Educational Technology

Watch

• Technology, The best or worst thing for education | Scott Widman | TEDxYouth@BSPR ↗TEDx Talks
• The history of technology in education ↗SMARTEduEMEA
• How to Make Learning as Addictive as Social Media | Duolingo's Luis Von Ahn | TED ↗TED
• The Last Human Teacher | Will AI Replace Every Classroom ↗United Docu
• How AI Could Save (Not Destroy) Education | Sal Khan | TED ↗TED
• A.I. Revolution | Full Documentary | NOVA | PBS ↗NOVA PBS Official

Read

• Mindstorms: Children, Computers, and Powerful Ideas ↗A foundational text that envisions how digital tools can empower children to construct knowledge, challenging traditional pedagogies with a focus on active learning.Seymour Papert
• The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail ↗Essential reading for understanding how disruptive technologies can upend established institutions, offering a framework for anticipating technology's transformative impact on education.Clayton M. Christensen
• Is Google Making Us Stupid? ↗A provocative essay that critically examines the cognitive impact of digital technologies, prompting reflection on whether our online habits enhance or diminish deep intellectual engagement.Nicholas Carr
• Visible Learning for Teachers: Maximizing Impact on Learning ↗A rigorous, evidence-based synthesis of what truly works in education, providing a crucial lens through which to evaluate the efficacy of technological interventions in the classroom.John Hattie
• Teaching in a Digital Age: Guidelines for Designing Teaching and Learning ↗A comprehensive and practical guide for educators seeking to integrate technology effectively, providing a roadmap for designing engaging and efficient digital learning environments.A.W. (Tony) Bates

Voices to follow

• Sugata Mitra ↗His pioneering 'Hole in the Wall' experiments demonstrate how children can achieve self-organised learning in technology-rich environments with minimal adult intervention.Professor of Educational Technology, Newcastle University
• Salman Khan ↗He has championed free, world-class education for all, leveraging online video lessons and mastery-based learning to democratise access to knowledge globally.Founder and CEO, Khan Academy
• Cathy N. Davidson ↗A prominent scholar of educational innovation, she critically examines how digital tools can reshape learning environments and institutional structures for a more equitable future.Distinguished Professor of English and Interdisciplinary Studies, CUNY Graduate Center

Glossary

• Blended LearningBlended learning mixes traditional classroom teaching with online learning activities. This means you spend some time learning in person with your teacher and classmates, and some time learning independently online. For example, your history class might have in-person lectures twice a week, but you do research projects and submit essays online through a school portal.
• Digital CitizenshipDigital citizenship means being a responsible, safe, and ethical user of technology and the internet. It's about understanding your rights and responsibilities online, like respecting others and protecting your privacy. For example, thinking twice before sharing personal information online or being polite in online discussions shows good digital citizenship.
• Digital LiteracyDigital literacy is the ability to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information using digital tools and the internet. It means you know how to use computers, smartphones, and various apps effectively and safely. For example, being able to research a topic online, tell if a website is trustworthy, and then create a presentation using a computer program shows digital literacy.
• EdTech (Educational Technology)EdTech is simply using any kind of technology, from computers to simple calculators, to make learning and teaching better and more engaging. It's all about finding new ways to help students learn and teachers teach using tools. For example, using a projector to show a video in class or an app that helps you practice math problems is part of EdTech.
• Flipped ClassroomA flipped classroom is a teaching method where traditional homework and classwork are swapped. You might watch video lectures or read materials at home (like homework) to learn new concepts, and then use class time for discussions, problem-solving, and hands-on activities with your teacher's help. For example, instead of a teacher lecturing in class, you watch a video about fractions at home, and then in class, you work on fraction problems with your classmates and teacher.
• GamificationGamification is when game-like elements, such as points, badges, leaderboards, or challenges, are added to non-game activities to make them more fun and motivating. In education, it helps make learning more engaging. For example, an app that gives you points for correctly answering math questions and lets you earn "badges" for completing levels is using gamification.
• Learning Management System (LMS)An LMS is like a digital classroom or a school website where teachers can put up lessons, assignments, grades, and communicate with students. It's a central place online for all your schoolwork. For example, your school might use an LMS like Google Classroom or Moodle where you can find your homework, turn in projects, and see your test scores.
• Online LearningOnline learning means you study and learn using the internet, often from home or anywhere with an internet connection. You can access lessons, submit assignments, and interact with teachers and classmates through a computer or phone. For example, taking a science course entirely through video lectures and online quizzes on a website is online learning.
• Open Educational Resources (OER)OER are teaching, learning, and research materials that are free to use, adapt, and share. These can include textbooks, videos, quizzes, and lesson plans that anyone can access without cost. For example, finding a free online textbook for your science class that your teacher can use and even change to fit your lessons is an example of OER.
• Personalized LearningPersonalized learning is an approach where your education is tailored to your individual needs, interests, and learning style. Instead of everyone learning the same way at the same pace, it adjusts to what works best for you. For example, an online math program that gives you extra practice on topics you struggle with and lets you move ahead quickly on things you already know is personalized learning.

Threads 3

Where this connects to other fields, and why it's worth knowing.

• Economic Development Economics

  Dropping free laptops into poor schools flopped for the same reason dropping free tractors into villages once did: a tool by itself does nothing without the training, repair, and support around it. The famous 'One Laptop Per Child' project learned this the hard way. Technology isn't magic; it's inert until the human systems around it are ready.

• Growth & Productivity Economics

  There's an old economics puzzle: computers showed up everywhere except in the numbers proving they made us more productive. Ed-tech keeps hitting the same wall. Schools spend fortunes on shiny gadgets, yet measured learning barely budges. Turns out the tablet was never the real bottleneck holding learning back.

• Philosophy of Technology Philosophy

  Every panic that a new gadget is rotting kids' brains is a rerun. Way back, Socrates fretted that writing itself would wreck people's memories. The fear that a new tool is making us dumber is literally older than the alphabet, which is worth remembering the next time someone blames the phone.