Empowering teachers for the digital future

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Luiz Rose reflects on Anna Llyod and Andrew Nye’s talk at a Cambridge conference held last year, which looked at how a digital future the Better Learning Conference on empowering teachers for the digital future.

When I saw the title of Anna and Andrew’s talk at the Better Learning Conference, which was held last July in Cambridge, UK, I was immediately hooked. After all, technology in education has always interested me.

Existing technologies and the future of digital learning

The talk started with Anna telling us about what really matters for teachers when we talk about technology. She gave us an overview of present and new technologies. She also provided practical examples of technologies we can start using right now that don’t require any investments. For example, online tools such as Quizlet or Plickers. This is something that I am definitely going to be trying out.

Anna also talked about new technologies including: adaptive learning, LOA, stealth assessment, virtual reality, augmented reality and artificial intelligence. It was really interesting to learn more about these new technologies and to see how they can be applied in ELT. She then moved on to talk about the digital teacher and how we can all become one.

Building digital skills and knowledge

Andrew started his part of the talk by telling us about digital knowledge and skills. His team are currently preparing a very useful framework for teachers that will help us identify which digital skills we need in different circumstances. We should therefore develop our skills accordingly.

With so much new technology around sometimes it is difficult to know which is more appropriate or effective and which skills I need to have in order to use them. In this sense, the digital framework will be very useful for all teachers and coordinators. Overall, it is clear that the future is digital and that technology is sure to have a big impact on ELT.

Watch the full talk below: