Post date: Jun 24, 2015 8:54:47 AM
I have to remind myself that the pilot began in April and it's only June, so much has happened since then. Asking Head Teachers for feedback at this time of year is a big ask so huge thanks to Kip for her feedback. I guess when I hear nothing from teachers I shouldn't worry because if things were going wrong, we would hear. These words below sum up brilliantly just how well things are going.
A few thoughts about the Chromebook initiative
It is a cliché to talk about preparing children for an unknown future, to face problems we can’t even dream of, but the ‘education fit for an industrial age’ is done and we need to move on because our children have. We live in a digital age, where technologies are evolving daily and our children live in a world where they are immersed in data. I recently asked children to list all the different forms of communication they could think of, they listed 65. Their list included various forms of social media as well as music platforms, and if you consider it, in their creative world this is a form of communication. Media and the communication of ideas are fluid and flexible; children are naturally choosing the best forms suited to their purpose. The curriculum we have will support our children if they have access to the right tools, but it is not a level playing field, some of our children are unable to enter this ‘brave new world’ because they don’t have equal access.
Children who are socially deprived, who have poor quality technology at home, not enough bandwidth, or simply don’t have adults at home who have the technological skills are disadvantaged. Children who have sporadic attendance at school due to their parents seasonal work patterns also lose out. At Alvie we have quite a few families who work in the hospitality/tourist industry, as well as crofting and estate workers. These children are sometimes taken out of school for holidays because their parent’s main source of income comes from tourism. Others may be absent during lambing time. All are disadvantaged because they have to catch up with learning experiences they have missed or are not prepared for.
In the most recent HMIe Inspection Advice Notice it states:
‘The curriculum is designed to raise standards of attainment and achievement, advance equality of opportunity, reduce disadvantage and meet the needs of all learners including those with additional support needs. It aims to raise attainment for all, and to close the gap in attainment between the most and least advantaged children and young people.’
The Chromebook initiative goes someway to addressing issues of entitlement and social equality, simply because it gives children the opportunity to have access to learning out-with school. It also provides opportunities for children to develop fluid digital skills, for our creative and ever changing communication rich environment. They ‘learn how to learn,’ through skills they have developed in class, using appropriate platforms for learning that they have discovered in school.
Children with additional support needs, who have barriers to learning because of rigid ‘pen and paper’ lessons discover new talents and the freedom of self-expression. Learning experiences become less fraught because they are presented using a media which is more natural to our ‘digital natives.’
Mark Prensky, keynote speaker SETT 2006 says:
‘In Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants: Part I, I discussed how the differences between our Digital Native students and their Digital Immigrant teachers lie at the root of a great many of today’s educational problems. I suggested that Digital Natives’ brains are likely physically different as a result of the digital input they received growing up. And I submitted that learning via digital games is one good way to reach Digital Natives in their ―native language.‖’
We have noticed that some of our disengaged children light up when using the Chromebooks because they feel empowered using ‘their’ language. We recently had a child with ASN present his personal project (homework) using Adobe Voice. This work was of a much higher standard than he could ever have produced using pen/paper. It represented a deeper level of thinking and understanding, which he might have conveyed verbally, but could now present using rich multi- modal technology. He took responsibility for his learning using tools he was confident with.
If we are to try to close the gap and raise attainment, we have to empower our learners by developing the skills they need to become life-long learners, enabling them to contribute to ‘their’ world in a way the world now expects, using the international language of technology.
Kip Clark, Head Teacher - Alvie Primary School