No Child Left Behind – Maths Champion Bobby Seagull Campaigns To End The Digital Divide

More children must have access to digital technology at home if the achievement gap is not to widen even more . Bobby Seagull urges people to join in the campaign

Bobby Seagull on Universit y Challenge — Bobby Seagull, secondary school teacher and maths media star

‘Teaching online is problematic,’ said Seagull. ‘ We assume children have access to devices and broadband but up to a million children in the UK either don’t have access to a device or to broadband, or if they do, their broadband speed may not be fast enough to stream lessons live.’

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Leadership Briefing 9.08(104)"
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      string(5032) "Leadership BriefingLeadership Briefing – www.teachingtimes.comReports Summaries – a weeklyservice of essential summaries,in-depth reports and criticalanalysis that’s new and relevantto education, linked to originalsource documents.YOUNG DIGITAL MAKERSKeywordsYoung people,digital makers,digital divide,child, learning,digitaltechnology,apps, games,websites,attitudes, out-of-school activities SummaryThis report by Nesta points to a new digital divide, showing that for every child learning tomake things using digital technology, over 60 are being left behind. The report maps interest,opportunities and support in the UK – both in and out of school – for young people to learnhow to use digital technologies to make their own apps, games, websites as well as editingmusic, videos, images and so on.This report explores the emerging field of digital making for young people in the UK. It charts theorganisations providing opportunities for young people to make things with technology; looks at howthese opportunities relate to what young people learn in school; and explores the attitudes of youngpeople, parents and teachers towards digital making.The report finds that while over 8 million children are eager to get to grips with making things withdigital technology, there were just 130,800 face-to-face opportunities available for them to learnoutside of the classroom in the last year. The school’s role is important in developing these skillsand interests, but this needs to be supplemented by out-of-school activities at home and in clubs:providing the space, encouragement and resources for the next generation to experiment and createusing digital tools.With demand greatly outstripping supply, the report warns that the UK is neglecting its digital needsand the skills the economy will need in the future.It argues that the UK is at risk of the next generation growing up as passive digital consumers ratherthan confident creators and makers of digital products.The report found that while many young people report dabbling in tech – 83 per cent have madesomething online – a third (33 per cent) do so less than once a week and almost a fifth (17 per cent)have never done so.Key Findings: ■ 82 per cent of young people say they are interested in digital making. However, half of youngpeople make things with digital technology less than once a week or never. Parents areoverwhelmingly supportive of digital making. 89 per cent think it is a worthwhile activity for theirchildren. 73 per cent encourage their children to make things with technology. ■ We identified 130,800 opportunities to experience digital making provided by the organisationsWeek Commencing 16th March 2015http://www.nesta.org.uk/sites/default/files/young-digital-makers-march-2015.pdfhttps://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/359483/DFE-RR286_-_Are_free_schools_using_innovative_approaches.pdfLeadership BriefingLeadership Briefing – www.teachingtimes.comReports Summaries – a weeklyservice of essential summaries,in-depth reports and criticalanalysis that’s new and relevantto education, linked to originalsource documents.surveyed. This is a long way from providing for the interest shown by 82 per cent of our survey,which represents a possible 8.2 million school age children and young people in the UK. ■ Digital making is powered not just by money, but also by volunteers. Two thirds of theorganisations identified said they relied on volunteers to do their work. ■ Only half of teachers who teach ICT or computing report being confident in teaching thecurriculum.Key Recommendations: ■ The high levels of interest in digital making amongst young people and parents need to becapitalised on further. ■ Young people need to be supported as digital makers across the UK, not just in London and areasthat have high provision. ■ Non-professionals – such as volunteers, parents, teachers, and young people themselves – needto be mobilised. ■ There needs to be greater access to a variety of making opportunities catering for a wider varietyof young people and their different interests, ages and genders. ■ Clear pathways to excellence should be built to grow young people’s ambitions as digital makersand help them fulfill their potential, in and out of school. ■ Schools must exploit their potential as a hub for digital making opportunities, work with informallearning organisations, raise parents’ awareness and recruit volunteers. ■ Digital making organisations need to be supported to grow sustainably through new and existingpartnerships with grassroots organisations and private companies.WEB LINKYoung Digital Makershttp://www.nesta.org.uk/sites/default/files/young-digital-makers-march-2015.pdf"
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Leadership

