Geldof: Whizz-bang tech is old by 5pm

“Stop getting excited by the novelty and shock of the new; what’s shocking is that it's old by 5pm”.

Technology and education aren’t areas you would necessarily associate with Bob Geldof. However, they are in fact areas of great interest to the Live Aid founder and political activist.

Speaking at learning technology event, BETT 2014, Geldof was keen to support the new software his business, Groupcall, have provided to Child Rescue Alert.

Working in partnership with the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) and charity Missing People, Groupcall, which Geldof co-founded in 2001, will provide an alert to subscribers whenever a child goes missing, aiming to increase the chances of a safe return.

The company works with schools and parents to provide an easy means of communication via text, email and automated voice calls when messages need to be relayed.

However, moving away from his business, he talks emphatically about technology and education, putting down my enthusiasm for new and - what I would term - 'exciting' advances in classroom technologies, by saying that people shouldn't be amazed by novelty.

“Nothing that has been predicted about technology has turned out the way that people expect,” he says; questioning whether some of the more advanced exhibits at the show, really will make it to the classroom.

“Disruptive technologies which destroy outmoded businesses also destroy outdated logics,” he says, sitting forward in his chair. “The logics of education, the way it works, not what it does, that’s changing, and I’m interested in that.”

“There are limitations to technology and there are boundless other opportunities contained within it but, in the end, you still basically have to contend with a bored kid, who is having to learn stuff that they are not necessarily attuned to or want to learn; who no doubt thinks, why do I have to learn this?”

Many people working in education believe that using technology such as iPads, Interactive white boards, and game based learning, could potentially engage disruptive students. However, Geldof argues that this engagement could only ever be momentary, until the novelty wears off.

“I was recently at this school,” he continues, “there were these five boys in the class picking their noses and the teacher was at the whiteboard. He then turned on the 3D projector and the kids put on their glasses and these shapes appeared in the middle of the room, and they were electrified.

“But then I remember having 3D blocks at school, so what’s the difference? I really cannot see a difference. They were electrified because they got to put on their stupid glasses, but when everything is 3D they would still be bored, still falling asleep and would still be picking their noses.”

“The quality of the teaching is still the essence of good education, you can be at BETT and be like ‘woah whizz-bang’ but dude, if the teacher’s s***, the lesson’s s***.”

Speaking to Geldof, it’s difficult not to get carried away with his abstract comparisons and tangents that divert from marauding Vikings, the Dark Ages and an absence of literature, to Facebook, Twitter and the ‘hive society’ – by which Geldof means the way in which we, as a society, connect 'as bees in a hive', finding, retaining and discarding information at speed.

“We have to hold on to tangible evidence of our knowledge,” Geldof continues, talking about the potential future disappearance of text books in the classroom environment.

“To have bookless libraries would be a crime. Being able to randomly browse books at WH Smith or Waterstones; that wouldn’t happen if you 'Kindlise' literature.

“However, at the same time, if nations lose the knowledge and technical capacity to keep innovating, then they will lose their competitive edge."

Clearly Geldof believes that innovation in educational technology is an important area for future classroom development; however, he also emphasises the importance of not using this technology simply for novelty impact – which, he argues, wouldn't improve child engagement in the long run.

“Technology is just part of life for young children; Facebook isn’t even a thing, it’s like wallpaper, it’s just part of your bedroom. It’s just there.

“To keep talking about it like it’s something amazing is kind of lame. What does it mean? Where does it take you next? That’s what we need to ask.”