Next Generation Learning in Kent

School Together Now ... Kill or Cure?

2008-12-13T13:08:00Z

School Together Now is a new site offering 'school centric' social networking, and it has not been received well in the press . Indeed, Cambridge University researchers have indicated that it's security is fundamentally flawed. The idea of having a parent community talking to each other and their school is a laudable one if it is properly managed and access is controlled and authorised by the school. I also like the idea of a school being able to support local businesses and generate...(read more)

Kent children and young people's survey results

2008-12-12T18:25:00Z

I do think that the format used to summarise Kent 2008 survey findings for children and young people are exemplar. Clean and simple with the message designed for the audience. A perfect example of communication skills for teachers to use in ICT lessons? There are primary , secondary and community summaries. Complex data sits behind it, but the reports are beautifully simple to read. It would be useful to provide seperate cuts in the same format for children in each of our Local Childrens Service...(read more)

Wrong Format? Sorry, no grade!

2008-12-08T22:10:00Z

It has been reported that a number of schools have fallen foul of rules that govern the format for submission of student work in the Diploma in Digital Applications (DIDA) qualifications. DIDA requires the use of an e-portfolio, and files have to be submitted in formats that can be opened by the applications set out in the moderators toolkit ... it pays to read the small print!...(read more)

Learner Voice - its in the can!

2008-11-27T21:25:00Z

I love this idea, so I thought I'd share it. Now on the market are a number of cheap and attractive coloured small voice recorders that can be used for learners to comment on displays. Some have a multi-message recording feature. All you need to do is place one near a display, and let kids record their thoughts ... cool peer assessment tool, ... and they are really cheap! There are a number of suppliers of this type of equipment....(read more)

Becta ICT Self Review - Ch- Ch- Ch- Changes?

2008-11-27T20:19:00Z

I was in London with Becta / NAACE earlier this week to renew my ICT Mark Assessor status . We are required to attend an annual assessors conference, (although its not really a conference, more of a seminar / workshop), where we get down and dirty with the elements! John Taylor of Becta gave an interesting presentation on the launch of the Next Generation Learning Charter. I've already covered the move to engaging parent power but there was something new. Its widely agreed that the ICT Mark is...(read more)

Assessment for Learning - critics vindicated?

2008-11-23T13:48:00Z

Alongside my previous post on personalised learning , the same committee also questioned the Assessment for Learning (AfL) strand. Reported in the TES this week, concerns were raised that the DCSF version of AfL differs substantially from the research that led to its adoption where '... pupils should be told only what they needed to do to improve, rather than being given grades." Professor David Hargreaves addressing the comittee said: "... unfortunately, what the Government has put...(read more)

Is 'Personalised Learning' just waffle? ... the Emperors New Clothes?

2008-11-23T12:34:00Z

The term 'personalised learning' has just taken a colossal bashing. David Milliband extolled its virtues and Christine Gilbert promoted it as key to education policy in the 2020 vision . Education is awash with acronyms and 'buzz words' that aim to generate an ethos or credo. Education is much like religion, with adherents forming groups that reflect differing perspectives at different times. Last weeks (Weds 19th November) meeting of the Children, Schools and Families Committee opened...(read more)

New HSE Whiteboard Safety Advice

2008-11-23T08:30:00Z

The BBC has reported on the Health & Safety Executive's revised guidance for the use of interactive whiteboards. Much of the advice remains the same as before; however there is recognition that risk is reduced if short throw projectors are used. These are where projectors are built in to the board or connected using a short arm. This type of design means that it isn't possible to acciedntally stare into a projector lamp. The suggestion is that boards should be replaced with short-throw...(read more)

Innovation is risky ... what happens if it doesn't work?

2008-11-16T08:25:00Z

Reading last weeks TES, I came across an article in which OFSTED is reported to have given a 'thumbs down' to themed lessons. Two Essex schools highlighted by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) as innovative and "putting together an excellent curriculum", were reported to be 'inadequate'. Both had implemented an 'integrated approach' that organises lessons by themes rather than traditional subjects. This approach is exemplified by the Royal Society...(read more)

Kent gets funding for new and refurbished Primary Schools

2008-11-12T22:14:00Z

Kent has been awarded Category 2 Approval (Approved with modifications) in the Primary Capital Programme . This means that Kent's plans have been approved for 2009-10 with more work needed to secure on-going funding. This brings in funding of £31.7m to oversee 22 projects, including two new schools and four replacement schools. It sounds a lot of money, but Kent CC is required to match this from our own funds. There is also no ring-fenced funding for ICT in the deal as there is with Building...(read more)

Should we be afraid ... very afraid?

