This special issue represents the scholarly work that emerged from the EDUsummIT 2013. EDUsummIT is a growing and active community of researchers, policy makers and practitioners that is committed to promote research-informed strategies to effectively integrate ICT in educational policy and practice. First the background and aim of EDUsummIT is presented, followed by an overview of the contributions
to this special issue

Knezek, Gerald

Pareja Roblin, Natalie

Voogt, Joke

Education and Information Technologies

English

This article provides the background and aim of EDUSummiIT, the Third International Summit on Information and Communication Technologies in Education, with an overview of the contents of this special issue

UNT (University of North Texas) Digital Library

Research-informed strategies to addresseducational challenges in a digitally networked worldJoke Voogt1,2 & Gerald Knezek3 &Natalie Pareja Roblin4,5Published online: 3 September 2015# The Author(s) 2015. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.comAbstract This special issue represents the scholarly work that emerged from theEDUsummIT 2013. EDUsummIT is a growing and active community of researchers,policy makers and practitioners that is committed to promote research-informed strat-egies to effectively integrate ICT in educational policy and practice. First the back-ground and aim of EDUsummIT is presented, followed by an overview of the contri-butions to this special issue.Keywords EDUsummIT. Research . Policy . Practice . Digitally networkedworld1 IntroductionThis special edition of Education and Information Technologies presents scholarlyconsensus distilled from the Third International Summit on Information andCommunication Technologies (ICT) in Education (EDUsummIT 2013). This invita-tional gathering of 100 ICT researchers, practitioners and policy makers from morethan 30 countries was held in Washington, D.C., Sept. 30 – October 2, 2013. The maingoal of EDUsummIT 2013 was to define joint research-informed strategies at national,Educ Inf Technol (2015) 20:619–623DOI 10.1007/s10639-015-9430-4* Joke Voogtj.m.voogt@uva.nlGerald Knezekgknezek@gmail.comNatalie Pareja Roblinnatalie.parejaroblin@ugent.be1 University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 15776, 1001NG Amsterdam, Netherlands2 Windesheim University of Applied Sciences, Zwolle, Netherlands3 University of North Texas, 3940 North Elm St. G150, Denton, TX, USA4 University of Ghent, Henri Dunantlaan, 2, 9000 Ghent, Belgium5 University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USAregional and international levels to address successfully the challenges educationalsystems face in a digital and networked world. Thematic working groups (TWGs)debated reviewed literature, current issues and formulated recommendations for ICT ineducation under the theme “Research-informed Strategies to address EducationalChallenges in a Digitally Networked World”.EDUsummIT 2013 resulted in an Action Agenda (http://www.curtin.edu.au/edusummit/local/docs/EduSummIT_2013_Action_Agenda.pdf). TWG leaders remainedin Washington D.C. for two additional days and discussed recommendations for actionswith representatives of professional associations attending the U.S. National TechnologyLeadership Summit (NTLS 2013). EduSummIT 2013 participants later presented anddiscussed with professional audiences the Action Agenda at the American EducationalResearch Association Conference in 2014, the Society for Information Technology &Teacher Education in 2014, the UNESCO Regional Conference on the “Quality ofEducation and Challenges in a Digitally Networked World” (Sofia, Bulgaria, October2014), and many other venues. Refinements ofWashington D.C. initial discussions amongEDUsummIT participants themselves and with other professional association audiences,have been distilled into the eight papers presented in this special edition. A brief history ofEDUsummIT and outcomes from previous meetings will be presented in the followingsection, followed by an overview of the content of each special edition paper.2 BackgroundEDUsummIT is a global community of researchers, policy-makers and educatorscommitted to promoting active dissemination and use of research findings to informpolicies and practices that are concerned with the effective integration of ICT ineducation. EDUsummIT emerged from the publication of the International Handbookon Information Technology in Primary and Secondary Education (Voogt and Knezek2008). Key persons involved in the international handbook realized that more than40 years of research in ICT in education synthesized in the handbook, often had notfound its way into educational policy and practice. To be able to develop a profoundunderstanding of the realities of policy and practice and to jointly create the conditionsto foster the integration of ICT into education, members of the research community,policy officials and practice innovators need to meet and talk to each other. Based on ashared understanding among researchers, policy makers and practitioners the primarygoal of EDUsummIT thus has been to outline research-informed action steps topromote the integration of information and communication technology in education.In 2009, 70 leading researchers, policy makers and educators, spanning six conti-nents, gathered in The Hague (The Netherlands) for the first EDUsummIT. The 2-daygathering resulted in a Call to Action on the future of ICT in education (http://www.curtin.edu.au/edusummit/edusummit-archive/call-to-action-2009.cfm) as well as ascholarly contribution to support the Call (Voogt et al. 2013a). Following up on theresults of the EDUSUmmIT 2009, a second meeting was organized in 2011 at theUNESCO Headquarters in Paris. This summit gathered over 120 participants fromacross the world with the goal of establishing a clear view of the role of ICT in the 21stCentury. EDUsummIT 2011 resulted in a report (http://www.curtin.edu.au/edusummit/local/docs/EDUummITReportSpreadFrmt2A4.pdf) and scholarly output in the form of620 Educ Inf Technol (2015) 20:619–623a special issue of the Journal of Computer Assisted Learning (volume 29/issue 5). Thethird EDUsummIT was held in Washington D.C. and resulted in an Action Agenda.The scholarly output of EDUsummIT 2013 will be presented in this special issue ofEducation and Information Technologies. EDUsummIT 2015 will take place inSeptember 2015 in Bangkok, Thailand, and is organized in close cooperation withUNESCO Bangkok. The theme of the 2015 gathering is “Technology AdvancedQuality Learning for All.”Since the first meeting in 2009, EDUsummIT has established a growing network ofstakeholders committed to strengthen the dissemination and impact of research evidenceon future policies and practices of governments, educators and researchers. EDUSummITis organized with the support of prominent international and national organizationsactively promoting the use of ICT in education: the Society for Information Technologyand Teacher Education (SITE), the International Society for Technology in Education(ISTE), Kennisnet (The Netherlands), the International Federation for InformationProcessing (IFIP - working group named Research on Education and Applications ofInformation Technology), the Association of Teacher Educators (ATE), and theUNESCO’s Teacher Development and Higher Education Division.3 ThemesThemes discussed during the EDUsummITs conceptualize issues related to the integrationof ICT in education based on the inter relationships between macro, meso and microperspectives. EDUsummIT themes emerge from profound discussions among the orga-nizers of EDUsummIT, and are infusedwith input from the international organizations thatsupport the activities. TWG leaders prepare a pre-summit paper, which is the basis for thediscussions in the thematic working groups. In interactive working group sessionsparticipants engage in an active dialogue around the selected themes.Within each thematicworking group, conversations focus on the identification of current needs and concreterecommendations for action that could contribute to address the needs effectively. Post-summit papers summarize the main findings and recommendations of each thematicworking group (see http://www.curtin.edu.au/edusummit/ for pre- and post summit pa-pers). EDUsummIT 2013 (Washington D.C.) continued to work on some of the themes ofEDUsummIT 2011 (Paris), viz. education systems, mobile learning, assessment, profes-sional development, digital equity and research. New insights related to these themes dueto global and technological developments were discussed. Two completely new themesemerged for EDUsummIT 2013: computational thinking as an important 21st centuryskill, dominating the discussion on computer and information science in school curricula –and global digital citizenship as a complex concept and challenge related to the (proper)use of web 2.0 technologies.4 Overview of papers in this special issueThe EDUsummIT 2009 call to Action acknowledged that there was a need “To betterunderstand student technology experiences in informal learning environments, in orderto inform learning in formal settings” (EDUsummIT 2009). Mobile technologiesEduc Inf Technol (2015) 20:619–623 621provide opportunities for a natural relationship between formal and informal learningand was further advanced in EDUsummIT 2011. In EDUsummIT 2013 this themedeveloped into mobile learning. Khaddage, Christensen, Lai, Knezek, Norris andSoloway discuss mobile learning as a relatively new but increasingly prominent fieldin ICT in education. There can be no doubt that access to mobile technologies is rapidlygrowing and changing the ways in which people learn and construct knowledge.Together with the many opportunities, this also presents several challenges to educa-tional institutions with respect to the implementation of mobile learning. The authorsdiscuss these challenges from a pedagogical, technological, policy and research per-spective. Building on existing literature, a framework is proposed to overcome thesechallenges and guide the planning and implementation of mobile learning experiencesacross formal and informal education.Mobile learning is one of many examples about how technologies can be used tosupport innovative practices in schools (Kozma 2003). Yet, the extent to which the useof technology has effectively led to fundamental changes in the educational system assuch still remains an open question. Erstad, Eickelmann and Eichhorn address thisproblem, and focus on the role of teachers as key agents of change. Three contemporaryapproaches to new forms of schooling are discussed in relation to whether and howthey challenge and change teacher roles.The importance of professional development to ensure that teachers are well pre-pared to integrate technology in ways that facilitate both novel and enhanced learningopportunities is also addressed by Albion, Tondeur, Forkosh-Baruch and Peeraer. Aconceptual model of teacher professional development for technology-enabled learningis proposed, and four successful cases are described to illustrate the elements in themodel and the interactions among them. The authors stress the need for more evidence-based decision-making, and advocate design-research as an ideal approach to reducethe gap between ICT in education research and practice.It is generally accepted that technology integration is often not successful when there is agap between the intended outcomes of a technology-enhanced environment for learning andassessment practices at the national and school level. For this reason assessment has alwaysbeen an important theme of EDUsummIT. Two papers in the current special issue addressrecent developments in technology-enhanced assessments, and the opportunities and chal-lenges that these present. The first paper by Webb and Gibson discusses the potential oftechnology-based assessments for assessing higher levels of knowledge and performance,with a specific focus on collaborative problem solving. The authors argue that a technology-enabled collaborative learning environment can be a rich context for assessing higher orderskills, as long as 1) the purpose and design of the assessment is clear about its targets, 2) theassessment tasks are constructed to include technology as part of the collaborative problemsolving task, and 3) the assessment provides timely useful feedback to teachers and students.In a second paper, Gibson and Webb extend this analysis by discussing major datachallenges concerning the amount, type and velocity of information potentially availablein technology-enhanced assessments. Three cases are presented to illustrate how theidentified challenges can be addressed in the development of educational assessments.The competencies needed for living, learning and working in the 21st century havealways been an important part of the EDUsummIT discussions. While in previousEDUsummITs 21st Century competencies were discussed in general (Voogt et al. 2013b),EDUsummIT 2013 focused on two 21st century competencies in particular, viz.622 Educ Inf Technol (2015) 20:619–623computational thinking and global digital citizenship. In these contributions technology ispositioned as an educational goal, and not only as a tool for teaching and learning.The contribution of Voogt, Fisser, Good, Mishra and Yadav specifically addressescomputational thinking. Since Wing’s (2006) influential article on computationalthinking, the discussion about what computational thinking entails, how it can bedeveloped and what its place is in the curriculum of elementary and secondaryeducation has been discussed worldwide. The authors situate the discussion in history,elaborate on core and peripheral attributes of computational thinking, and presentexamples of how it can be integrated in the curriculum.Searson, Hancock, Soheil and Shepherd focus on digital citizenship within globalcontexts. The authors present a critical account of the meaning of digital citizenship andof the factors that could either empower or limit it. The models of two well-known andrespected organizations – the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE)and iKeepSafe – are presented as examples of how to conceptualize the development ofdigital citizenship in educational settings. Based on these examples and on the discus-sions held at EDUsummIT 2013, the authors formulate several recommendations andconcrete action steps to promote digital citizenship skills and competencies in andbeyond school settings.The final paper in this special issue discusses digital equity. The contribution ofResta and Laferrière to the current special issue focuses on this particular topic anddiscusses the intricate relationships between digital equity and intercultural education.The authors address current challenges and opportunities regarding digital equity, aswell the increasingly important role technology plays in helping to foster interculturalunderstanding and education.Collectively, these papers address a wide range of important topics and issues in thefield of ICT in education.We trust that the reader will find the papers in this special editionenlightening in content, and focused on research-informed action steps designed toimprove the integration of information and communication technologies into education.Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 InternationalLicense (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and repro-duction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide alink to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.ReferencesEDUsummIT (2009). Call to Action. The Hague: EDUsummIT 2009. Retrieved http://www.curtin.edu.au/edusummit/edusummit-archive/call-to-action-2009.cfm.Kozma, R. B. (Ed.). (2003). Technology, innovation and educational change. A global perspective. Eugene:ISTE Publ.Voogt, J., & Knezek, G. (Eds.). (2008). International handbook of information technology in primary andsecondary education. New York: Springer.Voogt, J., Knezek, G., Cox, M., Knezek, D., & Ten Brummelhuis, A. (2013a). Under which conditions doesICT have a positive effect on teaching and learning? A call to action. Journal of Computer AssistedLearning, 29(1), 4–14.Voogt, J., Erstad, O., Dede, C., & Mishra, P. (2013b). Challenges to learning and schooling in the digitalnetworked world of the 21st century. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 29(5), 403–413.Wing, J. M. (2006). Computational thinking. Communications of the ACM, 49(3), 33–35. doi:10.1145/1118178.1118215.Educ Inf Technol (2015) 20:619–623 623

