Educational technology – how can we talk about and measure quality?

The aim of the discussion was to highlight the complexity of measure quality in edtech and the urgent need to find platforms and methods where edtech companies and teachers can work together to take the next step to develop robust educational technologies and to enhance their quality and value in the classroom. 

The perspectives in the discussion shifted from the tech to education, but all participants agreed on that interaction between teachers, policymakers and edtech developers is crucial in order to work with quality. A trustful relation that respect the profession on both sides is needed to be able to talk and evaluate edtech in the complex landscape that learning is. 

Read more about the speakers and their work here. 

Main speakers: 

Dr Alison Clark-Wilson, UCL Institute of Education, on how to make edtech companies more research-minded https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/departments-and-centres/centres/ucl-knowledge-lab/educate 

Anna Rantapero-Laine, Project manager, Smart Learning Environments for the future City of Helsinki on how to create functional and clear operating models for co-creation and to test them in practice. https://6aika.fi/en/project/smart-learning-environments-of-the-future/ 

PhD Anna Åkerfeldt, Swedish Edtest, on how to support teachers to evaluate and choose edtech that fit their needs. https://edtest.se/ 

Giving their perspectives around the table: 

Stig Toke Gissel, Manager, Læremiddel.dk, PhD National Research Institute for Educational Materials, Denmark, on the importance of develop and disseminate knowledge about digital learning materials https://laeremiddel.dk/https://laeremiddel.dk/ 

Reflections from today’s lecture with Stig Toke Gissels. Interviewed by Hanna Elving. 

Nathalie Sandstedt, Education and teaching Secretary, Sweden´s National Agency for Education, on Swedens digital strategy for schools and the Swedish way to support teachers to look for quality in learning materials. https://www.skolverket.se/om-oss/var-verksamhet/skolverkets-prioriterade-omraden/digitalisering/skolverket-framjar-skolvasendets-digitalisering 

Italo Masiello, Professor in Edtech Linneaus University, on the role as Sweden´s first professor of Edtech and the aims to engage companies and teachers in the research on effects of Edtech. lnu.se/edtechlnu 

Nina Iles, Head of EdTech, BESA- the British Educational Suppliers Association (covering 80% of the UK educational market in terms of School spending) on how to encourage edtech companies to find their way to work and measure quality and the importance of evidence for growing edtech companies. https://www.besa.org.uk/ 

Jannie Jeppesen, CEO Swedish Edtech Industry, on how supporting educators and procurement officers to demand and ask for solutions that support needs and keys for development of edtech products and services 

Marie-Helene Zimmerman Nilsson, Associate Professor of Education University of Halmstad, on the importance to educate teacher training students in how to use and look for quality in edtech products. https://hh.se/information/nyheter/nyheter/2020-09-17-forskollararstudenter-testar-digitala-verktyg-i-nationell-testbadd.html