EdTech Heroes Award (Adult Learning)

The EdTech Heroes Award (Adult Learning) aims to encourage vocational/higher education institutes, private, public and NGO organisations in Hong Kong to integrate technology applications to make talent development more effective.

We are inviting leaders and senior executives from vocational/higher education, private and public organisations to apply for the Award. The questions in this application form focus on your rationale, design, planning and implementation process rather than the outcome of the EdTech initiative, because it may take considerable time to realise and evidence the benefits of an initiative.

We welcome applications from organisations which are at an early stage of using EdTech to apply and have intentionally designed the award application as a learning journey by embedding the essential conditions for effective applications of education technology. By completing the application form, you will see the best practices for integrating technology in talent development.

Application Instructions

This form includes multiple choice questions, comment boxes for you to explain your choices and options to attach supplementary information (e.g. photos, videos, slides, survey results and data sheets etc). The application process is thorough, but straightforward and intended as a learning experience in and of itself. Please be aware therefore that it may take 1.5 hours to finish the application. You will receive an email acknowledgement upon your submission. (Please allow a few minutes to receive the acknowledgement.)

Please complete the form in ENGLISH. You don’t have to finish the application in one go. You can save the draft and come back to finish the application form before the submission deadline. Then an email with a link will be sent to you so that you could come back to finish the application. We encourage you to look through the questions to have a big picture before answering the questions. To access the SAVE function, please scroll to the bottom of the form.

Deadline for entries: 7 July 2023

A. Describe Your EdTech Initiative

Please provide a brief summary (about 300 words) of your edtech initiative, including:

the edtech solution
the responsible team members driving the initiative
the target and number of users
how did you come into contact with the solution
the implementation partners (if any)
how was the initiative funded
when the initiative was introduced

This will not be evaluated but will provide an important context for our understanding.

You may attach a video, photos or other information to facilitate our understanding.

Comment Box

0/300

Video link (Please upload your video to YouTube or Vimeo)

Please make sure we can access the link

Supplementary Information (File size no more than 10 MB) (Optional)

B. Theory of Change (25%)

Theory of Change is an organization’s theory about how things are going to change as a result of its efforts. It’s essentially a philosophical road map to guide organizational decision making. It aims to articulate the big-picture concepts on which an organization’s work is based. You can use this model to develop a strategy by defining a long-term goal and working backwards by formulating preconditions and anticipated outcomes.

1. Please explain the objectives of your EdTech initiative and how it aligns with your organisation’s values, vision, needs, teaching and learning or talent development objectives. Please limit your answer to no more than 300 words. *

0/300

Video link (Please upload your video to YouTube or Vimeo)

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Supplementary Information (File size no more than 10 MB) (Optional)

2. What is/are the primary objectives of your EdTech initiative? You may select more than one option. For each option, there is a follow-up question. Please fill in the corresponding scoring table(s)*

To make learning more effective (Answer Q3)To make the delivery of learning more effective (Answer Q4)To streamline the administration of the organisation in delivering the learning (Answer Q5)

To make learning more effective

Learners are motivated and leverage technology effectively and are empowered to choose, achieve, and evidence competency in their learning goals and needs. Learners curate digital resources using a variety of tools in a manner that develops and enhances their competency and facilitates their acquisition of knowledge and skills in a timely and relevant manner. Technology is used to connect peers from a variety of backgrounds and cultures, to develop a growth mindset, and to facilitate the development of career pathways.

3. On a scale of 1-5, to what extent are the following learning considerations made in your EdTech initiative?

	NA	1 Unimportant	2 Less important	3 Somewhat important	4 Important	5 Very important
Increase learner motivation and engagement
Empower learning any time, any where and/or with anyone
Enhance knowledge and/or skills acquisition in a timely and relevant manner
Enable collaborative learning
Develop a growth mindset
Facilitate career pathways
Others (If no others, choose NA)

Others (Please specify)

For features that you rate 3 or above, please explain how your EdTech initiative may help to achieve the objective. You may attach a video, photos or other information to facilitate our understanding (no more than 100 words for your explanation of each consideration).

