1:1 iPads in two English schools

neil.ingram@bristol.ac.uk

All pupils are given iPads in two English schools

neil.ingram@bristol.ac.uk

what happens next…

Two English Schools

600 km apart

Two English Schools

600 km apart,with no contact

Two English Schools

• Both schools are 11-16 state-funded schools.

• Both schools give iPads to all of their students in September 2011.

• Both schools observe significant changes to teaching and learning.

• Both schools report IDENTICAL effects.

What do the schools observe?

• Improvements in student interest, independence, engagement, motivation, developing increased concentration, determination and resilience.

• They are developing engaged, creative, innovative learners.

Why is this happening?

• What is emerging is a new kind of learning community:

• consisting of students, teachers, parents and others,

• collaborating and supporting each other in the task of working independently.

What is taught

Place: school/home/virtual

ICTTime: directed/

non-directed:synchronous/asynchronous

AcquirersTransmitters

Code

Learningcommunity, friends, family

The pedagogic assemblage

How it is learned

Anywhere, any time ICT

weakens classification of what is taught

• Promote interdisciplinary work by weakening the tight boundaries between subjects

• Encourage students to explore their own learning contexts often real-world problems

• Encourage group activitieswith shared outcomes and competences

weakens framing of teaching and learning

• Encourage collaboration in virtual spaces and asynchronous times

• Flatten the hierarchical relationships between teachers and students

• Challenge the single voice of authority of the teacher,encouraging a range of viewpoints

• Encourage students to control their learning:sequence, pace, resources and modes of presentation

Anywhere, any time“Like, everyone will say, if lots of people say ‘oh, I am stuck on that’ then you email the teachers and say, look, I have asked my friends and they are really stuck on it and I don’t know what it is they will almost reply to you instantly.” (Year 7 students, school A).

new types of practice

“For our homework tonight in Science, we are creating the ultimate predator, so it’s got to be this and that and the other, and also the prey. And we are going to make a movie about it tomorrow.” (Year 7 student, school A).

The nature of homework tasks across the two schools may be changing towards open-ended tasks that favour collaborative working. Groups of students are being asked to collaborate to research ideas that they will present jointly to the class in a subsequent lesson. This is moving towards a ‘flipping’ of the traditional classroom practice.

A versatile pedagogy“Independent learning is good, I like that a lot, but sometimes it is nice to be led by the teacher. (from Year 9 student interview, school B).

I have got a teacher and…it is kind of half and half, [we] use the iPads because we need to research most of the time, like things like, globalisation and Gandhi, we do know anything about, but we researched on the iPad. But we still use books as well. This kind of an even mix isn’t there?” (Year 9 student interview.)

Honywood skills Communicate in writing, orally, physically, graphically and by using ICT

Solve Problems

Cooperate and Collaborate with others

Analyse information and draw conclusions from it

Synthesise information, evaluate and form judgements

Empathise

Be Creative

Gain the knowledge and skills to be healthy in body and mind

Persist when times are hard

Learn independently

Maxi: Honywood learner

“I find it quite fun because, because we've got our own chance to choose what we want to do, and we can do it on our own, but we still get things done. So it's quite a fun way of learning.”

Miss Styles: English teacher

“We have conversations with them in the learning sessions and over e-mail. Thinking about what they've done currently reviewing that at a midpoint in a conversation. [Talking] about what's gone well and what could be improved and bringing them together for the final kind of outcome.

I think the more you talk to them about it, the more they get it. I think the more they have the ability to talk about what they're doing the better they are at putting things into place on their learning journey.”

Challenges and potential

“We don't use them enough. We hardly ever use them.”

“I like that if there is cyber bullying it shows so you have evidence.”

“I don't like iPads very much at school, because they are very distracting especially in group work when I am trying to get team mates to do work and they just play games on their iPads whilst I'm stuck doing the majority of the work. 

(Responses from student online survey.)

Developing versatile pedagogywork is produced by individual learners under conditions in which conscientious, attentive, industrious, careful, receptive behaviour is rewarded; hierarchical or formal relationships between the teacher and learners are established and maintained; collaborative work outside of the assigned space and time is discouraged;.

collaborative work outside of the assigned space and time is integral to the activity; extensive opportunities for individual and collaborative groups to direct and take responsibility for their learning; learners choose their collaborative partners; creative, interactive, ability to contribute to the group are acknowledged behaviours;

F+

F-