UNICEF/UN0610392/Le Vu

Broadening the conversation on technology and education

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the need to apply education technology and the subsequent need to understand the implications. School closures forced governments, mainly in richer countries, to use online education to not interrupt learning, while radio and television were being used in poorer countries to reach populations without access to internet and devices. Whether these developments have been good news for the sector or not is a question that generates a passionate debate.

The 2023 GEM Report on technology and education, while looking at the interplay between technology and education in its broadest sense, is therefore well timed to take a closer look at education technology. Aware of the divergent views on this topic, the GEM Report is running an extensive global consultation process alongside its online consultation aiming to collect feedback on the proposed lines of research of its concept note from experts, teachers and policymakers working in the field of technology and education.

Through these consultations and subsequent research, the GEM Report aims to be able to provide:

  • practical examples on the effects of implementing education technology interventions
  • practical examples on the challenges of implementing education technology interventions
  • education technology policies based on national experiences, and
  • education technology financing based on national experiences

The team is also collecting feedback on areas of interest that its PEER country profiles on technology could cover.

This is not the first time that the GEM report is running a consultation process. Eight-week long online consultations took place for the  2020 GEM Report on inclusion and on the 2021/2 GEM Report on non-state actors, for instance. But the ongoing consultation is the most ambitious organized.

Acknowledging the prominence that education technology acquired during the COVID-19 pandemic and the dynamic and rapidly evolving nature of the research on education technology, the consultation process will remain open throughout the development of the report. In this way, the consultation process also aims to form advocacy partnerships that will share the report’s messages at the time of its publication, scheduled for June 2023.

As of today, 17 consultation events have taken so far with 13 organizations, and more than 30 consultations are in the pipeline. Nine ministers of education (Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, The Gambia, Honduras, Uruguay and Rwanda), 1 principal secretary for ICT, innovation and youth (Kenya), 2 deputy ministers (Egypt and South Africa) and several directors-general have participated in the process, alongside 540 officials from ministries of education across Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab States and almost 2500 experts, academics, teachers and representatives from international organizations. Seven consultation reports are now available in the GEM Report consultations event page, while written submissions are also being received.

If you are interested in organizing a consultation event, please contact us at gemreport@unesco.org. A recap of past and upcoming events is included below:

Past events

  • 16 September: Launch of the 2023 concept note during the 2021 UKFIET Conference
  • 29 September: Consultation convened by the European Foundation Centre (closed event)
  • 27 October: Consultation on skills in sub-Saharan Africa convened by Brains Global (closed event for African officials) – Consultation reportHighlightsEvent page
  • 17 November: Consultation on access, equity, and inclusion in sub-Saharan Africa convened by Brains Global – Consultation report / Event page
  • 23 November: Consultation convened by the International Education Funders Group(closed event)
  • 13 December: Consultation during the RewirEd Education Summit in Dubai(in-person event)
  • 16 December: Presentation of the 2023 concept note in Latin America during event convened by Fundación Ceibal – ReportWatch liveEvent page
  • 4 February: Consultation with the GLAD Inclusive Education Working Group (closed event)
  • 9 February: Consultation focusing on governance and regulations for quality learning convened by Brains Global (closed events for officials from the Arab States and Africa) – Consultation reportEvent page
  • 23 February: Consultation with academics convened by the Centre for Research in Digital Education and the Comparative Education and International Development Research Group, University of Edinburgh(closed event) – Joint response / Consultation report / Recording / Event page
  • 9 March- Consultation on teachers convened by Brains Global (closed event) – Consultation reportPPT
  • 29 March: High-level consultation convened by Fundación Ceibal (open event) – Full programEvent page / Recording Consultation report 
  • 2 May: Consultation on teachers convened by Education International

Upcoming events

  • 19 May: Consultation convened by the All Children Reading: A Grand Challenge for Development
  • 1 June: Consultation with academics from Australia and New Zealand convened by Monash University
  • 2 June: Consultation during the World Summit on the Information Society Forum
  • 5 June: Consultation during the2nd Asia-Pacific Regional Education Minister’s Conference in partnership with the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization
  • 23 June:Consultation with the International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030

 

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