2008-11-11T17:36:00Z

If you have a spare couple of hours, I recommend you read the ' Enquiring Minds ' [PDF] report from Futurelab. Enquiring Minds is a joint project between Microsoft and Futurelab , and is to be commended for pushing back boundaries with a radical new approach to education. Although much of the document reads like a turgid pseudo-sociological essay, at its core are the experiences of teachers and children in two Bristol schools who agreed to experiment with a class of year 7 and year 8 pupils...(read more)

Save money with / on ICT!!

2008-11-10T19:11:00Z

Merlin John has been writing in the Guardian about ways to save money in school using technology. It makes interesting reading!...(read more)

National Strategies website - something missing??

2008-11-10T18:54:00Z

I notice there is a new National Strategies website in beta, and very comprehensive it is too! ... but ... shouldn't there be a mention of the national e-strategy, Harnessing Technology: Next Generation Learning ... Becta is a mere footnote ......(read more)

Resolution on Children's Online Privacy

2008-11-09T13:59:00Z

In October 2008, the 30th International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners met in Strasbourg, and passed a resolution . The resolution supports education approaches, but also calls for legislation in respective jurisdictions limiting the collection, use and disclosure of personal information about children with appropriate provisions for violations. It also calls for limitations on what can be collected, used and disclosed. The resolution urges operators of websites created for...(read more)

Becta: Next Generation Learning - bypassing schools, enlisting parents?

2008-11-09T13:28:00Z

Becta's dedicated ' Next Generation Learning ' website marks a new approach. It is aimed at parents and employers, although most won't be aware of Becta, let alone find its website! It has a dedicated parents page , and one of the key features is the ability to find out whether your child's school has the ICT mark. If parents find that their child's school does not have the ICT mark, it encourages them to: "Your school is not listed - If your school is not listed you...(read more)

Stuff that's caught my eye! - 111108

2008-11-09T12:55:00Z

Teachernet Publications Making Software accessible: a guide for schools The new Secondary Curriculum: renewing the Secondary Frameworks Building creative partnerships: A handbook for schools Personalised Learning - A practical guide A Framework for Learning: delivering achievement for all Teachers TV: Education Analysis Report Information sharing: Guidance for practitioners and managers Information Sharing: Pocket guide Extended Schools - extra support for you and your children Anti Bullying Week...(read more)

... and the ICT Excellence Award for learner experience goes to ... Homewood School and Sixth Form Centre!

2008-11-07T10:28:00Z

Homewood School and sixth form centre in Tenterden was runner up in the prestigious national ICT Excellence Awards . The award ceremony last night was attended by Chris Foreman (Vice Principal Learning Systems) and his team, and was accompanied by CFE's Grahame Ward, Director (Resources). "This is a cracking school," enthused one judge, commending the progress this large rural comprehensive has made in raising standards through innovation, with ICT playing a key role. In 2004 the school...(read more)

Home Access for teachers ... ?

2008-11-06T21:48:00Z

There are increasing expectations that teachers and pupls will access virtual learning environments from home. Good for pupils, but is it fair to teachers' work life balance? I can find no guidance or policies articulating an expectation that teachers work online from home. Learning platforms are capable of recording when teachers log in and it doesn't require technical skill for school leaders to monitor activity if they choose to do so, and to see which teachers are 'enthusiastic'...(read more)

Cramster - a viable concept for 'out of school' teaching and learning?

2008-11-06T21:17:00Z

I'm always on the look out for interesting ideas in the Web 2.0 world, and am intrigued by the concept behind Cramster , a free online study community (portal) that claims to bring together those who want to learn and those who want to teach. It appears to be targeted at the advanced end of U.S. High School / college. Having explored it from the outside, it provides online resources, some aimed at supporting specific text books, and an opportunity to live chat as well. The site even provides...(read more)

BT - time to step up to the plate?

2008-11-02T18:38:00Z

I have just read a fascinating research paper from Becta, ‘Meeting their potential: the role of education and technology in overcoming disadvantage and disaffection in young people’ [ PDF 844Kb ]. The report offers a valuable insight into the digital divide, but in its recommendations misses a vital opportunity to identify one of the main reasons for a digital divide; the lack of a universal service offering (USO) for broadband. All the more interesting is that this report is published on the website...(read more)

Kent's Building Schools for the Future - signed and sealed!

