INFORM

SPRING 2007 ISSUE 10

Sharing secondary school success with ICT What could a personal online learning space mean to your students?

ALSO INSIDE: Timed out? Tim Brighouse looks at how successful head teachers spend their most precious commodity: time MAESTRO report: ICT proven to make a difference to teaching and learning ‘Building on Success’ conference preview Tablet PC helps with inclusion at St Bartholomew's School Win a wind turbine and ecoquiet® PC!

www.rm.com/secondary/inform

WELCOME to this term’s issue of INFORM, helping your school get more from your ICT. At BETT in January this year, we were delighted to see many of you at our stand or in Olympia 2. Learning platforms were the hot topic, so in this edition of INFORM, we investigate the personal online learning space and what it could mean to your students. We explore this subject further at our conferences in March – so if you want to find out more, ensure you register to attend at www.rm.com/conferences Thank you for your feedback on the successful head teachers’ debate in the autumn edition – Tim Brighouse has read your comments with interest and responded with the next instalment in this edition. Further to this article, Tim has written another booklet! Get your copy at our ‘Building on Success’ conferences in March. This term, INFORM reports on the latest findings from the three-year MAESTRO project, which proves that the right balance of software and classroom technologies can make a difference to teaching and learning. Included with this edition is the full summary report, written by Don Passey from Lancaster University. If you would like further copies of this paper, please email [email protected]

Don’t miss our competition to win one of 100 wind turbines and ecoquiet PCs on page 9. We were inspired by the Helston Windy Webbers – so we hope you are too! The NewsDesk details lots of forthcoming events, the new accelerator camps from RM and insights from a number of schools from around the UK. If you have a success story that you would like to share with us, please contact me at [email protected] Our next edition marks ten years of INFORM – so look out for this special ‘first decade’ edition out in the summer term.

Lucy Heneghan, Editor

CONFERENCE PREVIEW! Time is running out to book on to our free one-day strategic conferences in March. With our top keynotes, the agenda is taking shape to make this a worthwhile day for you and your colleagues.

Learning Platforms – the new buzzword. RM has just been announced as one of the Becta accredited suppliers. Anyone who attends this session will understand why this is the future of education.

Following your feedback we are launching a number of optional lunchtime sessions:

Dates and venues:

Community Connect 4 session – the shape of networks to come. Get an insight into the product development, and guidance for your own planning as well as strategic needs. Pioneer sessions – our pioneer schools and colleges show how ICT has enhanced their teaching, with case studies examples.

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• Tuesday 20 March – Manchester Mere Golf and Country Club • Thursday 22 March – London Millennium Gloucester • Tuesday 27 March – Birmingham Copthorne Merry Hill With the focus on 14-19, these conferences give, the opportunity to network with other schools and colleges. You’ll have lunch on us, collect valuable freebies and even

have the chance to win an RM UltraLight notebook. You can be sure that you’ll be invigorated and inspired – and leave with new ideas! For further information visit

www.rm.com/conferences

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CONTENTS writing. Timed out? Tim Brighouse looks at how successful head teachers spend that most precious commodity: time.

P12 ICT helps with inclusion at St Bartholomew’s School We look at how the tablet PC is making personalised learning accessible and enjoyable for one student with severe visual impairment.

P7 RM at BETT 2007: A review We had some exciting innovations to unveil at this year’s show, read all about them here. Plus our guest customer presenters share their lasting memories of the event.

P14 Classroom technologies Read the latest results from the MAESTRO report, proving ICT makes a difference to teaching and learning.

P4–6 Listening, speaking, reading,

P8 Blowing fresh ideas into science Find out how Helston Community College harnessed the power of the wind. Enter our competition to win one of 100 wind turbines and ecoquiet PCs! P10 The ‘Personal Portfolio’ A platform for school success? We explore what online learning spaces could mean to your students and which elements of a Learning Platform will help you create a transformational work space.

NOT SUBSCRIBED TO INFORM? Go online now and subscribe to receive your own free termly copy delivered to your desk: www.rm.com/inform/subscribe

P16 Building on success at King Ecgberts School One of our Pioneer schools share their experience of moving into a new building. P18 NewsDesk Get the latest events listing, find out about the new ICT Accelerator camps and read some success stories from schools around the UK.

CONTACT US If you would like to know more about any of the technology featured in this edition, you can contact us in one of the following ways: 08450 700300 08450 700400 [email protected] www.rm.com/secondary RM, New Mill House, 183 Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4SE

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LISTENING, SPEAKING, READING, WRITING

TIMED OUT? Tim Brighouse has another thing on his mind. In the second part of Tim’s observations on successful head teachers, the clock’s really ticking. This time it’s about effective use of time…

“Such heads are deeply conscious of their need to be accessible to all the school community, if not at once, at least at some point during the day.”

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“It’s all very well to look at Belbin and Myers Briggs,” my colleague remarked ominously one day, “but I think the infant teacher could teach us a thing or two about what to look for in a leadership team. After all, she assesses her charges’ progress in ’listening’, ‘speaking’, ‘reading’ and ‘writing’… and while they are doing it, she looks to see whether they are thinking and learning. If we could get that right in our team”she concluded with a smile “we would be doing all right.”

five in the evening. Nor do I do any paperwork then either. I can do all of that before and afterwards, because I do that alone. The time the school’s in session is precious. The whole community is there. It’s time for the pupils, the staff governors and other members of the wider community.” She went on to say that if she ever found herself inadvertently backing away from that guiding principle and staying in her office, she knew she was on a very slippery slope.

