Less than the sum of its parts!

I can't say I've had the best or most fulfilling times since my last post.  As the blog title suggests, if you take what I think I've achieved and compare it to the effort, it doesn't seem to add up.

The group I'm leading to establish a coherent strategy for the school's ICT curriculum development met last week to 'finalise' the report: we don't leave until it's nailed was the brief.  Well, we didn't stay until it was done and it's still not finalised.  There's half a report on paper and that won't remain in its current form, either.

I'm doing lots of little jobs at the moment.  But they're jobs that seem to be taking up my time.  It's another period of 'I've been busy but I can't quite seem to prove it':

• I can't seem to nail my VLC investigation for the video-based demonstrations for students on our other site.  the DT Departments want to hook up (virtually) so the younger students can see their designs being CNC'd on the other site
• I've flirted with looking at online booking systems to assist with our school productions
• I can't nail the BSME's wish for a decent, affordable online recruitment system
• I tried to provide support for one of our MIS users, but found out there is a known issue with this particular feature ... and I can't help until the next upgrade (which is next week, mind you)
• I'm getting anxious about various hardware deliveries
• I haven't finished getting our standalone laptop setup for our MIS environment
• I really didn't do much walking about this week.  Some of my best work is when I walk about

On the plus side:
The Year 3 Terminals trial is up and away.  They've also got the LANSchool channel set (we're still learning how to exploit that fully).  Looking forward to seeing that trial in action.

We've arranged for some work to be done for us in preparation for our Parent Portal launch.  This should help with our preparations.  Looking forward to that ... I just hope everyone else is!

I finally got our MIS to do a big Mail Merge email (2 runs of 1200+ emails).  Having raised various tickets over the last few months, we got some advice from another client school in the region and that worked (thanks, DESS).  Very happy on that front.  Basically, we have to set off our big runs from the server itself as the size of the Mail Merge seems to crash an ordinary client (at about 600 emails).

I'm making inroads on our 'video 'trial'.  My tech team have been working hard on the background activity.  I have been in touch with ClickView a few times who have also set us up with online access.  Our DT department is up for being part of the trial.  I will also contact a further department.  This is looking good.  I just hope the trial goes well as it's the staff and students who will say if it's good!

Let's hope the parts add up to more next week.

There's a new pencil case in town!

Well, this is unexpected.  I have been scheduling my (so far few) blogs for the end of Thursday.  However, I find myself with an email exchange worth sharing.  It came on the back of our Head of ICT asking for a wireless webcam.  This led onto more kit.  Then it led onto the topic of Integrating ICT across the curriculum.  You see, we're also part of a group tasked with outlining a strategy to get - and keep - St Christopher's School at the forefront of ICT in the classroom.

Here's the email.  It's mostly as I sent it....
""
(Mmmm, your casual comment has caused me to spend longer on this than I anticipated!)


For me, to "integrate ICT across the curriculum " means more than English or History booking an ICT suite to 'type up a project'. (Or even ICT getting students to 'make a leaflet').  These suggest discrete modules.


Simple examples of hardware, tool and services across subjects that could be exploited differently include:

• IWBs (admittedly mostly a front of class 'teacher toy')
• Visualisers (ditto)
• Scanners
• Digital cameras
• Dictaphones
• Data loggers
• Productivity software
• Blogs
• Online collaboration services
• Online voting, surveys
• SMS, MMS
• Personal mobile devices (which capture much of the above)
  

The integration for me here is not just buying some visualisers.  Nor should they be used as an outcome, but must form part of a wider, seamless, learning process.  Not "Today, we're going to learn how to use Scanners".  Nor, "Now it's time to use the Web to research ... now it's time to scan a magazine article ... now it's time to get your books out ..."


Analogous examples would be to tell a student when to use a pen, an eraser, a ruler, compass, set square, at set points in the lesson, etc.  And if a student doesn't have a compass, he should ask to borrow one ... at the right time for him.  They are tools in a pencil case and, yes, sometimes (often) intervention is needed to fine tune some of the skills required.


