Notes to the mind map

1. Aims of the Strategy
   1. The first aim of the strategy is to transform Teaching and Learning, the main ways the plan intends to do this are:
      • to provide online help for teaching professionals,
      • to make the lessons more exciting for the learner,
      • and to share ideas and good practice.
   2. The outcomes will also engage "hard to reach" learners by:
      • providing special needs support,
      • making the the lessons more engaging for the learner,
      • and there will be a greater choice of how and where learners study.
   3. The strategy will build an open accessible system:
      • there will be more information and services available online,
      • more organisations will share information, providing a greater level of support and personalisation for all citizens.
   4. The strategy will achieve greater efficiency and effectiveness, achieved by:
      • providing access to online research,
      • facilitating access to lesson plans and idea sharing for teachers,
      • easier and more efficient administration,
      • and the overall improvement to systems and procurement processes.
2. Outline of the priorities of the strategy
   1. "An integrated on-line information service for all citizens" (DfES 2005)
      • The government currently have learndirect and DfES websites in place, meeting one of the key targets of priority 1.
      • "all public sector organisations have websites" (DfES 2005)
      • The services need to be easy for everyone to access and find what they need
      • The workforce will be better trained and have access to high quality resources
      • DirectGov is being built, it will be the integrated on-line portal that the first priority calls for
      • The information that is available will only need to be provided once
      • All of the governmental departments can re-use the information
   2. "Integrated on-line personal support for children and learners" (DfES 2005)
      • the DfES will develop a "common approach to personal records across education and children's services, including public and private organisations and industry." (DfES 2005) This will enable the transfer of educational records between institutions and bring about the possibility of developing e-portfolios for all students.
      • Schools to provide each learner with personal on-line work space
      • Schools need to develop e-portfolios for their students
      • These portfolios can be passed between institutions, following the learner
      • The key to achieving this is for each learner to have a unique personal identifier, this can then allow institutions to quickly and easily transfer students e-portfolios.
   3. "A collaborative approach to personalised learning activities" (DfES 2005)
      • To achieve this priority there is a need to address the problems of e-learning; quantity, quality and embedding ICT in the curriculum
      • Need an open approach to resources and the way in which we can access them
      • To facilitate the development of these high quality resources we need to foster collaboration between business, industry and schools
      • The new technologies that are becoming available can help to streamline the assessment process
      • Combining ICT and high quality digital resources will help us to reach students on the outside of learning
      • Develop flexible ICT designing packages for teachers
      • Ensure e-learning resources are effective, user friendly and accessible
      • Collaboration with games industry
      • All of the above done in mind of curriculum development and the core of teaching and learning
   4. "A good quality ICT training and support package for practitioners" (DfES 2005)
      • Due to the ever changing nature of ICT, training for new and existing practitioners is imperative
      • By supporting subject based cross-institution collaboration good practice and resources will be shared and developed
      • Good practice should be recognised through accreditation
      • Ofsted to evaluate the quality of ICT practice
   5. "A leadership and development package for organisational capability in ICT" (DfES 2005)
      • Clear Strategic leadership in ICT is essential for front-line staff
      • Training and CPD for leadership and managers will need to be provided
      • The digital divide will be an issue that leadership will have to address within their institution
      • Encourage partnerships in ICT between different institutions
      • Development program for leaders will be developed by DfES
      • A common digital infrastructure needs to be put in place within the institution, with a view to the interoperability of this infrastructure with other institutions.
      • All installations and software must be maintainable and communicate with one another
      • ICT should be used intuitively rather than taking up extra time
      • Leadership must be free to choose what systems they want to buy
      • All systems must be Interoperable
   6. "A common digital infrastructure to support transformation and reform" (DfES 2005)
      • Institutions will be guided to adopt the DfES recommendations, if they choose not to follow these recommendations, they will be asked to show that the systems they have put in place are equal or greater than the recommended systems.
