EdTech and AI - 10 areas of impact for schools

Having worked in EdTech for over 20 years, as a successful teacher, leader and consultant, I’ve seen the development of technology in schools from a novel tool to engage, to an add-on to make learning exciting and more recently to scenarios where technology is starting to become seamlessly integrated as a tool to support the school’s pedagogical approaches, led by the needs of the student and teacher in the many specific learning contexts that happen throughout the school day. With the emergence of widespread functionally useful generative AI tools we’re seeing schools starting to embrace the opportunities that this has to offer, I’ve previously shared a set of tools that schools can use to get started in this area:

Through my work with strategic planning with schools going 1:1 (where every student has a digital device) I’ve seen the importance of careful planning and clear vision aligned with the school’s overall vision for learning and involving all stakeholders. The EEF have produced an excellent guide to implementation that can be helpful for school leaders wishing to implement technology for learning, and in planning it’s important to keep in mind the many areas of school life that digital technology can support and enhance when implemented carefully. Of course every school also has its own pedagogical focus, culture and development needs and the use of technology needs to be aligned with this.

Below is a brief summary of 10 areas that I’ve seen technology having the greatest impact, in future blog posts I will look to explore each of these in more detail.

1. In the Classroom: Enhancing Pedagogical Approaches

What happens in the classroom and specifically what difference it will make for students has to be at the core of anything that is implemented in schools. Whilst much of how this will look will be dictated by the technology available in the classroom or at home, and the development of infrastructure as well as teacher skills, our choice of tools to use in the classroom need to be aligned to our pedagogical practice and as a starting point the EEF have created a guide to Using Digital Technology to Improve Learning that focuses on four key areas (simplified):

1. considering how technology will improve teaching and learning

2. explanations and modelling

3. impact of pupil practice

4. assessment and feedback.

When starting with use of technology, especially in a 1:1 scenario, these are all areas that can enable things that can’t happen without the use of digital technologies, for example:

- abstract concepts can be brought to life with interactive 3D models on a screen using Augmented Reality (a video I made for T4 education), Virtual Reality using things like VR headsets or simply using a visualiser or airplay/chromecast to provide live marking that the whole class can see (modelling)

- students can take part in retrieval quizzes with instant feedback using tools like google forms and quizlet that now have an AI tutor in the form of Q-Chat, at younger ages students can develop their understanding in Maths with apps like Maths 4-6 from onebillion (link to EEF trial)

- assessment tools can give instant insights into how well students have understood content allowing you to adapt your teaching immediately and address misconceptions, however our reliance on multiple choice quizzes for this purpose requires careful question design (link to article by Daisy Christodoulou). An important part of making effective use of technology is knowing when not to use technology, a technology isn’t a replacement for effective in-person questioning in class or those important discussion points.

Beyond this there are many opportunities to support learning in the classroom and beyond, recorded voice feedback to reduce written marking and make marking more personal, making lesson resources available outside of the classroom, flipped learning approaches to name a few. When implemented in a 1:1 scenario it can give students the digital equity and ability to personalise learning and adapt resources to suit their needs can give students the ability to ‘unstick’ themselves and access support from the device features immediately without having to wait for an adult to assist them. These approaches alongside the efficiencies that technology can bring when implemented well are described excellently in the Changing Learning, Changing Lives report on LEO Academies Trust by Fiona Aubrey-Smith.

In addition there are the opportunities to inspire learning and support creativity and creative subjects using tools that generate images or designs for D&T, tools that allow students to explore virtual worlds and visuals and sounds that can inspire writing and historic learning as well as create digital assets to consolidate learning whilst developing digital communication skills. To name a few these include Canva, Blockade Labs, Co-Spaces, Now Press Play, Minecraft Education as well as the opportunities to use tools like film making with green screen and podcasting tools to consolidate learning through project/topic based learning.

