In our digital societies made of big data, hidden algorithms and fake news, raising educators’ awareness regarding the complexity of using digital technologies and social media for learning is a key issue. Developing critical digital competences is in fact key to everyone, but even more to educators, so that they can empower students to engage not only effectively but also ethically with the current socio-technical ecosystem.
For this shift to become mainstream, however, education systems need to be invested in approaching digital competences from a critical perspective, starting from the training of teachers themselves, and with the frameworks regulating both pedagogies and curricula. This involves reconceptualising the notion of digital literacies in order to look beyond functional digital skills and encompass instead a richer set of critical digital literacies, that are tailored specifically to educators’ personal and professional needs.
This webinar will present examples of tools and approaches to develop an in-depth understanding of the dimensions of critical digital literacies within learning design and professional development.
The webinar is organized by the ETF Community of Innovative Educators, and is mainly targeting trainers and teachers. The agenda and registration form are available here.
The meeting will be delivered in English, Russian and Arabic.
Throughout his 12-year career, Steven Kolber has embraced technology as a fundamental teaching tool to help transform his classroom into an interactive, inclusive learning environment. This led to his nomination as a top 50 finalist for the Global Teacher Prize in 2021.
As an English Language, EAL and History teacher at Brunswick Secondary College in Melbourne, Australia, Steven is also passionate about sharing his knowledge and empowering other teachers around the world.
“When used efficiently, technology can transform education by giving teachers the time they need to be more human, more present, more empathetic, more collaborative, and create a better learning environment for all.”
This idea is supported by UNICEF's State of the World's Children report, which states: "If leveraged in the right way and made universally accessible, digital technology can be a game changer for children being left behind – whether because of poverty, race, ethnicity, gender, disability, displacement or geographic isolation – connecting them to a world of opportunity and providing them with the skills they need to succeed in a digital world."
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Steven was more than prepared for the world of remote teaching. He had over 700 lessons on his YouTube channel, and was familiar with several tools that he could use to enrich his online lessons.
To help other teachers adapt to online teaching during the pandemic, he created an extensive catalogue of free training videos on YouTube. Steven also ran online gatherings called ‘Teach Meets’ where educators shared their innovations and adaptations for remote learning.
Recognising the need for teachers to have better access to scalable solutions for professional development, the World Bank Group and HundrED (a global education non-profit) teamed up to develop the Teachers for a Changing World Spotlight. The platform identifies and shares access to leading solutions from around the world that are helping teachers thrive in an ever-changing classroom.
Contributing to peer-to-peer support, Steven co-hosts a bimonthly podcast, the Teachers' Education Review. He discusses various teaching practices, and transformational solutions with a range of education experts from diverse backgrounds.
To help teachers access quality research, and share their knowledge of teaching innovations, Steven also established an interactive online reading group for teachers called #Edureading.
“Every month, we discuss a different academic article on education. It’s not about who’s right and who’s wrong, it’s about building connections with fellow educators, and collaborating with them,” says Steven.
“When teachers feel more confident in their personal tech skills, they feel more empowered to experiment with digital tools, and use them in their classrooms,” says Steven.
“Technology makes learning more accessible to our students, and it helps us do our work more quickly and effectively. It gives us more time to do the ‘fun stuff’ including interacting with learners face-to-face and getting them to interact meaningfully with each other.”
A paper commissioned for the 2020 Global Education Monitoring Report, Inclusion and education, confirms this idea. “ICT can be used to support inclusion by providing different ways of representing information, expressing knowledge and engaging in learning, including assessment.”
The paper also notes the importance of using technology to help make learning more accessible to students with learning difficulties. “ICT tools can be used to support creative and cooperative learning environments where disabled students are included in learning activities and have class or group roles or responsibilities.”
Steven uses a number of assistive technologies to strengthen the learning experience for students and teachers both in the classroom and online.
“I use a lot of assistive technology in my classroom including transcription and text-to-voice software to ensure learners with dyslexia or other disabilities are able to share their thoughts, and participate in the learning process.”
“Instructional videos are a great way for teachers to supplement their lessons. For example, when we cover Macbeth, I have face-to-face lessons in the classroom, but I also have a whole lot of video summaries of each act and scene that my learners can access on my YouTube channel.”
“Learners with hearing disabilities can access the subtitles and transcripts. And those who have attention difficulties can go back and rewatch the video as many times as they need to.”
Steven even uses video to provide feedback to his learners. He records his comments on video while reading through an essay or project that a learner has submitted. “It saves me a lot of time.”
“Teachers notice the small things. They can see when a learner is struggling with something beyond the classroom. As teachers who genuinely care about our learners and their overall wellbeing, COVID made us realise just how critical those face-to-face social interactions in the classroom actually are,” says Steven.
