This blog discusses the conversation from a Community of Interest event on Artificial Intelligence in Education, a collaboration by the World Bank and EdTech Hub. AI is reshaping education — from teaching to learning to administration and beyond. What readiness looks like rapidly changes day-to-day, context dependent. To help close opportunity gaps in the age of AI, the World Bank…
State of the Art: AI for Bureaucratic Innovation in Education AI is transforming education—both in the classroom and beyond. For governments, especially in Low-and-Middle-Income Countries (LMICs), the challenge is to find smarter ways to improve education with limited budgets. Increased spending alone doesn’t improve learning, but how money is spent can make a difference [1]. This is where evidence-based decision-making…
This week on Waypoint Wednesday, we’re diving into the crucial role of teachers as AI continues to reshape education. What does it mean to be a teacher-in-the-loop, and indeed, a teacher-in-the-lead when it comes to AI? As AI tools advance and proliferate, the need for teachers to integrate AND interrogate them effectively becomes even more pressing. However, teacher preparedness is…
Foresight helps us make smarter decisions today, especially in the fast-evolving world of AI in education. Rather than predicting one future, it allows us to explore a range of possibilities and be proactive, preparing for changes before they happen. By considering different scenarios, we can adapt policies and strategies to stay resilient in the face of uncertainty. Our approach to…
How can we anticipate the changes in the age of AI and help close the learning divide? Foresight helps us make smarter decisions today, especially in the fast-evolving world of AI in education. Rather than predicting one future, it allows us to explore a range of possibilities and be proactive, preparing for changes before they happen. By considering different scenarios,…
Scanning the horizon The rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) presents both immense opportunities and significant risks for education. Without intentional action, AI could widen the learning divide rather than close it. But what if we could change that trajectory? That question was at the heart of our recent webinar on Unlocking Learning Outcomes in the Age of AI, hosted by…
Since launching the AI Observatory, we’ve been in listening mode — meeting and discussing AI with people across the world. These conversations have surfaced key trends, tensions, and paradoxes that shape how AI is evolving in different contexts. Signal spotting Some of the paradoxes that are coming up: AI is evolving at breakneck speed… and yet, not fast enough, with…
Call for Submissions
The British Journal of Educational Technology (BJET) invites contributions for a special section titled “EdTech Implementation Research in Low- and Middle-Income Countries.” This section aims to address a critical gap by exploring implementation research that bridges educational research and practice in LMICs.
Why Implementation Research Matters
Implementation research examines how interventions—policies, programs, or practices—are carried into effect. While established in fields like healthcare and poverty alleviation, it remains underexplored in EdTech, particularly in LMICs. This approach generates evidence in real-time, enhances scalability, and prioritizes sustainability, distinguishing itself from evaluation or design-based research.
Scope of the Special Section
This special section seeks empirical studies focused on EdTech implementation in LMICs, engaging with decision-makers and addressing real-world challenges at various educational levels. Contributions will strengthen the evidence base, bridging the divide between research and practice, and fostering “evidence-informed practice” and “practice-informed evidence.”
For detailed criteria and submission guidelines, visit https://bera-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/hub/journal/14678535/homepage/call-for-papers/edtech-in-lmics.
Over the last four years, EdTech Hub has worked closely with education leaders and researchers to empower people in low- and middle-income countries with evidence for effective technology use in education. In this post, we join the conversation about the demand for evidence in EdTech referencing a recent blog written by Rohan Carter-Rau and Brad Olsen at The Brookings Institution.…
Utafiti Elimu Tanzania (Swahili for Education Research Tanzania) is an annual evidence-into-policy forum bringing together collaborative planning efforts across the education system in Tanzania. In 2022, the conference focused on teacher continuous professional development (TCPD), data for decision-making, EdTech strategy, inclusion, school safety, and gender. In 2023, two main themes — teacher workforce planning and climate change — were selected…