Research-Informed Strategies to Address Educational Challenges Ina Digitally Networked World

This special issue represents the scholarly work that emerged from the EDUsummIT 2013. EDUsummIT is a growing and active community of researchers, policy makers and practitioners that is committed to promote research-informed strategies to effectively integrate ICT in educational policy and practice. First the background and aim of EDUsummIT is presented, followed by an overview of the contributions to this special issue

Voogt, J.

Knezek, G.

Pareja Roblin, N.

International Migration, Integration and Social Cohesion online publications

UvA-DARE is a service provided by the library of the University of Amsterdam (https://dare.uva.nl)UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository)Research-informed strategies to address educational challenges in a digitallynetworked worldVoogt, J.; Knezek, G.; Pareja Roblin, N.DOI10.1007/s10639-015-9430-4Publication date2015Document VersionFinal published versionPublished inEducation and Information TechnologiesLink to publicationCitation for published version (APA):Voogt, J., Knezek, G., & Pareja Roblin, N. (2015). Research-informed strategies to addresseducational challenges in a digitally networked world. Education and InformationTechnologies, 20(4), 619-623. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-015-9430-4General rightsIt is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s)and/or copyright holder(s), other than for strictly personal, individual use, unless the work is under an opencontent license (like Creative Commons).Disclaimer/Complaints regulationsIf you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, pleaselet the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the materialinaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: https://uba.uva.nl/en/contact, or a letterto: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Youwill be contacted as soon as possible.Download date:26 Jul 2022Research-informed strategies to addresseducational challenges in a digitally networked worldJoke Voogt1,2 & Gerald Knezek3 &Natalie Pareja Roblin4,5Published online: 3 September 2015# The Author(s) 2015. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.comAbstract This special issue represents the scholarly work that emerged from theEDUsummIT 2013. EDUsummIT is a growing and active community of researchers,policy makers and practitioners that is committed to promote research-informed strat-egies to effectively integrate ICT in educational policy and practice. First the back-ground and aim of EDUsummIT is presented, followed by an overview of the contri-butions to this special issue.Keywords EDUsummIT. Research . Policy . Practice . Digitally networkedworld1 IntroductionThis special edition of Education and Information Technologies presents scholarlyconsensus distilled from the Third International Summit on Information andCommunication Technologies (ICT) in Education (EDUsummIT 2013). This invita-tional gathering of 100 ICT researchers, practitioners and policy makers from morethan 30 countries was held in Washington, D.C., Sept. 30 – October 2, 2013. The maingoal of EDUsummIT 2013 was to define joint research-informed strategies at national,Educ Inf Technol (2015) 20:619–623DOI 10.1007/s10639-015-9430-4* Joke Voogtj.m.voogt@uva.nlGerald Knezekgknezek@gmail.comNatalie Pareja Roblinnatalie.parejaroblin@ugent.be1 University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 15776, 1001NG Amsterdam, Netherlands2 Windesheim University of Applied Sciences, Zwolle, Netherlands3 University of North Texas, 3940 North Elm St. G150, Denton, TX, USA4 University of Ghent, Henri Dunantlaan, 2, 9000 Ghent, Belgium5 University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USAregional and international levels to address successfully the challenges educationalsystems face in a digital and networked world. Thematic working groups (TWGs)debated reviewed literature, current issues and formulated recommendations for ICT ineducation under the theme “Research-informed Strategies to address EducationalChallenges in a Digitally Networked World”.EDUsummIT 2013 resulted in an Action Agenda (http://www.curtin.edu.au/edusummit/local/docs/EduSummIT_2013_Action_Agenda.pdf). TWG leaders remainedin Washington D.C. for two additional days and discussed recommendations for actionswith representatives of professional associations attending the U.S. National TechnologyLeadership Summit (NTLS 2013). EduSummIT 2013 participants later presented anddiscussed with professional audiences the Action Agenda at the American EducationalResearch Association Conference in 2014, the Society for Information Technology &Teacher Education in 2014, the UNESCO Regional Conference on the “Quality ofEducation and Challenges in a Digitally Networked World” (Sofia, Bulgaria, October2014), and many other venues. Refinements ofWashington D.C. initial discussions amongEDUsummIT participants themselves and with other professional association audiences,have been distilled into the eight papers presented in this special edition. A brief history ofEDUsummIT and outcomes from previous meetings will be presented in the followingsection, followed by an overview of the content of each special edition paper.2 BackgroundEDUsummIT is a global community of researchers, policy-makers and educatorscommitted to promoting active dissemination and use of research findings to informpolicies and practices that are concerned with the effective integration of ICT ineducation. EDUsummIT emerged from the publication of the International Handbookon Information Technology in Primary and Secondary Education (Voogt and Knezek2008). Key persons involved in the international handbook realized that more than40 years of research in ICT in education synthesized in the handbook, often had notfound its way into educational policy and practice. To be able to develop a profoundunderstanding of the realities of policy and practice and to jointly create the conditionsto foster the integration of ICT into education, members of the research community,policy officials and practice innovators need to meet and talk to each other. Based on ashared understanding among researchers, policy makers and practitioners the primarygoal of EDUsummIT thus has been to outline research-informed action steps topromote the integration of information and communication technology in education.In 2009, 70 leading researchers, policy makers and educators, spanning six conti-nents, gathered in The Hague (The Netherlands) for the first EDUsummIT. The 2-daygathering resulted in a Call to Action on the future of ICT in education (http://www.curtin.edu.au/edusummit/edusummit-archive/call-to-action-2009.cfm) as well as ascholarly contribution to support the Call (Voogt et al. 2013a). Following up on theresults of the EDUSUmmIT 2009, a second meeting was organized in 2011 at theUNESCO Headquarters in Paris. This summit gathered over 120 participants fromacross the world with the goal of establishing a clear view of the role of ICT in the 21stCentury. EDUsummIT 2011 resulted in a report (http://www.curtin.edu.au/edusummit/local/docs/EDUummITReportSpreadFrmt2A4.pdf) and scholarly output in the form of620 Educ Inf Technol (2015) 20:619–623a special issue of the Journal of Computer Assisted Learning (volume 29/issue 5). Thethird EDUsummIT was held in Washington D.C. and resulted in an Action Agenda.The scholarly output of EDUsummIT 2013 will be presented in this special issue ofEducation and Information Technologies. EDUsummIT 2015 will take place inSeptember 2015 in Bangkok, Thailand, and is organized in close cooperation withUNESCO Bangkok. The theme of the 2015 gathering is “Technology AdvancedQuality Learning for All.”Since the first meeting in 2009, EDUsummIT has established a growing network ofstakeholders committed to strengthen the dissemination and impact of research evidenceon future policies and practices of governments, educators and researchers. EDUSummITis organized with the support of prominent international and national organizationsactively promoting the use of ICT in education: the Society for Information Technologyand Teacher Education (SITE), the International Society for Technology in Education(ISTE), Kennisnet (The Netherlands), the International Federation for InformationProcessing (IFIP - working group named Research on Education and Applications ofInformation Technology), the Association of Teacher Educators (ATE), and theUNESCO’s Teacher Development and Higher Education Division.3 ThemesThemes discussed during the EDUsummITs conceptualize issues related to the integrationof ICT in education based on the inter relationships between macro, meso and microperspectives. EDUsummIT themes emerge from profound discussions among the orga-nizers of EDUsummIT, and are infusedwith input from the international organizations thatsupport the activities. TWG