MANAGING ICT
Unleash the students
Assistant head
Giving students’ ownership
Ninestiles’ students, as with many other schools, are
Steve Aylin
keen to develop systems that will benefit the entire
school community. As students grow in confidence and
discusses how
their ownership over their learning increases, their use
of the learning platform rapidly snowballs.
to give students
The engagement of pupils in any process depends
upon whether they are interested in participating in the
first place. A student will use Facebook at home because
the power to take control
they can develop a profile about themselves online and
invite friends to become part of their online community.
BSF: What does
of their school’s online
They find this process fun and therefore it engages them.
With the right technology, transposing this into an
learning environment
educational environment is achievable. Our Facebook-
style learning platform is popular because it provides a
familiar interface for our school community. In order
for this technology to engage students, it is important
MPOWERING STUDENTS to to give them the ability to design and shape Web 2.0
the future hold?
E
become more responsible for applications. If students are already using social media
their own learning can boost their at home, then encouraging them to use it in school can
confidence and raise the morale help to develop the student voice.
of the whole school community
with the sharing of new skills and
Best practice for giving pupils control
resources. Students already have high expectations of how much
We are starting to see signs that indicate within five control they should have over their learning and they do
years, students will expect as much control over their not expect to be filtered or supervised. In the future it is
online learning environment as teachers. staff have full access rights to the learning platform, Some have been given access to write their own likely to be normal for students to be just as much a part
However, questions may be asked about whether whereas all staff and teaching assistants can amend web pages and share their work with peers. Others have of devising school intranets as their teachers are.
students are being given too much control too soon. most pages. asked to substitute a written assignment with a short I would advise schools to identify students who are
While schools should be implementing initial plans Access rights have also been granted to a small film, which encourages them to use their initiative. already prepared to take on this responsibility and give
now, a step-by-step approach is imperative to ensuring selection of trustworthy students as a first step towards them small tasks, developing their skills as they move
a successful cultural shift in the long term. making it the norm for all, a responsibility they should
Students training teachers
up in the school. It is better to give responsible students
It is a journey that Ninestiles School, a secondary be encouraged to earn. It is becoming increasingly common for students an increasing amount of control, allowing them to set a
school in Birmingham with 1,500 students on roll, has The school is currently holding interviews with to teach staff new skills and this is evident in our good example for others.
already embarked on with its learning platform. students interested in becoming forum mediators or school. As part of an IT project, a group of students It is also vital to ensure that every student feels
web designers, with the aim of executing a successful learned how to make podcasts and then taught teachers, valued and rewarded. One way Ninestiles plans to
Access rights for responsible students
roll-out of open access to forums. teaching assistants and support staff. use its learning platform to involve every student is to
Before schools can give students complete control over Many members of staff have gone on to use this create an online feedback form enabling them to voice
their learning platforms, they must address security
Encouraging responsible behaviour
technology and this has boosted students’ confidence opinions about their lessons. SecEd
issues concerning network abuse and data protection. One way of encouraging positive behaviour is to immensely. Such empowerment paves the way for a
It is important that schools continue to retain reward responsible students with more freedom; the reformed learning culture and the next stage for us is to • Steve Aylin is an assistant headteacher and science
control over certain confidential data such as contact more they demonstrate responsible use of technology, give students log-ins for their own websites in addition teacher at Ninestiles School in Birmingham which uses
details and exam results. At Ninestiles, 10 members of the more games and web tools they can use. to their ordinary computer log-ins. the Frog Secondary Learning Platform.
Organised by In association with
Royal College of Physicians
CONFERENCE FEE
FIVETOSEVEENDUCARTO
TO
Edinburgh
INCLUDES ENTRANCE
TO THE CONFERENCE,
WWWFIVETOSEVENCOUK
LUNCH AND REFRESHMENTS,
FULL CONFERENCE
The 5th national conference
DOCUMENTATION AND
CERTIFICATE
Autism Today:
OF ACCREDITATION/
ATTENDANCE
Tuesday 17th November 2009 Wednesday 18th November 2009
Diagnosis, management Sharing strategies and secrets
and treatment for success in education
An essential conference for all in the medical and education professions working with
individuals who have autistic spectrum disorder
Topics from Wednesday 18th November 2009 include:
•Asperger’s syndrome and education PJ Hughes WORKSHOPS
•Assessment and therapeutic intervention Susan Derham
•TEACCH Barbara Blyth
•The way from A to B: using wise choices to manage
•Applied behaviour analysis: early intensive behavioural
challenging behaviour Mike Stanton
intervention Lynsey Herdman and Risca Solomon
•Help! Programme - messages from 10,000 parents
•Using the ADOS and ADI-R in the diagnosis
of ASD Marianna Murin
Andrew Powell
•ECHOES: improving children’s social interaction
•Sensory issues in autism Michael McCreadie
through interactive play with digital technologies
•Real services to assist students with Asperger’s
Wendy Keay-Bright and Dr Karen Guldberg
Syndrome Dr Nicola Martin
•The effectiveness of PECS Sue Baker
•Adult outcome for children with autism
•Strategies for teaching children functional skills
Professor Patricia Howlin
for life Liz Shew
MA Healthcare Ltd
For further information and a booking form, please contact
St. Jude’s Church
Dulwich Road
Tel: 020 7501 6748 Fax: 020 7733 8174 Email: javan.abass@markallengroup.com
London SE24 0PB
MAE Autism09 SecEd half.indd 1 21/8/09 12:45:58
SecEd • November 12 2009 11
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