The proposal by both political parties to introduce tablets in schools has un­leashed another shal­low debate about who has the best proposal: the Nationalist Party with its promise to hand out tablets to all primary and secondary school students or the Labour Party with its commitment to equip Year 4 students with one?

There is no aggregated evidence that tablet technology significantly aids learning- Frans Camilleri

If Alternattiva Demokratika were to promise tablets to all working-age people it would, by this logic, have the best proposal.

Really?

The use of tablets in schools has the potential to modernise the education system but it has to be said right away that, at this stage, there is no aggregated evidence that tablet technology significantly aids learning, though there are suggestive findings from limited studies.

In the UK, only six per cent of all computers in schools were tablets at the end of 2012 (4.5 per cent in primary and 6.9 per cent in secondary). This is expected to rise to 22 per cent by the end of 2015. An official Tablets for Schools Programme was launched in the UK only last summer on a trial basis and schools have to apply to the Economic and Social Research Council for funding support.

The UK project will involve just 30 schools in a trial that will evaluate the platform to be used for access to the internet and the use of a portfolio of relevant and measurable electronic education content for Year 7 mathematics students and their lecturers (mathematics was selected because it has been highlighted as a ‘cause for concern’ by the education authorities).

On the other hand, thousands of schools in the US and elsewhere already use tablets instead of textbooks.

The UK’s Family Kids and Youth research agency recently conducted a qualitative study of schools in Belfast, Kent and Essex where children are already benefiting from tablet use. Results suggest several benefits to learning, including an increased motivation to learn, increased parental engagement, more efficient monitoring of progress between pupil and teacher, greater collaboration between teacher and pupil and between pupil and pupil.

The study concludes: “It appears that one-to-one tablets offer a sense of inclusion that allow children, irrespective of socio-economic status or level of attainment, an opportunity to thrive through a new pedagogical model of pupil-led learning.”

There are many issues to be considered in the use of tablets in schools, and if anybody is thinking that educational levels are going to automatically improve just because students have a tablet, they had better think again.

Some of the advantages include better engagement (including increased stimulation), reduced ‘time to learn’, enhanced knowledge retention, quick access to reference material, and evidence gathering and presentation.

Immediate plus points would be taking notes, writing reports, accessing information posted by teachers on the school portal (to the extent it already exists), working on group assignments, sharing files and data and creating artwork.

But how will they actually support current content and activities set out in the curriculum?

Will they be able to access existing network resources and in what way will individual user access and usage be controlled?

Will the tablets be retained in the school or will they be taken home by the students?

What kind of filters will protect students, especially if the tablets are taken home?

Some readers have already highlighted problems relating to the damage tablets can be expected to suffer at the hands of normal users, let alone young children.

In fact, concerns about the management and security of tablets, and value and portability risks, feature highly as significant barriers to their adoption in foreign schools.

Other disadvantages include the risk of eye strain, headaches and blurred vision. Some teachers worry that tablet use may increase excuses by students not to do their homework.

Others argue that tablets could become quickly outdated as new technologies are released.

I am not a pedagogical expert but it seems to me that one of the most important issues to be evaluated is what exactly will be the role of teachers in a technologically-enhanced classroom.

I would imagine that if tablets are to be used in an effective manner, teachers will not be lecturing as much but will be more like facilitators. This entails a behavioural shift of monumental proportions.

Will teachers, who are notoriously conservative, be able to transform themselves, and what training and help will they receive to make the change?

In a study conducted by Micro-soft in Singapore, emphasis was put on the importance of giving teachers time to create quality lessons that use the tablet.

But an even more important consideration is how to give teachers an opportunity to educate both high-achieving as well as low-achieving students. Otherwise, the technology will only serve to accentuate the existing divide and leave low-achievers even further behind.

While the proposals from both the PL and the PN are welcome, it seems to me that the Labour one is more realistic and allows for exploration and resolution of the more important issues I have highlighted while having the potential to be extended as more is learned about the actual benefits that tablets can deliver.

Michela Spiteri’s column will not be appearing this week.

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