On Tuesday, UK Education Secretary Damian Hinds issued a call for edtech development and adoption in British schools. In an Op-Ed published in the Telegraph, his headline argues, “Schools must harness cutting edge technology to engage and inspire the next generation.”

After praising technological advancements of the 21st, Hinds wrote, “However, there is clear untapped potential for schools, colleges and universities to benefit even further from the power of technology to support students to learn, reduce the workload burden on teachers and save money.”

So in answer, he identified five areas where UK schools should look to onboard their learners into a world of new technology.

Employ Digital Assessment and/or Test-Grading Tools

As Hinds wrote, “Technology has the potential to make assessment far more effective and efficient – while reducing the time teachers spend on marking.” It’s unclear whether Hinds is referring to test-grading software—technology that has been around for nearly decades—or software that actively tracks student performance on a given platform, creates regular reports, and even uses AI to send learners down their own personalized path. As more and more of an in-person traditional course occurs online, teachers increasingly have access to a much more detailed, granular picture of student performance. This software is not without its controversies, but it certainly has the ability to improve instruction and catch learners before they fall too far behind.

Teach Teachers Online

Continuous up-skilling and lifelong learning is by no means a new concept for teachers. But among certain instructors, online education is decidedly unpopular. Still, that outlook generally applies to teaching, and not enrolling, in an online course. As Hinds wrote, “individualised training opportunities away from school can be hard won, but there are now more options to take up online training, which can be more flexible and more cost effective.”

It’s likely that as Millennials begin to take over the teaching profession, this opinion will be an instance of preaching to the choir. It was recently found in Australia, for example, that a full quarter of learners graduating with degrees in Initial Teaching Education pursued their entire course load online. Australia is by no means the UK, but the current crop of new teachers generally lacks the misgivings of their older counterparts towards online learning.

Ditch the Servers, Connect to the Cloud

From a North American perspective, this seems like a no-brainer, akin to encouraging a gardener to plant their fuchsias in the shade. But cloud computing adoption among UK schools remains scattered. In 2017, UK education consultant Mark House estimated that just 3% of UK schools have begun to use cloud computing in some way, according to Education Technology. While that figure has undoubtedly grown since, it’s still mildly shocking, especially when cloud services have emerged as an industry standard in many sectors. They tend to be more affordable hosting options as well. It will make sense for many schools to hold on to their servers for some functions, but cloud technology should provide a means of cost saving for most districts.

Technology Improves Access for Learners from Diverse Socioeconomic Backgrounds

Or, in HInds’ words, “technology can help access and inclusion for children with different backgrounds and abilities.” As an example, the education secretary points to speech-to-text tools which can help learners with dyslexia keep apace their peers. Technology is certainly improving the classroom experience of learners with a wide variety of special needs or individualized education plans. But for learners of color, students from less affluent communities, and english language learners, it can be a different story. More often than not, privilege and bias seen IRL plays out in online formats. This personal blog marks a good resource for individuals interested in algorithmic bias and digital redlining.

A New National Retraining Scheme, Along with Online Courses

“Fifthly, technology can break down the walls of the traditional classroom and give people a second chance to learn new skills,” Hinds wrote.

There isn’t anything controversial there. It’s amazing this final point didn’t make mention of democratizing education or learning to code. Maybe five areas of improvement is better than four? Regardless, Hinds took the opportunity to announce that, as part of his government’s National Retraining scheme, the Conservatives will enter the online learning fray with their own adult online learning courses.

As hit-or-miss as Hinds’ points are above, he ends with a thoughtful message. “I recognise that in the past, Governments have been guilty of imposing unwanted technology on schools. Over a decade ago expensive interactive whiteboards were rolled out to schools, without the support of teachers, and we saw no subsequent rise in pupils’ attainment directly linked to that technology.“

“I’m clear that it’s up to schools to choose the products that best suit them but with around a thousand tech companies selling to schools, it’s by no means easy to separate the genuinely useful products from the fads and the gimmicks.”

That’s no easy task given the expertise of edtech sales teams. Still, Hinds makes it clear that priority should be placed on instruction, which can be augmented by technology, and not the other way around.

