It was a very real pleasure to have been invited by The Digital School to speak today on monitoring and evaluation of the use of digital tech in learning at UNESCO’s Digital Learning Week held in Paris.

Should anyone be interested, my presentation is available here (without transitions). In summary,

I had a simple aim: to persuade the audience that we still need to do much more to embed quality monitoring, evaluation, research and learning when using digital tech in educationDrawing on UNESCO’s recent Global Education Monitoring Report (thanks Manos)
I explored why, after decades of implementation, we are still unsure about the impacts and outcomes of “digital learning”?I suggested that we need to shift our focus away from measuring technological inputs to concentrate much more on learning outcomes.The presentation then explored three of the main reasons why so many digital tech in learning initiatives have not undertaken effective monitoring and evaluation:Insufficient rigorous baseline studies focusing on learning outcomesInsufficiently detailed financial modelsEssential for value for money measuresAn approach that does not compare “like with like”In moving towards a conclusion I also briefly touched on two other issues:The “me syndrome”, andThe environmental impact of digital techTo close, I highlighted the adverse impacts that are likely to ensue if we don’t pay enough attention to rigorous monitoring and evaluation.

I am very grateful to all those who took the time to engage with me afterwards and help build the conversation that we all need to have to make a difference in the lives of the poorest and most marginalised. Do ciick on the links below for a copy of my presentation.

Click on this link to access the above presentation in .pdf format.