in a thriving education technology ecosystem. From some of the biggest edtech companies to budding edtech startups, tech professionals have plenty of options when deciding how they want to improve the daily lives of students and teachers.

Edtech Companies to Watch

The following education technology companies are helping to shape the industry, tackling questions of pedagogy and business in the process.

Top Edtech Companies to Know

• Great Minds

Bright Horizons

• Skillsoft 
• Guild Education
• Multiverse 
• Dreambox Learning

Founded: 2012

Location: Austin, Texas

Aceable makes an app for driver’s education, which includes interactive courses and practice modalities that prepare students for the written driver’s test. Rather than attending in-person courses, students can use the app’s content to prepare, then get certified directly through the app, leaving only the practical driving test to perform in person.  

Pluralsight

Founded: 2004

Location: Draper, Utah

Pluralsight offers an extensive library of content to facilitate professional development throughout the tech industry. Its educational offerings cover everything from programming languages and mobile development to cloud architecture and IT automation. The company has a variety of solutions to serve business customers, including options to help with upskilling, taking on cloud transformation, enhancing security and onboarding engineers.

Location: Chicago, Illinois

AllCampus works with universities to manage their online academic programs so that they’re able to effectively connect with and engage current and prospective students. The company says it works with more than two dozen educational institutions , applying technology and expertise to provide various services from designing course curriculum to supporting students through the application and enrollment process.

Founded: 2011

Everspring is an edtech company that works with institutions to bring their content online. It offers remote program management and strategic planning for universities, along with marketing, instructional design and enrollment and student services. The company takes existing curricula and moves it online, making it accessible to students around the globe.

Founded: 2008

Location: Lanham, Maryland

2U is a digital education platform that makes high-level education accessible on a remote basis. The company began as an MIT professor’s realization that he could offer his courses online, with no gatekeeping, for free. Through its subsidiary edX, 2U partners with colleges and universities to bring their content and curricula to an online learning platform that facilitates everything from free single courses to degrees.

Founded: 2000

Location: Fully Remote

Amplify offers learning solutions for grades K-12 within schools across the U.S. The platform collaborates with educators to create core and supplemental curriculum and assessments. It focuses on several subjects like reading, math, science and ELA and enhances the learning experience with tutoring lessons for students and professional development plans for educators.

Great Minds®

Founded: 2007 

Location: Washington, D.C. 

As a knowledge company, Great Minds seeks to teach a deep understanding of the world through content-rich courses. From math to English, each Great Minds course integrates real-world contexts and core skill development. Courses also come with professional development and coaching resources for teachers, so both students and instructors can grow throughout their time together.

Founded: 1986

Location: Newton, Massachusetts

Bright Horizons supports working families by offering services for different life stages, including child care, college coaching and elder care. For parents with younger children, the company provides onsite centers that feature healthy food, flexible schedules and extended hours. Parents can also stay informed on their children’s status with the My Bright Day app, which shares photos, milestone updates and other information.

Founded: 1998 

Skillsoft is a cloud-based learning platform geared toward corporate training and workforce upskilling. Its extensive library of video-based courses covers topics ranging from leadership essentials to product management skills to data science fundamentals. According to its website, more than 12,000 organizations have used Skillsoft.

Founded: 2015 

Guild Education helps working adults continue their employer-funded education with online courses from universities, including veteran-friendly schools and Historically Black Colleges and Universities . Once companies work with Guild Education to design a learning program, Guild Education guides marketing efforts, tracks employees’ performance and handles any administrative tasks. Chipotle, Discover and Disney are a few of the biggest names that have partnered with Guild Education.

Founded: 2016 

Location: New York, New York

Access to professional opportunities operates in a biased way. To combat this,  Multiverse is working to create more professional apprenticeships, offering programs for areas of focus such as data analytics, digital marketing and business analysis. Through the combination of work, training and community, the company hopes to develop and raise the social capital of a diverse group of leaders.

Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Duolingo ’s free app helps users learn up to 40 languages , from Spanish to Esperanto, via game-like instruction. Users score points and execute timed challenges to ascend to new levels. The app also combines AI , machine learning and language science to tailor lessons to each user and create a more personalized language learning experience.

DreamBox Learning (A Discovery Education Company)

Founded: 2006

Location: Bellevue, Washington

With its adaptive K-8 math curriculum,  Dreambox Learning aims to make math accessible and exciting. Its technology tracks students’ problem-solving approaches, constantly re-sequencing problems and recalibrating difficulty based on student performance. Meanwhile, bright visuals, crisp sound design and other game-like touches make learning long division more engaging.

Founded: 2014

The systemic barriers in the education system make academic support inaccessible to some students. That’s why  Paper offers online tutoring for K-12 students in the United States and Canada with zero costs to families. The tutoring platform operates 24/7 on any device and forms personalized lessons for students. Educators and administrators also receive insights on areas for improvement, student progress and the impact of tutoring to better assist students while in school.

Founded: 2012 

Newsela curates a digital library of relevant, trustworthy nonfiction readings and adapts them to a wide variety of reading levels. The company supplements real-world texts with built-in activities, which allow teachers to track their students’ usage levels and performance. Teachers can always adjust their content according to students’ needs and interests since Newsela updates its content offering daily. 

Screencastify

Founded: 2016

Screencastify provides a free Google Chrome browser extension that makes it easier to record, edit and share videos for use by teachers, students, business professionals and collaborators of all kinds. The extension offers an efficient solution to recording via screen capture, webcam and microphone while featuring additional tools such as narration, focus mouse and virtual pen capabilities for incorporating clear visuals into workflows.

Elevate K-12

Through online live teaching,  Elevate K-12 is combating teacher shortages. The platform harnesses remote, synchronous teaching and offers certified teachers for schools without in-person instructors. Elevate K-12 produces interfaces for teachers, students and school districts for high-quality educational support. Additionally, paraprofessionals are provided to monitor classroom behavior and assist the teacher.

Founded: 2013 

Location: San Francisco, California

Cambly is an online tutoring platform that pairs students with native English speakers. Each student participates in one-on-one lessons where a tutor complements vocabulary with images, listening exercises and chances for students to express their ideas in their new language. For a more in-depth language learning experience, Cambly also offers courses on intermediate and advanced conversation topics.

Course Hero

Location: Redwood City, California

Course Hero is an online learning hub that ensures students are prepared for graduation through online courses and test prep. The edtech platform features course-specific study materials from small campuses and many of the world’s leading universities alike, with textbook resources, 24/7 homework help and infographics all available.

Founded: 2014 

GoGuardian facilitates safer learning experiences by providing educators with a suite of tools that ensure students are protected from harmful and distracting content when working within the digital space. The company is primarily focused on supporting mental health through a suite of products that includes DNS network filtering, classroom management tools, asset management tools, student safety beacons and more, leading to a more productive learning environment.

Snap! Mobile

Snap! Raise simplifies group fundraising for sports teams and youth groups, replacing the hassle of door-to-door sales and flyering with customizable online campaigns. Its interface expands the reach of digital campaigns, so it takes less time and manual labor to access more neighborhoods. The site also lets organizations access some of their funds before fundraising begins, giving them more financial flexibility.

McGraw Hill

Founded: 1888

Location : New York, New York

McGraw-Hill has been a major textbook publisher since 1917, and it has since adapted its products for digital formats. Students can access online content through ebooks and McGraw-Hill’s mobile app. Meanwhile, teachers can conduct online courses and track students’ progress through the company’s Connect product, which integrates with various learning management systems.

DonorsChoose

DonorsChoose is a crowd-funding platform, akin to GoFundMe, that focuses on fundraising for public school classrooms. Founded in 2000 by a high school history teacher in the Bronx, the site allows teachers nationwide to post funding requests for all kinds of supplies, from robotics kits to books to printer ink. Users can explore maps of local requests, meeting the needs of teachers in their communities.

Founded: 1999

Location: New York, New York 

To help kids better connect to the subjects they’re learning,  BrainPOP is bringing a more playful approach to the classroom. Students can engage with topics through interactive games, videos and activities. From math to music, kids can explore different pathways while growing their social-emotional skills.

