1. ICTiS 2008 Learning Platforms Q & A Round Table Discussion Case Studies

2. DCSF Targets By September 2008 all secondary schools will be expected to provide information to parents covering achievement, progress, attendance, behaviour and special needs, on a timely and frequent basis – this should be at least once per term. By September 2010 all secondary schools will need to offer parents real-time access to this information (including the opportunity for secure online access) wherever they are and whenever they want. Primary schools must also meet the basic requirement by September 2010 and the real time requirement by 2012. And there are many more drivers from Government…..! Jim Knight - 09 January 2008 BETT

3. Meanwhile, in the real world… What will you do with your learning platform? There has to be a need if it is to succeed. Use existing skills in the school – anyone Under 28 years old can be seen as a digital native, (the rest of us are digital immigrants). E-confident staff (and pupils) can help drive the implementation of e-learning. It should not be left to the ICT staff. A senior leader is essential too, and an E Learning group or working party is recommended.

4. With Primary pupils School council online – candidates can provide video profiles, run discussion boards, online voting. Pupils can raise issues anytime, pupil surveys run by the council Peer-to-peer support – children helping each other with IT skills and other school work. Some produce amazing resources for their classmates Class projects can be shown to parents when the pupil is at home. “Buddies” in transition projects (cross school communication will be much with Merlin)

5. With older students Anytime, anywhere access to class resources, revision materials, support forums with teachers and classmates (OK, less enticing than MySpace, but worth a try!) Encourage subject wikis and class or individual blogs so students can share resources they find and progress their own learning Subject departments - banks of training videos, accessible with handheld devices at sports venues (PE) - field trips, recorded in situ, uploaded immediately to the virtual classroom, interaction with students back at school (Geography) - video of experiments, with teacher explanation. Backed up by quizzes to reinforce the learning (Science)

6. For Staff Virtual Staffroom – access from anywhere to school information; share files/planning; run surveys amongst staff: have forums or discussion boards; keep part-time and job-share staff up to date, or those returning after absence. Easy access to meeting minutes and agendas In Secondary schools, extend this idea to departments Virtual Governor meetings – one-stop shop for minutes, agendas, supporting documents, discuss issues on a forum before a meeting. Saves time and paper!

7. A simple sign-on service Personal Online Learning Space Virtual desktop Regional online collaborative tools – blogs, wikis, forums, shared spaces etc. Interoperability and Integration services – so you can ‘plug in’ your choice of tools E-safety Compatibility with Mobile Technologies (AKS) What will SWGfL Merlin do?

8. Planning for implementation (discussion groups) Some areas for consideration: How might teachers and teaching / learning adapt? Who should learn with this type of tool? Who will be creating the learning resources How will schools manage the change? How can parents benefit?

9. Questions?