Monthly Archives: April 2013

Apple, Edinburgh, Impact on learning, Teacher

Sciennes PS: Anytime anywhere learning and enhanced social dynamic

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Sciennes PS: Anytime anywhere learning
Always with the learner, always on...

Wendy French is one of the class teachers who has been leading the 1:1 pilot at Sciennes PS. We asked her where she thought she was seeing the greatest impact on learning as a result of the experience that she and the children in her class were having with their device pilot. Mrs French felt that she was seeing heightened levels of confidence in the children in terms of their willingness to be more creative and in so doing showcase their individuality when it came to using a range of apps that allowed them to record and edit video and audio etc. She also thought that she was seeing enhanced peer interactions as a result of her learners having access to their own devices and she described how their willingness to independently support each other has become a feature of the class dynamic. Mrs French felt that one of the greatest benefits of the 1:1 experience was that the children no longer had to wait for their weekly allotted time at the ICT suite. Now that they have access to what she calls ‘this versatile tool’ her learners are getting much deeper into learning tasks due to the fact that they can spend much more time on them. Having the technology at their fingertips means that in-depth working with digital tools has become integral to their everyday learning experience.

Sciennes PS: Anytime anywhere learning Interview 1 with Mrs French

Mrs French also commented on  the development of a stronger social learning bond between learners and that a culture of sharing learning is thriving now that the devices are part of the everyday fabric of learning in her classroom.

Sciennes PS: Social dynamic Interview 2 with Mrs French

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, Edinburgh, Impact on learning, Parental

Sciennes PS: Initial parental perspectives

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Parents convinced learning is happening

Relationships with the parents and carers is a priority at Sciennes PS. The school is committed to ensuring that information is communicated effectively with parents and that parental feedback is taken on board and considered.

In relation to the parental response to the iPad pilot at Sciennes PS, Lucy Gallagher (depute headteacher) believes that it has been an incredibly favourable one. The only issue that she feels there has been was that some parents had a concern about, or questioned, whether the iPad was a learning device. Mrs Gallagher feels that this initial question has been addressed through the way in which the iPad is now used by the children to access their learning at home, so that the wider life of learning, more than just homework, has increased visibility to parents and carers. This perception seems to be echoed by many of the pupils who believe that their parents/carers are now much more involved and engaged with their learning. This is because their parents/carers can now see more of what what they have been doing and as a result are even keener to get involved.

Sciennes PS: parental views Mrs Gallagher discusses initial parental perceptions of the pilot

Mrs Gallagher described this increased level of  learner-parent engagement as a joyful experience.

Apple, Device workflow, Edinburgh

Sciennes PS: Workflow and the iPad

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Sciennes PS: Parents convinced learning is happening
Effective workflow models still a challenge

Over the course of our visits to schools involved in device pilots one of the issues that is always raised with iPads is that of workflow. There have been concerns expressed from colleagues in local authorities about this device’s ability to work effectively with Glow with the result that schools have attempted to make  provision to enable workflow to happen more effectively. An inability  to easily transfer documents and other materials from the iPad to the storage areas in Glow has been the biggest issue that has arisen in this regard.

Wendy French (class teacher) at Sciennes PS talked with us about the challenges that she faced with workflow in the early stages of the device pilot that they were undertaking in her school. Early attempts involved emailing work to and fro and then moved towards using Dropbox as the means of sharing work. This, however, proved unsustainable and it was felt that in order to access learners’ work and give formative feedback the email and Dropbox solutions were not quite good enough. Mrs French finally came across a proprietary app called ebackpack which they are now using in Sciennes PS. She feels that this is now meeting her needs much  better, but she notes that it was a paid for app. What she wants to see is for the workflow between IOS devices and Glow (as it evolves) to be much easier and slicker than it currently is so that there would be no need to purchase an app to manage workflow.

Sciennes PS: workflow Mrs French discusses workflow on the iPad

We also spoke to the pupils about workflow. Interestingly enough, they were not so concerned with what was used or where any material might be stored, but they were keen to state what a difference it made to be able to access their work at any time! One pupil commented on this change in access to their school work

…before we couldn’t take out jotters home, even if we wanted to carry on with our work we couldn’t but this is with us seven days a week!

