Monthly Archives: October 2011

Designing strands for my ICT curriculum #ictcurric

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Recently I cam across a fantastic post by @mwclarkson on thoughts on ICT and Computing which was a fantastic examination of some of the issues facing ICT as we seek to improve its value to the outside world.  Contained within his post was a reflection on possible strands of ICT, Digital Literacy, Digital Creativity and Programming.  I like what is implied by these strands immensely especially as I have been fed up with National Curriuclum Strands for a while and have been seeking a better way to ‘tie’ the ICT curriculum together.  For too long I feel the subject of ICT has been a random collection of boring skills based units and having a structure like this could help improve its standing in schools.

The strands I am proposing based on Mark’s original three are:

  1. Digital Creativity
  2. Digital Literacy
  3. Computing
  4. Digital Citizenship
Digital Creativity I foresee as your multimedia strand.  This is where pupils would be blogging, podcasting, video editing, website building etc.  There will almost certainly be aspects of digital creativity which could include programming for instance in building a computer game from scratch.

Digital Literacy is a fairly broader strand and at the moment could possibly encompass multiple aspects of current ICT practice.  I would possibly summarise it at this point as teaching pupils the skills to be able to engage with, respond and use technology they encounter in class in a way which would provide value to them.

Computing is a strand I will need to work a bit on to see how I can include it within my ICT curriculum.  I think for the future it will be found within other units such as games design.

Digital Citizenship is inspired by the rise of social networks as a force to not necessarily directly change governments but a force which can assist in revolutions such as Tunisia and Egypt.  Blogging may very well form a part of this but certainly looking at how ICt and the usage of technologies can be force for good would form a part of this strand.

My next job is to start writing good definitions of each strand to be used in planning and then mapping my existing units to each strand.

My ICT curriculum is available here http://sharland.pbworks.com.  Contributors more than welcome – just ask for access.

Finally got something out of the Technology Policy Unit – disappointing response

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I finally got a response back from the TPU member I have been talking to. Admittedly the delay was mostly my fault and Austen at the TPU has been very kind in bearing with me.

 

My criticism of the following as being a disappointing response is not directed at him so much as directed at general failure in government policy in actually taking some leadership. Essentially the response below boiled down to … we are the remnants of Becta, we have a policy statement coming at some point in the future and our Secretary of State says that mobiles and cameras are bad and we should all be using iTunes a bit more.

 

Slightly underwhelmed and not sure how I should respond. I’m considering inviting Austen to teachmeet at Bett next year but beyond that I don’t know. I will say that there are many people who I converse with on Twitter who could probably make a far better fist of creating government policy.  The only problem is not having any funding or support to do so – but then we aren’t the people who founded the New Schools Network are we … 

 

Hi Brian

 

Please see below answers to your questions. Best wishes Austen

 

Q1: Are you able to define the remit of the Technology Policy Unit and if so what is it?

The Technology Policy Unit is responsible for providing policy advice on technology in schools. It was set up following the closure of Becta and transfer of some Becta functions in-house within the department. The Unit supports the effective use of technology to enable schools, improve teaching standards and meet the department’s wider objectives.

 

Q2: Will there be a forthcoming policy document on the use of Technology in Schools and if so when is it expected?

I would draw your attention to this article  http://www.publicservice.co.uk/news_story.asp?id=17320 where the Secretary of State indicated some more information would be made available in the autumn

 

Q3: I am sure that you have some contact already with relevant individuals or organisations advising you on issues to do with edtech but would it be possible to open up that consultation to wider groups of teachers and others who work in the field through channels such as Teachmeets or online chats?

 

Over the past few months, we have been engaging with partners in education, research, business, academia, HE and industry. Not long ago, we met with the leading leader’s network who are a network of school leaders who excel in the leadership, management and use of technology) as part of this process. As things continue to develop we expect to continue to engage a wide range of interested parties through different channels

 

Q4: Lastly in response to the article listed below (which I now appeared in various forms in a number of publications) I would like to know how is the DfE and the TPU going to reassure schools that oyu do have a policy – especially in light of general department approach to policy.

http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/education/370042/schools-confused-by-governments-it-policy

I would again draw your attention to this article http://www.publicservice.co.uk/news_story.asp?id=17320 where the Secretary of State indicated some more information would be made available in the autumn

 

 

From: Brian Sharland
Sent: 10 October 2011 12:46
To: OKONWEZE, Austen
Subject: Finally got round to getting back in touch with you

 

Hi Austen,

 

I hope you are well.  As you can well imagine new babies and the start of term do not mix very well …

 

If you are still keen on answering a few questions about the TPU that would be really appreciated.

