Aimed at teachers and leaders looking to create greater impact on teaching and learning through the use of digital technology in schools, From EdTech to PedTech translates research on the effective integration of digital technology in education into relevant, accessible, and practical guidance for teachers and school leaders. This much-needed handbook bridges the gap between knowing 'what works' and knowing how to make it work for you and your learners. Bringing much-needed precision, fresh insights and clarity to the thinking, planning, and integration of digital technology in teaching and learning, this practical handbook: guides practitioners through 'must know' research findings and what they mean for everyday practice unpacks different ideas about pedagogy and how these inform digital technology use introduces the Funnels of Influence model to help you understand why you think and do the things that you do provides practical self-audit tools that can be used individually and across teams to clearly identify pedagogical priorities provides structured audit and review tools to ensure that strategies are based on sound research and result in practical, impactful, actions provides teachers with practical guidance to ensure that precision planning and a clear focus on impact lead to lasting and meaningful teaching and learning experiences for all learners This engaging research-informed guide is an essential resource for any school leader or classroom teacher looking to maximise the value and the learning impact of digital technology in their school.

There is a growing body of research looking at young people’s use of digital technology in informal contexts. However, there is a gap in the literature about how to describe and categorise young people’s digital practices in such contexts. This gap is important because in order to be able to understand the differences between young people’s digital practices in informal contexts and how these differences arise, you first need to be able to describe and categorise those differences in meaningful ways. You need to be able to answer the question “How do young people use digital technology in informal contexts?” in order to be able to answer questions such as “How do children’s digital practices in informal contexts vary?” and “Why do children’s digital practices vary?”. This paper is significant because it introduces The Digital Practice Framework, an original, theoretically informed, tool to fill this critical gap in the literature. It goes on to indicate how this framework has been used to analyse the factors that facilitate or hinder the development of young people’s digital practices in informal contexts.

There is considerable rhetoric internationally around the need for national curricula to reflect the changes that are taking place in the world outside school. This raises questions about what a quality curriculum in a technological era should look like, and equally challenging issues about how to achieve the necessary changes in schooling in order for such a curriculum to be realised. This paper summarises the views of 11 experts from seven countries. It introduces a sociocultural framework that highlights the complexity of achieving alignment between policies and practice spanning the national to local school to classroom levels. Three key issues that underpin alignment are then explored, each of which link with the issue of trust: stakeholders engagement; teacher professionalism; summative assessment. By exploring and exemplifying these three issues the paper indicates potential ways of addressing them and provides ‘tools to think with’ to enhance future curriculum development initiatives.

There is a growing body of research looking at young people's use of digital technology in informal contexts. However, there is a gap in the literature about how to describe and categorise young people's digital practices in such contexts. This gap is important because in order to be able to understand the differences between young people's digital practices in informal contexts and how these differences arise, you first need to be able to describe and categorise those differences in meaningful ways. You need to be able to answer the question "How do young people use digital technology in informal contexts?" in order to be able to answer questions such as "How do children's digital practices in informal contexts vary?" and "Why do children's digital practices vary?". This paper is significant because it introduces The Digital Practice Framework, an original, theoretically informed, tool to fill this critical gap in the literature. It goes on to indicate how this framework has been used to analyse the factors that facilitate or hinder the development of young people's digital practices in informal contexts.

