After much thought and consideration, the Business Department at Morrison’s Academy, Perthshire, have made the decision to remove most technology from lessons, apart from where it is needed for pupils with Additional Support Needs. Head of Business at the school, Craig Roy, outlines the reasoning behind the move and how there has been a shift in pupil attention and engagement since the change.
As the Scottish Government continues to invest heavily in digital learning, a worthwhile question is whether our increasing reliance on technology is quietly contributing to declining outcomes.
I often think back to when I was 17, sitting beside my friends in a computing room. The teacher gave us instructions and set us to work. I promptly opened Microsoft Paint and designed a fish. Before long, my friends had copied it, and we were using the arrow keys to “swim” our creations from one monitor to the next. We were amused. Others, I suspect, were similarly entertained behind blank expressions…