A technology-oriented perspective can commonly be found when thinking about ¡°21st-century schools¡±. Vendors and advocates of devices and platforms tend to highlight the attributes of the technology that can potentially offer more interactive learning and real-time feedback. However, evidence shows a different picture. Simply incorporating technology doesn¡¯t guarantee an impact on learning. In many cases, technology can simply reinforce traditional teaching and learning practices (Vegas et al, 2019).
Mastercard Foundation (2019), after analyzing edtech policies in Sub-Saharan Africa concludes: ¡°Despite this potential, and despite general enthusiasm about ICTs at the highest levels of government, the most striking theme that emerges from this data analysis is a lack of vision for how technology can impact and transform secondary education (...) A vision for ICTs in schools should be part of any national planning or policy framework. Policymakers should have a vision of the kind of teaching and learning they want to develop, as well as the knowledge and skills students should exhibit when they leave the secondary school system.¡±
Moreover, after running a multi-country comparison and conducting over 100 interviews with teachers, school principals, education administrators, policymakers, Omidyar Network¡¯s Education initiative ¡°Imaginable Futures¡± emphasizes the need to: ¡°Support and advocate for strategic, long-term planning based on a vision for EdTech use; create a long-term vision, embodied in written policy, and supported by strong legislation so that the vision can survive changes in administrations. It should be a well-branded initiative that can be easily communicated to and by parents and school leaders; describe what technology is recommended, for whom, why, and how it should be implemented.¡± (Omidyar Network, 2019).
See the following for more details:
? Avvisati, Francesco, and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Students, computers and learning: Making the connection. OECD Publishing, 2015.
? Erstad, Ola, et al., eds. The Routledge handbook of digital literacies in early childhood. Routledge, 2019.
? Hagerman, Michelle Schira. "Digital literacies learning in contexts of development: A critical review of six IDRC-funded interventions 2016¨C2018." Media and Communication 7.2 (2019): 115-127.
? Karni, Barbara (Ed) 2020. What technology can and can't do for education: A comparison of 5 stories of success. Inter-American Development Bank. https://publications.iadb.org/publications/english/document/What-Technology-Can-and-Cant-Do-for-Education-A-Comparison-of-5-Stories-of-Success.pdf
? Omidyar Network (2019) Scaling Access & Impact: Realizing the Power of EdTech
? Mastercard Foundation (2019). Background Paper: Information and Communications Technologies in Secondary Education in Sub-Saharan Africa Policies, Practices, Trends, and Recommendations.
? Resnick, Mitchel, and Ken Robinson. Lifelong kindergarten: Cultivating creativity through projects, passion, peers, and play. MIT press, 2017.
? Selwyn, Neil. Distrusting educational technology: Critical questions for changing times. Routledge, 2013.
? Vegas, Emiliana; Ziegler, Lauren and Zerbino, Nicolas (2019) How ed-tech can help leap- frog progress in education. The Brookings Institution
