Category Archives: Strategic vision

Impact on learning, Learner, Sharing devices, Strategic vision, Teacher, Trusting learners, West Lothian

Balbardie PS: Learning with any device

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Balbardie PS: learning with any device
Balbardie PS: learning with any device

Balbardie PS in West Lothian has been working closely with their Local Authority development team in order to develop a learning strategy to ensure that their Anytime Anywhere Learning channel can have real impact on the life of learning in the school. Greg Welsh (headteacher) took time to explain that after consultation with staff and pupils it was decided that a focus on numeracy and literacy would be a main target for their learning strategy. This curricular focus was complemented by the determination to establish a learning culture in the school that would enable learners to be comfortable with any connected device that they could access and use to support their learning.

…a huge focus on not teaching around a device. The device is there to support the learning that is taking place.

Mr Welsh pointed out that he and his staff did not feel that there was any real need for the children at the school to be trained in the use of any of the devices that were available.

Balbardie PS: Impact and vision Mr Welsh discusses the vision for the AAL channel and the impact that he is seeing

The school has a range of devices for use to support learning and teaching  including netbooks, laptops, iPads and Nintendo DS. These devices can be seen to be in the same class at the same time in a mixed economy style. Mr Welsh took us to visit to a P7 class to see this policy in action and during this time he again explained the rationale for encouraging the use of a range of devices to be used across the fabric of learning in his school.

Balbardie PS: Mixed economy of devices Mr Welsh discusses the rationale for having a mixed economy of devices

We visited a number of other classes at Balbardie PS to see the school’s policy on using a range of devices being put into practice. In one of the classrooms we visited we saw the children in groups where there were netbooks and iPads available for use. This discussion with them shows how at ease they are in using any device to assist them with their learning and it helps to show how the school’s aims are becoming realised by the way learners are confidently using any device to help support their learning.

Balbardie PS: Learners and a mixed economy of devices Learners discuss their experience of a mixed economy of devices at their school

Similarly, this short interview with a P7 learner who is using the Pictochat facility on a  Nintendo DS gives us an insight into this confident attitude and ‘at ease’ nature of learners with devices that appeared to permeate the classrooms that we saw during out visit to this school.

Balbardie PS: Learner with DS in a mixed economy device classroom Discussion with P.7 learner using Nintendo DS in a spelling lesson

Some food for thought on how such an approach to using a variety of learning devices in your school and helping to develop the associated learning culture can be planned for and nurtured.

BYOD/BYOT, Impact on learning, infrastructure, Pilot overview, Sharing devices, Strategic vision, Teacher, West Lothian

Balbardie PS: Engaging with the local authority strategic approach

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Learners with devices
Strategic plan to help enable devices to impact on learning

Balbardie PS is in Bathgate in West Lothian. The school has recently engaged with the central team at West Lothian Council to get their anywhere, anytime learning (AAL) channel switched on for learners.

Greg Welsh (headteacher) gives an overview of the supported network for school-provided devices and the AAL channel that pupil-owned devices can access in West Lothian schools. He talks about how he is managing a range of devices in school and how they are preparing the ground that will allow learners to bring their own devices in to school.

Balbardie PS: Greg Welsh HT – overview Mr Welsh (HT) gives an overview of pilot as Balbardie PS

Mr Welsh shared his experience of engaging with the central West Lothian team to prepare for his school’s AAL channel to be activated. This involved preparing a plan that indicated key timescales, key stakeholders, staff capability and support, parental engagement and, most importantly, how the introduction of the technology would impact on learning across the school. He described this process as a rigorous one but one that was fundamental to the school’s strategic approach to planning for better outcomes for learners.

Balbardie PS: Engaging with the Local Authority strategy Mr Welsh (HT) discusses the process for engaging with the Local Authority strategy at West Lothian

As a result of working with the central West Lothian team to prepare their learning strategy for their AAL channel Balbardie PS decided that there would be a focus on literacy and numeracy as well as encouraging a culture of independent learning with devices. Mr Welsh wanted to ensure that the learners at his school would be capable of making informed choices about what to use and when to use it to support their learning.