Founded: 2005 

Quizlet has grown into a digital learning platform with more than  60 million monthly users . Students can use it to make custom sets of mobile-friendly flashcards and diagram decks, which they can then review as study guides or in a variety of ways. Flashcards can also be converted into practice tests, allowing students to reinforce their knowledge through repetition. For learning outside of the classroom, Quizlet offers a mobile app.

Blueprint Test Prep

Founded: 2005

Blueprint supports students trying to break into the medical and legal fields with an online learning platform dedicated to the LSAT and MCAT. Students can choose from a range of options, including live and self-paced courses, with tutoring available to those who need extra practice. The company also screens its instructors to make sure each teacher understands their subject matter, knows the ins and outs of the test and excels at keeping students engaged.

Location: Fully Remote 

To instill a love for learning at an early age,  Outschool connects kids to a convenient online platform that hosts classes on coding, languages, math and other topics. Students ages three to 18 can choose courses that match their interests, as well as access small group and one-on-one sessions, ensuring they get the time and attention they need to master the materials.

Remind ’s app lets administrators, teachers, students and students’ families send text and voice messages via phone, avoiding the privacy hassle of exchanging actual phone numbers. Educators can quickly send out mass messages, but parents’ responses can turn into individual conversations when needed. Students can also connect to tutors through Remind, tailoring their learning environment to their needs through a one-on-one format.

Founded: 2018

Saturn connects high school students to important information and people by simplifying their chaotic schedules. The company organizes calendars, so students can manage homework, class schedules and extracurricular activities while making time for friends. Students can send chat messages, share schedules with friends and view who’s in their class and lunch periods.

Related Reading 13 Edtech Examples You Should Know

New Visions for Public Schools

Founded: 1989

New Visions ’ goal is to establish successful futures for students who currently face inequitable access to great public education. The organization not only supports various school districts in New York City, but it also maintains a network of traditional and AIM charter high schools in under-resourced neighborhoods. The solutions for creating successful futures include student-centered learning environments, re-developed lesson plans and certificate programs to train educators.

Zearn is a nonprofit math-learning platform that works to support in-school curriculum for grades K-8. Kids learn math concepts in the classroom first, then explore video and interactive materials on Zearn. The platform also provides real teachers in videos, pause points to check on students’ comprehension levels and real-time feedback. Teachers and administrators can receive individual to district-level reporting, professional development lessons and access to over 800 lessons.

Coursera offers classes from more than 275 top companies and universities, including Stanford and Duke, in an open online format. More than  100 million learners have explored fields that include data science , philosophy and fashion through the platform’s suite of video lectures, auto-graded homework assignments and discussion forums.

Location: Denver, Colorado

PAIRIN strives to bridge the gap between workforce and education programs and participants. The My Journey platform connects user data to tailor career exploration, professional development and even hiring processes. This way, students and career-seeking professionals can use the platform to access resources relevant to their personal goals and realize more equitable futures.

Founded: 2009 

Brainly serves as an online learning platform for students in search of learning materials or answers to subject-based questions. Users can find textbooks, review step-by-step solutions and look up answers to questions that cover math, English, history, biology and other common topics. If students prefer Brainly’s mobile app, they can also take pictures of a problem and receive instant support for determining the correct solution.

Parallel Learning

Founded: 2020

Parallel Learning ’s platform is designed to empower students who experience learning challenges by offering them and their families supportive care and resources. This includes speech-language therapy, skill-based tutoring and comprehensive psychological evaluations. The company also performs free consultations for customers and can integrate with special needs services at schools.

Mentor Collective

Founded: 2015

With over 160 partnerships with institutions and employers,  Mentor Collective strives to form inclusive mentorships for students. The company combines services, technology and research to design mentorship programs that benefit most students on campus. Mentors are recruited directly through the company and undergo training before being matched with a student. From there, engagement support and assessments are given periodically to improve programs.

Udacity is an online platform that provides a pathway for job-seekers to learn relevant skills that will prepare them for future careers. The platform offers a variety of programs and courses on subjects like artificial intelligence,  cloud computing ,  product management , data science,  cybersecurity and more, providing people with in-demand skills to advance their careers.

Panorama Education

Panorama Education , a data analytics company, focuses on surveys that measure school climate, teacher engagement, student satisfaction, social-emotional learning and other aspects of K-12 schools. The team designs the surveys, which can be taken securely via mobile devices, and administers them. The company then helps schools analyze the data and determine what changes are necessary to improve students’ academic performance.

A Cloud Guru

A Cloud Guru is an edtech company that offers online cloud computing courses to engineers and engineers-in-training. Courses ranging from the basics on coding for the cloud to AWS certifications are available on A Cloud Guru’s platform, giving students an alternative to traditional online education methods.

TPT (formerly Teachers Pay Teachers)

Location : Fully Remote

TPT (Teachers Pay Teachers) is an online marketplace where teachers buy and sell worksheets, lesson plans and other educational resources for grades pre-K-12. Since its inception in 2006, the site has grown even more relevant as districts nationwide adopt standard Common Core learning objectives. More than 7 million teachers have used Teachers Pay Teachers.

Classkick ’s mission is to increase classroom engagement and student development with impactful technology. The company designed an app and web-based instruction tool that allows teachers to monitor students’ work in real time, create a paperless classroom environment and provide immediate feedback on assignments. Additionally, students have the ability to work at their own pace.

GoStudent is an online tutoring platform that operates in 20 countries. The platform works with children from K-12 in over 30 subjects — such as biology and computer science — and matches them with tutors based on their interests, personalities and learning needs. Each lesson is a private, one-on-one session where tutors set personalized objectives and engage students with digital whiteboards and screen-sharing features.

Founded: 2013

On  Seesaw ’s student engagement platform, students complete assignments—which teachers can access from a built-in activity library—through drawing, photography, video recording and writing. The design lets teachers and parents track students’ thought processes and review their finished work, which saves to personalized digital portfolios.

Related Reading Big Data in Education: 10 Companies Delivering Insights to the Classroom

NeighborSchools

Founded: 2018 

Large daycares can charge lofty rates while paying caregivers low salaries, but  NeighborSchools is working to end this trend. The company helps independent caregivers get licensed and set up small daycares within their homes. Parents can then take an online survey and find a nearby daycare that suits their needs. By decentralizing daycare, NeighborSchools is making the service affordable for parents and ensuring caregivers receive livable wages.

Unibuddy aims to help higher education institutions streamline their student recruitment efforts and, ultimately, boost enrollment rates. The company’s platform offers peer-to-peer chat, allowing qualified prospective students to quickly connect with student and staff ambassadors who can provide an insider’s view of school life. Unibuddy also lets users create virtual events and share relevant content with prospective recruits.

MasterClass

MasterClass is a digital platform that allows users to take online classes and learn from world-leading experts in areas like sports, writing, music, cooking and filmmaking. With Stephen Curry, Gordon Ramsey and Annie Leibovitz among the teaching ranks, students can soak up unique insights from some of the most accomplished individuals in their professions.

Founded: 2017 

Checking email is not a task many people look forward to, but  Likemind is seeking to change that. With a slate of quizzes, fun facts and other educational content, the company provides emails that engage readers and stimulate curiosity. Inspiring Quotes, Trivia Genius, and “The Discoverer” are a few brands that make up the Likemind family and help transform inboxes into sources of interest.

Location: Brighton, Massachusetts 

Preply is a digital platform that matches language tutors with students looking to broaden their vocabulary in English, Spanish, Chinese and other languages. With Preply, students can schedule virtual meetings and participate in one-on-one tutoring sessions. Placement tests and continual progress tracking allows each student to personalize their learning experience and ensure they meet their desired proficiency levels.

Related Reading 15 Machine Learning in Education Examples

PowerSchool

Founded: 1957

Location: Roanoke, Virginia 

PowerSchool equips school systems with cloud-based products that support superintendents, teachers, administrators and other education personnel. For teachers, PowerSchool offers tools that make it easier to customize learning plans via data on student attendance and behavior. The platform also supports communication between teachers, families and students to ensure all parties are on the same page.

