Linda Shear’s research while affiliated with SRI International and other places

In this paper we elaborate and extend the work of the EDUsummIT 2015 Thematic Working Group 7 (TWG7) by proposing a set of indicators on quality Technology-Enhanced Learning and Teaching (TEL&T). These indicators are intended as one component of a set of global indicators that could be used to monitor implementation of the Education 2030 agenda, which aims to "Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote life-long learning opportunities for all." The proposed indicators address conditions at the student, teacher, school and system levels, and are organized in a systemic framework to help foreground interactions and interdependencies within and across the different levels. This framework highlights the need for longitudinal, multilevel designs in evaluation studies of TEL & T implementations, which will also contribute to a better understanding of the links between policy, policy implementation, outputs, and outcomes. Sample indicators are presented to illustrate the framework, and suggestions are made for use of the framework in evaluation studies. Further, the proposed framework could be used to underpin the development of an open, worldwide collaborative of educational evaluation researchers, practitioners and policymakers, thereby adopting a crowdsourcing approach to systematically address the complex challenges in evaluating quality TEL & T.

Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) has become increasingly important on the agendas of education policy makers, school leaders and teachers around the world. The policy level rationale for emphasizing TEL is not only to improve learning outcomes, but to also transform the learning process to foster new capabilities that are needed for life and work in the 21st century. UNESCO (2008) published a document that puts forward a policy framework that aligns national goals and curriculum in education as well as the role of ICT in teaching and learning with the state of economic development. Technology-enhanced learning and teaching (TEL&T) should help students develop digital literacy and enable them to use technology appropriately for communication, collaboration and problem-solving. Indicators of quality TEL&T are one of the two new themes proposed by UNESCO (Bangkok) for introduction in EDUsummIT 2015. The context for TWG7’s work on indicators is to serve the need for fit-for-purpose indicators as part of the implementation of the Post-2015 Education Agenda. While the details of this Agenda are still to be finalized by the UN summit in September 2015, the theme will be Towards inclusive and equitable quality lifelong learning for all, as announced in the Incheon Declaration in May 2015. One of the intended outcomes of the Working Group (TWG7) is to develop a policy brief on this theme and present it to the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Forum on ICT in Education (AMFIE) at its next meeting.