Profile performance My colleague was referring to our practice of putting every new member of staff through the Myers Briggs profile of preferred leadership operational styles and then inviting an external coach to talk to us about ways in which we could improve our collective efforts. Nothing too unusual in that: most school leadership teams do something similar. But I never quite forgot my colleague’s remarks: the more I thought about them, the more sense they made. I realised how easy it was to neglect one or the other of the four activities of ‘listening’ ‘speaking’ ‘reading’ and ‘writing’. It certainly provides a useful compass in looking at how successful head teachers spend that precious commodity: time.

Time management – A key skill Time is so precious, that some people say that learning to use time wisely and to best effect is the key skill for a leader to master. That’s why the ‘listening,’ ‘speaking,’ ‘reading’ and ‘writing’ overlay on the use of a head’s time is so useful – it helps them to guard against wasting time by being alone during the school day. It’s led more than one head I know to share an office with deputies: when they are in the same place together, they are also sharing ideas or agreeing an approach to a difficult immediate issue. They claim there’s never a problem about having the room or a room to themselves if the need occurs for a private meeting, “because schools are places, where there can never be enough of the senior team being around the place and lending a hand”. So what do successful heads do?

Seconds out Think about it. Firstly, there’s the obvious point about the much misunderstood ‘time to think’. As one head told me dismissively: “I do my thinking all the time. It occupies every waking moment. When I want to focus the sum total of my thinking, I write or,” he added “speak with colleagues. Out of that come my own or our collective refreshed direction or the solution to a problem.” Secondly, if you analyse what you do each day, it can be broken down into ‘listening,’ ‘speaking,’ ‘reading’ and ‘writing’. Most forms of human activity, apart from sleeping, usually involves one or more of these four. Thirdly – and this is surely the key for the successful head teacher – you can only read and write in isolation whereas you need people to listen and talk. That’s presumably why another successful head said to me forcefully, “I never look at my computer – the email or whatever – between eight in the morning and half past

legions of possibilities and I shall return to some later. Time to worry Quantitive surveys, of which there are many, may well serve solicitors, architects and accountants for cost allocation to charge clients – but they are a dangerously misleading way of measuring head teachers’ time. And that brings me to my health warning. I used the words ‘dangerously misleading,’ because the great problem with successful head teachers is that they are so committed and so conscious. They worry if they’ve used their time effectively. As an antidote to guilt, it’s probably as well to say that whatever the pattern of time, successful head teachers need time-off, not particularly to think but to draw breath and recharge. That won’t be on a daily or weekly basis, but it will be taken in dollops every now and then. So here, then, are the five time expenditures:

A caution. And a health-warning Just before embarking on a brief description of the five main forms of activity, which use up their time, I should add two points of caution and a health warning. The first is pretty obvious: head teachers (successful or otherwise) are deeply conscious of the fragmented nature of their days. They flit from one activity to another, sometimes spending very short time spans on any one thing. The successful heads know this to be a tendency, but guard against life becoming ad-hoc: they know that over a day they may not achieve the allocation of time to plan that they want, but that over a week or a term, they can and will. Distraction is inevitable, but in the long run, it can be defeated.

1. “They sit on the wall not the fence” The morning habit of many primary head teachers is to sit on the wall or stand at the school gate to welcome pupils and parents. For a busy secondary head in a large school, the equivalent is either to stand in the entrance foyer for half an hour from about a quarter past eight, so that entering staff can nab them and ask for a word later in the day or supervise bus queues at the end of school. Such heads are deeply conscious of their need to be accessible to all the school community, if not at once, at least at some point during the day. An ‘open door’ policy is misleading, as the head knows only too well, that the less time spent in the office the better. Not sitting on the fence is a caution not to equivocate or procrastinate too often. Schools are places where people are quick to detect whether a delay to give due consideration to a difficult issue or secure consensus is genuine, or merely a device to conceal a head’s lack of moral backbone and failure to be consistent. Sitting on the wall in its many manifestations…school walks, lunchtime tours of the local area, student pursuits….can take up 25 – 30 hours a week.

Simultaneous not sequential Secondly, when we add the time spent on the five, they add up to more than 100% – whatever the notional total of hours. That’s because the key starting point is that successful leaders use time twice or three times over. They have mastered the skill of doing things simultaneously rather than sequentially – not in everything of course, but in many. While doing a ‘daily round’ of the classrooms, for example, they may also be doing business with a visitor, or reinforcing a ‘singing from the same song sheet’ message with staff. There are

2. “They are ‘skalds’ not ‘scolds’.” The word ‘skald’ is reserved in Scandinavian folklore for the poets, who told stories to warriors before battle. The stories were always positive and reminded people of past great deeds, as well as impending future triumphs. It’s the same with heads. They use awards days to reflect out loud that “last summer’s results at GCSE were the best ever however you look at them. But this year’s year 11, who are with us tonight, are the best year group we have ever had, so we know that next summer will be better still. And when I look at last summer’s

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Key Stage 3 results and talk with the head of year 10, we know this trend will continue.” Assemblies are the same, with tales of sporting and other success achieved and impending. And staff briefings are occasions to tell of great student : staff interactions observed in the corridors at lunchtimes and in lessons. The dictionary definition of ‘scold’ is “to use undignified vehemence or persistence in reproof or fault-finding” Yet heads can so easily fall victim to the habit. They are stretched and pulled every which way and, of course, they are often dealing with crisis or the occasions when the agreed ‘song from the same song sheet’ has become discordant or totally ignored. That’s the time to remember that more good than bad things are happening, or if they are not, that a positive ‘can do’ spirit will ensure they do. In ‘The jigsaw of the successful school,’ we referred to the need to heavy overbalance in favour of what we called ‘appreciative enquiry’ i.e. finding what is good in ‘what is’. If the head isn’t an energy creator in their interactions, then nobody else can fully compensate. Being a ‘skald’ probably takes up three or four hours each week, not being a ‘scold’ a lot longer.

