MANAGING ICT

Our final take on the future of ICT comes from

Steve Smith,

who discusses how ever- changing technology is transforming the way we educate our students

A

LBERT EINSTEIN famously observed: “Technological progress is like an axe in the hands of a pathological criminal.” So, are these famous, slightly

off the wall words, as true in today’s technologically-driven world

as they were then? The pace of recent technological development has been astounding. Who could have envisaged the range and functionality of the devices that have appeared recently, and will they soon be as common in the classroom as laptops and interactive whiteboards are today? As a result of the Building Schools for the Future

(BSF) programme, schools are receiving the biggest single government investment in improving school buildings and ICT infrastructure and resources for more than 50 years. So how can schools “future-proof” this investment? BSF is, without question, an incredible opportunity

for transformation of the learning environment. ICT is a key tool in personalising learning and making learning possible at any time and from any place. Technology has already enabled students to connect to resources barely imaginable a decade ago. But something more significant is happening, and if we miss this opportunity we may never have the chance to recover the ground lost.

Critical synergies

For probably the first time, there is a real synergy in the “direction of travel” which underpins technology change and that which is at the heart of education

transformation. Consider for a minute, the nature of the technology experience of today’s user outside school. It is without doubt: • More personalised and targeted, but with the user in control of what, where and when.

• More collaborative and social, with a focus on encouraging interaction and communication.

• More mobile and more convergent in terms of device functionality.

• More media rich with the rise of 3D, touch/gesture technologies and Augmented Reality.

• More interoperable with data flowing seamlessly from one source to another through a myriad of portal applications and in “mash-ups” (a web page that combines data from two or more external sources to create a new service).

• Accepted that the user is now the creator of content rather than a passive consumer.

To some extent these changes have been driven by

the games, media and social networking worlds; their impact has been immense. Now wind back and replace the phrase “the nature

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of the technology experience of today’s user outside school” with “the nature of the learning experience described in the Gilbert Review, BSF vision statements and the like.” Where are the differences?

We seek a more personalised, lifelong, learner-led

experience; driven by flexible learning pathways and assessment for learning; with anytime, anywhere access at its core; in which learners communicate, collaborate, interact, judge, analyse, assess and interpret information from a huge variety of sources. They create their own content too, with their learning

developed by a range of individuals including their peers, and which is monitored and mentored by the “guide at their side” rather than directed by the “sage on the stage”. Yet some of the technology trends have had

surprising consequences. Some years ago, we probably all thought that device convergence would reduce the number of devices available. For example, we saw the mobile phone with its multiple functions; digital camera and video capability, in-built satellite navigation, mp3 player, web browser, and so on, spelling the end of many separate devices. At present, however, this does not seem to be

the case. Instead it appears that usability rather than functionality and capability is the key. People continue to acquire a range of specialist devices such as a laptop, a phone, an mp3 player, and a camera for instance, and accept that for “run of the mill” tasks their phone will suffice, but that their sister’s wedding needs the higher quality and more usable tool.

And if you need evidence of the “creator versus

be relevant We must

consumer” argument consider these simple but staggering statistics: First, in 2007, six hours of video were uploaded to YouTube every minute. By May 2009 this had risen to 20 hours; the equivalent of releasing 100,000 new films into cinemas each week. Second, in 2008, a Becta research report found that 78 per cent of students surveyed have uploaded artefacts (mostly photographs or video clips from phones) to the internet. Today, to some degree, teachers are expected to

identify the resources to be used in the classroom. In the future, learners will be far more skilled in identifying and gathering the relevant information. To make this more effective, students could rate the information on a website with the most popular information raised to the top so that other users can quickly and easily identify how it has previously been rated. This “self-managing” of information is already out

there, but teachers will need to ensure that learners have the skills and discrimination to provide balanced ratings based on criteria like the accuracy, relevance and usefulness of the information; as well as its ease of use, visual impact, fun rating or even shock value. This kind of activity can also encourage students

to engage more in the collaborative use of polling, surveys, and podcasts. For instance, rather than teachers being concerned with the accuracy of information on wiki sites, they should begin to challenge their students to review, update and improve them. This is something else that characterises the

technology world of today. The successful companies are providing users with the tools to do things for themselves, making applications intuitively usable – after all who reads the manual? Schools must follow this path too, or risk being seen as irrelevant by young people immersed in this world outside the gates. The education sector clearly has an appetite for

innovation and continues to exploit the opportunities of emerging technologies. If schools are to be attractive, these technologies will have to become increasingly integrated. If they do not, we could face a revolutionary change with alternative technology-based models competing with schools for the learners. After all, the law says children must be provided with a suitable education, it does not say they have to go to school!

SecEd

• Steve Smith is director of learning at Ramesys, a supplier of ICT solutions to schools in the UK and an ICT partner in the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) and academies programmes.

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SecEd • March 25 2010

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