Comment Box

Video link (Please upload your video to YouTube or Vimeo)

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Supplementary Information (File size no more than 10 MB) (Optional)

To make the delivery of learning more effective

You explore proven and promising practices that leverage technology, instructors or L&D professionals to improve their practice and reduce workload in designing and providing authentic learning experiences. An effective combination of EdTech product, instructors or L&D professionals enrich learning resource development and promote knowledge sharing internally and externally. They can also take advantage of EdTech to facilitate monitoring and implement a variety of formative and summative assessments that accommodate learner needs, provide timely feedback and inform instruction.

4. On a scale of 1-5, to what extent does your EdTech initiative embody the following learning delivery features?

	NA	1 Unimportant	2 Less important	3 Somewhat important	4 Important	5 Very important
Empower instructors / L&D professionals and reduce workload
Enable teaching outside the classroom/organization
Enrich and support learning resources development
Enable personalized delivery of learning
Facilitate monitoring, feedback and assessment
Facilitate knowledge sharing with fellow instructors, amongst employees and with other organizations
Others (If no others, choose NA)

Others (Please specify)

For features that you rate 3 or above, please explain how your EdTech initiative may help to achieve the objective. You may attach a video, photos or other information to facilitate our understanding. (no more than 100 words for your explanation of each consideration.)

Comment Box

Video link (Please upload your video to YouTube or Vimeo)

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Supplementary Information (File size no more than 10 MB) (Optional)

To streamline the administration of the organisation in delivering the learning

Leaders build teams and systems to implement, sustain and continually improve the use of technology to streamline administration and ensure that resources for supporting the effective use of technology for learning are sufficient and scalable to meet future demand. At the same time, they need to improve communications with stakeholders to gather input on the plan, celebrate successes and engage in a continuous improvement cycle.

5. On a scale of 1-5, to what extent are the following administration features made in your EdTech initiative?

	NA	1 Unimportant	2 Less important	3 Somewhat important	4 Important	5 Very important
Streamline administration
Make the learning accessible and scalable
Facilitate data collection, reporting and management
Enable more efficient and effective allocation of resources
Improve communications with learners and/or employees
Improve communications within the organization
Others (If no others, choose NA)

Others (Please specify)

For features that you rate 3 or above, please explain how your EdTech initiative may help to achieve the objective. You may attach a video, photos or other information to facilitate our understanding (no more than 100 words for your explanation of each consideration).

Comment Box

Video link (Please upload your video to YouTube or Vimeo)

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Supplementary Information (File size no more than 10 MB) (Optional)

C. Stakeholders Engagement (20%)

Stakeholder engagement is a process that organizations can follow in order to listen to, collaborate with, or inform (or a combination of all three) their existing stakeholders. This process entails identifying, mapping and prioritizing stakeholders to determine the right EdTech for effective learning and teaching while making the best use of available resources.

6. On a scale of 1-5, to what extent has your organization engaged the following stakeholders in the introduction of your EdTech initiative.*

	NA	1 Not involved at all	2 Not so much involved	3 Somewhat involved	4 Involved	5 Very involved
Faculty members/ lecturers / L&D and other staff members in the organization
Service providers
Learners (employees)
The Council or board
Senior management
Administrators, technical and support staff
Government authorities
Industry/academic and professional bodies
NGOs
Others (If no others, choose NA)

Others (Please specify)

For stakeholders that you rate 3 or above, please explain how you engage them in your EdTech initiative. You may attach a video, photos or other information to facilitate our understanding.(No more than 100 words for your explanation of each stakeholder group.)

Comment Box

Video link (Please upload your video to YouTube or Vimeo)

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Supplementary Information (File size no more than 10 MB) (Optional)

D. Choosing the right technology solution (15%)

The right EdTech solution will be different for different organizations. A good solution will select product/s that seamlessly blend digital tools and technology skills and promote design and customization of learning episodes in ways that align with research-based best practices, including those rooted in learning sciences.