 

1.                         Are you able to define the remit of the Technology Policy Unit and if so what is it?

2.                         Will there be a forthcoming policy document on the use of Technology in Schools and if so when is it expected?

3.                         I am sure that you have some contact already with relevant individuals or organisations advising you on issues to do with edtech but would it be possible to open up that consultation to wider groups of teachers and others who work in the field through channels such as Teachmeets or online chats?

4.                         Lastly in response to the article listed below (which I now appeared in various forms in a number of publications) I would like to know how is the DfE and the TPU going to reassure schools that oyu do have a policy – especially in light of general department approach to policy.

 

Thanks Austen – I hope the above are clear and I look forward to hearing from you

 

Brian Sharland


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Inspiring an educational startup scene #purposed

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In the last few years we have seen aspects of school life slowly being wrested away from the bureaucratic nightmare of the Labour government.  The Tories though aren’t much better although by releasing us from some of the restrictions of the last government we have some opportunities as teachers and educationalists to really define the future of education in the country. 

I am therefore looking forward to attending the #purposed hacking education event in Oxford on the 17th of November. I’m not too sure what to expect from the day other than insanely exciting discussion on education so I suppose it would be a good idea to start developing ideas which I could take forward to the day. 

One thing I have always been intrigued with is the startup scene. Having never been a part of a startup my knowledge of it is very limited and very much external. However it is easy to identify the creativity and vision which goes on in a startup and also see examples of many startups which have become well established including this one Posterous which I am using for this blog. 

So my question is – how do we inspire a startup scene in the education sector. Yes there are obviously lots of companies which pop up over the years with new products and services for schools but they feel like they have been developed ‘separately’ and then pushed into schools. I am aware I may be generalising here but I think what I am describing is fairly close to the truth. 

What I think is missing an educational startup scene where teachers are able to through the support of their schools work on startups alongside their own work. Or where companies are able to tap the ideas of teachers on a more regular basis through arranged contracts. 

I think a lot of staff who may not be think they could contribute to a startup (or even lead one) could certainly benefit from advice, investment, structures or systems to bring forward ideas. Perhaps even the #purposed movement could even become part of this as well. 

I would like to finish with a good article from Wired on Jimmy Wales’s opinions on the UK startup scene which too me seems very appropriate. 

Jimmy Wales

London has an advantage over Silicon Valley when it comes to attracting entrepreneurs because it a culturally-diverse, creative city, according to Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia and Wikia.

“Nobody wants to live in San José, not as an inherent thing. You get a lot more good idea generation and interaction at these crossroads between cultures.” He told Wired.co.uk.

While Wales recognises that Silicon Valley is still one of the best places in the world for fostering young businesses, he describes the “echo chamber” that can occur there, whereby companies might get 20,000 customers within just two weeks of launch, but those customers are all within five miles of each other. “Loads of ideas end up coming from elsewhere because people in Silicon Valley are blind to it. Elsewhere you can see market needs that aren’t getting noticed in Silicon Valley.” Wales explains.

By: Olivia Solon, Edited by: Duncan Geere

Continue reading…

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Investigating WiFi and Tablets for my school – ideas to add to my mind map?

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I have started investigating how to bring in wifi and tablets into our school. Wifi and tablets I think should be treated very much as highly interrelated. If you wish to justify the expenditure of putting wifi in tablets are the best way to do that. 

I do have a sceptical Bursar who is being very hesitant about WiFi and may even want to close down the simple single access point I have set up for myself at school for testing purposes. I have a meeting later with her so have prepped this mind map to take in. Any other ideas would be hugely appreciated. 

Screenshot