http://elgg.learnblog.net/ict/weblog/1327.html

Many of you have already been in touch with either one of us and we have been delighted to hear about some of the success stories in ICT.  Key stage 3 results for the county have risen both for %L5+ and %L6+.  It is likely that Level 6 will become a stronger focus of our work and this means we are building on firm foundations.  We have no data for KS4 ICT across our county, but a number of you have already told us about some of the fantastic achievements of last year's Y11.  This is even more pleasing, as some of the improvements were made with courses such as GCSE short course or AIDA, where we had experienced some issues in the past.  Please do email us, if you are happy to share the KS4 results of your school,  with us.

As most of you will know, Andy Filder left in August and is already having a lot of fun teaching in Thailand.  Many of you might also have noticed the adverts for his replacement and an ICT adviser, which were printed in the TES.  They can also be found on http://www.norfolkccjobs.com/.

In the meantime, Chris Jones, and a very experienced independent consultant will work with us to provide ICT subject support.  Chris has already been working with some of the Norwich Schools and is looking forward to continue the work in Norfolk.

You might already have heard from either Richard, Seb or Chris if you have allocated support time for ICT and if not, we'll be in touch shortly.  All of us will meet for the Subject leader meetings on November 15th, March 14th and June 26th.  It is likely, that training for the new secondary curriculum forms part of these network meetings.  Keystage 3 networks will take place on October 17th,  February 6th and  June 11th.  These are informal network meetings designed to develop and improve the KS3 ICT curriculum.

As promised, the new online networking tools are up and running and you should be able to log on using your RM easymail username and password to log into the system.  The usernames used for the yahoo network will also been added, with passwords emailed directly to you.  We will stop using the Yahoo community after the next subject leader meeting.  For each community, there is a forum called 'community blog'.

You will then need to join the different groups:

Subject leader/KS4 Network - http://elgg.learnblog.net/ictsl/
KS3 ICT Network - http://elgg.learnblog.net/ks3ict/
OCR Nationals Norfolk Community - http://elgg.learnblog.net/ocrict


We are really looking forward to working with you this year, especially as there are a number of exciting developments underway.  A number of Norfolk Schools are piloting Functional Skills in ICT.  In many schools the we will see the first cohort completing new qualifications such as DIDA or OCR Nationals in ICT.  There are also significant developments in relation to e-learning and the secondary learning platform for Norfolk (see separate email).  Please email Seb (sebastian.gasse@norfolk.gov.uk) if you are interested in piloting online delivery/support/assessment for one of the ICT courses you are teaching.

Your  ICT Advisory Team

http://elgg.learnblog.net/ict/weblog/1327.html

Many of you have already been in touch with either one of us and we have been delighted to hear about some of the success stories in ICT.  Key stage 3 results for the county have risen both for %L5+ and %L6+.  It is likely that Level 6 will become a stronger focus of our work and this means we are building on firm foundations.  We have no data for KS4 ICT across our county, but a number of you have already told us about some of the fantastic achievements of last year's Y11.  This is even more pleasing, as some of the improvements were made with courses such as GCSE short course or AIDA, where we had experienced some issues in the past.  Please do email us, if you are happy to share the KS4 results of your school,  with us.

As most of you will know, Andy Filder left in August and is already having a lot of fun teaching in Thailand.  Many of you might also have noticed the adverts for his replacement and an ICT adviser, which were printed in the TES.  They can also be found on http://www.norfolkccjobs.com/.

In the meantime, Chris Jones, and a very experienced independent consultant will work with us to provide ICT subject support.  Chris has already been working with some of the Norwich Schools and is looking forward to continue the work in Norfolk.

You might already have heard from either Richard, Seb or Chris if you have allocated support time for ICT and if not, we'll be in touch shortly.  All of us will meet for the Subject leader meetings on November 15th, March 14th and June 26th.  It is likely, that training for the new secondary curriculum forms part of these network meetings.  Keystage 3 networks will take place on October 17th,  February 6th and  June 11th.  These are informal network meetings designed to develop and improve the KS3 ICT curriculum.

As promised, the new online networking tools are up and running and you should be able to log on using your RM easymail username and password to log into the system.  The usernames used for the yahoo network will also been added, with passwords emailed directly to you.  We will stop using the Yahoo community after the next subject leader meeting.  For each community, there is a forum called 'community blog'.

