At the time we visited Mr Fleming’s S6 class he was in the process of teaching them about the past three Prime Ministers of the UK. The Android tablets had been booked out for this lesson and they were being used to access the relevant pages of a website their teacher had created.

We interrupted Mathew and Helena to get their initial perspectives on what having access to the Android tablets meant for them. Mathew felt that:

• it was great to have a device that let you immediately access current information and not just have access to a textbook that might be out of date
• the touch screen and the immediacy of the tablet device was really appealing and that this was much better than the access to computers was before the pilot.
  

Mathew acknowledged that the pilot was still in its early days and that they had been mostly been using the browser up until now. He was aware that there were subject-specific apps that could be used to support his learning but he felt that the school’s start with the pilot was a good one. Interestingly, Mathew was of the opinion that in school he still preferred using paper and pencil to help him learn to the digital surfaces and tools that were becoming more and more prevalent!

Mearns Academy: S.6 Mathew Interview with Mathew from S.6 at Mearns Academy

Helena was also happy to be involved with the pilot and she felt that having access to such a flexible tool and not being stuck at a desktop was a good experience as a learner.

She too acknowledged that the pilot was in its early stages but she looked forward to having access to a device where she could save her own stuff and have all her material in the one digital place.

Mearns Academy: S6 Helena Interview with Helena from S.6 at Mearns Academy.