Discussing the Most Common and Challenging EdTech Questions for 2023

World Bank EduTech Podcast

As we enter a new year, our EdTech team has been discussing what we think will be some of the most common and challenging questions for 2023. Today, our team - Robert Hawkins, Alex Twinomugisha, Cristobal Cobo, and Maria Barron - explores five questions for 2023:

1. What skills do youth need for employment and what role does technology play to accelerate development of these skills? A few anticipated areas of engagement include use of existing competency frameworks and relevance to developing country needs; related teacher digital skills to support student learning; measurement of skills and potential for micro credentials; verified credentials on the blockchain; and the role of AR/VR for development of technical skills in TVET.
2. How will AI impact education? Areas that countries have started to explore include predictive analytics and early warning systems for identifying drop out risks; adaptive learning to bring students up to grade level and support teaching at the right level; rapid assessments for instance to provide automated feedback on writing skills; and intelligent tutors. Additionally, we anticipate new questions on how teachers can integrate AI in the classroom and policies for new tools like chat GPT (see one teacher’s policy in additional resources below) and how text to image tools could democratize content creation.
3. What technologies are most appropriate and sustainable in fragile and conflict countries? Increasingly countries explore how technology can support more resilient systems to reach students who can’t reach schools. Countries such as Ukraine, Afghanistan, and Somalia are exploring appropriate low-cost options such as nudges through mobile devices and off-line access to content to support students in these emergency conditions. A spectrum of solutions will need further exploration to take into account low connectivity, limited access to devices, and nascent digital skills.
4. What does hybrid learning mean and what is the most effective balance of virtual and face-to-face engagement to accelerate learning? As countries seek to leverage investments from COVID, they are exploring the lessons from the pandemic to evaluate the role of technology to create more resilient and continuous education delivery systems. A critical objective is to leverage technology both in and out of the classroom to reach out of school youth, build resilience for future shocks and accelerate learning through increasing access to sources of learning. Questions around appropriate technology for students of various ages and in what quantity and frequency will continue to be explored and debated in the coming year. Also, effective use of technology for inclusion as well as debates on costs and benefits on climate impact including curricular changes to empower youth to understand and begin to address the climate global grand challenge will emerge as critical questions.
5. How should education systems sustainably finance and procure EdTech? What are the priority investments to most effectively use EdTech and how can Ministries of Education identify the resources to procure and sustain EdTech investments? What are the most effective private-public partnership models? What are the costs and benefits and how should these be measured in a world of evolving demand for skills and competencies? With 96% of World Bank projects including financing for EdTech components, this will be a critical question for the coming year.