Two effects of new technology

Here are a couple of interesting cartoon strips about the (possible) effects of new technology. Yesterday’s one is more about unintended consequences, while today’s is really about how apparently intelligent software and monitoring systems might be fooled.

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P is for … Paperless

For as long as I can recall, people have been hankering after that happy state of affairs where paper is notable only by its absence. Have we reached that stage yet, or is it, at least, in sight?

The reason I ask is that a couple of schools I visited recently have made a good attempt to go paperless.

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E is for… Equality

Equality is a big issue in education, especially in connection with technology. For example, we are used to hearing phrases like “the digital divide”. But what does “equality” mean in this context – or, more pertinent perhaps, what should it mean?

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BYOD Case Study: Sheffield High School

Sheffield High School makes for an interesting case study in that it has not yet actually implemented a BYOD programme. The groundwork has been laid, with the school working with its parent organisation, the Girls Day School Trust, to ensure that its networking infrastructure is robust enough to support the intended developments.

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BYOD Case Study: Wildern School

Wildern School has partially implemented Bring Your Own Device, or BYOD. Students may bring their own devices in as long as the teacher and head of department concerned have agreed that phones and other devices would be useful in a particular lesson.

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BYOD Case Study: Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital

The unique challenge for the Children's Hospital School is balancing the need and desire to enable all long stay students to be able to access their own device with the need for security. Although this challenge is faced by other schools, the uniqueness in this case stems from the fact that 80% of the student population changes very frequently, so the school has little idea what devices students will be bringing.

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BYOD Case Study: The Arnewood School Academy

What are the potential benefits and challenges of introducing a Bring Your Own Device policy into a secondary (high) school? In this, our latest case study, we look at the experience of The Arnewood School Academy in England.

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iPads, tablets and learning

I’ve seen a lot of great practice with iPads and other tablets in schools. The students are engaged in what they’re doing, teachers are excited by the learning taking place, and there’s a good, collaborative atmosphere.

So why do I have the feeling that there is something – a quite fundamental “something” – missing?

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BYOD Case Study: St Crispin’s School

St Crispin’s School is a slightly larger-than-average secondary school serving the town of Wokingham, England. An 11-18 school, it has 1102 students. The number of students with special education needs is about average, whilst the proportion of students from ethnic minority backgrounds is below average. Relatively few students are eligible for free school meals.

St Crispin’s was attracted to the idea of BYOD because, as Mike Elward, Assistant Head/Director of e-learning says

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BYOD Case Study: Les Quennevais School

Why did Les Quennevais School, in Jersey, pilot a Bring Your Own Device programme, what challenges have emerged, and how do students use their devices?

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Responsible Use

The general thrust of education these days is on student-centred learning. This is often expressed by depicting on the teacher’s role as being the guide on the side rather than the sage on the stage. Regardless of whether you agree that that’s how things should be (and as it happens I don’t: see Please! No More Mantras!), the often-stated philosophy these days is that students know best.

But does stating that philosophy mean that it is observed in practice?

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BYOD Case Study: George Spencer Academy

George Spencer Academy is a mixed secondary school in Nottingham, England, with 1350 students aged 11-18. Although it is located in a large town, it has only a small proportion of students who are eligible for free school meals.

The school decided to go down the BYOD road in order to be able to explore the potential of personal devices without incurring costs of purchase, training or technical support. The idea also fits very well with the school’s vision, which is concerned with giving a personalised learning experience to all students.

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