leaders prepare a pre-summit paper, which is the basis for thediscussions in the thematic working groups. In interactive working group sessionsparticipants engage in an active dialogue around the selected themes.Within each thematicworking group, conversations focus on the identification of current needs and concreterecommendations for action that could contribute to address the needs effectively. Post-summit papers summarize the main findings and recommendations of each thematicworking group (see http://www.curtin.edu.au/edusummit/ for pre- and post summit pa-pers). EDUsummIT 2013 (Washington D.C.) continued to work on some of the themes ofEDUsummIT 2011 (Paris), viz. education systems, mobile learning, assessment, profes-sional development, digital equity and research. New insights related to these themes dueto global and technological developments were discussed. Two completely new themesemerged for EDUsummIT 2013: computational thinking as an important 21st centuryskill, dominating the discussion on computer and information science in school curricula –and global digital citizenship as a complex concept and challenge related to the (proper)use of web 2.0 technologies.4 Overview of papers in this special issueThe EDUsummIT 2009 call to Action acknowledged that there was a need “To betterunderstand student technology experiences in informal learning environments, in orderto inform learning in formal settings” (EDUsummIT 2009). Mobile technologiesEduc Inf Technol (2015) 20:619–623 621provide opportunities for a natural relationship between formal and informal learningand was further advanced in EDUsummIT 2011. In EDUsummIT 2013 this themedeveloped into mobile learning. Khaddage, Christensen, Lai, Knezek, Norris andSoloway discuss mobile learning as a relatively new but increasingly prominent fieldin ICT in education. There can be no doubt that access to mobile technologies is rapidlygrowing and changing the ways in which people learn and construct knowledge.Together with the many opportunities, this also presents several challenges to educa-tional institutions with respect to the implementation of mobile learning. The authorsdiscuss these challenges from a pedagogical, technological, policy and research per-spective. Building on existing literature, a framework is proposed to overcome thesechallenges and guide the planning and implementation of mobile learning experiencesacross formal and informal education.Mobile learning is one of many examples about how technologies can be used tosupport innovative practices in schools (Kozma 2003). Yet, the extent to which the useof technology has effectively led to fundamental changes in the educational system assuch still remains an open question. Erstad, Eickelmann and Eichhorn address thisproblem, and focus on the role of teachers as key agents of change. Three contemporaryapproaches to new forms of schooling are discussed in relation to whether and howthey challenge and change teacher roles.The importance of professional development to ensure that teachers are well pre-pared to integrate technology in ways that facilitate both novel and enhanced learningopportunities is also addressed by Albion, Tondeur, Forkosh-Baruch and Peeraer. Aconceptual model of teacher professional development for technology-enabled learningis proposed, and four successful cases are described to illustrate the elements in themodel and the interactions among them. The authors stress the need for more evidence-based decision-making, and advocate design-research as an ideal approach to reducethe gap between ICT in education research and practice.It is generally accepted that technology integration is often not successful when there is agap between the intended outcomes of a technology-enhanced environment for learning andassessment practices at the national and school level. For this reason assessment has alwaysbeen an important theme of EDUsummIT. Two papers in the current special issue addressrecent developments in technology-enhanced assessments, and the opportunities and chal-lenges that these present. The first paper by Webb and Gibson discusses the potential oftechnology-based assessments for assessing higher levels of knowledge and performance,with a specific focus on collaborative problem solving. The authors argue that a technology-enabled collaborative learning environment can be a rich context for assessing higher orderskills, as long as 1) the purpose and design of the assessment is clear about its targets, 2) theassessment tasks are constructed to include technology as part of the collaborative problemsolving task, and 3) the assessment provides timely useful feedback to teachers and students.In a second paper, Gibson and Webb extend this analysis by discussing major datachallenges concerning the amount, type and velocity of information potentially availablein technology-enhanced assessments. Three cases are presented to illustrate how theidentified challenges can be addressed in the development of educational assessments.The competencies needed for living, learning and working in the 21st century havealways been an important part of the EDUsummIT discussions. While in previousEDUsummITs 21st Century competencies were discussed in general (Voogt et al. 2013b),EDUsummIT 2013 focused on two 21st century competencies in particular, viz.622 Educ Inf Technol (2015) 20:619–623computational thinking and global digital citizenship. In these contributions technology ispositioned as an educational goal, and not only as a tool for teaching and learning.The contribution of Voogt, Fisser, Good, Mishra and Yadav specifically addressescomputational thinking. Since Wing’s (2006) influential article on computationalthinking, the discussion about what computational thinking entails, how it can bedeveloped and what its place is in the curriculum of elementary and secondaryeducation has been discussed worldwide. The authors situate the discussion in history,elaborate on core and peripheral attributes of computational thinking, and presentexamples of how it can be integrated in the curriculum.Searson, Hancock, Soheil and Shepherd focus on digital citizenship within globalcontexts. The authors present a critical account of the meaning of digital citizenship andof the factors that could either empower or limit it. The models of two well-known andrespected organizations – the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE)and iKeepSafe – are presented as examples of how to conceptualize the development ofdigital citizenship in educational settings. Based on these examples and on the discus-sions held at EDUsummIT 2013, the authors formulate several recommendations andconcrete action steps to promote digital citizenship skills and competencies in andbeyond school settings.The final paper in this special issue discusses digital equity. The contribution ofResta and Laferrière to the current special issue focuses on this particular topic anddiscusses the intricate relationships between digital equity and intercultural education.The authors address current challenges and opportunities regarding digital equity, aswell the increasingly important role technology plays in helping to foster interculturalunderstanding and education.Collectively, these papers address a wide range of important topics and issues in thefield of ICT in education.We trust that the reader will find the papers in this special editionenlightening in content, and focused on research-informed action steps designed toimprove the integration of information and communication technologies into education.Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 InternationalLicense (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and repro-duction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide alink to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.ReferencesEDUsummIT (2009). Call to Action. The Hague: EDUsummIT 2009. Retrieved http://www.curtin.edu.au/edusummit/edusummit-archive/call-to-action-2009.cfm.Kozma, R. B. (Ed.). (2003). Technology, innovation and educational change. A global perspective. Eugene:ISTE Publ.Voogt, J., & Knezek, G. (Eds.). (2008). International handbook of information technology in primary andsecondary education. New York: Springer.Voogt, J., Knezek, G., Cox, M., Knezek, D., & Ten Brummelhuis, A. (2013a). Under which conditions doesICT have a positive effect on teaching and learning? A call to action. Journal of Computer AssistedLearning, 29(1), 4–14.Voogt, J., Erstad, O., Dede, C., & Mishra, P. (2013b). Challenges to learning and schooling in the digitalnetworked world of the 21st century. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 29(5), 403–413.Wing, J. M. (2006). Computational thinking. Communications of the ACM, 49(3), 33–35. doi:10.1145/1118178.1118215.Educ Inf Technol (2015) 20:619–623 623

Research-informed strategies to address educational challenges in a digitally networked world

