Research School Network: Learning Lessons from the Digital Technology Guidance Report Exploring the EEF guidance report

by Fergal Moane, Strategic Lead and Deputy Head, Sandringham School

The EEF published a guidance report ​‘Using Digital Technology to Improve Learning’ in March 2019 with the key aim of making effective use of digital technology to improve outcomes for young people. 

This built upon the work of Higgins et al. on a review from 2012​“The Impact of Digital Technology upon Learning” that still has relevance today.

Days later, the Department for Education published their EdTech strategy document that builds a framework for technology vendors to work with UK schools and colleges to realise the full potential of digital technology to support learning. It is a shame that this document is not more widely known about, as there are clear messages that resonate with the research done by the EEF report authors. These three documents read in conjunction provide a solid basis for designing and implementing an evidence-informed digital learning strategy that maximises learning impact whilst reducing cost and the potential for gimmicks or white elephants that we have all seen before in education.

The latest guidance report makes four main recommendations:

What is the teaching and learning rationale? When we introduced a one-to-one device programme at Sandringham in 2014, the learning goals were to foster independent learning, to increase personalisation of the curriculum and to encourage learning and collaboration beyond the confines of the school day and buildings.

Having a clear plan for implementation and support is important, beyond the first deployment. It will take time and cost to train teachers and you need to consider how a technology project is sustained beyond a hyped-up launch phase. Nothing upsets teachers more than being asked to adopt new ways of teaching that are short-term or perceived as faddish. If you are equipping students, what is the right tool for the job (bearing in mind that this might change by age group?) Also consider funding and having sufficient infrastructure (network, WiFi, Internet connection) to make the proposed system robust and cost effective. Vendors such as Google, Microsoft and Apple have free or low cost tools available to support education, how will you evaluate what is right for your context?

‘Pedagogy first’ – digital technology can support improved teacher explanations, leading to greater student understanding. Examples of this we have used at Sandringham include:

• Tablets as visualisers: teachers have used a tablet with streaming technologies built into interactive screens or by using a tool such as AirServer or Reflector to be able to show exemplar work or student work to the whole class

• Flipped learning: having students investigate and prepare before a lesson can boost learning within the lesson. Tools such as MyGCSEScience or MathsWatch can provide resources to help students encounter topics before they are taught, and be another source of learning after the lesson has finished. Using EdPuzzle can embed questions into a YouTube video so that you can monitor the learning taking place outside lessons
• Digital platforms can provide support for modelling of the real-world and with possibilities beyond physical confines. Examples are SketchUp for modelling, network simulators in Computer Science, and frog and rat dissection apps in science.

The effective evidence-informed practices of interleaving, distributed practice and recall can all be supported by use of digital technology to support teacher and learner. When done well, many online tools can save teacher time with self-marking and ready-made banks of questions to choose from. Successful techniques that we have used at Sandringham include:

• Kahoot to bring energy to your plenaries, Quizizz when you need a calmer picture of every student’s understanding.
• Revision can be boosted by simple tools from BBC Bitesize or the revision app Gojimo to something more comprehensive such as Seneca Learning (which cites research that their platform doubles the speed of learning!)
• Access to banks of past papers is useful for GCSE and A‑level students to practice under timed conditions and to hone technique

Technology can provide new opportunities for improving assessment and feedback. One early recommendation is to make a choice of platform for sharing of content and collecting/​giving feedback on student work. There are a number of possibilities and combinations of tools that have their own strengths and weaknesses:

1. GSuite for Education, a free set of tools from Google that includes Classroom, Drive and tools for document authoring and collaborating
2. Microsoft Office 365 and Teams, along with other tools such as Sharepoint and OneNote to create collaborative learning environments
3. Tools focussed upon Apple technology, such as the Classroom app, iCloud and the iWork suite for collaboration. Schools often use these in conjunction with other tools such as Showbie and SeeSaw for sharing resources and feedback
4. Bespoke learning platforms such as Firefly or open virtual learning environments such as Moodle or Blackboard

At Sandringham, we went for Google GSuite back in 2014 since the collaborative tools in Office 365 were not available, but each school should look at their own circumstances to determine what is best. One clear policy we have is ​‘Blended Learning’, where we only make use of technology when this is the best way of teaching or learning – in many cases, a pen and an exercise book or lined paper are more effective! Trusting teachers and empowering them to make choices that suit their subject is an important factor in having an effective, modern assessment policy.

• There are a number of specialised tools in use by individual subjects (such as Educake and Isaac Physics in Science or Diagnostic Questions in Maths) where there are carefully prepared and curated question banks that are of high quality and support effective formative assessment
• Parental engagement can be increased via online tools for managing homework and key messages around revision and how parents can support their children
• Use of audio and video is transformative in practical and creative subjects such as music, PE, Dance, Drama etc. Having performances that are recorded and saved to a cloud storage service allows effective self and peer assessment as well as a record of progress over time for the teacher to review.

Beyond the Guidance Report

For those who are already successfully using digital technologies to support learning, there is a constant need to consider pedagogy and how innovative teaching techniques can improve outcomes at the next level.


Sandringham Research School is pleased to be working with Dr Kevin Burden from University of Hull on the DEIMP project – Designing and Evaluating Innovative Mobile Pedagogies. This multi-year international project is carrying out a number of lines of research that will lead to a mobile app that showcases best practice. Already available are 21 principles for designing innovative mobile learning that emerged from a systematic literature review that acted as a scoping study for the forthcoming phases. Further information can be found at http://www.deimpeu.com/scoping-study-io1.html


A more detailed discussion on the Digital Technology guidance report can be had on our training course on Friday 8^th November 2019. More information and future dates can be accessed via our Events page