The BBC has published the video that illustrates the article and shows that in the Essa Academy, a school in Bolton, have decided remove paper and pencil and move on to learn with an iPad. Apparently and among other advantages, the school will reduce the 80,000 pounds (more than 80,000 euros) of paper consumption in the year to 15,000 pounds (more than 15,000 euros).
The number of students with iPad, between 11 and 16 years old, says Tim Muffett, the BBC journalist author of the report, is 840, and they can take it home, as teachers can do, and work at home with him to exchange information with classmates, teachers and perform daily tasks.
In the report you can see Showk Badat, director of Essa Academy, which indicates that the iPad is the pencil and paper of modern times. The students also explain that they are delighted because they have reduced the size of the backpacks and the teachers comment that it is the best way to know if the students understand and learn the subjects taught. It is also mentioned that the school includes systems to ensure that filter content on the Internet.
Showk Badat on the Essa Academy website, explains that:
Our approach is simple and some say unique, we remove any barriers to learning for every child. We do whatever it takes using radical new learning environments where students are given the power, confidence and freedom to learn and be creative according to their individual needs and potential.
(Our goal is simple and some say unique, it is about eliminating each child's learning barriers. We do whatever is necessary using new and radical learning environments in which students have the power, confidence and freedom of Learn and be creative based on your needs and potentials.)
In the Essa Academy technology is part of the teaching process among British children. The biggest precursor to the initiative seems to be Abdul Chohan, a kind of IT coordinator at the school and part of the team that leads Britain's methodological revolution. As indicated in the ABC, most of their students come from rather disadvantaged families from the area where the school is.
In the following video you can see Abdul Chohan explaining the experience, and is that the school was already a pioneer more than a year ago using iPod Touch among students. As explained, the results in the academic performance of the students were spectacular with 97% of the 11-year-old students in 2012 with five or more subjects between A and C (outstanding and approved), although the most spectacular result is that 50% of students received five or more subjects between A and C, including English and math.
Abdul ends the video with the answer to a teacher who commented that it was not believed that technology was what made the difference, indeed Abdul replies that technology is a catalyst for many tasks that have focused on at school and indicates, for example, student learning and motivation techniques, personalization and accessibility to academic content and ease of examination when students consider that they can do so.
