Technological age: using ICT to transform T&L

scameron — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 10:49:11 +0100

It is sometimes surprising to think how far ICT use in schools has come in just the last decade. This month’s Case in Point takes a look at some of the key ICT development issues (here).

The role of ICT in the curriculum

scameron — Mon, 24 May 2010 14:08:31 +0100

Are you taking a bold line in the great ICT debate ahead of pending government decisions on qualifications? Some schools, because of their vision, foundation or status, take their own strong view of how new technologies should contribute to the curriculum and be accredited.

The framework for ICT assessment and qualifications has yet to be announced: whether ICT will be more fully integrated, or have greater stand-alone status as a subject, awaits clarification.

Are your school’s pupils safe online?

scameron — Wed, 19 May 2010 09:26:51 +0100

What are the key risks?

Pupils using the internet may be exposed to inappropriate material which they find distressing or embarrassing. They may also be made vulnerable by posting their personal information on the web. Children could be led into cyberbullying, anti-social behaviour or even criminal offences through their use of the internet.

What are schools’ legal duties?

A quick roundup of the main political parties’ school manifesto points

scameron — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 12:58:34 +0100

With the 2010 general election looming, if you want to know more about what the main political parties want to do with education should they get the chance, this information sheet excavates the relevant sections of their manifestos for an at-a-glance guide.

Technology and SEN

scameron — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 10:46:41 +0000

There is an ever-expanding range of technology to support children with SEN and disability. It can facilitate inclusion, improve access to the curriculum, enable pupils to work independently and of course, is often very motivating. Yet SENCOs and teachers in many schools (especially mainstream) have still to discover the potential of up-to-date hardware and software for pupils with SEN. This issue we encourage you to spend some time in finding out what technology can offer.

Enriching primary maths

scameron — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 10:13:16 +0100

I had really hoped that the renewed Primary Framework of 2006 would have addressed the issue of enriching mathematics in the classroom, as it had intended. Enrichment has been addressed by more confident and creative teachers, but in many classrooms there seems to have been little change so far.

How to tackle truancy using ICT

scameron — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 16:40:25 +0100

It’s a familiar picture in any high street on a weekday: a group of kids who should clearly be at school hanging out in the shopping malls or pursuing other interests, such as skateboarding. Despite the efforts of ministers, schools and the police, truancy remains a major issue. It not only affects academic achievement but it feeds into some of the biggest concerns of central government: gangs, anti-social behaviour, drugs and juvenile crime.

Teaching primary literacy with ICT

scameron — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 14:44:07 +0100

Benefits for the teacher

Keeping traveller children safe online

scameron — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 16:09:12 +0000

Today’s digital generation has a wealth of opportunities to exploit through the application of ICT, both within the school environment and at home. However, although technology opens countless doors for children and young people, there are also aspects that prove a significant risk. The potential dangers should not be overlooked and range from students accessing inappropriate internet sites to the threat of cyberbullying, and in its most extreme form, predator grooming.

Advancing learning through KTP

scameron — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 18:06:05 +0000

The knowledge transfer partnership (KTP) at Bedlingtonshire Community High School is a two-year project that runs from January 2008 to December 2009 in collaboration with the Research Centre for Learning and Teaching at Newcastle University. It is one of the first of its kind in the UK and its primary aim is to improve learning for staff, students and the community.

Visual literacy

scameron — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 10:34:49 +0000

Visual images are fast becoming the most predominant form of communication. Children are surrounded by all sorts of visual media now and according to Mary Alice White, researcher at Columbia Teachers’ College:

‘Young people learn more than half of what they know from visual information, but few schools have an explicit curriculum to show students how to think critically about visual data.’

Electronic interaction improves attainment

scameron — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:38:34 +0000

I have been in the very fortunate position of headteacher at Anton Junior School for five years now and, during that time, our school has progressed on a journey of investment and investigation into the use of interactive technology, in order to support and enhance teaching and learning. In this article I describe how a piece of new technology was used to boost attainment in the school.

