Mark West

Background

About Mark West

Mark West works in UNESCO’s Education Sector in where he researches and writes about the future of education with a special focus on technology. He develops projects and publications that help countries understand opportunities and risks for education in an age of accelerating digital Mark currently manages a team that seeks to clarify the educational implications of mainstream and frontier digital technologies, including AI. He considers how technology is used (and misused) for learning and how it impacts: individual and community health; environmental and financial sustainability; and the quality, equity, and accessibility of education. Mark also leads the UNESCO-UNICEF Gateways to Public Digital Learning Initiative which helps countries support education online as well as offline. The Gateways Initiative facilitates international cooperation to strengthen digital learning opportunities that are free and open to learners, teachers and families. It seeks to realize a future where all countries offer excellent digital learning platforms (whether national or sub-national) that are quality-controlled, curriculum-aligned, and accountable to the public. Mark has authored numerous publications for UNESCO, most recently "An Ed-Tech Tragedy?", a book about education during the COVID-19 pandemic. It examines what happened to learners, teachers, families, communities — and understandings of education itself — when schools closed and formal learning shifted almost exclusively to digital screens. Various sections explore how practices and norms that emerged during the pandemic are rippling into the educational present and shaping visions about the future of education. The publication has sparked international debates about the place and role of technology in education. It has been well received by education and technology experts as well as various news outlets, including the New York Times and the Financial Times. Mark's other publications of note include 'I’d Blush if I Could'(2019) and 'Reading in the Mobile Era'(2014).'I'd Blush if I Could' prompted leading technology companies to make changes to the way AI voice assistants project gender. It clarified how education can help close digital gender divides and was praised by media organizations around the world.'Reading in the Mobile Era' brought international attention to the ways governments, schools and families can leverage inexpensive mobile technologies to help advance literacy.