BETT- "We have the opportunity to fertilize the whole of education by the ambitious and creative use of technology"

The BETT Convention

“We have the opportunity to fertilize the whole of education by the ambitious and creative use of technology” Sir Ken Robinson (2013)

National education systems are adapting to meet the challenges of the 21st Century. Sir Ken argues in this powerful presentation Common Core, Creativity, & Technology in the Classroom that many reforms are pushing in the wrong direction. Drawing from his ground breaking book, Out of Our Minds: Learning to Be Creative, he explains why too many are locked into a model of education shaped by the Industrial Revolution and a narrow idea of academic ability rather than exploring the creativeness of an individual through their selective talents. He urges schools to rethink basic ideas of intelligence and achievement and highlights the necessity to promote creativity through the child’s creative form. Behind his argument “education kills creativity (date)” Ken Robinson explores the radical changes in how we educate our students to meet the extraordinary challenges of living and learning in the 21^st century. 

Areas that Sir Ken Robinson explores to reason his opinions are;

• How education wastes more talent than it saves

• The three core objectives of 21st Century education

• Why we’re all smarter than we think

• What schools and colleges should do, and how governments should help

(Robbinson, 2015)

 

 

 

"Schools need to embrace cloud technology to prepare for the future of learning" - Matt Britland

 

By its very nature, technology changes at a fast pace and making it accessible to pupils, teachers and other stakeholders is an ongoing challenge. BETT or The BETT Show is an annual trade show in the United Kingdom that showcases the use of information technology in education. Senior decision makers from early years, primary, secondary, further and higher education use BETT as their source of inspiration when it comes to investing in products to futurise a new notion of teaching and learning (BETT Reach the Education Market, 2015).

 

“There are no technology shortcuts to good education”

Toyama argues in his article There Are No Technology Shortcuts to Good Education that technology today or in the foreseeable future cannot provide the tailored attention, encouragement and inspiration for students that a nurturing adult can. Further he adds technology is no exception, and rigorous studies show that it is incredibly difficult to have positive educational impact. Claims that technology only amplifies the pedagogical capacity of educational systems meaning it can make good schools better and bad schools worse (Toyama, 2011)

In support Patrick Suppes, a pioneer in computer-aided learning suggests that computers can “adapt mechanical teaching routines to the needs and the past performance of the individual student.” But adds the key challenge in education remains the long-term, neither interactivity nor adaptive capacity are sufficient in the directed motivation of the student – something which no technology today can deliver on its own, but only lays in the hands of good teachers (Suppes, 1966)

Personally I believe people expect too much from technology. Technology is an advancing and ever evolving introduction to education but merely works in support of good teaching. In agreement with Toyama, technology introductions into the classroom should be used as a teaching aid and people should not be under the impression that it works alone. In the view of 21^st Century demands, ICT elements should be widely welcomed by many schools to promote transferable learning thus bettering pupils’ educational development.

Suppes, Patrick (1966) cited, Toyama, K, There are no technology shortcuts to good education, http://edutechdebate.org/ict-in-schools/there-are-no-technology-shortcuts-to-good-education/, (2011)

Toyama, K, There are no technology shortcuts to good education, http://edutechdebate.org/ict-in-schools/there-are-no-technology-shortcuts-to-good-education/, (2011)

BETT, Reach the Education Market, http://www.bettshow.com/Content/Reach-the-education-market-Exhibit-at-Bett, (2015), [Accessed, 2015]

Robinson, K, Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative, (2015)

Britland, M, What is the future of technology in education? (2013), http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/teacher-blog/2013/jun/19/technology-future-education-cloud-social-learning, [Accessed 2015]