Balbardie PS: Vision for the AAL channel Mr Welsh (HT) discusses his vision for the AAL Channel at Balbardie PS

BYOD/BYOT, Professional Learning, Strategic vision, West Lothian

West Lothian Council: Aspiring to and empowering transformational change

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West Lothian Council: Aspirational change and impact on learning
Embedding technology in the learner's space

In our discussions about West Lothian Council’s anywhere, anytime learning (AAL) channel for schools the ICT Development team detailed their aspirations for transformational change in schools. They had observed much of the recent hype and promotion about a series of platforms and devices and had some concerns that school leaders would be persuaded by the pervasive message that the device route was the way to go. Having been involved in so many ICT initiatives and developments over the years both John Low and Laura Compton were adamant that engagement with and support offered to schools in their authority should not be based on jumping on the next new wave without a clear strategy for managing change. They were of the opinion that without such thinking (and once the effect of the new shiny, shiny tech in school had worn off) any new initiative would more than likely end in schools continuing to do what they have always done.

we need to focus on what we think good learning looks like.

As part of this change there was a determination to ensure that the principles of Curriculum for Excellence would inform and influence their developing models and that an effort to ensure a dialogue around learning with tools such as connected devices was focused on challenging what we think good learning looks like. They wanted to challenge mindsets and approaches such as timetabling devices – mindsets that they felt served and perpetuated old models of learning. They were also keen to stress that even though there is great emphasis on there being apps to suit everything, they wanted to help develop a culture in schools that had a broader vision of embedding technology in the learners’ space rather than it being something that is imposed on them.

West Lothian Council: Aspiring to transformational change John Low discusses transformational change

Laura Compton expanded further on what she thought needed to be done to help empower the transformational change that her team aspired to. She believed that the right climate for discussion and dialogue with new technology had to be in place so that any fears and concerns that teachers had in regards to their use of technologies and their impact on learning and teaching could be discussed openly and honestly. The importance of involving learners in conversations about their learning was of great importance as was presenting contexts in schools that not only help develop their practical digital skills but also their critical digital literacy skills.

Finally Mrs Compton argued that their BYOD (bring your own device) infrastructure and learning culture is one that they believe to be sustainable and scalable and that empowering change in their schools means creating conditions where this can happen not for one class, or for one year group but for everyone in their schools.

West Lothian Council: empowering change Laura Compton discusses the need to create the right conditions for change to happen

BYOD/BYOT, Impact on learning, Strategic vision, West Lothian

West Lothian Council: Developing a strategy for learning

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West Lothian Council: Focus on the learning and not on the devcie
Devices embedded in learning opportunities

West Lothian Council has a dedicated anywhere, anytime learning (AAL) channel that is designed to enable a BYOD (bring your own device) model across their school estate. Although this resource/service is available to all schools across West Lothian a process has been put in place by the central team and this must be engaged with by any school who wishes to have their AAL channel switched on. Laura Compton from the central team at West Lothian explained that the focus of their work was all about impact on learning and ensuring better outcomes for learners. To achieve this objective any school which wished to access their AAL channel would need to work in partnership with them to develop a strategy for learning that would make best use of any web-enabled devices that came into the school.

West Lothian Council: The Learning Strategy Laura Compton discusses the need for strategic planning by a school to take place prior to the AAL channel being switched on.

Integral to the jointly authored learning strategy  is a shared understanding that the focus is not on the device or the apps that may be available but rather on the rich learning opportunities that can be enabled by access to such technology. There is also an emphasis on ensuring that these learning opportunities are not straight-jacketed by a school that wants to be overly controlling in the management of the resource, a control that may lead to everyone having the same resources and apps on their device. They were adamant that a focus on controlling the device and subsequently the learning in this way would not lead to any sense of culture or transformational change within the school.