Founded: 2010 

Voxy specializes in mobile-friendly English-language courses geared toward a variety of contexts, including higher education and corporate environments. Its curricula — tailored to goals like passing the Test of English as a Foreign Language and discussing data analytics —  adapt to user successes and mistakes in real time and incorporate live-streamed one-on-one tutoring.

Location: Hoboken, New Jersey

Knewton has equipped its adaptive learning platform with its adaptive learning courseware called alta. These tools work together to guide students through coursework while addressing learning gaps and adjusting content based on learning objectives. Knewton also keeps its prices down and offers a mobile app, so its products remain accessible to college students.

Location: Santa Clara, California

Because college has become a major investment,  Chegg ’s goal is to alleviate that financial burden, especially when it comes to textbooks. Its online marketplace allows students to buy, rent and sell used books. Through its site, Chegg users also have access to free online tutoring and can apply to attend learning bootcamps.

CreativeLive

CreativeLive offers video classes for artistically minded students, covering topics like photo editing, sound design and wedding photography, while helping students develop entrepreneurial skills through courses like Business Basics. Users can view content through mobile, desktop and TV formats. And if they want to return to lessons at any time, students can download content.

Location: Somerville, Massachusetts 

Labster is an online science platform that supports STEM learning through virtual labs. High school and higher-ed students can choose from over 300 simulations, applying their knowledge to real-life scenarios without needing access to a physical lab or equipment. Each simulation comes with built-in quizzes and a teacher dashboard. This way, instructors can monitor students’ progress and focus on areas where students struggle the most.

Civitas Learning 

Founded: 2011 

Location : Austin, Texas

Civitas Learning supports educational institutions by compiling business intelligence with its student impact platform. With predictive, performance and behavioral data, schools can pinpoint specific challenges students face and adjust courses to better support students’ success. Educators can also segment data to focus on individual demographics, understanding and addressing the larger needs of different groups within a student body.

Wolfram|Alpha LLC

Location: Champaign, Illinois

WolframAlpha is similar to a search engine like Google, but homes in more on academic knowledge. Featuring AI and natural language processing algorithms, the company enables students to conduct faster research on topics that span mathematics, technology, culture and other areas. Students can also look up examples to better grasp a topic.

Related Reading 15 AI in Education Examples

Kahoot! ’s interface transforms review sessions and homework assignments into micro-quiz-shows. Students tackle a question together and whoever gets it right first earns points. The Kahoot! app allows students to participate through mobile and online formats, and users can also develop their own group quizzes and flashcards.

Simplilearn

Founded: 2009

In  Simplilearn ’s online courses, professionals can earn certifications in areas like project management, financial management, data science, business leadership and Microsoft usage. The company features corporate and educational partners like IBM, Caltech and Purdue, and  over 5 million users have taken advantage of Simplilearn’s offerings, which include postgraduate and master’s programs.

Location : Minneapolis, Minnesota

Formerly known as Flipgrid,  Flip provides a platform that works much like a discussion board. Instead of posting written responses to prompts, though, students post short videos. They can also put together longer video presentations and receive video feedback from their teachers. To jumpstart a conversation, users can create a group and share a topic.

Location: Kitchener, Canada

ApplyBoard helps high school and college students study abroad by providing an online marketplace of semester-long programs offered by more than  1,750 schools across North America, Europe and Australia. ApplyBoard’s tools also help streamline the application process, providing a secure storage space for transcripts and other key documents.

Founded: 1941

Infobase creates educational enrichment materials for K-12 schools, libraries, higher-ed institutions and businesses. Its offerings include research databases, ebook collections, video collections and courseware. Depending on the needs of their students, educators can further enhance digital learning experiences by adopting the company’s cloud-based learning and media platforms.

Watermark Insights

Rather than encouraging universities and colleges to collect more data,  Watermark Insights helps schools leverage the data they already have in new ways. Through the company’s platform and software products, school leaders can glean big-picture insights from complex sets of information on topics ranging from student learning outcomes and course evaluations to curricula and institutional surveys.

Apex Learning

Location: Seattle, Washington

Apex Learning (now a part of  Edmentum ) offers online courses and tutorials that complement middle and high school curricula, preparing students for college and beyond. The company’s interactive courses can offer high achievers further enrichment, or fill knowledge gaps for struggling students. Districts can also work with Apex Learning to design  virtual programs , giving students more options for how they take courses.

Rosetta Stone

Founded: 1992 

Location : Arlington, Virginia 

Through  Rosetta Stone ’s software and web services, students can gain proficiency in 25 languages, including English. The curriculum supports students by combining listening, speaking and writing activities while guiding them through real-world scenarios and live coaching sessions with native speakers. Rosetta Stone also tailors its products to meet the unique needs of businesses, schools and individuals.

Rose Velazquez, Margo Steines and Da’zhane Johnson contributed reporting to this story.

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New $90 Million Project to Create Digital Research Hub Focused on K-12 Education

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The National Science Foundation has awarded Rice University $90 million to build what is being described as a first-of-its-kind education research hub that will leverage data from an array  of major digital learning platforms currently serving tens of millions of students. 

The university recently announced the investment as its largest ever federal research grant. OpenStax at Rice, a major publisher of open education resources, will build the research and development hub known as SafeInsights .

The project will focus on producing “research-informed insights about teaching and learning for educators, institutions and learning platforms to use to create tailored programs, pedagogies and policies that will equip learners to thrive.”

“Just like there are bigger telescopes that let astronomers see deeper into the night, SafeInsights’ goal is to have this large student population that will enable researchers to see deeper into the student learning experience,” Slavinsky said in an interview. 

The SafeInsights hub will take five years to build, he said, with early research projects b eginning in 16 to 18 months, and full-scale research operations starting in 2029. 

School districts’ commitment to seeking and using research-based educational strategies is uneven at best. Many district officials complain that academic and other scientifically based research is too abstract, disconnected from their work, and outdated to be of practical use in their decision-making.

When surveyed recently by EdWeek Market Brief on what sorts of research they value most when choosing products and services, district and school leaders were much more likely to point to data on student outcomes, or product usage data than they were rigorous, experimental research.

Data Security in Focus 

At $90 million, the award is NSF’s largest investment in research and development infrastructure for education at a national scale, the university said.

In the past, education research has been hampered by small study groups and short time frames, but the recent boom in digital learning can provide researchers with a plethora of data needed to better understand academic outcomes, Slavinsky said. 

SafeInsights’ goal is to have this large student population that will enable researchers to see deeper into the student learning experience. J.P. Slavinsky, Executive Director, SafeInsights

And research will not be limited to only STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) areas. Schools, education companies, and researchers participating in SafeInsights will bring their own research agenda, Slavinsky said.

Protecting student data is a major concern within school districts, particularly as  schools’ and students’ reliance on technology  has steadily grown.

The data collected as part of the new project will remain secure, Slavinsky said. No student information will be revealed to researchers. 

Instead, researchers will submit their inquiries to SafeInsights, and the research hub will have the data in question analyzed where it is originally stored — by schools or on a digital platform — and provide researchers with aggregate results. 

The research and development project will be a central hub for 80 partners and collaborating institutions. That number is expected to grow, Slavinsky said. 

“One of the great things about SafeInsights is that it is very scalable,” he said. “And we want to build this community, so we can get a better and better picture of the students and the teachers we’re trying to help.” 

Follow  EdWeek Market Brief  on Twitter  @EdMarketBrief  or connect with us on  LinkedIn .

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3 Questions: Technology roadmapping in teaching and industry

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Innovation is rarely accidental. Behind every new invention and product, including the device you are using to read this story, is years of research, investment, and planning. Organizations that want to reach these milestones in the fastest and most efficient way possible use technology roadmaps.  

