There is no doubt that the traditional methods of schooling are changing. There was a time when classrooms were dominated by blackboards, chalk, and textbooks. However, the rapid introduction of new technologies into our lives means there is now a need to advance how education is delivered to young people. 
With the introduction of new smart interactive screens, mobile devices, and clever sophisticate eco-systems and applications, schools are now spending over £900m on educational technology every year! That is a staggering amount if the technology is not used effectively or even appropriately withing teaching and learning. A recent report by OECD suggested that ‘we have not yet become good enough at the kind of pedagogoues that make most of the technology; that adding 21st century technologies to 20th century teaching practices will just dilute the effectiveness of teaching” (OECD 2015).
While we all wish to be in the position to offer the best education we can to our next generation, cutting corners with the implementation of technology in classrooms or adhoc integrating within the school culture, infrastructure, policies and/or teacher training, can be the start of a very expensive mistake. With this in mind, I have put together a few options for those interested in the digital evolution in schools, ranging from the Digital Leadership Academy videos with Mr. Abdul Chohan (Essa Academy), the Digital KPI Framework (a digital checklist in six key areas of an EdTech Strategy in schools) and a Digital Skills Teacher Training Toolkit to help you get started by focusing on the pedagogically implications of using technology in teaching and learning.
Dr. Neelam Parmar 