# data[].attributes.body
Repository of EdTech interventions that are effective and easy to deploy in any context.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
EdTech for Learning is a new not-for-profit established to champion access to, and the usage of, education technologies (EdTech) to improve teaching and learning. EdTech for Learning will create a range of EdTech solutions that are low cost, easy to deploy, manage and use. These systems will be built upon open-source technology and use EdTech interoperability standards to enable the establishment of EdTech Ecosystems. More importantly, the emphasis will be on identifying, enabling and supporting local social entrepreneurs who will improve teaching and learning in their communities. Together we aim to improve lives around the World through the use of these new EdTech Ecosystem solutions.

# data[].attributes.body
Group interesting in furthering edtech and professional development getting students job ready. They also have some edtech focused interventions, incubators and events

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The first Kazakhstan forum of educational technology EdTech 2019 was held in the capital

The first Kazakhstan forum of educational technologies EdTech: People. Inspiration. Progressive growth. was held at the AIFC Bureau (BCPD) at the second annual conference of Astana Finance Days. Inspiration. Progressive growth.

The EdTech Forum gathered at its site recognized international experts and local participants in the field of educational technologies, ministries and departments, universities, professional community, developers and investors who are involved in educational technologies and are interested in its development of the industry, ensuring and simplifying access to knowledge through new technologies.

The EdTech Forum will bring together the industry to give impetus to the development of human capital at a qualitatively new level through technology, international professional certifications, innovations, digitalization, inclusive approaches, STEM and other advanced techniques. By combining the best global experience with local wisdom, the AIFC Bureau seeks to contribute to the emergence of the EdTech 4.0 industry, responding to the challenges of the fourth industrial revolution, where technology and people will become the unified source for progress.

The rich program of the forum includes panel sessions, workshops and master classes on сurrent topics such as professions of the future, transformation of education, modern trends and global practices in the use of technology in education, as well as a lot of useful content.

The event is designed to inspire people to continuous professional development throughout their lives, using and demonstrating successful practices from around the world.

The forum will host the EdTech Alley exhibition, where the top 20 companies that have passed the competitive selection will take part in a mentor marathon where international experts and world industry leaders will give feedback, share their expertise and vision for the EdTech industry. and in the world.

An alley of projects has become an integral part of the Forum, where for the first time 20 leading companies of Kazakhstan in the field of educational technologies were merged and represented. These projects passed through the selection, gaining access to the mentor marathon, where industry experts gave an assessment and recommendations to the projects. The distinguished teams at the exhibition received a ticket to the EdCrunch conference in Moscow, as well as certificates for participation in the acceleration program at Astana Hub.

The AIFC aims to contribute to the emergence of the EdTech 4.0 industry by responding to the challenges of the fourth industrial revolution, where technology and people will become a joint source for progress. Thus, the EdTech Forum is designed to unite the education and technology industries to give impetus to the development of human capital at a qualitatively new level through advanced techniques.

This is an integrational platform for the development of initiatives in the field of educational technologies, designed to bring interested parties together with a single goal to create innovations in professional development and effectively use them.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The first Kazakhstan forum of educational technology EdTech 2019 was held in the capital

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The first Kazakhstan forum of educational technology EdTech 2019 was held in the capital The first Kazakhstan forum of educational technologies EdTech: People. Inspiration. Progressive growth. was held at the AIFC Bureau (BCPD) at the second annual conference of Astana Finance Days. Inspiration. Progressive growth.

# data[].attributes.body
Research consultancy for evidence based edtech products- specialize in evaluation of edtech products

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
EdTech research, impact measuring and validation, grants and international certification advisory.

# data[].attributes.body
Resources, events, market insights for edtech in Vietnam

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Edtech Agency provides a variety of services based on our worldwide clients' demands.
We are the first and #1 educational technology agency in Vietnam.
We serve clients worldwide.

This service is designed to help our clients achieve:

Annual reports on Vietnam education and EdTech market

Specialized reports on EdTech niche market sectors

Competitive landscapes in any niche market sectors

Reports delivered in requested language

This service is designed to help our clients achieve:

Intensive consulting services on education and EdTech in Vietnam (B2C I B2B I B2G)

Information about the competitive landscapes

Suggested plans to expand business in the market with client's products/ services

We interview industry experts, business leaders and policymakers in Vietnam and abroad to dive into Vietnam's EdTech market,
including but not limited to market potential, M&A, on demand products, emerging trends, and up to date policies, etc

Edu Yellow Page is the first site in Vietnam covering various categories in education and edu-tech of Vietnam and other countries, including:

Pre-schools and kindergartens

K12 education Universities & Vocational training Highschool

Enterprise training Upskill training

Venture capitals & Angel investment networks

Edu and edtech relevant laws and regulations

Edu Yellow Page is available in different languages

Edu Yellow Page is continuously updated on a weekly basis

Edu Yellow Page is a product of Edtech Agency

Edtech Agency is the leading team in providing market research and producing reports on education, edtech and e-learning and digital educational content in Vietnam.
For the last 10 years, our team has conducted annual reports for the whole market which have been cited in many different Edu-events locally and regionally.
Contact us to have a nine-page summary of the report. See More

ABOUT US

Edtech Agency is the Vietnamese leading expert team with 18 years of experience in the servicing of Edtech, E-learning, educational digital content, and copyright. We have facilitated connections and distribution of education products and technology from overseas markets into Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries, and also released annual Vietnam edtech reports for the last 8 years.

We are the first in Vietnam & we serve worldwide clients.

SEE MORE

"Educating the mind without educating
the heart is no education at all"

Aristotle

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Edtech Agency provides a variety of services based on our worldwide clients' demands. We are the first and #1 educational technology agency in Vietnam.We

# data[].attributes.body
A collection of programs by UNICEF to reduce the digital learning gap in developing countries. These include Giga, Learning Passport etc.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The world is facing a learning crisis. Millions of children and young people are not developing the skills they need to break out of poverty. The growth of technology and the increasingly broad range of actors providing online learning means we can deliver learning opportunities anywhere, at any time.

But more than half of the world's children and young people are on the wrong side of the digital divide, limiting access to the same opportunities as their connected peers.

The cost of inaction will be high.

The World Bank estimates a loss of US$10 trillion in earnings over the lifetime of this generation of children and young people if urgent action is not taken to address the learning crisis.

We urgently need to reimagine education. A modern education should build and accredit basic skills - reading, writing and math - as well as skills in problem-solving, creativity, critical thinking that young people need for work, to start a business and to engage productively in their communities.

The availability and potential of technology means that digital learning should be part of a basic basket of essential services for every child and young person.

This means connecting every child and young person - some 3.5 billion by 2030 - to world-class digital solutions that offer personalized learning to leapfrog to a brighter future.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Digital learning should be part of a basic basket of essential services for every child and young person

# data[].attributes.headline
World Bank Digital Technologies in Education

# data[].attributes.subject
World Bank Digital Technologies in Education

# data[].attributes.body
World Bank initiative to decrease digital divide in education. Highlights edtech/ tangentially edtech projects on the website. Working in partnership with many orgs like the EdTech Hub, mEd Alliance etc.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The World Bank Group (WBG) is the largest financier of education in the developing world, working on education programs in more than 80 countries to provide quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all.

The WBG works in partnership with governments and organizations worldwide to support innovative projects, timely research, and knowledge sharing activities about the effective and appropriate use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in education systems -- "EdTech" -- to strengthen learning and contribute to poverty reduction around the world, as part of its larger work related to education.

The World Bank estimated the levels of "Learning Poverty" across the globe by measuring the number of 10-year old children who cannot read and understand a simple story by the end of primary school. In low- and middle-income countries "learning poverty" stands at 53%, while for the poorest countries, this is 80% on average. With the spread of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), 180+ countries mandated temporary school closures, leaving ~1.6 billion children and youth out of school at its height and affecting approximately 85% of children world-wide. While most countries are working towards re-opening schools, there are still intermittent closures and use of hybrid learning.
Reflecting on COVID Response and Remote Learning
Technology played and continues to play an essential role to deliver education to the students outside of school. Commendably, all countries were able to deploy remote learning technologies using a combination of TV, Radio, Online and Mobile Platforms. However, many children in low income countries did not participate in remote learning with about a third of low income countries reporting that 50% of children had not been reached in a joint UNESCO-UNICEF-World Bank survey. The pandemic has also led to significant losses in learning. School closures and limited access to remote learning means that Learning Poverty is likely to worsen from 53% to 63% especially in low-income countries if no remediation interventions are taken.

The crisis has starkly highlighted the inequalities in digital access and that 'business as usual' will not work for delivery of education to all children. To close the digital divides in Education and leverage the power of technology to accelerate learning, reduce learning poverty, and support skills development a focus must be placed in bridging the gaps in: i) digital infrastructure (connectivity, devices and software); ii) human infrastructure (teacher capacity, student skills and parental support); and iii) logistical and administrative systems to deploy and maintain tech architecture.

Education systems must adapt. It is against this backdrop that the EdTech team at the World Bank has identified five key questions to address in the short to medium term. These questions touch on the need to re-imagine education, to provide an equitable, engaging and fun learning experience for all children.

How can countries leverage EdTech investments to develop resilient hybrid learning systems? This question requires both reflecting on the lessons from implementation of remote learning during COVID and addressing the new digital infrastructure access divide. The World Bank is working with countries to identify how to address issues of affordable connectivity, device procurement, cloud solutions and multi-modal delivery of education. Moreover, the investments that countries have made in remote learning could be leveraged address existing challenges in education. Many countries are now thinking about a dual role for remote learning: as an insurance policy against future calamites especially in a world experiencing climate change as well as a way to reach out of school children and provide a lifelong education to all citizens.

How can countries recover learning loss, more effectively harness data and personalize learning with technology? The World Bank is deepening its work on adaptive learning systems, remote assessment and how education systems can more effectively use learning analytics to personalize education. A major part of this work will be developing a new strategy for Education Management Information Systems (EMIS 2.0) to support more effective use of data.

What are the changing roles and new skills for teachers in hybrid learning systems and how can additional human connections be leveraged through technology? The World Bank is exploring teacher competency frameworks, teacher networks, and communities of innovative teachers to support countries to empower teachers. Teachers are still central to learning even, or rather, especially in an environment rich with technology. Evidence is growing that bypassing Teachers and not engaging them with technology does not lead to student learning improvement.

How can countries leverage open technology ecosystems to expand access to quality content and learning experiences? The World Bank will collaborate with partners developing open global public goods and strategies to engage the large ecosystem of innovators in client countries to support the design and development of new educational content and curriculum. The team will develop communities of practice around EdTech innovation hubs and creative talent to develop new open educational libraries. A key content area of focus will be climate change.

How can technology support the development, measurement and accreditation of future skills? The World Bank will support countries to define 21st century competencies in students and teachers; explore ways to more effectively measure these skills and accredit these skills in collaboration with external partners sharing knowledge and experience in communities of practice on hard to measure skills and blockchain for education.
Education technology by itself is not a panacea
Though investment in EdTech has been increasing, learning and outcomes as a result have not changed considerably in many countries. An OECD report found that, when it comes to impact of computer usage in schools as measured through PISA, "impact on student performance is mixed, at best." COVID however has changed the debate on EdTech from a question of if to a question of how. Experience to date highlights that teaching and learning remotely is not the same as face-to-face pedagogy. Many teachers with access to e-content, for instance, use it like any another textbook to read from in class. Some adjustments include shorter and more modular content, more engaging content such as edutainment, continuous feedback, smaller group on-line discussions on more open-ended questions. Education at its heart is about human connections and relationships. While we can never replace the magic that happens between great teachers and students in an in-person environment, we should focus on the social aspects of technology to enhance connections from a distance. Much more attention must be directed on how technology will enhance teaching and learning in a blended learning environment reaching students, both in school and at home.

