Using Laptops with whole classes

By Roger Frost for The Guardian, Spring 2000

A group of UK schools seem to have their use of computers sorted. No more are ICT skills their main focus, the technology is integrated with the everyday teaching that they do. It is just like we said it should be.

In these schools a class turn up to your lesson with a laptop computer apiece. Come the end of the day they’ll take them back to do homework. Basically, in these schools, the computer suite moves from room to room – while the teachers become ingenious in/at thinking of new ways to teach. And they do.   

At Banstead Junior School in Surrey, children use Microsoft Powerpoint – the slide show software flaunted on INSET days – for literacy work. They turn a piece of reported speech into the direct speech they need to make a great slide presentation. Likewise given a presentation, they practise turning it into a report. And at Les Landes School, Jersey the teacher put the text of their school play, 'Oliver' into Microsoft Word and had the children pick out key words about the different characters, and write character studies. Head teacher Ann Renouf notes that the job would be impossible without word processing and the children now seemed to ‘own’ the production. These were primary pupils, while at Sawtry Community College, Cambridgeshire, key stage three pupils used PowerPoint to give a talk in French. As Vice Principal Alan Stevens says there is more to this than good looks. “The content is better, their confidence in reading French is better and the situation is that much richer”.

The schools, 28 in all, were part of a Microsoft project called ‘Anytime, Anywhere, Learning’ which appears to have fostered an explosion of creative teaching. The project, which aims to see every child owning a portable computer, recently gained its official national launch. In fact Microsoft chairman, Bill Gates came to London to do that in person.

This fact, the work going on, the motivated pupils, reactivated teachers and some interesting parent school partnerships hint of something ‘big’ to come. At Sawtry Community College, what started with a class with two dozen laptops, has escalated so that by next September half the school, and all the teachers will have a laptop.

Funding all this has got to be interesting. For some pioneers, like Bowbridge Junior School, Lincolnshire it wasn’t all easy says headteacher David Dixon, “The money issue was the big stumbling block. Even though it felt against principles, I looked at how the parents could finance it and we came up with £7.50 per week - the parents were very excited about it too. We tried to set up a credit union but the most workable model was a charitable foundation. So now we have two laptops groups”.

Maybe someday a laptop will be as ubiquitous as a pencil case – were it not for the cost. But MARK EAST manager of Microsoft Education is confident that there are ways forward, “we've created a framework where schools or leas can set up a charitable ‘e-learning’ foundation, with deeds of covenant and tax efficient ways of using money. We believe that parents will contribute to technology for their child. For example, we know that 45 per cent of families have bought a PC to help their children’s learning, many over the last twelve months, so we have a good base to work to. But we do see a need for a national charity that a local foundation could approach to request funds.”

While Microsoft has pledged a first million pounds to the collection tin, Mark East points to a benefit for school fundraising, “Establishing a local foundation provides a vehicle for schools to generate funds. They have a process of going out to the local community with all the tax advantages from having a charitable foundation”.

The community connection has worked well for Bowbridge, adds David Dixon, “Before the laptops came about we had been trying to raise the profile of learning in our community via various other means. A big benefit of the laptops is that we’ve had more conversations about learning with our parents then we have ever had. The parents come in, we talk about laptops and why we want them for the school. It’s generated a dialogue which we wouldn’t have had in normal circumstances”

With Anytime, Anywhere, Learning and a government pledged to the ICT way, many will ask if technology is paying its way. Government agency, Becta have led pilots with laptop handouts for schools, teachers and head teachers – and each time the vibes have been positive. An evaluation programme run by Lancaster University tells of improving literacy numeracy, community links and more. And then there are views from the chalkface: science teacher Andy Johnson (do’s opposite) says that using ICT pupils get quicker to the thinking part of the work, “It's great for working in groups, great for children to put over their ideas and it's not so much me talking and chalking”.

And after just a couple of terms, David Dixon could note that the year four’s ICT skills in laptop group were overtaking year six. And then there are no more Friday lessons: “We’ve certainly seen an improvement in the motivation - you can do things on a Friday afternoon that you would never attempt. And the special needs children also gain a lot in terms of self-esteem and motivation so the signs are very, very good”. 

Useful contacts:

www.microsoft.com/uk/education/all

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