The role of technology is changing in classrooms – and independent schools are leading the way

Ah, happy memories of the 1990s classroom. The flicker of the CRT screen; the interactive whiteboard; the screeching from the dial-up internet modem; the frantic searching for the Encyclopedia Britannica CD-Rom. These images are now as archaic as the blackboard and the slide rule. Gone are the boxy computers under a dust sheet in the corner. They’ve been replaced by hordes of gadgets, now mostly in the hands of the pupils. Walking into a classroom today is like visiting an Apple Store.

The role of technology in schools has evolved in three phases. It all began in the 1980s with the arrival of the BBC Micro and the affordable personal computer. These shiny wonder machines provided useful diversion for excited pupils and confused teachers. In the 1990s, the computers became bigger, more colourful and easier to use, but their role in the classroom barely altered. Even the addition of the odd ISDN line and flaky internet connection did not bring computers out of their lonely corner.