I read the article by David Allison, founder of GetMyFirstJob.co.uk, advocating a revolution in the use of technology in further education and apprenticeships with great interest. As director of education and development at AAT (and a former teacher), I agree that technology has brought many valuable benefits to both learners and teachers and no doubt there is still much more to come. David asks if the education system “can evolve to see technology as an amazing enabler of learning”?

I believe that many in the education system already recognise the amazing potential of technology - the issue is how it is deployed and used, and whether there is the money in the system to invest on the scale necessary to make it an effective part of learning which is available to all.

In my experience, and I suspect that of many other educators, the key is to recognise when technology adds value and when it doesn’t. This has to be combined with the needs of the individual learner: one size will never fit all learning styles. A range of factors impact the effectiveness and success of technology in learning and we need to find a way to integrate technology so that it is an enabler, and not the driver.

At AAT, we recognise the importance of ensuring that our learners qualifying as accountants are competent users of technology. The profession and employers demand this. Our assessments are fully online, and to help both learners and tutors we provide a range of online support materials.

These are specifically designed to be used at the discretion of the learner and the tutor, in their own time or in the classroom, and at their own pace. The key here is that at all times, learners are actively encouraged to talk to their tutor, and to utilise as much expert help as is available to them. Experience shows that a blended approach is one which delivers the best success rates, and that continuing access to an educator who can reassure, explain and facilitate is invaluable.

Digital evolution

We should not underestimate the value of the “traditional methods” referred to in the article - for many learners these methods are hugely effective and beneficial. The question is how to embed the use of technology effectively, so that it adds value, both to the learner and to the tutor. Setting targets for the use of technology is not the way forward. It introduces a false driver and runs the risk of the learner’s needs becoming secondary to the delivery method. In other words, the tail is allowed to wag the dog (a cliché, but true nonetheless).

It is the teachers, tutors and lecturers across our education system who are best placed to judge what is appropriate for their learners and how best to integrate new and emerging technologies. However it is also a fact of life that educational institutions do not have a deep purse into which they can reach for funds.

Without significant investment to ensure that where tech is rolled out, it is available to all and not just the privileged few, we cannot hope to begin on a journey to ‘revolution’. It is an ‘evolution’, led by the professionals in our classrooms, in partnership with their learners, that will take us to where we need to go.

As anyone who has ever had to deal with gremlins in their phone, or call IT for technical support when something’s gone wrong with a computer knows, technology isn’t perfect. It will undoubtedly continue to play a growing role in all our lives, as well as in education.

But let’s not assume that any particular sector of education has not adopted revolutionary use of technology because it is simply unwilling to do so. It might just be that a quiet evolution is already underway.

Suzie Webb is director of education and development at AAT 

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