The 2023 GEM Report calls for us to decide what we want to improve in education and then decide what technology can help us achieve that, rather than purchasing technological solutions for the sake of it. An event held in Germany on November 27, 2023 to discuss the findings of the report co-organized by the Federal Foreign Office, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the German Commission for UNESCO demonstrates the importance we place on making the right decisions about when digital solutions are the right ones and when they are not.
One challenge where we believe technology could help is the urgent global need for equipping a massive number of teachers with the necessary skills. Globally, the Teacher Task Force estimated this year that we need to increase the number of teachers by 50% by 2030. We need solutions that can be implemented rapidly and at a low cost while meeting the quantitative and qualitative challenges of in-service teacher training. And in this context, ‘low-tech’ solutions, including mobile phones and instant messaging systems such as WhatsApp, appear most promising. They are not only scaled but also highly appropriate among teachers in low- and middle-income countries.
The report’s assertion that only certain types of technology aid in learning in certain contexts was the focus of the discussions at the Federal Foreign Office. We know that the high enthusiasm and expectations vis-à-vis digitalization have not yet delivered at scale solutions for problems such as teacher training. Investments in digital infrastructures are still too low and slow. Additionally, the GEM Report’s emphasis on the persistent lack of reliable evidence has resulted in a preference for project approaches and a dearth of system-transforming solutions on a large scale. The COVID-19 pandemic, on the other hand, centered a lot on discussions about the role that technology plays in education, including teacher education. The lack of systematic support during school closures encouraged teachers to use mobile and messaging systems to access information and connect with their peers or students. The benefits of low-tech have been recognized by the international community, inter alia within the teacher policy recommendations formulated in preparation for the UN Transforming Education Summit 2022, stressing that “strategies that make use of already available technologies, including low-tech solutions, should be considered in order to ensure rapid impact and high inclusion.”
When looking for scalable strategies for teacher training, there is no need to start from scratch, as this recommendation suggests. Here are the reasons why:
To begin, the components of effective teacher training are already well-known. According to research and the international education policy community, in-service teacher training must be teacher-centered, embedded in a collaborative community of practice, held at a distance so that more teachers can attend, and, most importantly, motivate teachers. Secondly, instead of attempting to introduce and scale technology for educational purposes, why not use technology that is already scaled, such as the use of mobile phones, which are owned by 73% of those aged 10 and above worldwide today?
In addition to being logistically appropriate, the messaging-based groups have multiple other benefits highly suited to teacher training as well.
In Germany, we examined these advantages through mixed method research that included qualitative and quantitative dataset analysis, a literature review of existing evidence in developing nations, and an activity research component. Ultimately, we studied the use, need and perception of messaging systems for teacher training among 2486 teachers across the Caribbean, Botswana, Tanzania and Malawi. We call our instant messaging supported teacher training approach a Future Teacher Kit. A background paper for the 2023 GEM Report describes our research on it, which we believe demonstrates that it could be a scalable solution with rapid positive effects on teaching practices that merit investment. We arrived at this conclusion for a few reasons. Mobile phones enable teachers to compensate for what they all identify as one of the biggest constraints to professional development: the lack of materials and content and the overall lack of support, including access to training. Resources and in-service training possibilities are identified by over 70% of teachers as a core challenge on a daily basis in Botswana and over 74% in the Caribbean region.
With a training process using such systems, the format and content shared were adapted to teachers’ rhythms and needs. Even though there was no extrinsic reward for taking part in the test module, teachers were intrinsically motivated to join the training experience and perceived the training content as so useful that they decided to share it with non-participants. Most importantly, teachers said their students’ behavior improved. Teachers use messaging systems to build multiple communities of practice that help them collaborate more effectively with their colleagues and take advantage of the anonymity of teacher networks based on instant messaging. From that perspective, teachers autonomously create a self-training process. This finding is of critical importance: teachers are intrinsically motivated to adapt the usage of messaging systems for educational purposes. This is because this kind of training lets teachers learn independently while also learning new information and connecting with their peers. In addition to being an essential tool for coping with the pandemic, its use is now increasingly ingrained in the workday of teachers. Simply put – messaging systems are a scaled EdTech tool created by teachers themselves.
Most importantly, the use of WhatsApp is not an ad hoc reaction – it has reinforced an existing appropriation process. Teachers will likely continue to incorporate messaging systems into their daily work routine in the future. But two of the questions the GEM Report asks us to think about before making any investments in technology for education perfectly illustrate where we need to exercise caution. Is there fairness? Teacher education is still the responsibility of the public, even if the urgency of the situation requires immediate responses. Because of this, we must keep investing in digital infrastructure, which will improve all aspects of education systems and ensure that no one is left behind. Teachers should never have to worry about paying for support and training for themselves. Partnerships with mobile operators must be an essential component of a national training strategy and are a crucial signal for the recognition of the teaching profession, as our own action research component demonstrates. A mature digital education system will benefit from the rapid usability of mobile devices and messaging systems. Is it scalable? Scaled approaches must be implemented from the beginning in order to fully utilize messaging-facilitated teacher training’s potential and the potential of a scaled technology. Approaches that shift away from the pilot-based approach and toward the country-wide integration of low-tech solutions in education systems must be facilitated by the international community of technical cooperation and donors. During the national launch event of the report in Germany on November 27, 2023, it became once again clear how crucial the framework of this new GEM Report is on a global level: Therefore we hope that other countries will use it to analyze their own decisions on technology and see where new ideas might meet requirements to find solutions for teachers to educate. It is needed and deserved by teachers and students right now!