Using my own definitions, you probably already integrate ICT into ICT.
An example might be:

• ICT Outcome
• Create a computer game to develop hand-eye coordination in younger students
• Necessarily, some discrete 'teaching' takes place as students learn the concepts of sequence|selection|repetition (with some good old fashioned teaching!)
• [The ICT equivalent of learning about Climate change in Geography, maybe]
• ICT Integration/Embedding
• If this computer game forms part of a wider project, you get the Life Cycle in play
• Teacher and student interviews, brainstorming, data collection, analysis, drafting, building, troubleshooting, publicising, training, supporting ... all leaning towards using other ICT tools to support and crystalise the primary learning outcome: Programming (the Game)
• For me, deeper integration might give students some degree of freedom in how the project detail is pulled together ... e.g. do they have to use Word?  Can they use OneNote, Google Apps?  Can some areas of the project be collaborative?  Can some choose to do it all collaboratively?  Does publicising only mean creating a leaflet or are blogs or podcasts as suitable?  Could one student be using a wired PC, another using his Android or combinations?

There's a new pencil case in town!


I think what we all want, in varying degrees, is to have access to technology but not change too much how we work (e.g. I have the occasional conversation with staff who, when using Citrix at home, comment that they can't copy a file from their desktop to the 'school desktop' ... my response is why is that a problem when you can create the file in the first place in school, from home.  If it's a legacy work file, deal with it the 'old way'.  Some staff will still 'email work home' or take it home 'on a stick').

[...]


PS: I don't see any great impact on the senior school discrete ICT Curriculum at St Chris.  For a start, you're making it more of a Computing-type subject (nice!), but as I suggested above, you're embedding conventional ICT to support it (and, no doubt, teaching it at the right times). [...]
""

So, there you have it.  The integration of ICT in one easy blog!

A Week of Investigation

It's been a funny week: good, busy but odd at times.  But I can't nail why it's felt that way.  I think it's because it's been almost exclusively a week of investigations.  And if you have similar work to me you'll understand that investigations can lead to a lot of input, with little - or no - permanent output.

OK, here's a snapshot of the more useful elements of my week, in no particular order of importance or effort:

1. Dipped into my mailbox to address a few operational issues
2. Investigated how VLC might provide a network-based video streaming solution (using existing client technology) to a piece of cross-phase work being proposed by our DT departments.  Half a day's work
3. Investigated the latest upgrade of our MIS (we use Engage by DoubleFirst).  A full day (and a bit of the next)
4. Dipped into my mailbox to address a few operational issues
5. Upset a few members of staff over a trial I'm putting in place (a trial that excluded them - apologies, but it is a trial and, necessarily can't include everyone).  All week maybe?
6. Investigated how Google Apps might provide a short-term solution to a BSME Recruitment development.  Maybe a few hours
7. Began inspecting, in more detail, the ICT Bids by the various school's budget holders.  Half a day
8. Stole mini bars of chocolate from the HR Office, once or twice (a day)
9. Dipped into my mailbox to address a few operational issues

Let me pick on one of these: Item 3

Our Latest MIS Upgrade
We're into our third year of Engage.  They try to release an upgrade about once a month.  Now that's good and that's bad.  Good, in that clients know they're actively improving the product and listening to client feedback (well, at least I hope they are).  Bad, in that it is sometimes difficult to absorb (and hence, plan to roll-out) some of the juicier upgrades.

This one looks good, though, and one I hope to not only absorb, but recommend we exploit.  You see, for the last few months, we've been preparing to release our Parent Portal, which is part of the MIS.  This will give families access to various elements of information about their children (e.g. timetable, assessments).  There are also nice Notices and Events widgets to help us fine-tune communications.

But this release includes Lesson Planning and Lesson Templates.  Aimed at teachers (er, to plan lessons), it allows staff to 'publish to Contacts' and 'publish to Pupils'.  Although, in this release, the act of selecting this doesn't actually publish to Parent Portal, it will in next month's release (a good reason for monthly releases).

[The Pupil Portal is another development and will form part of a near-future release ... and blog, no doubt]

But when the lesson does get published, it will also provide details of assignments (aka homework).
So, no more:
"Hey, Ben.  Your homework diary is empty.  No homework today?"
"No, Mum.  We finished everything in class"
"Really?  That's interesting, because I've logged into my Parent Portal account and that suggests something quite different"
"Erm ..." stutter, stammer

Possibly, by the time our Parent Portal gets released (it's been a long process trying to get up-to-date email addresses), the next upgrade might already have been made available.  I still need to understand Lesson Planning more but my feeling so far is that it will be a good step forward, not only for home|school communications, but for remote access to lesson details, resources, deadlines, etc.

And you never know when the next school closure is!
____________

Oh, and my mailbox still has an operating level of about 280 unread emails in my inbox (and are likely to remain unread unless anyone knows how I can freeze time for a month or so).  And that doesn't account for those that get filtered out into other folders.