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.