New guidance from Futurelab for schools planning e-Learning via PDAs
Tag: Education Print article: Email article: This was published: 8 Feb 2007 - 07:45 am
Schools can captivate students with the use of handheld devices such as PDAs and pocket PCs and effectively extend learning beyond the confines of the classroom claims a new handbook published by education innovator, Futurelab. Handhelds - Learning with Handheld Technologies is packed with practical advice and is a must for any school or local authority considering using mobile devices for learning.
The handbook is the culmination of a two-year research project involving 26 schools across two local authorities and outlines the advantages of introducing this emerging technology into the curriculum.
Keri Facer, Research Director at Futurelab, said: Handheld devices have the potential to enable personalised, collaborative learning, and so facilitate new relationships between teachers and pupils as well as between home and school.
One of the key recommendations in the handbook is that handhelds need to be integrated with existing technology, such as interactive whiteboards and projectors, to ensure that the devices can be used routinely in teaching and learning.
In addition, teachers should be encouraged to use the wide range of digital content that can be accessed from a handheld to enhance teaching. Video clips, digital photography, voting or data collection software incorporated into lessons helps to engage pupils with different learning styles and therefore enables learning to be more personalised.
When deployed thoughtfully, it seems that handheld devices are able to support the realisation of many of the advantages ICT has only promised to primary schools until now, Professor Angela McFarlane from the University of Bristol commented.
Schools in the study that used handhelds effectively found an overall improvement in pupils enthusiasm for the subjects being taught. Authority staff in Dudley reported an increase in overall attendance during the course of the project and a fall in incidents of poor behaviour.
The Head Teacher at Stiperstones CE Primary School near Shrewsbury was positive. He found it helpful to combine the use of technology with learning theory, asking in what ways technology can contribute to the needs of learners with varying learning styles, concluding when you look at the PDA its a very powerful tool.
Futurelab is a not-for-profit organisation that is tapping into the huge potential offered by digital technologies and innovative practice, to develop pioneering learning resources and approaches that support education for the 21st century.
About Futurelab
Futurelab is passionate about transforming the way people learn. Tapping into the huge potential offered by digital and other technologies, it is developing innovative learning resources and practices that support new approaches to education for the 21st century.
Working in partnership with industry, policy and practice, Futurelab:
incubates new ideas, taking them from the lab to the classroom
offers hard evidence and practical advice to support the design and use of innovative learning tools
communicates the latest thinking and practice in educational ICT
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