Figures published yesterday by AdEPT Technology Group show that the adoption of educational technology has soared by 131% this year compared to the whole of 2019, as the March school closures enforced to prevent the spread of coronavirus drove the accelerated uptake of digital education platforms (DEPs).
Last year, AdEPT established a total of 258 schools on its platforms, but by 15 September 2020, that number had more than doubled to 595 schools.
“Many schools have already seen how DEPs can be extremely valuable tools for remote teaching and learning” – David Bealing, AdEPT Education
According to government data, England’s education sector has approximately 450,000 FTE teachers, nine million students and 24,000 schools. An average of those figures – multiplied by the number of schools that have subscribed to a DEP through AdEPT – suggests that the company had issued some 492,700 licenses by 15 September this year.
But the pandemic has also transformed the UK school experience, emphasising the system’s growing desire for digital transformation. It also demonstrates the strength, stamina and adaptability of UK teaching staff, emphasising their dedication to providing a quality education for all – even when crisis strikes.
Clive Bryden, CTO at AdEPT, commented: “I’ve worked in technology for all my life and there are few things that are as rewarding as the work we’ve done to help schools throughout the pandemic…When I hear schools say everything’s clicked into place and students have really taken to video lessons, or submitting homework through their tablets…it makes the hard work completely worth it.”
As the sector attempts to visualise a future post-pandemic, AdEPT Education’s managing director David Bealing says the work is far from over.
“Many schools have already seen how DEPs can be extremely valuable tools for remote teaching and learning,” added Bealing. “But we can already see how they can be useful beyond lockdown and we hope to help many more schools with these platforms in the future.”
In other news: YouGov and Microsoft study highlights teachers’ concerns around hybrid learning