MANAGING ICT MANAGING ICT
With the BETT
So the challenge to schools is this. If you want to
achieve universal personal access to a computer, in the
education
classroom and outside school, then how are you going
to make the most of what is available? How are you
going to future-proof your approach? And who is going
technology
to help you?
Let’s start with making the most of what is available.
show kicking
Schools with a large number of pupils eligible for free
school meals should consider aggregating the Home
off next week, the
Access grant on behalf of their families.
Apart from getting a better deal for your families,
this will also help those who might be intimidated by an
e-Learning Foundation’s
official form to fill in, ensure the most needy and hard-
to-contact can be personally targeted to make sure they
Valerie Thompson
benefit from the grant, and introduce a clear educational
focus to the Home Access grant.
updates us on the Home
If the school has a large number of families who
just miss out on a Home Access grant, then they can
Access programme, which
develop an equity scheme that dovetails into the Home
Access programme.
In this way, every parent has the same opportunity
is aiming to make digital
to access the technology their children need – the
only difference being those who can make a small
inclusion a reality
contribution towards it.
Local authorities involved in BSF have the perfect
opportunity to achieve one-to-one provision from the
beginning – future-proofing that level of provision
IGITAL INCLUSION has finally through parental contributions from the outset that will
D
made it to the front page. The be used two or three years on to replace the original
e-Learning Foundation, a national devices.
charity, has been campaigning
since 2001 for every school child
Who is going to help?
in this country to have access to Help will come from a wide range of sources. One
the learning technologies they need, will be the market. Price trends and the competition
when and where they need them. generated by companies vying to produce low-cost
So it was great news to hear back in 2008 that a devices for the third world will have an impact on
major Home Access programme was going to receive products available to the UK education sector. A £100
serious government funding, and it was even better notebook cannot be that far away – perhaps even as
news earlier this year to read Lord Carter’s Digital early as BETT 2011.
Britain report that positions digital inclusion as a Parents, often quoted as a major hurdle to an equity
priority for the country. programme because of their lack of understanding of
Web entrepreneur Martha Lane Fox was appointed the importance of computer access for young people for
as our new Digital Champion last June, to represent their studies and an unwillingness to contribute towards
people not yet online and create a strategy to bring the its cost, may become less of a barrier. The evidence
internet to the socially disadvantaged. of the impact of good access on a child’s educational
The first report from her digital inclusion team results is growing.
found that 17 per cent of the population have never been And the good news is that the cost of participation
online and four million of this group are also socially is falling. The £20-a-month “laptop scheme” could well
excluded because of their education, employment, become a programme which for £1 a week from parents
economic, health or housing circumstances. could mean that a school can provide every child with
We know that 1.6 million children are not on line, their own notebook for use in school and at home.
the vast majority coming from deprived areas and Government will continue to put the digital divide
Countdown
disadvantaged families, whose future career prospects on its agenda and make provision as and when. The
are being stunted. power of education to break the cycle of disadvantage
kept alive over generations has long been recognised.
So far so good
We need to ensure that technology is firmly built into
One might argue that excellent progress towards the learning at school and at home to ensure that young
achieving universal access for pupils has been made people have the skills to meet the challenges of life in
because of what has already gone before. a fast changing digital world. Under a new legislation
Government programmes such as Computers for we could see schools with more decentralised spending
Pupils have helped many secondary school pupils from power. I hope they use it wisely! SecEd
low-income families. The falling price of laptop and
notebook computers has helped many families afford • Valerie Thompson is chief executive of the e-Learning
to BETT
to make provision for their own children. In addition, Foundation.
the introduction of mobile 3G broadband access has
overcome the problems of credit worthiness for low-
Further information
income families trying to get a Broadband fixed line Home Access: www.becta.org.uk/homeaccess
at home. e-Learning Foundation: www.e-learningfoundation.com
But is it enough?