Last Updated: Sep 24, 2021

World Bank EdTech Strategy
As education systems invest in EdTech, the World Bank advocates these five principles for how to design and implement technology to re-imagine education:

1. ASK WHY: EdTech policies need to be developed with a clear purpose, strategy and vision of the intended education change to address the learning crisis.

If technology is the answer, what is the question? Education technology should be focused on the "education" and not just on the "technology". Before investing in and deploying EdTech, policymakers must ask what education challenges need to be addressed and what resulting change is desired. Policies must be holistic to account for teacher capacity and incentives, appropriate digital learning resources linked to the curriculum, and formative assessments that capture learning. Education at its core is a human-centered socially intensive endeavor. Technology is a means to these goals.

2. DESIGN FOR SCALE: EdTech design should be flexible and user-centered with equity and inclusion at its heart in order to realize scale and sustainability for all.

Design for scale begins with proactive engagement and empathy for all possible end-users -- students, teachers, administrators, parents, etc. Engagement with different users will reveal different needs. Understanding these needs will lead to inclusive and flexible designs that will be equitable and hence scalable. Today, the use of EdTech has demonstrated and is exacerbating inequities in education systems. This need not be the case. Beginning the design process with how technology can be utilized for all will lead to initiatives that are equitable and adaptable to specific contexts and thereby sustainable at scale.

3. EMPOWER TEACHERS: Technology should enhance teacher engagement with students through access to content, data and networks allowing them to focus on personalized student learning.EdTech cannot replace teachers, it can only augment teaching.

Evidence from around the world shows that, over time, the role of teachers become more central, and not peripheral, as the result of the effective use of EdTech. Technology will replace some of what teachers currently do, while at the same time supporting teachers as they take on new, often more sophisticated duties and responsibilities as a result of technological change. Teachers can be facilitators of learning, part of a learning team, a collaborator with outside expert mentors, a team leader on a project-based learning activity, etc. At the same time, in those circumstances where there is a scarcity of teachers or low-capacity teachers, technology can play an important role in assisting learners to, in part, overcome this absence. Where teachers lack content or pedagogical knowledge, technology can support structured lesson plans or text-based nudges to build this capacity. Teachers' use of technology will empower them to leverage an array of resources to provide more focused, personalized learning to students.

4. ENGAGE THE ECOSYSTEM: Education systems should take a whole of government and multi-stakeholder approach to engage and incorporate the most innovative ideas to support student learning.Ministries of Education should leverage all stakeholders in the education system when developing and implementing EdTech programs and policies. The best content, software, applications, algorithms and edutainment will be spread across many innovators in the country and around the world.

Ministries of Education should actively identify ways to find, incentive, integrate and sustain the creators in their country. This content can be delivered over the most appropriate channel - radio, TV, mobile, web - and bundled with data on learning and feedback to support continuous learning. This ecosystem includes key stakeholders such as students, teachers, school leaders, parents, NGOs, donors and the private sector including app developers, publishers, equipment manufacturers, telecommunication companies and cloud service providers. Clearly, EdTech requires that all these actors work in concert to a common goal taking a "whole of government approach." Successful EdTech policies and deployments requires that Ministries of Education leverage all stakeholders - inside and outside the education system.

5. DATA DRIVEN: Transparent standards and interoperable data architecture supports evidence-based decision making and a culture of learning and experimentation.

Technology can and should be used to easily collect data from educational institutions, analyze this data and support decision making. Technology is currently available to measure outcomes, track student performance, manage student retention, track book distribution, manage teacher recruitment, track education system spending, etc. Without these, countries will not be as efficient in supporting schools, students and teachers. This data however is diffused through various systems in Ministries of Education and other parts of government. Countries must have flexible, scalable systems that avoid data silos that don't talk to one another and vendor-lock in (where future decisions on the use of EdTech are constrained by technology choices made in the past). To operationalize this principle, Ministries of Education should promote transparent standards that facilitate interoperability of systems, data and content and remove barriers to competition in order to promote a data-driven decision-making culture. Many times, learnings from this data is not fed back into the system. A culture of gathering rigorous data about the 'impact of EdTech' must be priority. With the pace of technological change, evidence quickly becomes stale. Hence, constant learning through iteration, controlled experimentation, and nimble evaluations is critical to separate 'hope' from 'hype' surrounding different technologies and informing all further EdTech decisions. The culture of data-driven decision making must be strengthened.
In order to operationalize these principles, the World Bank focuses on the discovery, diffusion and deployment of new technologies.
Discover, document, generate and analyze evidence-based technology solutions in education attuned to developing countries.

The World Bank supports the EdTech community across countries to discover new innovations, build the evidence base and facilitate the transformation of ministries of education into learning organizations. In some sense, policy makers are supported to think like a system, but act like entrepreneurs. This is achieved through institutional support for Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) into projects that use EdTech; the inclusion of partnerships with like-minded organizations and the development of global public goods that can be used across multiple countries.

Diffuse this knowledge widely across policy makers in our client countries and support capacity development to better use this new knowledge. The World Bank promotes multi-stakeholder approaches, including partnerships beyond the traditional education sector, to support the effective, appropriate and impactful use of EdTech.

The World Bank works in partnership with governments, academic institutions, non-governmental organizations, private companies, civil society and communities worldwide to support innovative projects, timely research, and knowledge-sharing about EdTech with the ultimate goal of improving teaching and learning. To do this, it invests in the capabilities of its staff to identify and lead partnerships, drawing on relevant experience and expertise. The World Bank also recognizes the role played by the private sector and seeks to harness its innovation and ingenuity to strengthen efficiencies in the public sector. This approach of networking expertise is critical to ensure that EdTech experiences are effectively shared across regions and that last-mile support to educational institutions supports implementation of government programs.

Deploy solutions, at the pilot level and at scale, tackling adoption barriers (including in procurement) and in ways informed by evidence, and which allow for efficient course correction. The World Bank supports countries as they seek to strengthen and expand existing educational practices and approaches through the use of new technologies, as well as to transform them. The World Bank works with partners to develop digital global public goods that adhere to its 5 EdTech principles. These digital global public goods are digitized knowledge and ideas that countries can build upon and adapt to their contexts.

To execute this strategy the World Bank will provide support to countries through lending operations, partnership networks, and development of digital global public goods in support of the overall World Bank education approach.
Reimagining Human Connections: Technology and Innovation in Education at the World Bank
Last Updated: Sep 24, 2021

Current and Past Projects
Notable recent projects include:

In Burundi, the Burundi Skills for Jobs: Women and Youth aims at supporting job creation for women and youth, with a focus on digital skills and support the creation of a new Institute of Computer Science/Computer Engineering and Digital Transformation, anchored at the University of Burundi in partnership with world class universities.

In Nigeria, the Edo Basic Education Sector and Skills Transformation Operation leverages technology to improve teaching and learning processes in basic education and has institutionalized remote learning EdoBEST@Home program to provide access to all students outside school.

In Pakistan, the Higher Education Development Project includes support to equip Students and Higher Education Institutions with Modern Technology and to leverage technology to improve the teaching, learning and research environment in Pakistan including upgrading Pakistan's National Research and Education Network (NREN)).

In Morocco, the pandemic created an electroshock on the education system that motivated the country to come up with a new system that prepares the schools for the new realities and for the future of education. Classrooms are kept smaller and new methods of teaching have been developed to enable teachers to animate classes in a way that students understand better. In addition, the schools are more connected than ever. System of evaluation of the new way of teaching and learning is being developed. Complementing, but not replacing in-person teaching by online classes. Developing pedagogical models that support the return to school and provide different learning formats for different situations/students. Morocco is introducing a hybrid-model for families to choose.

In Turkey, an COVID emergency response Project - Safe Schooling and Distance Education Project aims to build future resilience in the education system by creating a new hybrid learning model to support access to digital resources, improve connectivity and access to education data. The Project will also build out the national ecosystem of innovators to support the development of new learning resources and build capacity of teachers to effectively use these digital resources to support hybrid learning.

EVOKE, an online alternate reality game supporting social innovation among young people around the world including a latest iteration on use of Blockchain for conditional cash transfer in Colombia. Also support for FabLabs in higher education institutions in countries like Bangladesh, research into the use of e-readers in schools in Lagos, and pilots of the Khan Academy in Nigeria and Guyana.

Events Resources
We release a number of publications each year on specific projects and themes related to technology and innovation in education. See attached a sample of some of these resources linked to the critical questions we will address in the coming year:
1. How can countries leverage EdTech investments to develop resilient hybrid learning systems? 2. How can countries recover learning loss, more effectively harness data and personalize learning with technology? 3. What are the changing roles and new skills for teachers in hybrid learning systems and how can additional human connections be leveraged through technology? 4. How can countries leverage open technology ecosystems to expand access to quality content and learning experiences? 5. How can technology support the development, measurement and accreditation of future skills? Comprehensive list of past publications (Archive) Download Knowledge Packs
Knowledge Packs are resources developed by the World Bank's EdTech team to serve as short, practical guides on individual topics within education technology.

Last Updated: Sep 24, 2021

EdTech Hub
Founded in 2019, the EdTech Hub was established to accelerate progress toward ending the global learning crisis by increasing the use of evidence to inform decision-making about education technology. Technology has the potential to help address the global learning crisis. But that potential is not yet being realised. Some reasons for this include:

incomplete understanding of what works and what does not

many under-researched issues

intervention designs are often not evidence-based

policy decisions are often not evidence-based

stakeholders are disconnected

the evidence that does exist is not easily accessible

The EdTech Hub aims to address these gaps. The EdTech Hub will synthesize existing evidence, conduct new research, support innovations to scale, and provide advisory support to governments and other country partners.

The EdTech Hub is collaboratively run by a partnership of organisations: Overseas Development Institute, Faculty of Education at the University of Cambridge, Results for Development, Open Development and Education, Brink, Jigsaw Consult, BRAC, Afrilabs and eLearning Africa. The EdTech Hub is funded by the UK Department for International Development, the World Bank and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Education Continuity Partnership under COVID-19 with OECD, Harvard & HundrED
In the wake of COVID-19, the Harvard Global Education Innovation Initiative, HundrED, the OECD Directorate for Education and Skills and the World Bank Group Education Global Practice is gathering information from around the world on the education response to the crisis. This includes a series of webinar conversations and a series of education stories.
Strategic Impact Evaluation Fund (SIEF)
The World Bank's Strategic Impact Evaluation Fund (SIEF) supports scientifically rigorous research that measures the impact of programs and policies to improve education, health, access to quality water and sanitation, and early childhood development in low and middle income countries. The majority of the evaluations are randomized control trials (RCTs) and they were chosen through a competitive process open to researchers worldwide.

