Welcome to this Christmas/Seasonal bonus episode examining evidence-based EdTech in toys for children and young people.

Featuring two hosts from the EDUCATE Ventures Research team, founder Rose Luckin and former headteacher and Chief Education Advisor Karine George, this seasonal special looks at a number of EdTech must-have toys and the questions that should be asked of them by any parent and carer looking to spend their money wisely.

Toys are tools of play, and the educational toy market is booming. Below you can find our list of questions to ask of the technology. Head to our website for details of the toys/models in question to help you hunt down the best deals across the holiday season and whenever you are thinking about EdTech across the rest of the year. 

The Questions

1. User Agency – one of the potential advantages technology brings is the potential for a child to gain some agency – to be in charge.  What does this tech do to enable agency? 
2. Versatility – is the toy versatile to meet specific needs? For example, if the child has problems with fine motor skills then small controllers or keyboards may not be the best option? If they are visually impaired, they may need text to speech or a connected refreshable braille display.  Ensure the games are age appropriate
3. Value for Money – will you need to buy additional accessories?  Are there subscription costs?  How durable is the toy?
4. Evidence – what evidence exists to say this toy works or has value, and are you convinced by it? 
5. Long-Term Engagement – will this toy or device live past a honeymoon period?
6. Safety/Ethics – does this toy connect to the internet?  If it can then two issues need to be addressed: what can the child access through this device, and what information about the child is being tracked or recorded and how is this being used?

Tell us where you are listening in from

We’d love to hear your thoughts. Record a quick free voicemail via speakpipe for inclusion in the next episode. Or you can post your thoughts or follow-on links via Twitter @podcastedtech or via The Edtech Podcast LinkedIn page or Instagram.

Welcome to this first episode in a series produced by Professor Rose Luckin's EDUCATE Ventures Research, exploring 'Evidence-Based EdTech', and hosted on The Edtech Podcast. 

This mini-series connects, combines, and highlights leading expertise and opinion from the worlds of EdTech, AI, Research, and Education, helping teachers, learners, and technology developers get to grips with ethical learning tools that are led by the evidence. 

For this episode we examine the presence of EdTech in schools, looking at how we judge whether the tech ‘works’ or not.  We explore what makes for good evidence, why contextual use is significant, and how school CPD, infrastructure development, and staff capacity building are vital to making the most of the tools at our disposal. 

We are chatting to:

• Tom Hooper – Founder and CEO, Third Space Learning 
• Neelam Parmar – Director of Digital Transformation and Education, AISL Harrow Schools 
• Richard Culatta – Author, CEO, ISTE 
• Katie Novak – Strategist, Writer, Smart Technologies 
• Host: Rose Luckin – Professor of Learner Centred Design, UCL, Founder, EDUCATE Ventures Research 

Can our schools operate as testbeds for emerging technology, and is this an ethical or beneficial use of class time?  Why is an evidence-led investment and regulatory ecosystem so important?  What is a ‘research mindset’ for aspiring technology developers, and do users even care about the evidence?  

We'll be asking:

• How do we know EdTech works? 
• What does good evidence look like, and what can stakeholders in the ecosystem do to ensure it is high-quality?
• What are the biggest barriers to generating good evidence and getting it into the hands of the people in companies responsible for technology development, and into the hands of those using that technology? 

Thank you to SMART Technologies for sponsoring this episode, and for supporting the Evidence-Based EdTech series on the EdTech Podcast

Hello everyone and welcome back to The Edtech Podcast, where we aim to improve the dialogue between “ed” and “tech” for better innovation and impact.

In this NEW series, sponsored by WorkTripp, we are looking at all things Future of Work, and how that intersects with learning, leadership, humans, and technology.

In this episode, I'm chatting with the authors of WorkStyle, and the founders of Hoxby, Lizzie Penny and Alex Hirst. We explore:

• Why 2014 is a magical year for the "future of work"
• The role of technology in the "future of work" 
• Why flexible working and the 4 day working week still track back to the 9 to 5
• Autonomy, motivation and upskilling 

Show Notes and References  

You can find links to any references from the episode in our show notes: https://theedtechpodcast.com/edtechpodcast.

Tell us your story

We'd love to hear your thoughts. Record a quick free voicemail via speakpipe for inclusion in the next episode. Or you can post your thoughts or follow-on links via twitter @podcastedtech or via The Edtech Podcast LinkedIn page or Instagram.