ict

Engaging technology to improve outcomes

ICT alone will not transform learning but learning itself will not be transformed without it. RACHEL JONES, head of Education at interactive technology company, Steljes, examines how new technologies can improve learning outcomes and considers the implications for school design.

with digital technologies. They live in a particularly interactive world and like to get an immediate response to what they do. For them, immediacy and participation are important and educators have learnt that using technology that plays to this enthusiasm pays dividends. Interactive response systems are

Rachel Jones: New systems challenge the orthodoxies of historical school design.

I

NTERACTIVE technologies are not new to British schools. There are many examples of how they have been used to tackle learning issues, including Titus Salt school in Bradford. The school wanted to address the gender difference in achievement as their male students were under-achieving in relation to their female students. Ian Morrel, deputy head teacher, found that the introduction of interactive whiteboards really engaged boys in learning. Combined with curriculum changes, the use of interactive whiteboards have helped them to reduce the gender gap from 25% down to 6%. When used creatively, interactive whiteboards provide a learning platform that enables teachers to create high- impact lesssons that bring learning to life. These can be saved on the school’s virtual learning environment (VLE) and used by other teachers or for students to download if they were unable to make the lesson due to sickness or for exam revision for example.

Instant response

Young people today are highly conversant

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replacing the traditional ‘show of hands’ in classrooms and giving every student a voice in the classroom. At the click of a button, teachers can see students’ responses and use this information to adapt their material and pace the lesson more appropriately. Schools such as Danesfield Middle school in Williton are using response systems to not only evaluate student understanding of a topic but also to encourage reflective learning so that students appreciate where and how they are going wrong rather than just learning by heart. In 2008, 20 out of 31 pupils in Year 7 Set 2 maths did not reach the required target. Since using a response system all but 2 of the 31 pupils from that same class met or even exceeded the required target. Such like-for-like, year-on-year comparisons proves the power of engaging technology to improve learning outcomes.

Personalised

With schools implementing WiFi connectivity and VLE, education already extends beyond the four walls of the classroom. Learning outside of the classroom will play an increasingly important role in 21st century education as schools move towards a computer device per student. Starting the lesson on the interactive whiteboard, the teacher is able to discuss lesson content using the latest classroom amplification that reduces strain on their voices and ensures all pupils can hear what is being said regardless of where they are in the classroom. The lesson activities are then sent wirelessly to the student’s devices and students decide for themselves whether to work individually or in groups

thereby allowing them a degree of personalisation in how they want to learn. At the end of the lesson, the class comes together to review the work. Software is available that allows the teacher to manage learning across the

architects have the opportunity to rethink how space is used for learning within the school

whole class without having to look over every student’s shoulder. Students can leave the classroom if they wish during the lesson – to work say in the library or a breakout area – and still be connected to the lesson and the teacher is able to see what they are doing on their device.

Educational ISP

tibboh is a family and educational ISP that offers safe, secure internet access and delivers age-appropriate content for all children and teenagers. The service is accredited by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), which has developed tibboh’s policies in line with the national film classifications U, PG, 12, 15, 18. tibboh is being launched with high-speed (3G) mobile internet access with download speeds of up to 7.2Mbps. Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100