CASE STUDY
SIMPLE CLASSROOM TECHNOLOGY
GRANGE PRIMARY SCHOOL, GLOUCESTER
range Primary is a larger than average school located in a
G
suburb of Gloucester. The proportion of children with Special
Educational Needs and are supported through school action is
above average, as is those eligible for Pupil Premium funding. In its
journey to becoming an outstanding school, the school was graded
as ‘Good’ in its 2013 inspection – going from ‘satisfactory’ in its
previous inspection.
The School was praised for its above average standards in reading and
maths. Inspectors noted the enthusiasm of its pupils and the efforts
made by teachers to ensure lessons are interesting and engaging. This
echoes the school motto of ‘Growing and Learning Together.’
Before purchasing LearnPads, the school already had an ICT Suite with
approximately 20 computers. Each classroom was equipped with one
class computer, an interactive whiteboard and teacher’s laptop.
It was important to Chris Dunn, the ICT Co-ordinator at the school,
that any new ICT solution should be portable, robust, easy to use,
child and teacher friendly, customisable and have the ‘wow factor’ to
engage children and capture their imagination. However, it was also
crucial that the product would continue to deliver beyond the initial
‘honeymoon period.’ They were also interested in the range of tools
a tablet device could offer – replacing a camera, dictionary, calculator
etc. in one user friendly device.
The School had originally planned
to finance 15 tablet devices but
because the cost of LearnPads was
so much less than competitors,
they were able to instead purchase
30 devices along with peripherals
for each device.
The School had originally planned to finance 15 tablet devices but
because the cost of LearnPads was so much less than competitors,
they were able to instead purchase 30 devices along with peripherals
for each device – including a keyboard, stylus and headphones. They
added to their order a trolley to securely store and charge the devices.
USES
The use of the LearnPads in class began by using some of the maths
apps as a starter activity. The students have been using a times table
app, which increases the children’s speed and accuracy. The School’s
SENCO has observed this is working particularly well amongst some of
the children with SEN. They observed a group of 6 children sharing a
tablet to solve maths problems. It encouraged turn taking, the children
were respectful of allowing the current child time to solve the question.
The other members of the group would still be solving the question in
their head and would give prompts if needed; all of the children in the
group were involved.
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CASE STUDY
SIMPLE CLASSROOM TECHNOLOGY
In Literacy the device was initially used as an eBook reader. The school
is using features of the ebook reader to allow children to annotate text,
for example children have been set the challenge of highlighting all
the adjectives they can find. Chris recognises this is quite a simple use
for the device that could be completed using photocopies of the text
and highlighter pens. However, by completing this task on the tablet it
saves money on photocopies.
Chris has also made use of the PSHE profile. In one particular lesson
base around emotions, he had planned to show a presentation of
a series of images for the children to suggest the emotion that the
person was feeling. However, during the lesson he deviated from his
original plan to make use of the camera facility of the LearnPads. The
children were tasked with taking photos of themselves for a child to
guess the emotion they were trying to portray. Instead of passively
learning by looking at a presentation, the children had a more active
approach to learning. Chris noted that ‘everyone was involved….
nobody could switch off.’
Chris has no regrets in
deciding to invest in LearnPads
for his school. When compared
to other tablet devices he
believes that it takes less time
for the teacher to give students
access to the resources on
their device.
OUTCOMES
Staff at the school are changing their approach to teaching as a result
of having the LearnPad devises at their disposal. They have been
inspired to teach in a more creative way with greater opportunities for
active learning. Some of the teachers have recently taken training to be
able to build their own profiles and therefore personalise content for
the needs of their classes. The teachers commented that it was ‘less
complicated than expected.’ Chris adds that there is a good collection
of straightforward support guides available on the LearnPad website
to help teachers. The results of this is that students are more active in
lessons. Through their observations the benefits have been particularly
beneficial for children with SEN.
Chris has no regrets in deciding to invest in LearnPads for his school.
When compared to other tablet devices he believes that it takes
less time for the teacher to give students access to the resources on
their device. Chris has a vision for using LearnPad in a broader range
of subjects. Talking to him, his passion for using LearnPad shines
through. He is particularly keen to support teaching and learning of PE
in the near future. He can see how LearnPad can be used to develop
skills through video examples and coaching apps to analyse and assess
performance and technique.
0845 862 0390
[email protected]
twitter.com/learnpad
facebook.com/learnpad
www.learnpad.com