Olivier de Weck , the Apollo Program Professor of Astronautics and professor of engineering systems, taps into his expertise in systems design and engineering to help company leaders develop their own path to progress. His work has led to an MIT graduate course, two MIT Professional Education classes, and the textbook " Technology Roadmapping and Development: A Quantitative Approach to the Management of Technology ." Recently, his textbook was honored with the Most Promising New Textbook Award from the Textbook and Academic Authors Association. The textbook not only serves as a guide to students but also to company leaders. Aerospace design and manufacturer Airbus, defense technology laboratory Draper, and package delivery giant UPS have implemented de Weck’s methods. Here, De Weck describes the value of technology roadmapping. 

Q: What is technology roadmapping, and why is it important?

A: A technology roadmap is a planning tool. It connects current products, services, and missions to future endeavors, and identifies the specific technologies needed to achieve them. 

Let’s say an organization wants to build a spacecraft to explore an asteroid in the farthest reaches of our solar system. It will need a new kind of electric thruster technology so that it can travel to the asteroid faster and more efficiently than what is currently possible. A technology roadmap details several factors, such as the level of performance needed to meet the goal and how to measure progress. The guide also links various responsibilities within an organization, including strategy, product development, research and development (R&D), and finance, so everyone understands the technologies that are being funded and how they will benefit the company. 

Technology roadmapping has been in use for over five decades. For a long time, it was taught in business schools in a more general and qualitative way, but the practice has evolved over the years. The technology roadmapping I teach and write about uses quantitative engineering analysis and connects it to strategic thinking. From 2017 to 2018, I used and refined this approach for Airbus, which has a $1 billion R&D budget. Together, we developed over 40 technology roadmaps, which included a plan to build ZEROe, a commercial aircraft that will run on hydrogen fuel, by 2035. 

Q: Are technology roadmaps used widely in industry today, and what gaps in knowledge/processes does your approach address?   

A: Colleagues from the University of Cambridge and the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany and I recently conducted an industry-wide survey about technology roadmapping. Of the 200 companies that participated, 62 percent said they use technology roadmaps to make strategic investment decisions and 32 percent update them yearly. Yet only 11 percent of firms plan technologies 10 years out. This is a bit concerning because technology does not move as fast as many people believe. Using Airbus’s ZEROe aircraft as an example, it is important to think 10 or even 20 years ahead, not just within three to five years. 

My approach to technology roadmapping uses a method I call Advanced Technology Roadmap Architecture (ATRA). It provides a step-by-step methodology to create a technology roadmap that is more rigorous and has a longer time horizon than traditional roadmaps. ATRA asks four essential questions: Where are we today, where could we go, where should we go, and where we are going? Instead of technologies, I want people to think of these questions as a guide to their retirement investing. You could invest in some high-risk mutual funds, low-risk bonds, or an index fund that will follow the market. You would pick investments that reflect your future goals and risk tolerances. ATRA works in the same way. It enables organizations to select the right mix of R&D based on different scenarios and different risk tolerances. 

Q: Can you share how you designed your book and the courses, including 16.887/EM.427, to help students understand and apply technology roadmapping?   

A: My time at Airbus allowed me to implement and battle-test technology roadmapping and ATRA. When I returned to MIT in 2019, I had already drafted chapters of the book and MIT students provided great feedback, which allowed me to refine and improve the book to the point where it would be useful and understandable to future MIT engineering and business students, industry practitioners, and C-level executives. 

An important feature of both my textbook and class that may not be obvious is my focus on history. With innovation moving as fast as it is, it is easy to claim a never-been-done-before technology. That is often not the case — for example, one student did a technology roadmap of virtual reality headsets. He realized that people were doing virtual reality in the 1960s and 70s. It was super crude, clunky, and the resolution was poor. Still, there is a 60-year history that needs to be understood and acknowledged. My students and I have created a library of nearly 100 roadmaps on wide-ranging technologies, including superconducting nuclear fusion, lab-grown meat, and bioplastics. Each one traces an innovation’s history.

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Billions are spent on educational technology, but we don’t know if it works

Professor of Reading and Children’s Development, The Open University

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Natalia Kucirkova receives funding from the Norwegian Research Council and The Jacobs Foundation. She works in WiKIT AS, which is a university spin-off concerned with EdTech evidence. She is affiliated with the University of Stavanger, The Open University and University College London.

The Open University provides funding as a founding partner of The Conversation UK.

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During the COVID lockdowns, schools and universities worldwide relied on education technology – edtech – to keep students learning. They used online platforms to give lessons, mark work and send feedback, used apps to teach and introduced students to programs that let them work together on projects.

In the aftermath of school closures, the market for edtech has kept on growing. The value of the sector is projected to rise to US$132.4 billion globally by 2032 (£106 billion).

The problem is that we don’t know very much about how effective many edtech apps or programs are – or if they are effective at all .

And some effects may be negative. Some of the so-called educational apps advertised to families show many adverts to children. They may use manipulative features to keep children on screens without teaching them anything new.

This technology is here to stay and will remain a significant part of how children learn – so knowing whether it works is imperative.

Assessing and addressing the quality of edtech is a significant task, especially when it is already so widely used. For edtech under development, a valuable option is to foster closer collaboration between tech developers and scientists who study learning to embed existing research and knowledge into the design.

Research consultancy firms can carry out swift assessments to provide edtech developers with information on how well what they are offering works. Transparency and integrity in the research process is vital, though, to prevent bias. Ways of ensuring this include pre-registration : reporting that a study is going to take place before it happens.

Partnerships with schools could also provide valuable feedback . However, minimum standards of quality and ethical considerations would need to be assured before technologies are sent to schools.

Setting a standard

When it comes to edtech that is already available, what is really needed is some kind of standardised metric to assess how well it works.

But establishing minimum standards for the effect of edtech is easier said than done. There is, historically, a lack of standardised metrics for assessing educational impact within impact economics – the study of how businesses create financial returns while ensuring positive social or environmental outcomes.

Without standardisation, there are too many ways to assess edtech. A review commissioned by the UK government of evaluation criteria and standards for edtech analysed 74 methods for assessing their quality.

Similarly, I carried out a research study with colleagues on available criteria to assess the effectiveness and efficacy of edtech produced specifically for schools. We found 65 different frameworks for evaluating whether these school-specific offerings work.

The abundance of evaluation possibilities can be confusing for edtech businesses. The multitude of options makes it difficult to ascertain the quality of their products. It is confusing to investors too, especially those who want to prioritise not only edtech’s return on investment but also a return on education and community.

Read more: Schools are using research to try to improve children's learning – but it's not working

A yardstick that establishes the minimum quality requirements for a edtech product to be used in schools is crucial to ensure technology does more good and no harm. The creation of a yardstick needs to take into account both the product quality and the process of using the technology – whether it works for diverse populations and diverse learning environments.

The independent verification of evidence is vital , considering that any company can simply “generate” a study with the data they daily collect on users. In my research work with colleagues, I have argued for a focus on the rigour and validity of various research types.

New initiatives, such as the International Certification of Evidence of Impact in Education , have begun to consolidate the different research approaches, standards and certifications related to evidence of edtech impact globally. Ultimately, the goal is to make it easier for schools and parents to navigate the thousands of educational apps and online platforms available.

Whether individual countries will create the legal and institutional frameworks to enforce any of the standards remains to be seen. Countries will need to select standards that suit both their economic and educational agendas. An important shift is needed so that schools can strategically select edtech they know will help children’s learning.

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UOC launches three research projects to improve its educational model

The projects seek to tackle current challenges that have an impact on the organization while encouraging the development of online higher education worldwide (Image: Adobe Stock)

The Universitat Oberta de Catalunya's (UOC) educational model is constantly improving and evolving in accordance with the evidence obtained from its own research. The UOC, through its specific programme for the promotion of e-learning research, has just awarded grants worth a total of €36,000 to three research projects by e-learning experts with a view to applying the results to the university's methodology. In the words of Albert Sangrà , Professor of Education and co-director of the eLearning Research Programme at the UOC together with Xavier Vilajosana , Vice rector for Research, Knowledge Transfer and Entrepreneurship, the call seeks to " boost the use of the learning data collected on the Campus by introducing researchers to the university's procedures on using these data and generating value and impact from this unique and special resource that we have".