Education employment law: statutory leave and pay entitlements

scameron — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:02:10 +0000

One of the defining features of the last 11 years of New Labour government has been its apparent commitment to, and promotion of, measures designed to encourage a work-life balance and to facilitate what is termed a family friendly working environment.

‘Good’ employers, therefore, have taken the view that the remuneration and benefits package should in some way exceed the statutory minimum requirements in terms of leave and pay.

The school business manager's role in implementing a VLE

scameron — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 16:50:57 +0000

Virtual learning environments (VLEs) have become one of the hot educational topics among both senior leadership teams and at partnership meetings between groups of schools. The government’s direction that all schools should have an operating VLE embedded in their working practices and those of students has certainly concentrated the minds of many school leaders. School business managers may have been part of debates over the respective merits of different VLE platforms, and many colleagues will understandably have been asked to investigate their suitability in the context of cost.

Dealing effectively with cyberbullying

scameron — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 15:48:23 +0000

Bullying is always an emotive subject. It is getting worse according to the latest research conducted by Ofsted, as published in its report, Children on Bullying. One may argue whether this is a question of fact or whether greater publicity means it is talked about more. Regardless, school bullying already claims the lives of about 20 teenagers a year, while thousands more suffer physical and psychological torment. What is clear is that the emergence of cyberbullying means there is no longer any safe haven from its effects.

Safe internet usage at school

scameron — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 09:52:47 +0000

Following the Byron Report in March 2008, a new government body has recently been launched to oversee child internet safety. The UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS) is going to be responsible for implementing the Report’s recommendations, including delivery of e-safety through the curriculum and ensuring that teachers receive the training they need for safe use of the internet. This makes it timely to review schools’ legal obligations in this area.

The internet in schools: protecting pupils and staff

School websites: how to protect your pupils and your schools

scameron — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 10:35:48 +0100

School websites can be a dynamic and creative method of communication between a school, its pupils, staff and the wider community. Websites can serve a wide purpose - from promoting the school to prospective parents and staff, to a gallery for pupils’ work, a resource for teaching and learning, or to assist in recruitment. However, this range of exciting opportunities is mirrored by the equally wide range of legal risks that can apply to a website. So how does a school ensure that its website does not inadvertently break the law, or compromise the safety and privacy of its pupils?

'Virtual' schooling: education outside school

scameron — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 16:34:33 +0100

Billie Murram is gathering an impressive set of qualifications and has set her sights on becoming an IT tutor. Things could have turned out very differently for this 17-year-old from Kingston upon Thames. She opted out of school because bullying made her life a misery and she found it increasingly difficult to study in the classroom. ‘I just made excuses for not attending. I had a home tutor for a while, but this didn’t enable me to sit any exams.’

The role of ICT in CPD

scameron — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 13:33:03 +0100

Continuing professional development (CPD) among teachers is seen as something of a buzzword between education professionals, but what is it and are we doing it? Becta established that CPD refers to the process by which teachers acquire and develop the skills and knowledge to become effective in the classroom (Becta, 2004). Teachers are aware that developing their own knowledge, understanding and practice helps in both their learning and their teaching. Therefore, it is common sense that CPD leads to better teachers.

Using a virtual learning environment (VLE) to raise attainment

scameron — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 17:12:56 +0100

There was once a time when using technology in a school was a laudable aim but prohibitively costly. In time it became a reality for schools to have whole teaching rooms kitted out with expensive hardware that enabled pupils to access the curriculum in more adventurous and high-tech ways.

Tackling cyberbullying against teachers

sara — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:21:39 +0100

What is cyberbullying?
Given the historical child-centric approach to bullying, the most-used definitions are those provided by children's organisations. Childnet International defines cyberbullying as a type of aggression relating to the "sending or posting of harmful or cruel text or images using the internet or other digital communication devices".