Young Digital Makers

11 Mar 2015

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      string(3557) "online BBC jam service (www.bbc.co.uk/jam), specifically designed for home use; andthe internet contains a vast array of invaluablesources of research, help with revision and theopportunity for students to communicate andcollaborate in their learning.It is ironic, then, that the impact of the digitaldivide actually grows as a school develops agreater reliance on students being able to accessonline learning from outside the classroom,whether via the school network, a learningplatform or internet-based learning resources.And it will continue to grow unless action istaken to ensure that every student also hashome access.Is there emerging goodpractice?There is a strong correlation between schoolsthat have high levels of e-confidence and thosethat have taken steps to address the digitaldivide as it affects the families in theircommunity. This is hardly surprising. It isunreasonable to expect a school ICT strategy toencompass the wider learning environment thatincludes the home until the school has fullyrealised their plans to equip the school buildingand campus, and until ICT has becomeembedded in the pedagogy of the school, notjust the physical infrastructure.However, there are many schools that havearrived at this stage, and these schools deploy arange of strategies to help ensure that all pupilshave access to both hardware and connectivity athome and, where appropriate, elsewhere in thecommunity. They also often proactively extend thataccess to the wider family. Typical strategiesinclude:■ A switch of procurement strategy from fixeddesktop computers and ICT suites to mobilecomputer technologies operating within acampus-wide wireless environment.■ The implementation of school policies thatencourage students to book a school laptopout for the evening/weekend/holiday.■ e-Learning programmes that involve parentsin making regular donations so that studentscan have home access to a wide range oflearning resources, including the allocationof a device for every student, which can bea laptop, tablet, PDA or home PC. Theaverage size of this donation can vary from£3.00 to £6.00 a week, depending on thegeneral wealth of the community and thecost of the package of e-learning resources.■ Where equity of access is the abidingprinciple (and it is a principle that the e-Learning Foundation believes is criticallyimportant), then schools ensure theymaximise Gift Aid tax relief and grantopportunities from the e-LearningFoundation.The impact of the digital divide is a subtleform of discrimination, hitting children fromlow-income families, single parent families andthose with limited awareness of the growingrole of technology in a modern educationsystem. Schools have the power to make asignificant impact on the level of access totechnology to support learners beyond theclassroom, often with very limited additionalinvestment. But they have to know they havegot a problem and they have to be willing todo something about it!■ Valerie Thompson is Chief Executive ofthe e-Learning Foundation.‘Schools have the power to make a significant impacton the level of access to technology to supportlearners beyond the classroom, often with very limitedadditional investment’Where to go for help■ Contact the e-Learning Foundation for adviceand information on our grants programme.■ Contact your Local Authority to see if yourschool is eligible for some of the £60m HomeSchool programme, launched in Autumn 2006."
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Digital Learning