2008-10-28T09:06:00Z

Well, Kent's BSF deal is signed and sealed, and the announcement on kent's website makes it official! I won't add to this official announcement. It does though now seem a long time since last Friday when Kent's BSF team were gathered with all related parties at Holborn London in the prestigious offices of law firm Lovells. As an interesting aside the building has the most dynamic art piece running up through its core; and I mean dynamic as it is a multi-storey pendulum kept moving...(read more)

Becta Web 2.0 Research Report

2008-10-11T18:15:00Z

Web 2.0 technologies for learning at KS3 and KS4 Becta commissioned the University of Nottingham in conjunction with London Knowledge Lab and Manchester Metropolitan University to research Web 2.0 technologies for learning at Key Stages 3 and 4. The purpose of this research was to help shape Becta’s own thinking and inform policymakers, schools and local authorities on the potential benefits of Web 2.0 technologies and how their use can be effectively and safely realised. There are four reports....(read more)

Stuff that's caught my eye! - 111008

2008-10-11T17:40:00Z

Schools Radio Network Schools are invited to register now with the Schools Radio Network – a new initiative - and give their students a national voice. SchoolsRadio.com encourages students up to age 18 to create and share their own audio programmes with other UK schools through a specially regulated networking site. Supporting many aspects of the National Curriculum, SchoolsRadio.com helps develop creativity, confidence and team work - improving literacy, speech and technical skills - all whilst...(read more)

Open Source - now its officially OK for schools!

2008-09-23T22:00:00Z

Becta has replaced its previous software framework agreement which expired in March 2008 with a new framework agreement, called “Software for Educational Institutions Framework”. The BIG news is that open source services provider Sirius has made it on to the framework with an ebullient press release . "Mark Taylor, who is president of the Sirius Corporation, founder of the Open Source Consortium and a noisy critic of Becta’s reluctance in the past to adopt open source software in favour of proprietary...(read more)

Data Handling in schools - epiphany or apocalypse!

2008-09-23T19:26:00Z

I recently posted on the huge shake-up that will result from Becta guidance on data management in schools. This week has seen the publication of detailed guidance in the shape of four guides: Impact levels and labelling available in Word (727KB) PDF (246KB) and OpenDocument text format (636KB) Data encryption available in Word (3.4MB) PDF (3.7MB) and OpenDocument text format (3.2MB) Audit logging and incident handling available in Word (662KB) PDF (288KB) and OpenDocument text format (563KB) Secure...(read more)

Stuff that's caught my eye - 230908

2008-09-23T19:01:00Z

BBC News School report - 11-14 year-old students in the UK the chance to make their own news reports for a real audience. Why the future is looking good - "visual computing" is a catch-all term encompassing anything driven by graphics. Pupils test multi-touch screens - School pupils are trying out desks with interactive screens that can recognise more than one person's finger presses. Takeover day! - The Children's Commissioner for England, is calling on schools to invite children...(read more)

Extended Schools and ICT - paradigm lost?

2008-09-14T14:44:00Z

DCSF recently published extended schools funding guidance . One expectation of Extended Schools funding is a ' core offer ' that includes community access to ICT. Extended Schools covers a wide range of activities, and for obvious reasons I am going to focus on ICT. Steve Smith of Ramesys in an article published in 2007 suggests there are four main ICT related extended activities. I believe ICT can be more broadly categorised as: Student Access - combinations of online portals, learning platforms...(read more)

ICT Managed Services in Schools - information

2008-09-12T07:11:00Z

In light of the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) requirement for ICT to be a managed service, I thought I would point to a report commissioned by Becta . It usefully explains what a managed service is, and the experiences of its customers....(read more)

14- 19, keeping track when students move around!

2008-09-09T07:44:00Z

A continuing trend in education is the need to support 14 - 19 choice, and to achieve this schools join consortia to improve the range of courses on offer. This presents two problems: How do you move them around? How do you know where the student is? The first is still awaiting an answer, often involving taxis and minibuses at considerable cost to the school. The latter point may now have an answer. According to the Guardian Education supplement (9th Sept 2008) Edexcel are recommending that schools...(read more)

Stuff that's caught my eye! - 070908

2008-09-07T19:54:00Z

Database of children delayed Intel cites US education 'crisis' HP's plan to fix ailing planet - Hewlett Packard is up to two years away from starting to build a "central nervous system for the Earth", known as CeNSE. Tablet and other mobile PC case studies update. Lets just scare the #$%& out of them, OK? e-learning on a shoestring - resource kit for creative community engagement. Google Chrome edmodo - private micro-blogging for classroom and teachers. Taxonomy of Interactivity...(read more)