VIEWS & OPINION


New year, new tech, same issues


Comment by MARK BENTLEY, London Grid for Learning


As each new school year begins it seems that a new wave of apps, games and social media enter the classroom. With technology moving at such a rapid rate teachers can’t be blamed for


finding it difficult to keep up. It may be tempting to ignore emerging technologies and simply pass them off as another fad soon to be replaced by the latest tech. However with so many of our young people online and problems such as sexting and online bullying on the rise, it is important for those who work with young people to have at least a basic awareness of the technology our children are using and the risks attached.


To help make this a little simpler, here are some of the top trends we can expect to see in the classroom this year:


1. Gone are the days when Facebook was a one-stop social media shop. Many of us have just about got to grips with twitter, Instagram and snapchat, but how many of us have used Yik Yak? For the uninitiated, Yik Yak allows people to pseudo-anonymously create and view discussion threads within a 5-mile radius whilst other apps such as Yo let users send the message Yo with information and contact details attached.


For teenagers, the draw of these apps is that they allow the user to remain anonymous. The obvious downside of this is that anonymity makes abuse far easier.


2. I’m sure by now the majority of teachers have witnessed Pokémon Go. This augmented reality game allows users to take to the streets in a quest to track down and capture Pokémon. Like many games Pokémon Go is played online and allows users to battle other players. Despite only being launched this summer, the game already has more users than Twitter.


Although not a new technology, there has been a rise in the number of online games available that can be played on a mobile phone. With many commercial businesses also exploring virtual and augmented reality it’s likely that AR/VR is something we’re going to see more of in children’s games and technology.


3. Shopping online is hardly new, however it is something many young people will be newly participating in. Ofcom’s 2015 Communications Market Report found that a third (33%) of internet users now see their Smartphone as the most important device for going online, compared to 30% who prefer to stick with a laptop.


New technologies such as Apple Pay also mean that we now store huge amounts of personal data on our phones, easily accessible to anyone able to hack into our devices. Teaching children to be responsible with their personal details and to know how to keep personal information private is essential.


4. Few issues illustrate the generational digital divide better than sexting. Adults may be prone to declare sexting an anomaly of the digital generation, however evidence would suggest this is not the case.


This doesn’t mean that the risks associated with sharing intimate pictures are mere scaremongering. Teenagers need to understand that even pictures sent over services which claim to delete images, cannot be relied upon not to save information, nor are they completely safe from being hacked.


While technology can be intimidating to many of us, it’s important that


teachers have a basic awareness of what young people are doing online. It’s important to remember that for many young people, the concepts of ‘online’ and ‘offline’ no longer exist. Technology is a part of their everyday lives and all safeguarding must take this into account.


October 2016


More school trips for PE teachers will help their continuous


professional learning Comment by JOHN BENTLEY, chief executive officer of Inspiring Learning


Teacher retention is a hot topic at the moment – and applies to PE teachers just as much as the more widely publicised shortages of maths and science specialists. According to the National Audit office, Whitehall’s independent spending watchdog, the number of teachers leaving the profession has increased by 11% over three years as the government


continues to fall short of recruitment targets. The proportion of those who chose to leave the profession ahead of retirement has also increased from 64% to 75%. So what can schools do to retain their precious PE staff - typically


working 39 weeks a year, usually from 9am to 3.30pm, while organising matches and practice sessions during lunchtimes, after school and sometimes also on Saturday mornings? On top of that, PE staff are typically required to prepare lessons


and teaching materials for classes of different ages and abilities, adapt lessons so everyone can take part, manage class behaviour, arrange matches with other schools and colleges, make sure students stay safe, set and mark homework and assignments and prepare for examinations. In addition to this they are required to attend meetings and training, talk to parents and carers about each student’s progress and attend general school events such as open days and social activities. This all takes huge amounts of enthusiasm, good organisation


and time management abilities, excellent communication skills, patience and a sense of humour! PE makes a significant contribution to pupils’ personal well-being, development and enjoyment of school, but continuously finding ways to motivate students to move can be a challenge, as can teaching very large classes. PE teachers also need to keep up with new techniques and practices which are developmentally and instructionally appropriate. On top of all that, PE teachers have to get across the important life lesson that winning isn’t everything and losing can often be a learning experience. I personally believe that a good way to help engage and support


the continuous professional learning (CPL) of PE staff is to support their participation and leadership of school trips. Far from the jolly that their colleagues in the staffroom might


imagine, developmental sports trips (and that includes skiing), are just as useful for teachers as they are for the students in terms of learning opportunities. The benefits to young people – development of leadership and team-working skills, perseverance, resilience and grit, confidence and optimism, motivation, drive and ambition – are also applicable to staff. In addition, well-designed trips allow teachers to refresh their working relationships with pupils, get new ideas, and benefit from seeing the tools and tactics used by the expert full time coaches running the training sessions on a development tour. Everything they learn can be taken back to school and used for


the rest of the year. Ideas gained are easily transferable, so that teaching tactics on the ski slope will also work on the football field. This CPL aspect is invaluable in helping PE teachers come in from the sports fields and progress to senior management positions within their schools.


www.education-today.co.uk 15


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