My thanks to edublogs…. I am not gone forever, just browsing and writing around.

The reason for this post is that we recognised that we were missing the expertise to appoint objectively and on the day we were supported by Simon Walker, CTS Moodle ‘expert.’ His objective viewpoint aided the interview process and although it took an additional three contested discussions before we finally appointed, his input was crucial. This investment in the day was crucial as I truly believe that appointing the right staff is a key factor to future success.

In order;

1. VLE appointment

2. VLE install

3. IT security and back ups (this really is a priority)

4. Meet with the E-Learning Foundation and development of the Netbook project

5. Development of Sims within College.

Finances were discussed and agreed. In part, we can procure certain items until the new financial year arrives but that should not deter us from moving from one stepping stone to the next. I raised the issue of time, creating time to do the administration of the projects but this drew a blank. It will be revised in next years timetable, however the new post with take some of the strain.

Identification of the ‘cultural architects’ – this is the next and very important job. Which staff are going to bring about shift in educational practice? Organic growth or forced growth?

I meant to ask our head about recruitment. I think that VLE skills should be an important factor in our employment thinking. I hope that we can ask new staff to complete an ICT skills audit as part of their application process.

Time is an elusive resource. Is this due to poor time management, or is the ‘job scope’ too broad? I need to clearly identify what teaching hours are typical at this level. What management allowances are applied and whether this permits sufficient time to fulfil the job description. Currently I am leading Key Stage 4, the IT manager and strategic deployment of IT resources, the website, the VLE and whole school netbook scheme. I am also line managing the Key Stage 3 ICT leader and staff. At present, I consider this to be a little over-bearing.

How Do I Raise my Concerns?

I am finding it difficult to complete all college policies in time, such as performance reviews and departmental plans. The aim is to get the Departmental plans completed over Christmas. How do I communicate those concerns professionally?

Areas for professional focus:

Financial management and budgeting are constant endeavours for this current role. I believe that this may prove to be an area in which incorrect decisions could be costly. For future development, it may prudent to seek professional training here.

I need to continue to address and get myself involved in wholeschool strategies; netbooks / VLE and to challenge and implement strategies that will impact across College, yet also ensure that curriculum results improve year on year, starting with this years cohort. Also being involved, or at least involved in the discussions regarding the new building have been insightful.

I need to ensure that I spend time away from work to recharge.

What does it cost? FREE. SmallWorlds is a 3D virtual world (similar to Second Life and Lively) but it runs inside your web browser – no software to install. Targeted at anyone aged 13 years and above, Smallworld creators Outsmart believe that,

‘the combination of social interaction, self expression, media consumption and casual gaming features of SmallWorlds means there’s something in there for everyone, and the ease of use and general accessibility of the product means that even novice users can have a satisfying experience.’

Once you have designed your avatar, you are dropped into your virtual home with or without your virtual pet, you teleport into a multilingual international virtual world. Importantly for educators, Smallworlds is Moderated. Moderators and helpers are real easy to spot, they all have a saintly (some might say unearthly?) glow as they travel about in-world. They also wear a snappy looking blue cape with an “M” or “H” on the back just in case you miss the glow.

Whats more Smallworlds a mash-up or is mashable! ‘Mashable’ means you are able to mash together different web applications. A more professional definition can be found in the Horizon Report 2008

‘A mashup is a web application that combines data from more than one source via a single, unified tool.’

Same difference. For example you can play selected radio stations through your ghetto blaster, you can hang your pictures/artwork stored on photo sharing site flickr on your walls. You can take part in game tournaments such as chess and pool and much more. Smallworlds is a real interactive experience.

How it could be used for teaching?

At this moment in time, I have used Smallworldsto introduce students to social media. Once logged in, there is an enormous amount for them to do, people to meet and etiquette to learn. The importance of personal safety, security and 21st Century safety awareness are easily reinforced through Smallworlds. Features such as room design (Design Technology) and Chat (MFL), can be easily applied in Smallworlds as students complete ‘Missions’ to help them earn credits. These credits can then be used to make purchases, an instant reward, often used to ‘pimp’ their home space.

How it could be used for learning?

More recently, I have been corresponding with the Outsmart team, discussing ways to use the many features available in Smallworld to create learning experiences. In particularly we have been looking at how Outsmart can offer staff and headstart or ‘teacher package’ and ways to use the missions to develop learning opportunities for students. For example, heading to a Maths room full of equations, with supplying the correct answers earning you credits. Or by creating rooms or great characters in history, again with questions to answer but also rooms to display photo and artwork, then entered into international competitions….. More ideas please.

Topic or Tool: Busbi Camera, small, portable and easy to use video cameras.

What does it cost? The Busbi’s we purchased were from Insight, look for a price bracket of £30-35. Google shop for it! We have a purchasing agreement with Insight, so quick, easy, next day delivery and the VAT back of course.We purchase 30, in our mind, 2 sets of 15.

