School Web Sites by Students

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Subj: Re: School Web Sites by Students

Ricki Peto said

"If student's want to create a page on "Zen and the Art of YoYo Maintenance" then it should be done in conjunction with an English class assignment or placed on their own private web site. Many teachers have not kept up with the Internet and find it easier to turn it over to students. A couple things happen here. Inappropriate material/poor material often is placed on a school district's server and/or one student takes over and other students who may have no knowledge but would love to be involved and learn have little say, are intimidated, and decide not to particpate..."

I just want to say how much I agree. It's essential that information and communications technologies are seen as tools to support and enhance existing teaching practice, rather than as a separate subject taught in a separate class by "other" people. Such an attitude is very common in Europe where ICT is put in a mental box with "I.T.". This means that most teachers don't feel that it is relevant to them, only to specialists, and as a result only a few teachers and a few pupils develop expertise.

Some time ago we initiated a learning network in the south part of Bristol, hence our name. This became a major action research project called BEON (Bristol Education Online Network) backed by International Computers Ltd and British Telecom. They linked 11 schools (1 secondary, 9 primary and 1 special school [for kids with behavioural and educational problems]). All had ISDN connectivity, video-conference kit, access to an educational online service (BT's Campusworld), a suite of online learning resources ("Open Integrated Integrated Learning Systems") and support from the Education Faculty at Exeter University. The whole initiative was provided with a central technical and education helpdesk. Computers went into the schools at a ratio of about 1 per 10 pupils. Training was provided.

A year later 95% of teachers were using ICT as part of their normal class activities (teachers of games found that they were losing pupils from their options classes, to subjects like physics. So they had to find ways of using the technologies); Exeter provide continuous professional development by v-c, allowing the teachers as sense of immediacy in addressing their CPD needs; pupils carry out, for example, art classes with a commercial artist at a distance, by v-c link; non-attendance rates in one primary school fell from 20% to 2%; in the special school they found that pupils were waiting for the gates to be opened in the morning and staying in class through their breaks (these were kids who wouldn't normally stay in school at all). All this came about because the project enabled the majority of teachers to use ICT as part of normal class activities.

We've started running CyberSkills awareness raising workshops for teachers, here in Bristol. We hang these around a simple model that we've developed to try to help teachers understand the ways in which Net technologies can underpin and enhance existing practice. This is not a complex academic model. If anyone wants to have a look it's at http://www.sbln.org.uk/education (you'll be asked to contact us for a password) and I'd be very_grateful for feedback.
Dick

__________________________________________________ Dick Willis South Bristol Learning Network
Project Coordinator http://www.sbln.org.uk
Tel: +44 117 9279995 x 2210 Mobile: +44 976 288312
email: dick.willis@sbln.org.uk
enquiries@sbln.org.uk