The focus of Thematic Working Group 1 at EDUsummIT 2017 centred on the need for alignment in education systems and was driven by two key questions relating to (a) if and how all the parts of an education system work together to support the type of learning envisioned in the twenty-first century, and (b) if there is alignment, what is the purpose/vision of that education system and does it meet the needs of its learners. Arising from the discussions held, the group advocated the use of a tool such as the UNESCO framework (ICT competency standards for teachers: competency standards modules, UNESCO, Paris, 2008a ; ICT competency standards for teachers: policy framework, UNESCO, Paris, 2011 ) as a way to conceptualize a systemic approach to reform and to enable policy makers and stakeholders in a system to think about ways in which they can align changes with the goals of any proposed reform. Taking the Irish Education system as an example, this paper illustrates how the UNESCO framework has enabled policy makers in Ireland to adopt a systemic approach to policy formulation which aligns educational strategies across a range of elements “to leverage strengths, coordinate investments, consolidate gains, and advance national development goals and visions” (Kozma in Hum Technol Interdiscip J Hum ICT Environ 1(2):117–156, 2005 ). To counter the potential danger of a top-down imposition of the UNESCO framework, the group also proposed the Educational Vision and Mission Framework (EVMF) as a tool to support system wide (both top-down and bottom-up) reflection on the purposes of schooling in a rapidly changing world. The group concluded that what is defined as the purpose of education should inform alignment and suggest that application of the UNESCO framework and EVMF could enable the necessary alignment to support the educational, social, and economic transformation necessary for the complex connected global world of today and tomorrow.

Background: The use of 1:1 and Bring Your Own Device strategies in schools is in its infancy and little is known about how mobile devices such as tablets are being used to support educational practice.Purpose: In this article, two suburban primary schools in Sydney, Australia were focused on with an aim to understand how mobile device strategies were developed and implemented and how the devices were being used in the schools.Design and method: This qualitative study uses a case study method. It draws upon questionnaires, interviews and classroom observations, and builds upon previous research in English and Australian schools.Findings: Results of the research indicate that the devices have only recently been incorporated into the school and suggest that their usage has been generally embraced by both school staff and parents. Key issues highlighted by these two schools included the importance of the school’s vision and uncertainty about the differences between models of provision. Participant responses also referenced some positive impacts on classroom practice, which amplify constructivist pedagogy: there were examples of device use extending student learning by supporting peer assessment, collaboration, research skills and projects.

Despite the widespread adoption of multimodal and digital modes of representation outside school settings, classroom assessment practices rely more on conventional print media and less on digital technologies. Stronger connections between the use of ICT in schools, contextual factors, and theoretical approaches are needed if teachers are to use digital tools effectively in the classroom. This study explores multimodal digital classroom assessments (MDCAs) as a subset of classroom assessments. Combining multimodal perspectives with performance assessment theory, the paper analyzes three examples of MDCAs developed in collaboration with practitioners as part of a formative experiment and discusses their affordances and potential relevance for practice. MDCAs may offer richer repertoires of modalities for students and teachers. However, implementing MDCAs requires continuous attention to validity, literacy demands, and management of the longitudinal nature of certain MDCAs. Therefore, to provide a meaningful picture of student learning, design processes should consider how evidence from MDCAs complements conventional assessment practices.

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This paper sets out to address the problem of the imbalance between the number of quantitative and qualitative articles published in highly ranked research journals, by providing guidelines for the design, implementation and reporting of qualitative research. Clarification is provided of key terms (such as quantitative and qualitative) and the interrelationships between them. The relative risks and benefits of using guidelines for qualitative research are considered, and the importance of using any such guidelines flexibly is highlighted. The proposed guidelines are based on a synthesis of existing guidelines and syntheses of guidelines from a range of fields.

As curricula change, so must the tools used by learners and teachers and the plethora of mobile digital devices will likely play a major role in redefining education. The Digital Education Revolution (DER), with funding of more than $2 billion, was intended to provide Australian students with a world-class education system underpinned by the effective use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). In Queensland, DER funding provided 141 000 laptops to students in Years 9-12. However, now that DER funding has ended, the Queensland government and schools are considering BYOD options, in order to maintain a 1:1 ratio of computers to students. This paper reports the progress made by three Queensland schools with the use of mobile digital devices, whether supplied by the schools or the students themselves, and outlines significant positive outcomes and challenges experienced by these schools as a guide to other schools when embarking on mobile digital initiatives. Further,the study is framed within the methodological context of the Vital Case Studies undertaken in England (http://edfutures.net/Research_Strategy) and draws comparisons between the results of those studies and other schools across Australia involved in the Australian Snapshot Studies.