“All emails are read by the PA and then marked up as ‘unread’ and ‘read’ if the PA thinks the head should read them or act on them.”

3. “They teach, learn and assess for most of their time.” John Dunford of the Association of School and

College Leaders (ASCL) recently speculated about the time when the principal of a school or group of schools might not have a teaching background. That seems to me an improbable recipe for success: after all, even Education Officers in local authorities were expected to have done some teaching. Certainly it’s the perception of those heads who have been very successful – and of their staff – that part of their credibility comes from their expert interest in teaching – and, of course, from learning and assessment. They might stand in for a colleague to enable them to observe another teacher or visit another school. Perhaps they do a short course with all of year 7. Of course, too, they take assemblies – and know they have to be good ones! They set an example of learning both through the questions they ask. They may have a research project of their own and they certainly encourage further study among their staff. Informally they ask speculative and genuinely enquiring questions and formally they may even have a shared ‘learning plan’ for the year. Their interest in assessment shows not merely in their regular 360 degree feedback exercises, but in their often demonstrated commitment to improving on their previous best. They practise ‘formative’ assessment for staff and are active in the review of students’ progress, which is at the heart of ‘assessment for learning’. These activities can take up anything from two to ten hours in a week. 4. “They spend their evenings, weekends and holidays... working... socialising...and being a member of a family.” If reading and writing are best done alone, it follows that they will happen outside school days and terms. The arrival of email is a sore test of that. That’s why one head has claimed never to use her computer during school hours: she prefers to use a system whereby all emails are read by the PA and then marked up as ‘unread’ and ‘read,’ if the PA thinks the head should read them or act on them. She explains, “I keep to my promise to deal with them either after 5 pm or before she arrives in the morning. I always try to have a short session with my PA

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or bursar when they arrive or before they go home.” Meetings are, if possible, outside timetabled hours, as are sporting events, which they must visit and extra curricular clubs they attend or run. Eating either at working breakfasts or in restaurants in the evening can often also be part of the rhythm of the heads of larger schools and, taking on the tradition of the 19th century legends like Arnold, their families will sometimes be ensnared in school-related activity. Some parts of the holiday are not sacrosanct either. One successful head spent at least half of her three weeks in France last summer, putting together a very impressive, “So you want, one day, to be a head?” course. She then ran the course for 17 volunteers from the staff on Friday afternoons. Time outside school on these sorts of task will vary widely. Sometimes it’s very heavy, at others it’s blissfully peaceful. 5. “They spend two hours a week in acts of unexpected kindness.” The last and most important of their ‘expenditures of time’ derives from their commitment to people and their realising that everyone needs to feel special. So birthdays are remembered and emergencies in staff private lives catered for. One head told me she keeps loads of cards for birthdays and other events and doesn’t leave on Fridays without sitting down and reviewing the week.

A final word….successful heads have to vary the above according to whether they are new. (Once they’ve been there a long time, they are a trusted bit of the furniture and can afford to be absent more – though not too – often.) And in challenging schools, they need to be omnipresent and do much more. And I come back to ‘head teacherly’ guilt and repeat again that there are exceptions to all I have written: there always will be. But I hope I have at least caught some of the flavour of what is one of the most important jobs in the world. Hear more from Tim Brighouse at RM’s conference in Manchester; register now at www.rm.com/conferences Tim’s new booklet ‘How head teachers survive and thrive’ will be available at all of our conferences.

RM AT BETT 2007: A REVIEW After months of planning, weeks of organising and four hectic days standing in Olympia, BETT is over again for another year. We had some really exciting innovations to unveil this year, including a brand new stand, new products, a new venue and lots more to see, touch and try!

‘Innovative thinking’ The event got off to a flying start for us with Jim Knight, Minister for Schools, praising RM for “thinking both innovatively and practically”. This was in relation to the work we’d been doing examining possible models for providing every child with a personal learning device, whether that be a laptop, PDA, smart phone, or whatever we may all be using in the next three to five years. The DfES was so impressed by the report, that the minister committed to personally chair a task force looking into how to turn this vision into reality. Dedicated focus One of the first things you will have noticed when visiting the RM stand, were the two dedicated sides for primary and secondary schools. This helped us focus even more closely on the specific needs of each sector. In addition, we developed a brand new presentation area. This let us explore some of the new and exciting developments in educational ICT, but also allowed some of our customers to share their experience of how ICT is making a difference. Presenter perspectives So what did RM’s guest customer presenters make of being on the other side of the BETT fence – taking the stand twice a day, for four days? We asked Ian Wilson from Manor High School, Leicestershire what his lasting memories were of the event?

“As the doors opened at 10am on the first day, I was taken aback by the sheer scale of the show. As visitors entered the hall, the striking stands along with the huge range of ICT solutions on display soon became obscured by the hordes. At all of my presentations, there was a real mixture of audience – even including some sharp-suited competitors at the back! Technicians, teachers and heads from all types of schools – all were here. It was great to talk with the audience afterwards about what we have done at Manor – in particular how Thin Client technology might help the development of ICT provision in their schools.” Ian presented on his experience of implementing thin client into the school’s Community Connect 3™ network. If you would like to find out more about their experiences, you can view their case study at www.rm.com/manorhighschool Andy Bruce, Head of Maths at St Birinus School, Oxfordshire, talked about his experience of being involved in the MAESTRO project and shared some of the key insights from the project: “Presenting is not the same as teaching and presenting at BETT is not the same as presenting at a conference. Twice a day I had to don the radio mic and begin to think how we were going to convert that fleeting glance towards the RM stand into …”I think I’ll just sit down for a moment and listen to this …”.