What do you get?

The camera comes with a mini cd (basic arcsoft video editing software, not that you will use it, as you have access to Windows Movie Maker), USB Cable, 2 X AA Batteries, 1GB (no brand) SD Card (enough for around 60 minutes of video) already in the slot and a lanyard. Remember, the latest Windows Movie Maker now supports mjpegs so no conversion necessary. In summary, the Busbi is very easy to use, with just three buttons, record, playback and delete, staff and student training should be minimal, shouldnt it?

Can there be a downside? Well the video quality is not great, much like that from a webcam – recorded at a tiny 320×240. Think mobile phone video, but more of that later. The sound quality is passable. Look don’t expect it to look and feel like a £100 gadget, because it didnt cost you that much now did it.

How it could be used for teaching?

This is a difficult question, but here are a few ideas. Use the Busbis to record your instructions for class on a planned absence? Create technical models in for Physical Education GCSE. This was difficult to answer.

How it could be used for learning?

Remember, Busbi is not a powerful camera. Think of activities you can get close enough to, to record. Also,  with battery life of about an hour, think 1 lesson at a time, although batteries and SD Cards can be replaced. On the plus side, no re-charging necessary.

I apologise for the clearly obvious ideas on where/how to use the Busbi, but I hope to offer one or two potential ideas you can try or mull over. Any more ideas, please send to me and I will add them to the list.

1. An Introduction to Video (there goes the obivous). Within 15 minutes of paired work we had footage on the desktops and imported into Windows Movie Maker. (This did not include getting the Busbis out of the packaging and the packaging in the bin. That took longer than 15 minutes!) The students were bouyed by the novelty factor, I am not sure how much longer that novelty factor will last.
2. Recording small skits in English or Drama, but remember you will need to get close. The Busbi is not the tool for full stage productions.
3. The Busbi is great for reflection, film gymnastic balances, science experiments, or how you solved a maths equation! Play back is instant and on the camera.
4. Get students to edit a science expereincment using Windows Movie Maker.
5. Mentor or tutor time. Preparing for interviews. There is little more powerful then seeing yourself at interview.
6. Film a particular technique is Design Technology or Food Technology and upload to instrutables.
7. Use as a remote tool to interview students on placements or students on vocational courses.
8. We are currently geting short film clips from students, we are going to use these to make a talking wall on our website.
9. In English, ask students to create the College news and post it on the website, rather than writing an article.

Step aside, here comes big brother, the Bubi Plus, the Flip Ultra and most recently Flip Mino (£120). Now suggesting the Mino is a little expensive for College use lets focus on the Ultra. Like the Busbi, ‘The Flip Ultra,’ which costs £99 now £79, is an astonishingly simple. Like the Busbi, you take it out of the box (with batteries) switch it on, press the red button and start shooting. Unlike the Busbi, the 2GB also gives you 60 minutes recording but at twice the resolution, a 2x digital zoom and when you want to get at the footage, you flick a switch and a USB arm flips out (hence the name) allowing you to upload everything to a computer in a couple of clicks. Now I wonder if that flip-arm is education proof? Anyone?

On a positive note, our new member of staff has made a very positive start. The lesson are prepared for each class ahead of schedule and a senior member of staff has prepared hard resources where appropriate. He has made an impact on the Department immediately, his professional IT knowledge and ICT skills are very strong and his enthusiam for ICT infectous, his open classroom at lunchtimes means rearely is there not an ICT facility open. Finally, having three staff members occupying the three IT rooms has improved security and overall behaviour within the rooms. What will it be like when / if we get a fourth?

Unit 4 has been prepared and scripted for all staff (revised as it is taught for the first time), Unit 1 was in the process of being revised, more of that in the ‘things we dont know, we dont know.’

In terms of the IT Management; a new network, AUPs, classroom management software, online registration, implementing wireless through out the site, mobile simms, preparing the new IT office and projectors in all classrooms. I knew that these tasks would drain time. It was going to be a demanding terms, did I mention my wife gave birth to our fisrt Son Harry at the end of August??? At least we knew to expect him!

So to the focus of what all young managers learn, I presume the hard way. It is not what we know and plan to manage that causes the most frustration, but the ‘things we don’t know, we don’t know.’

