If you collected all the iPads languishing unused in school cupboards, I wonder how many Olympic swimming pools they would fill.
I think that’s the recognised unit of waste.
Maybe it’s double decker buses. I forget.
I’m sure we’d be shocked by the number. Shocked but perhaps not surprised.
Schools don’t have a great record of making the best use of technology. We rush to invest in the latest device, blinded by the shiny surfaces and the twinkling lights.
We are so excited by the ‘potential’ that we rarely stop to analyse the ‘need’.
Add to that the fact that we don’t invest enough time to train staff - the devices are never quite as intuitive as a highly experienced user can make them look - and you can see why so much educational technology is under-used.
Just as we would in an analogue world, we have to be very clear about our learning objectives at the beginning of any project. Technology is just a tool to help us to achieve our aims. We mustn’t start with the technology.
Indeed, I can think of instances when technology would be positively unhelpful. A tech-rich classroom isn’t necessarily a better one.
I think the trick is not to focus on the hardware.
We have a 1:1 BYOD policy at our school. It works really well. Pupils use a range of devices from super-expensive Macbooks to £120 Chromebooks. They are all able to access the work we want them to do.
It does mean we have to make sure that all the tools we use are multi-platform and generally web-based. We also try to make sure they are free to use.
The great news is that there are hundreds of amazing apps out there that meet those criteria.
We’ve spent a good deal of time creating a collection of the ones we like the best.
And, to save you some of that time, I offer you my Periodic Table of Apps.
Like the real periodic table, it will develop as we discover new elements. And like the real thing, many of the elements become more interesting when you combine them.
I hope you find it useful. Do, please, share with me any that you think I’ve missed.
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