Rob Barugh, Hale’s Director of Information and Learning Technologies
We often hear discussions of digital divides, whether between urban and rural areas or older and younger demographics. However, Hale School in Perth has taken steps to stop a different type that it noticed in its classrooms – the digital divide between teachers and pupils – and somewhat ironically it is the humble pen that’s helping to break down that high tech divide.
This year the leading independent school is providing each of its Year 7 and Year 10 students with a Microsoft Surface Pro 3 as part of the college’s mission to break down the disconnect between teaching in digital format with digital artefacts and resources while still expecting students to take notes and annotate on paper.
The light-weight stylus of the Surface Pro 3 enables students to immediately digitize their work, particularly useful in science, technology, engineering and maths subjects where coursework is often not as simple as typing up notes and essays. Being able to sketch, plot and solve equations as they would on pen and paper is extremely valuable for Hale students
The school believes note-taking is an intrinsic component of learning and development and for Rob Barugh, Hale’s Director of Information and Learning Technologies, it’s the resemblance to a traditional pen and paper that sets the Microsoft Surface Pro 3 apart from competitors. Weighing only 800 grams and with the screen size being on par with A4 paper, the device has really resonated with students and teachers alike.
The school believes note-taking is an intrinsic component of learning and development and for Rob Barugh, Hale’s Director of Information and Learning Technologies, it’s the resemblance to a traditional pen and paper that sets the Microsoft Surface Pro 3 apart from competitors.
“We’ve tried other solutions but we haven’t come close to achieving almost universal positive feedback like we have with the Microsoft devices. In the past we have tried heavier, stylus-based devices from the likes of Fujitsu and Toshiba but we found the input to be clunky, not reminiscent of working with actual pen and paper,” Mr Barugh said.
The school’s journey towards the Microsoft Surface Pro 3 began with a study tour of the United States. Mr Barugh met with the ICT department at Cincinnati County Day School, the first school in the US to trial the devices on a large scale. That meeting led Hale School to embark on a journey that now sees 450 Surface Pro 3s deployed at the school in 2015.
OneNote is a big part of Hale’s wider strategy and the “pen and paper” style of the Surface Pro 3 is designed to empower students to continue their use of OneNote as a traditional workbook replacement. Already, less workbooks are being printed as 80 per cent of the middle school moves to OneNote. The school intends replicating that shift across the entire school, with the Surface Pro 3 being a key enabler.
Already, less workbooks are being printed as 80 per cent of the middle school moves to OneNote. The school intends replicating that shift across the entire school, with the Surface Pro 3 being a key enabler.
Teachers are also using the device to annotate student work as a means of providing feedback, with 80 per cent of submitted work now being digital. This is where the Microsoft ecosystem comes into its own with OneNote, OneDrive and Office 365 providing the “winning combination”, according to Mr Barugh.
This is where the Microsoft ecosystem comes into its own with OneNote, OneDrive and Office 365 providing the “winning combination”.
Aside from the Surface Pro 3, the school runs a wealth of other initiatives on Microsoft products. A large part of the school’s curriculum is stored on SharePoint, with access provided to parents as well as teachers and students. Every course is represented on the platform and parents can view online academic reports via the tool.
Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, according to Mr Barugh: “Both students and teachers alike are excited about the Microsoft devices. Previously, there was a big pull towards other competing ecosystems, but the Surface Pro 3 is certainly negating that effect. Our teachers, in particular, are scrambling to get on board.”
The journey has just begun for the school. Pending a successful initial project, the school will look to roll out the Microsoft devices to all students from Year 4 to Year 12, a total of 1500 Surfaces across Junior, Middle and Senior School.
Staff and student email will be migrated to Office 365 and student workbooks will be on OneNote, linked to their Office 365 accounts, as digital note-taking becomes the norm across the vast majority of learning areas.
With this roadmap in place, Hale School and Surface Pro 3 have put a red pen through the latest digital divide.