On July 29, 2020, SIEF announced six evaluation teams that will receive funding through SIEF's COVID-19 emergency window. These evaluations will rapidly generate evidence on how to keep students engaged with learning and remote education at home and how to prepare them for the return to school. Each evaluation will also collect detailed cost data that can help shed light on the resources required for scale and sustained implementation. Teams include: Bangladesh, Ecuador, Ghana, Guatemala, Pakistan, Sierra Leone.
Global EdTech Readiness Index Partnership
The Global Edtech Readiness Index is part of the Global Education Policy Dashboard (GEPD) funded by a partnership between the World Bank, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, U.K.'s Department for International Development and government of Japan.

The World Bank, with support from Imaginable Futures has created the EdTech Readiness Index (ETRI). The tool will enable countries to: (a) identify good practices and areas where EdTech policies can be strengthened, and (b) monitor progress as countries take action.

The ETRI goes beyond measuring the availability of devices and the level of connectivity to capture key elements of the larger education-technology ecosystem in a country, guiding efforts to increase learning opportunities and reduce inequalities. ETRI is organized around 6 pillars: School Management, Teachers, Students, Devices, Connectivity, and Digital Resources. For each pillar, the ETRI reports on a practice indicator (to capture the practices at the school level), a de jure policy indicator (to capture whether there is a policy to inform each practice), and a de facto policy indicator (to measure the extent to which the policy is implemented)
Continuity and Acceleration of Learning
The Continuous and Accelerated Learning (CAL) program aims to support multi-modal continuous learning by supporting the development, dissemination and delivery at scale of new and existing global public goods and regional learning continuity approaches, in the short term to offset the impacts of school closures, and in the medium to long term to ensure continuity and accelerate learning after schools re-open while building resilience into the education system. Support will be focused on improving foundational learning and lowering learning poverty by adapting to students', teachers' and parents' needs, anywhere, anytime in a more inclusive, equitable, effective and resilient way than pre-COVID-19.

As part of the Continuous and Accelerated Learning (CAL) program "Teachers for a Changing World: Transforming Teacher Professional Development Spotlight" (T4T) in partnership with HundrED a created a global contest to identify and promote scalable and impactful solutions for teacher professional development using technology.

The CAL work is supported by GPE and other donors and involves partnerships with UNESCO and UNICEF.
Reimagine Education: Digital Learning for Every Child Everywhere with UNICEF
UNICEF and the World Bank are joining forces to support countries to use technology as an accelerator to address key global education challenges related to equitable access to quality and relevant learning. This partnership will build on, extend, and complement existing global joint initiatives partnerships and programs that use digital technology to address the learning crisis. It also supports the improvement of teachers' effectiveness in the classroom; student development of skills needed to succeed in school, work, and life; connecting all schools to the Internet; and research on technological innovations for education. This partnership is unique, representing the convergence and alignment of the World Bank and UNICEF's global and country-level expertise, reach and ability to support implementation at scale.
mEducation Alliance
The mEducation Alliance is a non-governmental organization focused on the evidence-driven and sustainable role of technology in education to advance quality educational outcomes. Formed in 2010, the mEducation Alliance is a unique, multi-stakeholder convening platform for government and donor policymakers, other investors, researchers, and practitioners to work together, particularly in lower-resource, developing country contexts.

The mEducation Alliance is dedicated to strengthening formal and non-formal educational systems by:

Convening: connecting EdTech investors, policymakers, and practitioners;

Communicating: sharing good practices within the global EdTech community; and,

Catalyzing: accelerating EdTech investments and the scaling of promising interventions and initiatives.

Key mEducation Alliance Key Activities and Product Highlights

Ecosystem building for and acceleration of EdTech interventions

Dissemination of good practices via a variety of multimedia channels

Annual Symposia and other networking events (virtual and in person)

EdTech research profiles and research roundtables

Landscape and literature reviews

Investment consultations for donors and EdTech service providers

Catalyzing education grand challenges and competition calls

Working groups for donors and policymakers

Launch and support of a range of signature EdTech initiatives (e.g, Math Attacks!, Young Digital Champions, EdTech Academy)

The World Bank is an alliance member, along with the British Council, EdTech Hub, GIZ, Gesci, Global Partnership for Education, GSMA, IAmLearn, IDRC CRDI, ISTE, ITU, KERIS, Norad, OAS, Peace Corps, SPRIDER, US State Department, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNESCO, DFID, USAID, World Vision, World Wide Web Foundation, Brookings, and ADEA.
CORE TEAM
The core edtech team works with and supports a group of two dozen EdTech Fellows, frontline staff from across the World Bank's education global practice working in every region around the world on over 50 edtech-related topics

Robert Hawkins - WB Blog / Twitter / Podcast Interview

Michael Trucano - WB Blog / Twitter / Podcast Interview

Alex Twinomugisha - WB Blog / Podcast Interview

Cristobal Cobo - WB Blog / Twitter / Podcast Interview

Maria Barron - WB Blog/ Twitter / Podcast Interview

Inaki Sanchez Ciarrusta - WB Blog

Last Updated: Sep 24, 2021

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The World Bank Group (WBG) is the largest financier of education in the developing world, working on education programs in more than 80 countries to provide quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all.

# data[].attributes.body
Glossary of all the Ed Tech products available with reviews and comparisons for stakeholders

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
EdTech Impact: Finding the best EdTech companies 2023

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
We help educators find the best EdTech, and push companies to up their game. Compare 1,500+ EdTech solutions using real-time, up-to-date customer reviews.

# data[].attributes.body
Blogs related to edtech advancements -Mainly HIC focused. They also host an EdTech specific events tracker

# data[].attributes.body
Resources and workshops to understand how AI can be used in schools

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Our objective is to guarantee the provision of top-tier AI resources for those with limited financial resources, ensuring these tools are bespoke to their needs. We are cautiously optimistic about AI's transformative potential in education - and we acknowledge the complexities in implementing effective solutions - but are excited about the potential.

While we have only just started, this platform is already becoming a repository of knowledge on AI in education, offering effective strategies, practical advice, and highlighting potential pitfalls. This concrete guidance is rooted in real-world applications and we are already providing open-source code to turn innovative ideas into tangible solutions.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A community to ensure equitable access and benefits from AI in Education

# data[].attributes.body
Podcast run by the World Bank Education Technology team centered around Edtech in emerging markets.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Listen to World Bank EduTech Podcast on Spotify. Conversations from the World Bank Education Technology team.

# data[].attributes.body
Podcast series about current EdTech trends especially AI in education

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Join two former teachers - Libby Hills from the Jacobs Foundation and AI researcher Owen Henkel - for the Ed-Technical podcast series about AI in education. Each episode, guest hosted on BOLD, Libby and Owen will ask experts to help educators sift the useful insights from the AI hype. They'll be asking questions such as "How does AI really help students and teachers?", "What do we actually know about this technology, and what's just speculation?" and "When we say 'AI', what are we actually talking about?"
This week we're doing our third short episode - a chat between Libby and Owen about the more speculative or out-there EdTech ideas they could get behind (or not). Listen to find out who's into calculators and who's into roboteachers...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What out-there EdTech idea would you buy or sell? - BOLD

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Libby and Owen discuss the speculative or out-there EdTech ideas they could get behind (or not).

# data[].attributes.body
Members could explore other models of funding EdTech organizations and initiatives from alternative spaces and also collaborate with these organizations to complement their funding efforts

# data[].attributes.body
Investment community for early stage EdTech ventures in India

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Edupreneur Village is an EdTech focused ecosystem based in Delhi India, focusing on investment, incubation, growth and market access for education Startups across India and abroad.

We believe that access to customers is as important as capital for startups. We help them achieve that through Auro Scholar, the world's 1st micro scholarship programme aimed at encouraging Indian students to improve their learning continuously by authenticating their learning levels.

An initiative by Sri Aurobindo Society, Puducherry, which has a 60+ year legacy and 300+ centres around the world. The Society has a deep focus on Education Transformation, in addition to multiple other social objectives. Zero Investment Innovation in Education Initiatives (ZIIEI) is the flagship non-profit Education Reform programme of the Society and runs across 30+ Indian states & UTs in 3 Lakh schools and covers 2 million school teachers, with 30 million school kids as eventual beneficiaries.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Cultivating Entrepreneurs to Transform Education

# data[].attributes.body
EdTech VC in Egypt

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Our Programs

Being the first-of-its-kind in the Arab world, EdVentures incubates, accelerates and invests in startups serving the sectors of education, culture, and innovative learning solutions.

Incubation

Early stage startups get enrolled in our incubation program, where they are provided with intense and focused training to build their product offering, understand their customer needs, and attain a product-market fit.

Acceleration

Startups that have been in the market for a while with a minimum viable product get enrolled in our 3 month acceleration program, where trainings are more edtech focused to expedite their growth in a limited time.

Investment

Startups that need further scaling and growth get enrolled in the investment track, where they get the financial and operational support to be able to reach new markets and create new products.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Our Programs Being the first-of-its-kind in the Arab world, EdVentures incubates, accelerates and invests in startups serving the sectors of education, culture, and innovative learning solutions. Early stage startups get enrolled in our incubation program, where they are provided with intense and focused training to build their product offering, understand their customer needs, and attain a product-market fit.

# data[].attributes.body
Incubator for non profit and for profit EdTech innovations in the African Continent

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
On February 21, 2020, the Mastercard Foundation Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning in Information, Communications, and Technology (ICT) announced the first cohort of 12 EdTech Fellows, companies that will benefit from the Centre's support to expand their operations and improve secondary teaching and learning across the continent.

The selected EdTech Fellows companies are:

AkooBooks Audio

AkooBooks Audio is a platform and experience provider focused on transforming African books into engaging audiobooks that reach new audiences on mobile phones. It prioritizes literacy as the core fundamental of a successful education. It fosters online discovery of new African voices for enthusiasts of all ages through its playlists. Its library of African audio is available anytime, accessible anywhere on a wide variety of mobile devices and offers low, flexible subscription plans and low retail cost. AkooBooks currently operates in Ghana and has distribution agreements with leading audiobook platforms worldwide and YouScribe bringing access to Francophone West Africa and North Africa (Côte-d'Ivoire, Sénégal, Gabon, Mali, Tunisia, Morocco, RDC and Burkina-Faso).

Chalkboard Education

Chalkboard Education offers low tech software and services for institutions to create and track training programs, on mobile, without the Internet. Based in Ghana and Ivory Coast, Chalkboard Education trains over 10,000 beneficiaries in four African countries. Chalkboard Education seeks to expand in-service and pre-service teacher training programs across the continent, and provide educators with the opportunity strengthen their skills so they can have a deeper impact in their communities.

The Dr. CL Smith Foundation

The Foundation was established in 2013 and aims to create and drive positive social change in previously disadvantaged and excluded areas in South Africa through education, sport, and health.

Its platform, Zibuza.net, aims to improve teacher capacity by providing a common platform for teachers that allows them to connect with their peers and other education stakeholders. Zibuza.net is an online professional learning community that gives teachers access to high-quality teaching resources like lesson plans, classroom activities, past exam papers and memos, courseware, tools, and files. The goal is to empower teachers to create learning environments that are fun, interactive, and engaging.

Eneza Education

Eneza Education is an EdTech company that provides learning and revision materials via SMS/USSD on basic feature phones. It currently operates in Kenya, Ghana, and Côte d'Ivoire and has reached six million plus learners since its inception in 2013. Its product TeachMobile is a platform that provides in-service and pre-service teachers with tailor-made courses and teaching tools such as lesson plans and classroom activities. There is also real-time support provided by subject matter experts and educators.

