Education for All: Technology is the Answer – What was the Question?

Abstract

Royal Commonwealth Society, Ottawa, 30 May 2009, Education for All: Technology is the Answer – What was the Question? Sir John Daniel, Commonwealth of Learning // What does it do? COL is the only intergovernmental body in the world with a mission centred on using technology in education. I suspect that many of you, being small ‘c’ conservative folk, think that educational technology is an oxymoron. My task is to convince you that it is not. Indeed, I shall argue that it represents our only hope of achieving the elusive goal of giving all Commonwealth citizens the opportunity to learn to their full potential. // But I do accept that technology is too often oversold by both techno-enthusiasts and vendors, so I forgive you a degree of scepticism. That’s why my title tonight is: Education for All: Technology is the Answer – What was the Question? // The question is very simple: how can we bring education to all of the world’s people? This is eminently a challenge for the Commonwealth, where the global development challenges are writ large.