Blog

**Deadline extended to 31 October 2024.**

Information and communication technology and other assistive technologies have the potential to impact social and educational inclusion so the theme for Issue 13 of Enabling Education Review will be:

“Inclusive EdTech”

The deadline for submitting first drafts of articles is 30 September 2024. Details of suggested topics and how to submit articles are provided below.

Contact info@eenet.org.uk with any questions.

1. Why have we chosen this topic?

Increasingly, Education Technology or EdTech is used to support the educational inclusion of children with and without disabilities, including those who are neurodiverse or have other learning difficulties. EdTech is used to describe the combination of computer hardware, software (or information and communication technology and assistive technology) with educational theory and practice to facilitate learning for education purposes. As such, EdTech can complement face-to-face inclusive pedagogy and enable inclusive remote teaching and learning, both at the school level and in teacher training.

ICT and assistive technology innovations in distance education grew during the COVID-19 pandemic but were often not made accessible and did not benefit everyone. EENET’s own survey of home learning in 2020 showed that children with disabilities, children in low-income settings and other marginalised groups of learners were more likely to be excluded as digital innovations advanced. Existing inequalities were made worse.

To help meet the Sustainable Development Goal of ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education for all learners, we need to reflect on how ICT can be made more affordable, appropriate and accessible. We need to explore the challenges and opportunities of using ICT and other assistive technologies within inclusive education in low- and middle-income contexts. We cannot say that ICT is too expensive and will never be used in poorer contexts. Rather we need to ask: How can it become a viable and valuable tool in the inclusive education toolbox for every country? And, in using the phrase Education technology (EdTech) we recognise that providing the technology on its own is only a partial solution at best, and often a missed opportunity.

2. What could you write about?

This issue of EER will explore how ICT and assistive technologies can be used to support learning and teaching in inclusive settings. There are many aspects of EdTech that you could write about, including but not limited to:

• How have approaches to teaching and learning changed and become more inclusive because of the use of ICT?
• How were ICT and other assistive technologies used to support learners transitioning back into schools after COVID-19 closures? What could this tell us about using ICT and assistive technology to support other educational transitions?
• As a learner, how has the use of EdTech impacted your educational experience?
• As a teacher, how have you reached and supported all your learners using EdTech? What challenges and opportunities have you experienced? Who has helped you?
• What impact does the accessibility or inaccessibility of ICT and the use of assistive technology have on peer-to-peer relationship in classrooms?
• How are teachers trained to use ICT and assistive technologies? How are their trainers trained? What professional development programmes are most effective and what else is needed?
• What has worked well in financing the adaptations and use of ICT and assistive technology in inclusive settings in low- and middle-income contexts? What has worked well in sustaining the use of ICT and assistive technology?
• What policies and regulatory frameworks support the integration of EdTech in inclusive education?
• How have you advocated at the local or national level for better or more inclusive digital approaches to education?
• How have you developed partnerships to coordinate the effective use of EdTech in inclusive education?
• How have you motivated or supported a strong political commitment to using EdTech in inclusive education?
• How have you used EdTech to support learners who learn at home on a regular basis? What innovations or changes emerged from the experiences of widespread home learning during the COVID-19 pandemic?
• How has the use of EdTech affected the mental and/or physical well-being of learners, parents, families, and teachers? What has been done to support them?
• How can Artificial Intelligence (AI) help to create more inclusive learning environments? What advancements have already happened and what opportunities are around the corner? What are the benefits, challenges and risks?
• How will the advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) impact inclusion of learners with disabilities in education?
• What lessons have we learned that could improve the use of EdTech in the design and inclusivity of education systems long term?

Enabling Education Review helps people share and learn from each other’s experiences. Therefore, we welcome articles that offer practical insights to help others looking for ideas that they can adapt and try. We like articles that provide a little background to the context, project or programme and then explain the activities that happened (what, where, when, with or by whom, and why). We also like to read about the results, if possible.

3. How can you submit an article?

Please email your article to info@eenet.org.uk or send a hard copy to the address at the end of this document.

Authors can write in English or their preferred language.

Length – 550 words (for a single-page article) or 1,100 words (for a double-page article). We may edit longer articles down to a single page, depending on the quantity and quality of articles received.

Style

• Write an article: please keep the article easy to read and non-academic. We encourage the use of sub-headings, bullet lists, simple diagrams, etc. Have a look at previous editions of the publication if you are not sure what style to use: www.eenet.org.uk/enabling-education-review/
• Write a poem: we encourage you to be creative with your submissions, so if you prefer to write a poem rather than an article, that’s great.
• Present a drawing: if you feel that the story you wish to tell is better told visually, please feel free to submit a picture rather than an article. Please give your drawing a title. You could also write and submit a shorter piece of writing that explains the drawing.

Editing – we are happy to help edit the article, so don’t worry if you are not an experienced writer. We can work with you to improve the structure and content of your article, make it shorter/longer, etc.

Working in audio – if you would like to send us a voice recording of your article or be interviewed as the basis for an article, please contact Su Corcoran at info@eenet.org.uk to discuss options.

Photos – it is great if you can add photos, drawings or diagrams to your article. When selecting photos, please look for the following:

• Active images – e.g., children learning in groups, children playing, teachers/ parents working with learners, and so on;
• Images that are not too dark, blurred, or pixelated.

Please send us high-resolution images by email (these should be at least 1MB in size), or post us an original print/drawing. For every image you want to add to your article, you will probably need to remove about 75-100 words of text – but we can help with this editing.

Permission

Please ensure that the people in any photos have given their permission for the photos to be published, or that parents/guardians have given permission for photos of children or vulnerable adults to be used.

Please fill in and send us the permission form attached to your photo(s).