HITCH

HITCH is an educational video platform for African schools, which started in Nigeria. It provides under-served schools with a video platform with intelligently-curated educational content . It is building an educational and vocational video library which is fed into its system and matched against textbooks and curriculums, resulting in world-class educational and vocational content matched to local textbooks and curriculums.

The company tracks analytics to understand video effectiveness, which is fed back into its machine-learning algorithm for further improvements. H ITCH provide s a battery-powered hotspot that stores its web app and content locally , which ensures that it is available during power and internet outages. The platform also embeds inspiring case studies into core and ancillary videos , which provide contextual insigh ts and professional, vocational, and entrepreneurial pathways for students and teachers.

iCog Labs

iCog Labs is a private research and development company based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, collaborating with international AI research groups and serving customers around the world. The company has helped its customers with a variety of projects, with a core specialty in artificial intelligence. Partnering with iCog Labs, tech developer Betelhem Dessie founded an initiative called iCog Anyone Can Code (iCog-ACC) to create a platform in which children throughout the developing world can have the same opportunity she had when she was a child. iCog Labs currently operates in different cities of Ethiopia with a vision to go global.

Instill Education

Instill Education has a vision to transform teaching, learning and leadership in every classroom on the African continent. For four years it has experimented with mobile learning platforms. It believes that its current iteration is now ready to test at a larger scale so that it can further refine and build out its platform. That platform is built around core principles.

Content must be bite-sized (no more than 30 minutes) and focused on specific techniques.

Content must be hyper practical. Teachers must intrinsically understand that the training they are undertaking will have an immediate impact in their classroom.

The model allows for 'spaced learning' where teachers can repeatedly review content and assessments, reinforcing learning and committing techniques to long-term memory.

Kytabu

Kytabu is a Kenyan EdTech company that has built the technology to provide short and engaging curriculum content in text, audio, and video formats for students on a mobile application. To date, Kytabu has amassed more than 4,700 curriculum-curated textbooks, audiobooks, videos, and assessments. Kytabu's software offering includes a mobile app for students, a parents' monitoring app and a school management system that brings together the whole platform.

Litemore

Litemore simplifies and enhances the use of technology to deliver quality education by developing tools that help parents, teachers, students, and schools attain their educational goals. Its mobile-first data management platform, Zeraki Analytics, simplifies and personalizes access to educational insight while its digital learning platform Zeraki Learning allows students to access to Kenya's best instructors anywhere, at any time. Litemore Limited is based in Nairobi and serves over 500 schools in Kenya.

M-Shule

M-Shule is the first personalized, mobile learning platform in Africa to connect learners with tailored tutoring, training, assessments and data through SMS. Meaning "mobile school" in Swahili, M-Shule's platform uses artificial intelligence to deliver personalized learning support, skill development, and data collection tools over text message and chatbots. M-Shule also analyzes data and shares insights with key stakeholders and organizations to ensure better support for students. By making an all-in-one learning platform possible with the simplest phone, M-Shule unlocks new opportunities for millions across Sub-Saharan Africa and the world. M-Shule currently operates in Kenya.

O'Genius Priority

O'Genius Panda is an educational platform where students use computers to perform laboratory experiments equipping them with experiential and practical science knowledge.

It is a teaching and learning tool which provides alternative solution to schools without labs and allows students to revise their lessons in exciting and engaging ways using interactive animations and simulations designed to align with the education curriculum. The platform saves time for teachers, budgets for schools, increases the safety of conducting lab experiments, and is accessible anytime, anywhere through computers and mobile phones. Students who have adopted the product have increased academic performance by 10 percent. O'Genius Panda has been selected by the UN Sustainable Development Solution Network as one of most innovative top 25 global youth-led for-profit solutions that are advancing SDGs.

Siyavula Education

Siyavula Education focuses on using technology to enable access to high-quality education. Siyavula's flagship products are Siyavula Practice and Exam Prep, which are part of a customized online learning platform that uses the latest research on motivation, sequencing, and cognitive science to optimize student study habits and improve test scores.

Currently the platform focusses on high school mathematics and physical sciences. Services are complemented by a catalog of free, open-license textbooks that are endorsed by the National Department of Basic Education in South Africa. A teacher-focused toolkit has been developed for managing classes, assignments, and reporting.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
EdTech Fellows at Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning in ICT - Mastercard Foundation

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
On February 21, 2020, the Mastercard Foundation Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning in Information, Communications, and Technology (ICT) announced the first cohort of 12 EdTech Fellows, companies that will benefit from the Centre's support to expand their operations and improve secondary teaching and learning across the continent.

# data[].attributes.body
Venture capital funders of early stage Edtech organisations

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
As with building a great company, impact at scale does not happen overnight. It's an ongoing process, one that can be intentional and measurable. We help companies monitor and increase their impact along three dimensions:

# data[].attributes.body
Venture capital funders of early stage Edtech organisations

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
We invest in people, ideas, and portfolio companies that rethink the way we learn and teach. Through venture capital investing, we support mission-driven founders willing to tackle the hard problems - to challenge the status quo and transform educational outcomes for all learners. Managing Partners,…

# data[].attributes.body
A coalition of Edtech organizations, government stakeholders and multilateral organizations to bridge the gap of resource availability in advancing tech enabled education outcomes.

# data[].attributes.body
Standards for EdTech in Education and other resources for Edtech organizations and educational institutions and stakeholders. They have a library of learning resources ranging from blogs to webinars and podcasts on thinking about technology in schools

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The ISTE Student Standards guide educators toward student-driven learning practices that prepare students to thrive in an evolving technological landscape.

# data[].attributes.body
Think tank and accelerator for African EdTech organizations. Localized research and development initiatives on topics such as market analysis for EdTech in Africa, public private partnerships.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Injini Think Tank has a mission to steer and house localised industry research through data-led publications, bespoke market research for EdTech entrepreneurs, open discussion platforms, community building strategic initiatives and advocacy around education policy.

# data[].attributes.body
Conference topics include policy for better adoption of EdTech in schools, new age EdTech tools. Stalls for edtech providers and avenues for networking with edtech entrepreneurs, policy makers and educational institutions

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Inspiration in Education | EDUtech_Europe 2024

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
EDUtech is coming to Europe. Bringing content on topics that really resonate with educators presented by the leading minds in education

# data[].attributes.body
Education and technology conference organized by Beijing Normal University (BNU) in collaboration with UNESCO IITE in China. Looks like the inaugural event in 2023 with international representation. It is an initiative of the Global Smart Education Network f GSENet that aims to collectively end global learning crises with technology.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The changes in the world, the era, and history are unfolding in unprecedented ways, driving the adaptation and adjustments in global education. Digitalization in education is a crucial breakthrough for opening new avenues and shaping new advantages in educational development. The UNESCO advocates for the construction of a new "social contract", fully leveraging the educational dividends brought by digital technology to better demonstrate education as a global public interest. The UN Transforming Education Summit calls on countries to fully harness the power of the digital revolution to drive global education reform, ensuring the provision of high-quality education and lifelong learning as a common interest for everyone. China has proposed advancing educational digitalization, constructing a learning society, and becoming a learning-oriented nation with lifelong learning for all.

As a new form of education in the digital era, smart education is an inevitable choice for advancing equitable, inclusive, and high-quality education. From the perspective of the digital transformation of education, the new features of smart education are manifested in two aspects. Firstly, the key characteristic of the national or regional smart education ecosystem is the "development goals" of smart education. These goals include student-centered teaching, comprehensive learning assessment, ubiquitous smart learning environments, ongoing improvement of educational culture, and a commitment to inclusive and equitable education. Secondly, the auxiliary constructive features of the smart education system, namely the "practical pathways" of smart education, include the proactive construction of student social communities, priority support programs for teacher development, ethical technology applications, sustainable education reform plans, and effective cross-sector and cross-domain collaboration.
Collaborating on forward-looking strategic and policy planning, leading the sustainable development of smart education.
Policies are the key guarantee for driving the digital transformation of education. The development of smart education is a major undertaking in educational reform that requires systematic planning and scientific planning. It is essential to ensure the normative and orderly integration of technologies like artificial intelligence into the educational ecosystem and utilize new technologies to facilitate the development of precise and efficient educational applications and governance mechanisms. The technological conditions necessary for the development of the education sector have a certain level of complexity. This complexity necessitates a comprehensive understanding and implementation of public policies that leverage intelligent technologies to promote sustainable development. This should involve the joint efforts and extensive participation of stakeholders and the general public, achieving collaborative construction of the digitized education system by multiple entities.

Governments should advance the development of smart education based on their governance structure and specific circumstances. They should focus on three strategic leverage points: transforming teaching methods, constructing smart learning environments, and formulating forward-looking policies. It is crucial to consider fairness and inclusion, a culture of continuous improvement, and collaboration across multiple sectors. Policymakers should reevaluate, analyze, and formulate national education policies from aspects such as information infrastructure, digital educational resources and platforms, curriculum and teaching methods, digital literacy and competence, technology governance, and educational administration. Local governments and schools should actively promote the construction of a new smart education ecosystem. This involves designing and implementing smart campuses and innovative learning environments, improving the effectiveness of learning, operational efficiency of schools, and the efficiency of digital tools and resources. It also includes innovating technology-enhanced personalized learning and differentiated teaching models, along with continuous monitoring. Researchers should strengthen collaboration with frontline education professionals, decision-makers, and administrators to further facilitate the coordinated development of smart education.
Promoting the integration of science and education as well as the fusion of industry and education to support innovative practices in smart education.
In the interaction of technological progress, social transformation, and educational changes, technology and education are gradually forming a new pattern of systematic, deep integration across all fields, elements, processes, and businesses. This integration exhibits characteristics of extensive coverage, diversity, and multiple values. Fundamentally, in smart education, "wisdom" emanates from the teacher; in intelligent education, "intelligence" arises from the environment; and in future education, its "transformation" manifests in its form. The continuous upgrade of the intelligent technology ecosystem will serve the adaptive growth of students, support the professional development of teachers, and facilitate the intelligent upgrade of learning environments. The integration of science and education is the driving force for reshaping the talent cultivation system, while the fusion of industry and education is a mechanism guaranteeing the resilience of education and the economy. It supports and guides innovative practices in smart education.

To deeply advance digitalization of education and innovate the development of smart education, the key lies in cultivating the digital thinking of the education system, solidifying digital support capabilities, creating high-quality digital learning content, and constructing a nationwide digital learning public service system. The UN Transformation Education Summit has initiated the "Gateways to Public Digital Learning" initiative aimed at creating an inclusive digital learning platform and content, forming a global public digital learning resource network. China is implementing its education digitalization strategy by constructing the National Smart Education Platform and lanuching its international version, updating educational concepts, transforming teaching methods, innovating digital teaching methods, promoting on-demand learning, and creating a new form of smart education enabled by technology, sustainable development, and open cooperation.
Seizing the opportunity presented by the Global Smart Education Conference, let us collaboratively embark on the creation of a bright future for smart education that benefits all of humanity.
Since its inception in 2020, the Global Smart Education Conference has served as a crucial platform for international collaboration and exchange in smart education. In a bid to drive effective global practices in smart education, strengthen international understanding and international communication, and promote educational reform and innovation, Beijing Normal University (BNU), in collaboration with UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education (UNESCO IITE), the Commonwealth of Learning (COL), the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO), and the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO), has jointly initiated the "Global Smart Education Network (GSENet)". The network has launched the "GSENet Beijing Declaration on Smart Education Strategies", dedicated to continuously exploring the use of emerging technologies to promote equitable and inclusive high-quality education for all.

