ICTeachers  - The Independent Voice of Teachers

ICTeachers Magazine May 2005

Probably the best least monthly independent educational newsletter in the world!

Circulation 10800+  including Educational Organisations World-wide!

If you know colleagues who would appreciate the independent-minded thinking behind this magazine then please pass it on.

What is ICTeachers?

ICTeachers is a collection of misfits generally known as the teaching profession who are at times really good at what they do and at other times wonder what on earth is going on.  ICTeachers is me, you and that person reading the TES over there.

Message from the Editor

Yes, yes, I know, I know.  Almost a year could be seen as a long time between newsletters I suppose but hey, there you go, fire me! : )

Ahhhh, but WHY has it been so long, eh?  Well, gather near my children and Uncle Ed shall tell you all.  Come closer now, nearer, quietly now, bend you ear towards me so I can whisper...... I've left teaching!

YES! It's is true!!  I can now choose when I go to the loo, drink copious amounts of coffee and not fear the consequences and rip my trousers with gay abandon.  Also, all the scars on my knee where I usually bang the Y2 tables have healed up.  What do I do now?  The best job in the world!!

As you may recall, my head in the last school where I was deputy was having a mega grim time.  Wife had suffered depression (head in difficult school), family issues, upshot was he moved to a quiet cottage on a Scottish island at the grand age of 45!  New head seen in, new secretary, all my projects completed including new ICT suite and so I was planning to leave anyway when all of a sudden, in the TES, I espied a job working as an elf for the NCSL (National College for School Leadership)!  YES! And ELF working at home!!  For MONEY!!  AT HOME!!!!  ELF!!!!  That's e-learning facilitator for the uninitiated.  

So, an application later (I did actually only press the send button online five minutes form the closing date such was my uncertainty) I get an interview and after in-depth interrogation I'm issued with a green felt hat, computer, desks and a life!  OH YES!!

What do I do? Well, I network together school leaders in an online environment.  I do research, meet and help lots of people and make a real difference in peoples lives by puttin them together.  I really am enjoying it. 

It's was initially only a one year contract, and I've had it renewed once, maybe there's a few more years in it, but hey, it beats getting pregnant in order to get some quality time off work and I don't have to pass something the size of a melon through my tube at the end of the contract!. : )  Do I miss teaching?  Well, sometimes, but I try not to think about it too much, surprisingly easy I found and it's also strange the way you slip out of the school calander so quickly.

One thing I found difficult at first was not having the title Deputy Head and Teacher anymore.  I hadn't realised before how potent a symbol they are in society and easily recognisable.  You try telling people you're an elf for a living!  Try convincing someone that being an elf is a worthwhile job!  

Still, I am a governor in my children's' school and the head has promised me, through gritted teeth!, that if I get too many withdrawal symptoms she's happy for me to refresh my memory there.

The Editor
md@icteachers.co.uk

The comments of the Editor in no way reflect the views of ICTeachers Ltd and do not claim to be either well researched or even vaguely coherent.

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School Websites 

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New Website for Early Years Mathematics

New Website for Early Years Mathematics!

There are very few websites that focus on Early Years issues and even fewer on mathematics for young children, so this may be just what you need!

Have you ever asked the questions - ‘What do children’s early marks mean?’ ‘Are children’s early marks mathematical?’ ‘’How does children’s own written maths, link to their mental methods?’ ‘When do we start teaching children sums?’  ‘How can children’s play, help mathematical thinking?’ or simply ‘how do I begin?’    

Perhaps you would also like to talk with others about wider aspects children’s visual representations, play, schemas, thinking, early writing or creativity?

Then look no further!

What it is

www.e-magine.org.uk is a website that focuses on young children’s ‘mathematical graphics’ – their early mathematical marks that develop into standard written numerals and written methods of calculations, and links with other aspects of children’s development and learning.

Mathematical graphics have also been referred to as emergent mathematics

and encompass all of the young children’s early marks, including scribbles, drawings, writing, tallies and invented and standard symbols

The Children’s Mathematics Network

www.e-magine.org.uk is the website of the new Children’s Mathematics Network - an international, non-profit-making organisation for teachers, practitioners, students, researchers and teacher educators working with children in the birth – 8 year age range. It is a grassroots network, with children and teachers at the heart of it.

The Network focuses on children’s mathematical graphics and the meanings children make. You will be able to explore ‘written’ mathematics within the context of visual representation, art, writing, creativity and multi-modal learning. Our work is based on extensive, evidence-based research with children, teachers and families and within the context of nurseries and schools. We advocate a spirit of freedom and creativity for teachers and more importantly, the freedom for children to explore their own meanings in creative ways. Our aim is to hear the voice of the child.