The UOC thus seeks to tackle current and short-term challenges through research projects that have an impact on the organization while encouraging the development of online higher education worldwide through its expertise. The knowledge obtained from this research can be extrapolated to other organizations around the world and help solve the challenges facing e-learning.

“The aim is to boost the use of the learning data collected on the Campus by introducing researchers to the university's procedures on using these data and generating value and impact from this unique and special resource”

Research in AI and learning analytics

" Experimenting with support mechanisms based on AI and analytical evidence " is one of the projects that has been awarded an internal UOC research grant. The project is  LISFeed+  led by  David Bañeres , a member of the  Faculty of Computer Science, Multimedia and Telecommunications  and the IN3's  SOM Research Lab , and  Anna Espasa , from the  Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences  and the  Feed2Learn  research group. The study  aims to   improve the support given to students during their learning process  through analytical evidence-based tools. The goal is to put in place an  early warning system and a nudge system  to guide students at risk.

A second project tackles the " implementation of an assistant for teachers to provide immediate, formative and personalized feedback through AI ". The project is led by  David García , from the Faculty of Computer Science, Multimedia and Telecommunications and the  EduSTEAM  research group, and  Nati Cabrera , from the Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences and the  EduL@b  group. The study examines  how artificial intelligence can improve feedback in higher education . The aim is to contribute to the development of new tools to improve the educational experience of students through the use of AI.

The third project backed by the UOC seeks to find out " how to improve the monitoring and assessment of online discussions through learning analytics ". The study is led by  Teresa Romeu , from the Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences and the Edul@b research group, and  Javier Luis Cánovas , from the Faculty of Computer Science, Multimedia and Telecommunications and the SOM Research Lab. The initiative  analyses collaborative dynamics, especially through online discussions, an activity that is common to many courses and part of the UOC's educational model . Teachers must be able to access data in real time to adjust the paths of students at risk of not achieving their academic goals, as well as to facilitate the proper assessment of their development. The use of real-time data will also make it possible to use smart systems to predict student behaviour.

These three research projects reaffirm the UOC's work on and commitment to the innovative use of technology to democratize access to higher education. The UOC uses an interdisciplinary approach to promote cutting-edge research on e-learning, ranging from education sciences to information technologies.

Research in e-learning at the UOC contributes to the continuous improvement of teaching, facilitating knowledge transfer and promoting educational innovation, with the support and collaboration of the UOC's  eLearning Innovation Center . The main aim is to consolidate research in e-learning to address the global challenges of education, both within and beyond the university. The UOC thus continues to contribute to the dissemination of best practices and innovative educational solutions.

These UOC research projects contribute to the Sustainable Development Goal ( SDG ), 4,  Quality Education .

UOC R&I

The UOC's research and innovation (R&I) is helping overcome pressing challenges faced by global societies in the 21st century by studying interactions between technology and human & social sciences with a specific focus on the network society, e-learning and e-health .

Over 500 researchers and more than 50 research groups work in the UOC's seven faculties, its eLearning Research programme and its two research centres: the Internet Interdisciplinary Institute ( IN3 ) and the eHealth Center ( eHC ).

The university also develops online learning innovations at its eLearning Innovation Center ( eLinC ), as well as UOC community entrepreneurship and knowledge transfer via the Hubbik platform.

Open knowledge and the goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development serve as strategic pillars for the UOC's teaching, research and innovation. More information: research.uoc.edu .

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• Sònia Armengou [email protected] 619 413 823

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NSF Funded Expedition Project Uses AI to Rethink Computer Operating Systems

AUSTIN, Texas — Research that will use artificial intelligence to boost the performance and energy efficiency of computer operating systems will be led by a team from The University of Texas at Austin, thanks to a major grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation’s Expeditions in Computing program.

Today’s operating systems pose a significant barrier to a number of promised exciting innovations in computer hardware and applications — from personal assistant robots to autonomous vehicles to edge computing that could enable smart cities and less energy-intensive cloud computing. These operating systems often follow “one-size-fits-all” rules for how hardware resources get allocated between different applications running simultaneously. The inflexibility of these rules makes it hard to integrate new advancements, resulting in poor performance and inefficient use, a problem the UT research team plans to tackle by leveraging AI.

“Our project will employ AI-aided intelligent resource management and auto-adapt as new applications and hardware emerge,” said Aditya Akella, the Regents Chair in Computer Sciences #1 who is leading the project. “This will enable computing devices to be used at near-optimal efficiency while meeting the needs of arbitrary applications, and it will make computing infrastructure ‘self-driving’ by automating OS implementation and management.”

Akella said the project would extend beyond academics, bringing together not only computer scientists from UT, the Texas Advanced Computing Center, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, but also industry partners from Amazon, Bosch, Cisco, Google, Microsoft and Broadcom.

“These partners collectively develop and run operating systems for much of the world’s computing infrastructure, and we will work with them to create the next-generation open-source intelligent and adaptive OS,” Akella said. “We believe that the project offers a timely opportunity to fundamentally change the trajectory of computing.”

He added that the new style of OS could help autonomous robots become “the smartphones of the 2030s and beyond.”

“The smartphone revolution was enabled by new OS frameworks (for example, iOS and Android) that enabled users to run arbitrary third-party apps that have come to determine how they interact with technology and essential services,” he said. “LDOS can similarly usher in the era of affordable personal robots and apps that support our day-to-day activities and improve society for all, particularly for aging and disadvantaged populations.”

In addition to the research initiative, the project will create new undergraduate and graduate curricula with modules, courses and certificates exploring the interplay of computer systems and AI. The project’s initiatives for broadening participation are designed to cultivate leadership among underrepresented groups in AI and prepare them for AI and computer systems technology and research careers. These initiatives seek to benefit hundreds to thousands of students each year.

This project has a natural synergy with UT’s Machine Learning Laboratory, where fundamental questions on new generative AI and machine learning techniques are being explored, and with the Center for Generative AI, which offers high-end GPU resources to train and evaluate new generative AI models.

Co-principal investigators from UT’s Department of Computer Science are Joydeep Biswas, Swarat Chaudhuri, Shuchi Chawla, Işıl Dillig, Daehyeok Kim, and Chris Rossbach. Co-PIs from UT’s Chandra Family Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering are Alex Dimakis and Sanjay Shakkottai.

The grant is for $12 million over five years, of which $9.3 million will come to UT. Expeditions awards represent some of the largest investments provided by the NSF’s Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering. The full name of the project is NSF Expeditions in Computing: Learning Directed Operating System (LDOS) – A Clean-Slate Paradigm for Operating Systems Design and Implementation.

This new support further advances the University’s Year of AI , an initiative showcasing UT’s commitment to developing innovations and growing leaders to navigate the ever-evolving landscape brought about by AI.

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Energy. Environment. Economy.

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Jim Altemus, a forest health program specialist with Pennsylvania’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), looks for signs of Hemlock Wolly Adelgid in Bald Eagle State Park.

 Karen Hendricks / For Climate Solutions

Pa. environmental education programs get $1 million from state

Karen Hendricks / For Climate Solutions

The Department of Environmental Protection is giving nearly $1 million to 56 programs across the state that prioritize water quality, climate change mitigation, or environmental justice.

The Environmental Education Grants Program was created in 1993. DEP must set aside 5% of the pollution fines and penalties it collects each year for the program. To date, DEP says it has awarded more than $14 million to support more than 2,200 projects.

This year’s projects range from running summer camps to helping people protect their homes from stormwater.

DEP says almost all of the programs will benefit environmental justice communities, which are places where people are more threatened by climate change and air and water pollution than the general public.

“These projects help connect people to the ways we can protect the air we breathe and the water we drink, and many of them encourage learning at any age whether you’re a kid or an adult,” said DEP Acting Secretary Jessica Shirley.