2. Inclusion, Accessibility and Digital Equity

One of the most compelling arguments for moving to a 1:1 device programme, where every student has their own device, alongside the pedagogical opportunities and efficiencies it brings, is the equity that it gives to all students with access to a device both in school and at home. Technology has the opportunity to adapt learning content for all learners, the EEF ‘five a day approach’ talks of the use of digital technologies to meet the needs of all learners as part of inclusive teaching. AI can help to adapt resources prepared by the teacher but students using any modern device have access to a wealth of accessibility options such as those on Chromebook or iPad. These include features such as text-to-speech, dictation and ‘reader mode’ tools that will make reading easier by removing distractions and changing font size and changing the background colour. Whilst iPad has a wide range of tools built in, additional features can be added on the Chromebook from the web store, many of them free. AI tools show great promise in this area with tools like Audiopen that will allow a student to talk (up to 5 mins in the free version) and it will transcribe then rewrite the content more succinctly, helping neurodiverse students to organise their thoughts or Goblin Tools which has a variety of free tools that can support students to be organised or break down a task into smaller steps as well as estimating how long each step will take, a really fun tool here is the “chef” tool that takes a list of ingredients and suggests a recipe for you!

This is a large area and you can find a list of my favourite tools and relevant resources on this booklet from a recent workshop that I ran.

3. Independent Student Practice

When students have access to technology in a 1:1 device scenario this gives them the opportunity to adapt resources on the fly and access support they might have previously needed to ask an adult for, as previously mentioned this is described excellently in the Changing Learning, Changing Lives report on LEO Academies Trust by Fiona Aubrey-Smith.

Technology also gives students the opportunity to practice independently using online tests with immediate feedback and adaptive tests like those incorporated into some of the top paid-for AI learning solutions.

Of course students are already using AI, and this has implications for what and how we teach. For research we can encourage students to use tools that let them critically evaluate the information that is being generated such as Perplexity.ai that will link to the sources that it uses in giving an answer.

It’s also important for us to be very explicit about how AI can be used in any task that students are using. This has implications for our assessment strategies as outlined in this excellent article from the Chartered College of Teaching’s “Impact” journal “AI and Assessment - rethinking assessment strategies and supporting students in the appropriate use of AI”. In this is shared the AI acceptable use scale from Vera Cubero, and every school needs to be thinking about how they can introduce clear guidance for students in this area.

4. Digital Literacy, Online Safety and Cybersecurity?

With increased use of AI both by students to generate content as well as consuming more AI content this is a key area to ensure students have a robust understanding. In the last section I mentioned the search tool Perplexity that cites sources for the generated content, and this link to sources and student ability to evaluate the authenticity of content will become increasing important. We’ve already seen the impact of misinformation and disinformation throughout the news such as the fake audio of Sadiq Khan in this news story.

There are a plethora of tools available to support schools in tackling this important area and I recently shared this Padlet with links to useful resources for teaching digital literacy.

A key resource to ensure you’re keeping ahead in this area is the free online safety self-review tool from the South West Grid for Learning as referenced in KCSIE, paragraph 148 - 360safe.org.uk .

Students also need to learn how to keep themselves secure and the excellent Interland from Google helps to foster critical thinking and cybersecurity skills for students. For secondary schools, the annual Cyberfirst Girls Competition aims to raise the profile of this important industry area and encourage more girls into an under-represented area.

5. Digital Skills

It goes without saying that the future will increasingly require us to create, interact with and protect ourselves in the digital world. The Computing Curriculum in England is designed to develop digital skills in the three key areas of Computer Science, Digital Literacy and Information Technology. The National Centre for Computing Education has created a comprehensive free fully-resourced curriculum for computing and have a network of computing hubs to support your development in planning for the progression of skills in this area. Schools need to consider the local context and particularly in the IT area of the Computing curriculum there is scope to personalise this as needed. One area that secondary schools often overlook is the statutory KS4 computing curriculum for all students and whilst it can be taught through other subjects it is a requirement and opportunity to support those learners to be ready for the future, This unit from the NCCE is particularly important in looking at the impacts of technology including AI.

AI requires new skills and understanding from both teachers and students and UNESCO has done some excellent work on draft frameworks for teachers and students, with the finished frameworks due to be launched on the 2nd September at the UNESCO Digital Learning Week in Paris.

Interesting frameworks already in place include the work from Long and Magerko as quoted by UNESCO in the table below:

6. Connected Learning

The term ‘Connected Learning’ describes learning where a student connects with other children or adults to be able to explore their own interests using technology. This highlights the way in which technology can support international learning and promote understanding of different cultures and global issues as well as exploring places that are not possible to visit. Whilst authentic in-person experiences are better where possible, there are online resources such as Google Arts and Culture that can enable students to follow their interests. I wrote about tools to help students follow their interests here.