UvA-DARE

UvA-DARE is a service provided by the library of the University of Amsterdam (https://dare.uva.nl)UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository)Research-informed strategies to address educational challenges in a digitallynetworked worldVoogt, J.; Knezek, G.; Pareja Roblin, N.DOI10.1007/s10639-015-9430-4Publication date2015Document VersionFinal published versionPublished inEducation and Information TechnologiesLink to publicationCitation for published version (APA):Voogt, J., Knezek, G., & Pareja Roblin, N. (2015). Research-informed strategies to addresseducational challenges in a digitally networked world. Education and InformationTechnologies, 20(4), 619-623. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-015-9430-4General rightsIt is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s)and/or copyright holder(s), other than for strictly personal, individual use, unless the work is under an opencontent license (like Creative Commons).Disclaimer/Complaints regulationsIf you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, pleaselet the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the materialinaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: https://uba.uva.nl/en/contact, or a letterto: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Youwill be contacted as soon as possible.Download date:06 Jan 2026Research-informed strategies to addresseducational challenges in a digitally networked worldJoke Voogt1,2 & Gerald Knezek3 &Natalie Pareja Roblin4,5Published online: 3 September 2015# The Author(s) 2015. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.comAbstract This special issue represents the scholarly work that emerged from theEDUsummIT 2013. EDUsummIT is a growing and active community of researchers,policy makers and practitioners that is committed to promote research-informed strat-egies to effectively integrate ICT in educational policy and practice. First the back-ground and aim of EDUsummIT is presented, followed by an overview of the contri-butions to this special issue.Keywords EDUsummIT. Research . Policy . Practice . Digitally networkedworld1 IntroductionThis special edition of Education and Information Technologies presents scholarlyconsensus distilled from the Third International Summit on Information andCommunication Technologies (ICT) in Education (EDUsummIT 2013). This invita-tional gathering of 100 ICT researchers, practitioners and policy makers from morethan 30 countries was held in Washington, D.C., Sept. 30 – October 2, 2013. The maingoal of EDUsummIT 2013 was to define joint research-informed strategies at national,Educ Inf Technol (2015) 20:619–623DOI 10.1007/s10639-015-9430-4* Joke Voogtj.m.voogt@uva.nlGerald Knezekgknezek@gmail.comNatalie Pareja Roblinnatalie.parejaroblin@ugent.be1 University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 15776, 1001NG Amsterdam, Netherlands2 Windesheim University of Applied Sciences, Zwolle, Netherlands3 University of North Texas, 3940 North Elm St. G150, Denton, TX, USA4 University of Ghent, Henri Dunantlaan, 2, 9000 Ghent, Belgium5 University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USAregional and international levels to address successfully the challenges educationalsystems face in a digital and networked world. Thematic working groups (TWGs)debated reviewed literature, current issues and formulated recommendations for ICT ineducation under the theme “Research-informed Strategies to address EducationalChallenges in a Digitally Networked World”.EDUsummIT 2013 resulted in an Action Agenda (http://www.curtin.edu.au/edusummit/local/docs/EduSummIT_2013_Action_Agenda.pdf). TWG leaders remainedin Washington D.C. for two additional days and discussed recommendations for actionswith representatives of professional associations attending the U.S. National TechnologyLeadership Summit (NTLS 2013). EduSummIT 2013 participants later presented anddiscussed with professional audiences the Action Agenda at the American EducationalResearch Association Conference in 2014, the Society for Information Technology &Teacher Education in 2014, the UNESCO Regional Conference on the “Quality ofEducation and Challenges in a Digitally Networked World” (Sofia, Bulgaria, October2014), and many other venues. Refinements ofWashington D.C. initial discussions amongEDUsummIT participants themselves and with other professional association audiences,have been distilled into the eight papers presented in this special edition. A brief history ofEDUsummIT and outcomes from previous meetings will be presented in the followingsection, followed by an overview of the content of each special edition paper.2 BackgroundEDUsummIT is a global community of researchers, policy-makers and educatorscommitted to promoting active dissemination and use of research findings to informpolicies and practices that are concerned with the effective integration of ICT ineducation. EDUsummIT emerged from the publication of the International Handbookon Information Technology in Primary and Secondary Education (Voogt and Knezek2008). Key persons involved in the international handbook realized that more than40 years of research in ICT in education synthesized in the handbook, often had notfound its way into educational policy and practice. To be able to develop a profoundunderstanding of the realities of policy and practice and to jointly create the conditionsto foster the integration of ICT into education, members of the research community,policy officials and practice innovators need to meet and talk to each other. Based on ashared understanding among researchers, policy makers and practitioners the primarygoal of EDUsummIT thus has been to outline research-informed action steps topromote the integration of information and communication technology in education.In 2009, 70 leading researchers, policy makers and educators, spanning six conti-nents, gathered in The Hague (The Netherlands) for the first EDUsummIT. The 2-daygathering resulted in a Call to Action on the future of ICT in education (http://www.curtin.edu.au/edusummit/edusummit-archive/call-to-action-2009.cfm) as well as ascholarly contribution to support the Call (Voogt et al. 2013a). Following up on theresults of the EDUSUmmIT 2009, a second meeting was organized in 2011 at theUNESCO Headquarters in Paris. This summit gathered over 120 participants fromacross the world with the goal of establishing a clear view of the role of ICT in the 21stCentury. EDUsummIT 2011 resulted in a report (http://www.curtin.edu.au/edusummit/local/docs/EDUummITReportSpreadFrmt2A4.pdf) and scholarly output in the form of620 Educ Inf Technol (2015) 20:619–623a special issue of the Journal of Computer Assisted Learning (volume 29/issue 5). Thethird EDUsummIT was held in Washington D.C. and resulted in an Action Agenda.The scholarly output of EDUsummIT 2013 will be presented in this special issue ofEducation and Information Technologies. EDUsummIT 2015 will take place inSeptember 2015 in Bangkok, Thailand, and is organized in close cooperation withUNESCO Bangkok. The theme of the 2015 gathering is “Technology AdvancedQuality Learning for All.”Since the first meeting in 2009, EDUsummIT has established a growing network ofstakeholders committed to strengthen the dissemination and impact of research evidenceon future policies and practices of governments, educators and researchers. EDUSummITis organized with the support of prominent international and national organizationsactively promoting the use of ICT in education: the Society for Information Technologyand Teacher Education (SITE), the International Society for Technology in Education(ISTE), Kennisnet (The Netherlands), the International Federation for InformationProcessing (IFIP - working group named Research on Education and Applications ofInformation Technology), the Association of Teacher Educators (ATE), and theUNESCO’s Teacher Development and Higher Education Division.3 ThemesThemes discussed during the EDUsummITs conceptualize issues related to the integrationof ICT in education based on the inter relationships between macro, meso and microperspectives. EDUsummIT themes emerge from profound discussions among the orga-nizers of EDUsummIT, and are infusedwith input from the international organizations thatsupport the activities. TWG leaders prepare a pre-summit paper, which is the basis for thediscussions in the thematic working groups. In interactive working group sessionsparticipants engage in an active dialogue around the selected themes.Within each thematicworking group, conversations focus