Technology alone cannot deliver outstanding schools, people do that. However, if you put technology in the hands of creative risk takers, whether they are teachers or the school leadership team then it can have a major impact on the delivery of the curriculum, the engagement of learners and parents and the effectiveness of a school.
It really is not about finding the killer application or the right bit of content, its about a blend of the different factors that come together to creating stimulating and challenging learning environments.
In the years I have been supporting schools, too long to admit to, I have seen huge impact in situations where the teacher has limited resources but a creative spark that converts the mundane into a vibrant classroom. I have also seen thousands of UK pounds spent on a product or service that someone deems to be the ‘must have’ service or application only to find that after a while its use and impact withers and eventually is forgotten.
In the years I have been supporting schools, too long to admit to, I have seen huge impact in situations where the teacher has limited resources but a creative spark that converts the mundane into a vibrant classroom. I have also seen thousands of UK pounds spent on a product or service that someone deems to be the ‘must have’ service or application only to find that after a while its use and impact withers and eventually is forgotten.
All of this would suggest that the most significant factor in the adoption of technology in a school is the willingness of staff and pupils to make use of it. The strategy for change management is much more important that the technology itself as the latter is easily obtained and the former is often largely ignored or left to an individual in a school to deliver.
So what do you need for successful ICT implementation across a school?
Firstly a leadership team and headteacher who encourage innovation. This does not mean that they take their eye of the issue of standards but does mean that any idea must prove itself if is is to be sustained - the space for the teacher to generate the proof is what the school leadership can encourage and support.
Second, the teacher needs to be supported in their endeavour and the measures of impact need to be a wider than simply acquisition of knowledge. In many instances the impact is actually more about how learners are encouraged to learn than the learning itself - clarity around what outcomes could be expected from any particular innovation or idea needs to come from the teacher. Doing something because ‘it might be interesting’ is not really good enough in the modern target driven school.
Firstly a leadership team and headteacher who encourage innovation. This does not mean that they take their eye of the issue of standards but does mean that any idea must prove itself if is is to be sustained - the space for the teacher to generate the proof is what the school leadership can encourage and support.
Second, the teacher needs to be supported in their endeavour and the measures of impact need to be a wider than simply acquisition of knowledge. In many instances the impact is actually more about how learners are encouraged to learn than the learning itself - clarity around what outcomes could be expected from any particular innovation or idea needs to come from the teacher. Doing something because ‘it might be interesting’ is not really good enough in the modern target driven school.
Third is the dissemination of the impact of the particular innovation and the support given to that dissemination by senior leaders and fourth would be the much greater level of support other staff will need to adopt the approach for themselves.
I visited a school in Quebec some years ago where the head teacher had established a ‘learning innovation fund’ which teachers could bid into for funding to support an project or approach which had a direct impact on learning. Bids were evaluated and projects from the very small to the whole school were considered. Each project was supported by a member of the leadership team and once the project had run its planned course the outcomes or impact were shared with the staff during an innovation day. Those that wished to follow up ideas were given time for training and were supported by the teacher who originated the idea.
The impact could be felt as you went around the school. Teachers felt that they could contribute to the development of their school and their ideas would be given due consideration. Very few schools I know have adopted anything like this as an approach to staff development is such a systematic way as we always seem to want very short term returns.
Remember:
"If you are not willing to risk the unusual
you will have to settle for ordinary"
Posts
