In the final part of this pretty lengthy pontification on classroom technology, I want to look at the extra devices that enhance the classroom environment, and allow even further flexibility in ICT aided teaching.

Whole-Class Enhancement

Flexibility certainly applies to this last category, specifically devices that take ICT use away from a reliance on software. The most established of these is the visualiser, which again has been available for a number of years, but has only recently started having the significant impact its capabilities warrant.

Perhaps more than any other piece of technology, visualisers have immediate application right across the curriculum, and fit with so many different pedagogies instantaneously. They can be used as the central tool for a lesson, specific early adopters have been in science and art, where they have become essential for close examination of objects, slides, as well as experiments and demonstrations of technique. Whereas before it was impossible for a whole class to see in detail what a teacher is attempting to show, visualisers enhance the whole-class capability enormously. Imagine 25 students clambering around an art teacher trying to see how to do a specific brush stroke – then imagine the teacher being able to do the same thing unhindered, with the image beamed in real time onto an 80” screen, zoomed in 20 times to pick up every minutiae of detail. It means a huge difference to the engagement and understanding of the students, and has become an essential tool where practical activities, rather than software driven teaching and learning, are key.

The new generation of visualisers go somewhat further, with exceptional video capture capabilities giving you an extra dimension to how you can use it. Where role play is used in classes (modern foreign languages, drama, citizenship to name but a few), you can now video the participants to provide detailed and specific feedback. Lessons and practical demonstrations can be recorded (even directly via Movie Maker) and disseminated as additional resources – so much more powerful and personal than a generic video. This really is integrating ICT throughout subject areas, more so when you consider the visualiser’s simplest yet most central function – the ability to slide textbooks or pieces of student work under the camera for display and annotation. This is something that even the most ICT-wary teacher can appreciate, and it’s a very green way of doing things, with no excessive photocopying or acetate required.

The new video capabilities of the visualiser also enable high quality images to be used for wide scale communication – whether it be Skype, Messenger or full video conferencing. And all these top-level capabilities are now delivered in the mid-range units, which although a year or two ago would have meant parting with over £1000, it will now cost about half of that – providing an affordable all-in-one visual tool for the class. There has been a lot of focus on them in recent years, and this is set to continue as they become an essential component of many lessons, and more importantly, teaching styles.

Conversely, we’ve also been thinking about how we can deliver more discreet supporting enhancements for the classroom, such as audio enhancement. Becoming popular (and even compulsory in some states) of the US, these wireless devices allow teachers to have non-intrusive voice amplification that allows them to maintain the correct tone and pitch for teaching, rather than strain their vocal chords to be heard at the back of the class (which is often misconstrued for shouting and so has a negative impact on the students’ reaction to what is being said). There are more obvious positives, for children with hearing difficulties for example, and studies are underway to back up early conclusions that it saves significant teacher sick-days through sore throats and lost voices.

Moving forwards with Classroom Technology

It’s clear that there are many ways in which technology reaches parts of the curriculum that were previously impossible – and it’s worth bearing in mind that students are more accustomed to intense audio visual stimulation and multiple learning channels, it’s anachronistic to think otherwise. But it really is essential that teachers have the right technology for them, rather than have to change their style to match the technology. Whether it be solving Maths problems around an Interactive Tabletop, inspired Shakespearean wandering using a ClassPad, getting texted feedback on Monet from Activexpression, or using visualisers to vodcast to amigos in Espana, the technology is all now at the teacher’s disposal.

It’s true that none of this technology alone will make students cleverer, and I’ve read an article recently that wholeheartedly dismisses educational technology, claiming that all a great teacher needs is a pen and some creativity and they can create a great lesson. Valid enough, but it simply made me think that if you give a great teacher the right tools, then the lessons they can create can be astonishing. Maybe then we’ll see the true impact of whole-class teaching.