Deadline – the first deadline for draft submissions is 30 September 2024. We will then review all articles and work with the authors to edit them.

Selection – please note that we might not publish all of the articles we receive. In addition to ensuring that we publish articles that are easy to read and of practical use to a range of education stakeholders, we will also ensure that the final selection includes:

• articles from a variety of countries/regions;
• articles about a range of different issues;
• articles by authors from different backgrounds.

Articles not selected for publication in EER may instead be published on EENET’s website (www.eenet.org.uk).

Queries – if you have any questions, please email info@eenet.org.uk.

Postal address – if you want to send an article in hard copy (e.g., printed or as an audio file on a flashdrive), please send it to:

EENET

PO Box 422

Hyde

Cheshire, SK14 9DT,

UK

Ayman Qwaider, EENET’s Arabic/MENA Network Manager.

Read this article in Arabic.

Scale of destruction

The genocidal war in Gaza has left no aspect of life untouched. One of the most devastating impacts is on the education system and, consequently, on the future of Gaza. The damage being inflicted will have profound and long-lasting effects on the current and future generations in Gaza. While much has been written about the overall impact of the war, the systematic destruction of Gaza’s education sector deserves particular attention.

Schools, both public and those operated by the United Nations, have been reduced to rubble. Universities, which once served as the backbone of higher education in Gaza, lie in ruins. The very institutions where generations of teachers were trained have been obliterated. Alongside the destruction of formal education facilities, community education centres, art centres, and archives – essential components of cultural and educational life – have also been destroyed. Many of these learning spaces have been converted into shelters for displaced families, underscoring the sheer scale of devastation.

This is not merely the destruction of buildings; it is the dismantling of an entire educational infrastructure. Teachers have been killed, their families displaced, and their schools and universities destroyed. Every household in Gaza has been touched by loss, through the death, disappearance, or separation of loved ones. The images of bombed homes, displaced families, and the daily struggle for survival have dominated social media for months, revealing only a fraction of the suffering that continues unabated.

One cannot overstate the impact of this destruction on education and learning. The cumulative trauma, suffering, and memories of violence experienced by an entire generation are staggering. The children of Gaza, exposed to unprecedented levels of violence and abuse daily, face a future where education is inextricably linked to their trauma.

What happens next?

The question now is: What will education/learning look like in Gaza after this? How can learning continue amid such accumulated trauma and suffering? The psychosocial trauma inflicted on Gaza’s children, teachers, and families has been accumulating over the last 17 years, exacerbated by the continuous Israeli blockade and repeated military assaults. This current unprecedented violence only adds another layer of pain and suffering.

To address these challenges, psychosocial support must be integrated into any educational interventions. Every person in Gaza will need such support, and this must be sustained over a long period. Schools and curricula will need to be re-engineered to meet the needs of these traumatized learners. The curriculum must be informed by the experiences of those who have lived through this trauma, and teaching pedagogy must evolve to capture and address the stories of these children.

Educators themselves will need significant support – socially, culturally, and psychologically – to process and share their experiences. It is vital that they have the space to tell their stories, not just for their own healing but also to inform the world of the realities of life in Gaza. No one should endure genocide without the opportunity to bear witness, and the stories of Gaza’s educators and students are essential for understanding the true cost of this conflict.

The loss of an entire year of education in Gaza is unprecedented. For the first time since 1948, Palestinian students in Gaza were unable to complete their higher education exams, and children were deprived of the opportunity to pursue their dreams. The destruction of Gaza’s education system is not just a loss for the present generation but a profound threat to the future of the entire region. The rebuilding of this system will require more than just physical reconstruction; it will require a reimagining of what education can and should be in the context of ongoing trauma and adversity.

Learning about and from genocide

When talking to friends and colleagues in Gaza, a common sentiment arises: there is much written about genocide, yet not enough is done to integrate this harrowing reality into education. They argue that the experience of genocide should not be relegated to history books alone but must be a vivid memory in the minds of education policymakers. It is crucial that education policies reflect the need to address the impact of genocide, and this should be an integral part of the curriculum.

Incorporating the realities of genocide into the curriculum is not merely about recounting the past but about raising awareness and fostering resilience in the present. It is about ensuring that the next generation understands the gravity of such atrocities and is equipped to recognise and respond to the early signs of genocidal actions in the future. For the children of Gaza, who have lived through a genocide, this is not a distant lesson from history but a lived experience. Integrating this into their education could play a vital role in healing and empowerment. Indeed, all parties, locally and globally, need to integrate genocide education into their curricula if we are to prevent such horrors from occurring again.

Educational genocide is part of a broader genocide targeting human life itself. Education’s mission is to uphold human life as the ultimate goal. In Gaza, resilience, or Sumoud, is not just a concept but a lived reality. The people of Gaza demonstrate social solidarity by supporting one another despite unimaginable circumstances. Conventional education is insufficient; it must evolve into learning through life and daily challenges. The future of education in Gaza requires transformation, moving beyond formal schooling to seek opportunities in adversity. This educational endeavour is not just a duty but a form of resistance against a comprehensive genocide that seeks to erase existence and identity.

The hope is that embedding the lessons of genocide into the curriculum will not only educate but also serve as a powerful reminder to the global community. It can be a tool to ensure that such atrocities are not forgotten and do not go unchecked when they occur. Education has the potential to be a safeguard, raising awareness about the devastating impact of genocide and fostering a commitment to preventing it in the future.

Please follow and share EENET’s Hear Us See Us campaign on our website, Facebook and LinkedIn. The campaign shares the experiences of educators and learners in Gaza. We add our voice to the calls for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and an end to Israeli occupation and apartheid.

#CeaseFireNow

#StopArmingIsrael

#FreePalestine

#EndTheOccupation

#EndIsraeliApartheid

#LearningNeverStops