2021年數字教育發展觀（四）

Efficiency

In most other sectors than education， smart technologies are used as a tool to enhance the cost-efficiency of operations， making services faster and often cheaper. While education might be behind most other sectors in this respect， digitalisation is also making many educational processes more efficient as interactions between stakeholders and educational institutions become increasingly automated. To what extent will digitalisation allow for enhanced cost-efficiency and productivity in education？

Digital technology has not always delivered on its cost-efficiency promises in the past because one has sometimes forgotten that， beyond the initial investment， it needs to be continuously upgraded， maintained， etc. Nevertheless， as in other sectors， there are good reasons to believe that smart technologies could increase cost-efficiency in education.

One example lies in the application （and admission） process to educational institutions. They are increasingly undertaken through digital platforms， especially in higher education， where a “matching” （or selection） process is often necessary. In cases of open admission institutions， when no selection is required， implementing seamless automated processes is even easier.

A second area where digitalisation could possibly lead to cost-efficiency is the provision of verifiable degrees and other credentials on blockchain. The gradual development of an infrastructure for digital credentials and the adoption of open standards will gradually lead to a different way of certifying and holding degrees， with individuals being able to manage their qualifications themselves.

A third area where cost-efficiency is underway is the collection of system-level statistical information. While statistical information often relied on the establishment of statistical panels （of representative samples of individuals or institutions） and often involved multiple handlings of the same data， the use of administrative data combined with the interoperability of diverse systems has made it much easier to get statistical information from operational services in almost real time.

Concluding remarks

Introducing digital tools in schools and universities may not have a narrow objective but be a tool to trigger change and improvement efforts. It is also a way for formal education to be part of its digital time. Should schools and universities resist or embrace digitalisation， which is gaining ground in all OECD societies， regardless of what happens in education？ While formal education systems should empower everyone to enjoy， access and learn from all the knowledge and experiences that have been developed by humanity， education should be more than a museum.

One scenario would be for education to change minimally and continue to have little adoption of technology and digital resources in teaching and learning. This may mean that most smart technologies would be available privately for out-of-school learning for those who can afford it. The education technology market would continue to mainly target its supply to the informal education market and corporate training. One long-term question in this scenario is whether education systems will remain relevant and whether out-of-school learning could become as important or more important than in-school learning.

A second scenario would be for education to look similar， on the surface， but become quite different， exactly as cars or planes look more or less the same as 40 years ago， but have become quite different now that they are fully equipped with sensors and computing devices. Education establishments may also become connected buildings with cameras， sensors and digital devices supporting students， teachers and administrators to make decisions to improve their teaching， learning and management practices. Technology may also become more prevalent for learning at home， with more intelligent tutoring resources etc. available for everyone to use.

A third scenario could be for education to build on smart technologies and other social trends related to digitalisation to reshape as a social institution. People may increasingly telework， more schoolwork may happen at home， sometimes with more involvement of parents and communities， and social time in school may become used mainly for individual tutoring and collective learning.

The two latter scenarios would have implications for teachers and the main aspects of teaching， but also for what it means to be a student and how parents can support their children. Similar scenarios could be envisaged when it comes to the management of education systems and organisations. For example， many administrative processes could be fully automated， from assessments to the allocation of students to different educational institutions.

Of course， the future might hold completely different scenarios or any combination of them. But now is the time to think about what is possible and how digital technology can best support the improvement of education.

譯文

成本效益

除教育外的多數其他領域中，智能技術被用作提高運營成本效益的工具，使服務更快捷低廉。雖然在這方面，教育可能落后于大多數其他領域，但隨著利益相關者和教育機構間的交互日益自動化，數字化也使許多教育過程更加高效。但數字化能在多大程度上提高教育的成本效益呢？

過去，數字技術并不總能兌現其成本效益承諾，因為人們有時會忘記，除了初始投資，技術還需要不斷升級、維護等。然而，和其他領域一樣，我們有充分的理由相信智能技術可以提高教育的成本效益。

例如，教育機構申請（和錄取）的過程越來越多地通過數字平臺進行，特別是在高等教育中，匹配（或選擇）過程通常是必要的。在開放錄取機構的情況下，當不需要選擇時，實現無縫自動化流程就更容易了。

數字化可能帶來成本效益的第二個領域是在區塊鏈上提供可驗證的學位證書和其他證書。數字證書基礎設施的逐步發展和開放標準的采用，將逐步使人們以不同方式來認證和持有學位，個人將能夠自己管理自己的資格。

正在進行成本效益評估的第三個領域是收集系統級統計信息。雖然統計信息往往依賴于（個人或機構的代表性樣本的）統計小組的建立，而且往往涉及對同一數據的多次處理，但管理數據的使用與不同系統的互操作性相結合，使得從運營服務中獲取統計信息變得更加容易，幾近實時。

結束語

在中小學和大學中引入數字工具可能并不是狹隘的目標，而是一種觸發變革和改進成果的工具。這也是正規教育成為數字時代一部分的一種方式。數字化正在所有經合組織的社會中占據一席之地，學校和大學是否應該抵制或接受數字化而不管教育領域發生了什么？雖然正規教育系統應該使每個人都能夠享受、獲得和學習人類發展的所有知識和經驗，但教育不應該僅僅是一個博物館。

第一種情況是教育的變化最小，未來教學和學習中依舊很少采用技術和數字資源。這可能意味著，大多數智能技術都將用來為那些有能力負擔的人提供私人的校外學習。教育技術市場將繼續主要面向非正規教育市場和企業培訓。這種情況衍生的一個長期問題是，教育系統是否仍將保持相關性，校外學習是否會變得與校內學習同等重要或更加重要。

第二種情況是，教育從表面上看是相似的，但會變得非常不同，就像汽車或飛機的樣子與40年前看起來差不多，但現在已經配備了傳感器和計算設備，變得非常不同。教育機構也可能成為配備攝像頭、傳感器和數字設備的互聯建筑，支持學生、教師和管理人員做出改進教學、學習和管理實踐的決策。在家學習的技術應用也可能變得更加普遍，有更多的智能輔導等資源可供每個人使用。

第三種情況可能是，教育將建立在智能技術和其他與數字化相關的社會趨勢的基礎上，重塑為一種社會機構。人們可能會越來越多地進行遠程工作，可能會有更多的家庭作業，家長和社區有時會更多地參與其中，學校的社交時間可能主要用于個人輔導和集體學習。

后兩種情況會對教師和教學的主要方面產生影響，但也會影響作為學生的意義以及父母如何支持他們的孩子。在教育系統和組織的管理方面，也可以設想類似的情況。例如，許多管理過程可以完全自動化，從評估到將學生分配到不同的教育機構。

當然，未來可能會出現完全不同的情況，或者是上述情況的任意組合。但現在是思考什么是可能的，以及數字技術如何能夠最好地支持教育改善的時候了。