This 3rd section deals with the devices that move away from the front of the class, providing interactivity and control in a completely different way to the IWB. It explores voting systems, one of the major emerging areas of whole-class teaching, and the benefits they bring to getting the entire group to interact simultaneously.  Firstly though, I’m going to look at technologies concerned with getting teachers out and about amongst the class:

Roaming Control

Whereas it’s pretty well accepted that IWBs really suit “traditional” teaching methods – i.e. chalk and talk for the 21st century, it’s also felt that this very fact has been the root of many of its flaws. Even Becta’s own Harnessing Technology Review criticised the fact that the IWB didn’t accommodate more peripatetic pedagogies, group work and individual instruction. Teachers generally like to get out and about amongst the class a little more. Rather than have to return to the front of the class to alter what’s happening on the display, it’s a real bonus to have a device that allows control from anywhere in the room.

Bizarrely, wireless graphics tablets, have been around for as long as the IWB, but have only been adopted by a relatively low number of schools. Early prices were quite off putting, with early models being over £500, which on top of an IWB solution was a little hard to swallow. It’s a different story now though, with the RM ClassPad RF+ starting at just £149, and a number of alternatives available: The RM ClassPad bluetooth, the Promethean ActivSlate, the Smart Airliner. All of these open up the way teachers use technology – they can wander around whilst teaching the group, concentrate on individuals without bringing them to the front of class, and also getting individuals to collaborate and contribute without leaving their seats by simply passing them the device. This is doubly important as it enables all students to participate, not just those who are willing and confident enough to stand up in front of the class to take charge of the IWB.

And it’s not just the wireless tablets that now allow roaming control – the Gyration mouse and keyboard together allow completely roaming teaching or collaboration for around £80 – giving you wii-like control that follow your hand movements, but can also be used on a desk as an optical mouse. There’s even a version available now which is a small form mouse, with the USB receiver incorporating flash memory. That way you can take both your resources and teaching tools with you from class to class in the palm of your hand.

These devices, and certainly the ClassPad, have often raised the question of why you even need an IWB in your class. If you can have control and wander around, do you really need a fixed device at the front by which to regain control? There’s no answer – it really does come down to what best suits individual teaching styles. The ClassPad works extremely well in combination with any IWB, but for some Local Authorities, it was the device that was chosen instead of them. And many schools have a mixed solution – especially if classrooms have had projector installs and PCs, but no way of taking control. All they need to do is plug in a pad, and the classroom is transformed.

Group Interactivity

“Interactive” is a word that is synonymous with all this technology, but it more often than not refers to the fact that you can interact with the device, rather than there being any real group interactivity. It is more often the case that the software creates the interactive element – you react to the display using any one of the whole-class teaching devices available. However you’re nearly always limited to one user taking control at any one time – even with the advent of dual touch boards, activities will generally only be able to accommodate one line of response.

Sometimes this is an advantage, for example, in group problem solving if individuals all tried to put their answers forward simultaneously, chaos would ensue. By having a leader to control the interaction with the software, based on the group discussion, a more manageable system exists. The IWB has been criticised over time for excluding group work, and indeed it is very difficult to physically co-ordinate a group around a whiteboard – it simply doesn’t work with the way the display is positioned, it’s hard to interact when your back is turned. The combination of an e-beam and a table mounted ultra-short throw projector (the Interactive Tabletop mentioned earlier) allows group of 10 or more students to crowd around the display, facing each other, to work in groups without any physical barriers.

This solution really has captured the imagination, proving particularly useful in science, geography, maths and any other areas where the display is set-up to be used as a stimulus to conversation, not just a visual aid for the teacher. Google-Earth displayed using the tabletop is a whole new experience – everybody wants the pen so they can drag and navigate their way around the world (although only after flying straight to their own house first). Rolling out huge maps and weighting the corners down with pebbles doesn’t have quite the same effect, and it really is amazing how effective the subtle physical change of everybody looking at each other whilst working really is.