What is cyberbullying?

sara — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:21:36 +0100

What is cyberbullying?
It is a type of aggression defined by Childnet International as the 'sending or posting of harmful or cruel text or images using the internet or other digital communication devices'. Police experts and children's charities are concerned at the increase of cyberbullying and charities are voicing concern that this new phenomenon is increasing at an alarming rate. School bullying already claims the lives of around 20 teenagers a year while thousands more suffer physical and psychological torment.

Multi-sensory environments in special schools

scameron — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:59 +0100

They come in all shapes and sizes and, as small, Victorian-built special schools make way for much larger state-of-the-art edifices, architects are including them in their new designs. Multi-sensory environments are now firmly established as part of the therapeutic facilities of many special schools. But with their origins in the snoezelen rooms of the 1970s, they too have undergone something of a metamorphosis. Rooms whose key features were soft structures and ball-pools have been replaced with hi-tech environments using the latest technology to transform pupils’ sensory experience.

Virtual learnings environments for extended learning

scameron — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:57 +0100

Eighteen months ago the Ofsted evaluation of extended schools suggested that extended services were helping to enhance self-confidence, improve relationships, raise aspirations and produce better attitudes to learning among pupils. Just last month Christine Gilbert, Her Majesty’s chief inspector for education, children’s services and skills, reinforced this:

‘It’s encouraging to see that extended schools... are making good progress overall in the range of services they offer for children, young people and their families.’

A digital environment can raise school performance

scameron — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:56 +0100

St Paul’s Catholic College, a DCSF-designated technology college is based in Sunbury, Surrey. Totalling 1,050 pupils aged 11 to 19 years and 120 staff, the school attracts students from a wide range of both relatively prosperous and less affluent areas in the north of Surrey and west London. We aim to be the first choice Catholic school in the region and endeavour to ensure that all our students receive high-quality education in the field of technology. We also aim for the whole school – students, staff, parents and governors – to benefit from the specialist status.

Provision for pupils with severe learning difficulties (SLD)

admin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:49 +0100

Pupils with SLD experience ‘significant intellectual cognitive impairments’ having ‘a major effect on their ability to participate in the school curriculum without support.’ They may have ‘difficulties with mobility and coordination, communication and perception and the acquisition of self-help skills’ and need ‘support in all areas of the curriculum’. Some may use signs and symbols but ‘most will be able to hold simple conversations’.

Using ICT with able classes

admin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:48 +0100

I’m no expert when it comes to technology! I would like to think though, that I have kept up with the times. I value my classroom projector and interactive whiteboard, make full use of my laptop and as a teacher overseeing the practical production part of the AQA Media Studies GCSE course, I now know my way around moving image editing software and can teach pupils how to make best use of a digital camera.

The importance of data security

jlee — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:46 +0100

A wide range of sensitive and valuable information is stored that schools cannot afford to lose, ranging from pupil homework and emails to teacher lesson plans and curriculum content.

Extending ICT provision beyond your school

jlee — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:44 +0100

In the last few years there has been a huge demand on schools for rapid, transformational change. Consequently, secondary schools have been faced with a proliferation of new initiatives, of which extended service schools is one.

Video conferencing

jlee — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:43 +0100

The government is encouraging schools to expand pupils’ horizons beyond the classroom but the logistics of organising educational visits can be restrictive. Video conferencing is becoming an acceptable alternative, offering an opportunity to contact schools and experts throughout the world. Children are very tuned in to modern technology and the chance of seeing sights worldwide and quizzing experts excites them.

Reflective learning journal or blog? Using social technologies

admin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:42 +0100

I love to see people’s faces when I introduce the topic of wikis, forums and blogs. However, baffled faces frequently become excited at the potential of these new technologies and their use in the context of teaching and learning.

As head of department for ICT/computing in a large (1,800+) comprehensive school, I sometimes feel the ‘been there, done that, got the T-shirt’ that all of us more sophisticated (synonym for older!) teachers go through. Partly because of that, three years ago I embarked on a part time MSc in e-learning.

