“The digital revolution holds immeasurable potential but, just as warnings have been voiced for how it should be regulated in society, similar attention must be paid to the way it is used in education.
“Its use must be for enhanced learning experiences and for the well-being of students and teachers, not to their detriment. Keep the needs of the learner first and support teachers. Online connections are no substitute for human interaction.”
So said UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay calling for the ‘appropriate’ use of technology in the world’s classrooms. The statement came on foot of the release of a new global UNESCO report ‘Technology in education: A tool on whose terms?’
The report cites evidence showing that learning benefits disappear if technology is used in excess or in the absence of a qualified teacher.
UNESCO Director Manos Antoninis said: “We need to teach children to live both with and without technology; to take what they need from the abundance of information, but to ignore what is not necessary; to let tech support, but never supplant human interactions in teaching and learning”.
The report also acknowledges advantages new tech has for education and learning. It says accessible technology and universal design have opened up opportunities for learners with disabilities.
The report said: “Online learning stopped education from melting down during COVID-19 school closures. Distance learning had a potential reach of over 1 billion students; but it also failed to reach at least half a billion, or 31% of students worldwide – and 72% of the poorest”.
The report says the focus should be on outcomes. In Peru, when over 1 million laptops were distributed without reference to teaching, learning did not improve. In the US, analysis of over 2 million students found that learning gaps widened when instruction was exclusively remote.
