SYMPOSIUM REPORT

ICT and the Future

Pete Henshaw

Editor, SecEd

What does the future of ICT hold for education? What a question that is. The depth and breadth of this topic is almost without bounds and so it might seem a daunting task for SecEd and Dell to have tackled this in a mere three-hour debate. But tackle it we did and what came out of

our education symposium, held in London in March, was both fascinating and inspiring. As you can see from the biographies

below, we had 14 experienced and innovative practitioners and ICT in education experts around the table. Over the next four pages, we break down

this debate and report on what our panellists raised as the key issues in each area, and what solutions they discussed from their own schools and their own experiences. We launched the debate with a discussion

on best practice in classroom technology application, asking how ICT can be used to inspire and engage students, how we can ensure we are teaching the right skills for tomorrow’s workplace, and perhaps the ultimate of questions: what does effective use of ICT in (or out of) the classroom look like? Second came another big debate: outcomes. How can we know that use of ICT is having

Chairperson:

Nina Woodcock, Head of Capital Programmes; Children’s Services and Local Government, Becta

Nina has worked at Becta since 2003 in a range of roles. For three years she led Becta’s support to the academies programme and has now expanded this role to include Building Schools for the Future and the Primary Capital Programme. Originally a science teacher, Nina is also a parent-governor at a Leicestershire school.

Delegates:

Chris Baker, Leader of e-Learning, John Cabot Academy, Bristol

Originally a PE teacher with a passion for ICT, Chris’s interest and knowledge grew to a level where he became an ICT in PE Advisor for South Gloucestershire, and then Deputy Leader of e-Learning at John Cabot. He won the Becta Next Generation Learning Teaching Award in 2009 for the South West region.

Kevin Bennett, Assistant Principal, Belvoir High School, Leicestershire

One of Kevin’s responsibilities is the development of e- Learning. The school’s ICT

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an impact on educational attainment and achievement? From here we moved on to budgets, and

our discussions centred on the challenges of achieving effective ICT procurement in these times of tighter finances. Finally, we tackled CPD and the particular importance of this aspect when it comes to ICT, and how schools can cope with the massive demand for training. I want to take this opportunity to thank Dell for partnering with SecEd to host this event,

vision is for pupils to decide when it is an appropriate tool to use to support their learning. The school now has devices available in the majority of lessons and a developed managed learning environment.

Kester Brewin, Deputy Head of Maths, Sydenham High School, London

Kester has long used ICT in different areas of classroom practice. He uses a suite of wirelessly enabled laptops with classes and slideshows to present material, which is then uploaded to the departmental blog where students can download resources.

Mark Creasy, Head, Arrow Vale High School, Redditch, Worcestershire

Arrow Vale is a National Challenge school that has invested heavily in ICT, moving from a 1:7 computer-student ratio to almost 1:1, to support curriculum development, especially for BTECs and Diplomas. Mark has been in teaching since 1997.

Dave Ford, Acting Deputy Head, Castle View School, Essex and ICT Change Champion for BSF in Essex

Dave has been at Castle View since 1986. Three years ago

and also the British Council, whose London offices hosted the debate. This supplement is now available as a

resource to all and can be downloaded from our website. We have also worked with Dell to produce a short video of the proceedings which will be available soon and SecEd intends to pick up these topics and discussions again during the summer term 2010 – do get in touch if you want to have your say (see further information on page 3).

he was asked to be ICT Change Champion for the school when they found themselves in Wave 4 of the BSF programme. He has been actively involved with the production of the authority’s ICT output spec and all issues ICT-related.

Chris Foreman, Vice Principal, Learning Systems, Homewood School and Sixth Form Centre, Tenterden, Kent

For the past five years, Chris has been leading the creation of a project-based key stage 3 curriculum in Kent’s largest secondary school. This curriculum develops 21st century learners in technology-rich learning environments, promoting collaboration and creativity. In 2005, he founded one of the largest school based e-Learning Foundations in the UK.

Allie Hack, Head of ICT Across the Curriculum, The Mountbatten School, Romsey, Hampshire

Allie has been a secondary school teacher for 12 years. Currently, she is developing a Learning Gateway and virtual learning environment which enables interaction between teachers, students, parent and governors, as well as interactive teaching and learning. She leads an ICT Drive Team of staff who are inspiring teachers to embrace the use of ICT.

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