EDTECH

One of the attractions of Computing as a subject is the opportunity to have fun. To play. To mess about and try things out. So playing games and using toys fits very easily into what you can do in the classroom.

In recognition of school’s embracing technology in and out of the classroom on a day-to-day basis, the team at SISRA have been working on a number of improvements to their Observe service for monitoring the quality of teaching and learning. One of the major new features is the Focus Area report, which allows schools to perform detailed analysis of a particular aspect of teaching.

With the influx of technology available in today’s digital age, it’s no surprise that both the current and future generations of students have a natural curiosity for using and exploring the latest technology and gadgets. It’s part-and-parcel of their everyday lives; they’ve grown up with it and often know more about tech than the older generation, including their parents and teachers.

So many out-of-school experiences are beyond school budgets, time and availability. However, these experiences provide significant benefits; such as enhanced engagement, motivation, understanding, knowledge retention and personal development. For pupils, school is more than just gaining an education, it is also the source for developing life skills and life-time memories. Although hugely beneficial, simple off-site trips can be a challenge. Immersive teaching through Gener8 spaces offers a great year-round solution which complements outdoor experiences, to enhance learning outcomes.

The UK education system has always expected a lot from its schools, but in the last few years, this has seemingly intensified further, with teacher workloads increasing, guidelines changing and policies updating rapidly and frequently in a bid to improve standards. But with these changes has also come an evolution in the technology at our disposal, helping to streamline processes, and bringing everyone together in a whole-school drive for improvement.

The BBC School Report recently found that 70% of surveyed 11-to-16-year-olds had experienced negative feelings in the past year, ranging from “feeling upset and unhappy to feeling anxious, frightened or unsafe”. The report also found that 73% of teachers would often or occasionally worry about a particular pupil’s wellbeing in their free time. However, a third of these teachers had not been trained in how to deal with pupils’ mental health issues.

Earwig Academic, the award-winning software specialists, have launched a new tool for schools: Earwig Assessment. With the introduction of this module, all teaching and learning from EYFS to Secondary is covered by Earwig’s software package. It is a resource that enables schools to upload their own frameworks - as many as they choose. This, crucially, answers the DfE request for Interim Assessments to include supporting evidence.

Every single day, in every school across the country, teachers and other staff are faced with a variety of unique and very specific issues which all require a solution. Meanwhile, how can the edtech providers who create solutions to these problems be sure that they’re developing something that is having a positive impact on schools? At MINTclass, our answer is this: Bring the two together!

Student Ross Lowe, 16, discusses his journey with the micro:bit, from user to contributor, to designing and releasing his own ‘Maker’s Kit’.

Last year, the pedagogical sphere witnessed some significant issues and proposed plans, including accountability measures, governance, teacher retention and the outcome of the EU referendum. Despite this, one thing has remained steady; the use of edtech within education.

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