Transforming Education in Birmingham Building Schools for the Future The Role of ICT BITES 11th October 2006

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Transforming Education in BirminghamBuilding
Schools for the FutureThe Role of ICTBITES
11th October 2006

• Chris Mitton, Senior ICT Consultant, BSF

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• TSE / BSF
• Transformation of all our secondary schools
• All to be either rebuilt or undergo major
  refurbishment
• Six phases, 15 year programme
• Government investment more than 750m
• Substantial City investment
• Integral part of Vibrant Urban Villages
• See http//www.bgfl.org/tse
• Transform Education first, a Building Programme
  second

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• ICT's role in TSE / BSF
• Birmingham's vision for secondary ICT
• Strong, far-reaching, challenging (DfES)
• See http//www.bgfl.org/tse
• Transform Education first, a Building Programme
  second
• ICT as enabler of new learning paradigms
• Implications for Learning Spaces
• Work with school designers to realise schools'
  and students' aspirations
• Build on BCC's existing achievements

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• Phase 1 School Visions common challenges and
  opportunities
• Schools face significant issues relating to
  multicultural diversity
• Premises often old and in poor condition
  inappropriate for new learning paradigms
• Implementation and use of ICT high (ratios often
  significantly higher than national average)
• Clear desire to be part of the BSF Programme
• Buy-in to the authority vision of student centred
  approach to learning
• Desire to extend learning beyond the standard
  school day
• Keen to explore electronic means of extending
  learning to home and enabling equality of access

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• Phase 1 School Visions common themes
• ICT in support of
• 14-19 Agenda
• Personalised learning
• Every Child Matters
• Multiculturalism
• Innovation
• Sharing resources rather than competing
• Enabling closer ties with primary schools

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• Phase 1 School Visions more common ICT themes
• Improved integration and use of MIS system with
  VLE / MLE to create a Learning Platform
• Schools specialisms
• More social/multi-user spaces
• Enabling easier open access to other child
  development agencies, such as health and police
  services
• Use ICT for increasing parental engagement
• CPD including use of CLCs
• Practical effects of Workforce Reform

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• Phase 1 School Visions ICT issues
• Resourcing and support of advanced ICT facilities
• Management and implementation of new technologies
• Testing new and innovative solutions with LA and
  partners
• Establishing effectiveness
• Value for money
• Alternatives / Choices
• BCC developments such as Digital Birmingham

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• Phase 1 School Visions themes from individual
  schools exploiting ICT
• Desire for ecologically sensitive environments
  with the use of ICT to exemplify such
• Enable access to members of community other than
  those with direct links with school eg.
  Mosques, community centres and local businesses
• Teachers digital toolbox
• Biometric access devices
• Cashless catering
• Electronic library book system
• Teaching assistant professional qualifications
• Holographic technology!!

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• Realising the Vision - what will schools get?
• WAN connectivity and thence to National Education
  Network and public Internet
• VLE/MLE integrated with MIS to provide Learning
  Platform
• Birmingham Grid for Learning (being enlarged to
  KILT)
• Standard set of hardware and infrastructure
  (advanced specification) including some
  Intelligent Building functionality
• Software and applications in each school to
  deliver combined schools visions above and
  beyond the National Curriculum
• Hardware, software and applications to support
  school Specialism and aspirations (provided from
  Local Choice Fund)

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• What else might schools get?
• Connectivity to homes
• Possibly through wireless community (filtered)
  links (WiMax)
• Linked to, eg, Digital Birmingham initiatives
• We seek innovative ways of extending access to
  education systems beyond the school into the
  community so they become a true focus of the
  Vibrant Urban Village

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• What will learners get?
• Innovative Personal Portable Learning Device
  (PPLD)
• Small (pocket size? A5?)
• Wireless connectivity anywhere / anytime
• Automatic synchronisation of data with school
  system
• Camera
• Primarily a data / image capture device, not
  information processor
• Need to make it non-marketable safety issues
• Access to school network 24 / 7 / 365
• Access to network via single sign-on (Shibboleth
  compliant)
• Student ideas - PPLD discussion forum from YPP
  March
• Discussion forum at http//www.bgfl.org/ppld
• ....and competition!

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• What will schools get - equipment / services
• Desktop computers spread out across school and
  concentrated in learning areas (ICT-rich
  environment everywhere)
• Specialist equipment in specific areas (eg music
  synths etc. / media studio / science equipment /
  PE / etc)
• Teachers toolkit enabling simple access to
  whiteboard/projector/speakers
• Potential toolkit to extend to still and video
  cameras / visualisers
• Printers / scanners / fax machines / other
  peripherals
• Video conferencing
• Video on demand

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• What will the Learning Platform look like?
• Contains all functions of present VLE
• Links to learning resources (indexed /
  catalogued)
• Personal email, calendar / timetable (linked to
  MIS)
• Collaboration tools email, instant messaging,
  unified messaging, discussion fora, chatrooms
• Virtual classrooms
• Communication from / to learning mentors
  defining learning pathways
• Online assessment tools
• Links to relevant MIS data
• Personal Digital Portfolio (blog, e-CV, personal
  webspace...)

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• Learning Platform the challenge
• Enables access to learning resources and
  collaboration tools anywhere, anytime
• Needs to drive engagement between learners and
  mentors to ensure online activities are
  purposeful and relevant
• Needs to enable reflection and dialogue to ensure
  achievements out of school are captured and can
  then be used to drive Assessment for Learning
• Needs tools to celebrate / publish achievement
• Birmingham working with Becta, DfES and partners
  on Proof of Concept to ensure all these
  components interoperate

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• Connectivity out of school
• Home links to network enable continuous
  parental engagement
• We will seek interest from telecom companies to
  enable low cost / free connectivity from school
  to home
• Wireless provision may be enabled by WiMax
  enabling broadband speeds via wireless
• All learners and those connected with the school
  or LA will be able to access their personal
  portfolio and Learning Platform via web browser
  connectivity
• Potential employers work experience
• Health professionals
• Police
• Educational support services

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• ICT in the Intelligent Building
• Integrated electronic system combining
• Cashless vending
• Access control
• Registration
• Network can also be used for
• Monitoring of environment (alarms)
• CCTV
• Heating / lighting control
• Telephony
• We seek other imaginative proposals for greater
  efficiency

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• Delivering the ICT Vision
• ICT will be delivered as part of the Local
  Education Partnership (LEP)
• ICT providers will work with architects, builders
  and FM providers, as well as the schools
  themselves, to produce new buildings fit for
  purpose
• ICT provider will also collaborate in providing
  Intelligent Building functionality
• LEP will be working to transform schools in
  parallel with Service Birmingham's role in
  transforming the City's business practices for
  its citizens

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• Delivering the ICT Vision
• Birmingham's vision for ICT in its secondary
  schools is strong, far-reaching and challenging
  (DfES)....
• But it is also, both in the view of the
  Government and of potential industry
  partners.....
• Achievable .......
• and
• Affordable

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• Follow-up.....
• Public web site - http//www.bgfl.org/tse
• Questions to
• Chris_Mitton_at_birmingham.gov.uk
• or
• Stephen_J_Pincher_at_birmingham.gov.uk
• or
• Paul_Bowman_at_birmingham.gov.uk

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Transforming Education in BirminghamBuilding
Schools for the FutureThe Role of ICTBITES
11th October 2006

• Chris Mitton, Senior ICT Consultant, BSF