Harnessing Technology in Kent Schools Conference
Well after much preparation, and not a little anxiety and stress in the digital curriculum team, Kent CFE held its ICT conference; Harnessing Technology in Kent Schools. The three themes?
- Creative personalised learning
- Achieving e-Confidence
- Wonders of the web
Our keynote speakers were Stephen Heppell and Becta's Peter Wain, both of which were excellent. Stephen's keynote was inspirational. At the tables his presentation created much interest and debate. None expressed the view that Stephen's perspective was wrong, but more along the lines of '... great, but scary!"
The event was videoed by students from Homewood School and Sixth Form Centre, who presented at the end of the afternoon. One of the video's they showed had a particular resonance, and showed how their school had been transformed from drab and dreary buildings to a vibrant campus alive with activity and creativity. Unfortunately a technical glitch meant the excerpts recorded during the day couldn't be shown, but they will be available as a DVD, and we are hoping to upload excerpts to either TeacherTube or a similar media server.
Mark Warner brought the Downs FM DJ's from 'The Down's CE Primary School', who presented like professionals, and demonstrated what can be achieved when creativity, technology and enthusiasm are combined. During the day they recorded and podcast interviews with the speakers and organisers. You can hear these enlightening sessions on the next post by clicking on the links.
Throughout the event, questions were asked using PaceBlade touch screen computers managed by the Live Group. We will be reporting back on the answers in later posts and publications, and they will be discussed at the Headteachers ICT Strategy Group.
In the workshops
- Ashford Rural Cluster presented on creative personalised learning to a large audience in the main hall, demonstratingtheir use of a learning platform for collaboration.
- Alison Gaunt from the ASK Hands-On support team presented the wonders of the web, with practical hands-on sessions on some of the best web tools, including Skype, Blogs, and Flickr.
- Microsoft presented with Hugh Christie and New Line Learning.
- Hayesbrook School presented their ICT Leaders scheme which has provided young people with a structured was of collecting an e-portfolio of evidence of their activities in supporting and developing ICT skills.
- Mr Dilling from Sussex Road gave a wonderful presentation on how the school has been using digital video creatively with children. The practical hints and tips were invaluable, and there was great interest.
Best Practice Almanac Prize
The first prize of a Turning Point electronic voting system was accepted by James Blomfield for Capel-Le-Ferne Primary for their excellent creative curriculum work using technology.