Next-gen tech 
or emperor’s new clothes?

Education technology has come a long way in the UK. When it was announced some years ago that ICT funding would no longer be ring-fenced, certain commentators predicted that there would be less investment from schools and, as a result, from technology companies developing resources for the classroom. Neither prediction would prove to be true. The education market is second only to healthcare in terms of investment, in the UK and globally, according to a report published by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills in 2013. Secretary of State Vince Cable highlighted technology’s role in this in the report, stating; “A great strength of UK education is our breadth and depth of experience which runs through teaching to the technical tools to support delivery. Educators and suppliers can work together to meet the opportunity presented by the growing global education market.”
    
Research conducted by the British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA) confirms that the appetite for classroom technology remains unabated by economic uncertainty. The seventeenth annual survey into the opinions and trends of ‘ICT in UK state schools’ conducted by the non-profit organisation in July 2013 found that in the school year 2014/15 schools forecast their ICT expenditure would be higher in cash terms than at any other time on record. Investment in hardware replacement, peripherals, software and technical support is set to reach £14,220 per primary school and £65,570 in each secondary school, totalling an expenditure on ICT across all UK maintained schools of approximately £320 million.

What’s on the menu?
So the appetite is good, but what are the popular menu choices? The huge drive to equip state schools with interactive whiteboards (IWB) resulted in huge market saturation for the technology but many IWBs are now nearing the end of their natural lives, and one of the major areas of change I’m seeing in schools is their decision to think about next generation technology. In some cases, this goes further than it should. One school I spoke to recently told me of its decision to invest in touch screen TVs, again at a cost of almost three times that of a flat screen. When asked why, the school told me it needed to make the most of touchscreen technology, which begged the question why they felt this solution was any better than a tablet and flat-screen solution using software and an app to mirror the tablet on the screen (which has the added benefit of putting the control of the learning into the hands of pupils who can quickly and easily contribute their own thoughts without leaving their seats). The reseller is taking the question to the manufacturer and I await the response to see if it provides sufficient evidence to sway me away from my current thoughts and whether or not it offers enough return on investment and impact in the classroom against its cheaper competitor.

Combined resources
Many forward-thinking schools, especially those that have invested in tablets, are enjoying the benefits of combining tablets with flat screen TVs and laptops to control input. The figures are only part of it (around £3,000 for an IWB or touch screen TV versus around £1,000 for a flat screen TV, and if the school has already introduced tablets then a large part of the investment necessary to make this a truly interactive solution has already been made). Apps being created to support it, such as the Reflector App, which enables teachers to mirror displays are likely to be just the first in a wave of software that helps to increase interactivity. And how about all of the free resources that are available on the internet too? The success of Scratch, Minecraft, and the interest in using Google Apps for Education and Microsoft 365, are indicators of the growing awareness of open source software. All they need is an internet browser.

Look before you leap
Caution is needed to make sure we don’t adopt new technologies before making effective use of those technologies that we already have (it’s worth looking at Ben Benjeddi’s RiskIT campaign for ideas). If we are to do so, we must ensure that we have sound pedagogical arguments for adopting these. I am a big advocate of the use of new technologies – but always with the caveat that its use is planned for. Tablets are a prime example of this. I speak to too many people who don’t plan what they will use them for; without sensible forethought we lay ourselves open to criticism that we are wasting money  that would have been better spent on teachers’ salaries.
    
We must also be cautious about rushing to replace a technology with another like-for-like solution when other, more cost-effective, solutions are available that do a very similar and sometimes better job. The right decision is rooted in the pedagogical outcomes and total cost of ownership, and an eye should be kept on the rate of technological change. The days of projectors are passing now; technology like this, although cheaper, has a much shorter life span and limits what the teacher and pupils can do.

Making the right decision
It’s been said before and will no doubt be said again; total cost of ownership is key when it comes to procurement decisions. Schools need to think about all their assets, the provision and maintenance costs. Advice we give our schools is to work with their hardware providers to audit their equipment, or if a school has its own technician they can carry out the audit. This helps ensure that long-term planning is in place to avoid any nasty expenditure surprises – you’d want to be forewarned if your photocopiers, IWBs and server were all likely to need replacing at the same time. Ideally, a three year plan (at least) should be in place to avoid any costly mistakes, whether it’s buying something you don’t need or being caught out by a big ticket item that needs replacing.  
    
Once a school has completed an audit of existing resources and decided on an overarching aim for new technologies the next step is to see what’s out there.
    
For that stage, my advice is simple; get to Bett. It’s the biggest and best-attended education technology event in the world, and even if your school is based miles away it’s still worth the journey. Pre-plan your visit so you don’t reach saturation point on ICT before you’ve made it past row D though. The best advice I can give is to search the website, read the previews and try and make contact with the companies you know you’ll want to meet with. Get what you can from them at the event but also make appointments for them to come and visit your school. They may need to know your environment to know what will suit you and your pupils best.
    
Above all else, use the event to compare solutions from different providers and to find the reseller or manufacturer that offers you the best training, support and advice instead of just looking for the best ticket price. Good resellers should be able to evidence the educational impact of new technologies, and organisations like Naace can provide useful advice and further insight into impact.
    
Once decisions to invest have been made, training is the next (vital) component. Again Bett can be a great help here; see what seminars are available. There are whole strands dedicated to leaders, ICT managers, and teachers – if you’re looking for inspiration then what better place to get it than listening to the experiences of other schools? Manufacturers may also offer training and, again, Naace and similar organisations are a great source of advice.
    
As I write this I’m becoming more and more clear on the need for a national, objective source of advice for technology. Not a one‑size-fits-all approach but a tool that helps schools navigate the myriad of options available to them. When I think back to the worst excesses of the Building Schools for the Future programme, and of how much I use facilities like Check a Trade and Which?, I’m even more certain that there needs to be some trusted, central body that can offer sound advice. I’m not advocating the return of Becta; the quango had more than its fair share of issue, but we do need something that all schools can access and refer to, and I think it’s best that schools decide what this might look like. If you agree, get in touch and meet me at Bett on the Naace stand. It’s time for a serious conversation.

Further information
www.naace.co.uk