Education
Presented and produced by Seán Delaney On this week's podcast I speak to Deirdre Hodson who works in the European Commission’s department for Education, Youth, Sports and Culture in Brussels. She provides a European Union policy perspective on technology and sustainability in education. Among the topics we discuss are: How she came to work in the area of digital education policy and her studies in the area Ben Williamson Neil Selwyn How her studies contributed to her work as a policymaker How the pandemic is likely to impact on policy and practice The need for schools to have digital strategies The importance of the school as a whole being the unit of change and of hearing the student voice The difference between emergency remote teaching and online learning How countries reaped the benefits of investment in digital resources in education during the pandemic Asking what we can learn from remote teaching and learning as a result of the pandemic Broadening the education infrastructure to include collaboration with libraries and museums The origin, purpose and launch of the SELFIE diagnostic/planning tool she was involved in developing How SELFIE has been used and a new SELFIE tool for teachers to be launched in October 2021. Examples of interesting practices in digital education across Europe An account of a visit to a school in Finland and the phenomenon-based learning and to one in Austria Sustainability, digital technologies, accessibility and inclusion Risks and threats of technology alongside opportunities (e.g. data protection; student and teacher agency) Differences between aspects of a teacher’s job that are routine (e.g. marking) and those that are human (e.g. coaching and mentoring) Neil Selwyn Should robots replace teachers? Challenges of not being able to hold the regular Leaving Certificate examinations in 2020. The value of learning languages Erasmus and E-Twinning: Léargas Neil Selwyn’s book Distrusting Educational Technology: Critical Questions for Changing Times