Education Technology - EduTech/BYOD/Devices/

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I created this page due to the amount of posts which have built up over time regarding BYOD and IT Schemes. Although they have many terms they are all based on devices in education.
The below links have been real experience and some will be both positive and negative.
Everyone in education knows this term Edutech? Right?


In simple terms it's technology in education, with more younger staff coming through the branches there are a lot of "fresh" ideas to turn Schools around. Sadly... it's not working. The majority of Schools that are outstanding are using IT to make tasks easier and simpler. It's important to remember those terms "easier" and "simpler". IT frankly shouldn't be anything else and certainly not less. I keep hearing statements that we need to keep up with the world but that’s not what education is about. It’s about teaching these kids the curriculum not showing them how to drive a car, it’s about preparing them to make a choice in life on their next educational step and not about showing them how to be physically ready for the army.
It means we are not here to teach them specific skill sets, we’re here to assist them in their choices, to prepare for the next step otherwise we’d be teaching them what relationships are all about not just offering sex education.


As I mentioned many times, effectively removing EduTech could jeopardise my own career in education but that’s not what I am here to do. I’m not here to protect my job nor am I here to use my agendas to progress. I’m here to advise, plan, implement and support IT. If that means I tell someone that the best tool to use is a pen then perhaps that advise should be listened to. There’s a lot of miss information going out at the moment that Schools are pushing more and more towards technology and the actual truth is some Schools are being fooled while others are doing U-Turns. It’s also another reason why I think Schools should employ non teachers to make financial decisions, they have a habit of thinking through logically and not seeing the “pretty” item on the shelf and think “Wow, let’s buy this now”. It’s why I can’t blame the government for cutting School budgets when they have effectively been wasting a lot of money on ideas that didn’t get thought out properly.
Also remember one important note, would a School be honest with you on their success rate? I know we haven’t. I’m also aware of people losing their jobs through being honest not to mention those given disciplinary because they told the truth. If you asked me officially to my face how well our Schemes have done… I can’t be honest…. Schools simply have a mask on.


So to the point:
This is a detailed log which shows the nightmare a Scheme can bring to your School.
BYOD SCHEMES
Although this will depend on the type of scheme you offer it really goes to show what you can go through if you don’t plan thoroughly enough. You’ll also need a lot of staff involved to make this work.
If you go to a Scheme remember to use systems that help:

ANYWHERE ACCESS (portals, VLEs, Cloud)

Why Mobiles are more damaging

The 5 MYTHS about EduTech

5 Reasons organisations should "embrace" BYOD...
This blog is a prime example of someone that doesn’t seem to have wide experience with mobile tech in the classroom. Imagine the amount of staff like this writer who could delude you in to thinking “it’s great” or “do this”. All this has described how easy it is to use mobiles to access information but is a mobile the perfect device to perform complex tasks? No it’s not. Is a tablet the best device for a report? No it’s not. An artist will still use the big screen PCs to create art, likewise for a musician to create a track – all the music you hear today is still created in expensive studios. Fit For Purpose.

Apps
Simply a ton of Aps but the thing is none of them you would rely on to get students prepared for exams. Some of them are great little touches for the occasional lesson but the person behind this link no longer teachers full time. He is no longer responsible for getting students from A to B in education. He only has to worry about “selling” himself to earn a living through the use of “pushing technology”. This is the biggest misconception with IT> you will be hard pressed to get away with being just these Apps. You can but you have to make huge alterations to your curriculum and you need everyone on board. On a personal note this writer is someone who keeps pushing technology in education but again it’s his own agenda’s his own view. Not what’s best for education and certainly not what’s best for your School. Sadly he comes across as that “salesman” and we all know that they have zero interest in you, they simply want your £££.

Social Networking EduTech
A great tool… for your social life not for education. I live on social networking and I have to say.. it’s got some dangers to it.. likewise for phones no matter what we educate to the kids they will continue to be silly. Don’t go there.

21st Century Tech 21st Century Dangers
A simple blog regarding Schools and phones that perhaps we should very well take the hard approach and ban them. I’ve seen a lot of people discuss in allowing these without filters…. Again those who don’t have to take responsibility when a child visits something or perhaps does something they shouldn’t. People need to realise with 21st Century Tech comes 21st Century Dangers no matter how much we sugar coat the truth – it exists. No matter how much we train, educate or even stamp on a child’s forehead they will still ignore us and take huge costly risks. It’s why responsible parents look after their children and don’t allow them free roam to life and are able to come home at 3am in the morning.

Our recent BYOD update
A recent blog of mine showing how things have improved with heavy changes but still a huge list of issues. The interesting thing is even if you read through all the above, your mind will already be made up before you came here. You can smell all the pros and cons like a bad fish. Yet you will continue down your path. There is a big dark cloud in education at the moment because too many Schools are changing their curriculum or the Government does it for them. They refuse to keep it simple, to keep it smooth, to keep it continuing with it being left alone. It’s interesting because teachers criticise the Government often for doing this but then teachers do it a day later or before. There’s a term for this (sorry) and it's hypocrisy. The same teachers who complain when things are working smoothly then are magically changed are not always down to politicians. So I put this to you, make the curriculum work for you.. make IT work for you.. make it simple.. make it work. Take the advice from those who know technology and see the benefits of it but not from those who have a career to gain from it’s prospects.
Keep it REAL and keep it SIMPLE.

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