Year Seven Netbook Project

Aims of the Project To evaluate the impact on learning and teaching of using portable technologies both within and outside the classroom. To help inform decisions for future ICT development in the school.

Team has met formally four times discussion of the management of the project, findings and implications Study Complete, Awaiting report feedback, due at any moment. TLA stage three started, looking at the wealth of data coming from the study, trying to make sense of it, deadline May Met with Mentor, completed initial presentations, formal meetings arranged Feb, helped arranged visits to other schools.

Data Collected by Leading Learning Team Survey of Parents views Survey of Student “Behaviour” Teacher Observations Visits to Other school (Jan INSET) Teacher Lesson Evaluations Focus group Interviews with Students Attended Various Conferences/Meetings Project Blog

Main Conclusions Learning There is evidence (from this project and other larger scale projects) that mobile technologies can facilitate individual, co-operative and interactive work in class enable the sharing of ideas and responses and the building of knowledge increase participation in whole-class settings enable learners to revisit areas for consolidation and reflection out of the classroom – this helps to increase understanding provide opportunities for autonomy and independence give the ability to transfer work between digital devices and to and from other areas such as shared drives and learning platforms provide work and resources in one place, and to hand netbooks also alleviates pressure on the computer rooms and makes learning more flexible.

Main Conclusions The use of mobile technologies and web2.0 collaboration tools allows for students to co-creators of learning rather than passive recipients of someone else's knowledge.

Main Conclusions For the advantages of portable technologies to be fully realised in learning outcomes, it is necessary to start with learning objectives, taking into account the needs of specific learners and to establish how the capabilities of the device can enhance delivery and learning outcomes. In situations where the use of technologies is ad-hoc, staff have to make value judgements about the importance of various outcomes. This may cause variation and inconsistent delivery. Teaching

Main Conclusions There is a significant critical mass of parents and year seven students supporting of the use of portable technologies in the classroom. Students coming to the school appear to have very wide ranging abilities in ICT, (when compared to other skills) This presents significant challenge to non-specialist ICT teachers using ICT in an embedded way. Some elements of the functionality of the technology used in the pilot scheme limited progress in lessons. We need to remain vigilant over e-safety. Strategies need to be in place. General

Implications Supporting Staff Staff will need to be supported in the following areas:- Given opportunities to experiment with and explore the applications associated with the devices. Then decide on how and when to deploy the applications to best support learning in the classroom. Then build these approaches into schemes of work. This would require further commitment to CPD time. Curriculum Where do year seven students learn the basic/core skills in the use of these technologies?

Implications Infrastructure The wireless network needs to be upgraded to deal with increased traffic and the demands of multi-media content. Wireless combined with web2.0 provides the possibility of “web based” solutions, less reliance on locally based school network. The use of mobile devices should not be seen as a replacement for “fixed” high performance computers in specialist areas such as music, ICT etc. A review and further investment in e-satety mechanisms eg internet filtering etc is needed.

Implications Devices For the personal devices to fully support effective use, the device would need to exhibit the following characteristics Full day battery life (8-10 hours) Instant on, no login/boot up time, just pin code access? Light to carry, preferably in the pocket. Robust/protected from damage Have access to all resources/files Represent good value for money No demands to rework existing content

Future ICT Strategy Team (The remainder of this academic year) Draw network/android issues to a conclusion Develop clarity as to role of Sharepoint/moodle/webpages Communicate to parents/staff device decision and financial plan (or articulate a contingency plan) Complete e-safety audit using 360 online tool. Install upgraded wireless network and new filtering system

Future Leading Learning Team Focus for year 2 Investigating web 2.0 based applications and approaches for use in the classroom to support collaborative learning. Developing an deeper understanding of the appropriate use of the technologies to benefit learning. Looking in detail at classroom impact of the devices and web 2.0 applications Continue to scan the market for the “ideal device” Continue to monitor developments in “cloud computing.”

Thanks Team!

Main Conclusions Teaching