Pennsylvania Envirothon is getting $53,938 to help run its annual environmental knowledge competition among high school teams statewide.

Bucknell University plans to use $5,000 dollars to raise public awareness of firefly conservation efforts in Lycoming County.

The Watersmith Guild plans to use $26,750 to run workshops in six western Pennsylvania counties. The “First Waves” project will teach young people to be waterway stewards through stream biology and climate change investigations, tree plantings, water samplings, and paddle boarding.

The National Audubon Society is getting $25,000 to develop a climate resilience and community health workshop series in Philadelphia.

In Dauphin County, the county conservation district will put $5,000 into educating homeowners about managing stormwater runoff.

The full list of awards can be found here .

Grants are open to schools and colleges, environmental and community-based organizations, county conservation districts, and businesses.

Groups can apply for the next round of grants later this summer.

Editor's Picks

Centralia, wash.’s coal plant has to close next year. can pa. communities learn from centralia’s transition, coal transition: how a weatherization grant helped a music venue build community, coal transition: betting on hydrogen with an energy technology grant, coal transition: raising fish and a workforce with an economic development grant, about stateimpact pennsylvania.

StateImpact Pennsylvania is a collaboration among WITF , WHYY , and the Allegheny Front . Reporters Reid Frazier , Rachel McDevitt and Susan Phillips  cover the commonwealth’s energy economy. Read their reports on this site, and hear them on public radio stations across Pennsylvania.

Climate Solutions partners

(listed by story count)

• The Marcellus Shale, Explained 873
• The Pennsylvania Guide to Hydraulic Fracturing, or 'Fracking' 740
• DEP: The Department That Regulates and Oversees Drilling 654
• Climate Change 581
• Delaware Watershed 454
• Mariner East: A pipeline project plagued by mishaps and delays 301
• Pipelines: The new battleground over fracking 216
• Your guide to pipelines 201
• Gov. Tom Wolf 185
• Tom Corbett (Pa. governor, 2011-2015) 169

Climate Solutions , a collaboration of news organizations, educational institutions and a theater company, uses engagement, education and storytelling to help central Pennsylvanians toward climate change literacy, resilience and adaptation. Our work will amplify how people are finding solutions to the challenges presented by a warming world.

StateImpact Pennsylvania Team

Project Support Specialist

🔍 school of engineering, stanford, california, united states.

The School of Engineering Stanford Engineering has been at the forefront of innovation for nearly a century, creating pivotal technologies that have transformed the worlds of information technology, communications, health care, energy, business and beyond. Our faculty and students are creative risk-takers who pursue excellence across a breadth of disciplines. Our alumni include some of the world's most successful leaders in technology and business. Our staff are critical to enabling Stanford Engineering to accomplish its mission: seeking solutions to some of the world's most urgent challenges and educating leaders who will make the world a better place through the power of engineering principles, techniques and systems. 

The School of Engineering, Facilities Planning and Management, seeks a Project Support Specialist to provide operational support to our ten departments. Reporting to the Director of Facilities and Planning, this position is critical in supporting our mission: to seek solutions to important global problems and educate leaders who will make the world a better place. You will manage assigned projects from initiation through completion with limited guidance. Are you personable, proactive, and exude a high-level of customer service?  Then this position may be the right fit for you!

Your responsibilities include:

• Act on behalf of the supervisor, department manager, or chair in regards to establishing priorities and identifying and resolving problems that are administrative in nature.
• Manage the Contract Lifecycle using the established Stanford procedures. This includes submitting and tracking contracts, change orders, purchase orders, funding and approval process via Form 1s, bond waivers on projects, closeout documents, lien releases, permit cards, and record drawings and documents.
• Track project finances and maintain the cashflow spreadsheet that tracks the progress of budgets and funding for capital projects, faculty lab renovations, and other key SoE projects. Manage the yearly allocation of facilities reserve funds allocated to the SoE by the Provost and update the master project spreadsheet utilized by LBRE, building managers, safety specialists, and other facilities team members.
• Provide accurate and timely processing of financial transactions and complete Stanford work orders necessary for project support.
• Create complex reports and spreadsheets which may utilize specialized software and systems.
• Serve as the furniture expert. Work with established vendors, or find acceptable alternatives, to order furniture for new projects, including laboratories, offices, conference/conversation rooms, and collaboration areas. Develop a standard “kit of parts” to maintain continuity for the building’s appearance and functionality. Assist customers with warranty service for their existing furniture which may have broken or failed while under warranty or assist with the ordering of replacements if the piece(s) are out of warranty.
• Coordinate and monitor routine maintenance services completion, office moves and/or minor renovation projects. Provide quality control for delivery, assembly, and installation into Stanford spaces. Learn a graphics program (Sketch-up, Bluebeam, Visio) to be able to complete simple office layouts eliminating the expense and delay of using a vendor for this service.
• *Other duties as assigned.

Education & Experience (Required):

• High school diploma and four years of relevant experience, or combination of education and relevant experience. 

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (Required):

• Advanced computer skills and demonstrated experience with office software and email applications.
• Demonstrated success in following through and completing projects.
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Excellent customer service and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to prioritize, multi-task, and assign work to others.
• Ability to take initiative and ownership of projects.
• Ability to routinely and independently exercise sound judgment in making decisions.

Education & Experience (Desired):

• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel.  Experience with Sketch-Up, Bluebeam, or Visio is a plus.

Physical Requirements:

• Constantly perform desk-based computer tasks.
• Frequently sitting.
• Occasionally stand/walk, reach/work above shoulders, grasp lightly/fine manipulation, grasp forcefully, use a telephone, sort/file paperwork or parts, lift/carry/push/pull objects that weigh up to 10 pounds.
• Rarely twist/bend/stoop/squat, kneel/crawl.

Work Standards:

• Interpersonal Skills: Demonstrates the ability to work well with Stanford colleagues and clients and with external organizations.
• Promote Culture of Safety: Demonstrates commitment to personal responsibility and value for safety; communicates safety concerns; uses and promotes safe behaviors based on training and lessons learned.
• Subject to and expected to comply with all applicable University policies and procedures, including but not limited to the personnel policies and other policies found in the University's Administrative Guide, http://adminguide.stanford.edu

Pay Range: The expected pay range for this position is $33.17 to $43.75 per hour. 

Stanford University provides pay ranges representing its good faith estimate of what the university reasonably expects to pay for a position. The pay offered to a selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the qualifications of the selected candidate, departmental budget availability, internal equity, geographic location and external market pay for comparable jobs.

At Stanford University, base pay represents only one aspect of the comprehensive rewards package. The Cardinal at Work website ( https://cardinalatwork.stanford.edu/benefits-rewards ) provides detailed information on Stanford’s extensive range of benefits and rewards offered to employees. Specifics about the rewards package for this position may be discussed during the hiring process.

How to Apply We invite you to apply for this position by clicking on the “Apply for Job” button. To be considered, please submit a cover letter and résumé along with your online application. Your one-page cover letter should briefly describe your background in project management and provide examples of your experience with attention to detail, responsiveness, and decision-making. 

Why Stanford is for You:  Imagine a world without search engines or social platforms. Consider lives saved through first-ever organ transplants and research to cure illnesses. Stanford University has revolutionized the way we live and enrich the world. Supporting this mission is our diverse and dedicated 17,000 staff. We seek talent driven to impact the future of our legacy. Our culture and unique perks empower you with:

• Freedom to grow . We offer career development programs, tuition reimbursement, or audit a course. Join a TedTalk, film screening, or listen to a renowned author or global leader speak.
• A caring culture . We provide superb retirement plans, generous time-off, and family care resources.
• A healthier you . Climb our rock wall, or choose from hundreds of health or fitness classes at our world-class exercise facilities. We also provide excellent health care benefits.
• Discovery and fun . Stroll through historic sculptures, trails, and museums.
• Enviable resources . Enjoy free commuter programs, ridesharing incentives, discounts and more!

