Section 3. Digital technologies for education

By the end of this section on digital technologies for education, you should be able to:

Background

There is a digital transformation throughout society, and education is no different. If you are accessing this course on distributing learning, you are taking part in this transformation. The advent of the internet allowed distance learning, already used to bring education to those unable to travel to a point of delivery, to evolve into online learning. A perceptive paper in 1996, The evolution of distance education: Emerging technologies and distributed learning, speculated how emerging technologies might reshape both face to face and distance education.

The digital transformation of higher education, accelerated by the Covid pandemic, is well under way. As Singh et al state in Digital Teaching, Learning and Assessment The Way Forward,

‘Digital teaching and learning has shifted from just an option...to a development where education revolves around the delivery primarily on a digital platform.’

In From the margins to the mainstream: The online learning rethink and its implications for enhancing student equity Stone focuses on equity ‘From being largely at the margins of higher education for many years, online learning now finds itself in the mainstream...Evidence tells us that online learning plays a significant role in enhancing student equity, widening higher education access and participation for many students who would have found it difficult, if not impossible, to attend university on campus’.

While the advent of online teaching can be seen as a threat to traditional university teaching, it offers wonderful opportunities for the key notions of distributing education widely as we present in this course. However, as we discuss below, there are dangers in the uncritical adoption of technology in education.

There are multiple digital technologies in use and under development for educational purposes. These include various learning management systems where the educational resources are posted and discussions assessments and assignments hosted. Tools for communication including social media are critical, and gaming, simulations and virtual reality experiences are becoming common. Artificial Intelligence (AI) options are both a threat and an opportunity, as we will discuss in more detail below.

As well as allowing for the wide distribution of learning, there are many educational advantages of online education. The graphic below, from Haleem et al, shows some of the features of the digital classroom

Technology in education goes beyond the classroom. As a UNESCO report states: ‘Digital platforms are not simply tools at the service of teachers and students; they play a far more pivotal role in educational governance.’ We will return to this report in the section on open access. A similar concept is articulated ‘digital learning can be seen as part of the ecosystem of modern higher education’ as higher education institutions themselves undergo digital transformation.

In an introductory chapter to the book Distributed Learning Ecosystems in Education, Otto and Kerres have described the concept of distributed learning ecosystems as an integrated approach that enables learners to access and use learning content and share resources.This builds on the internet being the emerging space where learning takes place. The figure from their chapter shows the potential for individual open repositories to exchange with each other, to contribute to a distributed learning ecosystem.

The distributed learning ecosystem, from Otto and Kerres

There are many other benefits, such as for the environment - online education has a much lower carbon footprint than face-to-face teaching. A paper Digital Learning and Sustainable Development  suggests: ‘Digital learning...saves resources and CO2 emissions, thus contributing to the protection of the climate...it democratizes the educational sector by making learning resources more easily accessible to learners all over the world; it helps to connect people from different cultures by allowing for intercultural exchange among students without additional travelling; fourth, it facilitates a self-regulated learner-centered style of learning that is well-suited to empower learners to become agents of a sustainable development.’

Educational technology. 

Educational technology (or edutech or edtech) is defined as ‘the combined use of computer hardware, softwares and educational theory and practice to facilitate learning. When referred to with its abbreviation, "EdTech", it often refers to the industry of companies that create educational technology.’ These companies are privately owned and create profits not only from the sale of their products, but from the sale of the data derived from the students and their educational journey. The potential for the commodification of education in this way is confirmed by McKinsey ‘US venture funding for education technology (edtech) grew from $1 billion to $8 billion between 2017 and 2021’. The same post offers advice to readers: ‘Growing competition in online education suggests providers may need to take bold action. Five strategic moves could help them compete and grow while meeting the needs of learners.’ 

The dangers of relying on the EdTech industry are illustrated nicely: ‘Universities in the Global North are embracing digital platforms as the basis for the delivery of content, assessment of proficiencies and cost reduction. Those platforms are surveillance machines, a manifestation of surveillance capitalism. They abstract students and academics alike, embodying a politics in which people are addressed as digital artefacts – instances of when, what and how they have interacted online rather than being respected as people who are more than a data point on an educational social graph.’ 

