Apple Drives Learning in UK School

by , 11:20 AM EST, December 28th, 2005

Bryanston School in the UK is using a combination of Mac computers and Studywiz, and online learning environment, to revolutionize the way students learn. The idea is to push information to students so that they don't have to go looking for class content.

Studywiz is a web based learning environment developed with Apple's WebObjects. According to Andrew Barnes, Head of ICT at Bryanston, Studywiz and the Mac "have turned learning on its head."

Students use the school's iMacs and eMacs with the Safari web browser to access assignments and learning tools. The information presented to students is time sensitive, too. What they see on Monday may not be what they see on Tuesday.

The learning process can be customized individually for each student, based on their specific needs. Students that need extra help with grammar, for example, can get specific exercises to improve their skills. And keeping parents involved in the learning process is easier, since they can use a web browser to check up on their child's progress.

Maintaining the school's network is an easy task, too. Although the school maintains 22 servers and about 1,000 client machines, they only need a two person tech support team. Working with an all Mac set up has made everything easier and cheaper to maintain.

Mr. Barnes commented "I've worked in schools all over the world that used PCs, and I've never worked with just two tech support people! With PCs, you need a whole crew who continuously 'fire-fight' your systems."

Bryanston's Mac-based education system has enabled the teachers to provide a more organic learning environment for the students. Since each student can get a customized curriculum based on their abilities, maturity and understanding, the likelihood that they will successfully complete their assignments has been increased.

Director of Studies, Neil Boulton noted "The potential delivered by electronic learning technologies can be quite liberating."