Sciennes_kids_workflow Pupils’ perspective on workflow with the iPad

1:1 deployment, Apple, Edinburgh, Impact on learning

Sciennes PS: Enhanced learning dialogue and self-directed learning

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Sciennes PS: Enhanced dialogue around the device
Enhanced dialogue around the device

Lucy Gallagher  (depute headteacher) at Sciennes PS in Edinburgh was keen to share with us her perceptions of the impact on learning of the iPad pilot that she was supporting in her school. She believed that what has been happening had surpassed her initial expectations and that this was down not to the device in itself but to the professional and informed integration of the devices by the two class teachers who were leading the classes involved. As a result of the procedures and processes put in place  Mrs Gallagher said that there is now much more emphasis on talking about learning between learners, teachers and parents. She argued that, because of the way devices enable access for learners to their school work, parents are much more aware of the wider school learning experience, as opposed to just seeing homework.

Sciennes PS: Enhanced Learning Dialogue Mrs Gallagher talks about enhanced learning dialogue

Mrs Gallagher also commented on what she saw as a change in the learning culture in the classrooms where the devices were being used in relation to the development of a dynamic that encourages the learner to be the main active agent when choosing which app to use when. She  discussed the ways in which the teachers involved  may have had different approaches in the early stages of the pilot in relation to how they introduced apps: one teacher retained more control of what was explored by giving direction to learners while the other was more comfortable being a little less prescriptive and giving learners the freedom and autonomy to explore the device. Even though there might have been differences in approach, Mrs Gallagher has observed that both classrooms now have learners who thrive in a learning culture that actively encourages personalisation and choice of how to address learning tasks and to direct their own learning.

Sciennes PS: Self Directed Learning Mrs Gallagher talks about self-directed learning

1:1 deployment, Apple, Impact on learning, Independent Schools, Inverclyde, Strategic vision, Teacher

Cedars School of Excellence: 1:1 iPad overview

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1:1 iPads across the school

Cedars School of Excellence in Greenock is an independent school catering for children ages from 5 to 17 years. In 2009 they were inspired by the announcement of Apple’s new iPad that would lead them to become the first school to offer 1:1 iPad provision for learners and staff. Since that time they have been working to integrate the use of this technology in to the fabric of learning in their school. We visited them in October 2012 to find out what their experience with their 1:1 approach had been.

We met with Mrs Speirs (headteacher) who explained the context for the decision to go with the 1:1 iPad provision. She told us that a few years back the school was looking to move the technological experience of their pupils on a bit further from where they were. The school’s vision at the time was to increase learner access to tools that would allow them to have more access to the internet and to word processing.

The school had looked at a range of devices, but just as they were in the process of evaluating which device to go with the iPad came out, and so they made the decision that this would be the one for them. The school’s website tells this story in greater detail.

cedars_aspeirsimpact Interview with Mrs Speirs (headteacher)

Mrs Speirs thinks that that the decision has been a very good one for her learners and that the 1:1 approach fits very well with the school’s educational ethos, which is all about individualised learning. She thinks that she has seen the greatest impact on the engagement with learning by the boys in her school and that the functionality and flexibility that the tool offers has led to greater depth and detail in the feedback that her teachers now offer.

1:1 deployment, App purchase and management, Apple, Device management, Independent Schools

Cedars School of Excellence: Managing and deploying apps to iPads

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Cedars School of Excellence in Greenock is an independent school catering for children ages from 5 to 17 years. In 2009 they were inspired by the announcement of the Apple’s new iPad that would lead them to become the first school to offer 1:1 iPad provision for learners and staff. Since that time they have been working to integrate the use of this technology into the fabric of learning in their school. We visited them in October 2012 to find out what their experience with their 1:1 approach had been.

We met with Fraser Speirs (computing teacher), who has been responsible for the planning and management of the school’s iPad deployment. We asked him about the challenges there might be with managing apps to over 100 iPads in his school and he explained that there had been issues with this aspect of their iPad initiative but with the advent of Apple’s volume purchase and configurator tools that this had now become a much easier and smoother process.

Cedars School: Managing apps Interview with Fraser Speirs about managing apps

Fraser was accompanied by Andrew Jewell to explain the use of their syncstations to help manage the apps on their iPads. They also discussed practicalities such as charging the iPads and explained that this was the responsibility of the learners at Cedars School of Excellence with an expectation that they came to school with their device charged and ready for the day.

cedars_syncstation Interview with Fraser Speirs and Andrew Jewell about the process of syncing the devices (apologies for slight interference in this recording)


1:1 deployment, Edinburgh, Pilot overview, Trusting learners

Sciennes PS: iPad pilot overview and the need to trust learners

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Sciennes PS, Edinburgh

Sciennes PS in Edinburgh has a long history of engagement with handheld digital technologies. Over the years they have trialled a variety of devices such as Palmtops, uMPCs, PDAs, laptops and now that they are using iPads they have quite a good deal of experience to help them implement as effective a pilot as possible.

