Teach Middle East Magazine Apr - Jun 2020 Issue 3 Volume 7 | Page 19

Sharing Good Practice is particularly beneficial for students with low reading ages, EAL students, or students who may simply struggle to decipher the teacher’s handwriting. One teacher commented that the best thing about the new approach was that they are ‘able to tailor feedback for each child, which is particularly helpful for those with SEN/EAL.’ Students can listen to the feedback multiple times and revisit the feedback after many months. The use of ‘notifications’ means that the students see feedback immediately, without needing to log in. Building Relationships I believe that technology is at its most powerful when it brings people together, and that digitised verbal feedback helps to build relationships between students, teachers and parents. Parents are also able to receive notifications when a ‘voice note’ is added to the student’s work, prompting transformational conversations around learning at home. Parents can now see, in one place, exactly what work their child is producing at school, and what he or she can do next to further improve. This enables parents to engage in conversations around learning - and it is this, rather than simply parental involvement in schooling, that makes a difference in children’s achievement (Harris and Goodall, 2007). with technological tools has certainly gone a long way to ensuring that new possibilities are adopted, and in some cases, has become a non-negotiable. What’s next For technology to have a transformative impact in the classroom ‘it is critical to move the focus beyond the technology itself, to how technology enables teaching and learning’ (McKnight et al, 2016 p194). The focus needs to be on understanding what it is that we want to use technology to improve, rather than the hardware. It is worth noting that the speed of development for mobile tools far exceeds the development on portable devices. With this in mind the consideration of mobile devices as a tool that will become the norm for students and teachers in the future is worth serious consideration. References Black P and William D (1998); Assessment and classroom learning. Assessment in Education 5(1): 7-73 Department for Education (2015); Workload Challenge: Analysis of teacher consultation responses. Available at https://assets. publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/ system/ uploads/attachment data/file/401406/ RR445_-_Workload_Challenge_- _Analysis_of_teacher_consultation_responses_ FINAL.pdf (accessed 19 October 2018). Elliot et al (2016); A Marked Improvement? A review of the evidence on written marking. Available at https://educationendowmentfoundation. org.uk/public/files/Publications/ EEF_Marking_ Review_April_2016.pdf (accessed 19 October 2018). Harris A and Goodall J (2007); Engaging Parents in Raising Achievement: Do Parents Know They Matter? Available att http://dera.ioe. ac.uk/6639/1/DCSF-RW004.pdf (accessed 19 October 2018) Hattie, John (2009); Visible Learning: A Synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. London; New York: Routledge McKnight et al (2016); Teaching in a Digital Age: How Educators Use Technology to Improve Student Learning. Journal of Research on Technology in Education 48(3): 194-211 Ward, Helen (2016); ‘Workload: Tens of thousands of teachers spend more than 11 hours marking each week,’ TES, 18 April 2016 at https://www.tes.com/news/workload-tens- thousands- teachers-spend-more-11-hours- marking-every-week (accessed November 4th 2018). Challenges The main challenge for school leaders is to embed purposeful technological change that impacts pedagogy in a consistent manner. This could be simply down to change management, however, I think that understanding the possibilities of operational efficiencies in schools, through the use of mobile technology is a fairly new concept that requires measurement and an evidence base. In some schools, teachers have been enthusiastic adopters from the outset, and having identified outstanding practitioners from different key stages, it was possible to form a working group. This group modelled best practice, offered support to any teachers who were more unsure of how to use voice feedback in their classroom. The creation of a feedback policy in line Abdul Chohan is the Director of ThinkSimple Ltd. The organisation works with school leaders and Ministries of Education to develop operational efficiencies and innovative learning approaches in education. Abdul is a former teacher of 20 years and is the Co-founder of a primary free school in Bolton, UK. He is also a former Principal and former CEO of a multi academy trust based in the UK. Class Time Term 3 Apr - Jun 2020 19