iPads for all?

 An early time motion study in a factory found that even changing working conditions for the worse improved productivity, albeit temporarily. It turned out that just paying more attention to the workers made them work that bit harder.
 
In the education environment, time and motion studies lose some of their shine but there are a huge number of studies carried out each year to try to gauge what might improve the educational experience. An overview of a large number of these studies has concluded that almost anything will show some improvement.
 
However, this overview then seeks to measure such improvements to achieve an average and moves on to suggest that only those improvements which are better than average are worth considering.
 
Actually that’s not true. It suggests that even minor improvements might be worthwhile if the cost is not too high. Not just a monetary cost but the overall cost of implementation including all of the extra work involved.
 
Turning to the point which initiated this article, the introduction of iPads into any local classroom will have some positive results. For some pupils with certain difficulties it will be hugely beneficial but there again such pupils should already be benefiting from existing technology available in schools. Just what extra benefit does an iPad have for those children and how much of an effect would it have for the rest of the pupils, again bearing in mind that there is already a large amount of technology already available.
 
I must confess that I am a lover of technology and especially Apple kit but even I struggle to justify buying an iPad given that I already have a laptop. iPads are relatively expensive, and new models come out regularly, especially now that the tablet market is hotting up.
 
However, if my existing kit was clunky and unreliable then yes, I would opt for an iPad. I would certainly not wish to use the laptops currently supplied to teachers let alone what the pupils have to use. 

I wonder if it’s the same kit as used throughout the whole of the civil service and by all of our politicians?
 
Technology could change the face of education but it needs more than just basic computer literacy on the part of teachers. It needs a wholesale review of teaching methods. On-line textbooks, recorded lessons, interactive homework, open e-communication with pupils and parents: the list goes on and on. But by the time all of this is sorted out, technology has moved on and new shiny toys beckon.
 
The most important thing in a classroom is the teacher and already excellent teachers will make as full a use of technology as they are allowed, or as much as they need. But even they will not get the best out of new technology because they haven’t got the time to invest in its development; they already have a full time job (despite what some may think).
 
But the main concern is that a school which was a new build in 2008 is apparently already outgrowing its technology. Have teaching methods moved on so much that tablets are now essential?
 
I would love to see all Guernsey schoolchildren with complete access to appropriate technology and teachers who are fully trained and supported to make full use of the same. But that isn’t going to happen in a time of austerity.
 
If there is any spare money then use it to share excellent teaching practise at the coalface. Use it to get up to date with the best methods of delivery. Do everything possible to support those actually teaching so that they can deliver a first class product and achieve first class results.
 
Once this is all done and every class has an excellent teacher at the front of the room, then listen to them and find out where best to spend what little money we have.