Impact on learning | 1to1 blog

Learners at Dalreoch PS — Engaged and on task

During our time at Dalreoch PS we spoke with some of the teachers to get their perspective on the device pilot that they were part of. One of those teachers, Mrs Grafton, talked to us about having been involved in many ICT initiatives over the years and that this one was one of the very first that had made her feel excited and confident about really being able to use the technology to impact on learning. Having been someone who she confessed struggled to use email and who immediately thought that getting an iPad was a ‘scary idea’ she now talks about how easy it is to use, how she feels she can’t break it or spoil the work that she does with it and that she feels that she is good at it!

She also talked of how she sees the device pilot as beneficial to learning and teaching and how the versatility of having a portable and instant-on device readily available can support and enhance what she calls immediate learning opportunities. The ability to record learning via a camera, video camera or through audio is of great appeal to learners she argues. Other benefits that she saw included:

the wait for the visit to the ICT suite is now gone and with this comes increased opportunity for learning with technology to be embedded across learning, as part of the general learning process
bringing technologies that have appeal for learners and that they use at home into the learning process in school can help enhance attitudes to learning.

Mrs Grafton finished her interview by talking about seeing increasing confidence and engagement growing in the children at Dalreoch PS as a result of the device pilot – one which she describes as a very positive experience. You can hear her interview below:

dalreoch_teacherperspective Interview with Mrs Grafton from Dalreoch PS

dalreoch3feature — Focus on learning at Dalreoch PS

In our discussions with Sat Bance (headteacher) at Dalreoch PS in West Dunbartonshire we asked him what he perceived to be the impact on learning of the iPad pilot in his school. We were fully appreciative that the pilot had not been happening for too long, however, we were keen to hear about what he was seeing in the classrooms where the devices were being used.

Mr Bance commented that he believed that with the advent of the devices in his school he was seeing greater opportunity for the learners to engage with ICTs in a much more creative way than they possibly could have in the past. He also referred to the ways in which the device became a shared source/tool to enable collaborative group working to take place more readily and effectively, but what he thought was particularly powerful was the way in which learners could now make informed decisions about how to respond to tasks in a way that they, and not the teacher, decided. He gave the example of his P7 children being given a task where they were given the freedom to respond whatever means/app/resource they felt best suited their response. This led to a degree of personalisation of learning as a result of a task being set, but with the response mechanism being left open to learner choice. Mr Bance suggested that the technology and the way it was being used was leading to a change in the learning culture of the school; one which was offering greater personalisation and choice for the learner.

We asked Mr Bance if he had any concerns that teachers might be seduced by the highly professional finish that many apps (such as iMovie trailers) automatically offer the user to the extent that it may mask what might not be particularly strong learning, in effect dumbing down the learning. He was keen to express an awareness of this but to highlight that in his school they were equally concerned with the processes of learning that are being nurtured and grown in his school as they were with any finished article that learners may make.

Dalreoch PS, impact on learning Sat Bance talks about impact on learning

Dalreoch PS: The teachers’ perspective

Dalreoch PS: Do these devices have an impact on learning?