      • Need to be able to employ new technologies as they happen, not be bound by any proprietary systems
      • 2007 - Integrated network for education sector developed
      • 2007 - Best Value Scheme to all institutions
      • 2006 - Common Systems framework developed
      • 2006 - Contribute and develop a common open standards for ICT and e-learning
3. What are the differences between good and weak ICT users?
   • "The ability to spot innovation and embed it effectively" (DfES 2005)
   • "The quality of leadership and management" (DfES 2005)
   • "The degree of commitment to improving workforce skills" (DfES 2005)
   • "Effectiveness in improving attainment and outcomes or well-being" (DfES 2005)
   • "Success in ensuring equal access to technology for all children, young people, families and learners" (DfES 2005)
4. Why do we need e-learning?
   • ICT can help to re-engage the unmotivated learner
   • Innovative use of ICT can increase class participation
   • Clever use of ICT can save time in planning by the practitioners
   • High quality digital resources will decrease the boredom of learners
   • Parents and learners expect easy access to information and resources
   • Out of hours learning is becoming expected by learners
   • When all of the above factors are in place the school will become a community hub
5. Why do we not need e-learning?
   • It's the teacher not the ICT that makes a good lesson!
   • What is the point of using an electronic page turner?
   • A computer crash ruins a lesson
   • There is still not a good enough quantity or quality of resources
   • The degree of innovation in resources is still not good enough
   • ICT and e-learning are not embedded in the curriculum
   • The digital divide between those with computers and those without could leave many students at a disadvantage
6. What it means for learners?
   • "More ways to learn" (DfES 2005)
   • "More subjects to choose from" (DfES 2005)
   • "More flexible study" (DfES 2005)
   • "Easier ways to try things out" (DfES 2005)
   • "A personal on-line learning space" (DfES 2005)
   • "Help to move on" (DfES 2005)
7. What this means for Schools
   • "We want every child to achieve their full potential by ensuring that every school in England makes full use of ICT for learning and teaching, to improve standards across the board." (DfES 2005)
   • Practically every school is already connected to the Internet
   • More and more schools have interactive whiteboards and laptops for either staff or students to use
     • Laptops provided for practitioners through various schemes
     • Laptops loaned or rented to students
     • Laptops purchased through parent - school partnership
   • Practitioners are using ICT more frequently in lessons, and as the amount of resources that are available to them increase, so will the amount of ICT being used in the classroom
   • Becta and their partners are working together to develop a school ICT accreditation. A school will be able to apply for this accreditation to see what stage they are at in their development in the use of ICT. The certificate will also give the schools' leadership a point by point guide as to how they can improve
   • The increased amount of information and interaction that parents can have with their children's school will bring about much stronger parent / school links. Some of the services that can be provided for the parents are:
     • Secure internet access to pupil information and results
     • Email communication between school and parent - No more lost letters!
     • Home access to learning activities and subject resources
   • Schools must meet the 6 priority targets set out earlier in this document
8. Implementation and evaluation
   • Assess whether the aims of the project have been reached
   • The strategy should give all children the same chance to achieve
   • Leadership are to evaluate their school, find the level they are at, and plan the improvements that are necessary to bring their school up to standard with the rest of England and in-line with the strategy
9. How schools can meet the 6 priorities
   • Provide access to on-line school documentation and forms for parents to access and download
   • Provide a virtual learning environment (VLE) where students can store their own e-portfolio and coursework
   • Introduce e-assessment to support learners progression
   • Introduce exciting interactive resources that are subject related and open to all departments of the school to access
   • Train all new teachers in the use of e-learning and how to effectively embed ICT in their lessons
   • Train current staff and provide CPD to ensure that all staff, not just the newly trained, are being given the support they need to include the new technologies into their lessons
   • Apply for the government ICT Mark status from Becta in 2006, and follow any advice that the leadership of the school are given on applying for the ICT mark
   • Use ICT as part of the school improvement plan, and ensure that ICT is core to all areas of the curriculum
   • Make sure that the schools strategies are in line with the e-learning strategy

References

• DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION AND SKILLS (2005) Harnessing Technology: Transforming Learning and Children's Services. www.dfes.gov.uk/publications/e-strategy/ : HMSO

To see the appendix "The process of writing this essay" follow this link.