Tackling the speed of Edtech change

When we show new parents around our school, they often focus on our facilities and what curriculum we offer. The question they never ask but perhaps should is: what is your IT infrastructure and does it support the escalating Edtech changes taking place?

Edtech is now the norm, as students use online books, software and multimedia. Sometimes parents want us to limit their child’s access to using the internet and not set homework that relies on laptops. The scenario is a parental dilemma; students working on their laptops with 10 other tabs open, ranging from Discord, Minecraft to Fortnite. Parents question whether much work is going on.

Edtech is an essential part of the school’s tool-kit of learning.

These young people are digital citizens who make notes on iPads using i-pens and tap their way through educational programmes; nevertheless, there is no doubt that learning is happening. Meanwhile, most parents are digital refugees who did not grow up with smart boards and laptops, and some struggle with this. They want to see evidence of learning in a format they believe in.

There is a tension between the world at home, which includes gadgets and free access to the plethora of the...