The COVID-19 pandemic, among its other manifold effects, specifically illuminated the long-recognized need for an accelerated digital transformation in education: globally, educators, students, policymakers, and other stakeholders are now actively undertaking efforts to bring about digital transformation in this sector. At the same time, it would not be an exaggeration to allege that quite many teachers still lack adequate ICT skills and knowledge. As a result, they are not sufficiently prepared to teach online or in mixed mode, simultaneously ensuring constant student engagement. At the same time, despite their potential for school and digital citizenship education, advanced ICTs such as AI remain uncommon in schools and other educational institutions due to a number of challenges typical to the majority of countries.
Technological advancements in the area of AI bring both possibilities and challenges for sustainable development and societal change. For example, AI might help to expand accessibility, automate management processes, augment teaching and learning, and create enabling environments. Such technologies might also be harnessed to help develop teacher capacity and achieve better learning outcomes for all students. However, this potential remains underexplored and poorly understood, while the development and use of such technologies may instead undermine teacher agency and reduce student outcomes. It is likely that a transformational approach to teacher education and continuous support to teachers is required in order to help them work in an AI-rich education environment. Additionally, the ongoing digital transformation of education corresponds with UNESCO activities focused on achieving the Education 2030 agenda and SDG4 for education through promoting ICT capacity building and Open Education in the era of AI and digital technologies, to strengthen quality in education and lifelong learning including digital citizenship education.
Objective
With all of this in mind, UNESCO IITE undertook a survey of more than thirteen thousand ASPnet teachers from around the world. This survey sought to understand the potential, benefits, and limitations of advanced information technologies, such as artificial intelligence, for schools and other educational institutions through the lens of ASPnet teachers. The teachers’ responses helped to identify key issues in the field of digital innovations in education from across the world. The webinar will summarize and explore the outcomes of that survey as presented in the analytical report “Technical and Educational Challenges, Capacities and Readiness of Schools to Use the Potential of Digital Innovations and AI”. The findings are expected to inform local, community and national initiatives to further strengthen and develop a more effective educational environment, taking into account the post-pandemic situation.
Speaker
Dr. Wayne Holmes, Associate Professor, University College London, Consultant for the Technology and AI in Education unit at UNESCO.
Date and Time
19 July 2023, 10.00am CE(S)T (via Zoom)
Moderator: Ms Tatiana Shutova, UNESCO IITE
Registration
The registration form is available here.