Opening Doors to Improved Teaching-Learning with Digital Tools

Páll Ásgeir Torfason, Head of the Department of Digital Learning, University of Iceland

Páll Ásgeir Torfason is the head of the department of digital learning at the University of Iceland. Torfason curates and adopts a wide range of digital learning solutions to fulfill the diverse needs of teachers and students. He played a crucial role in creating a new and innovative website for the University of Iceland to equip teachers with the right resources and guide them to improve their teaching methods.

In an interview with Education Technology Insights Europe, Torfason sheds light on some of the challenges prevailing in digital education and how educational institutions can convert these challenges into opportunities.

What are the recent trends you witness in the digital learning arena, and how are educational institutions capitalizing on them?

In the post-COVID era, educational institutions use various digital learning tools to improve students’ perception of assessments, transforming traditional teaching and learning methods. In the beginning, the idea was to switch from conventional classrooms to online platforms, but now it has moved to the next level. We are witnessing more possibilities to use different pedagogical approaches to improve education.

Today, digital learning tools based on advanced technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) serve as concrete solutions for student assessments and online discussions, replacing archaic teaching practices. Learning analytics and big data are positively impacting the future of education. Student data helps teachers identify at-risk students, inform curriculum decisions, and improve teaching.

How do you identify and adopt the right digital learning solutions and help teachers deliver an immersive learning experience to students?

It is all about building a robust digital learning ecosystem. We find the right tool for the right job and create a strong network of solutions. We invest our earnest efforts into successfully introducing and implementing new solutions for our facilities to ensure they serve the purpose of our teachers.

“A good understanding of the EdTech market and meeting industry professionals help us understand what are the trending tools and new solutions on the market. We add a tool to our ecosystem if it meets the demands of our modern teachers and fits our digital learning ecosystem.”

A good understanding of the EdTech market and meeting industry professionals help us understand what are the trending tools and new solutions on the market. We add a tool to our ecosystem if it meets the demands of our modern teachers and fits our digital learning ecosystem.

We developed a simple, user-friendly website, ‘kennari.hi.is,’ which is a quality guide to digital learning solutions for teachers. In the midst of the innumerous products that we offer, teachers are struggling to find the right tool that helps them. The website is designed to ask the right questions to teachers in order to understand their needs and suggest a suitable solution.

Teachers need to answer three questions— “How do you want to share the learning material?” “What do you want to submit?” “How do you want to engage students?” Each of the questions consists of different options for teachers to choose from while answering.

For example, teachers can choose how to share the course materials from a range of options, including short video tutorials, documents and files, and recordings of lectures. Based on the selected options, we recommend the right tool, helping them customize solutions and ensuring they do not miss out on opportunities amidst the confusing possibilities.

How do you think are technologies like Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and AI transforming the EdTech space?

AI is emerging as a megatrend trend producing sea changes, while VR is also expected to disrupt the industry. I am also excited to see how technology impacts activity-based learning in the future. Personalized learning is becoming more prevalent, making it easier for teachers to assess students and provide feedback. The use of data analytics is increasing as it helps better understand student behavior and improve learning outcomes.

How, according to you, does the EdTech sector ensure data security and privacy?

As education becomes more digitalized, universities are drowning in data, and it is important to advocate data security. Student data is sensitive, and if not regulated, it leads to data breaches. Universities need to match up to security standards and stay compliant with data privacy regulations. With digital learning tools being widely used, universities also need to constantly remind themselves to ensure that the source of data that is fed into the AI models is secure.

What is your sage advice to senior leaders working in the education industry?

The key advice I would like to provide is to be innovative in all endeavors. While implementing new digital learning tools, connect with the educators who attend workshops and make use of their knowledge. Provide teachers with ways to improve learning methods, and ensure they utilize digital tools to the best. Continually rethink every strategy and try to connect with and lend your ears to new professionals because they have plenty of novel ideas and take a fresh approach to digital learning.