If every student had a laptop......

[tmcd35]

I think it is dangerous to generalise, some of the older teachers that I have dealt with are not massivly technologicly skilled but very eager to learn, I've also dealt with some that could not be bothered to learn how to use a power switch. Same thing with younger teachers,

 

sorry, not meaning to generalise - more relating the experience of dealing with our staff here and the general impression formed based on that experience of showing staff the wonders of tablet computing.

 

I think the modern curriculum and examinations are designed in away that is very anti individual learning and teacher creativity. Younger teachers have grown up in this environment. It's all about league tables, schemes of work and teaching to the exam - very sad

[localzuk]

I was thinking about the concept of introducing devices to every child and BYOD today and realised that the same problem that has afflicted the banking and business world has affected education too (or should that be infected?).

 

Namely - short-termism. Everyone is obsessed with improving results *today* and see technology as a way to show they are doing something. What they're failing to do is the hard bit - actually improving education.

[GrumbleDook]

I was thinking about the concept of introducing devices to every child and BYOD today and realised that the same problem that has afflicted the banking and business world has affected education too (or should that be infected?).

 

Namely - short-termism. Everyone is obsessed with improving results *today* and see technology as a way to show they are doing something. What they're failing to do is the hard bit - actually improving education.

 

Which is why I keep pushing to think back to when similar (or the exact same) has been tried before.

 

To be honest, any big change of how you deliver education will make a difference when done across the whole school and well planned. This will range from the Cramlington Learning village style of lots of resources to allow for independent learning, those going for the Khan Academy approach for flipped learning, those going over to IBacc, those working on 1 to 1 offerings (laptop or tablet/slate) ... going to thematic learning at KS3 (not having discrete subjects but a mix and match forcing skills and concepts to be transferred between subjects) ... they can all improve the education of children when planned right and delivered as part of a long term approach.

 

There is no magic bullet ... but lots of ways of putting the targets in line to use less ammo.