CLASSROOM TECHNOLOGY


CLASSROOMTECHNOLOGY


Stop looking for the new dawn


Stop looking for the newdawn I


n the second of our features this month on c assroom technology,well-known


n the second of our features thismonth o classrl


oomtechnology, well-known


educatiion journalist Sall McKeown calls for schoo s to look beyond the latest shiny gadgets and instead fo that s versatile, g


educat on journalist Sa McKeown calls fo schoolls to look beyond the latest shiny gadgets and instead focus on technology that iis versatile, good value and that will stand the test of time .


ood value and thatwill focus on technology


stand the test of time.


Anyone who went to Bett this year could be forgiven of thinking that schools of the future will be full of imaginative examples of artificial intelligence and virtual reality. The Bett branding even had an androgynous young person with a VR headset, enjoying a powerful digital environment, cut off from the everyday and mundane. Some commented that this was the perfect metaphor for Parliament's response to Brexit.


New technologies are often picked up by early adopters who mak e bold claims. A couple of years ago there was a surfeit of teacher blogs extolling the virtues of using drones, 'to see our school from many different angles'. I suspect that these were boys' toys and maybe the teachers had more fun than the pupils.


Fast forward to the end of 2018 and I'll bet nobody grounded at Gatwick Airport over the


www


Christmas period, nursing a cold cappuccino in a cardboard cup, was saying, 'My word, drones are an exciting and innovative technology. Just think what the children could do with those.'


I have seen some interesting work using robots with young people with autism but for every well planned and executed project, there will be a robot lurking forlorn at the back of a school cupboard.


Wouldn't it be great if that robot could be put to work to sort out the science stock room, cramming in more kit and chemicals than ever before? Or imagine a robot that could nip into the props cupboard and pull out the ginger wig for Annie or all the costumes for a year eight production of BugsyMalone? That could meet Damian Hinds criterion for reducing 'the burden of ‘non-teaching’ tasks.''


Instead of jumping on the bandwagon for the l atest devices maybe schools should focus on technology that is versatile, good value and will stand the test of time. I asked two experts, Ty Goddard and Emma Darcy, for their views. Ty Goddard is co-founder of The Education oundation and Chair of Edtech UK. Autumn 018 saw him travelling round the UK in a amper van withMark Anderson, aka


c 2 F


3 8 www .education-today.co.uk.co.uk


@ICTevangelist, to launch EdTech50, a contest to find the top 50 schools using education technology to make the greatest difference to pupils, staff and parents. They visited all four nations meeting school leaders, hosting


roundtable debates and gathering perspectives from students and teachers.


The experience was positive. At Ysgol Gyfu n Gymraeg Bro Edern near Cardiff, the onlyWelsh- medium one to one iPad school, the pair were delighted to discover that staff had created hundreds ofWelsh language education resources to bring together technology and the curriculum. At Seaview School in Northern Ireland, winner of the 2018 Tes Schools Award for innovative use of technology to influence outcomes., they saw creative teaching and learning where pupils became scriptwriters, videographers and reporters using apps to create news reports on natural disasters a s part of geography an d science lessons.


Ty approved: 'You can go for a really thoughtful approach to technology, using software that is often free, or even designed and sold by teachers themselves,' he said,' or you can go for the gizmos with lots of shiny toys.' Some of the ver y best technology in fact


Marc h 2019 2019


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