“ Around the world in 2 hours”, a post Open Class report
This is a post event report for the “Open Class EdTech #7 — Global Perspectives on the Future of Learning” with Svenia Busson. It is written by
Soizic Pénicaud & Lamprini Chartofylaka, EdTech master students at CRI-Paris.
Last Thursday, for the 7th Open Class EdTech (organised by the EdTech team of CRI-Paris), we had the pleasure to welcome Svenia Busson, an inspiring young entrepreneur who co-founded the EdTech World Tour with Audrey Jarre.
EdTech World Tour is in fact an exploratory study trip around 10 countries aiming at discovering meaningful teaching and learning practices, diverse school environments and driven innovation in the educational ecosystems within different cultural contexts. During Svenia’s interactive talk on “Global Perspectives on the Future of Learning”, an audience composed of researchers, entrepreneurs, students, teachers, changemakers participated vividly in the discussion, expressing and exchanging views on the specificities of learning which overlap various countries.
Svenia explained that, while the EdTech field opens up new perspectives globally in terms of personalization of learning and accessibility of education (regardless of the geographical restrictions/poor level of education in different areas) , there is no “one-shot” solution that could be adopted in every country, or even every region or school within a country. Smart innovation in education has to take into account the social, economical and cultural context at a local level.
Three handy insights around the world:
#1: Low-tech innovations can make a difference!
Innovation does not have to be high-tech. In countries with high levels of social and economic inequalities, the adoption of low cost solutions has proved as the most far-reaching tactic. For example, Chile is the OECD country with the highest inequality, but 65% of the population owned a smartphone in 2015 and Internet penetration is very high. “Open Green Road” has therefore developed a tool delivering high quality educational content through mobile devices (with videos and a mobile app). In India and South Africa, where Internet penetration is much lower but 90% of the population owns a basic phone, offline solutions have been employed. “Vahan” is an Indian English-teaching startup that works on a “missed call” model. In South Africa, “Green Shoots Education” developed a software to practice mathematics; children who disliked maths suddenly became enthusiastic about learning because of the use of the computer, and obtained significantly better results on standardized tests. While the impact would not have been the same in countries where technology is often used in the classroom, it was the perfect solution for the local context.
#2: Fostering a culture of innovation inside and outside the school!
Innovation needs fertile ground on which to grow. In the US, several factors make the environment favorable to the development of EdTech. Firstly, the school system’s decentralized organization (as opposed to France’s highly-centralized system, for example) allows startups to have more chances to deploy their products in at least a few districts. Secondly, the presence of “community builders” such as “Edsurge” enables the development of a strong community specialized in the field of EdTech. It facilitates access to information and communication between the different actors (educators, entrepreneurs, investors..). Cultivating a culture of innovation can also come from governmental support, as seen in New Zealand. There, the school system is also decentralized (each school is in charge of its own budget), but the State partnered with private company “Network for Learning” to offer fast Internet access to all schools in the country, setting up basic conditions indispensable for efficient use of technology in the classroom.
#3: Teachers should be at the core of EdTech innovation!
Teachers know better than anyone the needs of the local educational environment; this is why they should be trained to be “edupreneurs”. In Australia, the “Sydney Center for Innovation in Learning” is an innovation unit inside a school that helps teachers improve their educational practices through workshops and conferences. In Korea, where the national school system is completely locked and immutable, the network “Future Class” assists motivated teachers in implementing the flipped classroom method. In New Zealand, the “MindLab” offers quasi-free trainings for teachers in topics such as AI or robotics. Offering teachers the opportunity and the resources to reflect and improve on their practices is the most effective way to foster teacher-driven, bottom-up innovation.
- The aforementioned examples are some of the many different EdTech innovations EdTech World Tour surveyed around the world.For more on each country and each topic, please download the full report here.
All things considered, appropriating the “think globally, act locally” concept, the future of learning is generated and supported primarily at a grassroot level. In essence, even if the world is more and more interconnected, a “one size fits all” approach in education is a generalization not to be made. Education needs always to be tailored to people’s learning needs in respect to their surroundings. Case studies across many countries and ample socio-economical contexts, like the ones presented to the EdTech World Report, are of high importance. They allow for a better understanding of the state of EdTech in different parts of the world today and they are a source of inspiration on diverse educational and EdTech practices around the world. Ultimately, this is an outstanding way not only to foster the diversity and cultural pluralism on how to tackle important education challenges but also to advocate for change at global and local levels.
We are looking forward to welcoming you in our next Open Class #8 which will take place in November at the Center for Research and Interdisciplinarity (Montparnasse Tower).
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What do you think could be helpful to encourage smart EdTech innovations? Let us know in the comments!