Perhaps on reflection it is rather like teaching, although at least the pupils are constrained to be in the same room! Working in a supportive team is the way it should be and the RM presenters set a great example. It gave me the chance to renew old friendships, develop existing ones and meet some great people for the first time. Everyone was both inclusive and supportive. BETT clearly demonstrated the sheer breadth of ICT solutions available to schools, and having now been involved in BETT, I appreciate RM’s input in helping us to achieve this.” You can find out more on the MAESTRO project that Andy Bruce and St Birinus School have been involved in by reading our article on pages 14-15 and taking a look at the summary research paper included in this edition of INFORM. Ground-breaking Olympia 2 As well as our main exhibition stand, we opened the doors of Olympia 2, to bring you a ground-breaking interactive innovation area, informative learning platform and product seminars. In this peaceful haven away from the crowds, ideas were exchanged and the future of ICT in education was discussed. We have made the seminar presentations available to download at www.rm.com/secondary/inform/events We would be keen to hear about your BETT experiences this year. Please do email us at [email protected]

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BLOWING FRES INTO SCIENCE The Windy Webbers, a group of eight Year 10 students at Helston Community College in Cornwall, are enthusiastic science converts. Led by Roger McMinn, Head of Science, the group has installed a wind turbine to power an energy-saving ecoquiet PC donated by RM.

“This project has been great fun. The students have learned a great deal by meeting and working with scientists, that would have otherwise been impossible.” Roger McMinn, Head of Science

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H IDEAS LEARNING Sustainable science The students have set up dataloggers to record the wind speed, power and direction on their Web site every five minutes. In addition, they can measure how much energy is being generated by the turbine and compare this to other renewable energy sources, such as solar panels. The group was keen to use a new ecoquiet PC from RM, as it uses a third of the energy of a normal PC, and so fitted in well with the sustainable energy theme. Partnerships and a grant The college was lucky enough to secure a partnership grant from The Royal Society to install the wind turbine at school, so that students could work with a scientist and appreciate our energy needs for the future. Lord Martin Rees, President of the Royal Society said: “The Royal Society Partnership Grants scheme may be the first time that some of these young people have had the opportunity to work with, or even meet, a practising scientist or engineer. And we hope the experience will be an inspiring one.” The project has seen the team forging partnerships with university staff and local industry. Dean Millar, Partner Scientist from Combined Universities in Cornwall (CUC) Tremough site, advised the group and visited the school to help them with project planning and installation. Navitron donated a 300 W wind turbine, and local company Helston Fabrications assisted in installation of the mast.

The Windy Webbers visited Goonhilly Wind Farm to see 14 wind turbines in action, from which they gained educational background and inspiration. “We’ve learnt a lot about how it all works electronically and how to organise a largescale project. It took a lot of planning and we had to write all the letters to people like Navitron ourselves. We’ll be able to use the project to educate the younger students on renewable energy and wind power,” said Finnbar, Year 10 Windy Webber. ecoquiet – save energy and save money New ecoquiet technology has been developed by RM, as a response to the growing needs of schools to reduce their energy bills and to become more sustainable. As well as saving energy, ecoquiet cuts down on background noise in the classroom, making for a better teaching environment. The technology is now available on a wide range of PCs produced by RM. To calculate how much money your school could save by switching to ecoquiet, visit www.rm.com/ecoquiet What next? The team is planning to run more PCs from the turbine, as it is now producing enough electricity to power several. They’ve also been donated a solar panel and water heater from Navitron, so they can carry out some interesting experiments on different types of renewable

For more information about the Windy Webbers and how Helston staff and students are using the project to gain more from their science lessons, visit: www.surfingthewindyweb.co.uk

GET A FREE

WIND TURBINE AND ECOQUIET PC

FOR YOUR SCHOOL! RM has been so inspired by the Windy Webbers that we have joined together with Intel in a project to provide 100 secondary schools with a Navitron wind turbine and an RM ecoquiet PC! If your school would like to be involved, go to www.rm.com/windpc

energy. The group is showcasing the project to students in younger year groups to get them interested too. “We’ve used solar panels in the lab and the light from the windows alone was enough to generate some power,” said Emma, Year 10 Windy Webber. “If we can get schools to start using renewable energy, it may help encourage others to do the same, even people at home. If a bunch of kids can do it, anyone can! And we’re helping to make the world a better place for our children too,” added Lorna, Year 10 Windy Webber. So far, the project at Helston has gathered attention from the Times Education Supplement and West Country TV and they are keen to share their ideas with other schools. A lesson resource pack is in the pipeline too, to help advise other schools in setting up similar projects. Helston Community College will be presenting with RM at the SSAT Annual Technology Conference at the Heritage Motor Museum, Warwickshire, on 28 February 2007. With thanks to the Windy Webbers: Roger McMinn (Project Leader), Annie Tisdale (Chairperson), Finnbar McAlinden, Lorna Hayes, Charlotte Lord, Emma Hunt, Allister George, Brendan Woolcock, and Annie Brogden.

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THE ‘PERSONAL A PLATFORM FOR SCHOOL SUCCESS? The Gilbert Report, published in January 07, puts personalising learning at the heart of its future vision for education. How will we support this vision for 2020 education? We examine what a personal online learning space could mean for your students and how a Learning Platform will help you deliver this. As part of the Harnessing Technology e-strategy document brought out by the DfES in 2005, a key target is to provide a personal online learning space for every learner by 2008. Many people have focused on the personal portfolio element of this: it’s easy to understand and to provide. Yet if this space is only used as a document store, it will NOT transform learning. So what else will students want to do on their personal online learning spaces?