As the annual conference of GSENet, the Global Smart Education Conference 2024 will be held in Beijing from August 18 to 20. The conference, themed around "Education Transformation & International Understanding", will feature plenary sessions, high-level dialogues, thematic forums, roundtable discussions, and workshops on smart education policies, technologies, and practices. It aims to release research findings and collaboration plans, showcase exemplary cases and solutions, and facilitate in-depth exchanges and collaboration to collectively pave the way for a brighter future in smart education for all of humanity.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The changes in the world, the era, and history are unfolding in unprecedented ways, driving the adaptation and adjustments in global education. Digitalization in education is a crucial breakthrough for opening new avenues and shaping new advantages in educational development.

# data[].attributes.body
Podcast on using tech for development

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Working with the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to apply frontier technologies to the biggest challenges in development.

# data[].attributes.body
Edtech resources and landscape review of Columbia. They have many resources for teachers and other school level implementation stakeholders

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
ProFuturo - Programa de educación digital impulsado por Fundación Telefónica y Fundación "la Caixa"

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
"Awareness of the development of digital skills is no longer an ancillary matter in Latin America and the Caribbean. It has to be a core issue. The pandemic has made this very clear, urging us to work fast, intensify our efforts and bring in civil society. We can't have a generation affected by a process that's left learning unevenly distributed by factors such as income and internet connection disparity". This declaration of intent made by Colombian Minister of Education María Victoria Angulo in conversation with Magdalena Brier, ProFuturo's Managing Director, contains some of the key elements of the Latin American country's strategy to move its education system forward at the pace required by the fourth industrial revolution and the major changes that the latter has brought about in our society. These include developing digital skills and learnings for the future, bridging divides and collective endeavour.

We know from the experiences of other countries that technology can have a significant impact on education. For example, it can reduce learning gaps, enhance teachers' career development, improve the efficiency of day-to-day management and generate and process information to improve lessons and even education policies (Mateo and Lee, 2020). However, for technology to achieve all the above for education, it must form part of comprehensive and more ambitious reforms, with many other elements at play. For example, a vision that's unique to each country and shared by all the actors in the system, which also puts equity and inclusion at the heart of the strategy (Mateo and Lee, 2020).

Innovation, yes. But innovation with a purpose. In this article, we'll discuss the educational innovation ecosystem that's being implemented in Colombia, together with its main axes and the programmes by means of which it's taking shape.

RECONNECTING TO EDUCATION

During the COVID-19 pandemic, 165 million students in LAC were "switched off" from education ( IDB, 2020). In Colombia the figure reached almost 10 million. In view of this situation, teachers, families and governments made strenuous efforts to maintain the levels of learning, with websites and platforms with educational resources, online classes, radio and TV lessons and text messages to send homework.

However, despite these efforts, the data indicate that a large number of students have remained disengaged from learning activities, most of them have spent half as many hours studying and, even more seriously, many of them will be permanently disconnected from education and they won't enrol again. This was because until COVID-19 came into our lives, the presence of technology in education had been of a merely token nature, with very few exceptions.

But the fact is that, with or without COVID-19, education systems must move forward to cope with the massive changes that have been transforming our lives for a number of years. This is a reality throughout the world, but it's even more evident in the Latin American and Caribbean region, where there are serious inequalities in access to education for a large part of the population and where the standstill in learning and the risk of dropping out of school are jeopardising the progress achieved in terms of access over the last two decades.

THE MAJOR CHALLENGES ON THE EDUCATIONAL AGENDA

With the above in mind, what are the major challenges that a national educational innovation strategy should address? How should they be addressed?

Education gaps, enhancing learning and the culture of connectivity

As a result of the existing inequalities and connectivity gaps, the pandemic has widened the differences between the most advantaged and the most vulnerable students. The efforts to close these gaps must therefore be redoubled. In the words of María Victoria Angulo, "the use of technology at schools can help to bridge the digital gap, but also the cognitive divide". To do so, the first step is to make progress in terms of connectivity. In Colombia, according to an ECLAC report, only 67% of 15-year-old students have an internet connection, only 62% have access to a computer and only 29% use any educational software. Moreover, according to the data of the Ministry of Education and the Icfes analysed by the LEE (Laboratory of Economics of Education) at the Javierian University, only 17% of rural Colombian students have a computer and internet.

In the Colombian strategy, connectivity is regarded not only as the physical ability to be connected to technology but also in a much broader sense. Thus, it talks of a "culture of connectivity" which, in the Minister's words, means "preparing all the communities to understand all the potential that connectivity provides them with. What it means to be connected".

For this purpose, the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, in partnership with that of Education, is furthering a rural connectivity project that is expected to reach more than 14,000 connected schools over the next 10 years.

The country has also developed a national educational innovation ecosystem made up of programmes such as Colombia Aprende, a set of educational platforms with more than four million users that's available to teachers and students who, through it, can access all kinds of resources, guides, guidelines, MOOC-type courses and a joint working platform for teachers, and Aprendizajes para el futuro, a series of initiatives for the training of citizens for the 21st century, by means of which children can learn to programme (coding for kids), become familiar with science, maths, engineering and technology contents (the STEM+ approach, the 4th Industrial Revolution and EdukLabs) and become involved in actions designed to promote safe and reliable digital environments.

Teaching skills

According to the above-mentioned Javierian University study, 48% of the country's state school heads believe that their teachers don't have the technical and pedagogical skills required to integrate digital devices into their teaching. In this regard, as the Minister of Education states, "we need teachers who incorporate technology into their work. We've created a programme called Contacto maestro that's not only about technology connecting us, but also about connecting us with empathy". Thus, Contacto Maestro is a platform for teachers with information and resources to enable them to train, connect with other teachers and care for themselves. They'll find a wide range of training opportunities, calls for research and knowledge promotion, networks, mentoring and communities of practice; they'll thus be able to "do their magic better", motivating their students and making their classes more fun and enjoyable by means of new media.

Evaluar para Avanzar

Assessing the current status of all the elements in the education system is essential for identifying what we need and how to move forward. For this reason, Colombia has just launched Evaluar para Avanzar, a national strategy to improve the quality of learning by means of an evaluation process whose results should serve as a basis for generating innovative curricular proposals and accompaniment strategies with a positive impact on the students' progress. In addition to the student evaluations, this public policy envisages skill enhancement for all the actors involved in the educational process (including the families), the analysis, interpretation and appropriation of the evaluation results and the development of academic and pedagogical reinforcement plans based on these results.

THE CLUES TO THE COLOMBIAN CASE

Colombian students have just returned to the classroom after the hiatus caused by the pandemic and it's too early to assess the results of the national strategy, which has also been significantly affected by the health crisis. However, this strategy can offer us some clues as to what characteristics a public policy that seeks to successfully integrate technology and innovation into a country's education system should have:

A vision or purpose: at the basis of any education strategy there must be a clear vision stemming from the specific context of each country, one that's shared and agreed upon by each and every one of the players in the education system.

Equity and inclusion as key principles: if equity and inclusion aren't at the core of the strategy, technology will increase the access and learning gaps.

Investment in connectivity and infrastructures: As a result of the above, the digital gap needs to be bridged by expanding connectivity and the possibility of access to digital devices to all parts of the country, paying particular attention to the most vulnerable students so as to level the playing field.

Training in digital skills: digital competences and the 2030 skills must be included in school curricula to enable students to acquire the knowledge they need to become the citizens that the new society is demanding.

Teacher training and empowerment: teachers must understand, share and take ownership of their new roles as mediators, analysts, facilitators and designers of new learning experiences. For the above to occur, public policies must understand the vital role played by teachers in the new form of education and provide them with training and career development opportunities.

Assessment: Technology makes it easier for us to gather and analyse data to constantly evaluate and monitor how the system is operating. To find out where we are and what we need to get to where we want to be.

Public-private partnerships: partnerships with private actors are highly useful for reaching places the public can't get to. Leveraging the experience, knowledge and portfolio of products that are proven in the private sector can amplify the effects of the public policies.

According to Minister Angulo, "Latin America can't lose the momentum of recent years, during which education has become a major issue on the agenda." The pandemic has put education at the centre of the debate and the global political agenda. We must build on this momentum to curb the inertia that's made the region's education systems some of the most unequal and inefficient ones in the world.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Innovation with a purpose: EdTech in Colombia - ProFuturo

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In this article, we'll discuss the educational innovation ecosystem that's being implemented in Colombia, together with its main axes and programmes.

# data[].attributes.body
AI focused research and development group. Supports a fellowship model to enhance research and policy making in best practices in AI

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
What are the most important problems we solved and the opportunities and possibilities we realized to ensure this outcome? This is AI2050's motivating question.

The initiative aims to answer this question by making awards to support work conducted by researchers from across the globe and at various stages in their careers, bringing them together into an interdisciplinary community, and conducting research into the hard problems in artificial intelligence.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
It's 2050. AI has turned out to be hugely beneficial to society. What happened? What are the most important problems we solved and the opportunities and possibilities we realized to ensure this outcome? This is AI2050's motivating question.

# data[].attributes.body
Conference on AI in education conducted by students. They have a monthly newsletter as well.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Explore the future of education with AI at our unique student-led online conference. Join educators, administrators, students, and AI experts to delve into the potentials, challenges, and transformative power of AI tools like ChatGPT in learning environments.

# data[].attributes.body
Organisation in partnership with International Development Research Centre ( IDRC) that researched AI in educationand also collaborates with some AI based tech vendors

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
IDRC - International Development Research Centre

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Like the internet, artificial intelligence (AI) systems are rapidly becoming a new layer of infrastructure, with transformative potential. Fuelled by the increasing availability of computational power, improved connectivity, and big data, AI applications offer exciting possibilities for advancing the Sustainable Development Goals by spurring new start ups, improving food systems, enabling higher-quality education delivery, and contributing to tackling pressing health and climate challenges.

As with any widely adopted technology - especially one as powerful and potentially pervasive as AI - the benefits come with risks that must be managed and mitigated. It can reinforce structural inequalities and bias, perpetuate gender imbalances, threaten jobs, and facilitate oppressive government surveillance. The time to write the future of AI in Africa is now, as the policies and practices put in place today will shape the benefits and harms of AI in the decades to come.

To contribute to these efforts, IDRC and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency launched the Artificial Intelligence for Development in Africa (AI4D Africa) program in 2020. This four-year, CA$20-million partnership will seek to address the above challenges by supporting the African-led development of responsible and inclusive AI. The program will promote excellence in applied research as well as in applying AI technologies to solve development challenges and improve livelihoods for those living in poverty.

Our approach

AI4D-Africa support focuses on three pillars:

Learn more

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Artificial Intelligence for Development in Africa

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Like the internet, artificial intelligence (AI) systems are rapidly becoming a new layer of infrastructure, with transformative potential.