The Children’s Mathematics Network offers you:

• Information about the Network
• Galleries of children’s mathematical graphics
• A taxonomy of the development of young children’s early marks, their ‘written’ mathematics and  calculations – to help you understand and assess children’s mathematical graphics
• Access to online articles and papers
• Links to official reports
• Information about CMN courses, conferences and consultancy
• Access to the latest research on mathematical graphics and related topics
• Guidance on pedagogy and links
• Background theory
• Useful links
• A place for you to ‘meet’ others online, to discuss issues about your teaching and receive answers as you develop your practice

Coming soon!!

• Curriculum links – how children’s mathematical graphics relate to official guidance
• Useful references
• Details of a recent e-learning project with teachers from Early Excellence Centres throughout England – plus special Gallery of their children’s graphics
• Galleries for London & Cambridge
• A Welsh section – news of the new Welsh Foundation Stage and links with Pembrokeshire
• An International section
• Children’s Mathematics Network Newsletters – emailed directly to you

Join the Network!

The Children’s Mathematics Network can provide you with information, inspiration and encouragement. Many other teachers are exploring children’s mathematical graphics to support children’s thinking in mathematics – so this is the place to start!

Log on and explore the website

Membership is free to become a member of the Network – just make sure you contact us by email: info@e-magine.org.uk and we will add you to our list to receive copies of the Newsletter and provide up-to-date information!

Click here to join the e-mail Discussion List Forum: http://e-magine.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/cmnetwork_e-magine.org.uk .Come and join in discussions with others who are interested in young children’s thinking, learning and mathematical graphics. Once you have signed up for this, contributions will be sent to your e-mail Inbox.

Welcome to Children’s Mathematics Network!

 Maulfry Worthington & Elizabeth Carruthers: Founders

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Building Schools for the Future

Building Schools for the Future

Terry Freedman gives a brief run-down of this UK initiative – and suggests a few pitfalls for the unwary.

What’s it all about?

“Building Schools for the Future (BSF) is a new approach to capital investment in school buildings.  It is intended to provide all secondary schools in the UK with 21st century facilities over 10-15 years from 2005.” See http://www.bsf.gov.uk/ for all the information you could wish for as far as official documentation is concerned!

Here is a visionary statement taken from the official documentation:

“As a building programme aimed at improving learning, BSF funding allocations will address whole areas, demanding profound reshaping of local educational visions.”

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to decipher what is meant by “reshaping local visions”. Seriously, there is a danger that all these high-sounding soundbites will divert people from thinking of new designs that are not only exciting and even revolutionary, but which are practical too.

Systems that actually work

By “practical”, I mean systems that actually work. For example, the internet safety system at a school in the north of England that I’ve worked with operates phenomenally well – so well, in fact, that in one case a pupil remained banned from using the internet for two years. The way the system works on paper is that pupils are banned from internet if they get 50 points. They can get points from things like inappropriate use of internet, or allowing others to use their password.

Once banned they have to apply for reinstatement in writing, to their class teacher. The teacher, if she agrees, sends the completed form to Deputy Headteacher . The Deputy Head may call in parents if the offence is serious enough, but if she believes that the pupil should have his right to use the internet reinstated, she sends the completed form to the Technical Support Team, who reinstates pupil.

Well, that’s the theory. What about the reality?
Firstly, points are awarded according to word frequency. So if you look up the Tower of London and the Bloody Tower is mentioned 6 times, you clock up 6 points. Secondly, pupils must write their user ID and password in their planner, and they must keep the planner on their desks ready for inspection during lessons. They must also keep their log-in details secret, and get points if another pupil gets in using their details.

That’s in the classroom, but let’s walk along the corridor and peek into the Deputy Headteacher ’s office. She is overwhelmed. There are piles of forms for her to look through and make decisions on. Needless to say, if you’re at the bottom of the pile it could be some time before your case is reviewed.

Consequently, pupils don’t always get reinstated, or not very quickly anyway. But they still have to access the internet for their lessons. So they use others’ passwords. This increases the likelihood of getting banned – so much so that in some classes half the kids are logging in with the teacher’s user ID and password, which the teacher had to give them in order to be able to allow the class to get on with the work.

The moral of all this is that you have to consult pupils and teachers to find out what really goes on, and therefore how things should be. Time-consuming? Absolutely. But do you want to get it right or don’t you?

Consulting children

According to Stephen Heppell , learning is improved when children are involved in designing the learning environment, even when the design isn’t very good.

The challenge is: how can pupils be consulted? The UK ’s Department for Education and Skills says (to pupils): “As part of Building Schools for the Future (BSF), you may have the chance to help design the school you’d like.” Very helpful!

Buildings you can teach in

Here are a few bullet points to guide you in designing a new school. I can assure that they are all based on things I have actually witnessed.

§         Nobody can work in a corridor – not for sustained periods anyway.

§         Nobody can do focused work in an open plan environment for any length of time.

