At an exhibition hosted by the Guardian on the future of education, experts focused on how technology is used in the classroom, rather than what technology is used
Today, of course, escalators, televisions and even robots seem ubiquitous. Technology permeates every part of modern life and is even going where the World of Tomorrow never imagined it would – into the classroom. Following in the footsteps of those 44 million, last month about 80 teachers and school leaders gathered at the Guardian offices in London for an exhibition and panel discussion about what the schools of the future might look like.
While none of the speakers beamed in from galaxies far away, they did provide a stimulating discussion on the future of edtech and shared some fascinating innovations. Margaret Cox OBE, professor of information technology in education at King’s College London, spoke about hapTel, a virtual-reality dental chair system that enables students to operate on a 3D tooth using a haptic drill that gives them a sense of touch. Google EMEA’s head of education, Liz Sproat, brought along Google Cardboard, a headset that allows teachers to take children on virtual reality field trips, to show how technology can enhance student experience without costing the earth.
But how tech is used in schools – rather than what technology is used – was the dominant theme of the evening. There was excitement and frustration in equal measure when it came to asking how we could build schools of the future. Capturing those conflicting emotions best was author, innovation consultant and education policy adviser Charles Leadbeater.
Leadbeater spoke about how contradictory it is to teach children with computers but test them with a biro. He also described the “low-level civil war” happening in schools between the “hard pressed, hardworking, ambitious teachers who want to do things better” and those happy with the status quo and afraid of change. “Education is good at absorbing revolutionary tech and turning it into something humdrum,” he lamented.
There were several reasons given for why edtech projects falter in British schools: lack of time and support to properly implement tools; lack of understanding across education – from policymakers down to parents; and a lack of collaboration between teachers, and between teachers and students. “Students are the tech experts but not the pedagogical experts,” said Cox, reiterating what every teacher knows but few schools acknowledge through the way the curriculum is designed.
Even if all of the above were to change, there are inevitably risks that remain. Guests at the event spoke of the casual assumption that simply by adopting technology, learning outcomes would improve. Others admitted that the risk of failure stifled experimentation. Sproat suggested it was first and foremost important to redefine failure, proposing that schools adopt the tech world’s “fail fast, fail often” mantra.
She said: “Traditional models of teaching, in which a teacher is the sage on the stage and lectures students, frequently fail to stimulate effective learning. And yet we continue to see these approaches in schools.
“When we apply different techniques it’s inevitable that some things will work better than others. It’s the willingness to try, be critical of the approach and revise it accordingly that great teachers do so brilliantly. Far from having a negative impact on student learning, mistakes or failure can drive even better outcomes than we might have imagined.”
A pressing concern for others was the risk of widening the gap between wealthy students and their less affluent peers. “There does seem to be a difference between children who use technology as second nature because they have access to it at an early age and at the other end of the scale are children who don’t have access to these [gadgets]. The gap between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’ may be bigger with technology than it was in the traditional classroom,” said attendee Nick Heath of Thomas Coram school.
Heath, who is a school governor, had been sat next to a lady from a school in a very deprived area. He reflected on the added anxiety technology can give to teachers already grappling with multiple social, cultural and economic challenges: “They are facing problems just getting [the children] to read and write. They have children who come from homes where they have no books and in this environment, technology is almost a distraction.” Overall though, Heath shared the view of many that edtech was an inevitable feature of the school of the future and inextricably linked to Britain’s future competitiveness.
By the end of the panel discussion there were plenty of practical tips to go with the blue sky thinking. Cox summed up most of the reflections of the evening. Her key things to remember when using tech in schools include: think about how it can be made available to all children; do not underrate other kinds of activities children can learn from; focus on creating better “self-learners”; and, perhaps most importantly, focus on getting children to improve their thinking skills. After all, Cox said, “the most powerful computer is still the brain”.
The schools of the future series is funded by Zurich Municipal. All content is editorially independent except for pieces labelled “brought to you by”. Find out more here.
Girl with tablet via Shutterstock