In August 2012, the City of Edinburgh Council commissioned Hull University to evaluate the impact and potential of mobile technologies for learning across the four 1:1 pilot schools. These schools were Sciennes Primary School, Broomhouse Primary School, Forrester High School and Gracemount High School. The evaluation took place over academic session 2012-2013 and was conducted by Dr Kevin Burden and Dr Trevor Male from the Faculty of Education at Hull University. The evaluation focused on the impact of mobile technologies on teaching and learning, challenges to traditional patterns of teaching and learning and leadership, logistics and infrastructure.
The evaluation is now complete and is available from City of Edinburgh's Digital Learning Team website by clicking here.
Some of the key findings of the evaluation:
- Levels of engagement and motivation amongst students rose across each of the pilot schools
- Student autonomy was considered to be an immediate benefit arising from the allocation of mobile devices
- Leadership and visible support from the senior management team was identified as a critical factor in the success and sustainability of the project
- The use of personal mobile technologies engaged staff in wider CPD opportunities and activities which changed their attitudes to the use of technology in learning
- There is evidence that teachers are shifting their practices in ways which might prove to be very significant. These include different patterns and means of communicating with students to support their learning beyond school; changing relationships between students particularly in regard to the traditional knowledge giver role of the teacher; and new models for organising learning such as the ‘flipped classroom’
- All four schools in this project remain positive and optimistic about the benefits and opportunities to be gained from using mobile devices on a personal basis
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