Category: Uncategorized

Some thoughts on AI in education

A recent post in the TES got me thinking once again about AI in the schools.   The post focused on parents fears about artificial intelligence use in schools stating 77% of parents expressed a concern over a lack of transparency.

Firstly before I get into my views on AI let me first take some issues with the reporting and with the parental perception part of the research.   Looking at the research which you can find here, the question asked of parents focused on the “consequences of the use of AI”.   This feels a little negatively biased to start with.    Under this banner question a serious of sub-questions were asked with the participants asked to respond with either don’t know, fairly concerned/very concerned or not very concerned/not at all concerned.  Again the options hint towards negativity and therefore introduce bias.   And finally the sub question itself in relation to transparency for example focused on concerns relating to a “lack of transparency”, again a negative implication and further negative bias.     It is also worth noting that the survey only had 1225 parents contributing.    I think this falls very short of a sufficient sample to draw any meaningful and generalisable findings.   Despite all of the above the TES decided to pick up and report the findings of “parents’ fear about artificial intelligence in schools” including indicating an “overwhelming majority of parents are concerned”.   I find it somewhat funny that concern of potential bias in relation to AI was reported in an article itself so loaded with its own bias.

So to my views;  I myself have concerns regarding AI use in schools however also see much potential.   Funnily enough the Nesta report to which the TES referred concludes that AI in education “promises much to be excited about.”

Given the negative bias in the TES report lets therefore start with my positive views as to the potential for AI in education.   AI is very good at identifying patterns and divergence from patterns within large data sets.    This makes them ideal for analysing the wealth of school and wider educational data which exists to help educators, those responsible for educational policy and decision making, school leaders and even the teachers themselves.    Now thoughts may instantly jump to achievement data sets resulting from testing, final exams or teacher awarded grading however the opportunities far exceed this area.   Take for example data taken from school Wi-Fi, where students are allowed access, in relation to student movements around the school.   This data might help a school reorganise the school day or restructure the timetable in order to become more efficient and maximise the learning time available.   It might also be used to redesign learning spaces or develop spaces for students to rest, take a break and address their wellbeing.  This is but one example of how AI might be used along with school data.

AI can help direct students to appropriate learning materials using data to identify the areas where students need additional support along with the best support materials to meet these needs.    Some platforms already exist and are exploring this opportunity including Century, a platform which I heard very positive stories regarding when recently speaking to students at a school using it.   Platforms like this might prove highly valuable additional resources to complement classroom teaching or to provide a more effective homework platform.   This area and use of AI is likely to continue grow with the development of more and more online learning content being key to this.

AI can help with teacher administrative tasks such as registration conducted via facial recognition or marking of tests by natural language AIs that can apply a given marking criteria to student submitted work.    We also need to recognise some of the AIs that are already available including voice recognition and dictation, which is now a feature of the MS office products.    Googles search facilities, a now standard feature used in schools and classrooms, also quietly uses AI yet we don’t bat much of an eyelid to it.

The negatives implications which exist in relation to AI generally apply beyond the educational context, albeit the educational context in teaching our future generations makes things all the more worrying.

AIs need to be taught and to learn with this done using training data sets.   The worry is that bias in the training data set will result in bias in the AIs decision making.    As a result an AI which was developed in the UK, and therefore trained using UK based data, and used successfully in UK schools may not be appropriate for use in schools in Asia or the Middle East due to its decision making being biased towards a UK context.   That said, this same issue would impact on any product or service, or even individuals where they seek to operate outside their normal context.   We all have an inherent bias, we “humans”, create the AIs and train the AIs so is it realistic to expect an AI without bias?  I suspect part of the issue is a concern in relation to a particular bias being introduced purposefully however I think it is more likely bias in AIs will arise accidentally as it general does within humans.

There is a concern that AI decision making based on large data sets may become impossible for humans to explain or understand, as the decision making process could be based on huge amounts of data.     This brings with it the concern that we may lose some of our control.   If a teacher recommends a career track for a student they will be able to explain how they arrived at this however if an AI was used, the teacher may be able to present the AIs findings but may be unable to explain or understand how this was arrived at.   How many parents who be happy with a suggested career path for their child without any explanation available?

