Category Archives: Sharing devices

Aberdeenshire, Android, Device management, Sharing devices, Teacher

Mearns Academy: Sharing and managing devices

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Mearns Academy: Learning tools
Sharing devices at Mearns Academy

We spoke with Stewart Fleming (class teacher) at Mearns Academy in Aberdeenshire about how teachers at the school planned to manage and share the devices that they had available to them in their Android pilot. Mr Fleming stressed that the school was still in the early stages of the pilot and that initially they had decided to focus mainly on using the browser as the means by which learning tools could be accessed. At the time we visited the school no concrete decision had been made about the ways in which the devices would be managed centrally in terms of accessing and installing apps, although they had been looking at Learnpad and Splashtop for this purpose. Mr Fleming was of the opinion that a shared and managed device scenario might make it a bit more challenging to address the personalisation and choice agenda but where he could accommodate this he would.

Mearns Academy: Sharing and managing devices Interview 1 with Mr Fleming

Mr Fleming stated that the principles for curriculum design for Curriculum for Excellence were such that it was important that the school explored different ways in which technology could play an integral part in the learning and teaching experience. He also discussed the importance of teachers and schools recognising the appeal that digital contexts have for learners and how methodologies can be adapted so that positive outcomes for learners can be maximised.

Mearns Academy: Embracing new tech and ideas Interview 2 with Mr Fleming

Aberdeenshire, Android, Pilot overview, Sharing devices

Mearns Academy: Android pilot overview

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Android devices at Mearns Academy

Mearns Academy in Laurencekirk in Aberdeenshire is currently trialling Toshiba Android tablet devices. We paid them a visit towards the end of 2012, not long after their pilot had begun, to see how things were starting out. The school had access to 29 devices and had decided to make them available to staff via a booking system. If a teacher wanted to use them then they would book them out in advance.

Mr Stewart from the Social Studies department was one of the teachers we spoke to about his early experiences of using the devices. He told us that they were being used by pupils mainly to access short video clips, for exam revision and for accessing research notes. He commented on how much better it was to have devices that were instant on in the classroom as opposed to having to access the computer suite.

At that time the school was not focusing on using apps that were available for the Android platform, but they had decided to use the browser to access the learning materials/resources that were recommended by the staff.

Mearns Academy: Mr Fleming gives an overview of the pilot Interview with Mr Fleming

The school was keen to have us back later in 2013 to see how progress was being made once the pilot had been given time to bed in and develop. Look out for further posts from Mearns Academy.

1:1 deployment, Apple, Edinburgh, Sharing devices

Sciennes PS: What’s best, 1:1 provision or sharing devices?

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Sciennes PS: Individual or shared?
A mix of individually owned and shared devices

Much of the discourse around the advent of tablet devices in schools has been focussed on developing models where 1:1 provision is seen as the aspiration. In the schools that we have visited so far we have seen models where devices are being shared and models where learners have access to their own individual devices. Irrespective of issues such as cost and sustainability we were keen to get the developing thinking of staff on how their access to devices, be they shared or enough for individual use, was impacting on learning and teaching.

Sciennes PS: Shared device or individual device Interview with Mrs Gallagher

Lucy Gallagher (depute headteacher) at Sciennes PS is a strong advocate for the 1:1 model. She argues that, although the context of the school, the readiness of the staff and the resources available all have to be taken into account, fundamentally her experiences have led her to believe that individual access to a device in 1:1 setting should be the aspiration for schools. Sciennes PS has some classes that have 1:1 provision and also classes that share a set of iPads and the shared experience is always one that does not quite match up to the always-on, always-connected experience of the learners and pupils that have 1:1 access. Mrs Gallagher did not feel that individual access meant that learners were isolated in their own learning as a result of having their own device, but that on the contrary there was increased collaboration, discussion and sharing in the classes where the learners had their own devices.

Apple, Pilot overview, Sharing devices, West Dunbartonshire

Dalreoch PS: Sharing a small number of iPads

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Focused use of devices at Dalreoch PS

Sat Bance is the headteacher at Dalreoch and is someone who has been very keen to ensure that ICTs  permeate the life of learning in his school and that they are not to be seen as an add-on or as a discrete subject. In our interviews with him he explained that he wanted to use the small resource that he had available to him in this pilot as effectively as possible. To do this he and his staff decided to employ a methodology that would see the iPads used in direct teaching contexts in relation to numeracy and literacy in the mornings, but then to be used more freely by the pupils in the afternoons when there was greater scope for inter-disciplinary learning. Mr Bance explained that he was very impressed with the way that the instant access to learning with a device such as an iPad meant that it saved much time otherwise wasted by movement to the traditional ICT suite and the process of logging on etc that comes with that. He felt that the devices were offering his learners a greater freedom to learn.

Mr Bance discussed the issues of sharing an iPad between learners and he argued that the way in which his school had designed and established a labelling system for the devices meant that there had not been any real issues in relation to sharing devices that did not allow them to logon with their own profiles and keep their materials separate and accessible only to them.

You can listen to Mr Bance’s overview on this audio recording:

Overview of the pilot at Dalreoch PS Interview with Sat Bance (HT)