Technology in global education

 

"Andreas Schleicher is Director for Education and Skills, and Special Advisor on Education Policy to the Secretary-General at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris..."

"He promotes the work of the Directorate for Education and Skills on a global stage and fosters co-operation both within and outside the OECD. In addition to policy and country reviews, the work of the Directorate includes the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), the OECD Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC), the OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS), and the development and analysis of benchmarks on the performance of education systems (INES)."

http://www.oecd.org/edu/andreas-schleicher.htm

Here is what he says about technology;

"Technology has revolutionised every aspect of our life and work. And it’s now central for learning too. Students who can’t navigate through a complex digital landscape will no longer be able to really participate in the economic, social and cultural life around them. And schools and teachers have got to deal with plenty of issues every day, from information overload to plagiarism, from protecting children from online risks such as fraud, violations of privacy or online bullying to setting an adequate and appropriate media diet. We expect schools not just to develop great skills but also to educate our children to become critical consumers of internet services and electronic media, and to help them to make informed choices and avoid harmful behaviours."

Here`s the clinching argument:

"Why should students be limited to the textbook that was printed two years ago and maybe designed ten years ago  when they could have access to the world`s best and most up-to-date textbooks right now? "

It`s progressive too.

"We can facilitate hands on pedagogy and cooperative learning and we can deliver most formative real-time real-life assessments."

This means that the kind of assessments they have in mind are more about studying children`s psychosocial development than they are about subject content. (traditional learning)  See Skills for Social Progress: The Power of Social and Emotional Skills .

Schleicher does admit: "PISA shows the impact on learning is mixed at best. Data from PISA shows no appreciable improvement in learning outcomes in the countries said to have invested most heavily in ICT over the last year and perhaps the most disappointing finding is that technology has done so little to bridge the skill divide between advantaged and disadvantaged students."

Regardless he goes on to say: "There`s too much to lose if we don`t get this right...It is time for policy makers and thought leaders in technology and industry to engage in a serious conversation to make that happen and that`s really what the global education industry summit is about."

http://www.oecd.org/education-industry-summit/

Or we could say there`s too much for the industry to gain, to allow this opportunity to slip.

There`s a much wider agenda too, as can be seen in GEF`s vision:

Global Education Futures

Mass scale production by highly autonomous (cyberphysical) manufacturing systems.

Digitalised massive use services (digital health, education, entertainment, autonomous transport, post-retail)

Increased role of knowledge work

Green production/energy/services

Rise of new finance (crowd, crypto,...)

Decline of traditional governments

Transition of power towards Asia/ BRICS

Growth of multiculturalism

http://www.edu2035.org/pdf/woe2035.pdf

On the advisory board of GEF is Dirk van Damme, Head of the Innovation and Measuring Progress Division (IMEP) in the Directorate for Education at the OECD.

http://edu2035.org/