Education and Digital Technologies
ICTs
(Information and Communication Technologies) in education can play a critical
role in offering new and innovative kinds of support to instructors, students,
and the learning process in general.
Many organizations
and agencies serve as education financiers in the developing world, working on
education initiatives in a variety of nations to ensure that all people have
access to high-quality education and lifelong learning opportunities.
For
example, the WBG collaborates with governments and organizations around the
world to support innovative projects, timely research, and knowledge-sharing
activities related to the effective and appropriate use of information and
communication technologies (ICTs) in education systems (also known as "Ed Tech").
As part of its bigger education activity, it aims to improve learning and help
to poverty reduction around the world.
"Learning
Poverty" around the world. With the outbreak of the Corona virus disease
(COVID-19), 180+ countries imposed temporary school closures, affecting about
85 percent of children worldwide and leaving 1.6 billion children and youth out
of school. While most countries are working to reopen schools, there are still
closures and hybrid learning being used.
Reflecting
on COVID Response and Remote Learning Technology's function in delivering
education to students outside of the classroom, it has played and continues to
play an important role. Many children in low-income countries, on the other
hand, did not participate in remote learning, with a third of low-income
countries saying that 50 percent of children were not reached in a joint
UNESCO-UNICEF-World Bank survey. The epidemic has also resulted in considerable
learning losses. Learning Poverty is predicted to worsen from 53 percent to 63
percent if no remediation measures are adopted, especially in low-income
nations, due to school closures and limited access to distant learning.
These
questions allude to the necessity to re-imagine education in order to give all
children with an equitable, engaging, and enjoyable learning experience.
How
can governments make the most of their Ed Tech investments to create robust
hybrid learning systems? This subject necessitates both a review of the lessons
learned through COVID's implementation of remote learning as well as a
discussion of the new digital infrastructure access divide. The World Bank is
assisting countries in determining how to solve issues such as cheap
connection, device procurement, cloud solutions, and multimodal education
delivery. Furthermore, countries' efforts in remote learning could be used to
address existing educational difficulties. Many countries are increasingly
considering remote learning as a backup plan in the event of future disasters, especially
in the face of climate change, as well as a tool to reach out to out-of-school
children and give all citizens with a lifetime education
How
can governments use technology to reclaim lost learning, better harness data,
and tailor learning? The World Bank is focusing more on adaptive learning
systems, remote assessment, and how education systems can employ learning
analytics to personalize education more effectively. The development of a new
strategy for Education Management Information Systems (EMIS 2.0) to facilitate
more effective data utilization will be a major aspect of this Endeavor.
What
are the new roles and abilities that instructors will need in hybrid learning
systems, and how can technology be used to increase human connections?
Many
agencies and organizations are working with their partners to establish open
global public goods and strategies that will engage a wide ecosystem of
innovators in client countries to help design and develop innovative
educational content and curricula. To create new open educational libraries,
the team will form communities of practice around Ed Tech innovation hubs and
creative talent.
How
can technology help with future skill development, measurement, and
accreditation? The World Bank will assist countries in defining 21st-century
skills for students and instructors.
With
conjunction with external partners sharing knowledge and experience in
communities of practice on hard to measure skills and block chain for
education, investigate strategies to more effectively measure and accredit
these skills.
Technology in education is not a
cure in and of itself.
Despite
increased investment in Ed Tech, learning and outcomes in many nations have
remained relatively unchanged. When it comes to the impact of computer usage in
schools as measured by PISA, an OECD research stated that "impact on
student achievement is uneven, at best." COVID, on the other hand, has
shifted the Ed Tech argument from a matter of whether to an issue of how.
Teaching and learning remotely is not the same as face-to-face pedagogy,
according to previous experience.
Many
teachers who have access to e-content, for example, read from it in class just
like any other textbook. Shorter and more modular information, more engaging
content such as edutainment, continual feedback, and smaller group online
conversations on more open-ended issues are just a few of the changes. Human
connections and relationships are at the centre of education. While we will
never be able to replace the magic that occurs when exceptional teachers and
students interact in person, we should concentrate on the social components of
technology to improve relationships from afar. Much greater focus should be
placed on how technology may improve teaching and learning in a mixed learning
environment that reaches students at school and at home.
