Classroom Life: Harrogate Grammar School

​Just over a year after the roll out of a 1:1 device scheme at Harrogate Grammar School, Assistant Head Teacher Katie Nicholson explains the changes staff and students have experienced so far…

​Two years ago I was told to solve the problem of offering ICT enriched teaching and learning with a falling budget. Beforehand, we would block time to use the computer rooms, which usually meant being on a waiting list for weeks, with no guarantee that the right software would be available when we needed it. I came to the idea of a 1:1 device scheme from a teacher’s perspective, looking at what staff would want from the devices on a day-to-day basis. It wasn’t an easy task to get off the ground, but we did a lot of research prior to implementation; this included looking at what other schools were doing, at different devices on the market and presenting the case to parents. From a financial point of view, it was tough having to prove to them the scheme was worth implementing at a time when not many schools were doing it, as there was no proof it was going to be a success. There were also concerns surrounding esafety and theft.

The students know we took a huge risk with them by rolling out the 1:1 iPad scheme. We wrote a responsible user agreement together and followed normal behaviour policy, and I’m pleased to say there haven’t been any major or even minor incidents.

In just a year since the roll out, we’ve seen a number of benefits. To begin with, I have been able to reengage the staff in different ways of working. Now there’s far more peer-assisted learning taking place and students have benefitted from greater freedom and creative licence, which has been incredibly empowering for them.

Homework is where we’ve really seen things come to life. For one of my A Level biology classes, I sent recorded verbal feedback on their essays via quick time videos. This meant feedback was far more detailed and the students responded well to this, developing a deeper understanding which I think contributed to excellent exam results.

I also recently asked my students to use iStop motion animations on their iPads to animate protein synthesis. One student used Thomas the Tank Engine to creatively demonstrate how particles move from one place to another in this process. The student in question is normally very shy and unconfident, but when I asked who wanted to present their homework I could see him starting to twitch, keen to impress his peers. This was a real breakthrough and shows the opportunities 1:1 device schemes offer to those who might struggle to access the curriculum in the traditional way. The same applies for those students with special educational needs; their barriers to success can be removed through the innovative use of technology in the classroom. The last issue I had to address with the roll out was how to share work easily and set homework using the devices so that we could get rid of our paper based homework diaries. Firefly was the only VLE provider that had really thought about how their platform would work on an iPad. We implemented Firefly so all students could access work on their device, and teachers could create resources straight from theirs. We can send messages and tasks to targeted groups of students to enhance teacher-student communication, and our sixth formers are using the Student Planner app for their homework and timetables; it has hugely improved workload management and provided an excellent digital alternative to the paper planners we used to have.

Currently, 1500 of the 1850 students on roll are equipped with iPads. We look forward to next September when we’ll be able to offer all our students a 1:1 device.