Innovative School Design

Inside-out solution

When approached to extend a dated 1960s school building, Jonathan Clark Architects found a solution utilising a practice never attempted before in the UK.

Brief and design approach

The brief called for a two-storey extension and partial conversion of an existing 1960s constructed building at Longford Community School (now Rivers Academy). The new build needed to be able to accommodate a library (with an auditorium for 50 people) on its first floor, along with two classrooms and a fitness centre on the ground floor.

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Creative Teaching & Learning

Breakthrough to Learning Fast-track Course

8 May 2014

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Creative Teaching & Learning

Breakthrough to Learning Book 3: Writing for Learning

23 Feb 2012

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      string(5617) "social learning tools like forumsand chatrooms. These can help with mentoring programs and peer-led learning, encouraging the more senior teachers to share theirexperiences with junior staff. The ability to easily share informationonline creates a more specific, cultivated space to discuss methods orideas that pertain to your school in particular, rather than relying onthe unwieldy online hunt for information. Totara also has tools to helpbook and arrange face-to-face training, which can be great for drop-in training sessions and mentoring.One of the most useful features of Totara for the managementteam is the reporting tools on offer. There is a flexible report builderbuilt into the LMS that allows reports to be generated on a numberof different data sources in the system. These are easy to set up,even if you don’t have a technical background. As well as creatingreports, a view of the report (and the ability to filter the data) can bedelegated to any member of staff, making it easy to share informationwith middle managers. These can also help with the drive towardscompliance within an organisation, the biggest help being the abilityto subscribe to a report and get it emailed to you on a weekly basis.Totara is also ideal for deploying different learning techniques,for example you can use the “flipped classroom” approach with yourINSET days. The teachers can do the “absorption” of learning in thenormal work week, and then use the INSET day to discuss and digestthe information. The system also suits mobile learning, making sure thatstaff have access from anywhere and have no barriers to their training.ProsExtensive feature set, relatively low cost.ConsThe key is to finding the right business partner associated with Totara.Moodle VLE (moodle.org/)Moodle is a free, online Learning Management systemenabling educators to create their own private websitefilled with dynamic courses that extend learning,anytime, anywhere.Moodle is an open-source VLE, which has been developed byteachers and enables the best aspects of their classroom practice tobe transferred into a home teaching and learning environment.Moodle has many features and is also highly configurable andextensible, allowing it to be customised to meet the individual needsof schools. As Moodle is open source, there are no licence feesto pay, but this also means there is no external support, which hasthe downside of needing significant setup time and some technicalexpertise to configure and personalise plugins etc. In addition, youwill need to include hosting, either internally on a server or externallyon the Web.Moodle now includes the ePortfolio App, which gives pupils asafe online space to save and display their work in. It can be usedto create a digital story of learning – with students uploading text,images, documents and video of their achievements. Portfolios can beshared both inside and outside your school, engaging parents andthe local community. The app encourages children to be expressiveand provides a map of learning, allowing children to see theirprogress from month to month and year to year. Importantly, it allowsteachers to comment on any page and give students feedback onwhat they’ve done well.http://www.teachingtimes.comhttps://moodle.org/‹‹ PREVIOUS PAGE n  NEXT PAGE ››This month’sfeaturese-learning UPDATE n www.teachingtimes.comProsFree and open source. Modular, plugin-based design enablesadministrators to add or create features as needed. Supports myriadactivities, including peer assessment workshops, real-time messaging,and wiki forums. Generous progress tracking and reporting options.Unparalleled language support.ConsSetup is by no means turnkey. UI lacks the visual finesse of paidcompetitors. As we all know, nothing is ever really free, so if you goopen source make sure you have the resources to invest to make itrobust. Moodle is great in secondary schools, however it doesn’tgeneral gel well with Primary schools.Frog (www.frogeducation.com/)Frog is a one-stop-shop solution which can be rolled out ain one go. Frog’s easy-to-use system allows students andteachers to search for almost anything on the internet(videos, images, educational resources) and build itinto a sleek-looking site, without needing any technicalexpertise. The Frog VLE is also a gateway to educationalresources and apps from around the web, all accessiblewithin a safe, filtered environment. All students have aunique User ID and password allowing them to accesslearning and information outside of lesson time. Frogcontains homework tasks, resources used in lessons,timetable and achievement information.The Frog Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) is a web-based learningsystem that replicates real-world learning by integrating virtualequivalents of conventional concepts of education. For example,teachers can assign lessons, tests, and marks virtually, while studentscan submit homework and view their marks through the VLE. Parentscan view school news and important documents while schooladministrators can organise their school calendars and disseminateschool notices via the Internet.Teachers can assign and keep track of students’ work andmarks, create teaching resources, and connect with other educators.Students can explore videos, games, and posts, personalisetheir home page, upload and save files on the cloud, completeassignments anytime, anywhere, and share ideas with classmatesand teachers. Meanwhile, parents can keep track of school events,PTA reports and school notices with the calendar and school noticeboard, find contact"
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Digital Learning

VLE comparison update

1 Feb 2016

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      string(3345) "benefit from trying out lesson plans or refreshing their teaching style using a virtual classroom. A virtual class gives every teacher a chance to experiment and play with their craft, which is beneficial to continued professional development. Clinical psychologist Dr Daniel Freeman says there’s ‘something beautiful’ about how VR works because ‘people know it’s not real so they try things they’ve not done before or for a long time, but mind and body does behave as if it’s in the real world. And what they are doing is learning a new memory.’ In this way, practice with a virtual class will translate into dealings with a real class, which could be particularly useful if changing year groups or schools – situations where teachers need to re-adapt to a new audience. Flexible technologyThe Virtual Classroom we completed for Ericsson is designed to be a cover-all approach to the key skills needed to teach. But future teacher training simulators could be both more sophisticated and more targeted. For example, teachers could tailor the virtual class to them – for example by age range, class size, behavioural tendencies or intellectual level. They could also choose between delivering a normal lesson plan, a revision session, or even a non-specialist subject, such as sex ed. In this way, the user could set up a virtual class of students that most resemble their own and get the maximum benefit of the training. What’s more, VR doesn’t necessarily require bulky or expensive equipment. For the Ericsson project, the simulation we produced works on mobile phones which plug into portable plastic headsets. This is a cost-effective and portable solution that still provides a good experience for the user. It’s certainly a continuing trend that the equipment is becoming more ubiquitous and cheaper as time goes on. Thoughts for the future VR is proven to have a beneficial effect on learning – and it’s a platform that’s becoming increasingly easy to access. With that in mind, it’s easy to see how VR will be adopted for aiding student learning. But there is also an opportunity for teachers. If educators are increasingly engaging with this technology as a way of practicing complex scenarios in a risk-free way outside of the classroom, it stands to reason it should lead to greater confidence and better teaching inside the classroom as a result. This is particularly pertinent to teachers in training and those who are still new to teaching who would benefit from a safe way to practice the skills needed to succeed in a demanding and often high-pressured environment. With the technology improving all the time, virtual training simulations are only set to get more life-like and more engaging. Virtual training is a sector that’s already rapidly growing – in just a few years we can expect it to be much more widespread. The education sector can benefit from this too. Teaching today is a demanding vocation that requires multiple skills – a virtual classroom offers a safe space and a helping hand to gain them. Lorna Burrows is the Head of Content at Immersive VR where she helps craft engaging, informative and educative experiences for the likes of Ericsson, British Red Cross and Harley Davidson. https://www.immersivevr.co.uk/"
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}

Leadership

Upping the Ante on Teacher Training: The Virtual Classroom That’s Just for Teachers

13 Nov 2018