Next Generation Learning in Kent - All Comments

re: Learner Voice - its in the can!

Doug — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 09:50:28 GMT

There are many of these things in the TTS Catalogue ... See the 'Talk Time' range ... www.tts-group.co.uk/Range.aspx

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

AlanDay — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 21:39:18 GMT

I think a more effective approach is for teachers to have an armoury of techniques and approaches that go beyond single exemplar lesson plans and link learning across the curriculum whilst providing structure. Most children's experience is of subjects as unconnected islands that they move between in the gaps. As one of the teachers involved in Enquiring Minds admitted

"I’ve been disappointed that we’ve been so crap at team planning I have to say”.

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

Justin Dodd — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 17:40:22 GMT

At Ashford Christ Church we use a number of the above models.

I think the answer has to be it is also 'personal' to the school. What works with one school might not work with another. Some of the models need higher level of literacy which our students do not have. For many of our students personalising their work means a greater focus on functional literacy skills. This is clear from assessments....A4L. Are we not going in circles here? What good teachers do is deliver the curriculum to students, catering for a variety of strengths and weaknesses, learning styles, prior attainment, use of ICT etc etc.

Why is this not enough?

Assessment for Learning - critics vindicated?

Next Generation Learning in Kent — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 14:58:37 GMT

Alongside my previous post on personalised learning , the same committee also questioned the Assessment

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

AlanDay — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 13:42:26 GMT

This was printed in the TES, and may be of interest in this debate.

www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx

Those of us using thematic learning need to understand that just because we have a thematic curriculum and our children are clearly enjoying working in this way doesn't necessarily mean the rigour is there.

But a rigorous, well-managed, well-maintained thematic curriculum that incorporates quality learning, explicit skill development and addresses all abilities is, without doubt, the best learning you'll find.

As a school, we organise learning - especially in the non-core subjects - in a thematic way, using well-structured and engaging units provided by the international primary curriculum. It would be hard not to make it highly effective for pupils. If blame is to be apportioned, it may be the messenger and not the message.

Jon Trotter, Headteacher, Handford Hall Primary School, Suffolk.

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

Next Generation Learning in Kent — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 09:21:30 GMT

Reading last weeks TES, I came across an article in which OFSTED is reported to have given a 'thumbs

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

Sunil Kumar — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 23:27:30 GMT

The sculpture was created by Angela Connor, see graduates.lovells.com/.../guidedtour.htm for further details.

re: What do Kent KS3 students do online? ... and for how long?

hade — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 17:03:44 GMT

thank you for doing my homework.

re: Extended Schools and ICT - paradigm lost?

247oaks — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 11:36:10 GMT

The trouble is that there are elements of a good idea within this that will never see the light of day due to poor implementation and lack of interesting in seeing it through.

Given how wide spread the use of ICT is it is still surprising how poorly people seem to understand fundamental concepts. There is a great need to not only provide community access to ICT but also support for those users.

Schools should be championing the use of Free and Open Source ICT software and be providing support for parents and the community as a hub of learning in their area. However, to achieve this requires a vast rethink of funding and priorities for the education system in the UK.

There are many more reasons why this rethink is long overdue but I don't hold out much hope of it happening anytime soon.

Microsoft moves ...

Harnessing Technology in Kent - Digital Curriculum — Thu, 22 May 2008 20:22:36 GMT

One of Becta's complaints in their referral of Microsoft to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) appears

re: Assessment for Learning? Learning to Learn?

Ray Tolley — Mon, 19 May 2008 09:56:07 GMT

Hi,

I have visted CCHS several times, including their major conferences. As much as Newcastle might be proud to lay claim to CCHS it is actually part of Northumberland CC - even if the local airport is Newcastle!

Perhaps the first thing to note is that the outstanding work at CCHS is not a quick technological fix but is the product of a long-haul effort by the Head, Derek Wise, and the whole-school team that works with him.

Yes, the vision is fantastic, the educational goals are well-founded and the technology works because, as far as I could see, all the 'techies' have a very clear understanding of the educational strategies.

One comment about 'Assessment for Learning' - CCHS has developed a very successful system of self-assessment of learning using SmartAssess. It might be a bit unnerving to think of students assessing their own learning until the educational values of this approach are fully understood.

Bottom line? A MUST SEE school.

re: Assessment for Learning? Learning to Learn?

Jerry Owens — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 10:03:55 GMT

Seeing you this morning reminded me that I needed to respond to this blog entry!

Cramlington is at the cutting edge of applying these approaches and their annual conference is worth a visit for any teachers and school leaders looking to explore where some of the developing next practice now being widely discussed in terms of delivering the Kent Secondary Strategy vision (within BSF or not).

For interest the conference date is 27th June.

