The tablet revolution

The UK is not unique in its move towards tablets in education by any stretch; a recent report by the International Data Corporation found that most United States (US) schools are testing tablet devices, an increase of 103 per cent over the last year. Emerging economies in Asia and Eastern Europe have also announced the adoption of tablets in schools, including South Korea, India, Kazakhstan and Turkey, while trials have also begun in France, Japan, Singapore and Australia.
 
But it’s not enough to simply introduce tablets; realising the full benefits of tablets in education requires a well thought out strategy and a shift in pedagogical behaviour. “The main pitfall is spending loads of money with no plan, no objectives and no idea what they are buying them for or how they will use them,” says Matt Britland, head of ICT at Kingston Grammar School. “Before schools implement their one-to-one program it must be very well planned. There needs to be solid infrastructure, training needs to be addressed, consideration on how the classroom/teaching could change and it is so important to decide on a vision, aims and objectives.”

Tablets for schools
Simon Thomas, practice director at 9ine Consulting, works with several schools on one-to-one schemes and provides advice for the not-for-profit initiative Tablets for Schools. He says identifying your vision is the crucial first step; “Create and share your vision then share this with all your key stakeholders, clearly explaining the main teaching and learning drivers for developing a tablet one-to-one delivery model. For example, is your vision to support the development of 21st Century Skills, provide improved access to technology, an additional tool to enhance learning in the classroom, to reduce your fixed IT costs, or maybe it is because your competitors are doing this? It is important that everyone involved understands and shares the vision and aspirations.”
   
After this, defining your learning culture is the next step, according to Simon; “Some schools may be creative by culture able to handle a fast pace of change while others are more traditional, preferring low-risk, familiarity and a slower pace of change? Consider the profile of your users, especially staff.”

Implementing tablets in schools
Getting to the bottom of how a successful one-to-one scheme should be implemented is the focus of a study currently being conducted by Family Kids and Youth (FK&Y), on behalf of Tablets for Schools. Since September 2011, FK&Y have examined one-to-one schemes at three state-funded secondary schools: Honywood Community Science Academy in Essex; Wallace High School, Belfast; and Longfield Academy, Kent. The research also included a ‘control’ school in a similar catchment area, Alec Hunter Humanities College in Braintree, Essex, and two primary schools within the catchment area, St Peter’s Primary School and St Andrew’s Primary School.
   
In total, 18 focus groups were held with pupils, teachers and parents, and the research identified one of the initial challenges to schools as the readiness of their technology infrastructures, a vital consideration for schools. With the JANET6 super-network expected to arrive in autumn of this year, the possibilities are great for schools, but Wi-Fi networks also need to be strong enough to cope. “The infrastructure is very important to a school’s short and long-term plans for integrating tablets,” says Simon. “Bandwidth, or Internet connectivity, is just as important and we have found in many cases schools without robust Wi-Fi and Internet services can struggle to embed tablets within their learning community due to technical or connectivity issues.”
   
The readiness of the school network should be gauged with some key criteria in mind, says Simon. “Schools need to figure out how much coverage they require. Mobile devices allow learning to be delivered and taken in new spaces and locations. Density also plays a part in this; the number of devices schools can have connected in a location at one time is a vital point. Classrooms and established learning spaces are easier to estimate but many of the schools we work with take the opportunity to deliver larger teaching groups in new spaces for collaborative learning because their technology is now mobile. No one wants this to be hindered, or not possible, because of poor connectivity.”

Bring your own device
Mark Howell from Meru Networks agrees; “If a school has a vision for one-to-one mobile learning with tablets, and is encouraging students to bring in their own devices too, then schools must do their research. There are dozens of wireless manufacturers to choose from, all with differing offerings.  Senior leadership teams (SLT) and IT teams in schools are not often wireless experts as they have so many competing priorities to deal with.”
   
Mark's thoughts are echoed by Simon: “How you get there will be often come down to good advice, established solutions, costs, professional scoping, evaluation of your learning spaces, professional installation by qualified installers and, importantly, testing and evaluation by your users before sign of or payment. A professional, credible Wi-Fi supplier or reseller should work with you to ensure the solution is right for your short and long term plans.”
   
So how should schools approach this? Mark and Simon both cite references as all important, along with contacting other schools undertaking one-to-one schemes. “Shared expertise is really key,” says Simon.
   
“Speaking to other schools is very useful, and schools should seek independent advice if they aren’t sure, or are unclear about the technical elements such as internal or externally hosted controllers.”

Teacher reception
Once infrastructure is found to be in place, teacher training is the next crucial step. The Tablets for Schools study saw varying approaches amongst the schools it studied, but identified the drive and determination of the school leadership teams as the key to facilitating the change.
   
Teachers at Longfield Academy were given tablets before the device was given to pupils, which it found to be an important factor in resolving any uncertainties teachers might have had, and was a means to build confidence. The Academy, which favoured iPads, also received training from Apple Distinguished Educators (ADEs). The leadership reported varying levels of engagement with the tablet from teachers, something they had expected, but they reported that there had been a shift in thinking from those teachers who had previously been sceptical of the introduction of tablets, or even ambivalent about using technology, discovering that the tablet was in fact less daunting than they had anticipated.
   
Meanwhile, Wallace High School, like Honywood and Longfield, also felt that using the tablet was the best way to become confident and learn its capabilities. The training offered by suppliers can often be one of the distinguishing factors when deciding which tablets to use, along with the operating platform, especially since this can determine the level of access to apps.

A change in teaching
Practices in the classroom also changed with the introduction of tablets. At Honywood, the study identified a profound philosophical shift to an emphasis on independent learning, and teachers’ facilitation of pupil autonomy. The change was described by some teachers as a ‘rebranding’ process, which they felt had altered the way both teachers and pupils thought about school. Independent learning was identified as a major benefit across all schools involved in the study, partly because of the enthusiasm with which the students accepted the technology.
   
The Honywood teachers felt that teaching pupils how to be independent and autonomous was important to prepare them for the world beyond secondary school, arguing that this led to increased motivation and a deeper level of learning. One language teacher explained how her pupils were more motivated by learning to say what they wanted to express in their own words, using the language being taught, instead of a list of pre-prescribed words. Other teachers agreed that the tablet was giving pupils more resources and making them less dependent on teachers’ continual instructions.
   
Simon’s advice is to invest in ‘inspire moments’; “Show the education community what can be achieved from teachers and learners who are already on this journey. If schools are investing in staff training they should try and move away from traditional CPD models, creating a coffee shop culture of collaboration. Remember that tablets provide mobility so your staff development can be anywhere and anytime but you must provide the staff time to engage with this new culture.”

Ultimately, implementing new schemes is not easy and there will be challenges. But providing schools have mitigated all the risks as best they can, are prepared to adapt and change when necessary and have provided all the key stakeholders with the time and remit to deliver, then the changes can make it all worthwhile. The research project found that the tablets improved pupils’ ability to research, make informed judgments and present their ideas and learning in a way that facilitated their understanding. Meanwhile, teachers were able to use easily accessible learning resources and adapt them to subject, lesson and environment, while being aware of the individual needs of pupils. With the research project’s next stage due in the autumn term, expected to include quantitative figures, all eyes are on the schools in question; but evidence to date shows that schools, pupils, teachers and parents are all benefiting.