During the coronavirus pandemic, many schools, colleges, and universities had to get equipped for distance learning, and spending on IT soared. But will that continue, and how much of a real opportunity is the education sector for the channel? In part one of this two-part series looking at how the pandemic has affected the education markets we look at what’s changed for the sector
Research published earlier this year (from recruiter Robert Walters and data provider Vacancysoft), estimated that the UK educational technology (edtech) sector grew by 72% in 2020 – with further growth forecast for 2021. The current value of the UK edtech market is reckoned to be almost £3.5 billion per annum.
I’d definitely say that the pandemic has accelerated the trends and adoption
While much of that 2020 increase was fuelled by the pandemic, the growth is expected to continue. ‘I’d definitely say that the pandemic has accelerated the trends and adoption. Schools have had to jump some of the hurdles and humps that it would have otherwise taken them many years to get over.’, said Chris Rothwell, director of education at Microsoft UK.
It’s not only the reticence to adopt remote and home schooling that’s been swept away; schools now want to do more with technology. ‘Early on, we had lots of basic questions about our technology – ‘how does this work’-type questions. As it’s evolved, we have seen more questions about how it supports teaching and learning. How can we support students who need additional help? How do we apply different pedagogical approaches than we would have in the classroom?’
Schools are seeing more benefits of technology and that’s giving them the confidence to embrace it even more.
How the pandemic changed things for edtech
‘The pandemic has brought the digital learning agenda forward’ said Rachel Clay, education sales manager at Softcat. ‘We have seen a huge surge in device sales and the general attitude to IT in the classroom has changed for the better. I think we will now see the UK education sector doing some really cool things over the next few years.’
During the pandemic the government procured over 1.3 million laptops for schools, and that has put the spotlight on what happens when schools close
Chris Rothwell said that the switch to home learning has had a profound impact. ‘Home schooling has perhaps made everyone appreciate education in a way that they didn’t before. This is a sector that has done everything in person, forever, and when schools, colleges, and universities closed, almost every teacher that went home and started to deliver classes on Teams or other platforms, was doing it for the first time. That was not part of the teacher training – and it was not something parents had been prepared for either.’
The need for every child to have access to technology at home triggered an unprecedented shift in edtech spending with the Department for Education (DfE) stepping in in a major way for the first time in more than a decade.
Matt Eccles, education business development manager at Lenovo UK and Ireland, said: ‘Over the last 10 years, most schools have been procuring independently, been entirely responsible for their own plans, and pretty autonomous when it comes to technology. But during the pandemic the government procured over 1.3 million laptops for schools, and that has put the spotlight on what happens when schools close. How do children continue to learn?’
Snow days will be a thing of the past
The need to switch instantly to home learning meant schools had to move fast – and they will be expected to do so again in the future should another pandemic or anything similar happen. As Rachel Clay put it, ‘snow days will be a thing of the past.’
The most urgent priority will be to give all children and learners permanent access to a laptop. At present – according to the British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA), there are currently just over 10 million full and part time pupils at school in the UK. Lenovo’s Matt Eccles estimates that around one third of these currently have a dedicated laptop for schoolwork, so there is a long way to go.
The big question here is whether the government will buy all those laptops, or whether it will be left to the schools to buy them. The smart money is on the latter. The government has spent billions during the pandemic and now needs to start reducing debt, so it may be reluctant to make the commitment to purchasing seven million laptops.
Even if it does, it’s unlikely to take further autonomy away from schools with regard to technology policy and spending. It will be up to schools and Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs) to make decisions on cloud services and software, security solutions, networking and WiFi, printers, interactive displays, and all the other solutions and equipment they need to enhance teaching and learning. And that is what it is all about in the end for schools – getting better outcomes and results, turning out students who are more rounded, confident, and able to contribute to society and the economy.
Is blended learning the future? And how ready are schools to embrace it?
The big post-pandemic talking point in the commercial world has been around the shift to hybrid or blended working. Will the same thing happen in education? Estelle Johannes, director, Member Communities at CompTIA, the channel training organisation, thinks that while it’s proven the value of remote teaching and learning, it’s by no means certain that schools will now take a more hybrid approach.
