Technology is constantly evolving and changing everyday life rapidly! Gone are the days of a chalk board at the front of the classroom so I am going to try and look at the developments that may occur to bring around the classroom of the future!
When I was at school, to display a document to everyone the teacher had to photocopy it onto a transparent film and then use a huge, noisy overhead projector, that they had spent half an hour focusing so we could read the text. This used up valuable time and money in the school day and the quality was often poor! These have gradually been replaced, with the more expensive but effective option of a smart board. This meant that the white board was ran through a computer so there was no ink or paper involved, just a blank document that the teacher could digitally draw or write on. This was a huge improvement but it still proved difficult to effectively share a document or item. This has now been further developed by the introduction of document camera such as the Ipevo Ziggi USB Document Camera.
The Ziggi is proving to be increasingly popular with school and colleges around the country. It is a very simple to use plug and play device that requires no effort at all to set up. You plug it into your USB port on the teachers laptop or computer and position the camera stand so what you are trying to show is in view and it will focus itself. This can be used with an interactive smart board so you can highlight and label things. You can take screen shot or even video with this HD camera. The list of uses for these camera are huge, from showcasing the class pet to showing something on a smart phone.
This is happening now so what will be the developments in the future? I believe one major addition to the classroom will be the iPad. Due to its versatility and constant iOS updates it seems the ideal replacement for pen and paper. This does raise some issues like cost, and the fact like a young child known to be walking home from school with a £400 gadget in their bag is an ideal target for a mugging, but there are ways around this. It isn't unheard of for a sixth form college to spend upwards of £200k on paper per year, so would the cost be much more to buy each student a tablet for their 2 year spell? Its not just pen and paper that the iPad would replace, because of the thousands of apps on the device you would no longer need a lot of things such as calculators, textbooks, calenders or homework diaries. The amount of accessories that can be used with the iPad just adds to the appeal. Things like the the Ipevo Perch Desktop Stand means that the iPad can be used like a monitor! All work can be completed and submitted electronically, minimising the risk of damage or loss of work. It essence a school child's school bag can all be replaced by a smallish interactive tablet.
Over the past couple of years heavy snow fall has often disrupted the opening of schools and colleges which brings the work in progress to a stand still. However it was widely reported that one private high school near our office hosted lessons over the school network using the internet. If each student had their own tablet, it would mean they all had a connection to the schools network and intranet. This would mean in cases like the one I just mentioned, where the school has been shut because of weather conditions then lessons can still go ahead. This can apply to if a student is ill also, and would be most valuable in the build up to exams.
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