Does the device that a learner uses to access their learning really matter? Are there inherent advantages in using a mobile rather than a tablet? A tablet rather than a laptop? A laptop rather than a desktop? With BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) and blended learning becoming more prevalent these are questions that are well worth considering as there are advantages and disadvantages in using any tool. However, if an education establishment truly wants online learning to be effective, course content has to be able to be accessed by the widest range of devices possible.
It is the crucial issue. From clunky laptops to sleek phones – providers should have the fact that learners will access their learning on a vast range of devices (some of which may be less than cutting edge) in the forefront of their mind during the development of online courses so as not to exclude anyone from obtaining the training they need. The broadest range of options should be available, including both web-based tools and specific apps on different platforms. Anything less means an unlevel playing field and in education, that’s not a model anyone wants to be working with.

Online learning is a tool that offers a chance to reach people where beforehand hurdles such as geographical location or socioeconomic factors means they may have been kept away. To keep it as open as we possibly can, we have to understand that the the tools that learners use are as varied as the learners themselves and the upmost must be done to ensure that access is as fair as it can possibly be.
Ultimately it is a question of personalization. If we assume that learners can be more effective when using their own device as it is one that is comfortable and familiar to them, then ensuring that they are able to use their device (in whatever form it comes) is part of the process where we see the learner as an individual who has unique needs. Catering to those differing needs is part and parcel of helping each individual learner both access and optimise their own learning.

The human element of the learning process is a difficult one to predict. Even if training content is well-designed and engaging, support for completion is forthcoming and the subject is one that is essential for either education or work, there is still the infinitely complex landscape of a learner’s interior world to be considered. Teaching and learning is an essentially human undertaking encompassing motivation, ability, skill-set, attitude and a wealth of other factors and is not necessarily a simple case of measurable inputs and outputs.
Basically, it’s complex.
In any market it’s entirely natural to focus on product. Product is relatively easy to analyse, to breakdown, to improve if needed. But when it comes to training and other educational offers, the product must always be viewed through the lens of learner interaction and this can be a frightening prospect as learning can be an unpredictable, often chaotic process (in fact, at its best, it often is) and the people doing the learning bring with it their unpredictable, chaotic selves.
Offering the best product is not just about the product itself. It is about an understanding of people and an understanding that sometimes learning isn’t a smooth, clinical process. Learning can be emotive, even painful at times. A user’s motivation may change, increase or diminish, seemingly at whim. Both internal and external factors may have positive or negative effects and these factors are often difficult to pin down.

If an educational product is to be truly successful, the learner, with all their complexities has to be placed at the centre of every stage in the process from inception, design, implementation and beyond. A consideration and understanding of the very real hurdles that are faced by those using the product is essential, and efforts made to try and offset them through a realistic consideration of learners’ lives separate to the product itself.
Learners are people. When it comes to learning people react in different, unpredictable ways. If a business accepts this and adapts to the intricacies of learning behaviour in all its wonderful strangeness it will go some way to achieving maximum outcomes.

Using tech compliments the way I work but I completely understand that it’s not for everyone. Different teachers have completely different (sometimes highly idiosyncratic) ways of keeping on top of things. From extremely tech-centric, to utilising a bit of tech, to forgoing any kind of technology whatsoever, there’s a whole spectrum out there. I tend not to make any kind of value-judgement on the way people work as I’ve seen the most connected teachers be completely useless and those who wouldn’t dream of picking up a mobile to help in their teaching absolutely storm it.

But then again, it’s always nice to have the choice. Whether tech savvy or tech-averse, being able to work in a way that means that you’re at your best is always going to be important. I use my phone to organise my workload, communicate with colleagues, streamline certain mind-numbing admin activities, so what can an institution do to try and smooth the way for someone like me? And they should because I rule.

Firstly, let’s talk a little bit about one of the essentials, one of the building blocks of effective tech use in school; internet access. Undoubtedly the provision of wifi in education establishments in reference to speed and reliability have improved exponentially in the time that I’ve been teaching. But even now, there are places where this central tenet is neglected. Spotty, unreliable or easily maxed-out provision can be a real headache and effectively means that anyone using mobile technology is scuppered before they start (unless they fancy maxing out their 4G allowance, which is always an option but seems a bit like having to buy your own whiteboard markers, exercise books and A4 paper – tools that should really be provided). Decent internet and wifi that reliably reaches every room in every building is pretty much an essential now (and not just for me as a teacher, but for the kids as well.)

