Classroom tech is great, as long as it’s used correctly, teachers say

Speaking at Gitex, many education IT leaders said simply giving children iPads is not enough - technology has to be integrated into the curriculum and teachers must be trained.

DUBAI // Simply giving each child a new iPad without a framework for how to use it in the context of lessons will result in much of the potential being wasted, education experts said.

Fraser Speirs, head of computing and ICT at Cedars School of Excellence in Scotland, told delegates at Gitex it was vital that new technology was an integral part of the curriculum.

“One of the issues schools in the UAE may face is that apps and programmes we have used for years in the UK are not available here,” he said.

“Teacher training is another area and it needs to be something that senior leadership in schools takes seriously.”

Darren Frearson, head of technology at Uptown School in Mirdif, said: “There has to be a reason and a way for the pupils to get the most out of it [iPads].

“We make sure that the technology is embedded in the teaching and the training is in place for teachers as well.”

Lukas Wood, head of technology at the Hartland International School in Nad Al Sheba, said his school was looking to provide an iPad to each of its pupils, adding that, with an increasingly technology-savvy classroom of pupils, it was crucial teachers were able to engage them in a way beyond simply using Google to research topics.