Next Generation Learning in Kent

Bless this computer!

2010-01-17T16:35:00Z

Since watching Hitch-hikers Guide to the Galaxy, I've often mused that gargantuan data-centres may be cathedrals where we get ever nearer to the meaning of (virtual) life (42 wasn't it?). The church of the blessed motherboard seems nearer with a vicar recently reported as adapting a medieval ceremony used to bless plows (and other farm tools). He brought it up to date by placing 2 laptops and 4 smartphones at the altar and getting the congregation to wave their's above their heads, then...(read more)

Tablets, slates and ultrathin ...

2010-01-17T16:10:00Z

It seems that the impending Apple iSlate is re-igniting interest in Tablet's, (now called slates to disassociate them), but the best version I've seen isn't available yet, but is coming in 2012 and may only be available in developing countries. It is the XO3 from the one-laptop-per-child (OLPC) project, and can be found here. The ring in the corner is a wind-up mechanism which recharges the battery! So cool, so cheap, so where and when can I buy one??? Further pics can be seen by clicking...(read more)

Kerboodle! ... the video

2010-01-17T16:00:00Z

No comment on the Kerboodle product, but the YouTube video is a hoot!...(read more)

Top technology ... BETT 2010

2010-01-17T10:37:00Z

I don't often get excited by classroom projectors and interactive whiteboards (IWB's), with new health and safety guidance that means they must be short-throw, the problems of height adjustment (especially with boom types) etc. they often seem to generate problems. There does however appear to be light (.. no, not a projector bulb) at the end of the tunnel with the new Epson interactive projectors in that they appear to be designed specifically for classrooms. With interesting synchronicity...(read more)

British Pathé? Great ... but can you get it to work?

2009-12-18T20:35:00Z

After reading the ' Pathe Returns ' blog post by a colleague, you may have tried to find out more whilst sat at your home computer and wondered why it doesn't seem to work. Well, British Pathe is a commercial organisation that (quite rightly) charges local authorities and broadband consortia a subscription. This means the resources are not freely available on the web. I want to see these great quality educational resources being fully used by schools, and I can't help but note that...(read more)

Besa bash the BBC!

2009-12-12T19:49:00Z

I find it hard to reconcile the recent press release from trade association the British Education Suppliers Association (BESA) with the BBC Trust Decision it refers to. Parking the fact that BESA members benefitted from £500m per year through Curriculum Online and e-learning credits, they just don't seem able to let it go! BESA's take on the BBC Trust committee's report is a little mis-leading and its worth stating that the BBC Trust Committee found: " ... no evidence to suggest...(read more)

Capita CS v Bromcom? ... fighting talk!

2009-12-12T18:40:00Z

I picked up a report in the Guardian last week that Bromcom PLC are crying foul at what it sees as Capita CS' domination of the schools Management Information System (MIS) market. I remember that the Becta MIS and value for money report (PDF) in 2005 made a number of recommendations after concluding that a dominant supplier in any market is not a good idea. It didn't however take up all of the recommendations. Bromcom's complaint to the Office of Fair Trading (PDF) centres on what it...(read more)

Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) ... more information

2009-11-29T19:36:00Z

My colleague Andy Morgan has put together a useful briefing on the new statutory duties contained in the Carbon Reduction Commitment and what it means for schools. I have blogged about this before , but recommend you view the document that went out with last weeks e-bulletin for up to date details. Key Points Each April the council has to pay for carbon (estimated £1.4m for KCC) This may come back to KCC in October dependent on our position in a 'league table' of carbon reduction. All Schools...(read more)

OPEN ... Amazon for schools?

2009-11-29T08:06:00Z

OPEN (Online Procurement for Educational Needs) is a web portal, a 'marketplace for schools' where schools can compare and then purchase educational products from a range of suppliers. There is a useful YouTube demo video that explains how it works (if you can get YouTube through your school broadband connection!). OPEN consists of five elements. Electronic marketplace Purchase-to-Pay transactions. Secure access to user information Portal for suppliers to upload their catalogues. Sales ordering...(read more)

Too many cooks ... salami-slice anyone?

2009-11-28T10:15:00Z

Following weeks of colleagues trying to get a single Home Access for Targeted Groups ADSL Internet connection working in the home of a needy family, I decided to go to the house and see what could be done (if only to apologise in person to the family concerned). Armed with test gear and tools, I was shocked at the impact of the salami-slicing of service responsibilities. It results in a culture of passing the buck and avoiding ownership of the problem, resulting in delay, inefficiency and work avoidance...(read more)

Becta publish draft functional and technical principles ...