What could an online learning space mean to your students? ...find information that is useful to me ...publish my work and get feedback on it

...search for resources to help with my learning

...organise and reflect on my work and other achievements

...work with my friends on projects for school

Comfortable learning Our children are very comfortable using

technology outside school. We need to draw on their requirements in order to create a space, that they will naturally turn to in order to support their learning and other interests. The target ‘To provide a personalised online learning

space for every learner, that can encompass a personal portfolio by 2007/2008.’ Harnessing Technology e-strategy document 2005. Cooking – a recipe for learning The tools that students will need to use in a

personal online learning space are all elements of a Learning Platform. Yet there are a lot of elements we would need if we are trying to create a transformational space for learners to use. Let’s take food shopping in a supermarket as an analogy. There are lots of individual products to choose from; you could write a list of all of them and do a supermarket sweep in your first trip. However, if you don’t know what you’re going to cook, then many of them will go to waste. You may even only discover them once they’re past their sell-by date. So the most important thing to do is to write a list of what you want according to what you want to achieve (or cook in this example).

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...communicate and collaborate with my friends and teachers

...find out how I am doing and plan my next learning steps

A place where I can can... ... Supplier choices The other important thing to consider is the supermarket itself. Many elements of a Learning Platform are available now as individual components. However, it’s how they integrate and combine that will create a transformational recipe. If everything is created to fit together, then the whole will be much greater than the sum of its parts – where students have one logon to all they need, and all the elements integrate seamlessly to provide them with a powerful learning experience. So, once you know what you want to achieve, have identified your priorities and found a supplier that will evolve with you, so you can go back and choose additional elements on further trips, you are ready to go shopping for a Learning Platform. Planning ahead But before you spend time looking at the technology, here are a few things you might

like to consider. Firstly, clarify what you want to achieve. You can then approach any schools or colleges that you want to partner with, and then look to see what is already available from people like your Regional Broadband Consortia and local authority. Elements of a Learning Platform

L PORTFOLIO’ An integrated Learning Platform

Tim Brighouse has outlined four key questions that require affirmative answers before a Learning Platform can be embedded effectively in the school. The technology it provides is a facilitator; if it is seen purely as a purchase, it will fail; if it is seen as an additional thing to worry about on top of everything else, it will fail. However, if it supports your vision and is integral to the day-to-day life of your school, it will succeed. Developing technology to reflect your school development priorities If we take ‘Student Voice’ from the Nine Gateways to Personalising Learning for example, as a school’s main development priority, they may be focusing on the areas outlined below. Each of which could be addressed through the use of customised technology producing the schools shopping list: • Share work and ideas with peers: online communities • Reflect on work and progress: personal blogs • Publish work and ideas online: e-portfolio • Student's feedback into lessons: surveys or questionnaires

• Contribute to targets, personal & curriculum: target setting • Communicate with their teachers, workflow: email • Search for learning resources, personalised: resource finder Putting learning needs first Each element on the shopping list needs to work together to provide a powerful learning experience for students. This is how we see the Kaleidos ® Learning Platform working –

illustrated in the diagram above. At it's heart is Data Exchange, which provides the integration and authentication needed for interoperability. Creating a basket for the whole platform is Kaleidos Portal +, which will provide all the communication and collaboration tools, as well as giving parents and other parties access to the system. Kaleidos VTLE and Kaleidos Assessment sit within the Portal, sharing some functionality, so that they can integrate seamlessly when used together. Each one of these elements could be used by itself, but pull them all together and the total is greater than the sum of its parts. RM is now

one of Becta’s approved suppliers of Learning Platforms. We are committed to interoperability in the wider sense, by becoming a supermarket that will stock other goods as well as our own brand. For us, this is the start of the journey, and we will be continuing to develop our Learning Platform as education evolves in the 21st Century. With the 14 - 19 curriculum high on many schools’ development agenda, ensure you register to attend our ‘Building on Success’ conferences in March to hear how the Learning Platform will be able to support your school’s plans. Register at www.rm.com/conferences

Visit our online Learning Platform guide

Download the Learning Platform Guardian supplement now from www.rm.com/secondary/inform and visit our new online Learning Platform guide for case studies, demonstrations and videos at www.rm.com/learningplatforms

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ICT HELPS WITH INCLUSION AT

ST BARTHOLOMEW Like many large secondary schools, St Bartholomew’s School in Newbury has an increasing requirement to accommodate and integrate students with special educational needs. We look at how ICT is making personalised learning accessible and enjoyable for students across the curriculum…

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W’S SCHOOL K

arina, a Year 10 student, has quite severe visual impairment due to albinism and nystagmus. Recently she has been getting more out of her lessons by using an RM tablet PC. Stuart Robinson, Head Teacher explains: “With Karina’s very specific needs we have found the tablet PC to be an ideal aid to learning – both for Karina and those teaching her. Although Karina was always diligent and successful, she is now benefiting from the technology available to her through this flexible and adaptable tool. The tablet has brought her both physical and educational benefits.”

Seeing the difference Cath Foyle, Karina’s Learning Support Assistant, has also noticed a difference: “The tablet PC has been a huge help to Karina. For a start, it’s much lighter than a regular laptop, so is less cumbersome for her to carry around from lesson to lesson. Also, because of the flat design, it is more discreet for her to set up and use in class.” The handwriting recognition feature means that Karina can write her class notes directly onto the screen with the stylus, without the need to use a keyboard at all, which can sometimes be difficult for her. It is also easy for her to add in diagrams and

mathematical formulas. She has the screen settings and colours personalised to suit her vision. Big impact The impact on Karina’s learning is immense. She uses the tablet now in many lessons, including maths, science and RE. The wireless connection to the school network means that during lessons she can go on the Internet and access information and work. Also, with a battery life of 1 1/2 hours, she doesn’t always

need to have access to a plug point. Karina is enthusiastic: “The presentation of my work is now a lot neater and tidier, and I can make my work much more colourful, so it is easier for me to memorise when I come to revise. I’m planning to do all my GCSE coursework on the tablet – I really enjoy using it!” There are many practical benefits too. “I get my teachers to mark my work on-screen and it is then much easier for me to read their comments than on paper, as I can enlarge the font,” she explains. “I can use the highlight tool to make notes stand out. I also ask my teachers to send me handouts before the lesson, electronically, and then blow them up on-screen to the size I need. With the tablet features I can write my own notes onto the handout documents and save them.”