The culture in a school and how it views a particular way of working is also something that can either facilitate or discourage being productive with mobile apps. There have been places that have viewed my use of a phone or tablet to sort myself out with something akin to deep suspicion. I can’t really blame them as it’s the same way that I view the kids with something akin to deep suspicion when they’re on theirs. But then again, I’m a professional, and an adult (I won’t go so far to push it and call myself ‘responsible’) and I think we’re now at a point that mobile device use, if not entirely ‘normalised’ in schools, is not as much as an anomaly as it once was. Being comfortable with staff using tech to help with their work, perhaps actively encouraging it (yet not enforcing. I’m still firm in the belief that a professional should be able to make a choice in how they work) can make life a little easier. Establishing an in-house forum where teachers can share some of the tools that they’re using and perhaps demonstrate the apps that are helping them conquer the day-to-day grind can also go some way to removing any possible stigma as teachers convince others that they’re not constantly on the Facebook or happily Snapchatting away as everyone else gets some proper work done.

Because proper work is proper work, no matter how you go about doing it. Recognising that it happens in different ways, and making efforts to try and enable it, whether it be using pen or paper or the shiniest new bit of kit, is key to helping teachers do the best that they can. An environment that identifies how to support teachers in the way that works for them is an environment that values professionals and the work that they do. That value then carries over to the kids as it’s often the case that what’s good for the teachers is also good for the students. Not everyone works in the same way, but by making it easier to work in the way that best suits your teachers, a school can help their workforce reach their potential.

Communication is key to the effective running of a school. Good communication fosters good relationships and in educational institutions, with so many stakeholders, relationships are incredibly important. With this in mind, the channels a school chooses to communicate through also become important in themselves, especially as social media now offers a chance to reach people in a way that is direct and immediate.
There are, of course, inherent risks, and there is often an understandable hesitancy from schools to utilise open platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. But if this is the case, the setting up of a school blog can act as a more manageable way to put your institution’s message out there.

A school blog attached to a website can present an insight to the daily goings on behind the gates and in the hands of a curator with an eye for detail, an ear to the ground and a little talent with the written word it can offer an extremely human voice of an institution that is often viewed as being closed-off to those who aren’t teaching or learning within it. One of the complaints that parents and carers often have is that there are only a number of communication points in a year and that sometimes it can be a mystery as to what is going on (given the uncommunicative nature of many adolescents and teenagers!). An effective school blog will not only disseminate important information throughout the year in an easy-to-digest format, it can concentrate on some of the minutiae that is often lost. There may be an exceptional piece of work that deserves a wider audience, a teacher explaining the finer points of how to help the kids with their study skills for an upcoming test, or photos, video and audio from a recent volunteering event. All these and more add colour and vibrancy that often goes unnoticed. Content that includes successes, news, input from teachers, children and management in a style that reflects the ethos of the school goes a long way to offering an insight into the work that goes on and can be presented in the most positive way possible. It can also give parents and carers a chance to respond to those events, bringing the school and the local community together. And unlike other platforms, there is always a chance to moderate.
A school blog acts as a window and allows the outside world in (to an extent of the school’s choosing) and enables schools to share the fantastic things that are happening and deserve to be shared.

The pursuit of ‘authenticity’ in education when it comes to student activities is always a hot topic. The question of whether we can truly prepare students for a life outside school when we teach them within the walls of the classroom is one that comes up again and again.
What steps can teachers take to bring the wider world into their place of learning in an effort to engage children and help them to see the work that they are doing in a wider context?

