Strategic ICT advice for schools

I recently posted an article relating to 'Simple steps to understand ICT' (posted 10th Aug) which is a must read for teachers who may be a little bemused with the sheer volume of available elearning services, and the question of which ones may best suit their school.

I have found another piece relating more to the organisation and strategy of ICT implementation, which I hope will compliment my original post by offering more of an advisory and planning angle to the topic. This link is from BECTA and is called 'Moving your Organisation Foward with ICT' and it covers some very relevant points such as 'your staff and ICT', 'developing ICT partnerships', and 'using ICT to help students develop life skills'.

Please access http://ferl.becta.org.uk/display.cfm?page=847 where you can view an interactive diagram and advice, and you can also link to the whole BECTA document by following the 'Moving Your Organisation Forward with ICT' hyperlink.

It makes for an interesting read and may help to clear up some strategic issues that school are currently facing with this necessary shift in teaching practices.

Taecanet offers Elluminate virtual classroom

At Taecanet, we have an ethos of 'community learning' which is being realised by creating easy links between educators and learners from many different geographical regions worldwide. Networked learning is a valuable medium in the education sphere and its significance will only strengthen with the proliferation of ICT in schools. As many schools now have internet access, the possibilities are endless and it has never been easier to connect learners in order to share knowledge and assist in helping schools to raise standards.

On this theme, we would like to announce that Taecanet will be offering access to a Virtual Classroom facility via 'Elluminate' to our customers from September 2006 onwards. This means that we can offer a virtual class facility for teachers and students to share, making real time collaboration easy. This will allow multiple users to occupy the same learning space, even though they might be in completely different geographical regions. This could have huge implications on the concept of shared learning and will add considerable value to Taecanet as a teaching and learning resource. By using Elluminate through Taecanet you can communicate with others visually, verbally or simply through typing on your keyboard which will allow subject experts to be linked with thousands of students in real time.

If you would like to know more about Elluminate, please visit http://www.elluminate.com/about.jsp where you can access their website.

We are obviously thrilled with this valuable addition to the service and we will be posting more information on this topic in the future.

Simple steps to understand ICT

Many teachers are bombarded with information on 'the next best thing' as far as elearning services are concerned as there is such fierce competition in this sector. This can create much confusion about which technologies will best represent the schools vision for the future, as well as their current needs. Many teachers need to think about the basics of what they would like to buy into rather than seeing a 'knockout demo', signing up, and thinking about implementation afterwards. Only with clear planning can effective elearning implementation be achieved.

I have found a good article covering the basics of elearning technologies and jargon, which is a must read for teachers who are a little confused about the basics....let alone which VLE, ISP, ICT, ABC to use! Please link to this piece written by Alan Day from Kent County Council http://www.clusterweb.org.uk/docs/LPAdvGuid_260506.pdf as it is a valuable first step to understanding educational ICT.

DOPA, social networks and how to keep young people safe online.

I have found an interesting post relating to the U.S. Government's drive to block access to social networking websites and chat rooms. The DOPA (Deletion of Online Predators Act) serves to effectively block communications in public internet locations such as libraries.

I would argue that such places are of vital importance to individuals who cannot otherwise gain access to the internet. Therefore, to outlaw valuable social networking tools merely serves to reduce the effectiveness of publicly funded technology as a vital communicative device. Rather than blocking access, front end users should be educated in sensible usage and advised of the 'do's and do not's' of Instant Messaging or Online chat services. I can understand the other side of the arguement in terms of online safety, but it is surely the responsibility of the web service to provide a level of security for its users. This Big Brother-esqe protection is not an effective long term solution.

The benefits which can be derived from online communication can far outweigh any negative connotations by providing both educators and students with a managable tool with which to disseminate best practice and share ideas effectively. This must help to raise standards and aid the creation of valuable online teacing and learning networks.

"DOPA is intended to protect minors from online predation but AoC NILTA, the independent voice of the post-16 sector in ICT and e-learning, says that it is a ‘step backwards in social and education terms’ and will not work." For a bitesize article relating to this visit this link or for the full AoC NILTA article visit http://aocnilta.co.uk/2006/08/03/dopa/

Where will this control end?

The Web as an Online Learning Resource

If you have read my previous posts, you will know I am a huge advocate of using the internet as a teaching and learning tool. The huge variety of information and sources makes the internet a unique resource which should be harvested effectively by schools in order to enhance their students education. Many students spend a considerable amount of spare time on the web, and therefore I feel if schools and teachers can replicate this kind of 'research and retrieve' learning, many students would show improved levels of motivation and engagement.

This, I feel, is because they are in control and feel a greater sense of responsibility. Rather than being spoonfed information, students can learn at their own pace, follow their own interests and interact with the materials while at the same time developing valuable life skills for the future.....and the present.

I have found a good article detailing how young people use and interact with the internet. There are some interesting stats that have been gathered from a number of countries from around Europe. For a bitesize article visit http://advisorymatters.naaceblogs.org/2006/07/09/british-schools-stand-up-well-in-european-canadian-research/ where you can link to the whole article.

It also suggestes that only 11.3% of the people questioned did not have access to the internet at home. As the internet supports 24/7 learning, this is a very postive statistic for educators to bear in mind. We must of course consider that this is not a world wide statistic, but I do feel that students will increasingly have access to these type of resources at home.

Online Educa Conference 2006 in Berlin

The virtual learning space is taking on a physical guise towards the end of the year at the Online Educa Conference between the 29th November and 1st December 2006 in Berlin. It is the 12th such event on 'Technology Supported Learning & Training' and promises to have some distinguished speakers from both the Government sector as well as the service providers and internet pioneers themselves.

On the agenda will be discussion explaining - how to unlock the potential of elearning, elearning and the community and learning through gaming; all topics at the heart of elearning today.

For a link to this conference newsletter as well as the opportunity to subscribe to a monthly letter please visit http://www.icwe.net/oeb_special/news1.php

I will keep you posted on any developments and relevant updates.