Talking success Now Karina is getting used to using the tablet in her lessons and exploring all the features available. She has experimented with the speech recognition feature, so she can train the tablet to recognise her voice and translate it into text. This could also turn into a fantastic tool for her to use both in lessons and for doing her homework. All her coursework is saved onto a memory stick and also on to her area on the school’s Community Connect 3™ network. Cath Foyle has been suitably impressed. “It’s

Stuart Robinson, Head Teacher and Cath Foyle, Karina's Learning Support Assistant

been so useful that we are now looking at providing a tablet PC to a Year 11 student with visual impairment, who will benefit from a discreet PC when entering Year 12 to start her AS studies. She’s easily embarrassed by her condition and prefers to write rather than use a keyboard. The tablet PC will be ideal for her, as it is more discreet and can convert handwriting to text.” Karina has recently been awarded the Princess Diana Memorial Award for her outstanding contribution to the school and local community and also a Gold Music Medal for the violin. With thanks to Stuart Robinson, Cath Foyle and Karina at St Bartholomew’s School. About the school St Bartholomew’s School in Newbury is a specialist Business & Enterprise College with over 1,600 students from age 11 – 18. The school is well equipped with ICT and uses it in innovative ways to help individual students.

Karina and her classmates

For more information about the latest range of tablet PCs from RM, visit www.rm.com or call 08450 700300

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CLASSROOM TEC A PROVEN DIFFERENCE TO TEACHING AND LEARNING The results of MAESTRO, a three-year research project, have shown that with the right balance of software and whole-class teaching technologies, you can have a positive impact on teaching and learning.

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he MAESTRO project evaluated the impact that e-learning resources can have on teaching and learning, motivation and attainment. The project was undertaken with the Mathematics Centre at University College, Chichester in the first year, when they collected and evaluated qualitative data. This summary integrates findings from that initial evaluation, but focuses on the main findings of the evaluation conducted in the final year by Don Passey, from Lancaster University, the author of the research paper that accompanies INFORM. Maestro? The MathsAlive Evidence Study - Tracking Real Outcomes (MAESTRO) was set up to evaluate MathsAlive™ and its impact in classrooms across the country. The project was initiated in 2003, with the participation of 27 schools, and followed the progress of students over three years, from Year 7 to Year 9. The project’s key aims were to: 1. evaluate the effect of MathsAlive on attainment in mathematics in Key Stage 3. 2. evaluate the impact of MathsAlive on mathematical understanding. 3. determine the most effective teaching methods with ICT resources and how to support these. 4. understand the key drivers involved when positive change was recognised.

The evaluation of the Maestro project focused centrally on learning – looking at what drives learning, what aids retention and what impacts actual attainment. The paper, accompanying this addition of INFORM, summarises the findings that show how MathsAlive resources have impacted on teaching and learning. Here are just a few highlights: The impact on learners... The results from a student questionnaire are compelling in terms of impact. They suggest that in many cases, the use of the resources

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was having a positive impact on student enjoyment, motivation towards learning, and perceptions about mathematics: • 63% of students said that their enjoyment of mathematics had increased since the beginning of Year 7; • 81% of students believed that they could learn new things in mathematics more easily than at the start of Year 7; • 87% of students enjoyed using the interactive whiteboard in mathematics lessons; • 71% of students thought that it was easier to remember things when they used the interactive whiteboard; and • 69% believed that playing mathematical games helped them to remember things (although slightly fewer indicated that they enjoyed playing mathematical games). From interviews with students, five key elements were commonly felt by students to be underpinning this impact: 1. enhancing visual clarity 2. clarifying the process 3. developing conceptual understanding 4. encouraging participative learning 5. increasing pace and variety For more detail on each of these elements, please refer to the report. The impact on teachers… Many teachers reported that their use of MathsAlive had had an impact on their teaching. Some reported that the focus of the lesson had changed, moving away from them as the teacher, towards the resources they were using. Some teachers felt the ICT-based resources enabled a more collaborative environment to emerge, where they were working with students to construct problems and devise methods to solve them. These forms of focus were moving teachers away, as one teacher said, from ‘what to teach’ to thinking about ‘how to teach’. Some teachers reported that MathsAlive extended their

teaching styles to incorporate more high-level discussion, group work and linking different areas of the curriculum within real-life contexts. The impact on learning… The study found that MathsAlive can impact on a range of key cognitive, megacognitive, motivational and social aspects of learning. For more details on this, and for the framework against which the impact was measured please refer to the full report. Implications for school management… From interviews with senior managers in Maestro Project schools, the evaluation has identified successful approaches to change management when embedding ICT effectively into the teaching and learning of mathematics. There are approaches that need to be considered, to support teachers, through departments and through the whole school, when taking this form of change on board. The impact on attainment… From the number of schools reporting a positive impact in attainment when their provisional results were known, a few of which we feature comments from in this article, it seems unlikely that the number of schools having improved results would have happened coincidentally. The more detailed quantitative analysis of the SATs results being carried out by the Fischer Family Trust will allow this to be explored further. If you would like this extended report, please email your contact details to [email protected]

