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Guest post from our Headteacher: Impact of Mobile @ Priory

priorybench

Over the next month or so, I’m going to attempt to coax various personalities involved with the Mobile @ Priory project to give their views. 

First off is our Headteacher James Humphries (@jrchumphries).  Much has been said about the support (or lack of support) from senior teams, and I have to say that James has been very supportive over the project’s life so far, especially when you consider some of the madness that I try to encourage…

Here, James writes about the impact of the project:

Take a walk through our school to see what impact Mobile @ Priory has had on teaching and learning.

The first thing you'll notice is that no-one is getting into confrontations about mobile phones. There are no stand offs between children and teachers or huddles of pupils secretively trying to check their text messages at break time. There is a healthy use of mobile technology for communicating and social networking. As a result, behaviour is better and pupils are much more prepared for further study and workplace environments. Cyber bullying is more widely reported and teachers are confident to deal with it. We respond swiftly in the same way as we do to any incidence of bullying. Our pupils are more independent, trusted and responsible.

At breaktimes you will find young people using their own devices to remind themselves of deadlines, check for information to help with learning. A group of lads gathered round an iPod are actually watching an amazing video of how to create a vortex in a glass of water which, when you remove the glass continues to keep its form. (check it out ) Pupils listen to music together and generally socialise, like they always did.

In lesson time you will see pupils using mobile technology alongside other types of traditional ways of presenting and researching. iPads, cameras and camcorders are frequently being used for recording and analysing information. Where pupils don't have their own suitable equipment they use ours. Mobile@Priory means we have a wider range to use and of course this means pupils are able to experience different platforms and software. Most importantly they can work through the difficulties and challenges that sharing information across devices can bring. They are learning to be independent of the restraints the manufacturers are attempting to place in the way of free transfer of knowledge. They are becoming powerful consumers and powerful citizens.

You'll also see fun. You'll meet #priorybench. You can sit on it and interact with it. What's the point? I don't know. Maybe not everything has a point to start with, but it made me smile. Once I found it.

I’d like to thank James for his comments and support for the project.  I’d also encourage him (and others) to follow the progress of the Priory Bench Sustainability project.

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