Student Blogging
Student blogging is one of the ways that teachers can bring an authentic audience to their students, increasing engagement, and widening the horizons of any classroom-based activity. It’s often the case that children’s work is only really seen and commented on by their teacher. By using blogging platforms, a child’s efforts can potentially be seen by a global audience who can constructively comment on that work. When a child understands this, they often increase the effort they put in as it’s not just a teacher who will be reading what they wrote. There are sometimes drawbacks as an audience is not guaranteed and the teacher must be confident in things such as privacy settings,

Video Visits
Bringing experts into the classroom has always been a sure-fire way to increase engagement and the scope of a particular project. However, there are often organisational hurdles that go along with these types of visits. Video conferencing software can be used to great effect to try to alleviate some of the trickier logistical issues of having visitors in school and can also be used to make links between classes and schools where previously, geographical constraints would have made this an extremely laborious process. Tim Peake discussing his time in space with children in the classroom whilst actually in space has been an excellent recent example of this, and the possibilities are numerous as video conferencing offers the next best thing to a physical presence in the classroom.

Project-Based Learning
Project-based learning offers a mirror to how hurdles are overcome in the world of work whilst presenting an alternative to the more linear breakdown of sharply defined subjects. Students try to find the answer to a complex question or a challenge often framed in the real world and have to use a cumulation of their collective knowledge and skills in completing the task. English, maths, science, art and a sense of collaboration all go towards successful achievement in a closer reflection of how things work outside of the classroom.
In utilising these ideas and more, teachers can begin to explore the idea of bringing authentic learning to the classroom, and by doing so, give their students a taste of what things are like in the wider world, preparing them for their journey as learners and their negotiation of it.

Without putting too fine a point on it, I’m not the most organised individual in the world. My working life as a teacher is punctuated by panicked running to half-forgotten meetings, surprise that quickly morphs into heartbreak when the kids turn up to what I could have sworn was a free period and the less I say about my failure to get my bus duty day right the better.

It’s no excuse but I’ve got a lot on my mind (although if you saw me gormlessly wandering the corridors, it may seem like the exact opposite). There’s so much that goes on in school on a daily basis that, for me at least, things can get a little crowded, brain-wise. The sheer volume of tasks that need carrying out and the information that has to be retained means that even as something deceptively easy as prioritisation becomes a chore in itself as I struggle with a to-do list that rolls away into the middle distance and over the horizon.

For a poor unfortunate like me, mobile apps offer the prospect of straightening the looping, meandering tributary of my workflow into something that more closely resembles efficiency. This is no mean feat, considering. Mobile apps can save me effort, time, let me communicate with a wide range of people easily and make me look vaguely competent and less sweaty from all the last-second, panicked corridor dashing to that very important meeting that I’d completely forgotten about until I saw the whole team walking in the opposite direction from me.

The first advantage of using a phone to complete a range of tasks during the day is that it’s always with me. It gives me a central hub where formerly I might have folders, notepads or a pc roughly the size and shape of a back-to-back terrace anchoring me to a certain geographical location. Mobile apps let me be…well…mobile and for someone who doesn’t have their own room (like my good self – I’m assuming they think I can’t be trusted and they’re probably right) travelling light, or at least lighter, is a huge advantage. Of course, I still carry the essential things I need for the class (I dream of one day working in a paperless school and ditching my trusty folding trolley) but it does mean that there is less of a burden to bear.

It’s not just the limiting of physical weight that is an advantage of using mobile apps. They also offer the opportunity to shift and automate some of the more menial tasks that you come across freeing up a bit of cognitive space. Calendar reminders with notifications, to do lists with alarms and other streamlining features act as a digital tap on my shoulder, guiding me to where it is I’m actually supposed to be at any given moment during the day and make my life slightly easier when I get there. It frees me up to concentrate on some of the more in-depth tasks and lessens the ever-constant worry that I may have missed something important.

With the right systems, mobile apps can also make communication in a school or across schools easier. With the current trend in chains and mergers, with institutions over a number of sites with staff in great numbers, making sure you can get in touch with who you need to quickly and easily (especially as there’s no guarantee that they might be within grabbing and shaking distance) is becoming more important. Messaging and mailout services mean there’s easy ways of getting in touch with people, saving time, travel and effort.

Because that’s what me using apps is all about. It saves me an amount of effort in doing certain things and allows me to redirect those efforts into different parts of the job. It makes the way that I work easier and more efficient and also has the added bonus of making me feel a little bit more competent with some of the things that formerly would have left me in a spin. It’s not a spectacular game-changer but in my case, it’s a way of working that really does help me be a little bit better (although with a little less corridor running, I have put on a bit of weight).

