The past three years have brought a dramatic increase in the use of digital resources by schools.
When remote working began with the first Covid lockdown in 2020, schools that were already users of digital resources were ahead of the curve, while others had to quickly evolve. Case studies of how school libraries utilised these resources are now available on the Great School Libraries website.
However, despite this rapid adjustment, take-up and ongoing use of digital resources have remained variable post-pandemic, not least because online resources are perceived as being expensive and time-consuming. What value, then, do digital resources hold?
The school where I work, Eltham College, was an early adopter of digital resources, and so I have had a long time to evaluate their educational worth and value for money.
Digital textbooks
One area where we have seen benefits is around digital textbooks. These give students access to material that they can study on their laptops and other devices far more comfortably and easily than with physical textbooks, which they would have to carry around all day.
Furthermore, digital textbooks often come with enhanced content, such as embedded videos, to increase the learning material on offer.
These digital textbooks are not necessarily a cheaper option as providers often get schools to subscribe rather than owning copies outright. So it is worth evaluating these ongoing costs, especially if pupil numbers grow and you have to buy more licences for access.
However, there are hidden costs with paper textbooks, too, such replacing lost and damaged books, and you have the difficulty of disposing of paper copies (and the associated environmental impact of this). This means a simple cost comparison is not always straightforward.
When it comes to digital resources beyond textbooks, such as specialist lectures, scholarly books and articles and digital magazines, schools have huge choice.
Time to learn
No platform is perfect, of course, so you have to investigate what is right for your school, teachers and pupils. Helpfully, many resources come with a free trial period and it is always worth using this to try and evaluate a platform or tool.
Staff should be involved in this process so they can investigate and report back on whether the resource would be a worthwhile investment.
Because the resources we have are of use to different departments, they trial their subjects at different times to suit when they have the most free time.
Usually I informally talk to the head of department when the trial period ends to see if they wish to take up the resource at that time, or whether they want it to be included in their next budget bid for the new school year.
Embrace public libraries
One other avenue that schools should pursue is their local public libraries.
These can often provide access to a wide range of digital resources, including ebooks, available to members with a library card, so it is worth encouraging students to sign up, at no cost to the school.
I have actually found that students often prefer physical books to ebooks and will wait for a physical copy of a book to be available, rather than using an ebook. So it is best to regard library ebooks as supplementing what the school can offer rather than being a perfect solution.
Training for staff and students
Whatever you choose, don’t expect instant success. In my experience, it can take up to three years for a digital resource to become fully known, trusted and embedded in teaching and learning.
To help with this, whenever new staff join the school, we run a training session on online resources within our induction programme.
I also run training sessions for new Year 7 students and for Year 12 students, to show them the breadth of resources.
Most staff will come through the library at least once a week - we are centrally located - and so I have many informal conversations about the resources, physical and digital, that we offer, and can share best practice that way.
At Eltham, we wouldn’t be without the digital resources we currently enjoy, and our students benefit from being able to access their learning on their own devices.
While some expense is probably inevitable, digital resources don’t need to cost the earth. One or two must-have, keystone resources, coupled with judicious use of other free resources, could pay dividends in terms of enhancing teaching and learning in your school.
Caroline Roche is the school librarian at Eltham College and former chair of the School Libraries Group for the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP)
