Six things to consider when purchasing devices for learning 

What should schools take into consideration to make sure they are investing in learning devices that are best suited to their needs?

CREDIT: This is an edited version of an article that originally appeared on ICT Evangelist

Choosing the right device for the learning going on in your school, and the activities that you want to undertake, can be tricky – if you get it wrong, you’ll be spending a lot of money on something that will, ultimately, not bring the return on investment you are seeking. Here are six things to consider that should help.

• Durability: students can be rough with devices, so it’s important to choose options that are durable and can withstand regular use.
• Accessibility: whatever you choose should be easy for students to navigate, with features such as text-to-speech, closed captioning and the ability to invert colours which can help to support children with additional needs. 
• Ease of management: software tools to manage devices in schools dealing with a large IT estate. 
• Support and training: any device roll out will fail if you don’t have a plan in place for providing teachers, students and parents or carers with training and support for using the devices effectively for learning. 
• Creativity: devices that include tools and features that support creativity allow children to express themselves through different forms of media; touch screen devices that can utilise a stylus are superb for this. 
• Collaboration and communication: devices that facilitate collaboration and communication, such as those with in-built cameras, microphones, the ability to share screens and work together on documents will help students to develop teamwork and social skills, in addition to curriculum learning.