Luckily, there are many other players in this area, such as OpenEdTech who want to bring trust to educational technology ‘Too much of the software being marketed for education is designed by startups and Big Tech whose main purpose is to maximise profits for investors, which leads to proprietary subscription platforms designed around trapping your data and centralised products that ignore local cultural differences. When investors become unhappy these products can simply disappear. These are not ideal for designing our education system’.

The ‘datafication’ of universities themselves has also been noted: ‘Universities recognise the potential value of their digital data and strive to become data-driven organisations that collect, analyse, structure, manage, and use data and data products in their strategic and operational activities.’ These functions may be conducted internally or outsourced to EdTech companies. In either case, this might be part of the commercialisation of higher education that takes the sector away from its intended function of meeting the educational needs of society towards a neoliberal agenda. 

The role of AI (artificial intelligence)

There appear to be three main areas in which AI is used in online learning, according to a systematic review of reported studies: ‘(1) how AI technologies are used in online teaching and learning processes, (2) how algorithms are used for the recognition, identification, and prediction of students’ behaviors, and (3) adaptive and personalized learning empowered through artificial intelligence technologies.’ The authors conclude ‘developing policies and strategies is a high priority for educational institutions to better benefit from artificial intelligence technologies and design human-centered online learning processes.’ 

More detail is given in the editorial to introduce a Special Issue of the International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning: Artificial Intelligence in Open and Distributed Learning: Does It Facilitate or Hinder Teaching and Learning? ‘Artificial intelligence (AI) is a rapidly evolving field with the potential to revolutionize various aspects of education, especially in open and distributed learning, including distance education, hybrid learning, and blended learning. AI can transform curriculum design, content delivery, assessment, feedback, learner support, and learning analytics (Chen et al., 2020). AI offers personalized and adaptive learning paths based on learners' preferences, needs, goals, and performance, enhancing their educational experience (Holmes et al., 2023). It also provides timely feedback and guidance, fostering engagement and motivation. AI creates interactive and immersive learning environments, such as games, simulations, and virtual reality, sparking learners' interest and involvement. It promotes social and collaborative learning by facilitating communication and cooperation among learners, instructors, and resources (Holmes et al., 2023).’

An article in the Conversation sounds a warning: ‘Every few years, an emerging technology shows up at the doorstep of schools and universities promising to transform education. The most recent? Technologies and apps that include or are powered by generative artificial intelligence, also known as GenAI.  As optimistic as these visions of the future may be, the realities of educational technology over the past few decades have not lived up to their promises.’

In ‘On the Limits of AI in Education’, Selwyn has issued ‘a call for slowing down and recalibrating current discussions around AI and education – paying more attention to issues of power, resistance and the possibility of re-imagining education AI along more equitable and educationally beneficial lines.’

It seems likely that explorations of the role of AI in distributing education will expand rather than slow down, and that there is considerable scope for a major contribution, even revolution. In any case, there will be a need to update what we have written here as this evolving field develops and grows over time.

Technology in context

Another article in the Conversation includes these quotes: ‘Policymakers and educators should consider technology as one part of a toolkit of responses for making informed decisions about what technologies align with more equitable and just education futures...the future of education is about healthy social connection and social justice.’ 

The need for an understanding of the benefits, as well as the concerns about the move towards online learning is illustrated by these comments from a Canadian Digital Learning Research Association survey which found: ' (a) online and hybrid learning presents challenges of access for students marginalized by “race,” class, and location; (b) online and hybrid learning supports equity, diversity, and inclusion by increasing access and flexibility; (c) pedagogy and course design are central to ensuring that online and/or hybrid learning supports equity, diversity, and inclusion; and (d) student experiences and expectations around online learning indicate a need for support and flexibility.'

In conclusion

Distributing education to create equitable educational futures depends on technology, and we hope that this section of the course has identified some of this potential, including methods, benefits - and dangers.