Delivering Technology - Head's Blog

I am often asked when touring prospective parents how we deliver technology in our curriculum and I delight in informing parents that we have not been one of the schools who jumped on the band wagon a few years ago and purchased a school set of iPads just because it was ‘the trend’.   So many schools are now suffering for their knee jerk reaction to misinformed ideology.
 
Technology is changing at a rapid pace but it is crucial that what is delivered at school is based on research evidence and carefully planned to equip our pupils with the correct skills, knowledge and understanding that they may need in this fast paced technological world. 

We are very fortunate to have Mr. Lewis on our staff, whose own previous business experience, prior to life as a teacher, is in web design and software development – a skill set quite unique to have on the staff!

It is up to us as educators to keep abreast of all the new evidence and research which is available to school leaders to inform us on how best to develop our curriculum for our pupils.  Through events such as the ‘Festival of Education’ and ‘ResearchED’ we continue to review/reflect and may implement new ideas into our curriculum.  

We need to start with our educational objectives and decide upon the best way of delivering those objectives rather than wondering how we can use the latest technology. We need to consider whether single user consumer devices help in collaboration or whether more screen time helps or hinders communication. There is a perception that this generation of ‘digital natives’ has an innate ability to make productive use of technology and understand how it functions. This is not the case, but children’s familiarity and comfort with technology provides great opportunities for education when children and teachers are trained in its use and it is used to achieve a specific goal.

I will share with you the recent article from The Guardian on this topic and will leave you to ponder! It is a very exciting time for children in how we prepare them for the future.
https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2017/jul/04/is-technology-delivering-in-schools-our-panel-debates
 
I await with great anticipation to view our Year 6 independent projects next week, where the pupils showcase how they are leaving St. Helen’s College with a unique skill set embedded in ‘technology’, which is a culmination of their learning through their time here.
 
​Mrs. Drummond