Bookless School

ESSA Bookless School (via BBC) - visit BBC to see video

A few years ago at the 2011 Mobile Ministry Forum Consultation, I embarked on an experiment where in talking about tablet computers in a mobile ministry perspective, that I performed the presentation strictly from my iPad – no projector, just the tablet. I again performed a presentation at the 2012 MMF Consultation to a greater degree of success, and with some interesting feedback. There’s an important implication we were trying to get over here, that there’s a difference to engaging content that can be done if we don’t rely on traditional methods of presentations or handing out print materials. Good thing we aren’t the only folks trying stuff like this, as witnessed in this BBC article:

A school in Bolton is pushing the boundaries of education by putting away pens and paper and giving all pupils and teachers their own iPad. The Essa Academy says it helps students and has cut costs, including reducing the school’s £80,000 photocopying bill to just £15,000 a year.

Sure, we don’t hear about how much the tech adds to the costs, nor if there’s any training and the compentencies of the kids, teachers, and admin for this school (which is usually the case in these stories). But, we do see possibility that in doing an event in a different frame, without the ropes of some of the past, that we do get something a little bit more introspective, immersive, or even rewarding.

The video on the BBC page was not embedable; we linked to the one on YouTube, so there’s a chance that it might be taken down at some point. The link to the original article at the BBC remains in this piece