The job duties listed are typical examples of work performed by positions in this job classification and are not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, tasks, and responsibilities. Specific duties and responsibilities may vary depending on department or program needs without changing the general nature and scope of the job or level of responsibility. Employees may also perform other duties as assigned. Consistent with its obligations under the law, the University will provide reasonable accommodations to applicants and employees with disabilities. Applicants requiring a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process should contact Stanford University Human Resources at [email protected] . For all other inquiries, please submit a contact form . Stanford is an equal employment opportunity and affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

• Schedule: Full-time
• Job Code: 4098
• Employee Status: Regular
• Requisition ID: 102707
• Work Arrangement : Hybrid Eligible

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 School of Engineering, Stanford, California, United States

📁 Administration

Post Date: Apr 04, 2024

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Global Impact We believe in having a global impact

Climate and sustainability.

Stanford's deep commitment to sustainability practices has earned us a Platinum rating and inspired a new school aimed at tackling climate change.

Medical Innovations

Stanford's Innovative Medicines Accelerator is currently focused entirely on helping faculty generate and test new medicines that can slow the spread of COVID-19.

From Google and PayPal to Netflix and Snapchat, Stanford has housed some of the most celebrated innovations in Silicon Valley.

Advancing Education

Through rigorous research, model training programs and partnerships with educators worldwide, Stanford is pursuing equitable, accessible and effective learning for all.

Working Here We believe you matter as much as the work

I love that Stanford is supportive of learning, and as an education institution, that pursuit of knowledge extends to staff members through professional development, wellness, financial planning and staff affinity groups.

School of Engineering

I get to apply my real-world experiences in a setting that welcomes diversity in thinking and offers support in applying new methods. In my short time at Stanford, I've been able to streamline processes that provide better and faster information to our students.

Phillip Cheng

Office of the Vice Provost for Student Affairs

Besides its contributions to science, health, and medicine, Stanford is also the home of pioneers across disciplines. Joining Stanford has been a great way to contribute to our society by supporting emerging leaders.

Denisha Clark

School of Medicine

I like working in a place where ideas matter. Working at Stanford means being part of a vibrant, international culture in addition to getting to do meaningful work.

Office of the President and Provost

Getting Started We believe that you can love your job

Join Stanford in shaping a better tomorrow for your community, humanity and the planet we call home.

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Cost of living help and a future made in Australia

Investing in a future made in australia.

Investing in a Future Made in Australia and the skills to make it a reality

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Attracting investment in key industries

Making Australians the beneficiaries of change

A Future Made in Australia is about creating new jobs and opportunities for every part of our country by maximising the economic and industrial benefits of the move to net zero and securing Australia’s place in a changing global economic and strategic landscape.

The Government’s $22.7 billion Future Made in Australia package will help facilitate the private sector investment required for Australia to be an indispensable part of the global economy.

For more information refer to the Future Made in Australia fact sheet [PDF 438KB]

Better deploying capital in priority areas

The Future Made in Australia package will realise Australia’s potential to become a renewable energy superpower, value‑add to our resources and strengthen economic security by better attracting and enabling investment in priority areas. The Government will create a Future Made in Australia Act and establish a National Interest Framework that identifies priority industries and ensures investments associated with them are responsible and targeted.

The Framework will have a focus on industries that contribute to the net zero transformation where Australia has a comparative advantage, and where Australia has national interest imperatives related to economic resilience and security.

Strengthening and streamlining approvals

This Budget provides a faster pathway to better decisions on environmental, energy, planning, cultural heritage and foreign investment approvals.

This includes:

• $134.2 million to better prioritise approvals for renewable energy projects of national significance, and support faster decisions on environment, cultural heritage and planning approvals.
• Working with the states and territories through the Energy and Climate Change Ministerial Council to accelerate electricity grid connections.
• $20.7 million to improve engagement with communities impacted by the energy transition and accelerate the delivery of key energy projects.
• $15.7 million to strengthen scrutiny of high‑risk foreign investment proposals, enhance monitoring and enforcement activities and support faster decisions.

The Government will also encourage foreign investment by providing refunds of 75 per cent of application fees for unsuccessful competitive bids.

Promoting sustainable finance

The Government is committing $17.3 million to mobilise private sector investment in sustainable activities. This includes extending Australia’s sustainable finance taxonomy to the agriculture sector and developing a labelling regime for financial products marketed as sustainable.

The Government will also examine opportunities to improve data quality and provide $1.3 million to develop and issue guidance for best practice transition plans.

Making Australia a renewable energy superpower

Powering australia with cheaper, cleaner, more reliable energy.

Australia’s potential to produce abundant renewable energy is a powerful source of comparative advantage. To realise this, the Government is unlocking more than $65 billion of investment in renewable capacity through the Capacity Investment Scheme by 2030.

This Budget helps Australians benefit from cheaper, cleaner energy sooner by investing $27.7 million to integrate consumer energy resources like batteries and solar into the grid.

The New Vehicle Efficiency Standard will save Australians around $95 billion at the bowser by 2050 and reduce transport emissions.

Unlocking investment in net zero industries and jobs

This Budget accelerates growth of new industries by establishing the $1.7 billion Future Made in Australia Innovation Fund and delivering a 10‑year extension of funding to the Australian Renewable Energy Agency. It also delivers the $44.4 million Energy Industry Jobs Plan and $134.2 million for skills and employment support in key regions.

The Future Made in Australia package establishes time‑limited incentives to invest in new industries. The Hydrogen Production Tax Incentive will make Australia’s pipeline of hydrogen projects commercial sooner, at an estimated cost of $6.7 billion over the decade. This Budget also expands the Hydrogen Headstart program by $1.3 billion.

Boosting demand for Australia’s green exports

The Government is making it easier for businesses and trading partners to source low‑emissions products by building better markets and product standards for green products.

This Budget provides $32.2 million to fast‑track the initial phase of the Guarantee of Origin scheme, focused on renewable hydrogen, and bring forward the expansion of the scheme to accredit the emissions content of green metals and low‑carbon liquid fuels. The Government is also working closely with trading partners to identify opportunities to drive greater supply chain transparency and better market recognition of high environmental, social and governance standards in the critical minerals sector.

Realising the opportunities of the net zero transformation

Australia is committed to reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and is developing six sector plans covering:

• electricity and energy
• agriculture and land
• the built environment.

This Budget continues investment in effective emissions abatement, including through $63.8 million to support emissions reduction efforts in the agriculture and land sector.

The Government is also investing $399 million to establish the Net Zero Economy Authority and support the economy‑wide net zero transformation. This Budget also invests an additional $48 million in reforms to the Australian Carbon Credit Unit scheme and $20.7 million to improve community engagement.

Strengthening resources and economic security

Backing a strong resources sector.

The Government is investing $8.8 billion over the decade to add more value to our resources and strengthen critical minerals supply chains. This Budget establishes a production tax incentive for processing and refining critical minerals at an estimated cost of $7 billion over the decade. It commits up to $1.2 billion in strategic critical minerals projects through the Critical Minerals Facility and the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility, and pre‑feasibility studies for common user precincts.

This is in addition to $566.1 million to support Geoscience Australia to map all of Australia’s critical minerals, strategic materials, groundwater and other resources essential for the transition to net zero.

Manufacturing clean energy technologies

The Government is committing $1.5 billion to manufacturing clean energy technologies, including the $1 billion Solar Sunshot and $523.2 million Battery Breakthrough Initiative. These investments will be delivered by ARENA.

Strengthening supply chains

To support the delivery of the 82 per cent renewable energy target, the Government has formed the National Renewable Energy Supply Chain Action Plan with states and territories. The Government will invest an additional $14.3 million working with trade partners to support global rules on unfair trade practices and to negotiate benchmarks for trade in high quality critical minerals.

Digital, science and innovation

Investing in new technologies and capabilities.

The Government is investing $466.4 million to partner with PsiQuantum and the Queensland Government to build the world’s first commercial‑scale quantum computer in Brisbane.

The Government will undertake a strategic examination of Australia’s research and development (R&D) system with $38.2 million invested in a range of science, technology, engineering, and maths programs.