7. Sustainability

Online tools of course also allow students to collaborate globally and what better opportunity for this to happen than with UNESCOs sustainable development goals. There are opportunities through classrooms to collaborate globally like in the annual Global Goals Project. In computing, Primary schools that took advantage of the free BBC Microbit sets can engage in using the resources that link coding and digital creativity to the goals.

With increased availability of digital devices it is possible to drive towards a significant reduction in printing, in a 1:1 device programme paper is only needed where it is better for students in the lesson. Where exams are still taken on paper for example students need to be practising in that format.

We also need to be thinking about the impact our technology use, we can breathe fresh life into old tech using Chrome OS Flex or even older tech into stand-alone, non-connected Linux devices running Debian. It is important to balance the refreshing of old tech with its consumption vs newer devices, and ensure that it meets the needs of what you’re trying to achieve with it.

In implementing the use of AI we also need to be aware of the impact of utilising such a huge amount of computing power such as the water usage of AI tools as highlighted in this article.

8. Leadership, Teacher Workload and Efficiency

Beyond the opportunities for the time saving features of collaborative suites of tools such as Google Workspace for Education or Microsoft 365 Education there is a huge opportunity with AI to reduce workload and support the work of leaders and teachers. Tools like Google’s Gemini, ChatGPT and Claude AI offer powerful generative AI tools that can be used to support planning and there is an increasing number of more specific AI tools that support through specific tasks such as Diffit which will create comprehensive student resources either from source material or text instruction and other specific tools like almanack.ai or Decktopus that will generate presentations based on a text instruction (prompt) or source material. There are also specific tools designed for teachers such as teachmateai.com or sltai.co.uk.

With all AI it’s important to be specific in the instructions that you give it (the prompt) and to check for accuracy, bias and suitability for the learning context. A useful tool for this is the PREP EDIT framework from Dan Fitzpatrick . Like all of the other areas this is a huge area to cover and there is lots more to explore in this important area that can support the reduction of workload.

9. Teacher CPD

This is an area where technology can support effectiveness and efficiency. The National College Online is a great example of where we’ve seen content available for teachers to engage with online in a flexible way. Whilst there is still a need for face to face CPD that effectively incorporates the mechanisms of effective PD, there are elements of professional development and statutory training that can move online, and where possible leaders should seek to enable this to support flexible teacher working.

In addition, there are classroom observation tools offer the opportunity to collect exemplars of practice to support CPD at increasingly affordable prices.

10. Wellbeing

Whilst effective use of EdTech and AI solutions promise to support teacher wellbeing by reducing workload, this will only happen where teachers receive effective guidance and support on how to take advantage of these tools.

In using technology we also can support students to balance their use of technology, whilst the use of technology in school is purposeful in contrast to what outside school can simply be used for the consumption of content, we need to consider screentime and foster a healthy approach to technology. The term ‘blended learning’, often used for the use of EdTech in schools, speaks to the careful blending of traditional and technological pedagogical approaches in schools and is useful in ensuring that there is time away from technology. Some schools have approached designated tech-free times.

Many of us will use fitness trackers in our personal life to support our wellbeing progress, and in-school tools that are secure in their use of personal student data are being developed to link fitness tracking to the curriculum such as Moki.

There is lots to develop in this final area and within the context of challenging teacher recruitment this is an area that needs to be considered in school.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this exploration of EdTech's role in education has merely scratched the surface of a vast and rapidly evolving field. Each area discussed—from classroom integration to sustainability, leadership support to wellbeing—deserves deeper examination and consideration. As schools embark or develop on their EdTech journey, it is crucial to approach implementation with careful strategic planning.

Schools must consider their unique context, including their existing infrastructure, student demographics, and community needs. Pedagogical approaches should be at the forefront of any technology adoption, ensuring that EdTech enhances rather than replaces effective teaching practices. Inclusion in the school development plan is essential, allowing for gradual integration and continuous evaluation of EdTech's impact on learning outcomes.

Budget constraints and capacity for implementation are also key factors. Schools need to balance the potential benefits of new technologies with the realities of their financial resources, staff capacity and whole school priorities. Ongoing professional development and support for teachers are vital components of successful EdTech integration.

By carefully considering their specific needs and resources, schools can harness the power of EdTech to reduce workload whilst creating more engaging, inclusive, and effective learning environments for all students.

Feel free to get in touch if you’d like to discuss EdTech with me further.