Teaching Matters

InTouch November 2012 55

Did you know that PDST Technology in Ed-ucation (formerly NCTE) provides both on-line and face to face courses on ICT whichcould be completed by a whole schoolstaff as part of the plan for CPD provisionduring additional/whole school hours?

OnlineThere are courses of varying durationswhich are available during specific dates

and are supported by an online e-Tutor.There are also some short courses (approx-imately one hour each) which do not re-quire an online tutor and are thereforeavailable 24 hours a day for an entireterm. See www.ncte.ie/onlinecourses.

Face to Face (f2f)The service also includes CPD on using ICTin the classroom that is delivered in your

own school as whole school training (WST).See the new course information bookletUsing ICT for Teaching and Learning: ICT

Courses for Teachers 2012/2013, which isavailable from your education centre, fordetails. Please direct all enquiries regard-ing WST to your local education centre.

For all the latest information on PDSTTechnology in Education/NCTE courses,please go to www.ncte.ie/ICTTraining

Some teachers are talking and writing inincreasingly positive terms about the useof tablets in the classroom (of which theiPad is one type). This leaves others won-dering if they should follow suit and pur-chase tablets for their school.

As the purpose of educational tech-nology is to support learning, one mayask whether tablets will help address theschool’s learning and teaching prioritiesand bring about desired learning out-comes.

What are Tablets?Tablets are lightweight, portable wirelesscomputers, which run special softwareapplications (apps), use touchscreensand have multiple functions such as in-ternet browsing.

Educational ConsiderationsLike laptops andnetbooks, tabletssupport pupilcentred learning,enabling thepossibilityof ‘anytime,

anywhere’ learning, including outdoorlearning opportunities. Tablets offer newcapabilities and possibilities for learningand teaching. Pupils can use them tosupport independent, differentiated andpersonalised learning. Tablets have thepotential to introduce more fun intolearning, facilitating higher levels ofpupil motivation and engagement.

Evaluating Tablets and AppsBefore investing in tablets, it is impor-tant that teachers are confident that theyare making an appropriate learningchoice for their school. An advice sheeton tablets has been prepared by NCTE(now PDST Technology in Education) tosupport schools in their decision mak-ing – see link below. Schools could dosome online research starting with thelinks in this advice sheet, ask one or twoteachers to trial tablets in various learn-ing situations, visit neighbouring schoolsthat may be already using them and oth-erwise evaluate their potential in thecontext of the school’s e-Learning plan.

In terms of identifying relevant educa-tional apps to use, there are thousands

available and many are free to trial,though quality can vary. Scoilnet’s pickof apps suitable for primary classes is atwww.scoilnet.ie/Educational_apps.shtm

Other ConsiderationsThe effective use of tablets relies on agood wireless network in the school.Schools will need to have enough capacityto enable several tablets to connect simultaneously to the network or internet.

The usual purchasing considerationsneed to be taken into account includingtechnical support/warranty, insurance,replacement devices (including end-of-life replacement) and storage/chargingfacilities. Apps may also have to be pur-chased and shared across devices beforeand after the tablets have been pur-chased.

Tablet Advice SheetAn advice sheet for schools is availableon the NCTE website at http://advicesheets.ncte.ie.

Compiled by PDST Technologyin Education (formerly NCTE).

Why consider Tablets?Tablets have certain attributes that makethem suitable for educational use:� Instant on/off (no delay).� Long battery life (typically over eight hours).� Multi-touch screens (easy manipulation of

screen content).� Children find tablet touch screens

attractive and intuitive.� In-built cameras (with most tablets).� An on-screen/‘soft’ keyboard.� Multimedia software apps for

education, including many for literacy,numeracy and special educational needs.

Some LimitationsTablets are not the answer to everysituation. Their limitations include:� They generally allow use of only

one app at a time.� They do not support some

software products commonly used on PCs.

� Certain tablets, (e.g., the iPad),do not support website contentbased on ‘Flash’.

� e-Books are available for tabletsbut compatibility across platformscan be an issue.

Attention Principals – CPD for additional (Croke Park) hours

Tablets in the primary classroom

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