HNOLOGIES MathsAlive is RM's award-winning interactive software product, written specifically to meet the needs of the Framework for teaching mathematics at Key Stage 3 in England and the 5 - 14 curriculum in Scotland. MathsAlive offers a complete curriculum, which covers all core objectives in Years 7, 8 and 9, together with supporting material for Year 7 and extension work for Year 9 students. Suitable for whole-class teaching, group and individual work through the use of interactive technology, MathsAlive also comes with planning and assessment tools for teachers and is supported by a management system called the Kaleidos Virtual Teaching and Learning Environment (VTLE). For more information visit www.rm.com/mathsalive

“Last year we got the best maths SATs results yet, this can be attributed partly to the use of MathsAlive.” Ian Rowe, 2nd in Maths Dept, Royal Alexandra and Albert School, Surrey

“MathsAlive has impacted on subject attainment. The students have better and sounder knowledge of the concepts of mathematics. The animations are so powerful: bisecting an angle becomes a really visual experience.” Elizabeth Bates, Head of Maths, Deanery High School, Wigan

“We have just got our best SAT results yet, with 14% receiving level 8 – a school record! MathsAlive has made a huge impact on the teaching and learning with in the school over the past three years; it has been a great team building exercise, ensuring that everyone in the department is on the same track.” Pam Bright, Head of Maths, Cleeve School, Cheltenham

“For the three years since getting involved in the MAESTRO project, I taught the same group from year 7 through to year 9 and so can say that the resource I used almost exclusively was MathsAlive... Their interest and enthusiasm has been caught and many have expressed an interest in continuing maths beyond GCSE. I am really pleased with the effects of MathsAlive and hope to continue using it.” Alec Swift, Gillotts School, Henley-on-Thames

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BUILDING ON SUCCESS

KING ECGBERT SCHOOL, SHEFFIELD When building work on King Ecgbert School’s new site started in September 2003, Head Teacher, Bob Evans, had a clear vision to make the building into an exciting and interesting environment for students and staff, aiming for more than ‘just a new building’….

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David Hale, Network Manager, explains: “We use it in many ways. That is why we provide ICT lessons in all Key Stages with appropriate qualifications to match. We also make strong use of it in the classroom, using digital projectors and interactive whiteboard technology. Indeed, in maths we can deliver all of the Key Stage 3 maths curriculum using this new and exciting technology.” Completed in March 2006, the new superb building gave the school the opportunity to expand their ICT infrastructure. The new building has transformed the school in many ways, creating an adult environment for adults of the future. Aspirations have risen even further and the school is aiming to move from being a ‘very good’ to an ‘exceptional’ school. Diverse technology use Recognising the benefits of a technology-

enriched curriculum across all subject areas, the school invested substantially in this area to provide the right environment. All classrooms have electronic interactive whiteboards, modern and attractive room layouts, suspended ceilings and quality furniture built for purpose. All major departments have their own ICT facilities and a departmental resource area for staff. There are seven ICT Labs and an integrated art, design and technology suite. Students can use a wide variety of technology as a natural part of their studies for example, synthesizers in music, computer-controlled lathes in design technology and producing video in drama.

“We want everyone to really enjoy the benefits of this unique opportunity and therefore had plans that went well beyond simply bricks and mortar.”

The natural network Underpinning this extensive use of ICT has to be a reliable and secure network. King Ecgbert School has been working in partnership with RM over ten years to deliver ICT for their staff and students. They choose to move their Community Connect 3™ network base to deliver leading edge technology to the classroom into their new school. Community Connect 3 provides an ‘out of the box’ network that, after simple commissioning, can maintained by few staff and requires little technical expertise. “The management tools provided by RM as an add-on to the Microsoft ® Windows ®

environment take many arduous tasks out of our hands. For example, adding users to the network is a simple process, as policies are automatically applied. Additional tools such as ‘Local Support Tools’ allow us to shut down and reboot computers across the network at any time of the day. This facilitates applying programs and resources across the network, at times that don’t interfere with classroom teaching. Stable, manageable Community Connect 3 has provided us a stable, manageable large scale network that has been applied across all curriculum areas. The ease of use and reliability has enabled both students and staff to use all aspects of IT with confidence. They’ve lost the ‘IT fear factor’. Some tools, such as RM Tutor, are used by all staff to control computer and Internet access in the classrooms. This means that the teacher can manage classroom IT facilities easily, without having to contact IT support

staff. RM EasyLink™ and Exchange allow all staff and students access to their own schoolbased documents and emails from their home PCs – useful both for distance learning and lesson management. The stability of the Community Connect 3 network has been outstanding. However, any faults have been dealt with by an efficient, knowledgeable support team at RM. Staff are comfortable with the computers, because the software and hardware rarely breaks down and can usually be fixed in minutes rather than hours. Seamless software RM’s software packages are readily available and seamlessly integrate into the Community Connect 3 network. The task of development and deployment of software can be done by anybody with standard levels of IT expertise. RM also provides a service, where their engineers will develop a commercial piece of software into a package ready for use on your Community Connect 3 network.

“King Ecgbert School would not have the high level of IT literacy across all aspects of the school without our Community Connect 3 network. We would not have continued our support for RM products if the product was not ‘up to scratch’ in an educational environment.”

