Page 12 - ELG2402 Feb Issue 488

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INTERVIEW

Inclusion and exclusion in EdTech

How can EdTech create opportunities for those from disadvantaged
backgrounds? We chat with Adam Edmett, Head of EdTech

Innovation at the British Council, to get his thoughts…

Q: Firstly, congratulations on your teamed up. We’ve been able to work closely esteem, and more awareness of social issues
‘Best use of mobile learning’ bronze on getting things right in challenging tech that affect their communities.
at the Learning Technologies Awards! environments.
Your award was for the use of tablets Q: Throughout your career, what ways
to support English teachers in unsafe Q: The British Council have also have you seen EdTech benefit and
environments. Could you explain more worked with eCom in the past on their present new opportunities for learners
about this project and the lead-up to English and Digital for Girls’ through around the world?
your deserving win? Education (EDGE) programme. Could I started in the field over a quarter of a
Thank you! This was from a project in you tell us more about how this project century ago! That timeframe encompasses the
Rwanda working with teachers on their has affected girls from disadvantaged dawn of some fundamentally transformative
digital literacy and language proficiency backgrounds? technologies. So, of course, access to ‘learning’
levels. Along with the LTA award, there was EDGE has reached over 20,000 adolescent has increased exponentially. But also very
an A+ rating from the funder: the Foreign, girls in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan important for education was the moment
Commonwealth and Development Office. and Sri Lanka. These girls – all of whom are that we moved from the internet as a more
One of the main reasons we had this either currently out-of-school or living in or less one directional source of read only
success was because we provided both data socio-economically marginalised communities information or Web 1.0, through to Web 2.0
and devices to tackle infrastructure and – are using innovative learning techniques to and the connecting of people and co-creation
compatibility issues. When you work with gain English and digital skills which, in turn, of knowledge.
mobile technologies, it’s not a straightforward give them confidence and agency in their I remember the early online learning
technical proposition. It may seem simple but communities. communities I was part of as being very
it really isn’t. For example, many Learning The data that we’ve collected from exciting places. It felt like the world was on
Management System suppliers promise EDGE club participants show that after the brink of something completely new. That
offline solutions but once you take these completing two thirds of the programme wasn’t quite how it panned out, so nowadays
out into the field they do not always live up they demonstrate significant improvement I’m slightly wary of getting carried away with
to expectations. Offline access to content in English language speaking ability, and the next big thing! Even with the current
is very important for people with variable progress from zero IT knowledge to being hype around the next phase - Web 3.0,
access to Wi-Fi or where the cost of data is able to perform basic tasks on computers, which promises entirely new opportunities
a consideration. Our UK tech partner eCom using MS office and the internet. The peer for interaction through technologies such as
Learning Solutions had won awards in this group learning model has also given the girls AI, machine learning and the Semantic Web.
area previously, so that’s one of the reasons we improved levels of confidence and self- Still exciting though!
12 February 2024