You will then need to join the different groups:

Subject leader/KS4 Network - http://elgg.learnblog.net/ictsl/
KS3 ICT Network - http://elgg.learnblog.net/ks3ict/
OCR Nationals Norfolk Community - http://elgg.learnblog.net/ocrict


We are really looking forward to working with you this year, especially as there are a number of exciting developments underway.  A number of Norfolk Schools are piloting Functional Skills in ICT.  In many schools the we will see the first cohort completing new qualifications such as DIDA or OCR Nationals in ICT.  There are also significant developments in relation to e-learning and the secondary learning platform for Norfolk (see separate email).  Please email Seb (sebastian.gasse@norfolk.gov.uk) if you are interested in piloting online delivery/support/assessment for one of the ICT courses you are teaching.

Your  ICT Advisory Team

http://elgg.norfolk.e2bn.org/ict/weblog/1327.html

Many of you have already been in touch with either one of us and we have been delighted to hear about some of the success stories in ICT.  Key stage 3 results for the county have risen both for %L5+ and %L6+.  It is likely that Level 6 will become a stronger focus of our work and this means we are building on firm foundations.  We have no data for KS4 ICT across our county, but a number of you have already told us about some of the fantastic achievements of last year's Y11.  This is even more pleasing, as some of the improvements were made with courses such as GCSE short course or AIDA, where we had experienced some issues in the past.  Please do email us, if you are happy to share the KS4 results of your school,  with us.

As most of you will know, Andy Filder left in August and is already having a lot of fun teaching in Thailand.  Many of you might also have noticed the adverts for his replacement and an ICT adviser, which were printed in the TES.  They can also be found on http://www.norfolkccjobs.com/.

In the meantime, Chris Jones, and a very experienced independent consultant will work with us to provide ICT subject support.  Chris has already been working with some of the Norwich Schools and is looking forward to continue the work in Norfolk.

You might already have heard from either Richard, Seb or Chris if you have allocated support time for ICT and if not, we'll be in touch shortly.  All of us will meet for the Subject leader meetings on November 15th, March 14th and June 26th.  It is likely, that training for the new secondary curriculum forms part of these network meetings.  Keystage 3 networks will take place on October 17th,  February 6th and  June 11th.  These are informal network meetings designed to develop and improve the KS3 ICT curriculum.

As promised, the new online networking tools are up and running and you should be able to log on using your RM easymail username and password to log into the system.  The usernames used for the yahoo network will also been added, with passwords emailed directly to you.  We will stop using the Yahoo community after the next subject leader meeting.  For each community, there is a forum called 'community blog'.

You will then need to join the different groups:

Subject leader/KS4 Network - http://elgg.learnblog.net/ictsl/
KS3 ICT Network - http://elgg.learnblog.net/ks3ict/
OCR Nationals Norfolk Community - http://elgg.learnblog.net/ocrict


We are really looking forward to working with you this year, especially as there are a number of exciting developments underway.  A number of Norfolk Schools are piloting Functional Skills in ICT.  In many schools the we will see the first cohort completing new qualifications such as DIDA or OCR Nationals in ICT.  There are also significant developments in relation to e-learning and the secondary learning platform for Norfolk (see separate email).  Please email Seb (sebastian.gasse@norfolk.gov.uk) if you are interested in piloting online delivery/support/assessment for one of the ICT courses you are teaching.

Your  ICT Advisory Team

Reading the recent government announcement to review e-safety clearly points to the importance of this issue in relation to ICT in schools.  The Norfolk e-Learning Conference (John Innes Centre, 30th and 31st October) has a central theme of e-safety throughout both days.  National keynote speakers as well as local practitioners will be sharing their views and experiences through speeches and workshops.

"This Review is not about stopping children having fun or preventing them from taking full advantage of the educational, social and entertainment benefits that the internet and video games technologies offer. But it is about making sure they can do so safely, as far as possible, without being exposed to harmful or inappropriate material." (Ed Balls)

The Chair of the Review, Dr Tanya Byron, said "it is essential that parents and anyone involved in the care and development of young people are familiar with the material they will access and view and of the potential and actual risks therein."

See DCSF press release www.dcsf.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN.cgi?pn_id=2007_0158
Related Becta press release http://news.becta.org.uk/display.cfm?resID=33982&page=1658&catID=1633
BBC report http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6982305.stm

We hope the the conference will help to equip educational leaders and practitioners to address the issue of e-safety, not just through technical filtering solutions, but more importantly through informed and positive dialogue and guidance.

 

I just stumbled across this article by Ewan McIntosh on MET Schools in America and it got me thinking.  We have a number of small schools in Norfolk, both in the primary and secondary phases.  The school model described in the article seems to provide support to the idea of Diplomas, the importance we place on Assessment for Learning and goes much further on the path towards a personalised learning experience.  I think that these kinds of models need to inform our thinking on small schools and the difference they make to young people's lives, such as Lyall's:

 

Although technology clearly features highly, it complements and extends but doesn't replace the important small group face to face interaction.