on the identification of current needs and concreterecommendations for action that could contribute to address the needs effectively. Post-summit papers summarize the main findings and recommendations of each thematicworking group (see http://www.curtin.edu.au/edusummit/ for pre- and post summit pa-pers). EDUsummIT 2013 (Washington D.C.) continued to work on some of the themes ofEDUsummIT 2011 (Paris), viz. education systems, mobile learning, assessment, profes-sional development, digital equity and research. New insights related to these themes dueto global and technological developments were discussed. Two completely new themesemerged for EDUsummIT 2013: computational thinking as an important 21st centuryskill, dominating the discussion on computer and information science in school curricula –and global digital citizenship as a complex concept and challenge related to the (proper)use of web 2.0 technologies.4 Overview of papers in this special issueThe EDUsummIT 2009 call to Action acknowledged that there was a need “To betterunderstand student technology experiences in informal learning environments, in orderto inform learning in formal settings” (EDUsummIT 2009). Mobile technologiesEduc Inf Technol (2015) 20:619–623 621provide opportunities for a natural relationship between formal and informal learningand was further advanced in EDUsummIT 2011. In EDUsummIT 2013 this themedeveloped into mobile learning. Khaddage, Christensen, Lai, Knezek, Norris andSoloway discuss mobile learning as a relatively new but increasingly prominent fieldin ICT in education. There can be no doubt that access to mobile technologies is rapidlygrowing and changing the ways in which people learn and construct knowledge.Together with the many opportunities, this also presents several challenges to educa-tional institutions with respect to the implementation of mobile learning. The authorsdiscuss these challenges from a pedagogical, technological, policy and research per-spective. Building on existing literature, a framework is proposed to overcome thesechallenges and guide the planning and implementation of mobile learning experiencesacross formal and informal education.Mobile learning is one of many examples about how technologies can be used tosupport innovative practices in schools (Kozma 2003). Yet, the extent to which the useof technology has effectively led to fundamental changes in the educational system assuch still remains an open question. Erstad, Eickelmann and Eichhorn address thisproblem, and focus on the role of teachers as key agents of change. Three contemporaryapproaches to new forms of schooling are discussed in relation to whether and howthey challenge and change teacher roles.The importance of professional development to ensure that teachers are well pre-pared to integrate technology in ways that facilitate both novel and enhanced learningopportunities is also addressed by Albion, Tondeur, Forkosh-Baruch and Peeraer. Aconceptual model of teacher professional development for technology-enabled learningis proposed, and four successful cases are described to illustrate the elements in themodel and the interactions among them. The authors stress the need for more evidence-based decision-making, and advocate design-research as an ideal approach to reducethe gap between ICT in education research and practice.It is generally accepted that technology integration is often not successful when there is agap between the intended outcomes of a technology-enhanced environment for learning andassessment practices at the national and school level. For this reason assessment has alwaysbeen an important theme of EDUsummIT. Two papers in the current special issue addressrecent developments in technology-enhanced assessments, and the opportunities and chal-lenges that these present. The first paper by Webb and Gibson discusses the potential oftechnology-based assessments for assessing higher levels of knowledge and performance,with a specific focus on collaborative problem solving. The authors argue that a technology-enabled collaborative learning environment can be a rich context for assessing higher orderskills, as long as 1) the purpose and design of the assessment is clear about its targets, 2) theassessment tasks are constructed to include technology as part of the collaborative problemsolving task, and 3) the assessment provides timely useful feedback to teachers and students.In a second paper, Gibson and Webb extend this analysis by discussing major datachallenges concerning the amount, type and velocity of information potentially availablein technology-enhanced assessments. Three cases are presented to illustrate how theidentified challenges can be addressed in the development of educational assessments.The competencies needed for living, learning and working in the 21st century havealways been an important part of the EDUsummIT discussions. While in previousEDUsummITs 21st Century competencies were discussed in general (Voogt et al. 2013b),EDUsummIT 2013 focused on two 21st century competencies in particular, viz.622 Educ Inf Technol (2015) 20:619–623computational thinking and global digital citizenship. In these contributions technology ispositioned as an educational goal, and not only as a tool for teaching and learning.The contribution of Voogt, Fisser, Good, Mishra and Yadav specifically addressescomputational thinking. Since Wing’s (2006) influential article on computationalthinking, the discussion about what computational thinking entails, how it can bedeveloped and what its place is in the curriculum of elementary and secondaryeducation has been discussed worldwide. The authors situate the discussion in history,elaborate on core and peripheral attributes of computational thinking, and presentexamples of how it can be integrated in the curriculum.Searson, Hancock, Soheil and Shepherd focus on digital citizenship within globalcontexts. The authors present a critical account of the meaning of digital citizenship andof the factors that could either empower or limit it. The models of two well-known andrespected organizations – the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE)and iKeepSafe – are presented as examples of how to conceptualize the development ofdigital citizenship in educational settings. Based on these examples and on the discus-sions held at EDUsummIT 2013, the authors formulate several recommendations andconcrete action steps to promote digital citizenship skills and competencies in andbeyond school settings.The final paper in this special issue discusses digital equity. The contribution ofResta and Laferrière to the current special issue focuses on this particular topic anddiscusses the intricate relationships between digital equity and intercultural education.The authors address current challenges and opportunities regarding digital equity, aswell the increasingly important role technology plays in helping to foster interculturalunderstanding and education.Collectively, these papers address a wide range of important topics and issues in thefield of ICT in education.We trust that the reader will find the papers in this special editionenlightening in content, and focused on research-informed action steps designed toimprove the integration of information and communication technologies into education.Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 InternationalLicense (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and repro-duction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide alink to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.ReferencesEDUsummIT (2009). Call to Action. The Hague: EDUsummIT 2009. Retrieved http://www.curtin.edu.au/edusummit/edusummit-archive/call-to-action-2009.cfm.Kozma, R. B. (Ed.). (2003). Technology, innovation and educational change. A global perspective. Eugene:ISTE Publ.Voogt, J., & Knezek, G. (Eds.). (2008). International handbook of information technology in primary andsecondary education. New York: Springer.Voogt, J., Knezek, G., Cox, M., Knezek, D., & Ten Brummelhuis, A. (2013a). Under which conditions doesICT have a positive effect on teaching and learning? A call to action. Journal of Computer AssistedLearning, 29(1), 4–14.Voogt, J., Erstad, O., Dede, C., & Mishra, P. (2013b). Challenges to learning and schooling in the digitalnetworked world of the 21st century. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 29(5), 403–413.Wing, J. M. (2006). Computational thinking. Communications of the ACM, 49(3), 33–35. doi:10.1145/1118178.1118215.Educ Inf Technol (2015) 20:619–623 623

