Views & Opinion
How technology can enable teachers to keep up with millennials
Comment by Rob Meakin, Senior Product Manager, Sony Professional Europe
Technology has become an integral part of teaching; a must-have classroom fixture for any educational institution that wants to be taken seriously. Yet it is not a necessary evil – far from it. Technology today represents a powerful catalyst for inspiring change, enabling the industry to raise standards and to meet the demands of an audience that is more tech- forward than ever before.
Inspiration is key
Visual information is fundamental to transforming a 2D subject into a rich 3D experience. A whole new world opens up for teachers when they can make a presentation come alive with images and videos to grab students’ imagination. When given the right tools, these vibrant materials can give the learning environment a new dimension, transporting a lesson into another world and a new realm of thought.
For this to work, picture quality is paramount. The increasing demand for higher resolution is not restricted to the movie industry, millennials expect top notch technology everywhere they
go. 4K is becoming increasingly relevant for education as the latest 4K enabled displays provide brighter, better-looking pictures, smart features and affordable running costs. With four times the definition of traditional full HD, 4K ensures even sharper detail and stunning clarity.
Keeping up with the HD generation As the youth of the HD and 4K generation, students today expect high quality and visually engaging images in every aspect of their life, education included. Able to deliver bright, clear images even in light environments, laser projection is ideal for satisfying this growing appetite for rich content. Pure laser light source projectors offer bright, high contrast pictures with excellent pure colour accuracy and stability, allowing the modern student’s demands for uncompromising pictures to satiate.
When you need to get a little creative Sometimes you find it that there is a need for a bit of creativity even when it comes to technology. Luckily the latest developments in IT
have made it possible to bridge constraints of space and time, creating new opportunities for education facilities and allowing institutions to make the most of their available space. A great example for this is Ultra-Short Throw and Short Throw projectors that can provide reliable image reproduction and can ensure that presentations are always seen clearly, even if there are room or lighting restraints.
Digital First
The education sector is undergoing a sea- change, as technology increasingly pervades classrooms and the wider learning environment. Millennials are used to having a world of information accessible to them. Their appetite for on-demand data and rich content needs to be satisfied with technologies that can combine rich multi-media content and live camera sources into a dynamic digital environment. The breadth of new technologies and solutions available both meet the demands of contemporary teaching and in turn empower teaching professionals to better captivate, energise and inspire the next generation of thinkers.
GCSE Religious Studies – should schools incorporate non-religious views?
Comment by Ane Vernon, Senior Associate at Payne Hicks Beach Solicitors
In February 2015, the Secretary of State for Education (SoS) issued new GCSE Religious Studies subject content for the 2016 academic year. The SoS's assertion that the "subject content is consistent with the requirements for the statutory provision of religious education in current legislation" was at the centre of the Judicial Review claim R (Fox) v Secretary of State for Education.
Three children and their parents, supported by the British Humanist Association, claimed that the subject content together with the assertion quoted above, gives unlawful priority to the teaching of religious views compared to non-religious views, such as humanism. The challenge was grounded in human rights law establishing rights of freedom of thought, conscience and religion and right to education. The Judge found that the SoS's assertion contained a "false or misleading statement of the legal positon". The ruling has been widely reported as requiring schools to teach non- religious views, such as humanism, on an equal footing with religious ones.
Decisions of the European Court of Human January 2016
Rights in Strasbourg originating from Denmark, Norway, Italy and Turkey provided guidance to the Judge. These cases were concerned with sex education in primary schools, the mandatory attendance by pupils of subjects covering 'Christianity, religion and philosophy' or 'religious culture and ethics' and the practice of fixing a crucifix to the walls of state schools. So far as domestic law is concerned, the Judge considered section 375 of the Education Act 1996 which requires religious education to be taught according to an 'agreed syllabus' which must "reflect the fact that the religious traditions in Great Britain are in the main Christian whilst taking account of the teaching and practice of the principal religions represented in Great Britain".
Thus, the state may give priority to imparting knowledge of one religion above others where that religion is practised or adhered to by a majority in society, but it must accord equal respect to different religious convictions and to non-religious beliefs. It must not discriminate between religions and beliefs on a qualitative basis.
The judgment makes clear that the state owes parents a positive duty to respect their religious and philosophical convictions. Whilst it has considerable latitude in deciding how that duty should be performed, having regard (amongst other things) to resources, local conditions and the preponderance in its society of particular religious views and their place in the tradition of the country, it also has a duty to take care that information or knowledge included in a curriculum is conveyed in a pluralistic manner.
Again referring to the Strasbourg decisions the Judge pointed out that the duty of impartiality and neutrality owed by the state do not require "equal air-time" to be given to all shades of belief or conviction.
The Department for Education has confirmed that it will not be revising the religious studies GCSE subject content stating "There is no problem with the RS GCSE subject content". However, schools and authorities will need to ensure that where they decide to focus solely on prescribed GCSE subject content, provision is made for also covering non-religious views.
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