2009-11-08T12:00:00Z

Becta have published their draft functional and technical specifications for consultation. If you want your say before they're set in stone sign up for the Becta collaboration site (it could do with more activity!). I've commented the technical document and am about to comment the functional....(read more)

Stuff that's caught my eye 071109

2009-11-07T12:37:00Z

Youth cannot live without the web - YouthNet charity report based on a survey of young 16-24 year olds Tech addiction 'harms learning - report concludes that modern gadgets worsen pupils' spelling and concentration, encourage plagiarism and disrupt lessons. Whitehall plans phone network collapse simulation Besa predicts £9.8m drop in schools' ICT spending Schools should be more like Tesco Open Plan school hearing issue Schools waste millions - report Digital Learning Spaces - report Social...(read more)

Interactive games v real games ... Northfleet Tech' proves why it's got an ICT Mark!

2009-11-07T12:03:00Z

Interesting way to get kids engaged with fitness ... see the BBC take on it by clicking HERE . When you work in schools and discover the number of kids sat out of games with notes or without games kit, you can only applaud this innovative approach. ... and you know what? ... at the price of the kit this is a no-brainer. Hats-Off to Northfleet Tech! Is it not a little unbalanced for the BBC article to give so much creedence to the voice of the Campaign for Real Education ... who?? .. exactly! Is the...(read more)

Home Access! ... do you know what's going on?

2009-11-07T08:34:00Z

On my travels it amazes me how little is known about a scheme that about to impact schools in a big way. Home Access is part of Becta's Next Generation Learning campaign and aims to address the perceived digital divide. An estimated one million children do not have a computer at home and 35 per cent of families have no home access to the internet. The aim is for every child to have equal access to the internet at home to assist with their learning. The Home Access campaign targets families who...(read more)

CCTV in schools ... statement from Information Commissioners Office (ICO)

2009-11-06T19:52:00Z

Jonathan Bamford, Assistant Information Commisioner today issued the following statement after an incident where CCTV captured pictures of school children changing. “CCTV should only be used for a pressing need. It is perfectly reasonable for a school to use CCTV to help secure its premises, but it shouldn’t be left switched on capturing images of school children changing during the day. When a school is staffed and children are on the premises, cameras will not generally be required for security...(read more)

Kent ICT Mark schools ... numbers up!

2009-11-06T17:31:00Z

Just seen my NAACE newsletter , and two more Kent schools have recently achieved the coveted ICT Mark. They are Hugh Christie Technology College and Swalecliffe Community Primary School . Knowing how difficult it is to achieve the coveted ICT Mark (judging by the number of schools in the UK that have it!) this is a great achievement for both schools and worth a 'bit of a do'. Hugh Christie's managed ICT service is provided by Northgate Education and its pretty clear this has had a positive...(read more)

ICT Targets ... now that's an interesting subject!

2009-11-02T19:55:00Z

I had an enquiry from a Kent secondary school asking about current targets for ICT. It set me on a bit of a quest as 'deadlines' are often quoted and mentioned. I started by looking at data the government collects through the school census, as this is the only stuff they can actually check on. The answer is that through the school census they count computers and whiteboards ... and that's it! Anyway, ... what are (were) the targets(?)! 2006 - 10Mb broadband for secondary and 2Mb for primary...(read more)

ICT Suites ... an update!

2009-11-01T20:54:00Z

As an update to my recent post on ICT suites, I've been checking out figures (Feb 2009) for computer locations in Kent Primary schools: 36% of desktops located in classrooms / teaching areas (not suites). 35% of desktops located in suites. 26% laptops / notebooks. 2% Tablets That's what they've told us ......(read more)

Comparisons are odious ...

2009-11-01T20:41:00Z

Just been reading the recently published Harnessing Technology Schools Survey 2009 and comparing with Kent's most recent figures for learning platforms: 61% of Kent Primary schools have a learning platform compared with 52% nationally. 83% of Kent Secondary schools have a learning platform compared with 75% nationally. Of course, neither set of figures gives an indication of whether they are used effectively!...(read more)

Where are all the ICT Mark schools?

2009-11-01T20:21:00Z

I've been preparing reports today and comparing Kent's ICT Mark schools with neighbouring Local Authorities. Interesting observation, the number of schools with the ICT Mark is not increasing (In Kent, currently 5 secondary schools if you exclude one Academy and 14 primary schools) ... but other LA's are much worse! Essex - 2 Secondary, 3 Primary Suffolk - No secondary schools, 2 Primary Norfolk - No secondary schools, 5 Primary This is meant to be the flagship delivery mechanism for...(read more)

ICT Suites ... dead or alive?

