Digital Strategy at Varndean

Digital strategy

by Sacha van Straten & Seb Harrington

The Need for Change

đ&#x;Ž“ Lack of joined up thinking

đ&#x;Ž“ Little consideration of learners’ and teachers’ needs

đ&#x;Ž“ A focus on kit rather than attainment

đ&#x;Ž“ Insufficient staff training & support

Making Change Happen

đ&#x;Ž“ It’s

all about Learning!

đ&#x;Ž“ Technology must make learning better for students

and life easier for teachers

đ&#x;Ž“ A focus on pedagogy and not on technology

đ&#x;Ž“ A change in culture

Students & Teachers as Change Agents

đ&#x;‘Ť Students come with wide ranging skills

đ&#x;Ž“ Teacher uncertainty can’t be a barrier

đ&#x;Ž“ Teachers can’t know everything

đ&#x;Ž“ Open Attitudes – simple rules

đ&#x;Ž“ Share & Discover

đ&#x;Ž“ INSET & CPD for all staff

Theory into Practice Ultimately, it is not what technology you use that counts, but what the learner takes from it that really matters.’

Dror (2008)

‘With the advent of Web 2.0, teachers and administrators need to recognize that there [has] been a shift of power away from institutions and towards learners.’

Heppel (2006)

Theory into Practice

Pedagogical aims:

đ&#x;‘? Scaffold ideas and concepts - HOTS

đ&#x;‘? Build ‘communities of practice’ (Wenger)

đ&#x;‘? Promote independent learning

đ&#x;‘? Develop research and assessment skills

Infrastructure đ&#x;š€ Faster web access

đ&#x;š€ Powerful whole school wifi (Meru)

đ&#x;š€ A foundation for personalised learning

đ&#x;š€ Stability, Speed and Accessibility

đ&#x;š€ Up to date hardware and software

Summer Projects

• New servers & rewire

• Windows 7 and Office 2010

• Refinement of Smoothwall filtering

• Move to Google Apps

• Move to SIMS

• Segregate LAN & VLANS

• New PCs x 220

• New website

• Digital Signage

Nurturing the digital strategy

đ&#x;’ĄIT Strategy Group – weekly

đ&#x;’ĄIT Users Group - half-termly

đ&#x;’ĄActive Active dialogue to create sustainable planning

đ&#x;’ĄMartini learning - Google Apps & iPad trials

đ&#x;’ĄImproved web filtering and access policies

IT Strategy Group

Google Apps

iPads & BYOD

Parent Comms

IT Users Group

Learning

MIS integration

Systems Integration

Data Protection

Changes for September

đ&#x;“Ą CMIS to SIMS

đ&#x;“Ą Moodle to Google Apps

đ&#x;“Ą Windows XP & Office 2003 to Windows 7 and Office

2010

đ&#x;“Ą Training & resources for all three

đ&#x;“Ą Only school in BHCC not to use it

đ&#x;“Ą Use web interface to give us access on all devices

đ&#x;“Ą Data migration from July 10th (date governed by Capita)

đ&#x;“Ą Training for all from July 12th

đ&#x;“Ą Windows XP support discontinued

đ&#x;“Ą Using a version of office that’s out of date

đ&#x;“Ą Links to training resources available (via email)

đ&#x;“Ą Four main tools for collaboration: Email, Docs, Calendar and Sites

đ&#x;“Ą Easy to put existing content online & create/edit new content

đ&#x;“Ą Documents can be edited live, with multiple users (x50)

đ&#x;“Ą Folders of files can be uploaded and converted.

đ&#x;“Ą Download in a range of formats, such as Office, Open Office, PDF

Google Docs

Google Docs allows real-time editing and collaboration – individually or whole class

Training Timetable

đ&#x;˜ƒ Online booking (link via email)

đ&#x;˜ƒ Sessions run in D2A & D2B

đ&#x;˜ƒ Run from 15:15 – 16:00 plus online support

đ&#x;˜ƒ More training throughout next term

Training Timetable

DATE

COURSE

18-22 JUNE

GMAIL

2 – 6 JULY

GOOGLE DOCS & SITES

12-13 JULY

SIMS

16-19 JULY

SIMS