This week UNESCO’ Global Education Monitoring (GEM) report - which I contributed to, drawing on my research in this area - made a compelling case for why edtech needs to be regulated.

“The digital revolution holds immeasurable potential, but, just as warnings have been voiced for how it should be regulated in society, similar attention must be paid to the way it is used in education,” said Audrey Azoulay, director-general of UNESCO.

Specifically, the report says that governments around the world must find a way to safeguard education’s future in children’s best interests, while ensuring that the benefits of edtech can be utilised. 

The risks with the rise of edtech

The promise of digital technologies in education has driven governments to spend heavily and often inadequately for years, without looking closely at the potential risks, some of which concern basic questions of lawfulness, safety and ethical standards.

One of the key recommendations of the report is that the market needs to be scrutinised and regulated so there is greater understanding among schools of the products they may choose to buy.

Globally, the report says, data protection legislation is nascent and needs to be improved. Beyond data accountability, however, it also calls for the regulation of digital privacy, safety and wellbeing (as screen time grows as a result of digitalising education).

“The right to education and the right to privacy need to be monitored and protected in a world where billions of people are connected and exchange data and information as they are learning,” the report says.

The report also recommends that governments “adopt and implement legislation, standards and agreed good practices” to protect students’ and teachers’ basic human rights, wellbeing and safety, and ensure that the data accumulated over the course of a student’s learning is used in their best interests. They should regulate the ethical use of advancing AI functionalities, prevent digital surveillance and guard against commercialisation.

Regulating the market of education technologies

One such area of development can be seen with the recent launch of the first Edtech Quality Framework, which I have been involved in helping to create.

This framework has been developed over five years through work led by Edtech Impact and its evaluation and research partners EDDS, the Education Alliance Finland, WikIT and What Worked Education.

This is an industry-led drive designed to provide comprehensive evaluation and scrutiny of edtech products and build an ecosystem of trust.

With support from hundreds of schools and multi-academy trusts, the Department for Education has been asked to pilot the new Edtech Quality Framework and ensure that dedicated and systematic oversight is finally put in place in children’s best interests.

If this goes ahead, it will be a first for any country, and the UK will lead the way. 

Dr Velislava Hillman is a visiting fellow at the London School of Economics and Political Science researching and working with educational institutions, students, teachers and edtech organisations globally