Other examples of practice in some Kent schools can be found on the Transformation Webpage - on KentTrustWeb - www.kenttrustweb.org.uk/.../default.cfm

re: Deteriorating performance on network computers? Is 1:1 the answer?

AlanDay — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 11:58:36 GMT

Thanks Tony, thats really helpful. Below is a link to the relevant MS help and support page.

support.microsoft.com/.../307800

Thanks to those who emailed me responses whilst the Blog comments were down. These included the use of MS delprof. This looks like a good housekeeping utility, but means that the build-up of profiles just starts all over again. Link Below.

support.microsoft.com/.../en-us

re: Deteriorating performance on network computers? Is 1:1 the answer?

Tony Dod — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 09:19:19 GMT

Mandatory profiles, for at least students and maybe staff, should dramatically speed up logins, and also will never grow in size. They also prevent users from saving changing to applications, such as moving menus in work, so giving a more unified teaching experience since you know how applications will appear. If required it should still be possible to re-direct the likes of cookies and favourites to folders in the users home directory.

re: New Line Learning Academy + Samsung Q1 = 1:1?

AlanDay — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 10:48:31 GMT

Thanks for the update David. I'd like to pick up a couple of questions. Do parents contribute to the kit, or are their plans to do so? Also you mentioned management using 'correct network resources'. What do you use to monitor and /or control. We have looked at several solutions to this tricky problem. So far I have only come across intellisynch and sanako that seem to offer direct control of mixed populations of mobile devices.

re: New Line Learning Academy + Samsung Q1 = 1:1?

David Simons — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 21:25:55 GMT

The devices are afforded through efficiency savings and by putting ICT at the centre of all that we do. It is part of the overall vision of the Academies to use ICT as a driver for change within the classroom, to improve teaching and learning and therefore improve the life chances of all of our students. It is a leap of faith to spend so much of capital budget on ICT but we have not looked back and the benefits that have been felt as a result of implementation far outweigh any sacrifices made.

We are also realistic in the way that the devices are deployed. In the video the teacher stated that there was a greater likelihood that he student would bring in their device, but as with text books and pens students do forget them and don’t charge them but it is true to say that the engagement in learning with these devices is so great that it is true to say that it is only a minority of students that do not bring in their learning device.

With regard to the messaging and games playing in lesson time. This is going to happen, but as with any undesirable behaviour in the classroom this is a classroom management issue, the only difference being that it can be tracked more effectively and dealt with using the correct network resources.

There are of course lots of questions and challenges when deploying on this scale and we have not got it totally right yet but we are learning a great deal and will continue to do so. We will also continue to deploy on this scale as we fundamentally believe that technology offers us way to deliver a truly personalised and immersive educational experience for our students.

re: Booms and Swingers? ... Projecting the right image!

Andy Duckworth — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 19:47:07 GMT

This is a difficult issue. CDEC Limited are a company based in Kent and have been installing whiteboards for numerous years and were approved by BECTA to do this.

When the all in one interactive whiteboard solution arrived educationalists and educational suppliers were full of praise. I for one had big issues with putting boards into Foundation and KS1 stages as the projector was very low down and fixed if the board was low. This created a health and safety issue. We at CDEC did explore the option of producing a periscope mount to push up the projector when not in use but like anything the price was too expensive.

Having the board too high also creates a problem as some schools use steps for the smaller children. I fear that this again creates health and safety issues.

Using drumsticks on a smartboard or the longer Promethean pen again solves problems so children can extend their reach but this is not a total solution as the children are using an implement sometimes over 50cm in length.

The all in one solution does help children with special needs and children of all heights to interact fully with the board.

We have found however, that some schools have not fully understood the solution and I agree that the booms are easily used as swinging devices by some pupils. We as a company have had situations where we have installed the equipment and have had to de-install the system on the same day as the school had not realised what the system looks like.

On another note one establishment did say that at least we can now integrate the use of ICT equipment within the PE Department !!!!!!!!!!! (This is not the opinion of the author !)

Anyway, the future ? I believe we need to start to develop these systems with new technology and use shorter throw projectors with shorter booms. For those that went to BETT this year I am sure they saw this technology.

Anyone wanting independent advice about ‘All In One’ solutions I am happy to talk to them and offer free consultancy for any Kent School.

e-Safety in Schools : Kent highlighted as a best practice case study in Becta e-safety publication!

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 17:39:23 GMT

PingBack from http://clusterweb.org.uk/CS/community/esafety/archive/2008/02/12/kent-highlighted-as-best-practice-in-e-safety-becta-case-study.aspx

response

AlanDay — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 14:22:26 GMT

Reply provided by Ray Tolley

Extract starts

Carlo,

There is nothing new in what you identify, it's been going on for some 25 years now and to varying degrees is common in most schools. I am sure that we could even extend the list with removal of 'run', no individual profiles, no ability to copy to desktop, removal of floppy-drive access, banning of USB memory sticks etc.

