by Sally Fisher

If you remember when;

ATARI was a state of the art video game system.

Mark from Eastenders was Tucker Jenkins.

And Frank was saying ‘GGGGGGGO!!!!’ on Runaround

The kids on “Why Don’t You” looked old… and cool…

K-Tel was a major force in music.

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Wham Bars, Spangles, Pacers and Banjos were playground currency

David Hasselhoff  wore clothes and talked to his car.

‘Charlie said’ don’t do it – and you didn’t

Then you’ll also remember this: the good old BBC Acorn computer from your school days. I still recall waiting patiently for my spreadsheet to be printed out by the dot matrix printer – remember that funny thin paper?  And don’t forget about the floppy disc!

The classroom of today looks dramatically different.  The classroom of 2012 is almost unrecognisable.  The blackboard/whiteboard has been firmly replaced with the interactive whiteboard which gives teachers the opportunity to cater for different learning styles allowing students to become fully engaged in a  multisensory, hands-on learning experience. These days most schools have computers in every classroom alongside the computer suite.  The last year has seen the introduction of the tablet computer into the learning mix and more and more schools are embracing this.

Homewood in Tenterden offer parents the chance to lease an Apple ‘tablet’ computer for their children to use in school. The opportunities to share resources, interact with students and the creation of a seamless transition between the school day and work at home suddenly seem possible.

At Kip McGrath we’ve already made this possibility a REALITY

At Kip McGrath we understand the importance of keeping at the forefront of educational developments and the company has invested in excess of £3,000,000 over the last 3 years developing the kind of technology that is relevant to your children. We have been using this new technology, called Insight, with your children for the last 10 months in Ashford and with amazing results. Technology will never replace the importance we place on outstanding quality teaching at Kip but together ….. well, they are a truly powerful combination.

Your children’s experience of learning today is vastly different.  What engaged your child and thereby helped springboard their learning even a few years ago no longer has the same results. As a company we are committed to keeping your child’s learning with us relevant.

Over the past 10 months we’ve been monitoring how your children interact with our new technology. Our results are:

1. Greater independence. Children work at a more effective pace and this improves both their motivation and concentration. We are able to monitor their level much more accurately and intervene where appropriate.

2. Online Homework – allows us to both set more homework but also to offer a greater range of homework tasks

3. Greater Feedback – we can see not only where a child may be struggling but the exact bit they cannot do. We can see this when they are completing work at home too. This allows us to truly shape their future learning.

4. It is relevant – your children took to the new technology as though they’d been using it for years ! This indicated to us that the technology really does match their needs and skills

5. At Home lessons – If you’re unable to attend a session or would simply like another full or part lesson at home during the week we can provide this – AND monitor it.

This isn’t about technology for technology sake – INSIGHT is really impacting on your children’s rate of learning

Put specialist resources in the hands of qualified experienced teachers and what do you have? A Kip McGrath Centre!

As experienced teachers we can see this and use our professional skills to respond accordingly. A powerful combination.

Related articles

• ITV Tuition programme – The Best Start in Life? (kipmcgrathurmston.wordpress.com)
• Why Tablets Are Important for Educating Our Children (wired.com)
• Technology Changing How Students Learn, Teachers Say (cshmsfaculty.wordpress.com)