What are Some of the Strategic National Developments in Education in the UK?

Some of the strategic national developments in education in the UK include: The EdTech strategy, the Tassomai project, the development of AI in universities, the Promethean’s #classroomstory, the LDC and TextHelp Software partnership, and the CPD programme.

1. EdTech Strategy

• The EdTech Strategy involves supporting schools to enable them to take advantage of the opportunities available through technology.
• Some of the goals include cutting the workload, creating efficiencies, removing barriers to education and driving improvements in educational outcomes.
•  Some barriers include slow internet connections and outdated internal networking and devices. As such, the strategy aims at addressing these challenges.
• The government is offering support to the EdTech companies by offering a £10 million investment in the EdTech Strategy. This is part of the EdTech Innovation Fund, which is a £4.6 million funding programme.

2. Tassomai Project

• The software helps GCSE students to understand specific science concepts. They will be able to fill in the knowledge gaps by watching short video clips that help them learn.
• Tassomai is an educational technology company that uses quiz-based on-line learning.
• Schools using the software will access over 150 videos based on knowledge gaps identified within their institutions.
•  Tassomai software shows videos to students when a weakness has been identified.

3. AI in UK universities

• UK is falling behind when it comes to the development of AI in universities.
• Some issues are concerns about ethics and control of AI because UK higher education is a very conservative sector.
• The University of Bath announced an AI doctoral training centre. The ART-AI is one of 16 centres across the UK.
• The centre is funded by the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and cost £100 million. Its main objective is to facilitate the recruitment and training of over 60 postgraduate students from policy, social science and engineering backgrounds in the ethical use of Artificial Intelligence.

4. Promethean’s #ClassroomStory

• Promethean launched the #ClassroomStory competition which it gives educators the chance to win a technology package worth over £3,000+.
•  Crisis education in the UK is based on the high numbers of teachers leaving the profession.
• Promethean wants to recognize the work of educators in schools and give them the chance to win an ActivePanel.
• The #ClassroomStory competition was previewed at Bett, in London, where Promethean created a video booth for educators and they told their stories with the chance of winning an ActivePanel.

5. Texthelp Partnership with LDC

• Texthelp has developed various software products such as: Read&Write, EquatiO, Browsealoud and WriQ. These are used in the education and corporate sectors to help students and employees with reading, writing and numeracy difficulties including those with dyslexia or working in a second language.
• The partnership between Texthelp and LDC is aimed at enabling the management team to identify and develop opportunities for growth in current and new markets.
• LDC is the private equity arm of Lloyds Banking Group.
• LDC’s help is aimed to further the commitment of helping unlock everyone’s full potential, adding resources and expertise.

6. CPD Programme

• The Department for Education (DfE) commissioned the Education and Training Foundation (ETF) with the objective of developing and managing a new CPD programme. The aim of this initiative was to ensure adult institutions and teachers can acquire the latest digital skills qualifications.
• The course will be offered free for adult learners.
• The ETF’s training for teachers gives them new ‘essential digital skills’ qualifications and thousands of adults will get the chance to develop new skills that they can use in their lives and work. The programme is aimed at tackling the digital exclusion of teachers.

Research Strategy:

We started the research through educational news portals and government news platforms related to education and technology. Based on these resources, we gathered information relating to six strategies developed by organizations and/or sustained by the government, which are related to new digital technologies applied in education. All those strategies are aimed at tackling issues in the education sector and relate to students, teachers and the educational environment in May 2019.