Introduction

Many people have written on this subject, but I thought I would bring a perspective from the providers of support to teachers and learners.  There are three lenses that I think will be useful in considering this problem:

1. What have we learned from the experiences of Covid, and the need for human interaction to support the wellbeing of learners
2. How should education shift in an information rich world?
3. What have we learned from the past impact of new “transformative” technologies? 

Human in the loop

It is without doubt that generative AI has emerged as a transformative force in K12 education and beyond, offering unprecedented opportunities for personalized learning and creative exploration.  However, we have also just emerged from the largest experiment in digital enabled learning in human history, and we are beginning to learn the lessons from home learning and Covid.  Primarily, across the world and in developed and emerging societies there is crisis in pupil wellbeing.  Attendance is down, scores in international comparative tests are stalling in many countries and support for children’s mental health is under unprecedented pressure.  Alongside this, many schools are rolling back some of the technology platforms that supported learning through lockdowns in favour of face to face learning.  What does this tell us?  Face to face teaching has a significant impact on the wellbeing and attainment of pupils.

Therefore we need to ensure that technology, and AI in particular, are supporting the “blended” approach to delivering learning, with the teacher and classroom at the heart of learning. 

Moving from a knowledge rich to a skills based curriculum

We have established that face to face delivery is a core element of the future delivery of learning.  But what is the learning that is being delivered?  Commentators and educators have long argued that current model of delivering learning is based on a 20^th century model.  There is little value in the current focus on teaching and assessing declarative knowledge, when many questions can be answered by asking Alexa, and more complex questions are being increasingly well answered by AI.  Rather it is increasingly important that we focus on the skills required to function in society – much has been written on this, but core to the AI discussion are the skills of deconstructing a question into a prompt, interpreting the output of AI and synthesising a new and personal response from the output.  Alongside the “traditional” 21^st century skills, (collaboration, communication, creativity, critical thinking etc) we need to build a curriculum that enables learners to contribute effectively to society.

How long will this take?

As I wrote in my previous blog post it is useful to compare the noise around generative AI to the two other technologies that were predicted to transform education in the last decade- adaptive learning and blockchain.  The hype around Knewton, and the vast amount of investment raised, did not replace the teacher as many predicted.  Adaptive learning platforms are now a part of many courseware solutions, but are no longer the focus of the investment community.  Similarly, the crypto/ blockchain revolution was slated to change the way education and credentials were delivered.  This may happen, but there is no real sign of it yet.  However, I believe that AI, and Generative AI in particular will have an impact on learning.  It is useful to refer to the Gartner Hype Curve:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gartner_hype_cycle

Currently we are still attaining the peak of inflated expectations.  For an education technology to be successful it is not enough for it to enhance the learning experience.  It needs to be embedded in the ways that learning systems work, support curricula and enhance the assessment systems that passports learners through their lives.  Many technology stumble on this – they may be effective, but they cannot be blended into existing classroom approaches.

And also note there are a vast array of ways that AI will support education – replacing routine tasks, lesson planning, drafting reports and home school communications, and supporting whole school reporting.  These and other uses should massively increase the efficiency of educational institutions.

In conclusion

Generative AI has the potential to revolutionize the way we approach education. By leveraging adaptive algorithms, it can create customized learning materials that cater to the unique needs and learning styles of each student. This technology can generate practice problems, interactive stories, and even simulate scientific experiments, providing students with a rich, engaging, and diverse learning experience.  However the human teacher’s role is irreplaceable. Teachers bring empathy, understanding, and a personal touch that AI cannot replicate. They are skilled at interpreting students’ emotions, providing encouragement, and fostering a supportive classroom environment.  And the curriculum and resources hneed to transform to prepare learners for a world where they will harness the power of AI.

Notes

I am merely scratching the surface of how AI will transform education here – I am sure I will write more on the subject.  But I am indebted to many sources of information and insight in this area – including:

• My ex-colleagues at CUP&A
• Rose Luckins and her many publications (check out the Educate Newsletter The Skinny and AI in Education Podcast https://theedtechpodcast.com/edtechpodcast/
• I have found the writings of Nick Pokalitsky very useful – both in providing a background to AI and the way it builds knowledge models and how AI can be harnessed in the classroom to support the teaching and learning of creative writing. https://substack.com/@nickpotkalitsky?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

Also, I asked ChatGPT 4 via Windows 11 CoPilot for its thoughts on the subject.  Some were useful and are reflected in the above.  However, as will be the case for some time the blog post has been unrecognisably transformed by the addition of my experience, thoughts and narrative style.  I hope.