Schools need to be ready for any similar scenario
‘Moving out of the classroom to online sessions has been a steep learning curve for students, teachers, and parents – and taught students to be more adaptable and independent, which are great life skills. However, having social interaction, being able to build friendships, getting in-classroom guidance, and engaging in group problem solving has enormous value for both students and teachers.
‘While the jury seems to be out on whether schools will or won’t switch to a blended approach, what we do know is that schools need to be ready for any similar scenario. If there is another big COVID wave, or a different pandemic entirely, they must be ready to switch to home schooling immediately. The one-laptop-per-child ambition is seen as key here – and the debate about how this can be done (and how it will be funded) is only just starting.’
Microsoft’s Chris Rothwell said that perhaps brightest silver lining to emerge behind the cloud of pandemic with respect to edtech, is that it’s changed the perception of and attitude to technology amongst teachers, pupils, and parents.
‘Right across the board, technology has provided the basis on which schools have continued to operate and this has been a huge change from what they were doing before. It’s overcome a lot of mental hurdles and people are now looking at what they want to keep and improve While there is no suggestion that education should become an entirely remote endeavour, I think there is an acceptance that tech is good for the learning and teaching experience, so we should keep those things while also making the most of the face-to-face experience and blending all those capabilities together.’
Teachers who previously resisted using technology have become more comfortable delivering synchronous learning experiences using Microsoft Teams or Google Meet
This is a challenge for schools though, and what happens next is key. Schools need to be persuaded that this is the moment to seize the opportunity technology offers them to advance teaching and learning. Matt Eccles of Lenovo said: ‘’Having been put in a position where they had to use it, teachers who previously resisted using technology have become more comfortable delivering synchronous learning experiences using Microsoft Teams or Google Meet. The danger now is that those gains are being lost because schools are tending to go back to face-to-face learning and typical, didactic pedagogy of “chalk and talk” in the classroom.’
Acquiring more IT skills should now be part of a teachers’ professional development, he asserted. ‘We need to do more to make them more comfortable with technology and make the experience better for both them and the students.’
Evidence that this should be the way ahead has been highlighted in a paper jointly published by the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Education Technology, and BESA, called Lessons from Lockdown. This makes specific points that underline the invaluable role that edtech and blended forms of learning can play in education.
Amongst its 14 key recommendations are that: ‘Schools should not just seek to replicate classroom teaching online but should embrace the pedagogic advances that edtech allows’; and that ‘As schools reopen, they should ensure traditional classroom teaching is coupled with the use of EdTech as a matter of routine’. Overall, the document makes a compelling case for the use of edtech, both to allow schools to adapt to home learning and enhance and improve learning generally.
National nuances
Due to the devolved running of education, the state-of-readiness to switch to home or blended learning varies across the UK. Wales and Scotland are ahead of England, in that they have national digital strategies for education and central resources in place for schools to use for remote learning. Wales has Hwb, while Scotland has Glow. Both are digital platforms for teaching and learning that provide access to a range of online solutions and services and were extremely useful for schools during the pandemic.
In England where no national platform exists, the appointment of the Oak National Academy to bolster support for schools during closures has been a major success. Even now 150,000 students and 30,000 teachers still using the platform weekly post lockdown. ‘The success of ONA should be a foundation for the government to build on and help schools who are lacking support, content and resources for blended learning.’
Small rural primary schools don’t have a lot of staff or support, whereas schools in a MAT have been able to find more support
In one sense, this is an advantage for resellers targeting schools in England, as it means they need even more help in preparing for any future lockdowns, or in simply providing a blended learning option.
To be fair to the English government, it is also encouraging schools to become part of a MAT, as they will then be better prepared for unforeseen events. Chris Rothwell of Microsoft said: ‘You have been looking [in England] at lots of smaller organisations trying to figure it out for themselves, rather than a central group helping to figure it out for everyone. Small rural primary schools don’t have a lot of staff or support, whereas schools in a MAT have been able to find more support.’
A wider digital strategy for schools in England is also being developed, but it will take time to be finalised and implemented. Schools can’t afford to wait though, as they might need to revert to home schooling at any time.
