Imagine a school assigning an evening activity through an AI tool that costs students nothing to open. A learner still needs a usable device and enough time on it to complete the work. The school needs to consider the support available when the activity becomes difficult.
The OECD’s Digital Education Outlook 2026 calls for equitable digital infrastructure and sustained professional learning. Its recommendations include resources aligned with the curriculum and alternatives where access gaps persist. Read the OECD report.
To judge access, follow the complete activity a learner is expected to perform. Opening an account is one step in that process. Each requirement after it needs to be examined before the activity becomes part of ordinary coursework.
Account for the full cost
For the hypothetical evening task, we would start by checking whether students can finish it using the access the school can provide. That includes the time needed to read a response and revise their work. Families should have a straightforward way to report a practical barrier without having to disclose their finances to a classroom teacher.
A device loan can address one difficulty while leaving another unresolved. If the assignment requires a live conversation with the tool, a student sharing a connection still needs a workable period in which to use it. The teacher should know what to offer if that period disappears.
We would make the alternative part of the lesson plan from the start. It should pursue the same learning objective through material that is available to the student. Its assessment criteria should let the teacher judge the intended knowledge without penalising the route taken to demonstrate it.
A school should also account for staff time. Someone needs to explain the activity and respond when its instructions are unclear. A purchasing decision that leaves this work unplanned gives teachers a problem to solve after the lesson has begun.
Review who can participate
A small trial can help reveal where an assignment becomes difficult to access. We would invite feedback from learners who stop early as well as those who complete it. An unfinished response deserves a conversation about the conditions surrounding the task before anyone interprets it as a lack of effort.
The review should separate participation from the quality of the work submitted. A student may gain access through a borrowed device and still need help understanding the task. The teacher’s response to that need belongs in the planning of the next lesson.
Schools should give families a clear contact for reporting access problems and explain when they can expect a response. Those reports can inform changes to assignment timing or the support available during school hours. A planned route for resolving problems makes the school’s expectations more practical for everyone involved.