Empowering students to be engaged and confident
in their learning is an area where technology is
particularly powerful. Photograph: Rafe Swan/Cultura
RF/Getty Images
Empowering students to be engaged and confident in
their learning is an ambition that spans the curriculum,
and it is an area where technology can be particularly
powerful.
But it can be easy to fall in to the trap of buying a
piece of tech without really knowing how to use it
effectively. So we have picked five simple ways
technology can promote greater independence in
learning.
Capture learning
Empowering students is about giving them more
responsibility and accountability for their learning
according to Tom Rees, headteacher at Simon de
Senlis Primary in Northampton.
“Too many young people sleepwalk through their
school life being compliant, playing by the rules and
allowing a combination of children and adults to do
most of the thinking and learning for them,” he says.
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“But in reality, unless children are handed more
responsibility for their learning, they will continue to
rely on teacher-led instruction, becoming participants
in – rather than owners of – their education.”
One way to boost pupils’ engagement in their learning
is to capture it using technology. Much as we take
photos of experiences we want to share, Rees
suggests allowing students to use devices to create
“multimedia notes”, such as videos and podcasts,
which they can access on-demand at a later date.
This creates a greater sense of ownership; students
can choose how to record their digital notes and
where and when to revisit them. It also allows pupils
to reflect on and reinforce their learning on their own
terms.
Flip your classroom
The flipped classroom model is where technology is
used by students to acquire knowledge and concepts
online (often through video) in advance of sessions
with their teachers. Work in the classroom can then
focus on skills such as evaluation and critical thinking.
“Through video, accurate explanations and models can
be ensured, and students can pause, rewind or fast-
forward to personalise the pace of instruction around
their preferences,” Rees says.
It’s an empowering approach because pupils are given
more control over their learning. Instead of struggling
with concepts during lesson time, they can digest
materials at their own speed then come to class
armed with questions. Teachers are empowered too as
they are put in a better position to help students with
aspects they don’t understand.
Research projects and WebQuests – a lesson format in
which most or all the information that students work
with comes from the web – are another good way to
use technology to encourage independent learning,
while forums such as The Student Room provide an
immediate advice and information portal.
Break down barriers
Technology can be used to great effect to empower
students with specific special educational needs
(SEN). This might be accessibility tools for pupils with
dyslexia, dictation for children with visual impairments,
or real-time translator tools for those with English as
an additional language (EAL).
As Kevin Sait, IT manager at Wymondham High
Academy Trust in Norfolk, explains: “ Microsoft
OneNote learning tools can take a piece of text,
syllabise, pick out nouns and adjectives, cater for
dyslexia, and read the passage back to the student.
This can be achieved on a small £80 device using the
power of the cloud.”
Technology can also support pupils’ social and
emotional wellbeing by giving teachers real-time
information on how they are performing. They can
send motivational quotes and advice to students by
email or via a social networking service such as
Yammer. The speed at which all of this can be done is
a major benefit of technology over non-digital
strategies.
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It can also give students with additional support needs
a greater sense of independence. Assistive
technologies, such as dictation software, allow pupils
to experience success while working on their own.
Access experts, anytime, anywhere
Bringing experts into the classroom using tools such
as Skype can help boost motivation and provide a
greater depth of understanding. It’s even possible to
use technology to take your class on a virtual field trip.
“Last year, through Skype in the Classroom , we
brought computer programmers and video producers
into our school to share their expertise with children,”
Rees says.
One of the most empowering features of technology
according to Alan Crawford, assistant principal and
strategic director of ICT development at Shireland
Collegiate Academy , is that students can learn at any
time.
“When it comes to technology, an empowered student
is one that doesn’t ask “Can I?” They just do it
because they have access and it is firmly embedded in
their educational journey,” he says.
“Microsoft technology allows us to do the heavy lifting
for staff, which enables them to concentrate on the
learning of students. The students have access to
everything that we produce 24 hours a day, 365 days a
year.”
His top tools include Microsoft Surface on an Office
365 learning gateway, with staff preparing resources
for students to work in a “flipped” way.
Encourage innovation and personalisation
Technology encourages students to experiment and
innovate with a range of tools, allowing them to find
ones that suit them best. But you don’t need to go
technology crazy: choose five key tools which are
simple to use, and encourage pupils and teachers to
focus on these rather than constantly introducing new
apps or programmes.
“Empowered learning through technology doesn’t need
to be complicated or expensive,” says Rees.
“We carry out more than 90% of our online learning
using core programmes such as OneNote , Sway, Office
365, Scratch and web-based research or games,” he
adds.
“All of these are free, and by narrowing the amount of
applications, staff and children can become proficient
and confident users.”
Technology can empower teachers too by making their
lives easier. Instead of having an iPad for the
classroom and a separate laptop for writing reports, for
example, Sait says: “These days a surface device with
its full keyboard can fulfil both roles in one.”
Using technology to empower young people and give
them more control over their learning is, therefore, a
very achievable goal and one that is becoming
increasingly important. As the recent OECD report,
Students, Computers and Learning , says: “For the first
time, today’s parents and teachers have little, if any,
experience with the tools that children are going to
use every day in their adult lives.”