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Joke Voogt

Gerald Knezek

Natalie Pareja Roblin

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Ghent University Academic Bibliography

Research-informed strategies to addresseducational challenges in a digitally networked worldJoke Voogt1,2 & Gerald Knezek3 &Natalie Pareja Roblin4,5# The Author(s) 2015. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.comAbstract This special issue represents the scholarly work that emerged from theEDUsummIT 2013. EDUsummIT is a growing and active community of researchers,policy makers and practitioners that is committed to promote research-informed strat-egies to effectively integrate ICT in educational policy and practice. First the back-ground and aim of EDUsummIT is presented, followed by an overview of the contri-butions to this special issue.Keywords EDUsummIT. Research . Policy . Practice . Digitally networkedworld1 IntroductionThis special edition of Education and Information Technologies presents scholarlyconsensus distilled from the Third International Summit on Information andCommunication Technologies (ICT) in Education (EDUsummIT 2013). This invita-tional gathering of 100 ICT researchers, practitioners and policy makers from morethan 30 countries was held in Washington, D.C., Sept. 30 – October 2, 2013. The maingoal of EDUsummIT 2013 was to define joint research-informed strategies at national,Educ Inf TechnolDOI 10.1007/s10639-015-9430-4* Joke Voogtj.m.voogt@uva.nlGerald Knezekgknezek@gmail.comNatalie Pareja Roblinnatalie.parejaroblin@ugent.be1 University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 15776, 1001NG Amsterdam, Netherlands2 Windesheim University of Applied Sciences, Zwolle, Netherlands3 University of North Texas, 3940 North Elm St. G150, Denton, TX, USA4 University of Ghent, Henri Dunantlaan, 2, 9000 Ghent, Belgium5 University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USAregional and international levels to address successfully the challenges educationalsystems face in a digital and networked world. Thematic working groups (TWGs)debated reviewed literature, current issues and formulated recommendations for ICT ineducation under the theme “Research-informed Strategies to address EducationalChallenges in a Digitally Networked World”.EDUsummIT 2013 resulted in an Action Agenda (http://www.curtin.edu.au/edusummit/local/docs/EduSummIT_2013_Action_Agenda.pdf). TWG leaders remainedin Washington D.C. for two additional days and discussed recommendations for actionswith representatives of professional associations attending the U.S. National TechnologyLeadership Summit (NTLS 2013). EduSummIT 2013 participants later presented anddiscussed with professional audiences the Action Agenda at the American EducationalResearch Association Conference in 2014, the Society for Information Technology &Teacher Education in 2014, the UNESCO Regional Conference on the “Quality ofEducation and Challenges in a Digitally Networked World” (Sofia, Bulgaria, October2014), and many other venues. Refinements ofWashington D.C. initial discussions amongEDUsummIT participants themselves and with other professional association audiences,have been distilled into the eight papers presented in this special edition. A brief history ofEDUsummIT and outcomes from previous meetings will be presented in the followingsection, followed by an overview of the content of each special edition paper.2 BackgroundEDUsummIT is a global community of researchers, policy-makers and educatorscommitted to promoting active dissemination and use of research findings to informpolicies and practices that are concerned with the effective integration of ICT ineducation. EDUsummIT emerged from the publication of the International Handbookon Information Technology in Primary and Secondary Education (Voogt and Knezek2008). Key persons involved in the international handbook realized that more than40 years of research in ICT in education synthesized in the handbook, often had notfound its way into educational policy and practice. To be able to develop a profoundunderstanding of the realities of policy and practice and to jointly create the conditionsto foster the integration of ICT into education, members of the research community,policy officials and practice innovators need to meet and talk to each other. Based on ashared understanding among researchers, policy makers and practitioners the primarygoal of EDUsummIT thus has been to outline research-informed action steps topromote the integration of information and communication technology in education.In 2009, 70 leading researchers, policy makers and educators, spanning six conti-nents, gathered in The Hague (The Netherlands) for the first EDUsummIT. The 2-daygathering resulted in a Call to Action on the future of ICT in education (http://www.curtin.edu.au/edusummit/edusummit-archive/call-to-action-2009.cfm) as well as ascholarly contribution to support the Call (Voogt et al. 2013a). Following up on theresults of the EDUSUmmIT 2009, a second meeting was organized in 2011 at theUNESCO Headquarters in Paris. This summit gathered over 120 participants fromacross the world with the goal of establishing a clear view of the role of ICT in the 21stCentury. EDUsummIT 2011 resulted in a report (http://www.curtin.edu.au/edusummit/local/docs/EDUummITReportSpreadFrmt2A4.pdf) and scholarly output in the form ofEduc Inf Technola special issue of the Journal of Computer Assisted Learning (volume 29/issue 5). Thethird EDUsummIT was held in Washington D.C. and resulted in an Action Agenda.The scholarly output of EDUsummIT 2013 will be presented in this special issue ofEducation and Information Technologies. EDUsummIT 2015 will take place inSeptember 2015 in Bangkok, Thailand, and is organized in close cooperation withUNESCO Bangkok. The theme of the 2015 gathering is “Technology AdvancedQuality Learning for All.”Since the first meeting in 2009, EDUsummIT has established a growing network ofstakeholders committed to strengthen the dissemination and impact of research evidenceon future policies and practices of governments, educators and researchers. EDUSummITis organized with the support of prominent international and national organizationsactively promoting the use of ICT in education: the Society for Information Technologyand Teacher Education (SITE), the International Society for Technology in Education(ISTE), Kennisnet (The Netherlands), the International Federation for InformationProcessing (IFIP - working group named Research on Education and Applications ofInformation Technology), the Association of Teacher Educators (ATE), and theUNESCO’s Teacher Development and Higher Education Division.3 ThemesThemes discussed during the EDUsummITs conceptualize issues related to the integrationof ICT in education based on the inter relationships between macro, meso and microperspectives. EDUsummIT themes emerge from profound discussions among the orga-nizers of EDUsummIT, and are infusedwith input from the international organizations thatsupport the activities. TWG leaders prepare a pre-summit paper, which is the basis for thediscussions in the thematic working groups. In interactive working group sessionsparticipants engage in an active dialogue around the selected themes.Within each thematicworking group, conversations focus on the identification of current needs and concreterecommendations for action that could contribute to address the needs effectively. Post-summit papers summarize the main findings and recommendations of each thematicworking group (see http://www.curtin.edu.au/edusummit/ for pre- and post summit pa-pers). EDUsummIT 2013 (Washington D.C.) continued to work on some of the themes ofEDUsummIT 2011 (Paris), viz. education systems, mobile learning, assessment, profes-sional development, digital equity and research. New insights related to these themes dueto global and technological developments were discussed. Two completely new themesemerged for EDUsummIT 2013: computational thinking as an important 21st centuryskill, dominating the discussion on computer and information science in school curricula –and global digital citizenship as a complex concept and challenge related to the (proper)use of web 2.0 technologies.4 Overview of papers in this special issueThe EDUsummIT 2009 call to Action acknowledged that there was a need “To betterunderstand student technology experiences in informal learning environments, in orderto inform learning in formal settings” (EDUsummIT 2009). Mobile technologiesEduc Inf Technolprovide opportunities for a natural relationship between formal and informal learningand was further advanced in EDUsummIT 2011. In EDUsummIT 2013 this themedeveloped into mobile learning. Khaddage, Christensen, Lai, Knezek, Norris andSoloway discuss mobile learning as a relatively new but increasingly prominent fieldin ICT in education. There can be no doubt that access to mobile technologies is rapidlygrowing and changing the ways in which people learn and construct knowledge.Together with the many opportunities, this also presents several challenges to educa-tional institutions with respect to the implementation of mobile learning. The authorsdiscuss these challenges from a pedagogical, technological, policy and research per-spective. Building on existing literature, a framework is proposed to overcome thesechallenges and guide the planning and implementation of mobile learning experiencesacross formal and informal education.Mobile learning is one of many examples about how technologies can be used tosupport innovative practices in schools (Kozma 2003). Yet, the extent to which the useof technology has effectively led to fundamental changes in the educational system assuch still remains an open question. Erstad, Eickelmann and Eichhorn address thisproblem, and focus on the role of teachers as key agents of change. Three contemporaryapproaches to new forms of schooling are discussed in relation to whether and howthey challenge and change teacher roles.The importance of professional development to ensure that teachers are well pre-pared to integrate technology in ways that facilitate both novel and enhanced learningopportunities is also addressed by Albion, Tondeur, Forkosh-Baruch and Peeraer. Aconceptual model of teacher professional development for technology-enabled learningis proposed, and four successful cases are described to illustrate the elements in themodel and the interactions among them. The authors stress the need for more evidence-based decision-making, and advocate design-research as an ideal approach to reducethe gap between ICT in education research and practice.It is generally accepted that technology integration is often not successful when there is agap between the intended outcomes of a technology-enhanced environment for learning andassessment practices at the national and school level. For this reason assessment has alwaysbeen an important theme of EDUsummIT. Two papers in the current special issue addressrecent developments in technology-enhanced assessments, and the opportunities and chal-lenges that these present. The first paper by Webb and Gibson discusses the potential oftechnology-based assessments for assessing higher levels of knowledge and performance,with a specific focus on collaborative problem solving. The authors argue that a technology-enabled collaborative learning environment can be a rich context for assessing higher orderskills, as long as 1) the purpose and design of the assessment is clear about its targets, 2) theassessment tasks are constructed to include technology as part of the collaborative problemsolving task, and 3) the assessment provides timely useful feedback to teachers and students.In a second paper, Gibson and Webb extend this analysis by discussing major datachallenges concerning the amount, type and velocity of information potentially availablein technology-enhanced assessments. Three cases are presented to illustrate how theidentified challenges can be addressed in the development of educational assessments.The competencies needed for living, learning and working in the 21st century havealways been an important part of the EDUsummIT discussions. While in previousEDUsummITs 21st Century competencies were discussed in general (Voogt et al. 2013b),EDUsummIT 2013 focused on two 21st century competencies in particular, viz.Educ Inf Technolcomputational thinking and global digital citizenship. In these contributions technology ispositioned as an educational goal, and not only as a tool for teaching and learning.The contribution of Voogt, Fisser, Good, Mishra and Yadav specifically addressescomputational thinking. Since Wing’s (2006) influential article on computationalthinking, the discussion about what computational thinking entails, how it can bedeveloped and what its place is in the curriculum of elementary and secondaryeducation has been discussed worldwide. The authors situate the discussion in history,elaborate on core and peripheral attributes of computational thinking, and presentexamples of how it can be integrated in the curriculum.Searson, Hancock, Soheil and Shepherd focus on digital citizenship within globalcontexts. The authors present a critical account of the meaning of digital citizenship andof the factors that could either empower or limit it. The models of two well-known andrespected organizations – the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE)and iKeepSafe – are presented as examples of how to conceptualize the development ofdigital citizenship in educational settings. Based on these examples and on the discus-sions held at EDUsummIT 2013, the authors formulate several recommendations andconcrete action steps to promote digital citizenship skills and competencies in andbeyond school settings.The final paper in this special issue discusses digital equity. The contribution ofResta and Laferrière to the current special issue focuses on this particular topic anddiscusses the intricate relationships between digital equity and intercultural education.The authors address current challenges and opportunities regarding digital equity, aswell the increasingly important role technology plays in helping to foster interculturalunderstanding and education.Collectively, these papers address a wide range of important topics and issues in thefield of ICT in education.We trust that the reader will find the papers in this special editionenlightening in content, and focused on research-informed action steps designed toimprove the integration of information and communication technologies into education.Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 InternationalLicense (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and repro-duction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide alink to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.ReferencesEDUsummIT (2009). Call to Action. The Hague: EDUsummIT 2009. Retrieved http://www.curtin.edu.au/edusummit/edusummit-archive/call-to-action-2009.cfm.Kozma, R. B. (Ed.). (2003). Technology, innovation and educational change. A global perspective. Eugene:ISTE Publ.Voogt, J., & Knezek, G. (Eds.). (2008). International handbook of information technology in primary andsecondary education. New York: Springer.Voogt, J., Knezek, G., Cox, M., Knezek, D., & Ten Brummelhuis, A. (2013a). Under which conditions doesICT have a positive effect on teaching and learning? A call to action. Journal of Computer AssistedLearning, 29(1), 4–14.Voogt, J., Erstad, O., Dede, C., & Mishra, P. (2013b). Challenges to learning and schooling in the digitalnetworked world of the 21st century. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 29(5), 403–413.Wing, J. M. (2006). Computational thinking. Communications of the ACM, 49(3), 33–35. doi:10.1145/1118178.1118215.Educ Inf Technol

