MANAGING ICT


ure of education W ‘


ITH THE summer holidays fast approaching, teachers across the country are up to their eyes in marking, report- writing and timetabling for next term. But four months after


SecEd’s symposium on ICT and the future of education, the heads, deputies and teachers who took part are also looking at whether to implement some of the ideas discussed at the event. In fact one teacher, Allie Hack from The Mountbatten


School in Romsey, Hampshire, already has. During the debate, she was particularly interested to hear year 13 student Katie Leeper talking about her experiences of ICT in lessons. Katie, who was about to take A levels in mathematics,


chemistry and philosophy at Sydenham High School in London, told the other delegates that while some of her teachers preferred to use board markers, others used technology “too much”. Ms Hack, who is head of humanities and responsible


for ICT across the curriculum at The Mountbatten School, said Katie’s views had prompted her school to look in detail at their own pupils’ thoughts on the use of ICT. “It was useful to hear from a student how her


experiences of IT provision differ so much and this has led to an audit across our school of student experience, which is wide and varied,” said Ms Hack. “We are also looking much more strategically at


how to meet the challenges of preparing students for a 21st century workforce.” All 13 delegates said that it was invaluable to hear


examples of best practice in classroom technology application. Kevin Bennett, assistant principal at Belvoir High


School in Leicestershire, told SecEd: “It is always useful to talk to other practitioners about their work and share good practice. Both I and the majority of our staff have always commented that some of the best and most valuable time on training courses is when we have the chance to exchange ideas and reflect on each other’s work. It gives a real opportunity to try things out that you know others have done in a classroom environment.” He emphasised, however, that it is important for


schools not to rush into implementing new approaches. “”We have found with ICT that it often takes time to


ensure things go well and right,” he said. “If you rush things and it doesn’t work you don’t get the support of staff and pupils and then you are wasting your time and may as well have not bothered. “Instead, we end up setting things up and trialling


systems and then using selected staff to develop and roll it out for us. This makes the process more successful and staff take it on board more as they take ownership of it. We are currently implementing our online reporting and parent portal, which is taking a good deal of our time up.” Like many of the other delegates, Mr Bennett


believes that it is crucial for teachers to use technology as a tool to enable learning, rather than as an end in itself. “As an ICT teacher myself, I spend time explaining


to pupils that there is still a place for reading and writing and books in the library,” he said. “We encourage staff and pupils to use ICT as a tool that needs to be selected for the right job and the right


Students want to be inspired, challenged and enthused. Often technology can be the


gateway to that, but not always. We don’t want teachers to be ‘strait-jacketed’ by the digital revolution, but to be freer as a result Allie Hack, The Mountbatten School


reasons. Our pupils need all the skills available to them for their future and although ICT will be a huge part of this, it is not the sole skill. So much of our task in ICT lessons is to help pupils understand how to make the right choices and think about the process they should go through, rather than teaching more skills using software.” Mr Bennett’s views are similar to those of Kester


Brewin, deputy head of mathematics at Sydenham High. During the symposium, Mr Brewin had described technology as “no more than tools”, and pointed out that although he has used ICT in classroom practice for many years he firmly believed that “thoughtful” use of technology is key. “Teaching is essentially a communication profession


and any tools which can enhance the efficacy of that communication of knowledge and skills should be welcomed,” he said when we caught up with him recently. “However, it is important to realise that ‘more


technology’ does not necessarily mean ‘improved communication’. It was very interesting to hear how students feel that increased use of interactive whiteboards could actually lessen the quality of the lessons being given, rather than always enhancing it.” Mr Brewin’s school is currently carrying out an


ICT review so no changes have been introduced yet. But the strategies he found most inspiring at the debate included the idea of using PSPs to share short videos of PE activities, the different approaches to funding the purchase of computer equipment, and how schools are looking at using the mobile phones which most pupils bring to school anyway. Back in Hampshire, Ms Hack was fascinated by


the range of funding and facilities available to different schools – and frustrated by the fact that this is often down to “a postcode lottery”. Like many of the other delegates, she admired the way in which Chris Foreman, vice principal, learning systems, at Homewood School and Sixth Form Centre in Tenterden, Kent, had hit on the idea of applying for his school to become a technology repair centre. This means that it can keep costs down by carrying out its own repairs. “Chris’s innovative use of accessing funding and


using opportunities to make money for the school through the use of IT was inspiring,” said Ms Hack. “Although we are someway off that, it is something we are working towards, with the idea of providing technical services to feeder schools.” Interestingly, virtually all the delegates agreed


that it is vital for teachers to strike the right balance in the use of technology. As Ms Hack pointed out:


Download the consensus report


A SecEd Symposium consensus report was published in association with Dell as a result of the discussion in March and included as a hard copy within SecEd. This broke down the four key debates


on the day, which centred around ICT pedagogy and best practice, measuring outcomes, the importance of CPD and what this should look like, and ICT procurement in a time of tighter budgets. The report summarises the key opinions,


and shares the best practice that was discussed during the event. A free-of-charge digital version of this


publication is still available on the SecEd website, as well as a PDF download. To access these and for the full archive of


SecEd’s Managing ICT articles and features, visit www.sec-ed.co.uk (click on “digital editions” to access the supplement).


“Technology opens up the world to students and meets them on their level. However, if people are forced into using technology, the impact could be a reduction in inspiring lessons. “Students want to be inspired, challenged and


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enthused. Often technology can be the gateway to that, but not always. We don’t want teachers to be ‘strait- jacketed’ by the digital revolution, but to be freer as a result. My greatest concern is that until examinations are held using technology, there will always be a limit to the use of it in the classroom.” Despite his own enthusiasm for the use of ICT in


schools and the way in which it is strengthening the best teaching practices, James Quarles, Dell’s director of public sector marketing in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, agreed that teachers need to think carefully about when to use technology and when not to. “There was discussion in the debate on the potential


pitfalls of over-reliance and over-use of technology in the classroom,” he said. “There is definitely a time and place for ICT in lessons, and also a time and place when it might be best


Talking ICT: The SecEd and Dell ICT symposi- um took place at the British Council offices in London. Delegates included Katie Leeper, a year 13 student from Sydenham High School in London, and the school’s head of mathematics, Kester Brewin (pictured together opposite page, far left)


SecEd • Emma Lee-Potter is a freelance education journalist.


to put it aside. I think the key is for teachers to really think carefully about what ICT will deliver. “Teachers need to ask themselves ‘will technology


enable me to deliver this lesson more effectively and help students to be more engaged and enthusiastic or can I get the same results without it?’. Technology in the classroom has been shown to engage shy or hard- to-reach students and to vividly illustrate real-world examples with authenticity. “But technology gimmicks, like humorous YouTube


videos or celebrity photo examples, can distract entirely from the rest of a lesson plan and risk pupils missing the fundamental concepts being taught.”


SecEd • July 1 2010


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