The new term has been really challenging, despite knowing it was going to be demanding, alloting overflow time, I will try and summarise the reasons for this;

1. network issues, we expected some issues, but we got more that we had expected. User areas dropping out led to teaching being stalled.
2. not having the expect AUP and classroom management software meant it was more difficult to manage students classroom behaviour. With just three days of ABTUTOR being installed, we are already seeing improved productivity.
3. College website lost and community website lost in the network upgrade
4. wireless not fully installed, impacting on registration. This was always possible outcome, but poor cabling / patch manangement, meant a delay.
5. network and registration took priority, this meant other smaller jobs got delayed.
6. no IT help desk / ICT room booking – that is purely my fault. I did not know that this was essential. Let me emphase how important it is. Without order to the IT Network management, jobs we not completed with forethought or planning. In term this meant more ‘time’ spent managing following up what was, or wasnt completed on time.
7. Science were expecting a new IT suite. This was only confirmed in the thrid week of term. Another 2 days work unaccounted for.
8. Unit 1 was not completed as proscribed. I did not expect to have to push a second SOW through aswell as Unit 4, (I was a little disappointed). Again the infrastructure behind the teaching should a serious concern for 2008/9.

I am sure that there were other issues, some small and others more significant, but the workload has meant that I have found it almost impossible to write to this blog regularly. I am conscious that I need time to reflect and  I am committed to this blog. Unfortunately, my professional reflection time has been almost completely eroded by a task list that keeps adding to itself.

Despite the fact I gave our teacher and network teams ‘overflow time’ I doubt if I will ever experience another year in Hamble College ICT like it? Everything was push push push it through. Yes we can, we will try, we hope to be. That is not to say I will not experience something similar in another role or College. So crucially, what woudl I do differently? Well I am not sure I could have done much differently. Only to learn from the experience, I dont think within the current situation we could have taken on less?

The network faults, the lack of wireless (cabling), the need for online registration, appointments (or lack of a network manager) were constants and were outside my control. I do believe that not having a help desk and the ability to record and prioritise ‘jobs,’ negatively impacts on IT management and staff time. Also I am sure it has negatively effected the wider College staffs overall impression of the IT management with College. With two weeks to half term, we still have jobs being actioned, we are looking to half term as our first opportunity to move the IT office and improve communication, to finalise the requried tasks and start to impact on the teaching practices within the College.

We currently have Year 10 students moving into Year 11 who have partially completed 2 Units in the OCR National (Level 2) course. Groups have made variable progress as teaching and delivery models have not been consistent. We are introducing a new member to the ICT staff team in Sept – now 3 in total. The fourth teacher is our Deputy Head.

Do we

a) Stream the half year groups into 4 classes of 28, 26, 24, 22 students in each class.

The benefits being that the able students will be able to complete Unit 1 in Year 11 (and are most likely students who have already completed Unit 7 and Unit 2). Any shortfalls in Units 2 and 7 can be met easily and therefore a number of students will be able to secure 2 GCSEs. The drawbacks are two fold, students now have to develop new relationships with new staff and second, we would be creating a low band group that is already disengaged and likely to pose a real challenge for any teacher?

b) Maintain the teaching groups.

This would clearly promote continuity, however the low band students are still unlikely to be unsuccessful and the able students are unlikely to complete 2 GCSEs. We may be able to put additional learning support into the low band set, but would this be enough?

Can this group (predominantly boys) be motivated to achieve? Would the Head permit us a caveat, a reward hook for achievement? Would these students buy into it? Any ideas would be most gratefully received.

So to planning ahead for next year,

KS4 Assignments for Unit 1, 7 and 4 need to be re-written/written and Internally Verified (INSET).
SOW for each Unit need to be structured, however each SOW will need flexibility as differentiated groups will progress at difference rates.

Internal moderation dates for Unit work needs to be identified and structured.

Importantly the availability of the NWLG OCR tutorials have given all students tasks they can be focused on in class INDEPENDENTLY.

ICT Noticeboards in each class need to attended to and key information posted.

KS3 My colleague is writing and the SOW – resources will need to be written to match and support these schemes.

Training needs to be introduced into the meeting to enable staff who deliver at KS3 to be confident. This means that we may need to organise team meetings on a fortnightly basis focusing on these two distinct sets of teaching staff. So far it looks something like this…

ICTAC

This is the area I have given least attention to so far, however significant changes in the Nework should have a big impact on the staff, the single domain and online registration are starters. Development of the college information system via the CMS Website, potential wireless coverage, UMPC integration and deployment and Learning Platform to follow.

Investment of time and well organised and structure training needs to be made available in to staff. This may be whole college, for groups. Preceeding this a staff audit needs to be undertaken and ICT training opportunities investigated.

ICT strategy group to be formed, ICT Network Manager, Administration Office Supervisor, SLT and Teaching staff?

We still need to complete the SRF and this will be raised again in September when the management structure has been outlined.

ICT Network

At present the college is looking at a hybrid system, of our technician and an experienced, support Network Manager. The focus is getting back to the Network Manager focusing his efforts on servicing the teaching and learning rather than pure Network Development. More to come here.

If there are any Network managers out there that have opinions or advice on how to best move this issue forward I would love to hear from you. Currently I am considering sharing an office space with the IT Manager, create a hatch area for students to ask for support and using the closed area as a IT workshop, meanwhile stressing the online support to staff.