Commissioned by the Edge Foundation and led by IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education.
Authors: Dana Dabbous and Katherine Emms
This research focuses on how four further education colleges across the UK have integrated digital technologies across their practices to address the digital skills gap prior to Covid-19. Each college case study uniquely integrated EdTech either through the use of a digital team, CPD for staff or embedded across all aspects of the college experience. Across all colleges in this research integrating EdTech was seen to improve digital literacy of both staff and learners. Colleges were contacted during lockdown and discussed how their existing knowledge and integration of EdTech helped in shifting their provision online.
Key Findings
- Using education technology in teaching allows students to view how digital skills will be needed in the workplace
- Staff are initially not as confident using new technologies and often feel discouraged when things go wrong
- Constant and consistent support from the digital team at each college encourages staff to use existing and new technologies
- For both staff and students, it is necessary to show how embedding education technology can help enhance their experience in teaching and learning