VIEWS From the pen of… AL KINGSLEY Choose your EdTech wisely!


In our regular series highlighting authors in education, we hear this month from AL KINGSLEY, internationally acclaimed expert on all things edtech, and author of My #Secret Edtech Diary.


So, you've been asked to work with technology you don't know how to use, but you don't have time to learn how to use it. Sound familiar? A lack of knowledge about a tool can result in feeling intimidated by it; a lack of confidence jeopardises any potential improvement. It's a vicious circle, that's for sure.


In our schools, this has often been the case with classroom technology – that is, until the pandemic hit and edtech became the go-to solution (or the only solution) to help deliver teaching and learning. At that point, schools and educators across the world were in it together, with many learning the basics of new solutions, supporting each other and sharing their experiences on social media. Suddenly, it was OK to not be slick or perfect with tech tools and everyone accepted this would be the case due to the unique circumstances.


Schools, teachers and students learned much from the ups and downs of remote learning – and that was put into practice from one lockdown to the next. This was tangible tech-related progress and even came with the realisation that some pandemic edtech 'stop-gaps' were actually better systems than before (online parents' evenings is just one example).


Could the pandemic, despite all its terrible outcomes, be a catalyst for schools to continue with greater edtech use in the future? I like to think so. Now is the time to turn our attention to the bigger picture and see its potential in redefining education as a whole, so we can better prepare our students for their lives and careers in the tech-led world ahead.


To help build on this progress, breaking down the fear of the unknown is key. Putting edtech into context – explaining where it has come from and where it is going – is all part of making it just another tool we use. And it's really not as complicated as people may think. Much of what we consider to be revolutionary and innovative is actually evolutionary, building on the core technical skills that have been in education for decades.


What is important though, is that schools choose their solutions carefully. Research is crucial, as not all software products live up to the marketing-speak on their vendors' brochures or websites. This is where schools need to get stuck into research: checking out case studies and testimonials from others, uncovering evidence of impact from independent organisations and asking searching questions to determine whether a solution will suit their context.


If we truly want to transform education for the future, we need to continue to ride the current wave of increased edtech use. One of the reasons I wrote this book is to crush the fear and make edtech accessible to everyone. If it helps just one school to clarify its position, as well as introduce new topics and ideas to get the cogs whirring on how to transform its practical application of edtech, then it's mission accomplished!


My #Secret Edtech Diary is published by John Catt Educational Ltd and is available now.


September 2021 BRITISH EDUCATIONAL SUPPLIERS ASSOCIATION (BESA)


New research hints at continued investment in EdTech


In her regular column for Education Today this month, JULIA GARVEY, Deputy Director General at school suppliers’ association BESA, casts her eye over the coming school year and sees hopeful signs of continued investment in EdTech.


What’s your greatest wish as we move into this new school year? I’m willing to guess it involves one or, all of, the following: no return to school closures and home schooling; that exams will take place as normal next summer; that school budgets will be increased. The issue of school budgets is a perennial challenge. Getting the right


funding to spend in the areas that matter most to your school, is an ongoing problem. For many years schools have struggled to invest in IT infrastructure, devices and training; a shortcoming that was dramatically highlighted when pupils were required to move to remote learning at short notice last year. As we move out of the pandemic and schools begin to operate more as


they did before, we could be forgiven for thinking the focus has moved away from the digital device debate, but BESA’s latest research report* published this month has unearthed some interesting findings regarding the future EdTech spending plans of the schools surveyed. Two thirds of the schools who took part in our research reported a


positive shift in their spending towards upgrading their EdTech investments, with this spending to be focused mainly on digital devices and online curriculum content. Spending on computing devices in secondary schools is estimated to have expanded by over half in 2019/20, and spending is expected to continue rising into 2021/22. Primary schools also outlined the need for increased levels of teacher training in the effective use of digital content. Let’s digest that for a minute. Schools are planning to continue to spend


as much, if not more, on digital devices in the next academic year. Why? Unpicking the figures, it is clear that schools have benefiting hugely from


the provision of free laptops over the last 12 months. However, in most cases schools did not receive the full allocation of machines they had requested, with many being allocated only a tiny fraction of the devices they requested. Secondly the increasing demands placed upon their existing devices led


schools to quickly identify which laptops were in fact too old, or too low spec, to function effectively, and the number of machines being retired increased by 14% year on year. Finally, and most significantly for this academic year, secondary schools


in particular have reported an increase in the use of pupil devices for homework (up 42% on 2020) with many schools saying they do not intend to go back to pre-pandemic methods of working. The other growth area across both primary and secondary is in the


provision of online learning solutions and curriculum content. We discussed in this column previously how BESA member companies had provided over £30m of digital products and services for free during the first lockdown period. One area that has not changed as much as we would have liked is


prevalence of Wi-Fi and broadband issues that remain an issue of concern for many primary schools. If you are experiencing difficulties getting a good connection into classrooms, you are not alone. So as we move forward into the Autumn term what conclusions can be


drawn from this new research? Mainly that it took a pandemic to jumpstart the transition to digital learning, but now the move has been made, it looks like the change will become permanent, at least in secondary schools. We just hope that school budgets can be adjusted to provide the ongoing investment needed to support this digital transformation.


*ICT in UK Maintained Schools, published by BESA in September 2021. Based on research conducted in June 2021, using responses from a representative sample of 1304 schools. julia@besa.org.uk www.besa.org.uk


www.education-today.co.uk 13


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52