UvA-DARE is a service provided by the library of the University of Amsterdam (https://dare.uva.nl)UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository)Research-informed strategies to address educational challenges in a digitallynetworked worldVoogt, J.; Knezek, G.; Pareja Roblin, N.DOI10.1007/s10639-015-9430-4Publication date2015Document VersionFinal published versionPublished inEducation and Information TechnologiesLink to publicationCitation for published version (APA):Voogt, J., Knezek, G., & Pareja Roblin, N. (2015). Research-informed strategies to addresseducational challenges in a digitally networked world. Education and InformationTechnologies, 20(4), 619-623. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-015-9430-4General rightsIt is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s)and/or copyright holder(s), other than for strictly personal, individual use, unless the work is under an opencontent license (like Creative Commons).Disclaimer/Complaints regulationsIf you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, pleaselet the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the materialinaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: https://uba.uva.nl/en/contact, or a letterto: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Youwill be contacted as soon as possible.Download date:11 Mar 2023Research-informed strategies to addresseducational challenges in a digitally networked worldJoke Voogt1,2 & Gerald Knezek3 &Natalie Pareja Roblin4,5Published online: 3 September 2015# The Author(s) 2015. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.comAbstract This special issue represents the scholarly work that emerged from theEDUsummIT 2013. EDUsummIT is a growing and active community of researchers,policy makers and practitioners that is committed to promote research-informed strat-egies to effectively integrate ICT in educational policy and practice. First the back-ground and aim of EDUsummIT is presented, followed by an overview of the contri-butions to this special issue.Keywords EDUsummIT. Research . Policy . Practice . Digitally networkedworld1 IntroductionThis special edition of Education and Information Technologies presents scholarlyconsensus distilled from the Third International Summit on Information andCommunication Technologies (ICT) in Education (EDUsummIT 2013). This invita-tional gathering of 100 ICT researchers, practitioners and policy makers from morethan 30 countries was held in Washington, D.C., Sept. 30 – October 2, 2013. The maingoal of EDUsummIT 2013 was to define joint research-informed strategies at national,Educ Inf Technol (2015) 20:619–623DOI 10.1007/s10639-015-9430-4* Joke Voogtj.m.voogt@uva.nlGerald Knezekgknezek@gmail.comNatalie Pareja Roblinnatalie.parejaroblin@ugent.be1 University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 15776, 1001NG Amsterdam, Netherlands2 Windesheim University of Applied Sciences, Zwolle, Netherlands3 University of North Texas, 3940 North Elm St. G150, Denton, TX, USA4 University of Ghent, Henri Dunantlaan, 2, 9000 Ghent, Belgium5 University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USAregional and international levels to address successfully the challenges educationalsystems face in a digital and networked world. Thematic working groups (TWGs)debated reviewed literature, current issues and formulated recommendations for ICT ineducation under the theme “Research-informed Strategies to address EducationalChallenges in a Digitally Networked World”.EDUsummIT 2013 resulted in an Action Agenda (http://www.curtin.edu.au/edusummit/local/docs/EduSummIT_2013_Action_Agenda.pdf). TWG leaders remainedin Washington D.C. for two additional days and discussed recommendations for actionswith representatives of professional associations attending the U.S. National TechnologyLeadership Summit (NTLS 2013). EduSummIT 2013 participants later presented anddiscussed with professional audiences the Action Agenda at the American EducationalResearch Association Conference in 2014, the Society for Information Technology &Teacher Education in 2014, the UNESCO Regional Conference on the “Quality ofEducation and Challenges in a Digitally Networked World” (Sofia, Bulgaria, October2014), and many other venues. Refinements ofWashington D.C. initial discussions amongEDUsummIT participants themselves and with other professional association audiences,have been distilled into the eight papers presented in this special edition. A brief history ofEDUsummIT and outcomes from previous meetings will be presented in the followingsection, followed by an overview of the content of each special edition paper.2 BackgroundEDUsummIT is a global community of researchers, policy-makers and educatorscommitted to promoting active dissemination and use of research findings to informpolicies and practices that are concerned with the effective integration of ICT ineducation. EDUsummIT emerged from the publication of the International Handbookon Information Technology in Primary and Secondary Education (Voogt and Knezek2008). Key persons involved in the international handbook realized that more than40 years of research in ICT in education synthesized in the handbook, often had notfound its way into educational policy and practice. To be able to develop a profoundunderstanding of the realities of policy and practice and to jointly create the conditionsto foster the integration of ICT into education, members of the research community,policy officials and practice innovators need to meet and talk to each other. Based on ashared understanding among researchers, policy makers and practitioners the primarygoal of EDUsummIT thus has been to outline research-informed action steps topromote the integration of information and communication technology in education.In 2009, 70 leading researchers, policy makers and educators, spanning six conti-nents, gathered in The Hague (The Netherlands) for the first EDUsummIT. The 2-daygathering resulted in a Call to Action on the future of ICT in education (http://www.curtin.edu.au/edusummit/edusummit-archive/call-to-action-2009.cfm) as well as ascholarly contribution to support the Call (Voogt et al. 2013a). Following up on theresults of the EDUSUmmIT 2009, a second meeting was organized in 2011 at theUNESCO Headquarters in Paris. This summit gathered over 120 participants fromacross the world with the goal of establishing a clear view of the role of ICT in the 21stCentury. EDUsummIT 2011 resulted in a report (http://www.curtin.edu.au/edusummit/local/docs/EDUummITReportSpreadFrmt2A4.pdf) and scholarly output in the form of620 Educ Inf Technol (2015) 20:619–623a special issue of the Journal of Computer Assisted Learning (volume 29/issue 5). Thethird EDUsummIT was held in Washington D.C. and resulted in an Action Agenda.The scholarly output of EDUsummIT 2013 will be presented in this special issue ofEducation and Information Technologies. EDUsummIT 2015 will take place inSeptember 2015 in Bangkok, Thailand, and is organized in close cooperation withUNESCO Bangkok. The theme of the 2015 gathering is “Technology AdvancedQuality Learning for All.”Since the first meeting in 2009, EDUsummIT has established a growing network ofstakeholders committed to strengthen the dissemination and impact of research evidenceon future policies and practices of governments, educators and researchers. EDUSummITis organized with the support of prominent international and national organizationsactively promoting the use of ICT in education: the Society for Information Technologyand Teacher Education (SITE), the International Society for Technology in Education(ISTE), Kennisnet (The Netherlands), the International Federation for InformationProcessing (IFIP - working group named Research on Education and Applications ofInformation Technology), the Association of Teacher Educators (ATE), and theUNESCO’s Teacher Development and Higher Education Division.3 ThemesThemes discussed during the EDUsummITs conceptualize issues related to the integrationof ICT in education based on the inter relationships between macro, meso and microperspectives. EDUsummIT themes emerge from profound discussions among the orga-nizers of EDUsummIT, and are infusedwith input from the international organizations thatsupport the activities. TWG leaders prepare a pre-summit paper, which is the basis for thediscussions in the thematic working groups. In interactive working group sessionsparticipants engage in an active dialogue around the selected themes.Within each thematicworking group, conversations focus on the identification of current needs and concreterecommendations for action that could contribute to address the needs effectively. Post-summit papers summarize the main findings and recommendations of each thematicworking group (see http://www.curtin.edu.au/edusummit/ for pre- and post summit pa-pers). EDUsummIT 2013 (Washington D.C.) continued to work on some of the themes ofEDUsummIT 2011 (Paris), viz. education systems, mobile learning, assessment, profes-sional development, digital equity and research. New insights related to these themes dueto global and technological developments were discussed. Two completely new themesemerged for EDUsummIT 2013: computational thinking as an important 21st centuryskill, dominating the discussion on computer and information science in school curricula –and global digital citizenship as a complex concept and challenge related to the (proper)use of web 2.0 technologies.4 Overview of papers in this special issueThe EDUsummIT 2009 call to Action acknowledged that there was a need “To betterunderstand student technology experiences in informal learning environments, in orderto inform learning in formal settings” (EDUsummIT 2009). Mobile technologiesEduc Inf Technol (2015) 20:619–623 621provide opportunities for a natural relationship between formal and informal learningand was further advanced in EDUsummIT 2011. In EDUsummIT 2013 this themedeveloped into mobile learning. Khaddage, Christensen, Lai, Knezek, Norris andSoloway discuss mobile learning as a relatively new but increasingly prominent fieldin ICT in education. There can be no doubt that access to mobile technologies is rapidlygrowing and changing the ways in which people learn and construct knowledge.Together with the many opportunities, this also presents several challenges to educa-tional institutions with respect to the implementation of mobile learning. The authorsdiscuss these challenges from a pedagogical, technological, policy and research per-spective. Building on existing literature, a framework is proposed to overcome thesechallenges and guide the planning and implementation of mobile learning experiencesacross formal and informal education.Mobile learning is one of many examples about how technologies can be used tosupport innovative practices in schools (Kozma 2003). Yet, the extent to which the useof technology has effectively led to fundamental changes in the educational system assuch still remains an open question. Erstad, Eickelmann and Eichhorn address thisproblem, and focus on the role of teachers as key agents of change. Three contemporaryapproaches to new forms of schooling are discussed in relation to whether and howthey challenge and change teacher roles.The importance of professional development to ensure that teachers are well pre-pared to integrate technology in ways that facilitate both novel and enhanced learningopportunities is also addressed by Albion, Tondeur, Forkosh-Baruch and Peeraer. Aconceptual model of teacher professional development for technology-enabled learningis proposed, and four successful cases are described to illustrate the elements in themodel and the interactions among them. The authors stress the need for more evidence-based decision-making, and advocate design-research as an ideal approach to reducethe gap between ICT in education research and practice.It is generally accepted that technology integration is often not successful when there is agap between the intended outcomes of a technology-enhanced environment for learning andassessment practices at the national and school level. For this reason assessment has alwaysbeen an important theme of EDUsummIT. Two papers in the current special issue addressrecent developments in technology-enhanced assessments, and the opportunities and chal-lenges that these present. The first paper by Webb and Gibson discusses the potential oftechnology-based assessments for assessing higher levels of knowledge and performance,with a specific focus on collaborative problem solving. The authors argue that a technology-enabled collaborative learning environment can be a rich context for assessing higher orderskills, as long as 1) the purpose and design of the assessment is clear about its targets, 2) theassessment tasks are constructed to include technology as part of the collaborative problemsolving task, and 3) the assessment provides timely useful feedback to teachers and students.In a second paper, Gibson and Webb extend this analysis by discussing major datachallenges concerning the amount, type and velocity of information potentially availablein technology-enhanced assessments. Three cases are presented to illustrate how theidentified challenges can be addressed in the development of educational assessments.The competencies needed for living, learning and working in the 21st century havealways been an important part of the EDUsummIT discussions. While in previousEDUsummITs 21st Century competencies were discussed in general (Voogt et al. 2013b),EDUsummIT 2013 focused on two 21st century competencies in particular, viz.622 Educ Inf Technol (2015) 20:619–623computational thinking and global digital citizenship. In these contributions technology ispositioned as an educational goal, and not only as a tool for teaching and learning.The contribution of Voogt, Fisser, Good, Mishra and Yadav specifically addressescomputational thinking. Since Wing’s (2006) influential article on computationalthinking, the discussion about what computational thinking entails, how it can bedeveloped and what its place is in the curriculum of elementary and secondaryeducation has been discussed worldwide. The authors situate the discussion in history,elaborate on core and peripheral attributes of computational thinking, and presentexamples of how it can be integrated in the curriculum.Searson, Hancock, Soheil and Shepherd focus on digital citizenship within globalcontexts. The authors present a critical account of the meaning of digital citizenship andof the factors that could either empower or limit it. The models of two well-known andrespected organizations – the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE)and iKeepSafe – are presented as examples of how to conceptualize the development ofdigital citizenship in educational settings. Based on these examples and on the discus-sions held at EDUsummIT 2013, the authors formulate several recommendations andconcrete action steps to promote digital citizenship skills and competencies in andbeyond school settings.The final paper in this special issue discusses digital equity. The contribution ofResta and Laferrière to the current special issue focuses on this particular topic anddiscusses the intricate relationships between digital equity and intercultural education.The authors address current challenges and opportunities regarding digital equity, aswell the increasingly important role technology plays in helping to foster interculturalunderstanding and education.Collectively, these papers address a wide range of important topics and issues in thefield of ICT in education.We trust that the reader will find the papers in this special editionenlightening in content, and focused on research-informed action steps designed toimprove the integration of information and communication technologies into education.Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 InternationalLicense (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and repro-duction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide alink to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.ReferencesEDUsummIT (2009). Call to Action. The Hague: EDUsummIT 2009. Retrieved http://www.curtin.edu.au/edusummit/edusummit-archive/call-to-action-2009.cfm.Kozma, R. B. (Ed.). (2003). Technology, innovation and educational change. A global perspective. Eugene:ISTE Publ.Voogt, J., & Knezek, G. (Eds.). (2008). International handbook of information technology in primary andsecondary education. New York: Springer.Voogt, J., Knezek, G., Cox, M., Knezek, D., & Ten Brummelhuis, A. (2013a). Under which conditions doesICT have a positive effect on teaching and learning? A call to action. Journal of Computer AssistedLearning, 29(1), 4–14.Voogt, J., Erstad, O., Dede, C., & Mishra, P. (2013b). Challenges to learning and schooling in the digitalnetworked world of the 21st century. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 29(5), 403–413.Wing, J. M. (2006). Computational thinking. Communications of the ACM, 49(3), 33–35. doi:10.1145/1118178.1118215.Educ Inf Technol (2015) 20:619–623 623

