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It has long been thought that technology in the classroom can help a child’s education aiding them with learning. A school in San Diego however is taking a new approach by teaching its students how to build the technology. Students at High-Tech school are learning how to build robots. One of the projects was Daisy May. Daisy May is a robot designed by RJ Shephard, a senior year student. It moves around picking up balls and throwing them into a bin.

This school is very different with many students building boats, writing video games, and of course creating robots. It’s the students at this type of school which will be creating the machines of the future.

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Nearly all classrooms in the UK are now installed with interactive white boards, but for children in poorer countries, this kind of technology in schools is still a long way off. A campaign was launched back in 2005 which aimed to provide one laptop per child for students living in some of the world’s poorest places.

Although the project never quite reached its target in all places it was well received in many countries, Brazil being one, which purchased 150,000 laptops for the scheme. Some countries, such as Uruguay even pursued the project whole heartedly and managed to purchase a laptop for every child. Hopefully with the aid of these laptops the children living in deprived areas can get a worth while education.

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Earlier this year at the BETT Conference Professor Stephen Heppell suggested that schools must break away from the current learning modules and instead embrace technology such as games, social networking and podcasts. He also argued that there were big gaps between schools in the county, ie, those embracing technology and those falling behind, continuing to use traditional teaching techniques.

There were some children at the conference who were demonstrating how games consoles such as the Wii can be used in the classroom, as an interactive teaching method. Some other schools even utilise Skype in order to allow their students to work with pupils from other schools on projects. Professor Heppell states “Turned off devices equals turned off children”.

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One school in Maidstone, Kent, prides itself on being very forward thinking, embracing new technologies to help teach its’ students. The New Line Academy, was rebuilt during 2009 into what it calls the classroom of the future. This almost futuristic school now comes supplied with touch screens, mood lighting and even facial recognition technology. One great feature is that the halls furniture is designed to be fully movable i.e. all the furniture is on wheels so that it can be adaptable for normal classroom teaching, presentations and workshops. In the future all classrooms may be modelled on this innovative school.

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Go to any school in Britain and students will be told to either leave their mobile phone at home or at the very least to put them away when they are in the classroom. A school in Bangladesh however has taken a different approach. They actively encourage those pupils who have mobile phones to utilise them as an aid for helping them to learn English. All they need to do is call a dedicated number and listen in. This is so far proving very popular, and a very convenient way for students to learn English as opposed to reading from a dictionary.

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Back in 2004, the Government was so impressed by the latest technology such as white boards that £50 was invested towards installing them in classrooms. Now, most schools use them. However, some critics have argued that as well as providing some much needed benefits, they may be distracting from investment in key items such as books.

The teachers also had to get used to the new technology themselves and change their lifelong teaching methods to adapt to the modern way of teaching. The new hardware and software may be more interactive for pupils but it does take time for teachers to master it.

Things can go wrong with technology as well. This can play havoc with lesson planning.

In conclusion, there are many pros and cons with the new methods and the debate will rage on. I would suggest that a happy medium can be embraced between the new technology in the classroom and good old fashioned teaching. We should not neglect reading and text books, but every investment in technology should not replace good teaching and classroom resources.

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As we conclude our thoughts on this hot topic at the moment we can see how it is fast becoming a problem in schools, leading to calls for something to be done about it.

This modern technology is very appealing to the young people of today and it is fairly easy to abuse its use. People can turn this technology into an instrument for bullying, harassment and embarrassment towards fellow pupils and teachers.

The education authorities also need to consider the theft of these devices, as well as the use of images to count as evidence in disciplinary matters. Cheating is another issue to address, as technology can be used to photograph exam papers and look answers up using the internet facility on the mobile phone.

Hopefully soon the authorities will take note and address school policies on ICT, behaviour and bullying in the near future.

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As we brought up in a previous article recently, when a teacher was filmed dancing in front of his pupils, a degree of control needs to be taken by the authorities to tackle this growing issue in schools and other education institutions.

This may be a relatively new problem but policies do need to be developed and action needs to be taken to minimise the risks of this phenomenon.

This new technology, when used irresponsibly, can put people in a compromising position. Images and videos can be sent almost instantly between mobile phones and computers. In no time, as with the case of the teacher, images and videos can appear on the internet.

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In this modern age, mobile phones can raise several significant health and safety issues in schools. Education institutions are only now starting to open their eyes to the fact that while most children use their phones responsibly, there are others who misuse them and can cause problems for staff and fellow pupils.

As the technology moves forward, more and more pupils have the latest camera phones which not only take pictures, but are also capable of recording videos.

The widespread use of the internet has only further complicated this issue as it takes no time for inappropriate content to be displayed for all the public to see.

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The BBC now has a Learning zone on its website where people of all ages can benefit from exercises and advice on different subjects, as well as information on how to find resources for further learning.

This area is not just for children and teenagers to brush up on their maths skills, but there are also sections for adult learners, parents and teachers.

You will be able to find brain training exercises and can learn about the following subjects; history, science, maths, food and catering, gardening, IT, languages, English and brush up on your basic skills.

As you can see there is something for everyone on the BBC website. Next time you are looking for something to do, why not try some of the brain tests and sharpen your mind?

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