In the next post I’ll talk about how school culture can encourage or hinder the use of mobile apps.

Kids on the phone wind me up no end. Telling kids to get off their phones when they’re not supposed to be on them winds me up even more. Kids ignoring me after I tell them to get off their phones when they’re not supposed to be on them is liable to send me into apoplexy whilst carpet bombing detentions in the general area of said kid as they continue to remain blissfully unaware and firmly ensconced in the world of Snapchat, YouTube, WhatsApp and every distraction the digital world has to offer.
So annoying. But then I’m one to talk.

When it comes to being on the phone, there are times that I’m worse than the kids. To the detriment of such minor annoyances as social interaction, the all-out horror of ‘family time’, or meals where some of the food actually goes into my mouth rather than down my shirt as I gaze lovingly at my tiny little screen to the world, I’m pretty much surgically attached. ‘Glued to the screen’ doesn’t quite cut it – I’m more cemented. I’m nothing if not massively hypocritical when it comes to the kids.
So phones, yep – a lot of the time they are tiny little distraction machines that eat focus for lunch and have productivity for pudding.
But…
Technology isn’t usage and usage isn’t technology. It’s true that in many cases, a mobile in your hand means nothing else gets done and it does take a modicum of self control not to get lost in the world behind the screen. But having said that, a phone can also be a fantastic tool for a busy and almost pathologically disorganised teacher like me. With the right apps, it can become a great way to save time, cut down on workload, and organise your day in such a way that it may give you a few extra minutes (which could, ironically, be spent telling more kids to get off their phones). It’s true, there is a world of distraction out there, but then again, there is also a world of help as well.
For me, my phone is a toolbox – it contains a whole bunch of things that I can use to get my job done. A bunch of equipment that formerly would have filled a decent sized bag – cameras, sound recorders, endless reams of paper, art supplies, games, whiteboards, notice boards, to do lists, maps, projectors; all these things can be squeezed into a little black rectangle, whacked into your pocket and taken with you, everywhere you go. That’s a lot less lugging and for me, less lugging is what it’s all about. Efficient, easy, portable – the abundance of mobile apps means that there’s often something available that can really help. Sometimes it’s even free. Free stuff rules.
The perception of the mobile phone as a hurdle to productivity isn’t necessarily a false one but when it comes right down to it, the phone itself is pretty much blameless. It’s what the user does with it that turns it into a help or a hindrance. In my own situation, it can often be a bit of both but ultimately that’s down to the type of person I am rather than the phone itself. And even at my most slack-jawed and unresponsive, the benefits that it represents far outweigh the annoyances.
In a case of ‘physician, heal thyself’, I try to model the use of mobile tech for learning with the kids, show them some of things that I’ve discovered that I think might help them in their own studies, maybe prize their faces away from the gossip, self-affirmation and the more addictive elements turning them towards things that’ll help with productivity, understanding and streamlining cumbersome processes (because there’s plenty out there). In doing so, I try to remind myself that there is a world away from social media, lolz and likes – a world where instead of a barrier, mobiles and the apps they contain can make the difficult job of teaching ever so slightly easier and that the screen can act as window to a different way of working rather than a mirror of some of our less wholesome traits.
That doesn’t mean I’m going to stop telling them to put their phone away, mind.
In the next post, I look at how effective use of mobile apps can improve your workflow.
Tom Starkey is an educator based in Leeds. He’s written for the Times Educational Supplement and Teach Secondary magazine. tweeting at @tstarkey1212 and writes at stackofmarking.wordpress.com.

Here’s our latest infographic on tips for perfect school websites. Follow our advice to achieve a great-looking website that will make teachers, parents and pupils proud of their school’s web presence.

School website Infographic

Keith Tellum is our Education Support Manager and expert in staff development and technology-based learning. He agreed to share his experience in the eLearning field with our readers to help you understand and leverage the power of online learning technologies.