Linked to the above is a concern of “determinism” where AI might identify an end point and then through its actions lead to this occurring.  So those students identified as achieving a C grade in GCSE might be presented with content and learning materials which lead them to achieve exactly that.  This concern is again about a lack of control however it could be suggested we are deterministic in some of the practices already in use widely in schools.   Take for example the setting of students into ability bands, is this not potentially deterministic as the students in the top band get the most challenging content which may enable them to achieve top grades while the students in the lowest band gets easier materials which means the don’t learn the more complex materials, and as a result are unable to achieve the top grades.    Also is there a danger of determinism every time a teacher reports a predicted grade to parents or where a school uses ALIS or other benchmarking data?

Overall AI is going to find increasing uses in schools.   My gut feeling however is that for the foreseeable future this will be very much in a subtle way as data analysis systems start to suggest areas to investigate within school data, accessibility tools including dictation and translation support students in class and AI driven learning platforms provide personalised learning opportunities beyond the classroom.   These are but a few examples of things already happening now.  These uses of AI are likely to become more common.   Discussion of AI reminds of a quote in relation to effective technology integration being such that the teacher and learners don’t even stop to think about the fact they are using tech, the tech use is transparent.   I think AI use is going to be exactly this, and the AI in Googles search goes some way to provide this;  When was the last time when you were conducting an online search that you stopped to think about how google search works and how AI may be involved?

 

 

 

 

My first 12 books of 2018; done!

I set out this year to continue my habit of trying to read at least one book per month throughout the year.   My aim being to read some light self-help books along with some significantly heavier texts.  I wanted to read across a couple of different topics.

And so, in August the 8th month of year, I finished my 12th book and met my target.   So far I have read:

  • The fourth education revolution, Anthony Seldon
  • Make it stick, Peter C Brown, Henry L Roediger and Mark A McDaniel
  • SUMO (Shut up and move on), Paul McGee
  • The upside of rationality, Dan Ariely
  • Open, David Price
  • The gift of failure, Jessica Lahey
  • Change, Richard Gerver
  • The Cyber Effect, Mary Aiken
  • The $100 Startup, Chris Guillebeau
  • The marshmallow effect, Walker Mischel
  • Mindfulness, Gill Hasson
  • The Art of balance, David J Bookbinder

Although I have hit my target for the year I still look forward to further reading in the remaining months of 2018.    I continue to try to ensure that my bookshelf is never empty of books yet to read.    I think it was in Naseem Talebs Black Swam where he mentioned the importance not of the books you have read, but of the books yet to read.   There is always room to learn more, to refine or change your views and to continue to evolve.   This is something I hope to continue to do.

I must also acknowledge that reading has also become a bit of a wellbeing activity for me.   It provides an opportunity to step away from the stresses and concerns of the working week and managing a household.   It provides me a space to relax.     And on my return to the normal week I often am able to take a fresh perspective on issues or to arrive at new ideas or solutions.

My bookshelf still has a number of books unread on it, including a couple of heavy but interesting titles.   I also intend to revisit a book I read some time ago in Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence.

So with that I will put my laptop down and get back to reading.

Am I checking my phone too often?

A couple of weeks ago I installed an app called Checky on both my Android tablet and my Android phone.   The reason for installing the app was to try to get a handle on how often I checked my devices during the day.   I had a sense that I was possibly checking my devices too often and that as a result I was less focused than I could be, however I was also conscious of the fact that this might be simply an incorrect perception without grounding in reality.   The only way to determine whether my sense of over checking my devices was true was to gather some quantitative data and this is where Checky comes in.    The app is simple – It just logs the number of times you access your device, reporting this daily.

The results;  Well over the last couple of weeks the combined totals from the apps across both the mobile devices I use, a phone and a tablet, suggest I access my mobile devices on average 34 times a day.    This represents checking my devices almost every 28 minutes if we assume 8 hours of sleep per day and therefore only 16 possible hours each day when I could access my device.

Taken in the context of the piece in the Independent (Barr, S. 2017) in relation to the average Brit who  accesses their devices 28 times per day, my personal access over the last couple of weeks of 34 times seems a little high.    It is certainly nothing compared to some teens who apparently check social media 100 times per day (Wallace, K, CNN, 2015).   That said, I cannot see why I should need to be accessing my devices every 28 minutes.

On reflection I must acknowledge that I have slightly different apps sets across both devices.   This may lead me to check both devices at the same time which could be doubling up my statistics.    This is something I may need to look at, either having the same apps on both devices, or having clears sets of apps on each devices, thereby avoiding the need to check each device separately throughout the day.  This may reduce the time taken when I have the urge to check my various apps, as I would only need to check a single device.   I also note that recently I have taken to exercising in the morning which involves using my phone for music as I run, making changes to my music as I go and also reviewing my distance traveled, etc, which all require me to access my phone.   Another factor is I use a tablet device in meetings and in my general work day which again would show up in my access statistics.