Thoughts on the last decade in Edtech

Over the next few months I am re-entering the world of consulting – more on that elsewhere, but I am excited by the prospect of helping clients in the edtech and wider technology space navigate the increasingly noisy world of digital technology.  You will see that it is a decade since I last posted my thoughts on this blog – a decade where I have been engaged in supporting schools digitally around the world, a decade where technologies have come and gone, and a decade where the impact of Covid is still playing out.

I thought I would take the opportunity to restart my blog by sharing some thoughts on the state of the EdTech sector as we enter 2024.  I will look at three key areas – the impact of Covid, the impact of shifts in the technology landscape and how the narrative is being shaped by PE/ VC investments.

Firstly, as has been widely noted, the Covid 19 pandemic has driven a shift in the take up of technology in schools.  For years, education has lagged other industries in using technology to deliver its core product, driving improved learning outcomes (Note I will expand on this is a future blog – schools are highly technology enabled in other areas).  However, Covid has driven a step change in digital take up:

Originally published in The Adaptation Advantage: Let Go, Learn Fast and Thrive in the Future of Work, by Heather E. McGowan and Chris Shipley, with a Foreword by Thomas L. Friedman.

These changes fall into three areas:

1. Creating a digital environment for schools.  The overwhelming majority of schools now have a digital environment within which the manage both the school infrastructure and communication and collaboration with learners.  And the vast majority have plumped for Microsoft of Google environments.  All suppliers to schools need to work out how to integrate with these systems
2. Workflow enhancements – schools are now using technology in many more areas of the school ecosystem, – from managing staff, to improving communication with stakeholders and the provision of online parents evenings
3. Delivering digital learning and monitoring attainment.  Throughout Covid learning went online with a variety of levels of success – some tools delivered well (e.g. simulations, online “tests” and video content), others were clearly a stop gap (ebooks/ worksheets).  But the majority of schools are now able to support learners at home to some extent.  The education system is more resilient

However, as we move out of the pandemic, towards a “new normal”, some of these changes are more embedded.  (1) and (2) above are here to stay whilst there is a shift back to blended learning.  More schools are using flipped learning to maximise the value of face to face time, and many are looking to digital formative assessment to support differentiation in the classroom – but these are based around the classroom model. In the absence of conclusive evidence from the sector, this is based on schools’ experience of what is working. 

Running alongside this narrative of a changing classroom is the current hysteria around generative AI.  Again, I will look at this in more detail in a future post, but I believe there are three areas where Generative AI will have an impact on suppliers and educators:

	Suppliers	Educators
Workflow enhancements	Will be able to use AI to enhance customer support, better market portfolios and to improve education services – e.g. in delivering marking services	Schools will be able to use AI to better understand the wider needs of their learners, and communicate more effectively with stakeholders
Content generation	Will be able to build content to support customers, and build quality content on the fly from reliable content banks.  Suppliers will also be in a position to quality assure content generated in this way	Teachers will be able to build learning content around specific requirements – however it will need quality assurance
Transforming learning	Understanding learners needs based on rich datasets owned by education suppliers has the potential to support teachers and learners	Working with suppliers and internal datasets educators will be able to provide more effective learning to pupils

It is important to note that I believe that traditional content owners will continue to have a major role to play.  Whilst schools can generate content, publishers, exam boards and edtech players will be able to “kite-mark“ learning content and provide coherent programmes.

I compare the noise around generative AI to the two other technologies that were predicted to transform education in the last decade- adaptive learning and blockchain.  The hype around Knewton, and the vast amount of investment raised, did not replace the teacher as many predicted.  Adaptive learning platforms are now a part of many courseware solutions, but are no longer the focus of the investment community.  Similarly, the crypto/ blockchain revolution was slated to change the way education and credentials were delivered.  This may happen, but there is no real sign of it yet.

Which brings me to my last point – the market for provision of digital solutions that truly support learning is being distorted by PE/ VC investments.  Driven by technology trends and by the need for relatively short realisations of return, the investment community seeks start up players that aim to use these technologies to disrupt education.  And schools’ expectations are heightened by the hype around these services.  However successful companies (traditional and startup) know that it is a long game with tight margins, that trust is at the heart of education supply, and that switching resources in and out is hard.  And moreover, that success in the education world still is driven by old fashioned skills such as supporting teachers in managing classrooms, building a great channel to market and providing content that educators can trust.