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Research-informed strategies to address educational challenges in a digitally networked
world
Voogt, J.; Knezek, G.; Pareja Roblin, N.
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Education and Information Technologies
DOI:
10.1007/s10639-015-9430-4
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Citation for published version (APA):
Voogt, J., Knezek, G., & Pareja Roblin, N. (2015). Research-informed strategies to address educational
challenges in a digitally networked world. Education and Information Technologies, 20(4), 619-623.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-015-9430-4
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Download date: 04 Feb 2021
Research-informed strategies to address
educational challenges in a digitally networked world
Joke Voogt1,2 & Gerald Knezek3 &
Natalie Pareja Roblin4,5
Published online: 3 September 2015
# The Author(s) 2015. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com
Abstract This special issue represents the scholarly work that emerged from the
EDUsummIT 2013. EDUsummIT is a growing and active community of researchers,
policy makers and practitioners that is committed to promote research-informed strat-
egies to effectively integrate ICT in educational policy and practice. First the back-
ground and aim of EDUsummIT is presented, followed by an overview of the contri-
butions to this special issue.
Keywords EDUsummIT. Research . Policy . Practice . Digitally networkedworld
1 Introduction
This special edition of Education and Information Technologies presents scholarly
consensus distilled from the Third International Summit on Information and
Communication Technologies (ICT) in Education (EDUsummIT 2013). This invita-
tional gathering of 100 ICT researchers, practitioners and policy makers from more
than 30 countries was held in Washington, D.C., Sept. 30 – October 2, 2013. The main
goal of EDUsummIT 2013 was to define joint research-informed strategies at national,
Educ Inf Technol (2015) 20:619–623
DOI 10.1007/s10639-015-9430-4
* Joke Voogt
j.m.voogt@uva.nl
Gerald Knezek
gknezek@gmail.com
Natalie Pareja Roblin
natalie.parejaroblin@ugent.be
1 University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 15776, 1001NG Amsterdam, Netherlands
2 Windesheim University of Applied Sciences, Zwolle, Netherlands
3 University of North Texas, 3940 North Elm St. G150, Denton, TX, USA
4 University of Ghent, Henri Dunantlaan, 2, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
5 University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
regional and international levels to address successfully the challenges educational
systems face in a digital and networked world. Thematic working groups (TWGs)
debated reviewed literature, current issues and formulated recommendations for ICT in
education under the theme “Research-informed Strategies to address Educational
Challenges in a Digitally Networked World”.
EDUsummIT 2013 resulted in an Action Agenda (http://www.curtin.edu.au/
edusummit/local/docs/EduSummIT_2013_Action_Agenda.pdf). TWG leaders remained
in Washington D.C. for two additional days and discussed recommendations for actions
with representatives of professional associations attending the U.S. National Technology
Leadership Summit (NTLS 2013). EduSummIT 2013 participants later presented and
discussed with professional audiences the Action Agenda at the American Educational
Research Association Conference in 2014, the Society for Information Technology &
Teacher Education in 2014, the UNESCO Regional Conference on the “Quality of
Education and Challenges in a Digitally Networked World” (Sofia, Bulgaria, October
2014), and many other venues. Refinements ofWashington D.C. initial discussions among
EDUsummIT participants themselves and with other professional association audiences,
have been distilled into the eight papers presented in this special edition. A brief history of
EDUsummIT and outcomes from previous meetings will be presented in the following
section, followed by an overview of the content of each special edition paper.
2 Background
EDUsummIT is a global community of researchers, policy-makers and educators
committed to promoting active dissemination and use of research findings to inform
policies and practices that are concerned with the effective integration of ICT in
education. EDUsummIT emerged from the publication of the International Handbook
on Information Technology in Primary and Secondary Education (Voogt and Knezek
2008). Key persons involved in the international handbook realized that more than
40 years of research in ICT in education synthesized in the handbook, often had not
found its way into educational policy and practice. To be able to develop a profound
understanding of the realities of policy and practice and to jointly create the conditions
to foster the integration of ICT into education, members of the research community,
policy officials and practice innovators need to meet and talk to each other. Based on a
shared understanding among researchers, policy makers and practitioners the primary
goal of EDUsummIT thus has been to outline research-informed action steps to
promote the integration of information and communication technology in education.
In 2009, 70 leading researchers, policy makers and educators, spanning six conti-
nents, gathered in The Hague (The Netherlands) for the first EDUsummIT. The 2-day
gathering resulted in a Call to Action on the future of ICT in education (http://www.
curtin.edu.au/edusummit/edusummit-archive/call-to-action-2009.cfm) as well as a
scholarly contribution to support the Call (Voogt et al. 2013a). Following up on the
results of the EDUSUmmIT 2009, a second meeting was organized in 2011 at the
UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. This summit gathered over 120 participants from
across the world with the goal of establishing a clear view of the role of ICT in the 21st
Century. EDUsummIT 2011 resulted in a report (http://www.curtin.edu.au/edusummit/
local/docs/EDUummITReportSpreadFrmt2A4.pdf) and scholarly output in the form of
620 Educ Inf Technol (2015) 20:619–623
a special issue of the Journal of Computer Assisted Learning (volume 29/issue 5). The
third EDUsummIT was held in Washington D.C. and resulted in an Action Agenda.
The scholarly output of EDUsummIT 2013 will be presented in this special issue of
Education and Information Technologies. EDUsummIT 2015 will take place in
September 2015 in Bangkok, Thailand, and is organized in close cooperation with
UNESCO Bangkok. The theme of the 2015 gathering is “Technology Advanced
Quality Learning for All.”
Since the first meeting in 2009, EDUsummIT has established a growing network of
stakeholders committed to strengthen the dissemination and impact of research evidence
on future policies and practices of governments, educators and researchers. EDUSummIT
is organized with the support of prominent international and national organizations
actively promoting the use of ICT in education: the Society for Information Technology
and Teacher Education (SITE), the International Society for Technology in Education
(ISTE), Kennisnet (The Netherlands), the International Federation for Information
Processing (IFIP - working group named Research on Education and Applications of
Information Technology), the Association of Teacher Educators (ATE), and the
UNESCO’s Teacher Development and Higher Education Division.
3 Themes
Themes discussed during the EDUsummITs conceptualize issues related to the integration
of ICT in education based on the inter relationships between macro, meso and micro
perspectives. EDUsummIT themes emerge from profound discussions among the orga-
nizers of EDUsummIT, and are infusedwith input from the international organizations that
support the activities. TWG leaders prepare a pre-summit paper, which is the basis for the
discussions in the thematic working groups. In interactive working group sessions
participants engage in an active dialogue around the selected themes.Within each thematic
working group, conversations focus on the identification of current needs and concrete
recommendations for action that could contribute to address the needs effectively. Post-
summit papers summarize the main findings and recommendations of each thematic
working group (see http://www.curtin.edu.au/edusummit/ for pre- and post summit pa-
pers). EDUsummIT 2013 (Washington D.C.) continued to work on some of the themes of
EDUsummIT 2011 (Paris), viz. education systems, mobile learning, assessment, profes-
sional development, digital equity and research. New insights related to these themes due
to global and technological developments were discussed. Two completely new themes
emerged for EDUsummIT 2013: computational thinking as an important 21st century
skill, dominating the discussion on computer and information science in school curricula –
and global digital citizenship as a complex concept and challenge related to the (proper)
use of web 2.0 technologies.
4 Overview of papers in this special issue
The EDUsummIT 2009 call to Action acknowledged that there was a need “To better
understand student technology experiences in informal learning environments, in order
to inform learning in formal settings” (EDUsummIT 2009). Mobile technologies
Educ Inf Technol (2015) 20:619–623 621
provide opportunities for a natural relationship between formal and informal learning
and was further advanced in EDUsummIT 2011. In EDUsummIT 2013 this theme
developed into mobile learning. Khaddage, Christensen, Lai, Knezek, Norris and
Soloway discuss mobile learning as a relatively new but increasingly prominent field
in ICT in education. There can be no doubt that access to mobile technologies is rapidly
growing and changing the ways in which people learn and construct knowledge.
Together with the many opportunities, this also presents several challenges to educa-
tional institutions with respect to the implementation of mobile learning. The authors
discuss these challenges from a pedagogical, technological, policy and research per-
spective. Building on existing literature, a framework is proposed to overcome these
challenges and guide the planning and implementation of mobile learning experiences
across formal and informal education.
Mobile learning is one of many examples about how technologies can be used to
support innovative practices in schools (Kozma 2003). Yet, the extent to which the use
of technology has effectively led to fundamental changes in the educational system as
such still remains an open question. Erstad, Eickelmann and Eichhorn address this
problem, and focus on the role of teachers as key agents of change. Three contemporary
approaches to new forms of schooling are discussed in relation to whether and how
they challenge and change teacher roles.
The importance of professional development to ensure that teachers are well pre-
pared to integrate technology in ways that facilitate both novel and enhanced learning
opportunities is also addressed by Albion, Tondeur, Forkosh-Baruch and Peeraer. A
conceptual model of teacher professional development for technology-enabled learning
is proposed, and four successful cases are described to illustrate the elements in the
model and the interactions among them. The authors stress the need for more evidence-
based decision-making, and advocate design-research as an ideal approach to reduce
the gap between ICT in education research and practice.
It is generally accepted that technology integration is often not successful when there is a
gap between the intended outcomes of a technology-enhanced environment for learning and
assessment practices at the national and school level. For this reason assessment has always
been an important theme of EDUsummIT. Two papers in the current special issue address
recent developments in technology-enhanced assessments, and the opportunities and chal-
lenges that these present. The first paper by Webb and Gibson discusses the potential of
technology-based assessments for assessing higher levels of knowledge and performance,
with a specific focus on collaborative problem solving. The authors argue that a technology-
enabled collaborative learning environment can be a rich context for assessing higher order
skills, as long as 1) the purpose and design of the assessment is clear about its targets, 2) the
assessment tasks are constructed to include technology as part of the collaborative problem
solving task, and 3) the assessment provides timely useful feedback to teachers and students.
In a second paper, Gibson and Webb extend this analysis by discussing major data
challenges concerning the amount, type and velocity of information potentially available
in technology-enhanced assessments. Three cases are presented to illustrate how the
identified challenges can be addressed in the development of educational assessments.
The competencies needed for living, learning and working in the 21st century have
always been an important part of the EDUsummIT discussions. While in previous
EDUsummITs 21st Century competencies were discussed in general (Voogt et al. 2013b),
EDUsummIT 2013 focused on two 21st century competencies in particular, viz.
622 Educ Inf Technol (2015) 20:619–623
computational thinking and global digital citizenship. In these contributions technology is
positioned as an educational goal, and not only as a tool for teaching and learning.
The contribution of Voogt, Fisser, Good, Mishra and Yadav specifically addresses
computational thinking. Since Wing’s (2006) influential article on computational
thinking, the discussion about what computational thinking entails, how it can be
developed and what its place is in the curriculum of elementary and secondary
education has been discussed worldwide. The authors situate the discussion in history,
elaborate on core and peripheral attributes of computational thinking, and present
examples of how it can be integrated in the curriculum.
Searson, Hancock, Soheil and Shepherd focus on digital citizenship within global
contexts. The authors present a critical account of the meaning of digital citizenship and
of the factors that could either empower or limit it. The models of two well-known and
respected organizations – the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE)
and iKeepSafe – are presented as examples of how to conceptualize the development of
digital citizenship in educational settings. Based on these examples and on the discus-
sions held at EDUsummIT 2013, the authors formulate several recommendations and
concrete action steps to promote digital citizenship skills and competencies in and
beyond school settings.
The final paper in this special issue discusses digital equity. The contribution of
Resta and Laferrière to the current special issue focuses on this particular topic and
discusses the intricate relationships between digital equity and intercultural education.
The authors address current challenges and opportunities regarding digital equity, as
well the increasingly important role technology plays in helping to foster intercultural
understanding and education.
Collectively, these papers address a wide range of important topics and issues in the
field of ICT in education.We trust that the reader will find the papers in this special edition
enlightening in content, and focused on research-informed action steps designed to
improve the integration of information and communication technologies into education.
Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and repro-
duction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a
link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.
References
EDUsummIT (2009). Call to Action. The Hague: EDUsummIT 2009. Retrieved http://www.curtin.edu.au/
edusummit/edusummit-archive/call-to-action-2009.cfm.
Kozma, R. B. (Ed.). (2003). Technology, innovation and educational change. A global perspective. Eugene:
ISTE Publ.
Voogt, J., & Knezek, G. (Eds.). (2008). International handbook of information technology in primary and
secondary education. New York: Springer.
Voogt, J., Knezek, G., Cox, M., Knezek, D., & Ten Brummelhuis, A. (2013a). Under which conditions does
ICT have a positive effect on teaching and learning? A call to action. Journal of Computer Assisted
Learning, 29(1), 4–14.
Voogt, J., Erstad, O., Dede, C., & Mishra, P. (2013b). Challenges to learning and schooling in the digital
networked world of the 21st century. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 29(5), 403–413.
Wing, J. M. (2006). Computational thinking. Communications of the ACM, 49(3), 33–35. doi:10.1145/
1118178.1118215.
Educ Inf Technol (2015) 20:619–623 623


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