Building Schools for the Future: the ICT outsourcing route

jlee — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:41 +0100

The Building Schools for the Future (BSF) initiative is set to transform the education sector by rebuilding or refurbishing all secondary schools and half of all primary schools across England by 2020. It aims to ensure that school students are educated in a 21st century learning environment – an inspirational environment that teachers will be proud to teach in and students will be eager to learn in.

SLICT: how to integrate ICT in your school

jlee — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:38 +0100

It may be difficult to believe, but it is less than 10 years since teachers were attending Inset course with names like ‘IT for the terrified’. Since then, many things have changed.

Achieving strategic ICT delivery at Le Rocquier School, Jersey

jlee — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:38 +0100

If we were investing our own money in a high-interest account, we would want to know on a regular basis how this investment was doing, be advised and take the appropriate action to ensure a profitable return. Parents likewise invest in schools via their child and need a return for their investment.

Providing ICT network support to a cluster of schools

jlee — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:36 +0100

ICT technical provision is now a crucial lifeline to any school. If this support breaks down, it causes major problems and disruption to the life of the school. The primary schools in our cluster in East Yorkshire found themselves in this predicament early last year and had to act very quickly to resolve the problem. This article will focus on the recent developments in our cluster that stemmed from this challenge, showing how an innovative approach can bring a wide range of benefits.

Exploring the options

Wif-fi and ICT: benefits and risks

jlee — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:35 +0100

Wireless networks offer great benefits for schools — many schools have already installed a network. Wireless technology is part of many schools' plans under the Government's ‘building schools for the future’ initiative.

But ‘Wi-Fi’, as the technology is known, is a contentious and emotive subject, generating media interest and concern about its use. There is controversy over the health risks, and debate over whether there has been sufficient control over the use of Wi-Fi in the classroom.

Cyber-bullying of teachers

jlee — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:31 +0100

Imagine logging onto MySpace to see a video of a pupil smashing up your car. How would you feel if you were receiving a series of silent phone calls or anonymous text messages warning you to ‘watch your back’? Or if you found pornographic material sent to your phone with your own face superimposed onto that of the actors?

Perhaps this has already happened to you? It is certainly the reality facing many teachers targeted by the new phenomenon of cyber-bullying.

Informed decision making and IT

jlee — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:24 +0100

Anyone working with young people can be sure of at least two things. One, that they are very open to influence by peers, role models and those they admire. And two, that they can be equally resistant to influence by adults interested in their behaviour, attitudes and values. While hardly revelations, they have important implications for the resources used in life skills curricula.

New technologies

Preventing meningitis in young people

admin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:17 +0100

Meningitis and meningococcal septicaemia (blood poisoning) can affect anyone at any time and can kill within hours. Survivors can be left with severe, disabling after-effects, including brain damage, deafness and, where septicaemia has occurred, loss of limbs. Young adults between 14-19 years of age are the group second most at risk from meningococcal disease and every year there are at least 1,500 reported cases among the under 16s, although experts estimate that there are actually twice as many cases in UK.

Inclusive ICT: SENCOs' experiences

admin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:13 +0100

Quite often, you’ll hear a famous writer explain that he or she always writes in longhand, with a fountain pen. To someone who touch types and for whom the arrival of word processing was manna from heaven, writing with a pen seems a bizarre idea, a self-imposed limitation. And yet Stephen King, for one claims, in an interview, to have written Dreamcatcher like that: ‘...it brought the act of writing back to this very basic level, where you actually have to take something in your fist and make the letters on the page.

Cyberbullying: protect your pupils and the school

admin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:11 +0100

Schools and bullies and have a long and intertwined, if unfortunate, history. Society may have become more violent and aggressive over the decades — but at the same time it is ever less tolerant of such behaviour and its consequences. The myth that bullying is ‘character-forming’, ‘part of life’ and ‘a rite of passage’ are no longer acceptable.