“While technology can transform the way teachers share their knowledge, it can’t replace them. There’s no substitute for a great teacher who can establish a solid relationship with their students and deliver content in a way that makes kids excited about learning. Technology, by itself, simply can’t do this.”
Videos to help teachers build their skills:
Top sources for free audio books for learners:
For discussions on education, and connecting with other teachers around the world:
Assistive technologies:
Steven recommends software such as ClaroRead, Dragon Speak, Pen Readers, Read-aloud settings within documents, enabling subtitles within Zoom and PowerPoint.
Learn more about the #TeachersTransform campaign as part of the Transforming Education Summit.
Photo credit: Steven Kolber
As part of its new main line of action on national and regional policy learning, The Teacher Task Force is co-organising a series of workshops for the Latin America and the Caribbean region with CARICOM in cooperation with St Kits and Nevis and Brazil. The first workshop will be held on 13 July, followed by a second workshop in October/November. Between the two workshops, additional reflection by the TTF Secretariat and the regional Steering Committee members will take place to verify assumptions and refine regional policy learning needs for the second workshop.
In particular, the workshops aim to foster exchange and discussion in support of holistic and comprehensive teacher policy development as illustrated in the Teacher Policy Development Guide (TPDG) and its nine interconnected dimensions as a framework. This workshop will focus on common policy learning need related to teacher professional development and standards. Regional standard frameworks and how these can be translated into countries are critical to establish teacher education, teacher qualification, licensing of teachers, career structure and teacher motivation. In addition to this, countries demonstrated an interest in the pedagogical skills in hybrid and remote education of teacher education including innovative practices to share across countries. They also demonstrated learning needs related to social dialogue and school leadership.
Country focal points and deputies, including both country and organisational members, will be invited to the Latin America and the Caribbean regional workshop. Other key partners with regional remits will be consulted and invited to actively participate as they are familiar with regional policy learning needs.
For more information contact Thomas, Yael (y.thomas@unesco.org) or Soto Echeverri, Emilia (e.soto-echeverri@unesco.org).
As part of its new main line of action on national and regional policy learning, The Teacher Task Force is co-organising a series of workshops for the Asia Pacific Region with the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organisation (SEAMEO), in cooperation with Philippines. The first workshop will be held on 1 July, followed by a second workshop in October/November. Between the two workshops, additional reflection by the TTF Secretariat and the regional Steering Committee members will take place to verify assumptions and refine regional policy learning needs for the second workshop.
In particular, the workshops aim to foster exchange and discussion in support of holistic and comprehensive teacher policy development as illustrated in the Teacher Policy Development Guide (TPDG) and its nine interconnected dimensions as a framework. This workshop will focus on common policy learning need related to teacher education and teacher standards including issues related to capacity building, teacher training, qualifications, licensing, and its relationship to the professionalisation of the teaching career framed in regional framework to establish teacher standards. In addition to this, countries demonstrated an interest in the ICT dimension of teacher education including ICT skills and pedagogies for remote and distance teaching. They also demonstrated learning needs related to social dialogue and school leadership.
Country focal points and deputies, including both country and organisational members, will be invited to the Asia Pacific regional workshop. Other key partners with regional remits will be consulted and invited to actively participate as they are familiar with regional policy learning needs.
For more information contact Thomas, Yael (y.thomas@unesco.org) or Algohani, Maram (m.algohani@unesco.org).
Dans le cadre de son nouvel axe d'action principal sur l'apprentissage des politiques nationales et régionales, L’Équipe internationale sur les enseignants pour Éducation 2030 (TTF), en collaboration avec l'Institut international de l'UNESCO pour le renforcement des capacités en Afrique (IIRCA) et l'Association pour le développement de l'éducation en Afrique (ADEA), organise une série d’ateliers pour l’échanges régionaux et nationaux sur les politiques prometteuses.
Le premier atelier régional virtuel aura lieu le mardi 21 juin à 16h00 heure de l'Afrique de l'Est, UTC +3 hrs ou (15h00 heure de Paris), suivi d'un deuxième atelier en octobre/novembre. Entre les deux ateliers, une réflexion supplémentaire par le Secrétariat de la TTF et les membres du Comité Directeur aura lieu pour vérifier les hypothèses et affiner les besoins d'apprentissage des politiques régionales pour le deuxième atelier.
Les ateliers visent à favoriser l'échange et la discussion à l'appui du développement complet de la politique enseignante, comme illustré dans le Guide pour l’élaboration d’une politique enseignante (TPDG) et ses neuf dimensions interconnectées en tant que cadre. La série d'ateliers de cette année se concentrera sur le développement professionnel (notamment en ce qui concerne les compétences en TIC et les pédagogies hybrides), y compris leur relation avec les parcours de carrière et les normes applicables aux enseignants. L'atelier est le premier d'une série de deux qui seront organisés pour les partenaires nationaux et régionaux de la TTF et les parties prenantes de l'éducation dans le cadre de sa nouvelle initiative visant à renforcer l'apprentissage des politiques en temps utile pendant la période de reprise du COVID-19. Ces ateliers sont destinés à s'appuyer sur les besoins des pays en matière d'apprentissage des politiques, tels qu'ils ont été exprimés non seulement lors du Forum de dialogue politique de Kigali, mais également dans le cadre d'une enquête de suivi visant à consolider les besoins les plus urgents en la matière.