I have also put the data into Excel and looked at my usage by day.   It turns out my greatest usage is on a Sunday, then on a Friday and Saturday respectively.    For me this is a little concerning as shouldn’t I be focusing on enjoying the weekend as opposed to checking my devices on a Saturday or Sunday.   I quite often engage in twitter chats on both Saturday and Sunday which may account for some of the statistics.  The question is: Is this the best use of my weekend?

I think the key thing I draw from the activity of gathering some data on my access habits is one simply of conscious awareness.  All too often people are using their devices but not conscious of the frequency or time spent.   They are not conscious of the impact it may be having within their lives.   They do not see how much of their day is spent on social media consumption.    We easily succumb to social media and our mobile devices stealing away valuable time which could be better spent on other activities.    I at least had a feeling that something was wrong and have now gathered data which I can now use to decide on actions and then measure the success of any actions I may take.

Maybe this is something we should all be doing with students in our classrooms?   Ask them to install Checky for a period of time and record their device usage, followed by reviewing it after a couple of weeks as a class activity.   I am sure this would make for some very interesting discussions.

 

 

Distracted by Mobile Devices

I have noticed a self-perception over the last week or so that I have tended towards becoming distracted by my need to check my various devices for messages, tweets, updates, etc.   Now it may be that my perception of the issue is tainted.    Due to a busy workload at the moment I have taken to keeping lists of tasks to be undertaken and, as is the way, as soon as I score one task off, I add three more on.   This means that my perception of progress may be that I am not making any headway which may lead me to under appreciate what I have achieved.   This under appreciation may be making me feel that I am wasting time when I am checking my devices, thus leading to over accounting for the amount of time I am using up in this checking.

Another alternative is that in my growing frustration at my inability to reduce the list of tasks in front of me I am seeking solace in checking my updates for that brief moment of pleasure associated with a new message or new update.   In this case my perception of distraction may actually be true.

Yet another possible interpretation is that my perception is correct and I am actually suffering from distraction brought about by my mobile devices.  Maybe I am checking my devices repeatedly during the day and as a result interrupting activities that I might otherwise focus on and complete.

To help answer the question I have downloaded an app, “Checky” to my mobile devices to provide me with some quantitative data to compare with and either confirm or refute my perception.   The app basically keeps a log and reports on my daily device usage.   I will share further in a few weeks’ time once I have sufficient data to at least draw some initial conclusions.

In the meantime, do you give thought to your personal use of Tech, to how long you use it for, to the frequency you check your devices or to what you use it for?     How do you confirm or validate your perceptions?

GDPR and photos around school

Recently a member of staff popped in to discuss how she would like to share photos of a school sporting event with the various schools which were involved.   This got me thinking about GDPR and the implications for events and photography at such events.

Firstly, let’s consider the photos themselves.   They might show groups of students involved in a sport or gathered at the start or end.   They might also include spectators who attended the event including parents or visitors to the school.   My first piece of advice here is simply to ensure that it is clear to people that photography will be taking place and that such photos may be used by the school for various purposes including newsletters and other marketing or publicity materials plus that they may be shared with other organisations involved in the event such as other schools.    This notification can either be put on programmes or event marketing materials, or can be made clear at the event itself via posters or other displays.   I believe this should be sufficient as gathering specific consent from all in attendance would be impractical plus where consent is not provided, avoiding including individuals in action event photography would be very difficult indeed.    Taking a risk based view, given that no names are attributed to the photos, and therefore individuals are not clearly identifiable I see the risk of taking photos as events to be low.   As such I see the provision of notices of the intention to take and use photos as sufficient.

Once we start identifying individuals in photos, possibly by naming them, or given that the photo is of a small group of individuals who therefore are more identifiable, then I think we would need to look to have consent or some other basis for processing the data.    Schools usually have such a permission form or other method to gather permission from parents to use photos of children in their materials.  Key here is to ensure that a permission form makes clear the purposes for which photos might be used. E.g. marketing purposes, around school for display purposes, etc.

