ICT Management

ICT across the school

Primary

A look at the education technology on offer at the 2010 BETT show

Get ready for BETT 2010, with a look at what's new in education technology and interviews with some of the show's exhibitors. Reporting from the first day of the show, Matthew Tosh finds out what exciting innovations are being launched including Boardworks' MyWorks, an assessment package that integrates with school VLEs, and an animation package from Stripey Design called Anithings. We also get a look at the updated Us Online from Roar Educate, a VLE integrated software package that teaches e-safety and e-citizenship, as well as Shakespeare in Bits from Mindconnex, the Skoog musical instrument and Kudlian's Weather Studio. Finally, he looks at some of the nominees for the prestigious BETT Awards including Mantra Lingua's TalkingPen and Serious Games Interactive's 'Global Conflict: Palestine'. BETT is world's largest educational technology event, with over 600 exhibitors, and around 30,000 visitors.

BETT 2010 Review

Discover radical proposals for the future of assessment and exams

The radical developments in assessment and exams, which could change the face of teaching and learning forever, are the focus of this whole-school video on ICT management in Key Stages 2-4. Assessment regularly hits the headlines as the media and employers debate the value of exam results. Away from the spotlight there are developments in e-assessment for primary and secondary which are potentially far more important in the long term - and likely to provoke even stronger reactions. This video looks at using mobile phones to test KS2-KS4 pupils at the time of their choosing, abandoning the idea of ascribing numerical marks to students' work and even letting students know exam questions in advance.

E-assessment - Where Next?

How two schools use ICT to ease pupils' transition to secondary

The way two secondary schools are using ICT to take the trauma out of transition from primary and secondary teachers is the focus of this whole-school video on ICT learning. Painsley Catholic College in Staffordshire uses video conferencing to ease primary pupils into the school. The Year 7 intake can be brought onto site and given the same lesson by the same teacher across five different classrooms. The school aims to extend this video link into the primaries themselves to give them a greater taste of secondary education. Fear of transition has been even greater at the King Edward VII High School in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire. The school, which has 2,000 pupils but a Year 7 intake of 100, has created a centre for lower years that features its own dedicated wireless network. This provides easy access to a website and portal dedicated to Year 7 pupils. The new students visit for two days but are encouraged to log onto the portal from home for virtual tours of the classrooms and curriculum.

Hi Tech Transition

Integrating ICT into the whole curriculum

Julie Allcock is the ICT coordinator at St Thomas's School in Wigan. ICT can be a sensitive area for teachers and many are wary of using it. Part of Julie's middle management role is to persuade teachers to integrate ICT into all subject areas, from literacy and numeracy, to history and art. Julie attends ICT courses to disseminate ideas and best practice to colleagues. During the weekly staff meeting, she shares the latest ICT news with staff. Julie is also part of Hands On Support, a scheme launched by the government in 2004 to embed ICT in the primary curriculum. She works as a hands on trainer, which means that as well as training her own colleagues, she visits and works with staff at other schools. Julie also attends termly ICT coordinator meetings at Wigan LEA, getting up-to-date with ICT innovations. Currently, the LEA is promoting the use of video conferencing, something that Julie would like to see more of at St Thomas's.

Integrating ICT

Making modern ICT an integral part of primary learning

At Clunbury Primary School, Shropshire, ICT doesn't just mean sitting at a computer, but has become an integral part of the work at the school. Headteacher Andrew Davis joined the school four years ago and has introduced laptops, podcasts, blogs, camcorders and portable games consoles into the curriculum. The strategy has been so successful, Clunbury was joint winner of Becta's ICT Excellence Award for best whole school in the primary category in 2007. Andrew has used ICT to forge greater links with parents and the local community at the same time as acknowledging the importance of getting the balance right and not using ICT just for the sake of it.

New Ideas in Primary ICT

How one school brought its ICT up to speed

St Philip's school, near Bath, failed its Ofsted report in 2002, due partially to its lack of ICT capability. Since then the school has invested significantly in resources and training. This has increased staff confidence in using the equipment and has led to the better use of ICT across the curriculum and throughout the school. Accompanied by headteacher Ian Russell and ICT co-ordinator Myra Wilson, we visit classrooms to witness how staff are using ICT to enrich their lessons. Ian and Myra then tell us about St Philip's' "recovery", and their views on how ICT can make teaching more enjoyable and lessons more effective and what they think classroom technology holds in store for the future of education. This programme demonstrates the strategies that have enabled one school to vastly improve their ICT provision.

Primary ICT - Back On Line

Choosing the best ICT suite for your primary school

An investigation into whether ICT suites in primary schools are becoming redundant in favour of wirefree laptops that are integrated into the classroom. The headteacher and staff at Fowey Primary School in Cornwall discuss the pros and cons of their 15-strong fixed-location PC suite as opposed to a fleet of 16 leased laptops. This programme will be particularly useful for primary headteachers looking to develop their ICT resources.

Professional Development for Quality Teaching

Whole school

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