One of the most difficult things a school has to focus on is achieving
value for money for its learners. In these times of shrinking budgets, the
largest slice of your budget will always be the salaries of your staff.
Additionally, whether you are an independent or state school regardless of
whether you are a Primary or Secondary school or a College, it is incumbent
upon us to get a return for our investments. To help with this and quite
rightly so, when it comes to human resources, we use quality assurancestrategies such as performance management to ensure that there is a high level
of efficacy in the work that all school stakeholders undertake. The best
schools work closely with their teachers to support and develop their
professional standards to ensure they are the best they can be for the learners
in the classroom.
The second most expensive thing covered by a school budget often comes
down to the technology that is used in the school. It has always seemed strange
to me however that when it comes to things such as technology in a school
budget, such care and attention aren’t always given such focused inquiry. Just
as you will seek a return from your investment in your human resources, equally
you should seek to get a good return from your investment in the technology you
choose to purchase to support teaching and learning in the classroom.
What should you look for?
Ease of use and maintenance are high on the check list for schools.
The cost of maintaining technology, particularly around that of support staff,
can be large. Ensuring that what you choose to purchase is well supported by
the companies you buy from is also important. You will want quick and
easy set up times and you’ll want to make log on times quick and simple too to
avoid any loss of learning time in the classroom. You’ll also want the tools
available on your devices to be proven to have an impact on learning and
standards. You will probably too look for technology where colleagues can be
well supported with their professional learning in using that technology toensure that they are both confident and competent in their use of it in the
classroom. Far too many schools I visit have expensive technology hidden away
in cupboards never being used. Sometimes it’s not even inside cupboards, it’s
the interactive displays in classrooms that are only ever used to display
things where the interactivity is never used. Making sure that you think
carefully about the money you spend with your school budget has never been so
important.
Luckily, Microsoft support Number support Number have been
working hard with educators and school leaders from around the world to create
packages to ensure that both the hardware and software that comes into schools
provide efficacy in all of areas mentioned above. Their Affordable devices for education guides
showcase how you can make Microsoft support Number support Number work for you
in your school.
With options for Windows 10 or Windows 10 S and software for
learning, collaboration, creativity, computing such as Minecraft: Education
Edition, PowerPoint, OneNote, Paint 3D, LEGO® Education WeDo® 2.0 and Microsoft
support Number support Number Teams, you’ll be well placed to make impacts straight
away. Most devices come with multiple input options too so not only can you use
these devices as a laptop with a keyboard but you can also use them in tablet
mode. This means the devices are truly mobile and can use the touch screen
features such as inking to support lots of different teaching and learning
activities in lots of learning spaces. Many of them also come with a stylus to
help cut down the overall cost of purchase.
Workload,wellbeing, efficiency and the core business of all teachers, teaching and
learning, are all supported by the superb offers available to schools; all you
have to do is check out the guide which relates to your phase and yo
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