The Next Big Things in Schools IT

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By Gary Sargent, Vendor Relationship and IT Product Manager and Dave Bolton, Sales Manager

The massive IT in Education show (BETT) in London is probably the best place to spot the big trends in education IT.

Last week, when we were down there with the CleverBoxes team, there were a few big themes that really struck us.

One of the main buzzes was all around Interactivity.

Interactive products with touch screen technology are THE big thing, and they really do represent fantastic learning tools.

That’s not especially new, of course. What IS new is the entry level costs for many of these products.

We’re talking about software that interacts with any white wall, for example. A camera picks up a presenter’s movement and the whole thing becomes interactive – in effect, a whiteboard.  At the very basic level, it’s possible to get a system like this for around £250, which is pretty amazing.

Compare that to a classic interactive whiteboard, which at the cheapest level might cost around £500 and that price can go up to thousands for higher spec.

What this means is that for many schools facing big financial constraints, this kind of highly portable interactive technology is within their reach for the first time.

It seems to us that the expansion of IT in schools over the coming years is going to be truly revolutionary.

Not only will products continue to be more affordable, but they are going to change the whole way teaching is carried out in the classroom.

The Education Minister Michael Gove’s pro-IT message at the show summed up the way IT is heading in schools – the sense that the way it’s taught is going to allow more creativity and freedom.

The view we get is that IT is no longer just a subject to be taught – it’s seen much more as a tool.

What this means in practice is that, because costs are coming down and there are more adaptable products out there, the use of IT is spreading much more widely across the curriculum.  Exciting times for schools then.

All the tier-one brand names were there in force at the show, as you’d expect – HP had a big stand, along with the likes of Toshiba and Samsung.

But we also noticed that there were hundreds of smaller businesses offering niche IT products to schools.

These covered a huge range, from computerised library systems to bespoke software for school manageability.

We saw one system in action that was basically a complete time and motion application, covering everything in a school from teaching rotas and keeping parents informed to who was parked where in the car park!

One significant presence we noticed at the show this year was Google.  And their stand was incredibly busy. What was causing all the excitement was the Chromebook.

It might have been around for a little while, but our view is that it was still really at the embryonic stage. Google have only recently selected the manufacturers, after all. It’s really only now that people are starting to get to know the product.

The advantages are obvious. Because it makes so much use of the Cloud for apps and storage, the Chromebook is simple and relatively cheap.  And that price advantage not only applies to the initial capital outlay, it applies to maintenance. Security isn’t an issue, nor are software updates and worries about viruses and nasties being introduced.

The Cloud has big advantages in general for schools, not just because it represents money savings, but also because devices like the Chromebook are just so easy to set up – no profiles to enter or software to install. Just turn on and away you go.

Our forecast is that the Chromebook will be very big in schools this year.