”Don’t forget the benefits of digitalisation”

Willem Schoors, the Belgian representative in the EU project EmpowerED, urges Sweden to embrace digitalisation, highlighting the Swedish Edtest platform as a model.

The EU project EmpowerED began last year with the aim of improving the development of technology in schools. Willem Schoors, responsible for Belgium’s participation in the project, conducted an initial situation analysis, and believes the greatest challenge is fostering collaboration between teachers and developers.

“It is crucial that developed technology genuinely enhances student learning. Edtech companies are skilled entrepreneurs and developers, but they often lack knowledge about teaching. Therefore, teachers must be involved in the development process,” he explains.

For such collaborations to happen, Willem Schoors believes that public investment is necessary, ideally guided by researchers. Without it, bringing these two worlds together is difficult, as time is money for companies, while the education sector is characterised by a lack of it.

“Teachers already work very hard. Therefore, decision-makers must provide them not only with the necessary tools but also the time for these types of projects. It’s unsustainable to rely on teachers doing this in their spare time.”

The Swedish national test bed, Swedish Edtest, represents the most advanced collaboration in the EU, according to Willem Schoors. Here, teachers, with support from Ifous, enhance their digital competence by evaluating and testing digital learning resources, simultaneously helping edtech companies improve their products.

As Belgian Flanders, where Willem Schoors works as a project manager at the Ministry of Education, is about to develop its own testbed, he highlights the Swedish project as a model.

“To me, Swedish Edtest exemplifies an educational culture where teachers and companies agree on the importance of collaboration and evidence. This is rare in many other countries. Swedish Edtest also has very clear support material, which we can almost copy directly.”

The ultimate aim of EmpowerED is to create more of these kind of meeting places for teachers, edtech companies, and researchers that continue beyond the project’s conclusion next year. The expectation is that it will be more successful if EU countries can learn from each other.

Therefore, the project is building a database with examples of how different European countries are working with edtech. Johan Winsborn, Process and Project Manager at Ifous responsible for EmpowerED, believes this resource will be valuable for anyone interested in the field.

“The content includes how schools and teachers can evaluate and critically review edtech products. There are many successful examples from other EU countries that we in Sweden can also learn from,” he says.

He also believes Sweden will benefit from the guidelines currently being developed, including ways for teachers and researchers to support companies in creating digital learning resources as well as the networks to facilitate contacts with similar activities in other EU countries.

Moreover, he hopes EmpowerED can show Swedish decision-makers that technology for schools can make a difference, countering recent criticisms of digitalisation in schools.

“In the rest of the EU, the digitalisation of schools is not as questioned as it is in Sweden right now. Greater international exchange and positive examples from other countries can hopefully contribute to a more balanced debate about how technology can be used,” says Johan Winsborn.

Willem Schoors’ impression is that Sweden is currently at the extreme end of the pendulum swing between uncritical optimism and categorical rejection that innovations often provoke. He warns that the country risks missing out on the benefits of digitalisation.

However, he emphasises that technology should never be an end in itself but a tool to improve student learning. Digital learning resources can help teachers individualise teaching, provide feedback, and track student progress.

“This isn’t about economics or countries wanting to profile themselves as innovative. Europe’s education systems face significant challenges, such as lack of equity and many students failing in school. Using technology gives us a better chance of addressing these issues.”

More about EmpowerED and Swedish Edtest:

• EmpowerED runs from 2023 to 2025. The project is funded by the European Commission and coordinated by European Schoolnet (EUN), a network of 34 European education ministries and authorities.
• Swedish Edtest started as a Vinnova project in 2020 and was taken over by Ifous two years later. It is a national platform where teachers and edtech companies meet to explore and evaluate digital learning resources using a scientifically grounded method.

Author: Staffan Eng
Translation from Swedish to English: Helen Garrison 

This is part one in a series about Ifous and Swedish Edtest’s participation in EmpowerED. The second article, “Focus on the educational benefits” can be found here and the third, ”Just dare to give it a go!” here.