Rogers, in ‘The Diffusion of Innovation’, suggests that some of the reasons why new ideas spread or not is because of:

• Relative advantage
• Compatibility
• Complexity
• Trialability
• Observability

In my school (UK state primary) we have a successful 1:1 iPad programme. But nearly all other schools in the area don’t. Why might that be? Here are some back of an envelope thoughts…

Relative advantage

I suppose that the greatest competitor of iPad in schools is not chromebooks or anything else, but rather just not having them. Schools have survived for centuries and millennia without a computer for every child. What are the advantages of having this magical device over just not bothering? Ofsted aren’t looking for it, SATS don’t require them, secondary schools aren’t demanding the skills and experience and I don’t think parents would pay for them.

Compatibility

Most schools have SIMS, Windows PCS, ‘smart’ boards and then a smattering of Chromebooks, laptops and perhaps some iPads. iPad plays very nicely with Microsoft (if you’re in the cloud) and Google (with 1:1 devices) but a lot less so with a legacy technology stack. Adopting iPad involves updating lots of other things too.

Complexity

Managing iPad in a school can be easy and a lot less IT-reliant at scale. However, you have to have all of the pieces in place: MDM, Apple School Manager, Managed Apple IDs and Automated Device Enrollment. If schools and IT teams aren’t familiar with the technology, this can seem like a big obstacle.

Trialability

iPad really starts making a difference when every child gets one. But how do you ‘trial’ that? For them to be used effectively, staff need professional learning, which is harder to do with just a subset of teachers. But trialing is what schools want and need to do.

Observability

iPad needs a learning platform. It’s possible to use Microsoft Teams, Google Classroom and indeed Showbie or perhaps Apple Schoolwork. But without this, the work that is produced has nowhere to go and so no one can really see the difference that it makes.

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All of the above — I guess — must at least be considered for technology rollouts to be successful.