Les points focaux et adjoints de la TTF, y compris les membres des pays et des organisations, seront invités à l'atelier régional de l'Afrique anglophone. D'autres partenaires clés dotés de compétences régionales seront consultés et invités à participer activement.
Pour plus d'informations contactez Thomas, Yael (y.thomas@unesco.org) ou Soto Echeverri, Emilia (e.soto-echeverri@unesco.org).
See the Consultation Report here
The 2023 Global Education Monitoring Report will examine education challenges to which appropriate use of technology can offer solutions, while recognizing that many of the solutions proposed may also be detrimental. The report will examine issues of access, equity, and inclusion in education, looking at ways through technology can help reach disadvantaged learners but also ensure more knowledge reaches more learners in more engaging and cheaper formats.
The report will also explore three system-wide conditions that need to be met for any technology in education to reach its full potential: ensuring that all learners have access to technology resources, protecting learners from the risks of technology through appropriate governance and regulation and supporting all teachers to teach, use and deal with technology effectively.
In a rapidly changing world affected by technology, and in the aftermath of the global COVID-19 pandemic, teachers face large and increasing demands to engage with technology in education and develop related competencies. As a result, this consultation, convened by the Teacher Task Force and the GEM Report, will look into the way that education systems can support all teachers to teach, use and deal with technology effectively.
Teachers face many barriers to the use of technology. Therefore, in order to identify the best ways to help teachers teach and use technology effectively, the discussion will focus on three key issues, including the lack of access, training and system support. Each area will be discussed on separate rooms:
Agenda
This event is by invitation only, if you wish to participate or need more information, please contact Soto Echeverri, Emilia (e.soto-echeverri@unesco.org).
As part of its new main line of action on national and regional policy learning, The Teacher Task Force is co-organising a series of workshops for the Anglophone Africa Region with the UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA), in cooperation with South Africa and ADEA.
The first workshop will be held on 22 June, followed by a second workshop in October/November. Between the two workshops, additional reflection by the TTF Secretariat and the regional Steering Committee members will take place to verify assumptions and refine regional policy learning needs for the second workshop.
In particular, the workshops aim to foster exchange and discussion in support of holistic and comprehensive teacher policy development as illustrated in the Teacher Policy Development Guide (TPDG) and its nine interconnected dimensions as a framework. This workshop will focus on common policy learning needs related to teacher education and professional development including issues related to teacher training, qualifications, licensing, and its relationship to career path/ structure, working conditions and teacher standards. In addition to this, countries demonstrated an interest in the ICT dimension of teacher education including ICT skills and pedagogies for remote and distance teaching. Countries also demonstrated learning needs related to school leadership and teachers in emergencies, not only to recover from COVID-19, but also to prepare for future crises.
Country focal points and deputies, including both country and organisational members, will be invited to the Anglophone Africa regional workshop. Other key partners with regional remits will be consulted and invited to actively participate as they are familiar with regional policy learning needs.
For more information contact Thomas, Yael (y.thomas@unesco.org) or Soto Echeverri, Emilia (e.soto-echeverri@unesco.org).
As part of its new main line of action on national and regional policy learning, The Teacher Task Force is co-organising a series of workshops for the Arab States Region with the Regional Center of Quality and Excellence in Education (RCQE) and the Arab Bureau of Education for the Gulf States (ABEGS), in cooperation with Lebanon and Hamdan Foundation. The first workshop will be held on 13 June, followed by a second workshop in October/November. Between the two workshops, additional reflection by the TTF Secretariat and the regional Steering Committee members will take place to verify assumptions and refine regional policy learning needs for the second workshop.
In particular, the workshops aim to foster exchange and discussion in support of holistic and comprehensive teacher policy development as illustrated in the Teacher Policy Development Guide (TPDG) and its nine interconnected dimensions as a framework. This workshop will focus on common policy learning need related to teacher education and professional development including issues related to teacher training, qualifications, licensing, and its relationship to career structure and teaching standards. In addition to this, countries demonstrated an interest in the ICT dimension of teacher education including ICT skills and pedagogies for remote and distance teaching.
Country focal points and deputies, including both country and organisational members, will be invited to the Arab States regional workshop. Other key partners with regional remits will be consulted and invited to actively participate as they are familiar with regional policy learning needs.
For more information contact Thomas, Yael (y.thomas@unesco.org) or Algohani, Maram (m.algohani@unesco.org).