1. What is the most important change in eLearning you have witnessed in the past years?
For me, this is the widespread availability of cloud technologies to education. At a basic level this has hugely increased the amount of storage available to pupils/students and staff which means that it’s now possible to make much more use of video and sound for assessment. This expands the ways you can teach and learn, and people can start to become more independent in their learning by the ability to watch or listen to themselves. Link this to one of the tools which allows you to include questions and information points in streaming video and we’re starting to develop new ways of learning outside the classroom. In a recent interview with some students, they also mentioned that it made it impossible to lose their work owing to lost or corrupted USB drives.
Another aspect of cloud-based learning is the ability to share documents and work on them as a group. In the past we’ve asked groups of students on educational trips to update a shared presentation with their photographs and reactions to their trip, and let students still at home share in the experience.
However, the most important thing here is that it can increase the opportunity for pupils to have feedback on their essays and tasks via the comments feature. From my experiences working in the educational field one of the most common requests from students was to have more formative feedback on their work so they could be sure they were on the right track.

2. Is there an eLearning influencer you admire? And if so, how does he/she inspire you?
As you can probably tell from the comments I’ve made so far, the thing I’m looking for in technology is that it changes and expands what we can do in learning. The most useful encapsulation of this concept was, for me, Ruben Puentedura’s SAMR model.
This model gives stages of moving from using technology simply as a substitute for things we do already (e.g. typing up work instead of writing it) through to the redefinition stage where we can learn in ways not possible before the introduction of technology. An example of redefinition (the R of the SAMR model) would be a recent class where a teacher invited several local businesses to contribute to a class discussion via a Twitter hashtag. It would have been impossible to get several people to give up their time to come to the school for a short session, but they were all willing to contribute from their own offices.

3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of online teaching and learning?
For most teachers the major disadvantage comes down to time. Creating effective online courses and setting learning tasks can be very time consuming, and there are many other demands on them during the working day. If someone in the school can be given time to develop the platform or learning materials this will obviously help, but technology should aim to be able to save time where possible.
In my early career I was faced with the challenge of taking what I’d been working on as an e-learning mentor and actually applying it in the classroom. There was quite a high workload at the beginning putting the online part of the learning together, but I found that as the year went on the work put in at the beginning paid dividends and I had much more time to work with the students on their projects.
In some cases, especially with older age ranges, the preparation doesn’t have to involve intensive work, but extends the learning process through discussion forums, and, more recently, the use of social media.
One of the main advantages of online learning however, is to make learning more accessible. I’ve seen various instances where students have been provided with screenreaders, coloured overlays and magnifiers which have made it much easier for them to learn. In some cases, technology has enabled a student to participate in a higher level course than would have been possible had the technology not been available. For me, this has always been one of the main factors in why technology is now an indispensable part of learning.

How would you describe a modern teacher? Today we are sharing some skills and attributes that we think modern teachers should possess.
 

Engage in professional communities

Teachers should view personal and professional development as a continuous process. One of the best ways to engage in personal and professional development is by networking. Network with other industry professionals by attending education conferences and events or by joining professional online communities for educators. Networking with other teachers is a great way to exchange ideas about different ways of teaching and to share other useful tips.

Keep learning

Being a teacher does not mean you should stop educating yourself. Like with any other profession, there is always something new to learn when you are a teacher. Modern teachers should be curious and proactive in terms of gaining new skills and knowledge.

Understand technology

Modern teachers should be willing to explore new technologies and the different ways they can improve teaching and learning. Technologies are constantly evolving and changing, therefore, teachers should be flexible and adaptable in order to stay up to date with changes in technologies that could support education.

What is more, most students are tech-savvy, this means that having an interest in different technologies will definitely help you engage with students more.

Participate in social media

Incorporating social media into lessons can be a challenge due to lack of knowledge, accessibility and issues like e-safety. However, teachers who are using social media can benefit in a number of different ways. For instance, different social media sites can help make lessons more interactive as well as they can extend the learning outside the classroom.

Social media is also useful for engaging with parents and for promoting the school image online. What is more, joining different discussions or connecting with people of social media are great ways for networking with other industry professionals.

Know when to take a break

This is very important for keeping high levels of productivity and for reducing work-related stress. Modern teachers know when it is time to slow down and relax for them and for their students.