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HNFOFLAOIGS | SPECIAL REPORT | 9 RY
SETTING FORTH INTO THE THIRD DIMENSION
Damon Jones examines how the latest technological innovations can be most productively used within the classroom and beyond
M
odernist poet Ezra Pound's call to 'Make it new!' is gospel to many techno-fetishists. An eagerness to flaunt the latest fashionable gizmo is a notable high-street trend, and, in
education, technology is also deemed a credible (if not cool) investment. Of course, equating an initial novelty factor with lasting benefits may be a costly fallacy, as some analysts have found. UK schools spent over £1bn on digital assets over the
past decade, according to a 2012 report issued by Nesta, the charitable UK foundation. Yet, despite conspicuous largesse, it concluded, "there is litle evidence of success in improving educational outcomes". A recent summary of digital education released by the
Education Endowment Foundation concurred: "There is no doubt that technology engages and motivates young people. However this benefit is only an advantage for learning if the activity is effectively aligned with what is to be learned. It is therefore the pedagogy of the application of technology in the classroom which is important: the how rather than the what." To help achieve this, Nesta advises educators to "Link
home, schools and the community". In HE, there has been a recent surge in distance courses offered via MOOCs, encouraging remote learning. At primary and secondary level, tools are also becoming available to facilitate flexible, 24/7 study. Softlink, an international developer of integrated library management solutions, adopted this principle during the development of its new platform aimed at primary schools. Named 'Scout', the cloud-based system consolidates diverse assets, rendering them available not only to students, but also parents and teachers, via handheld devices alongside conventional PCs. "Scout is designed to assist and enhance primary schools’ literacy programmes and initiatives, while delivering process efficiencies and savings," explained Chris McPhee, general manager of Softlink Europe. The goal is to make accessing these resources functional – and, of course, fun. Many schools store these resources in disparate
locations, in varied formats. "Consequently, in many cases, assets are underused or forgoten," argued McPhee. "To prevent this, Scout allows all assets to be maintained and sourced within a simple, easy to use ePlatform." The system not only accommodates literary
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