I believe that it all stems from a lack of highly qualified and experienced network managers who are capable of setting up a 'safe' system according to the needs and vision of the ICT leader within the school and the dominating fears of senior staff that the admin system must be totally secure . I must confess that at times I have used some of these 'lock-downs' such as removal of 'run' until I have found safe work-arounds.

Proprietary VLEs have resolved most of these problems one way or another - but at a financial cost. It is the balance between cost-effectiveness and the competence of local ICT management that has to be

weighed up.

The question of secure e-Portfolios, blogging and collaboration opens up issues well beyond that of a secure VLE. My own conclusion is that the e-Portfolio MUST be external to any one institution - otherwise it is not 'portable' and defeats the natural functionality that one would expect for Lifelong, Lifewide Living.

Extract ends

re: So, ... I'm out of touch?

Alan Day — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 09:54:46 GMT

The following request was posted on the NAACE mailing list by a guy called Carlo, and I thought it was highly relevant to the debate on 'lock down'. I hope he doesn't mind me reproducing it.

Extract as follows:

I have recently encountered a school network where the OS and applications are so tightly restricted that their educational efficacy is severely impaired. On the grounds of security there is no right click mouse function with the Windows XP interface, the File menu has been removed from office applications, Tabs from iExplorer, Search from the Start menu, no shared FTP area, Calendar and WinZip disabled and so on.

This raises a couple of questions for which I'd be grateful for your feedback.

1. Is this level of lock down widespread?

2. Is there a guidance document in the public domain?

3. If this is widespread how are schools overcoming problems like being unable to upload eportfolios into Moodle, or students developing a distorted view of how to operate a normally configured PC?

4. If this is unusual, what loss of functionality would be considered normal or acceptable on a secondary school network.

5. How do we establish a balance between system security and educational efficacy?

I look forward to hearing your views on this.

End of Extract

re: New Line Learning Academy + Samsung Q1 = 1:1?

David Deakin — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 12:15:54 GMT

Well that's about 3 times what we've been able to spend on ICT per year for the last ten years. I'd love to know how it's funded. I'd be even more impressed if I knew how they stopped their students playing games or emailing and messaging in their lessons when you can't see the students screen. I also choked a little on the comment that they can be "100% sure" that the student will have their device in their lesson. They never forget them? Lose them? Forget to charge them? We have a hard enough time getting students to have pens and pencils with them.

Like you say Alan it's more of an advert than anything else but it just leaves too many questions unanswered to really excite me.

re: So, ... I'm out of touch?

David Deakin — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 10:23:19 GMT

Thanks Alan for taking my comments in the spirit they were meant. I too would be interested to hear other experiences of staff IT use and availability in their schools.

Speaking to staff here who have partners working in industry where a laptop or other equipment is provided, I have found that the situation is even more strict and use for anything other than work is severly frowned upon. They are banned from installing any software, connecting to anything but approved networks or internet connections and other family members may not touch anything.

It of course comes down to funding in the end though. Business will quite happily invest in a rolling cycle of equipment upgrade and replacement as it's possible to factor this into the profit margine or costs calculations. How do you prove that giving each teacher a new laptop each year will directly affect grades or the futures of our students, which in effect is the end product of the business we are in?

re: Microsoft reveals how to avoid forced IE7 upgrade

Paul Ashmore — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 21:13:18 GMT

Chris,

Just an extra pointer, WSUS does not run on CC3, so there is no need to worry..

Paul

re: Microsoft reveals how to avoid forced IE7 upgrade

Paul Ashmore — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 21:09:35 GMT

Chris,

You can download an IE7 package from RM if you are a support customer, it is on there site. This will install IE7 to the server as a package, and then allocate it out.

So, ... I'm out of touch?

Harnessing Technology in Kent - Digital Curriculum — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 19:41:33 GMT

My recent post, ' struggling with technology ' prompted an interesting response from someone closer to

re: Microsoft reveals how to avoid forced IE7 upgrade

Chris Hall — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 12:00:10 GMT

I have upgraded all my stand alone computers to IE7 some time ago. However What are RM doing about a CC3 network upgrade.?

I do not want pupils logging on next Tuesday ...forced upgrade day....Only to have the message "Please log on as administrator to allow this software to install" being displayed.

Talk about super Tuesday......

re: Struggling with technology?

David Deakin — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 09:45:31 GMT

That's all very "rose tinted" but I live and work in the real world where staff refuse to pay for the internet at home "because they only need it for school" or treat the equipment they're given as a throw-away resources tipping coffee into them or smashing the screen because of carelessness and then expecting an immediate replacement. These aren't unusual exceptions, these are day-to-day occurances.