Combating risks to children on the internet

admin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:09 +0100

The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) was created in April 2006 as a national centre dedicated to fighting child sex abuse. It combines law enforcement with industry, specialist children’s charities, the DfES and other interested bodies. Together we work in partnership to protect children, young people, families and society from paedophiles and sex offenders, in particular those who use the internet and other new technologies in the sexual exploitation of children.

Purchasing advice: integrated ICT desks

admin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:09 +0100

The advent of ICT across the curriculum is beginning to place a whole range of new resource demands on schools that usually fall to the bursar/business manager to manage. The introduction into schools of more than one dedicated ICT suite has occurred in parallel with the siting of clusters of computers in other places throughout the school – from libraries to classrooms.

Recording and assessing children's language using 'virtual books'

admin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:08 +0100

This is a practical guide to one way of recording children’s language development in the nursery and offers the potential for creating a record of achievement throughout the Foundation Stage and into Key Stage 1.

Why is there a need to record children’s spoken language skills?

The benefits of behaviour tracking

admin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:07 +0100

The first requirement for any programme of school improvement is the gathering of detailed information about what’s going on. One of the best statements regarding this was made by American executive Louis Gerstner, who took over, and eventually transformed, IBM when it was on its knees in the early 1990s.

‘Good strategies,’ he said, ‘start with massive amounts of quantitative analysis, hard, difficult analysis that is blended with wisdom, insight and risk taking.’

Internet and mobile technology security

admin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:04 +0100

The internet can be enormously beneficial for children. Its huge richness and diversity is part of the attraction. But as the mass media have sadly reminded us, all too often there are hazards associated with internet use. A failure to take reasonable steps to make oneself aware of these hazards, or a failure to take reasonable steps to minimise or avoid them, could put children at risk and therefore expose an individual teacher and the school to potential legal liabilities.

SENCOs and ICT

admin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:19:49 +0100

ICT, properly used, can help any teacher if not to do less work, then certainly to work more efficiently, to the benefit of children and their learning. Admittedly, there are times – such as when you’re screaming, Eddie Izzard-style, at the screen, ‘What do you mean “No printer found”! The printer’s just here for God’s sake!’ when that can sound a bit hollow.

ICT Manager

Social media - the risks and safety, a guide for schools part 1

Get more for less from your ICT budget

Enhancing provision for gifted users of ICT

Technological age: using ICT to transform T&L

The role of ICT in the curriculum

Are your school’s pupils safe online?

A quick roundup of the main political parties’ school manifesto points

Technology and SEN

Enriching primary maths

How to tackle truancy using ICT

Teaching primary literacy with ICT

Keeping traveller children safe online

Advancing learning through KTP

Visual literacy

Electronic interaction improves attainment

Education employment law: statutory leave and pay entitlements

The school business manager's role in implementing a VLE

Dealing effectively with cyberbullying

Safe internet usage at school

School websites: how to protect your pupils and your schools

'Virtual' schooling: education outside school

The role of ICT in CPD

Using a virtual learning environment (VLE) to raise attainment

Tackling cyberbullying against teachers

What is cyberbullying?

Multi-sensory environments in special schools

Virtual learnings environments for extended learning

A digital environment can raise school performance

Provision for pupils with severe learning difficulties (SLD)

Using ICT with able classes

The importance of data security

Extending ICT provision beyond your school

Video conferencing

Reflective learning journal or blog? Using social technologies

Building Schools for the Future: the ICT outsourcing route

SLICT: how to integrate ICT in your school

Achieving strategic ICT delivery at Le Rocquier School, Jersey

Providing ICT network support to a cluster of schools

Wif-fi and ICT: benefits and risks

Cyber-bullying of teachers

Informed decision making and IT

Preventing meningitis in young people

Inclusive ICT: SENCOs' experiences

Cyberbullying: protect your pupils and the school

Combating risks to children on the internet

Purchasing advice: integrated ICT desks

Recording and assessing children's language using 'virtual books'

The benefits of behaviour tracking

Internet and mobile technology security

SENCOs and ICT