Cover Image: Wikimedia Commons.

The post UK Education Secretary Damian Hinds Calls for Five Edtech Improvements to British Schools: Analysis appeared first on eLearningInside News.

This week, the U.S. Senate continues to consider the tax overhaul bill that passed the House of Representatives earlier this month. Much has been written about what it will accomplish, what it left out, and what may come to pass if it goes into law.

Few, however, have considered how exactly it will affect the lives and finances of traditional students—a phrase that we hesitate to use. Fewer still have considered how it will affect non-traditional students.

Since 2013 and likely before, the majority of Americans seeking higher education cannot be described as traditional. They may not be seeking a traditional bachelor’s degree. They might have a family, or work a full-time job. They might live too far away from a campus to commute. They might take their program entirely online, or in a blended environment.

These statements refer to people seeking higher education in one form or another. But going further, eLearners are even less typical. People who pursue education through online, digital, or mobile learning come from all different backgrounds and hope to achieve different goals from their programs.

These learners might be enrolled in a non-accredited online program. They might be enrolled in a massive online open course (MOOC). They might receive training from their employer to advance their ability. They might receive training from their employer to stay up to date on new standards of practices in their industry. They might be attending a coding bootcamp, hoping to increase their paycheck and standard of living.

While these learners are not typical, the House tax reform plan that stands to clear the Senate before the New Year will affect large swathes in similar ways. In the interests of atypical learners, we have detailed a few potential outcomes below.

Lifelong Learners Will Lose Big

Politicians tend to target traditional students when writing legislation that would ease the burden of education. But a significant amount of relief is also currently in place for people who wish to continue their education, extend their abilities, or retrain for different jobs.

The Lifetime Learning Credit allows for a $2,000 credit for anyone pursuing post-secondary programs aimed at improving their job skills. This is the only higher education tax credit that applies beyond accredited degree programs. There is no limit on how many years learners can claim this credit. The program he or she is pursuing does not need to lead to a degree or a recognized educational credit. Americans claiming this credit receive, collectively, $11.2 bn annually. The House bill will do away with this.

For many lifelong learners, their employer values their membership in their company and will pay for them to train to acquire new skills. Under the present tax system, employees who undergo such training can claim exemption on up to $5,250 of what their employer pays. The tax reform bill will do away with this provision, increasing the burden further.

Students in General Will Lose

The House bill, by and large, sought to do away with as many credits, deductions, and exclusions as possible. The amount extra American adult students will have to pay on a yearly basis will total as much as $65 bn.

Many outlets have recently reported on the large burden that will also fall on graduate students. These learners typically receive some kind of tuition waiver or stipend from their institution, often in exchange for serving as a teaching assistant or by teaching courses themselves. These benefits were previously not included in grad students’ income, but the House bill will reverse this policy.

The reform will also eliminate the student loan interest reduction. This aspect of U.S. tax code allows students with an annual income below $65,000 who have loans from attending college to deduct $2,500. Currently, roughly 3,000 Americans default on their student loans every day.

It is true, many seek online degrees or non-accredited online programs to save money, but that does not mean that they don’t also benefit from this measure.

The House Tax Reform Bill and eLearning Looking Forward

The good news is that the Senate has yet to agree on their own bill, and it will likely not be quite as harsh as that passed by the House.

But outside the bill, the current federal administration seems to have mixed policies on eLearning in general. Yes, Betsy Devos supports virtual charter schools and takes a generally (lower-case) liberal view on where parents send their children to get educated. But she also supports a heavily deregulated for-profit higher education climate.

She has already suspended the Obama Administration’s measure requiring for-profit institutions to faithfully report their graduates’ employment success. She has also filled several top positions with industry insiders. She appointed Julian Schmoke Jr. to lead a team that polices fraud in higher education. Schmoke used to be the dean of Devry University. Last year, Devry’s parent company agreed to a $100 m settlement over allegations that the company incorrectly advertised their students’ job success and salaries.

If a tax reform bill passes, it will likely be the next step to a harsher educational environment.

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