When the staff member popped in, the issue of event photography highlighted the inaccuracy of the frequently used term “GDPR Compliance”.    The term “compliance” to me conveys a sense of a binary outcome, either we comply or we don’t.    The issues in hand when looking at GDPR are not so clear.   Does compliance mean seeking permission from every individual in a photo, including members of the public?    I would think not.    As such I continue to believe in the need to take a measured risk based view on how we manage data and on our preparations for GDPR.   Where a risk exists, we need to decide whether we accept the risk.   If we do not we must seek to mitigate the risk through permission forms and notices in the case of school photography, to the point that we are then happy to accept, either this or we stop taking photos.

GDPR continues to result in confusion and contradictions of interpretation.   We seek the way, the one way, the best way to achieve compliance yet every school is different plus interpretations and attitude to risk vary.    For me the key is simply to consider your own environment, the risks and your schools appetite for risk, and to act from there.

 

 

Balance…or not?

I have found myself discussing balance on a number of occasions.  Recently I mentioned it in reference to whether education should go through incremental improvement or a process of disruptive innovation.   In each case my reference to balance has been in highlighting some of the binary discussions which seem to arise on the Edu blog sphere and Twittersphere slightly more than they do in real life discussions.    Things are generally not binary in nature as the world is seldom that simple.    Balance therefore allows for an element of two opposing concepts or views with agreement to establish a point of agreement somewhere between the two opposite points.    Balance to me presents a continuum between two points, with the ability to select somewhere in between.    Up until recently I have been happy with this concept of balance.

The other day on the way home though I came to think about balance and I realised that my viewpoint maybe wasn’t as acceptable as I had thought it was.    The issue which came to me as I drove home was the fact that my view of balance puts two concepts at opposite ends.   For example, incremental improvement and disruptive innovation.    The two concepts are not opposites so why would they be at opposite ends of a continuum?    The reason I suspect is that in a discussion between two parties each will adopt a position, or end, and the negotiation that follows will either lead to an agreed disagreement or to a compromise or point in between.  As such from the point of view of a discussion between two people with differing viewpoints the model of a continuum and balance makes sense but maybe it doesn’t make sense as much when looking at the concepts themselves or their implementation.

In the case of incremental improvement and disruptive innovation, does more of one result in less of the other?     Maybe from the point of view of time available to undertake the process of change, it might be a case of more of one and less of the other.    Other than this could we not seek to be both incremental and disruptive?    If we were half way between incremental and disruptive what does this mean?   Does it mean spending half of our time being incremental and half of our time being disruptive and if so, how do we transition from one to the other?    Or if not related to time, what would being half way disruptive look like?     Can I be incremental but also also introduce a disruptive innovation, or could a disruptive innovation by incremental?   Are all increments necessarily equal and in which case is a disruptive innovation possible just a large incremental change?

I realise now that my use of balance hadn’t really advanced me away from the idea of binary concepts.   Having a continuum between two points isn’t that much better than having two points, especially where the concepts or points of view aren’t clearly opposites.    This all stems out of our looking for the “right” answer and as Ken Robinson said in his famous Changing Paradigms speech, “there can only be one and its at the back of the book”.   De Bono makes a similar observation in his book which is aptly titled “I’m right, you’re wrong”.    The reality is that we can actually all be right (or wrong come to think about it).    We could be iterative in our change however also be disruptively innovating as well.   There is no requirement to do one or the other, beyond the requirement which we imply in our discussions of differing viewpoints.   This extends for most binary discussions (or arguments) both online and offline.

I feel we all need to take more care in pitting viewpoints against each other.    Maybe the biggest benefit might come from accepting that differing viewpoints may all be correct, from looking for commonalities as opposed to stressing the differences.

 

 

Reflections on month 1

I must admit that January has been a difficult month.   A number of issues at school around key IT systems have put a high degree of focus on part of my team requiring them to seriously step up and take on new challenges.   The last two weeks of January have been particularly difficult as we have struggled to fix the issues which have arose plus where we have found it difficult to identify alternative solutions.   Now, as February begins, however, after many days of struggle, solutions have been found and these solutions not only represent a solution to the problems but also an improvement on the setup as it had been previously.   I must admit to having become stressed during January and also to being annoyed at times as to my inability to resolve the issues in hand.   I also acknowledge having seen things as a “Failure” to find a solution as opposed to a “not yet” moment.   I need to be more conscious of this in future as my behaviours are what people see as opposed to my intentions so if I talk the talk I need to be seen to walk the walk.        I have also noticed myself using an old favourite phrase of mine:  “The problem is…..”.    This is definitely something I need to knock on the head, as stating the problems will most likely sound either negative or obstructive in search for solutions.   Am not sure if “the challenge is…” sounds any better but the main thing will be to take care to avoid labeling inconveniences, difficulties, momentary challenges, minor deviations from the plan, etc. as “problems”.

