Celebrating International Internet Day: The role of the internet in education
Today’s classrooms are evolving with creativity, thanks in part to new, engaging tools for online learning. In this latest blog post to celebrate International Internet Day, we salute the integral, and continuously evolving role of the internet in UK schools – both now, and for the future.
Looking back
Just two months after Neil Armstrong took his first steps on the moon, a Californian research facility hosted the very first communication between two computers located miles apart. More than 50 years later, we’ve seen the internet become a life-changing resource around the world, linking people across towns, countries and continents. Perhaps nowhere has this been more transformative than in our schools over the past 18 months, where we estimate up to three to five years of edtech advancements were compressed in response to pandemic-related disruption.
This autumn, as we celebrate International Internet Day – and mark that first moment of technological contact – we want to celebrate just how crucial the internet has become in education. The internet undoubtedly played a key role in supporting the continuation of learning for teachers and students over the three national lockdowns of 2020/21. In the post-lockdown landscape, with more and more pupils now back at their desks, the internet continues to have a key role to play in schools – and is more than likely to heavily feature in classrooms of the future.
In recent research, including primary and secondary teachers nationwide as well as students and parents across the globe, we found that the benefits of internet-based resources meant that significant proportions of educators would like to continue their use. Creative, engaging, fun, accessible – such resources look set to outlive the pandemic, taking their permanent place in the classroom as complementary teaching tools.
We’ve certainly seen a positive uptake of free online learning support from the educators we work with, plus a drive to connect and personalise teaching and learning in services such as ActiveLearn.
Lifelong skills beyond the classroom
Having recognised the internet’s educational benefits – better connections, faster communication, tailored engagement – many teachers would like to see the use of digital tools extended beyond lessons too. Indeed, nearly a third want digital tools and events through which they can engage with parents.
What’s more, with flexible working now higher than ever in UK and global businesses, the increased presence of the internet in education is also a boon for students’ in preparing for the future. In our Future of Assessment and Qualifications research:
- 93% of parents believe that being able to use information and communication technologies to find, evaluate, create and communicate information is an important life and work skill.
- 74% of 14–19-year-olds and 76% of 19–24-year-olds also recognised this as a vital skill they’d need in the future.
Encouragingly, in our #DigitalClassroomSurvey earlier this year, educators reported that 81% of teachers and 64% of students in the UK had improved their digital skills over the course of the pandemic due to online lockdown learning.
Leaping forward
To sustain a positive trajectory, and build on the current momentum in education, those of us with internet, enjoying related benefits, have a duty to consider those without. In February this year, we committed to doing this through the Computers for Kids initiative, and our commitment has not stopped there. Advocating for equal internet connectivity, addressing the digital divide, identifying areas where devices and accessibility can be improved – all are essential steps to take as edtech moves forward, and aims to support every learner.
From two Californian computers, to millions of pupils in schools throughout the UK today; one small step to one giant leap. By working and learning together, the aspirations of generations can soar ever higher.