The Government is providing $448.7 million to partner with the United States in the Landsat Next satellite program to provide access to critical data to monitor the earth’s climate, agricultural production, and natural disasters.

Modernising and digitising industries

This Budget commits $288.1 million to support Australia’s Digital ID System. A National Robotics Strategy will also be released to promote the responsible production and adoption of robotics and automation technologies for advanced manufacturing in Australia.

Reforming tertiary education

The Government is committing $1.6 billion over 5 years, and an additional $2.7 billion from 2028–29 to 2034–35 to reform the tertiary education system and deliver Australia's future workforce.

This includes $1.1 billion for reforms to university funding and tertiary system governance.

Over $500 million will be provided for skills and training in priority industries and to support women’s participation in these sectors.

The Government will set a tertiary attainment target of 80 per cent of the working‑age population by 2050.

Supporting students on placements

The Government will establish Commonwealth Prac Payments (CPP) for students undertaking mandatory placements. From 1 July 2025, the payment will provide more than 73,000 eligible students, including teachers, nurses, midwives and social workers with $319.50 per week during their placements.

Felicity is a full‑time student receiving Youth Allowance, living by herself. She is studying a Bachelor of Nursing and must stop paid work during her mandatory prac placement. During her prac, Felicity receives $712.05 per week from the Government including: $319.50 of CPP, $285.55 of Youth Allowance (YA), $103.50 of Commonwealth Rent Assistance (CRA) and $3.50 of Energy Supplement.

Felicity receives $351.55 a week more than she would have in 2023 before indexation and the changes to YA, CRA and CPP in the current and 2023–24 Budget

Broadening access to university

From January 2026, needs‑based funding will provide per student funding contributions for under‑represented students. The Government will also provide $350.3 million to fully fund university enabling courses and increase pathways for prospective students to university.

Skills pipeline for priority industries

Skills and training for Future Made in Australia industries

The Government will expand eligibility to the New Energy Apprenticeships Program to include work in the clean energy sector, including in construction and advanced manufacturing. This will provide access to $10,000 incentive payments and support our target of 10,000 new energy apprentices.

The Government will commit $30 million to turbocharge the VET teaching workforce for clean energy courses and $50 million to upgrade and expand clean energy training facilities.

The Government will invest $55.6 million to establish the Building Women’s Careers program to support women’s participation in key industries including clean energy and advanced manufacturing.

Supporting apprentices and building the construction workforce

The $5,000 support payments to apprentices in priority occupations will be maintained for another 12 months to 1 July 2025, up from $3,000 in the absence of any changes. Employers of these apprentices will receive a $5,000 hiring incentive, up from $4,000 in the absence of changes. This will provide certainty to apprentices while the Strategic Review of the Apprenticeship Incentive System is underway.

The Government will also invest $88.8 million to deliver 20,000 new fee‑free TAFE places including pre‑apprenticeships in courses relevant to the construction sector. The Government will provide $1.8 million to deliver streamlined skills assessments for around 1,900 migrants from comparable countries to work in Australia’s housing construction industry.

Strengthening our defence industry capability

An integrated and focused approach to defending Australia

The Government is investing an additional $50.3 billion over ten years to implement the 2024 National Defence Strategy to meet Australia’s strategic needs.

Overall funding for Defence will reach $765 billion over the decade. Defence’s Integrated Investment Program has been rebuilt to create a focused Australian Defence Force, accelerate delivery of priority capabilities, and provide certainty to grow Australia’s defence industry. This includes funding for the Royal Australian Navy’s surface combatant fleet and establishing a guided weapons and explosive ordnance manufacturing capability earlier.

The Government is reforming Defence’s budget to support the National Defence Strategy and delivery of priority capabilities.

Developing defence industry and skills

Industry development grants funding of $165.7 million will also help businesses to scale up and deliver the Sovereign Defence Industrial Priorities, which include continuous naval shipbuilding and sustainment, and development and integration of autonomous systems.

The Government is providing $101.8 million to attract and retain the skilled industrial workforce to support Australian shipbuilding and delivery of conventionally armed, nuclear powered submarines. This includes a pilot apprenticeship program in shipbuilding trades and technologies.

Investing in civil maritime capabilities

The Government is providing $123.8 million to maintain and enhance civil maritime security capabilities. This includes $71.2 million to increase the Australian Border Force’s on‑water response and aerial surveillance capabilities.

Securing Australia’s place in the world

Strengthening relationships and simplifying trade

A stable, prosperous and resilient Pacific region

The Government is delivering over $2 billion in development assistance to the Pacific in 2024–25. This includes the Australia‑Tuvalu Falepili Union.

Investing in our relationship with Southeast Asia

Following the launch of Australia’s Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040, the Government is committing $505.9 million to deepen ties with the region.

Australia recently celebrated 50 years of partnership with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). At the ASEAN‑Australia Special Summit, the Government announced a range of new and expanded initiatives, including a $2 billion Southeast Asia Investment Financing Facility to boost Australian trade and investment.

Simplifying trade

The Government will abolish 457 nuisance tariffs from 1 July 2024, streamlining $8.5 billion in annual trade and eliminating tariffs on goods such as toothbrushes, fridges, dishwashers, clothing and sanitary products.

The Government will provide $29.9 million to coordinate trade simplification and deliver the Digital Trade Accelerator program, and $10.9 million to enhance the Go Global Toolkit to support exporters.

The Government is expanding the Australia‑India Business Exchange, diversifying trade and helping more Australian businesses build commercial ties with India and across South Asia. There will be $2 million to support Australian agricultural exporters entering the Chinese markets.

Support for small businesses

Helping small businesses

This Budget’s Small Business Statement reaffirms the Government’s commitment to deliver a better deal for small businesses, with $641.4 million in targeted support.

For more information refer to the small business fact sheet [PDF 0.98MB]

Improving cash flow

The Government is providing $290 million to extend the $20,000 instant asset write‑off for 12 months. There will be $25.3 million to improve payment times to small businesses and $23.3 million to increase eInvoicing adoption.

Easing cost pressures and reducing the administrative burden

This Budget provides $3.5 billion of energy bill relief, including rebates of $325 to around one million small businesses.

The Government is reducing the administrative burden for small business by abolishing 457 nuisance tariffs and delivering $10 million to provide additional support for small business employers administering the Paid Parental Leave scheme.

Supporting confidence and resilience in the small business sector

This Budget invests a further $10.8 million in tailored, free and confidential financial and mental wellbeing supports for small business owners.

The Government is providing $20.5 million to the Fair Work Ombudsman to help small businesses understand and comply with recent workplace relations changes.

There will be $3 million to implement the Government’s response to the Review of the Franchising Code of Conduct, including remaking and enhancing the Code, and an additional $2.6 million to support more small businesses through alternative dispute resolution.

A more resilient Australia

Preparing for the future

The Government is preparing Australia for future droughts and heightened risk of natural disasters.

Disaster resilience and preparedness

The Government will provide $138.7 million to improve Australia’s response and resilience to natural hazards and disasters. Support includes: funding for the National Emergency Management Agency to supply communities with vital goods, equipment, and temporary accommodation during an emergency, aerial firefighting capability, and mental health support. This is in addition to the $11.4 billion previously committed for Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements for the states and territories.

The Government is establishing a pilot program for Australia’s Strategic Fleet. These vessels will improve Australia’s capacity to respond and support communities and supply chains during crises.

Preparing for drought and climate change

This Budget provides $174.6 million from the National Water Grid Fund to deliver new water infrastructure projects that will enhance water security, boost agricultural production and help drought proof regional communities.

The Government will provide $519.1 million from its Future Drought Fund to help farmers and rural communities manage the impacts of climate change and prepare for future droughts.

This investment will build the drought resilience of more farmers like Victorian cropper Ed Rickard.

The Fund supported Ed in developing a better farm business plan, which identified his need for weather stations and soil moisture probes. It also helped him implement a succession plan that ensured his farm’s long-term viability.

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