Professional Development

The above problems have led to me getting more directly involved with some of the schools IT systems.   This has meant dusting off my old SQL skills and learning some new software solutions, etc.   It has been fun to get directly involved although at times frustrating such as when I spend around half a day updating a tables data just to find out that an automated routine deleted the tables data every evening.   This goes to indicate the importance of documenting systems, something that is generally left to last and therefore often missed out altogether.

I must note that the above wasn’t an area I had foreseen as professional development  I would be doing this year however it has certainly challenged me and forced me to learn new things.     Challenge was one of things I had identified in my pledges so I am happy in this area at least for now.   I would also say that this highlights some concepts in the book “Open” which I have been reading recently in that my learning was in a time which suited me plus via online resources and forums as opposed to more traditional training or PD models.

Fitness

On a personal note my efforts to maintain a minimum of 30mins exercise a day in the form of walking , have been successful.    I doubt I will ever manage to do kilometres worth of jogging in the morning before work, as some do, however at least I am making an effort and making some, albeit modest, progress.

Reading

My reading in January has seen me complete two books in Open by David Price and The Upside of Irrationality by Dan Ariely.    I have also done a little additional reading around data science and python programming.   The one thing I am looking forward to is having the garden at my new house done and to being able to sit out when the spring finally arises, to read a book or two.   Am sure I will be sharing a few photos of me sunning myself, with a beer and a good book in the months to come.

Journaling

My journaling started off particularly well this month with me putting aside time to take notes on my experiences of each week.   Sadly as other issues arose as indicated in my opening paragraph, this has dropped by the wayside.    As I reflect on this the urgent/important quadrant diagram jumps to mind.     The things I have focussed on during some of this month have been the urgent items and have also been important however journaling, although not urgent, may be very important in the long run in providing me something to reflect on.    Without a record to reflect on I am at the mercy of my incomplete and often inaccurate recollections of things. Any attempt to derive improvement is negatively impacted upon by the resulting inaccuracies or omissions.  I will need to try and ensure I make a greater effort to secure my journaling time against other needs and tasks which may encroach.

In Conclusion

I cannot believe that the first month of 2018 has already been and gone, that one twelfth of the year is gone.   As I often say, “onwards and upwards”!

Stress: Taking a longer term view

The last week has seen me move house.   A stressful process filled with problems.   Lets just say it hasn’t gone at all smoothly.   At this point a week after the main part of the move the house is still filled with boxes yet to be unpacked however I suspect the coming weekend will be used to address most of that.   It is with this change of circumstance, a new house, that I have come to reflect.

My original plan having returned to the UK from the UAE had been to rent for a short period of time before then buying a house.    That short period of time turned out to be just over 2 years.   Looking back the two years disappeared in a flash.     Thinking a little harder I can identify some of the difficulties and issues which led to the elongated period of renting.   I can also remember the stress associated with some of these issues.   Sleepless nights have resulted along with arguments and heated discussions within the family and with individuals outside the family.    Taking a helicopter view and looking out over the 2 years, the issues got addressed and maybe therefore some of the stress was unwarranted.  It didn’t help and served only to impact on the health and well being of the family.

This week has also seen me reflecting with my team as part of the annual appraisal process.   On a number of occasions during discussions we have identified projects which we have felt have not progressed at the rate with which we had wanted.   These projects have caused stress and angst.    Looking at them though through a wider perspective we see that progress was made and that some of the factors which slowed or even stopped progress were out with our control.    It is only looking long term and taking all things into account that we see the limited progress as being reasonable given the constraints and other factors which existed.    In the short term, in the here and now, this isn’t appreciated and the progress is just seen as below expectation.   The stress and angst at the issues in the short term serve little purpose when viewed across the longer term, other than to impact on the health and well being of the individuals concerned.

As I reflect I have come to realise that in the short term there is lot we don’t know, don’t perceive or don’t appreciate, that we will come to more aware of when we look back across the longer term.   It is this that we need to be aware of.   That sometimes we over stress, over think and that this impacts on our well being.   We need to keep in mind that we will eventually view these issues over a longer time frame at which point it is likely that we will be able to appreciate things we can’t in the short term.    We should therefore be wary of our stress levels and of stressing out at issues for in the longer term all this is likely to achieve is damage to our health and well being.