# data[].attributes.body
AI Literacy for educators, students and organizations. Have resources around prompts for teachers and students and resources to understand the basics of generative AI and how it works. Good for a beginner level user of AI in the classroom

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Artificial Intelligence is poised to change teaching and learning forever

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to revolutionize teaching and learning as we know it. By using AI-powered tools and strategies, educators can personalize learning, improve student outcomes, and better prepare students for success in the digital age. Discover how AI can transform your district, school or classroom with AI for Education.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Artificial Intelligence is poised to change teaching and learning forever Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to revolutionize teaching and learning as we know it. By using AI-powered tools and strategies, educators can personalize learning, improve student outcomes, and better prepare students for success in the digital age.

# data[].attributes.body
MIT Lab that creates resources for school level stakeholders like teachers and principles on how to effectively use AI/edtech in schools

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This A-Z guide offers a series of simple, bite-sized explainers to help anyone understand what AI is, how it works and how it's changing the world around us.

# data[].attributes.body
An community of organizations to promote safe practices in the usage of AI in education. There have advocacy functions and resources for other edtech organizations to use

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
EDSAFE AI Alliance leads work in AI education policy through the SAFE framework.

# data[].attributes.body
Resources for creating standards across EdTech tools led by Central Square Foundation

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The demand and supply of EdTech products in India has surged post-Covid 19. At the same time stakeholders in the EdTech ecosystem face key challenges in making adoption decisions due to inadequate quality standards and lack of unbiased reliable product evaluations.

Consequently, design of EdTech and its adoption is expensive and inefficient and found lacking with respect to impact on learning. In such a scenario, stakeholders such as schools, teachers, parents, governments, philanthropists, and investors feel the need for a systematic quality evaluation framework of EdTech products to make informed decisions.

Product companies also feel the need for EdTech quality benchmarks that enable them to build better quality solutions. The EdTech Tulna was conceived to answer these needs and improve the EdTech demand and supply ecosystem.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
EdTech Tulna has been created out of a partnership between the Educational Technology department at IIT Bombay and the Central Square Foundation

# data[].attributes.body
Newsletters and resources about the current trends in Education such as future of education taxonomy etc.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Data-Driven Global Insights from HolonIQ's Education Intelligence Unit.

# data[].attributes.body
EdTech and finance event organized by Holon IQ. Includes a track dedicated to philanthropy and foundations exploring investments in education to increase impact through technology

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Ideas, insights and connections to transform the way the world learns.

The HolonIQ 'Back to School' Summit has been convening leaders in education and workforce since 2018, generating ideas, delivering insight, and making the connections that help leaders from around the world formulate successful strategies, capitalize on technological change and help transform the way the world learns. The 2024 HolonIQ 'Back to School' Summit will take place on September 10-11, 2024 in New York City, bringing together 500 CEO's and influential leaders from leading companies, major institutional investors, and global foundations for two days of presentations, roundtable sessions and private meetings. The 2024 Back to School Summit will follow three tracks including private roundtables and dinners, fireside chats and panels, dedicated networking sessions and networking receptions.

Technology & Finance

Explore the impact of Artificial Intelligence in Education, Personalized Learning, Assessment & Analytics. Market opportunities for simulated and gamified solutions, and the evolving landscape of technology infrastructure in education markets. Analysis of capital flows from Venture Capital, PE, Equity Capital Markets & Philanthropic investment scaling impact and outcomes.

Foundations & Philanthropy

Foundations, Philanthropic leaders, intergovernmental organisations and non-profits from around the world gather to share practice and priorities in their work to seed, scale and support solutions for impact and capacity building.

Higher Education & Workforce

Connect with the people, ideas and new models that are transforming traditional forms of higher education, from digital and AI led innovation, to micro-credentials and workforce upskilling, global and international education and the future of jobs & industry engagement.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
HolonIQ 2024 Back to School Summit, New York

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Sep 10-11, 2024 in New York. Ideas, insights and connections to transform the way the world learns.

# data[].attributes.body
A collective of edtech vendors, philanthropists, civil society organizations trying to bridge the digital divide across India funded primarily by MSDF

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Bharat EdTech Initiative | Bridging the Learning Gap with EdTech Solutions

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Bharat EdTech Initiative is striving to improve the learning outcomes for one million students through effective, equitable EdTech solutions.

# data[].attributes.body
Non profit getting all edtech stakeholders in Europe together. Creates resources likeedtech landscape analysis etc. to help collaboration. Involved in policy advocacy with EU.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Together, members share best practice, compare research, identify development and policy needs, discuss common challenges and concerns, and develop areas of opportunity and innovation. We develop neutral solutions to nurture cooperation across our respective internal markets and to strengthen Edtech globally and are dedicated to connecting the needs of the ecosystem with sustainable possibilities for innovation by initiating and participating in cross-border learning exchanges. The EEA always acts as a completely neutral facilitator and connector within the Edtech ecosystem.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The European Edtech Alliance (EEA) is a consortium of national trade associations and clusters working with founders and providers of education technology support the domestic and international growth of Edtech and Innovation in education.

# data[].attributes.body
Community of Edtech development in India for Edtech vendors and implementors including students run by IIT, one of India's National Universities

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
EdTech Society - research, best practices

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The International Conference on Technology 4 Education (T4E 2023) is organized by the EdTech Society, India, and hosted by IIT Bombay. T4E 2023 will be held in Mumbai, India from November 24 to 26, 2023.

# data[].attributes.body
Podcasts, events and newsletters for edtech providers, school level stakeholders and funders

# data[].attributes.body
Evidence generation and help desk support on edtech; focused on L/MICs.​

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Where We Work EdTech Hub is a global research partnership.

# data[].attributes.body
Edtech showcase and discussions with policy makers, edtech entrepreneurs and edtech researchers and experts

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
ASU+GSV Summit | April 14-17, 2024 | Live in San Diego & Virtual

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The ASU+GSV Summit connects leading minds around digital learning and workforce skills to ensure a new era in which ALL people have equal access to the future. Register to join us in San Diego on April 14-17, 2024.

# data[].attributes.headline
AI in Education Revolution Side Event at ASU-GSV

# data[].attributes.subject
AI in Education Revolution Side Event at ASU-GSV

# data[].attributes.body
AI in Education event with product showcases, dialogues around AI usage in classrooms and how it might reshape education

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Join 15,000+ educators, innovators, and AI explorers at the world's largest gathering where AI meets EDU. Come build the future of education with 400+ inspiring speakers, cutting-edge tools, practical workshops, live concerts, performances, prizes, and so much more!
April 13-15, 2024 | San Diego Convention Center

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
ASU+GSV AIR Show - AI Revolution | April 13-15, 2024

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Join 15,000+ educators, innovators, and AI explorers at the world's largest gathering where AI meets EDU. Come build the future of education with 400+ inspiring speakers, cutting-edge tools, practical workshops, live concerts, performances, prizes, and so much more! April 13-15, 2024 | San Diego Convention Center

# data[].attributes.body
Event to showcase public sector EdTech innovation with govt. stakeholders, edtech developers. Funded by EdTech Hub Africa and Mastercard

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Kenya Edtech Summit 2023 - Kenya Edtech Summit 2023

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Representatives from across the ecosystem - including edtech entrepreneurs, practitioners, researchers, funders, ecosystem builders, policymakers, connectivity providers and community leaders - came together to co-create a conversation that reflects the unique needs and viewpoints of different stakeholders within the Kenyan edtech ecosystem

# data[].attributes.headline
World Digital Education Conference- Shanghai, China

# data[].attributes.subject
World Digital Education Conference- Shanghai, China

# data[].attributes.body
Chinese government online learning showcase with limited international organization participation such as UNESCO. Unclear if participation for others is open or only by invite.

# data[].attributes.body
Ed tech providers networking event to learnabout latest trends and share ideas. Also hosts an edtech summit , "DigCit "with some edtech leaders and school level stakeholders such as school principals and superintendants and hosts edtech related PD spaces.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
ISTELive 24 - Edtech conference | June 23-26 | Denver

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Where what's next in education becomes what's now! Be there to discover your next adventure, collaboration, project, favorite tech tool, friend.

# data[].attributes.body
Incuabation program for new edtech orgs in Australia. Provides funding and mentoring support. Is also a market place for these orgs to find customers and investors

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
EduGrowth invites Australian and international leading experts on education to share their insights with the broader community. Our speakers are on the cutting edge: we specifically invite those who rethink, reimagine, and redesign how education should look for the learners of tomorrow.

Attendees hear from Vice-Chancellors, academics, founders, operations specialists, CEOs, investors, and other seasoned industry participants on the most pressing challenges and opportunities in e-learning and beyond.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Conferences & EdTech Exhibitions - EduGrowth

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
EduGrowth invites Australian and international leading experts on education to share their insights with the broader community. Our speakers are on the cutting edge: we specifically invite those who rethink, reimagine, and redesign how education should look for the learners of tomorrow.

# data[].attributes.body
Ed-Tech Conference for education implementors, service providers and funders. Has marketplace space for exhibitions of edtech providers.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
We are delighted to announce 2023 keynotes and speakers including Microsoft, Bournemouth University, ETF and more! Full list of speakers for education conference EdTech World Forum 2023 coming soon!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
EdTech Conference - EdTech Conference in London UK Europe is the EdTech World Forum 2023 as one of leading educational technology conference as EdTech events 2023 as elearning conference 2023.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
EdTech Conference in London UK Europe is the EdTech World Forum 2023 as one of leading educational technology conference as EdTech events 2023 as elearning conference 2023.

# data[].attributes.body
Annual edtech innovation summit; lots of NGOs / startups focused on LICs​

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
CHAMPIONING INNOVATION

Championing innovation is essential to creating more inclusive and effective education systems. However, innovation is not a one-time cure to challenges. As the needs of students and teachers continuously evolve, innovation must also adapt and change. We are never done innovating. Through our years of work in education innovation, we have seen the importance of supporting and celebrating innovators in the work they do. The annual Innovation Summit is a culmination of our work and celebration for our selected innovators.

HundrED Innovation Summit celebrates the most innovative and impactful solutions in education. HundrED Global Collection 2024 will be revealed in Helsinki on October 31st. Selected innovators will be invited to come celebrate with us.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
HundrED Innovation Summit is celebrating the most innovative and impactful solutions in education. HundrED Global Collection 2024 will be revealed on October 31st.

# data[].attributes.body
Ed-Tech Conference for education implementors, service providers and funders

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Highlights from our global gathering for educators and institutions. This July, industry thought leaders and education professionals came together in Nashville for inspiration, connection, networking, and EdTech insights and innovation.

# data[].attributes.body
EdTech Summit around latest trends in edtech focusing on Asia. Open to funders, implementation partners and school level stakeholders.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Founded in 2013, EdTech Asia is APAC's first premiere Education and Future of Work business, innovation impact leadership network convening senior level professionals along the cradle to career continuum. 2024 will mark our 9th year of coordinating the regionally focused EdTech Asia Summit. Our year-round national level engagements in the form of workshops, delegations, webinars and bootcamps have helped to catalyse the education innovation ecosystem across Asia and beyond.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
EdTech Asia | Business, Technology, Impact

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Asia's premiere EdTech and future of learning and work network serving funds, foundations, enterprise and governments. Industry leading events including the annual EdTech Asia Summit, knowledge assets including reports, research and insights, and ecosystem development programs including workshops and delegations.