We need to talk about learning and not about devices.

In order to create the conditions for any positive change to begin to happen Laura Compton argued that the energy needed to be moved away from ideas of managing devices and wholly channeled into ensuring  that the focus was on providing quality learning at every opportunity.

Impact on learning, infrastructure, Strategic vision, West Lothian

West Lothian Council: The AAL channel

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West Lothian Council: The AAL channel
Pupil owned devices online in West Lothian schools

John Low explained to us that AAL (anywhere, anytime learning) is the definition that they use for the channel on their wireless networks that enables authority non-supported and pupil-owned devices to access the internet. The team at West Lothian Council had wrestled with the fact that learners were journeying on their learning by accessing the internet via the wi-fi on the local bus or in fast-food burger shops but not, alas, in school. The AAL channel was seen as a solution that would enable learning to happen anytime and anywhere – including in school!

West Lothian Council: The AAL channel John Low discusses the AAL Channel in West Lothian

The team at West Lothian were conscious that a situation was developing where the access to technology was restricted by their capacity to provide devices within schools. They were concerned that learners would only gain access to technology in Secondary, for example, when they chose a subject that required access to a set of desktop computers, and that the use of such tools would not permeate through to pupils. Although the central team are confident that progress has been made in helping to develop staff capacity to project online content, they were aware that this was teacher driven and not the individualised process of exploration and enquiry for learners that access to digital technology can enable. These factors came together and were the basis on which they determined to create a sustainable and scalable infrastructure that would enable a ‘bring your own device’ (BYOB) system to work across their school estate.

The central team stressed that the their AAL acronym was the same concept that one may associate with BYOD and that it was just that the AAL vision was well in place before terms such as BYOD, BTOT (bring your own technology) or even BYOB (bring your own browser) were commonly known and used.

All primary and secondary schools  have the capacity to have a channel on West Lothian’s enterprise wireless network that allows Authority supported devices to access the web. The AAL channel allows non-supported authority devices provided by the school and learner-owned devices to connect to the internet, and with this connection comes authentication, filtering and the recording of user activity.

There have been many challenges for  John Low and his team in setting up the AAL network, and none more significant than working with authority corporate colleagues who have responsibility for issues such as information security, data protection and code of connection. They have, however, managed to resolve many of the issues so that the AAL channel can be used by schools to help prepare the digital environment that can enhance learning and help facilitate better outcomes for learners.

1:1 deployment, Apple, Impact on learning, Independent Schools, Inverclyde, Strategic vision, Teacher

Cedars School of Excellence: 1:1 iPad overview

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1:1 iPads across the school

Cedars School of Excellence in Greenock is an independent school catering for children ages from 5 to 17 years. In 2009 they were inspired by the announcement of Apple’s new iPad that would lead them to become the first school to offer 1:1 iPad provision for learners and staff. Since that time they have been working to integrate the use of this technology in to the fabric of learning in their school. We visited them in October 2012 to find out what their experience with their 1:1 approach had been.

We met with Mrs Speirs (headteacher) who explained the context for the decision to go with the 1:1 iPad provision. She told us that a few years back the school was looking to move the technological experience of their pupils on a bit further from where they were. The school’s vision at the time was to increase learner access to tools that would allow them to have more access to the internet and to word processing.

The school had looked at a range of devices, but just as they were in the process of evaluating which device to go with the iPad came out, and so they made the decision that this would be the one for them. The school’s website tells this story in greater detail.

cedars_aspeirsimpact Interview with Mrs Speirs (headteacher)

Mrs Speirs thinks that that the decision has been a very good one for her learners and that the 1:1 approach fits very well with the school’s educational ethos, which is all about individualised learning. She thinks that she has seen the greatest impact on the engagement with learning by the boys in her school and that the functionality and flexibility that the tool offers has led to greater depth and detail in the feedback that her teachers now offer.