§         If the “open plan-ness” is vertical as well as horizontal, nobody can work, period.

§         Most schools have more than 10 pupils – but you’d never believe it from looking at artists’ impressions of what the school will look like once it’s been opened.

§         Can architects provide reference sites? I’m all in favour of thinking out of the box, but when an architect comes up with a space-age design for a school designed for ten pupils (see preceding point), it would be good to visit other organisations whose buildings they have designed, and ask some questions.

Technical backup

The DfES rightly maintains that there should be “Availability of sufficient technical support and training so that ICT can be used effectively by all school staff in carrying out their jobs.”

How many technicians are needed in a typical secondary school?

As far as I can tell, nobody in Becta or the DfES has worked this out, but this is what the situation is at two schools I recently worked with:
School A: 1600 pupils, 300 PCs, 5 Technicians
School B: 2000 pupils, 400 PCs, 4 technicians
Both said they are under-staffed

A study in 1997 said that 1 technician can support between 18 and 77 users, depending on how tightly managed is the environment: i.e. between 13 and 55 technicians for a 1000 pupil school!!

My (conservative) calculations suggests 8 technicians for 300 computers. However, perhaps this is the wrong approach altogether, and that what we need to focus on is the needs of the end-user, i.e. the teacher and pupil in the classroom, and the office staff. It would be much better to have a modern, friendly, well-equipped help desk that can deal with issues in minutes than dozens of technicians sitting in an airless room surrounded by bits of computers and cabling!

Children matter

Under various developments, especially the Children Act 2004, different agencies must work together . This means that provision must be made in the design to facilitate meetings of different agencies. Proposing a virtual network is not completely relevant here – not least because on average, 30% of pupils don’t have a computer at home.

Also, children need a safe environment in which to work and play: sadly, in many cases that safe place is not their own home. Again, schools need actual physical space for pupils, not just a wireless connection to the internet.

Data-rich schools

Schools are becoming better at producing data, especially in the UK , where the drive for data is encouraged by new inspection framework from September 2005, in which the emphasis will be on schools’ self-evaluation.

Here is a fact that seems to surprise some people: more data requires more storage space, whether in terms of filing cabinets or hard disks. Bear in mind that we haven’t achieved the so-called ideal of the paperless office, and probably never will, because people prefer to print things out and read them and then store them than reading them on-screen and relying on a compute system to not swallow paperwork for it to never see the light of day again. Also, even hard disks require servers, backup tapes and, therefore, room to house it all.

In addition, more and more schools now employ a  Data Manager, who needs office space to generate, process, print and store the data on behalf of teachers in the school,

Rules of virtuality

According to Steve Woolgar, “Virtual Reality?”

§         The uptake and use of new technologies depend on the local social context

§         Virtual realities supplement rather than replace real activities

§         The more virtual, the more real

See http://virtualsociety.sbs.ox.ac.uk/ for further details, but the essence of his thinking and research is that the internet enhances and sometimes even encourages “real” communications. This puts a big question mark over new school projects that are based on the concept of the internet at the centre of all the school’s activity, to the exclusion of almost everything else.

The environment: ICT isn’t everything!

Given this fantastic, unique opportunity to design new schools, what a pity it would be if we failed to ensure that they were environmentally friendly. So-called “green architecture” should figure extensively in our deliberations.

Conclusions

§         The BSF programme should be practical as well as visionary.

§         Children (and parents and teachers) should be consulted properly, even though this is labour- and time-intensive.

§         The 21st century school shouldn’t be merely a techie’s paradise!

Terry Freedman .

Terry Freedman is a freelance ICT consultant. He publishes the free newsletter Computers in Classrooms and the ICT in Education website, which you can visit at http://www.ictineducation.org

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The ICT Co-ordinators Network

The ICT Co-ordinators Network [http://www.ictadvice.org.uk/thenetwork]

If you’re looking for ideas about ICT in schools, need general advice or want to offer advice to others, then the ICT Co-ordinators’ Network run by Becta is the place to start [http://www.ictadvice.org.uk/thenetwork]

The ICT Co-ordinators' Network is a free online community for ICT Co-ordinators and others interested in ICT. It is a web based forum which aims to support discussion between practising teachers, school advisors and others interested in topics relating to the ICT Co-ordinators' role in education.  Background information and links to other related services and communities are also available.

Discussions that take place on the ICT Co-ordinators Network are supported by a team of facilitators, with experience of ICT co-ordination in primary, secondary and special educational needs schools. The facilitators will be on hand to provide support, answer any questions, and point you in the right direction. More details about the facilitators can be found within the 'Meet the facilitators' section of the website.

To join discussions and access the ICT Co-ordinators Network simply complete a quick and free registration form. For further information and help registering, contact [Martyn_Fearn@forum.ngfl.gov.uk]