# data[].attributes.body
A network of academia, public and private sector organizations. They create, disseminate and amplify evidence from under researched areas in education and development to promote equity. Many evidence pieces are available on their website. They also conduct webinars on current topics such as Ethics of AI with leading experts in the field.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
As a network, NORRAG seeks to deepen the interactions between its members. As a member of NORRAG you can find and connect with any of our 5,600 members according to shared expertise, geography or interests. Forging these connections inside the NORRAG network opens up opportunities for you to discuss…

# data[].attributes.body
A host of resources such as news letters, courses, videos and community spaces curated for EdTech investors, policy makers and EdTech organizations in the LMIC context

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Through our 4cs - catalytic activities, communications products, community-building, and convening work, we support efforts to bring wondrous learning,

# data[].attributes.body
Podcast about the trends in education by substack content creator Micheal Horn

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Two innovators in education, Laurence Holt and Jacob Klein, have teamed together to create a market map for charting the path and impact of AI in K-12 education. The map not only charts places that new AI companies and products are entering, but also highlights where AI could make a positive impact in a not-so-subtle nudge to innovators. In this conversation, we walk through some of the big trends they see unfolding; speculate about where AI has yet to have big impact and still could; talk about some of the real risks of AI in education; and discuss how you can help Holt and Klein keep the market map up-to-date. Here's the link to the market map. As always, subscribers can listen to the podcast, watch it on YouTube, or read the transcript. Michael Horn: I'm joined by two people who've been thinking a lot about how to do this over the many years. Laurence Holt and Jacob Klein, two longtime entrepreneurs, innovators, big thinkers in education about how to create a better world for educators and the students in it. And guys, it's good to see both of you. Thanks for having this conversation. Why don't I kick it off to you as we start the conversation to just give the thumbnail sketch of how you come to the conversation even before the artificial intelligence part, just education in general, how you got into this field and sort of your backgrounds, because both of you have very entrepreneurial and innovative pathways in it, but different pathways. So, Laurence, why don't you go first?
Laurence Holt:

Sure. So I'm originally an engineer, software engineer, and joined Amplify, an Edtech player in Brooklyn when it was fairly small and was chief product officer there for over a decade through the entertaining ups and downs and left about two years ago to spend time with family, but also pursue some philanthropic interests and support entrepreneurs. And that has pointed me directly to AI of late.
Michael Horn: Terrific, Jacob.
Jacob Klein:

So I've been tutoring students for many years. I was a teacher at a KIPP school briefly. I went back to school and got a master's in Learning Design Technology at the Stanford Graduate School of Education. And while I was there, I was able to start the company that became Motion Math suite of games around teaching K-8 math, especially trying to leverage new technology, which at the time was the iPhone and the iPad. We were able to grow that company and sell it eventually to Curriculum Associates, where we continued to grow our suite of math games, now called iReady Learning Games. I just left there a few months ago. I've been consulting for several companies in the AI edtech space, including Oko Labs and EdLight, and really excited for the future of this field.
Michael Horn: Awesome. And you guys teamed up, you built this thing called the AI in Education Map. It's an article on Medium is sort of where it lives. But tell us what is on it, what are you tracking? And we'll get into the why and sort of those questions in a little bit. But let's start with what is it at its surface level?
Laurence Holt:

Sure. And if people can't, presumably you'll link it in the show notes.
Michael Horn: Exactly.
Laurence Holt:

If you just search for Medium and AI and Education Map, people will find it. It is a map of use cases or sort of jobs to be done that can be supported by we believe can be supported by generative AI, specifically around teacher practice and teaching and learning in general, in and out of classrooms. So it is not a map of startups in the space. It includes that, but we want it to be broader than that.
Michael Horn: Gotcha. Jacob, would you add anything on that description, or does that sort of capture what you think it's doing in the field, from your perspective?
Jacob Klein:

Well, I think starting from all the work to be done points out places where there's many companies, particularly in content generation, have already started, and there's going to be some great companies built there, but also places that we're not aware of any companies starting yet where we still think there's huge potential.
Michael Horn: Yeah. So let's dig into the why, then, behind this that you created it. Laurence it occurs to me that in past efforts of technology and education, there have been various actors that have been well funded to come together to sort of try to create an edtech market map at the moment, or whatever else. It doesn't seem like this has been the case in AI so far, and you all have created this map. What was the motivation for doing so?
Laurence Holt:

There is just so much going on, and as you point out, a lot of it is sort of point innovations, right, smaller things that people are just trying because you can do them so rapidly. And we wanted to make sense of that for ourselves and understand what's out there, but fit it into some kind of a structure that was we thought it'd be just as a time capsule. It'd be sort of interesting to capture it in its early stages and then update it regularly and see how it develops.
Michael Horn: Now, Jacob, against that line, we're going to get into the categories and the different jobs to be done or tasks that you see that AI could do in a moment. But you all have this set of risks right at the end of this, with AI in the article itself, why did you include a section like that in what probably isn't going to be seen? People aren't coming to look for the risks. They're coming to look for the heat map, if you will. Why did you include that?
Jacob Klein:

Yeah, there's a very overly optimistic side of our field where every new technology, there's an excitement. This is going to transform everything.
Get 10% off a group subscription
We're finally here. I was pleasantly surprised, for example, that the New York Times article on Khanmigo a few months ago took an appropriately skeptical approach. And I think you can be bullish about this technology. It's magical in a lot of ways while still looking for all the risks that have diminished the impact of other technologies in Edtech. And there's a more profound one, I think, with generative AI, which is really a redefinition of thinking and of writing and of really intellectual work that threatens or has the potential to redefine a lot of what schooling is about. So I think it's important to be aware of those risks as we go around developing and looking for yeah, and.
Michael Horn: There's some pretty big heady ones in there. Atrophy of critical thinking. Right. That's a pretty heavy risk that you list there you have the null hypothesis and hallucinations, and some of those that are probably more well guessed at, if you will, by folks. But just take that one for a moment. The Atrophy of Critical Thinking, what do you mean by that specifically? And sort of what's the worry?
Jacob Klein:

is probably the best writer on this topic. He had a good essay a couple of months ago. What does it mean when you can get a I don't know, B minus essay by clicking a button? It really raises the floor, which could be a good thing. But you could see there certainly will be quite a few students that that's really what they do. Whereas before they would maybe attempt more effort to write a good essay, now it's what ChatGPT will spit out. The AI detectors don't seem to work. So that is a real risk, is that a lot of students will use the tools, not understand how they work, not question them critically, and just not learn much.
Michael Horn: Gotcha. Now, as we look at the actual categories itself, Laurence, let me turn to you on this one. You have both sort of real items and categories, and then ideas are almost it reads like wish lists of gosh, I hope someone develops this. Tell us about the different categories and how you've created them.
Laurence Holt:

Yeah, that's exactly right. We wanted to map what we were seeing, but also what we thought was possible, but we haven't seen yet. And so we've sort of got different colors on the map to highlight that. And that comes from a thesis that is sort of thinly veiled, which is that if we think about evidence based practices and engaging practices, the kind of thing that we write about and you write about, but that we don't see widespread in schools. I'm thinking about things like, say, role play or project based learning or competencies or just feedback for students. They're often a common theme may be that they take a lot of effort, that they either in the preparation on the teacher's part or in the execution. They're hard work in their current form. And so we began to wonder, well, what if there was an assistant teacher that could make that a lot easier still under the direction of your teacher, but essentially remove some of the obstacles in teachers days and free up time.

And therefore maybe we'll see these practices suddenly becoming, or maybe gradually becoming much more widespread, and that could itself be disruptive and transformative.
Give a gift subscription Michael Horn: Yeah, I want to turn to this in a moment, but I actually want to do the curveball here because, Laurence, you wrote one of the more interesting articles, I think, in Education Next, a couple of years back, if I recall, my timeline may be off and I'm probably going to surely bastardize what you wrote. But in my telling of it, you talked about how there's these findings in different streams of scientific research, in effect, where we know that individuals with different chromosomal footprints, for lack of a better word right, seem to have different learning patterns. It might explain ADHD or it might explain they might need more greater number of dopamine receptors and things of that nature, which may change the way you educate them as well. I'm just sort of curious and you could probably summarize this better than I just did, but one of the takeaways I had from that know, your average software program, it might reach one subset of those kids but probably not the other, and you need to tailor it. Is it your perspective that even in the world of AI, where a lot of know to the point Jacob made about all the hype and stuff like that, it's going to personalize, it's going to realize these categories? Is it your perspective that we're actually going to have to custom build for these different archetypes that maybe exist out there? Or will the AI be able to sort of intuit some of these underlying genetic differences that explain some of the learning differences that we sometimes don't talk about in education?
Laurence Holt:

Yeah. Wow, lots to unpack there. The finding is that, and it's quite an old finding in psychology that humans respond differentially to interventions and approaches and learning paths. You could imagine. In fact, researchers found a set of students who responded extremely well to an online reading tool, for instance, and others who didn't. And when I was building and Jacob were building a lot of these products, often the question was does it work or not? And what this research says is that's the wrong question. The right question is for whom does it work? And if you knew that ahead of time, then school can become more of a matching to the way you want to learn and to effective practices for you. Now, we've walked ourselves right back into the well, that sounds like a lot of work on the part of somebody problem.

And so to your question about who's going to figure that out, in some senses it's quite easy to figure out. You just try things and the ones that work, you see the needle move, right. And that's what you should do more of. But it does mean that you have to make available to students several different ways of working and that can be difficult to do in one class or one school, right. Where AI, certainly we feel could help with that.
Michael Horn: It's super interesting. It's just a fascinating article that I still think more people ought to dig into and wrestle with the implications of. So what have you found in terms of the categories that you've mapped so far, just a little bit about what's on the map itself.
Jacob Klein:

It's moving very quickly. I was really impressed with Reach Capital's latest market map, which has some connections to our own. There's a lot of content generation, lesson plan generation startups and existing players that are working in that area. There are some great companies around teacher coaching, teacher support tools, as well as grading. One company that I've worked with, Edlight, is working on the problem of feedback to student handwriting, which I think has a lot of potential to get out of just purely digital interfaces for math homework in particular. So we're seeing really a Cambrian explosion of companies and efforts within existing companies to bring AI into their products. What we haven't seen as much as Lawrence mentioned, is bringing some effective, innovative pedagogies to teachers at a lower cost both of price point and the mental cost of implementation and grading. That's some of the more exciting work, I think that can and hopefully will be done.
Michael Horn: Why do you think that or other and what other areas are unexplored? But why don't you list some of the areas that are unexplored still in your mind as you look at the map? And maybe some hypotheses for why we haven't seen either what you just talked know, lower cost, easier implementation, or perhaps certain categories that remain somewhat unfilled on the map?
Jacob Klein:

Well, as Laurence mentioned, project-based learning, competency-based learning, some social models of learning, jigsaws, simulations, role plays that might know the capstone to a semester course, but not something that a teacher implements every week into their classroom, just because the prep time, let alone the grading time, is really difficult. So I think it's natural that companies are looking for existing models that teachers already know, that already implement and saying, we can do this much quicker. I think the next stage will be you may have tried this work occasionally, but here's a way to do it every single week for only an hour of your time. And particularly social models really interest me. There's some interesting academic work out of Dan Schwartz's lab at Stanford of teachable agents I've never seen that brought to scale. AI could help with that. There's a lot of great work in academia that hasn't been brought over commercially to education, and AI could potentially support that.