RMPioneerSchool Achieving excellence with RM

About the school King Ecgbert School, in Sheffield is a 11-18 comprehensive school with approximately 1,200 students on roll (250+ in the Sixth Form) and about 30% are from ethnic minorities. The school has been awarded Pioneer School status, as a result of their pioneering use of ICT. The RM Pioneer Programme aims to create

David Hale, Network Manager, King Ecgbert School

a network of schools throughout the UK that are ’Pioneering’ the use of key RM products including Community Connect 3, MathsAlive, Kaleidos VTLE and ICT in general. If you would like to find out more about this school’s exemplar use of ICT, please contact David Hale, Network Manager via email at: [email protected]

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NEWSDESK MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! Students from the UK and the Czech Republic found that ICT links led to them sharing a lot more than just a love of technology. Lindsay Shaw, Director of ICT at Purbeck School in Dorset explains…. 6th Form students from The Purbeck School, Dorset have recently returned from an action packed school exchange programme with Gymnazium, a school in Zdar nad Sazavou, Czech Republic. Entitled “Mission 2007 – The Santini Code”, students had to work with their Czech colleagues to solve a treasure quest based around the local works of the architect Jan Blazej Santini Aichl. And this was just for starters! Subsequent events included an ICT presentation about their adventures, art and ceramics workshops, swimming, sport, tours of Prague, plus….. two days skiing! This was the third exchange between the schools, which have now involved over 40 students and 12 teachers. Two more return visits are also planned this spring in Dorset. The ICT elements of these missions provided an excellent inroad into what quickly became a cultural and enlightening

exchange. The horizons of all students who took part were broadened – a vital aspect of the Every Child Matters agenda. Students and staff are now in regular contact with one another, and many ideas for future missions are discussed by e-mail. Sponsorship for these exchanges was kindly provided by RM, British Council and Purbeck School PTFA. Lindsay Shaw’s full story is featured online at www.rm.com/secondary/inform

BEHAVIOUR MANAGEMENT: THE GOSFORD HILL SCHOOL EXPERIENCE Behaviour of students is an underlying issue in every school and tackling problem behaviour has been at the forefront of the political agenda. Good behaviour is a basic and underlying requirement of any school; once under control, the school can focus on other strategic issues. In a recent ASCL member’s survey, issues related to behaviour, attendance and disruptive pupils were identified by more than half of those surveyed as being ‘quite’ or ‘very high’ significance to the

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senior leadership team. These sit alongside issues such as balancing the school budget, improving English and maths in line with government targets and the Every Child Matters agenda. Richard Belmont, Assistant Head Teacher at Gosford Hill in Kidlington, has shared his school’s new behaviour policy with INFORM and shows how this is positively impacting teaching and learning. For the full story visit www.rm.com/secondary/inform

Letting you learn: Sanctions for unacceptable behaviour in class.

Every member of the school community is responsible for their own behaviour

For more of the latest news visit www.rm.com/secondary/inform COACHING DRIVES IMPROVEMENT

ACROSS COCKSHUT HILL COLLEGE ‘On the job’, one to one coaching has had a dramatic effect for teachers and learners alike at Cockshut Hill Technology College, Birmingham. It has allowed many teachers to take on new roles successfully and to recognise that they are accountable for making improvement happen. It has also helped spread the use of ICT across the curriculum. Transformation In September 2004, the school was identified as having serious weaknesses; today, under new leadership, it has been turned round. The principal’s vision and

determination have changed the school’s culture, so that everyone is focused on raising achievement and aspirations. To create wider awareness and expertise, coaching was introduced with the aim of creating dialogue, sharing learning, changing ways of working and shifting internal cultures. The appointment of the Assistant Principal Teaching and Learning Coach to train staff as coaches and then deploy them around the school was crucial to the process. Read more about the how the coaching programme was implemented, the training, and what it’s like to be a coach by visiting www.rm.com/secondary/inform

NEW ICT ACCELERATOR CAMPS

EVENTS LISTING RM will be exhibiting and presenting at several events over the next few months. Come along to meet us and see the latest available technology for schools, including the new energy-saving ecoquiet PC and the Becta-accredited Kaleidos Learning Platform. 28 FEBRUARY Specialist Schools and Academies Trust North Wales iNet Conference, Oriel House Hotel, St Asaph, Denbighshire 28 FEBRUARY – 1 MARCH Specialist Schools and Academies Trust Annual Technology Conference, Heritage Motor Centre, Warwickshire 2 MARCH Association of School and College Leaders 14 – 19 Collaborations and Partnerships Conference, New Connaught Rooms, Covent Garden, London 2 MARCH Specialist Schools and Academies Trust South Wales iNet Conference, Jury’s Cardiff Hotel, Cardiff 9 – 11 MARCH Association of School and College Leaders Annual Conference, Novotel London West, Hammersmith

We’ve all seen the recent education reports and papers that talk about the need to find innovative new ways to accredit students, but have you thought how to achieve this? Four day accreditation We’ve recently launched a new educational service that provides a four-day, short course intervention to accredit your students’ prior learning in ICT. The course awards your students with a Level 2 qualification worth a Grade B at GCSE level and the school with 46 QCA points for each student that passes. Are your students proficient in ICT? Do they miss out on taking ICT GCSE? Accelerator Camps provide an ideal way to recognise and reward their learning.

“The Accelerator Camps are a great response to the challenges set out in the government’s 14-19 white paper. They provide students with the opportunity to accredit prior learning in ICT and quickly achieve a Level 2 qualification” - Sir Mike Tomlinson

21 – 22 MARCH Specialist Schools and Academies Trust Annual Science Conference, At-Bristol, Bristol

BUILDINGONSUCCESS RM Conferences 2007

Up to 25 places With places available for up to 25 students on each course, the ICT Accelerator Camps can help to raise attainment and motivate students of all ages and ability. We provide a full consultancy service to prepare the school and students, and we can tailor our service to meet your specific needs. To find out more visit www.rm.com/ICTCamps or email us at [email protected]

Don’t forget the RM strategic conferences in March! 20 March Manchester; 22 March London; 27 March Birmingham

Find out more at www.rm.com/secondary/inform/events

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© RM 2007. All trademarks and copyrights of third-party products herein are acknowledged.

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