ICT Continued from page 39


Digital movie cameras can also support literacy by allowing children to create and animate their own stories, and extend speaking and listening skills with children as presenters. Speaking and listening are encouraged through creation of fi lms, podcasts and animations. Creating scripts for video or animation brings fun to the learning process, while using Dance Mats can help children to spell, and also supports quick mental calculation. Voting systems: These devices can support enjoyment in learning and


helps children to revise. Classes can play Who Wants to be a Millionaire? with questions and answers directed specifi cally at the curriculum. Video-conferencing: Speaking and listening are enhanced through video- conferencing which also allows us to cross the cultural divide, with pupils talking to pupils. Modern foreign language development is enhanced. Virtual learning site: This gives remote access so that parents can support their child or learn with the child.


Parental engagement


ICT also encourages parental engagement because they can access the information they need in a non-threatening environment – their own home. Through our websites we can offer information on anything from admissions procedures, policy documents and the curriculum to the PTA, blogs and photo galleries. There will still be some parents, who do not have access to the internet, but they can be assisted and even encouraged to participate by opening up the school’s own internet facilities to them regularly. Sometimes this can also help them to work with their child. We opened up our computer suite to parents but they had to come in accompanied by their child. This meant they were sharing an experience with their children.


Changes in regulation


The Department for Education is helping to raise the profi le of technology in schools. From this month schools will no longer have to publish an annual prospectus, instead the following must be published online (it is not an expectation – it is a regulation): ■ The school’s Pupil Premium allocation. ■ Use and impact on attainment. ■ Curriculum by year and subject. ■ Admission arrangements. ■ Policies on behaviour, charging, and SEN and disability. ■ Links to Ofsted reports. ■ Details of, and links to, performance data.


Learning platforms In addition to a website, schools can offer even more through a learning platform which can cost nothing but staff time. The Learning Portal should be password protected to safeguard pupils. It can then provide material which is pertinent to the needs of the individual child, including: ■ Individual portfolios and targets. ■ “Real time” reporting for parents to ascertain their child’s level of performance, attendance, application etc.


■ Individually tailored pupil materials. ■ Homework offered online a couple of times a week. ■ Quizzes created by teaching assistants can give value to their work and be a draw for pupils.


■ Advice to parents on standards or how to support their child is always warmly welcomed and reduces teachers’ workloads.


■ Chatrooms for the headteacher to seek children’s opinions in addition to school council meetings.


■ A safe forum or chatroom for year 6 pupils. Online discussion forums for Healthy School or Sustainable School groups and dialogue.


■ Online questionnaires for pupils/ parents.


■ Even adult learning can be offered through links into courses.


We introduced two particularly popular ideas. First, challenges in each subject area that whole families take up. If the child/family accept a


40


“Enjoy the journey, keep watching the horizon to seek the new and exciting, but beware – do not go there simply because it is something new. Ask what it offers, how, what training comes with the package, and what impact you are seeking?”


challenge in a subject and present their materials they could earn a Family Learning Certifi cate (three certifi cates gives them a gold award). This meant that parents who may be uncertain about their own skills can allow their child to be the lead learner and still support and learn with their children. Second, “never-ending stories” are a particular draw for children with learning diffi culties. The teacher starts a story online at the beginning of each half-term. Any student can then add the next line, and so on. At the end of half-term the story is read to the class and they may conclude it together.


Texting and email


Of course we still have texting and emails to communicate with parents and, if you look, you will fi nd texting services which give translations into a number of other languages which will then support a multi-lingual approach to communication and make sure that all are included.


Where to start?


Ask yourself and your team – where are we now? ■ What good practice could we look at and where would we fi nd this? Do we look to the business world to ensure effective and effi cient support?


■ Have we considered the impact and potential of technology in teaching and learning?


■ How far can we go to ensure that our pupils manage and exploit technology effectively when they leave us?


■ How do we exploit technology to improve engagement beyond the environs of the school?


■ Are our learners and their parents e-safe and e-aware? ■ Can we be more effective in our use of technology to use data to support assessment and learning?


■ How do we know we are getting best value, understand costs and are effi cient?


■ Do we have a three-year and a fi ve-year plan for ensuring continuity and progression in ICT?


■ Is there a support system in our area or do we need to research locally and nationally to fi nd that next great idea?


■ Talk to other schools about where they get their technical support? ■ Should we be using cloud technology and which cloud storage should we use (Dropbox, SkyDrive, GoogleDrive)?


Security


It is up to individual schools to decide whether the level of security is suffi cient but it is worth talking to each other and using your liaison/cluster groups to investigate this and share experiences. Information security is the responsibility of the school. There is guidance and documentation available from the Information Commissioner’s offi ce (www.ico.gov.uk).


Conclusion If I can do it, anyone can. Enjoy the journey, keep watching the horizon to seek the new and exciting, but beware – do not go there simply because it is something new. Ask instead what it offers, how, what training comes with the package, and what impact you are seeking?


• Brenda Bigland has been a headteacher for more than 20 years in both the independent and state sector. Her last headship was of Lent Rise School in Buckinghamshire. She now runs an educational consultancy called Ask Brenda, which offers confi dential advice, mentoring, training and CPD. Visit www.askbrenda.co.uk


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