2009-10-24T16:26:00Z

“Schools have successfully created a demand from teachers to be able to use ICT to improve learning in other subjects but are rarely able to meet it. Most primary and secondary schools have chosen to centralise the bulk of their ICT resources in networked computer room…but the result is that resources are often extremely limited elsewhere for work in other subjects. It is still common to see students taking work from other subjects to the computer room where they are using ICT, in effect, only to...(read more)

Re: Don't let your mind die

2009-10-24T15:55:00Z

This creased me up and I can't resist a comment! I hope the article is meant to be tongue-in-cheek as I have this horrible vision of elderly drivers swerving across motorway lanes as they do brain training on long journeys. I also love the thought that designing buildings that are difficult to get around provides challenges that delay death; ah, but would one get through the school design DQI's or CABE Review ... Who'd a thought it!...(read more)

OFCOM report - young people's web access has doubled

2009-10-24T15:30:00Z

An interesting read is the recent OFCOM UK Children's Media Literacy report . Here are a couple of the key findings: 16% of 11 year olds and 35% of 12 -15 year olds go online in their rooms. A fifth of 12 - 15 year oldsdon't know how search engine results are ordered. One third of 12-15 year oldsthink search engine results are in order of truthfullness. Most children don't have filtering or controls in place. The report is a good starting point for schools engaging with families on e...(read more)

Twitter Ye Not?

2009-07-10T16:52:00Z

Well, the light bulb moment happened and I'm micro-blogging with Twitter (trailing way behind the prolific Ms Barrow). I opened an account in 2007, and well ... didn't get it. Now I'm a convert and my account is flourishing. My problem is that I like to spell correctly and construct sentences like what I was taught. Now I have to resort to short txt mssgng whr u tke out da vowls. I was taught that it is the consonants that give the facts and the vowels that convey accent and emotion ...(read more)

Will schools jump on the bandwagon or be left behind?

2009-07-05T09:06:00Z

The title of this post is the opening of a web 2.0 in education report based on research responses from school administrators in the US. Some of the report's statements and findings raise interesting questions. "... digital media - and particularly web 2.0 applications - are a standard feature in the lives of young people ... it mnakes sense for schools to avail thmeselvesof the opportunities these applications provide to enrich the learning environment of classrooms. But is this happening...(read more)

Economic and efficient ICT in schools ...

2009-07-05T06:58:00Z

The Audit Commission recently published a report highlighting ways schools can improve economy and efficiency. ICT, (a major cost for most schools) gets scant mention with a bland statement " ... regular reviews of high cost services, such as administration and ICT, will reveal whether they are meeting the school's aims and objectives". The only ICT specific advice it gives is an example of selling your (overworked!) technician to other schools. Collaboration between schools to gain...(read more)

Carbon Reduction! ... ready for the commitment?

2009-07-05T06:24:00Z

A colleague took me through the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) in the context of building energy efficient schools and the ICT used in intelligent buildings. CRC is a new mandatory emissions trading scheme that will affect large organisations (including schools) who qualify based on their electricity consumption during 2008. An organisation has to purchase allowances sold by Government for each tonne of CO2 they emit. The more an organisation emits, the more allowances it has to purchase ... a...(read more)

The Right Staff! ... with the Right Stuff?

2009-05-10T11:50:00Z

Recent articles have highlighted the importance of good quality teaching as a determinant of child success. Bill Gates (ex Microsoft) argues strongly in a video presentation on the TED website that not only are good teachers the main determinants of success, but practice learnt early on doesn't change much during the rest of a teacher's career. This view was supported in a recent conference speech by Prof. Dylan William of the Institute of Education and reported by the BBC as ' Class...(read more)

Videoconferencing - Visit to Tandberg.

2009-05-10T10:41:00Z

Around two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to visit the Tandberg executive briefing centre in Staines with colleagues from EIS. The purpose of the visit was to look at the future roadmap for videoconferencing from the perspective of one its market leaders. Interesting developments in videoconferencing include the increasingly smart use of directories such as Microsoft Active Directory (AD) to manage user access to resources and services; unified communications around Internet Protocols (IP), e.g...(read more)

Graham Badman - Chair of Becta!

2009-05-10T10:17:00Z

Graham Badman CBE, ex-managing director of Kent County Council's 'Childen Familes and Education' Directorate was appopinted Chair of Becta on 1st May 2009 , replacing Andrew Pinder who stepped down in January 2009. Graham has been interim Chair since Andrew's departure and board member for some time before. It will be interesting to see if Graham's passion for effective use of technology across children's services results in Becta shifting emphasis....(read more)