The tabletop also gives other advantages: it is particularly useful in media labs using design software and editing, and it has been very well received in special educational needs establishments, both for easier access and also in terms of being more hands-on and engaging when taking control. The tabletop solution has brought something very new to whole-class teaching and has been a breath of fresh air.

Not so new, but just as refreshing has been the arrival of the next generation “free text entry” voting system. Response devices in their original form have been around for many years, and have always been excellent in engaging the whole group simultaneously. The responses though, have been constrained to direct answers to displayed multiple-choice questions or opinion Likert scales, which has limited the teacher for using it solely for pre-set assessment rather than general day-to-day use. But as with all things, voting has evolved, and the new generation of voting systems allow free form entry of text or numerical answers, opening up whole new avenues for teachers.

Turning Point have adapted their handsets to launch the new XR system to incorporate a “ribbon” text entry system which further enhances their already excellent multiple choice system which uses Powerpoint as its platform. But it is Promethean’s Activexpression system that has really got teachers talking, with a totally new “mobile-phone-esque” handset which takes advantage of our new generation of speed texting students. A large LCD display gives much greater capabilities to have guidance on the screen, and the software is very simple to use, especially in an ad-hoc mode that allows immediate voting regardless of what is being viewed.

This allows teachers to grab opinions as they use any teaching approach – for example, if they were using an online news page to read about a current story, the teacher (utilising Activexpression’s floating “wonderwheel”) could quickly force out a free text question with just a few clicks. Students could then contribute their opinions on the story, and the results would immediately appear on screen. (Along with their names, just in case anybody feels like contributing something less than constructive). These contributions could then form the next part of the lesson, so the handsets are being used to enable more flow, rather than stopping in its tracks to incorporate a pre-set activity. This is exactly the kind of technology use that has always been advocated, but rarely achieved.

These new handsets also expand the ability to personalise learning – they can be taken away from the classroom environment and used for own-paced learning. This could be written tests, remote knowledge gathering or whatever the teacher can dream up, the big advantage being they can submit their answers when they return to the classroom. There’s more flexibility again – they can be used as registration devices, and can be combined with the ability to vote using any PC devices within the classroom. You could mix and match the handsets with existing notebooks using Activexpression’s software to give a more cost-effective solution. And, as is a current theme with all these solutions, it gives much greater flexibility.

There are always a range of issues that influence the way technology and hardware is adopted by schools. From a school level, right up to Government Strategy, it’s vital that technology is used for the benefit of teaching and learning, and not just for the sake of it being technology. Classroom use of technology is generally split in two ways: infrastructure and whole-class teaching (WCT).

Infrastructure incorporates the PCs and PC devices that are used by students and teachers, whereas WCT is more focused on tools that allow participation across the whole class simultaneously: audio visual and interactive hardware that is designed to be fixed within the classroom environment, and specific to its purpose.

Both infrastructure and WCT are well established markets, but both are currently undergoing a big change in focus. For infrastructure there is the ongoing need to lower learner:computer ratios, and increase the portability of technology and access to resources for students. For WCT, the age of the whiteboard has moved into a new “mature” era, where there is more emphasis on how the technology is used, and how other “peripheral” devices can help adapt WCT to a more flexible approach. In both spheres, the need to increase emphasis on individual, personalised learning is very important.

Many Government initiatives such as Computers for Pupils in England and the No Limits scheme in Scotland, aim to provide ICT for all, with particular focus on increasing accessibility and home use.

Government led strategy is obviously also keyto our development plans, the document “Harnessing Technology: Review 2007” by Becta, is a strategy-level review of what current research and evidence tells us about using technology for the benefit of learners. This publication builds on the Becta Reviews of 2005 and 2006, focusing discussion closely on the ambitions of the government’s e-strategy, Harnessing Technology. As a starting point for a series of Hardware blogs, I have taken some of the key points from the report that are relevant to current movements in infrastructure and WCT hardware.