A solution can also help faculty or L&D professionals provide learning experiences that are relevant to learners of many cultures, backgrounds, and abilities, which is also known as inclusivity.

For user experience, a good EdTech product will support learner motivation and agency in the learning process, help teachers and learners achieve instructional goals quickly and reliably and use assessments to generate data that inform faculty or L&D professionals about the learners without any threat to privacy.

With regard to technical support and integration, the product should work well with other technology systems in the organization and provide the right kind of customer support.

7. In selecting your EdTech solution, to what extent have you taken these considerations into account?*

	NA	1 Unimportant	2 Less important	3 Somewhat important	4 Important	5 Very important
Integration with curriculum, business needs and/or work flow
Science of learning
User experience
Inclusivity
Privacy and data protection
Technical support and integration
Others (If no others, choose NA)

Others (Please specify)

For considerations that you rate 3 or above, please explain how you made the considerations. You may attach a video, photos or other information to facilitate our understanding.(No more than 100 words for your explanation of each consideration.)

Comment Box

Video link (Please upload your video to YouTube or Vimeo)

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Supplementary Information (File size no more than 10 MB) (Optional)

E. Effective implementation of technology (20%)

An effective technology implementation can create a shared vision for transforming learning with participation from all stakeholders and align that vision to established frameworks or standards.

An effective EdTech approach should be set within a context where organizations reorganize the conventional model of learning delivery and set up a mechanism for data collection and assessment.

With the technology infrastructure in place, organizations can provide support to learners, instructors and other stakeholders on how to use technology in appropriate ways.

For continuous learning and improvement, organizations should stay aware of current research to enhance continuous improvements and encourage experience sharing among people both inside the organizations and outside with peers.

8. To what extent has your organization set in place the following conditions to ensure effective implementation of the EdTech initiative?*

	NA	1 Unimportant	2 Less important	3 Somewhat important	4 Important	5 Very important
Align vision and organizational needs
Develop an implementation plan with milestones and measurement metrics
Make pedagogical/learning delivery adjustments
Has the technology infrastructure in place
Provide support to learners, instructors, supervisors and other stakeholders
Set up a mechanism for data collection and assessment
Set in place a continuous learning and improvement process
Others (If no others, choose NA)

Others (Please specify)

For conditions that you rate 3 or above, please explain how you made the considerations. You may attach a video, photos or other information to facilitate our understanding.(No more than 100 words for your explanation of each consideration.)

Comment Box

Video link (Please upload your video to YouTube or Vimeo)

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Supplementary Information (File size no more than 10 MB) (Optional)

F. Notable experience and milestones achieved (20%)

9. Please share in no more than 300 words about the most important learning you have gained from your EdTech initiative, including the successful and not so successful experiences. You may attach a video, photos or other information to facilitate our understanding*. (10%)

Comment Box*

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Video link (Please upload your video to YouTube or Vimeo)

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Supplementary Information (File size no more than 10 MB) (Optional)

10. Please share in no more than 300 words about the milestones that you have achieved so far.

The milestones should be aligned with the objectives in Q 1 - 5 and the metrics in Q8.

Examples of milestones may include but are not limited to:

improved learner motivation
better learning experiences
improved learning outcomes
greater job satisfaction and staff retention
the facilitation of business transformation
more efficient administration
cost savings

The milestones can be qualitative or quantitative. You may attach a video, photos or other information to facilitate our understanding*. (10%)

Comment Box*

0/300

Video link (Please upload your video to YouTube or Vimeo)

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Supplementary Information (File size no more than 10 MB) (Optional)

Name of Organization*

Website of the Organization*

Name of Applicant (Department Head/Senior Management)*

Email address of Applicant*

example@example.com

Applicant telephone number*

Name of Contact Person (If different from the applicant)

Email address of Contact Person

Contact Person telephone number