Are educationalists taking advantage of these increasing
levels of ubiquitous access? Or is there still a sizeable
“luddite” community of teachers out there hiding
behind excuses including: “the technology isn’t reliable
enough” (they might have a point); “I get good results
so which bit of 100 per cent do you want me to improve
established a professional relationship and used the world to meet than on the internet, and sites like on” (this one only works if the pupils keep walking
forum as a springboard for new ideas as well as a means PrometheanPlanet act as an international meeting through the door because they find the teaching relevant
of sharing actual resources. place. to them); and “I can’t integrate IT into my teaching until
“It was a good mix of technical ‘how do I do Ms McCormick continued: “The expansion of the I know absolutely every pupil has the same opportunity
this?’ support, and more pedagogical discussion on community was refreshing and triggered renewed to access learning technologies at home” (and here they
areas where technology can really support teaching enthusiasm in terms of people sharing perspectives and again have a point, particularly if the school serves a
practice.” ideas. Although some of the discussion may be specific disadvantaged community where low family income
Another feature of the website is the resource area. to one country’s curriculum, much of the content and low access to a computer and the internet largely
Members of the site can upload and categorise their relating to use of the technology in the classroom is go hand-in-hand).
own flipcharts, resource packs and other materials for universally relevant.” Other concerns being expressed by school leaders
classroom teaching. The materials are also free from The site’s “ActivRoom” facility also enables real- focus on sustainability.
the copyright and licence issues often associated with time video and sound connection from one classroom to Government initiatives that provide welcome capital
downloading images from the web. another through an interactive whiteboard and webcam. offer a short-term solution – Building Schools for the
There are also resources available from the likes A school which recently took advantage of this Future (BSF), Computers for Pupils, Home Access. But
of Dorling Kindersley, National Geographic, Manga facility is Foster’s Primary School in Welling, Kent, how do schools make the same provision for the next
Shakespeare, the RSPCA, and English Heritage. which linked up with Rock Island Elementary in Fort generation of pupils? What happens when the new kit
Alison Lydon, ICT learning and teaching advisor Lauderdale, Florida. needs replacing? Can we seriously consider going back
at the Erskine Stewart Melville Schools group in John Adams, assistant headteacher, said: “The pupils to photocopied worksheets in future because our low-
Edinburgh, considers the resources a major draw for got a real buzz out of the link-up. Rock Island was a income families cannot carry on paying for Broadband
teachers great school to team with on the project as it had quite to access the virtual learning environment?
“(Using websites like this) can save a lot of time, as a contrasting ethnic and socio-economic profile. Where The truth is that there is no government-led
before you set about creating your own resources, you our pupils are largely White British, the Rock Island sustainable long-term approach to universal access. The
can see what’s already out there. It also gives you ideas pupils are mostly Black American. poor will always have a problem. And until there is an
for new ways of using the software that you might not “The great thing was the pupils immediately hit entitlement for young learners, that problem will never
have thought of yourself.” it off, discussing the differences in language, popular go away. With such entitlement comes a very big bill.
As well as inspiration and ideas from the forum or culture and pastimes, as well as discovering similarities And now is not the time to be adding big ticket items to
blog, the site points teachers in the direction of a range in their lifestyles.” Westminster’s shopping list.
of training, from foundation courses on effective use of Pupils shared flipcharts and posed questions to each The e-Learning Foundation has always stressed the
interactive software to more advanced courses to help other verbally, as well as writing replies on the board. importance of parents making a contribution where
with training other teachers and developing advanced PrometheanPlanet is just one example of the online they can because without that, programmes are quite
resources. forums that teachers are ready to embrace the latest simply unsustainable and schools serving disadvantaged
Peer inspiration does not just come from the UK. communication and teaching technologies to enrich the communities will either have to go back to the basics or
Nowhere is it easier for people from around the education experience for all. SecEd resort to the begging bowl.
SecEd • January 7 2010 11
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