For me as I continue the process of moving I will bear this in mind such that the next time I feel stressed I will take a step back and remind myself that in the long term, with the appropriate level of effort, things generally work out.

 

 

Mood music

Popping to Tesco this morning to get some shopping I decided to make use of the wife’s car as it is newer than mine, lighter and easier to drive.    Jumping into the car and starting the engine I was greeted by my wife’s selection of upbeat music, at notably loud volume.    I decided to be kind and not mess with her stereo, instead choosing to listed to her musical selection albeit at a lower volume less likely to be audible from space.

As I drove to Tesco I found myself cheering up as I looked out on the blue sky in between the clouds.   I even found myself rolling down the window.    Something as simple as cheery upbeat music in the car had had the effect of changing my mood.      So how could this simple change impact on well-being if it was part of your daily routine, music in the car or when doing the chores at home, music in the classroom or when marking, etc.

I have decided that before work begins once more on Monday I will create a playlist for my own car purposely selecting up beat music.

I wonder what the implications are for the use of music within the classroom in order to put students in the mood for learning.    I know I have read in various books about the impact of music on mood, emotions and learning.   I also have read various examples of how teachers are make use of this concept however like a lot of approaches which can have an impact they often disappear under the busy activities of the average school day until something brings them back to mind;  For me my drive to Tesco in my wife’s car did just that.

iPads in Schools – Further thoughts

I recently came across an old posting of mine from March 2013 with regards iPads in education.  See the full posting here.   In the posting I expressed concerns over the very generalized benefits of iPad devices in lessons being espoused at the conference I was attending.    I expressed a concern that this general positivity towards the impact of iPads was very similar to the unrealized positivity which for many years surrounded the Interactive Whiteboard.

It is now over three years further on so I thought this was an opportune time to reflect on my thoughts now, how things have turned out and my thinking as it is now.

Thinking back to 2013 I believe now that I was skirting around the key issue.       My concerns at the time were very much around the lack of significant evidence to support the benefits of using iPads in schools.    The conference had plenty of examples of where iPads had been used however the benefits were very generic such as pupil engagement, pupil collaboration and pupil directed learning.   I was looking for more quantifiable evidence of the benefits as opposed to these more general and anecdotal benefits.

Reflecting the key issue I missed was this idea of generalization and the issues which surround it.    My concern was the generalization of the benefits being stated by presenters at the conference however this generalization was inevitable as presenters strove to present in a way which could engage and be appropriate to attendees from various backgrounds and experience levels.    They were seeking to explain how they viewed the iPad as having the potential to have a positive impact on learning.   What I should have been more concerned with was this suggestion that the iPads benefits could be extrapolated to schools in general as opposed to the suggestion that the iPads had general benefits.

Every school is different in a multitude of both small and large ways.    This make the possibility for a single device to have benefits for school in general unlikely.    In addition the iPad as a piece of #edTech is a tool for learning and the impact of any tool depends on its usage.   A well used hammer will fix things to the wall whereas a poorly used hammer will just result in a sore thumb and fingers.    Given the dependence on usage and the likely significant variance in how devices are used again makes it unlikely that a single device such as the iPad could have benefits for schools in general.

Considering the presentations, and on reflection, what I should have been wanting to see was a school that told me what they had sought to achieve, what they had done and how they had assessed their success including what measures and data they used in measuring their success or failure.   The presenters should have been specific about their context and the impact of their use of iPads in this context, with no attempt made to generalize for the wider world.

As more schools look to engage in mobile learning this is my key message:

  • Be sure what you want to achieve through the use of mobile devices including iPads including considering how you might measure your impact and hopefully success.
  • Do your research on what devices can and cant do including seeking feedback from schools already engaged in using mobile devices however also remember that your context will most likely be different than theirs. Don’t assume as it worked in one school it will work in yours.
  • Consult widely. Use social media and your professional learning network (PLN) to get feedback and ideas.    Again, as indicated above always ensure you remember that the context within which those providing feedback are operating may differ from your context and therefore don’t assume what they have done would be transferable to your school.
  • Review, review and review some more. No matter how much planning and research you do there will always be something you miss.    These might be unexpected issues however equally possible are unexpected opportunities, new ways to apply the technology, unforeseen benefits, etc.

Above all if you are implementing mobile devices remember you are doing it for your students and staff and your school and therefore any solution or project needs to meet their needs and not the needs of the abstract concept of education or schools in general.