Small scale computing devices in schools

David Perry

davidlp@rmplc.co.uk

My interest

• Evaluating sub-laptops in EAZ• Becta WLAN guidance booklet• PFI ‘Connected Learning Project’• Becta ‘Handhelds (PDAs)’ report author

Products

• Sub-laptops / ultra-portables

• Web Pads

with or without wireless networking

• PDAs (with phone?)

Products

Apple emate 1997 Intel ‘Florence’ 2003

NEC MobilePro: keyboard that's nearly the same size as those found on regular notebooks and an 8.1-inch screen, 8hrs battery life, medical market 2003

HP/Thai Gov’t ‘People’s notebook’ £285 (Linux)

BECTa/DfES PDA project

• 150 teachers in• 30 schools with• about 100 devices for pupils

• Palm OS (Palm M130s)• MS-Pocket PC 2002 (Compaq iPAQs)• Some graphic calculators

Twin focuses

• Managing teachers’ workload

• Supporting teaching and learning• Managing teaching• Managing learning

Three categories of user

• School managers – SMTs/ technicians/ caretaker• as per business users

• Teachers • managing functions• direct support to teaching

• Pupils• learning• managing their information/games/etc

School managers

• Up to date - fully synchronised• Access to network resources

anywhere (WLAN)• Instantly available

• Contact lists, diaries and meeting arrangements

• Email anywhere• Attendance info & chasing

School managers

‘I co-ordinate my diary between my Personal Assistant and myself - I have no paper diary anymore. I have all my tasks on the PDA, they are all under control. I can manage tasks better and can give tasks to staff’

Russell Moon, Headteacher Philip Morant School and College,

Colchester

Teachers - managing learning

“I use my PDA regularly….   It has become my first, best reference tool… I would never willingly go without one now; it is my instantly accessible Encyclopaedia, Thesaurus, Periodic Table, Diary, Register/Mark Book, World map and even Star Chart!"

Mike Rutherford, Durham Johnston

Pupils

• If I didn’t have the PDA, I’d probably forget my work

• There is more room to write what the homework is in the PDA than there is in the planner, so you write better notes

• People don’t always bring their homework planner, but no one ever forgets their PDA

• I’m not very good with my homework, but when I put it into the PDA and turn it on when I get home, it ‘s telling me to do my homework

• A cool tool!

Palm PDAs

Carolyn OfferICT Co-

ordinatorEast Herrington Primary School

Sunderland

Palm 130m

• Compact/Portable• Quick boot up• Powerful/Internet• Additions• Colour screen• Battery & Charging• Supporting websites• Sturdy

Software?

• Word documents

• Spreadsheets

• Powerpoint presentations connected to a projector

• Display photos in Photosuite

• QCA maths software available

• Downloaded books

• Notepad, calculator, addresses, alarm & reminders

Downloading & printing

• We have 31 Palms in the class and downloading into Word is done by means of a cradle attached to the laptop and each Palm in my class has its own account.

• One pupil is in charge of supervising this operation and printing off the work.

‘Beaming’ (Infra-red)

• Sharing information• Simple programs

downloaded from net and beamed to each child

• Cooties!• Maths and literacy

software• Foundation subjects,

even Spanish• Easy for children to use

Group use

• Hannah inputs the week’s spelling list and beams it to the rest of her spelling group

• Some children prefer to use small keyboards

• The PDA’s are used for paired writing in poetry

Taking notes

• Making notes and observations on the sights and sounds of spring

• These were collated later and used for poetry writing

• The Palms are useful for note taking on school visits as a worksheet can be prepared and beamed to each PDA before the visit.

In class

• With only 16 computers in our previous ICT room the PDA’s provided valuable extra ICT equipment - so the whole class of 30 were hard at work preparing poems.

Motivation - special needs pupils

• No problems with story writing!

• Willing to complete work

• Short task in pairs to correct a piece of work with some incorrect spellings beamed from my PDA

• Downloaded books for group reading

• Literacy text work

Staff use

• School diary• Making notes when

marking books• Recording marks on

class spreadsheets.• Preparing worksheets • Literacy frameworks• Uploading to my PC at

home• Literacy frameworks• Sharing skills and

ideas

My class at the moment…..

• Science projects on Living Things• Powerpoint presentations• Downloaded to PDA’s.• Shown to parents at home• Used with projector and presented in the

classroom

Learning together

Psion netBooks

Beverley Russell-BurkeHill Mead PrimaryLambeth

Introducing netBooks

• Get to grips with Psions - teacher perspective

• Awe and wonder to the classroom

• Pupils attachment to netBooks

• Using the netBooks in the classroom

How are they used?

• Home school agreement

• netBooks going home• Literacy lessons• Numeracy Lessons

How are they used?

• Foundation subjects

• Internet searches• Creative Activity

Afternoon (CAA)• Parents

And Finally...

netBook benefits:• Promote Literacy and Numeracy • Extend and enhance ICT skills• Give children a wider experience of

the internet• Involve parents/carers in children’s

learning.

The York e-Learning Pilot

Chris Sharples, e-Learning Officer, City of York

Simpad – latest pros

• Wirelessly connected to Network - Internet, printing, interactive whiteboard

• Applications: Internet, word, excel, textmaker, datalogging

• Handwriting recognition

• CF memory card

• Classroom management essentials : On/off, 10 second soft reset, connectivity icons

Where are we now?

Classroom of the Future?

Classroom of the Future

Getting there… key issues

• Pupils - skills and responsibility• Teacher capacity• Finance - E-Learning Foundation• Changing Technology• Building shared

understanding within and between schools

Thank you to …

TeachersPupils

ParentsLEA Colleagues

Conclusions

David Perry

Bold steps

Exploring potential must not mean half-hearted commitment

Most projects choose:• Limited users, comprehensive uses OR• Comprehensive users, limited uses

• Ubiquitous computing is difficult to test

Ubiquitous computing?

Wherever, whatever, ownership

• Important for pupils as well as teachers

• ICT capability – pupils take decisions• ICT ‘literacy’ – understanding and

using information – how do we get them there?

Small device advantages

• Small size, lifestyle integration• Instant-on, no waiting for ‘boot up’

• Classroom integration – changing the pedagogy of ICT

• Transformation potential

Small device advantages

• Wireless networking – LAN/Internet• Quantity of data always available• ‘Up-to-dateness’ (currency) of the

data• Ease of synchronisation and sharing

of data by infra-red ‘beaming’ or WLAN

• Price – universality potential

Limitations

• Need projection for sharing• Rugged enough for child use?• Input techniques (free text/DTP)• Management demands – charging/

file storage/backup

The device of the future?

• Most small devices won’t (yet) do everythingInterim possibilities:• A ‘bridge’ between:

• classroom and ICT suite• school and home• teachers, pupils and families

• £40 each - is it feasible to equip every member of staff and pupil with a PDA - now?

Mobile phones

• Ban them?• Encourage them?• Use them?

• Who pays for them?

Small computers

• Ban them?• Encourage them?• Use them?

• Who pays for them?

Nina at 2yrs 7m