Generally my point is that each and every educator needs a different and personalised approach. Some need their devices locked down so that they can experiment without fear of losing use of the device for their next teaching day, while others will invest in equipment themselves and then bring that experience to their teaching.

BSF will fail if those implimenting it can't break away from the "one-size-fits-all" mentality.

re: Struggling with technology?

AlanDay — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 09:00:30 GMT

I agree that the key is in the word 'compromise'; it is however essential that we seperate the educator from a pupil or student when considering controls.

Excellent tools are available to protect networks from virus, malware, adware etc. Acceptable Use Policies (AUP's) can state clearly what is acceptable and what isn't. Few schools have an effective regime in place to make it clear where the boundaries of acceptable behaviour are (for staff and pupils). Many schools that have AUP's monitor or review them unless there is an incident.

Teachers should have system policies in place that protect them but don't restrict them. It is frequently easier to lock a machine down than to provide the rock-solid infrastructure that is resilient to the nasties of a connected

Policies should encourage not exclude the ability to download applications, experiment with web 2.0, connect to home networks etc. It is perfectly possible with currently available technology to ensure that both computer and school network is protected.

Within BSF teachers will have full control of their personal computers and will be able to access from any wi-fi hotspot, home wireless networks or broadband connection.

Treat teachers like children, we invoke a childish response. Quoting unusual exceptions might give the impression that all teachers use equipment unacceptably, but this is not the case. We must avoid policing by lowest common denominator, or we end up with the ICT equivalent of a police state, and I'm not sure school network managers are the right people to be doing the policing.

The comment about helping them achieve what they want in the classroom implies that the totality of the teachers experience should be ring-fenced by the constraints of school building opening hours, timetable, and availability of technicians to do the supporting at a convenient time that fits with the school timetable. I say that it is better to let teahers go home with the kit and experiment and prepare, and not have over-bearing technical restrictions.

The reality though is that many teachers still do not have a personal device (laptop). This is unacceptable. They are low cost items and represent The costs is less than 0.7% of the average teacher salary. This should be standard issue for all teachers.

The combination of computer and Internet is a professional necessity.

re: Struggling with technology?

David Deakin — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 15:41:10 GMT

There is an obvious need to find compromise between locking down a staff laptop or station, and still allowing it to be a useful tool. With limited technical support person-hours in any school we can't afford to be rebuilding staff laptops the whole time for those staff who let other family members use them in the evening. It's been quite common to find file sharing software complete with spyware and viruses on laptops left completely open. Or no room on the hard drives for new school resources becuase of 20,000 mp3's or the number of games installed.

The above article generalises as do the responces so far. Some teachers will find 1-2-1 training more helpful while others will prefer a group approach to exchange ideas. Some will tinker at home while others wouldn't know an SD card from a mouse ball.

The important thing is to have technical staff who know the school and the individual so can help them achieve what they want to in the classroom.

re: Microsoft reveals how to avoid forced IE7 upgrade

AlanDay — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 14:16:59 GMT

The two lines are cut and pasted from a Microsoft announcement passed to me in the latest NAACE newsletter. The availability of a means of avoiding a 'forced upgrade' is a different matter to saying that schools shouldn't upgrade. At no point have I as a 'Kent Officer' said schools shouldn't upgrade ... they should! They need to!

Clearly Microsoft are responding to concerns that network managers might need some time to prepare a deployment strategy for the IE7 upgrade, and 'hats off', for that. Presumably Microsoft also recognise that the requirement for Windows Genuine Advantage also added to the workload of deployment as it is notably absent.

The real issue seems to have been the short notice and perceived lack of choice of a 'forced upgrade'. A diligent network manager needs control.

Contray to your comment, I fully understand the importance of security. (many, including me will be familiar with their device being rendered useless by adware and security problems like browser-jacking. Several have required a rebuild because the IE product set is so embedded in their operating system).

I personally upgraded my computer at home to IE7 as soon as it became available over a year ago. I experienced several issues such as access to Sharepoint and the SSL service we were using at the time, so had to regress it back to IE6, where its stayed since.

I shifted to Firefox as my main broswer around a year ago, and now use IE only to access Microsoft based portals, which still support only their own browser. Commentators have linked the rise of the Firefox browser to early problems with the IE7 upgrade requirement and the WGA requirement. PC Pro magazine only last week published an industry estimate that less than 50% of users have upgraded from IE6 to 7. (See link below).

http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/160599/firefox-makes-gains-on-internet-explorer.html

Anyway 'Ted' I published your comments! I agree that everyone needs to make the effort to upgrade to IE7 as soon as they can, and value the healthy dialogue implicit in your comment. The post stays!