The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the importance of technology in all our lives, not least in how we learn. While online classes still continue for some boys in isolation, it’s easy to forget just how important Zoom, Stile and Schoolbox were for all boys, teachers and families for much of the past two years. The question we must now ask ourselves is how we can best use technology to support boys’ learning, how it can be an aid rather than a hindrance in fostering great relationships with their peers and teachers.
This week all parents and carers of boys in Years 5 to 12 received an invitation to participate in a research study we are conducting with the International Boys’ Schools Coalition (IBSC). This major study aims to help boys' schools including Scots better understand the impact of technology choices on boys' learning and the quality of relationships in classes.
We have been closely involved in the development of the study since its inception in 2019 through the IBSC Research Committee, which our Principal Dr Ian PM Lambert chairs and on which Dr Caitlin Munday and Dr Hugh Chilton serve. The project commenced with a literature review by University College London’s Knowledge Lab in 2020-21 (see a podcast and webinar discussing the findings).
This study connects to research conducted by our own staff. Mr Nicholas Tester, Director of Strings, has been part of the IBSC’s rigorous action practitioner research program across 2020 and 2021, supported by Mr Jeff Mann, Coordinator of Student Experience. Mr Tester’s project is entitled 'Sir, not another piece of technology!' An examination of whether the use of e-portfolios in classroom music facilitates Year 8 boys to construct their own learning pathways'. He will present his findings at the IBSC Annual Conference in Dallas in June.
In 2021 Mrs Penny Ryder, Preparatory School Master Teacher, and I worked with a group of Year 5 boys to explore how their peers use technology. The boys developed a survey in conjunction with boys in the United States and Canada, and presented their findings to one another — by Zoom, of course! Read more about that project here.
This week all parents and carers of boys in Years 5 to 12 received an invitation to participate in a research study we are conducting with the International Boys’ Schools Coalition (IBSC). This major study aims to help boys' schools including Scots better understand the impact of technology choices on boys' learning and the quality of relationships in classes.
We have been closely involved in the development of the study since its inception in 2019 through the IBSC Research Committee, which our Principal Dr Ian PM Lambert chairs and on which Dr Caitlin Munday and Dr Hugh Chilton serve. The project commenced with a literature review by University College London’s Knowledge Lab in 2020-21 (see a podcast and webinar discussing the findings).
This study connects to research conducted by our own staff. Mr Nicholas Tester, Director of Strings, has been part of the IBSC’s rigorous action practitioner research program across 2020 and 2021, supported by Mr Jeff Mann, Coordinator of Student Experience. Mr Tester’s project is entitled 'Sir, not another piece of technology!' An examination of whether the use of e-portfolios in classroom music facilitates Year 8 boys to construct their own learning pathways'. He will present his findings at the IBSC Annual Conference in Dallas in June.
In 2021 Mrs Penny Ryder, Preparatory School Master Teacher, and I worked with a group of Year 5 boys to explore how their peers use technology. The boys developed a survey in conjunction with boys in the United States and Canada, and presented their findings to one another — by Zoom, of course! Read more about that project here.
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