Lucy Gallagher (depute headteacher) at Sciennes PS has been instrumental in managing and establishing the vision for the iPad pilot at the school. Like so many teachers in schools across Scotland, Lucy is someone who has been actively involved in working with technologies to ensure that they are used to best effect to help ensure that there is a positive impact on learning and teaching.

Mrs Gallagher gave us an overview of the pilot at Sciennes PS, a pilot that has 1:1 deployment across three stages. This pilot also allows the learners to take the device home so that it is an always-available learning tool. Listen to our interview with Mrs Gallagher:

Sciennes_LG_overview Interview 1 with Mrs Gallagher

Many of the schools we have visited have also decided to let the learners take home the device that they have access to as part of the pilots that are happening. This decision has been one that has come about as part of in-depth discussions about safety of the devices, integrity of the pilot and misuse outside of the school environment; however, this deficit view is not one that Sciennes PS decided to subscribe to. They wanted to trust in their pupils and their families and to ensure that the device could play as full a part as possible in enhancing learning both in and out of school.

Listen to Mrs Gallagher discuss the initial reservations that the school had and how their subsequent decision to allow the devices to go home was the correct one for them with any concerns about misuse etc not being realised:

Sciennes PS: Trusting learners Interview 2 with Mrs Gallagher

Apple, Learner, West Dunbartonshire

Dalreoch PS: The learner perspective

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What do learners think?

Dalreoch PS pupils had already had some experience of sharing their learning about working with iPads from a presentation that they gave at the Scottish Learning Festival 2012. Our interview with them on the day proved to be very interesting and so did our follow up discussion when we visited the school.

Interviews with learners about their perspectives and feelings about how technology is used to help them learn are always very interesting and this one proved no exception. The discussion began with a question about what those outwith the school might make of iPads being used in classrooms and how it might be thought that this would get in the way of traditional school experiences such as reading, writing and arithmetic. The response from the children was one that challenged that view and that would require one to look at this context with a more contemporary eye. Responses included:

… it’s a wee bit better than just the teacher talking to you and writing stuff in your jotter.

and

… some people might like the old-fashioned teacher with jotters and everything but … it’s kind of old really.

Many of our discussions with learners across Scotland about this topic have elicited similar responses. This gives us some food for thought in relation to how our learners view the digital contexts in which they learn in schools. What was also interesting was that not only was this point made, but the children also commented on how they felt that using such devices makes it easier for them to lock in to learning when in school. They also made reference to the methodology that was being employed by the school when they talked openly of being given a choice of which apps to use when responding to tasks in inter-disciplinary projects.

Dalreoch PS: Pupil perspective Interview with pupils at Dalreoch PS

The young people that we spoke to at Dalreoch PS gave a resounding ‘yes’ when asked if the device pilot had been a positive experience for them.

1:1 deployment, Apple, Impact on learning, Independent Schools, Teacher

Cedars School of Excellence: Impact on Learning

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iPads part of the everyday life of learning at Cedars

Cedars School of Excellence in Greenock is an independent school catering for children ages from 5 to 17 years. In 2009 they were inspired by the announcement of the Apple’s new iPad that would lead them to become the first school to offer 1:1 iPad provision for learners and staff. Since that time they have been working to integrate the use of this technology into the fabric of learning in their school. We visited them in October 2012 to find out what their experience with their 1:1 approach had been.

We met with Fraser Speirs (computing teacher) and Andrew Jewell (class teacher) to ask them what they had seen in terms of impact on learning as a result of their iPad initiative. Mr Speirs felt that that one of the biggest benefits with subsequent impact on learning was that life in school was very much like life outside of school in terms of their learners being able to access and use digital technology without having to make any adjustments or compromises. He also explained that much of the teaching in the school had been realigned in keeping with what the school felt was a  change of emphasis on what was really important, an emphasis informed and influenced by access to tablet devices, always on access to the web and the range of apps that are now available. One example of this was that there was now less of a focus  on tasks such as Word Processing with greater emphasis being place on developing a delivering effective presentations that communicated a message that was beyond text.

cedars_fspeirsimpact Listen to Fraser Speirs talk about impact on learning