"Teachers curious and sceptical about digitalisation"

Very early on, the University of Gävle carried out research on digitalisation in education and now national and international researchers gather for four days to discuss cutting-edge issues.

“For four days, we will carry out intensive discussions, which involve doctoral students as well as prominent national and international researchers,” says Göran Fransson, professor in curriculum studies at the University of Gävle.

The focus is on Big Data, AI in teaching and on equality, on how to make it possible for everyone to participate in digitalisation. Yet another goal is to discuss how data from digital teaching material can be collected and evaluated so that we will be able to support pupils in a more efficient manner in the future.

The research school GRADE

The Graduate School of Digital Technologies in Education (GRADE) was started in 2018 and is scheduled to run for five years. The school involves 19 doctoral students from the following participating institutions: University of Gävle, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, University of Gothenburg, Mid Sweden University, University of West Sweden and the host Umeå University.

“The purpose is to overcome obstacles and use research to find ways that suit both teachers and pupils,” Göran Fransson explains.

Teachers want added value

Göran Fransson points out that the digitalisation process in schools, which may concern the use of social media, different digital teaching materials and collaborative platforms, is going both slowly and fast. The implementation of really useful tools is going slowly, while expectations are rising fast.

“There is a healthy scepticism among teachers; they want something that really contributes to the actual teaching and they need time and opportunity to learn how to use tools in appropriate ways.”

GRADE aims to help teachers feel secure when teaching and to use research to ensure that digital tools work and provide added value.

International symposium 17 – 20 September

GRADE now holds an international symposium on digitalisation, in which 40 researchers, supervisors and doctoral students from USA, Finland, Germany, Norway Australia and Sweden participate.

Lectures and discussions will concentrate on the challenges of digitalisation in society at large and on the educational system in particular.

Open lectures 17 September

In Valhall between 1pm and 4pm, there will be open lectures on digitalisation in education for teachers, pre-school teachers, students, IT strategists and school leaders.

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