Laurence Holt:

So this goes to, if I can add Michael, and this is your field more than ours is whether what's going to happen in education is that AI is essentially sustaining innovations as it appears to be outside of education. The winners peer to be Google, Microsoft, the usual suspects. Will that happen in education too? And the low hanging fruit is to go to things that teachers already do, so maybe they go to teachers, pay teachers to find a lesson. Well, now I can go to one of a dozen different lesson generation free websites and do the same thing, whereas the more disruptive innovations would be enabling new models, enabling new practices. So the big question is, will that come later or not?
Michael Horn: What are both of your hypotheses on this? Because I agree with your general observation that outside education largely, it seems right now and look, it could change, right? But right now it seems largely that it's been a sustaining innovation to those tech giants, right? It's not a wholesale platform that changes the cost structure and if anything, it actually increases costs. Right. It seems education seems unclear at the know. Jacob, from what you just said so far, actually, we're not seeing maybe a lot of disruptive activity because we're not seeing dramatically lower costs, greater accessibility, greater simplicity and things of that nature. What do you both like? Where do you think the dominant do you think it'll be the incumbents that really sees hold of this, or do you think we'll see a wave of startups?
Laurence Holt:

We're definitely seeing the wave of startups.
Michael Horn: I should say startups that will disrupt. And last, I guess, should have been the question, right?
Laurence Holt:

Yeah, that's a different question. I think there's with education, as you know, it is not just a case of applying the technology and doing something that gets a wow, it's the user experience. It's that how do you make that part of the fabric of teaching and learning in a classroom? And that's a much higher barrier. And so I think whether some of the more innovative companies will actually be rolled up into something that adds up to being something more disruptive, I think that's all still to be seen.
Michael Horn: Jacob, what about you? What's your take on where this is going to go?
Jacob Klein:

Yeah, I think eventually there's got to be a simplification and some kind more coherence, more integration of tools. Now you have early adopters exploring a lot of things. I mean, ChatGPT in a way is a unification of lots of different separate kind of chat, bots and previous AI tools all packed into one. But I think my sense is that we're entering an era of even more fragmentation, with the voucher states putting public money into different school models, with some of the pipeline to college pulling back and more people realizing that there's other career paths that can be really fulfilling. So I think there will be some unification, but also a long tail of more niche use cases that optimistically support more diverse learners.
Michael Horn: I want to go toward one of the points that you just brought up, Jacob, in a moment around new schooling models. But first a different question, which is one of the other theories that I've had is that we're going to see a lot more learner agency in this world of AI, more tools that put the learning and the power of AI directly in the hands of students themselves. What are you seeing on the map? What are both of your takes on that possibility or not.
Jacob Klein:

I hope you're right. I mean, this is a golden age for kids who are autodidex. You already had Wikipedia. Now you have some pretty good virtual tutors that can guide you through material, point you to new material, challenge you. So for the kid who already feels that agency and in charge of their own learning, really the sky's the limit, even more than was true before. So that's very exciting. How do you get other kids to feel that way? Some kids need much more social structure, and I think that's where some startups have a bit of a blind spot thinking that each kid, if only given the tools, is going to direct their own learning. They need a teacher, they need a peer group, they need those social cues as to what they should be learning.

That guidance. But I think AI could certainly support teachers, support counselors, support individual tutors with students to help students find that agency.
Michael Horn: Laurence, what's your take on that question?
Laurence Holt:

Yeah, I think also that the answer to it may be in the details, in the specifics, that maybe there are areas where we will start to see some real disruption. If I were to pick a couple with the certainty of being wrong, probably. But it's the old sort of killer app idea. What's the killer app for? A Macintosh or something like that. And one of them that I'm quite excited about is feedback. Students getting more and better and faster feedback. We know that drives learning and we know that on average, students actually don't get much feedback. That in fact, teachers don't always set long open ended work because it's a very, very big grading exercise for them across a load of 150 students.

But what if they did set more open ended questions and that students were able to get quality feedback, perhaps marshalled by the teacher, so human in the loop feedback and a chance to revise what they've worked on, which they often don't get in school today. That all seems to be within the reach of generative AI right now, and there are some people working on that. So it may be as specific as that. There's just a big lever that starts to really take off.
Michael Horn: Yeah. And so obviously then my head goes when you mentioned that to we may need to create some new schooling models that can absorb that sort of change in use of time and things like that, right, with educators and students. But it also brings up another thing that I've thought a lot about, which, know, could you use AI as an enabling technology to be the kernel around which you build new school? And for know, Imagine Worldwide, right? They have their work in Malawi and Sierra Leone and places like that in Africa, literacy and numeracy and you add AI to that, it becomes much more powerful and then you start to have sort of grassroots-based communities, rethinking school, maybe around that kernel. Or Jacob, you mentioned the states with the education savings accounts, right? Very new school models that can start to pop up, potentially powered by AI perhaps in a variety of different ways. Are you all tracking that at all? What are you seeing? If so.
Laurence Holt:

Yeah, firstly, I think you're right that we've been talking about US education for the last 15 minutes, but actually there are other areas that could be way more receptive to innovation and low and middle income countries where the problem is often the teachers may not be there today. And so assuming we have the bandwidth, the infrastructure is available, which it is more and more, but there's still work to do, that could really be a big transformation. I think also microschools, potentially homeschooling, these are areas where it's a big lift to set up a micro school right now. And this proliferation of AI tools may make it considerably easier. But we haven't seen anything yet that is specifically sort of generative AI for microschooling. It's more the case, I think, that the whole map has got use cases on it that should give microschools a boost.
Michael Horn: As we start to wind down here, the other question I want to talk about is this map is big. There's a lot of different areas. I don't even know if we've given people the full sense of just how many different categories you have on it, but you have sort of your macro categories of teacher practice, support, classroom material, evaluation and feedback, student support, and then within each of those you have more and more categories. I think we can show some video of this as this conversation goes live, but I'm just sort of curious as you step back and look at it, someone that jumps on the site, they look at the map. What are, for each of you, the most interesting or two to three most important things that come out of it in each of your views?
Jacob Klein:

Yeah, I think one of my main takeaways would just be the diversity of use cases. And I think eventually AI will be equivalent to just the word digital. I mean, it's just embedded in almost everything that why not? Would you include some intelligence, some generative content, some other AI in the software that you're creating? So I think eventually it becomes an invisible technology in most use cases. And also we're just at the exciting beginning. So I think it's a really exciting time in technology in general in Edtech, and I hope that we will learn from previous mistakes of other cycles of Ed tech that will insist on rigor, that we won't lose the humanity at the core of education. And I think if we do that, there will be some amazing new models and as you said, an increase in learner agency.

Laurence Holt:

Totally agree with all that. I think just to name a few specifics that we're excited about feedback I mentioned. I think that's just potentially an easy one to see progress on. One entrepreneur used this really interesting phrase that I love, which was modifying with rigor. There's a lot of sort of modification of curriculum that goes on out there, as we know. And sometimes it is teachers trying to find activities that they know their students can do, but that might have the unwanted side effect of reducing the rigor. So how can you modify a lesson but keep the rigor? There have been some experiments that have shown AI may be able to do that tutoring. We've seen so far a sort of one to one homework help style of tutoring, which we know is not the style of tutoring that actually gets an effect in literature.

Laurence Holt:

It's much more intensive and guided by the tutor. And so can we start to see that small group and social would be the last one? I'd mentioned that people think AI putting AI tools into classrooms is going to reduce the social aspect. But actually these tools can be great at managing discourse and encouraging discourse and role play and debate. So I think there's some really interesting places we could start to see evolving there. I will say we haven't seen in the last couple of months while we've been tracking this, a whole lot of new use cases. We've seen a few that will add to the map. But I think the territory has been the first wave of exploring. The territory has been pretty thorough.
Michael Horn: That is interesting, right? I guess a frenetic amount of activity and maybe then people are pausing to try to figure out now where to go from here.
Jacob Klein:

One other thing, Michael, is just I'm very inspired by companies, AI Camp and Mindjoy being two of them, that are bringing students right to the bleeding edge of the technology, giving them the tools to start their own experimentation, not just as a consumer, but really as a co creator of some of these tools. Because often it's young students that are going to expand the map to think of new use cases, that are going to have AI natives that are going to grow up with these technologies, that are going to be able to teach us about the best use cases.
Michael Horn: Really important point. I hadn't even thought about that piece of it. It weaves into the last question where you all just took us naturally as we wrap up here, which is how are you keeping this map up to date? What's the frequency? How can people help? Can they contribute to the map? Because I suspect a lot of folks, they want a view into this and they want a view that continues to evolve as others come into the space or other incumbents launch their own innovations in AI to perhaps tackle some of these use cases. How can people help?
Laurence Holt:

Yeah, we're working on an update for later this year and we would love help. So we were going to call on your audience, maybe to do some of the work for us. Certainly anything that people feel is missing or wrong, we would love to hear about that. Probably the easiest way is just to add a comment either to the show notes here or to the Medium article. We will track all of those.

Michael Horn:

Perfect. I will put that up top as well so people can make sure to keep track. But Jacob Lawrence always admire both of your activity, entrepreneurship and thought leadership, but also that you guys took the initiative to actually give some organization to what is a very fast emerging space that all of us are trying to keep track of right now and see where it's going to go. And as you said, there are some clear risks. There's some clear risk of null hypothesis that it's just going to be sort of the same old cycle hype and then settle back into the rhythms. But we all want to see something bigger and better for all students. So appreciate you both and the work you've put into this.

Laurence Holt:

Thank you, Michael, this was great fun and great to see you.

Michael Horn:

Yeah, likewise. Yeah, you bet. And for all watching, check out the map. We will provide a link to it in the show notes and you can contribute to it, as you heard. Tell them what's wrong, tell them what's right. And let's keep the conversation going. We'll be back next time on The Future Of Education.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Mapping AI's Evolving Role in Education: Where Could and Should It Have Impact?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Listen now (31 mins) | Two innovators in education, Laurence Holt and Jacob Klein, have teamed together to create a market map for charting the path and impact of AI in K-12 education. The map not only charts places that new AI companies and products are entering, but also highlights where AI could make a positive impact in a not-so-subtle nudge to innovators.

# data[].attributes.body
Members can subscribe to newsletters, podcasts and other specialized resources created and curated by these platforms. They also provide specific insights into EdTech such as taxonomies or evidence in under researched areas in education and development and also specific to certain geographies and demographics.

# data[].attributes.body
Members can be part of a collaborative space with many entities in the Edtech space including academia, philanthropy, tech entrepreneurs and policy think tanks. The alliance or collaborative holds internal and external webinars and knowledge sharing and collaboration avenues for alliance members and outsiders.

# data[].attributes.body
Members can find opportunities to meet edtech entrepreneurs, experts in the field and learn about new edtech in the market through showcases in the events listed. The events range from corporate EdTech events to events focusing on EdTech in development settings.

# data[].attributes.body
EdTech event that is more or less a market place of these organisations with customers and sellers meeting each other

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A better world
through education

Join over 6,000 educators and EdTech advocates from universities and colleges across the world for three days of unmissable learning. With insights from industry leaders and the latest cutting-edge technology, together we can better the Further and Higher Education experience for everyone.
Learn more about Ahead

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Bett UK | 22-24 January 2025 | ExCeL London

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Bett is back at the ExCeL London for three days of inspiring content, networking and innovative product demonstrations from top solution providers.