The digital divide – and why it won’t go away

15 Apr 2013

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      string(5833) "12 WINTER2007Leadership and managementGetting hold of theHARDWAREJAN HOWELLS highlights the work of the e-Learning Foundation in helpingmanagers to enable their schools to bridge the digital divide13WINTER2007Leadership and managementThe e-Learning Foundation, set up in2001, is the only charity in the UKworking to close the ‘digital divide’ byworking with schools, parents and otherstakeholders to ensure that all schoolchildren haveaccess to technology for their studies both insideand outside school, irrespective of theirbackgrounds.Technology is such a big part of our daily livesthat most of us take it for granted. Using it hasbecome second nature. But there are still 2.5million disadvantaged schoolchildren in the UKwho are living on the edge of digital society,without access to a computer or the Internet athome for their studies.The e-Learning Foundation’s work hashighlighted the fact that when children haveaccess to technology when and where they wantit, their learning can benefit. Children only spend15% of their lives at school, so the quality oflearning that takes place outside the classroom isa major determinant of their educational success.The e-Learning Foundation’s campaign toeradicate the ‘digital divide’ in the UK has helpedover 180 plus schools and 34,000 of the country’smost deprived students and their families gainhome access to IT. Its grants programme has sofar contributed over £7m to help schools servingdisadvantaged communities set up sustainable e-learning projects. Holmesdale TechnologyCollege and Elm Grove First School highlighthow e-learning can aid children in their studies.Holmesdale Technology CollegeHolmesdale Technology College, a specialistTechnology College in Snodland, Kent with over700 pupils, is one of many schools across thecountry that has benefited from the work of thee-Learning Foundation. The project was this yearshortlisted for the ‘Community Project of theYear’ in the prestigious 2007 Computing Awards.Holmesdale is a secondary modern schoolwithin a county-wide selective system in which25% pupils go to grammar schools. Half the pupilscome from households where there is socialdeprivation. Snodland East is the fourth mostdeprived ward in West Kent and over a third ofHomesdale’s pupils live in this ward.Back in September 2005 Holmesdale decidede-learning was the way forward to encompass homestudy. Following a consultation with the e-LearningFoundation, the school outlined the project to Year7 pupils and their parents. The scheme has beensuch a success that ccurrently pupils in Years 7, 8and 9 have the opportunity to join the programmealong with the September 2007 new in-take. Parentswho can afford it make a small monthlycontribution to the project. It also benefits fromthe Government’s Gift Aid Scheme.‘Holmesdale looks to provide all its pupils withthe knowledge and skills to enable them toparticipate in a fast evolving technological society.This includes its’ e-learning strategy which hasbeen designed to provide pupils with additionallearning tools and a grounding in ICT for theirfuture careers,’ commented Joy Palmer, theAssistant Headteacher.The school’s e-learning project, backed by thee-Learning Foundation, has gone from strengthto strength. It is now partnering with The MallingSchool. ‘This is a stimulating proposition and, asand an additional offering to mainstream pupils,the Specialised Language Unit within the schoolwill be providing individual laptops for pupilswith communication difficulties,’ Palmer said.Into the second year of the project, the school’sA*-C grades have improved in parallel with theincrease in general ICT use. Holmesdale has alsonoted a marked increase in motivation amongstpreviously underperforming children since itintroduced its e-learning scheme.Elmgrove First SchoolElmgrove First School in Worthing, West Sussexset up its e-learning project it to contacted thee-Learning Foundation to help look at putting asustainable project in place. It would besustainable in that children would havetechnology to use in their homes as well as inschool. Teachers didn’t not want it to be a projectto enhance the learning of pupils who alreadyhad computers at home, but one they that wouldbenefit all children in the school. The school has250 pupils ranging from five to eight years old.The school also wanted to reach families in theschool for whom learning has been difficult inthe past. They felt that that for some families, accessto the hardware at home would be an enrichingexperience; training for parents in use ofequipment and protocols was regarded as animportant part of the sustainable e-learning project.With the help of parents and a grant from thee-Learning Foundation’s partnership with DSGi’s‘Switched On Communities’ initiative, acommunity investment program that supportsdisadvantaged groups through the provision oftechnology and training. DSGi is best knownfor its high street stores PC World and Currysdigital and Dixons.Pauline Warren, head teacher at the school saidthere has been an exceptional response fromparents and children alike to the e-learningproject: ‘Parents have reported that their children’sICT skills are amazing and that the children areenthusiastically and voluntarily continuing theirmaths and writing at home. One of the projectobjectives was to empower pupils to take activecontrol of the learning agenda, and it has beenextraordinary how quickly the 5-year-olds havebegun to do just that.’Parents have reported that the children aretalking much more about what they have beendoing"
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Digital Learning

Getting Hold Of The Hardware

13 Jan 2008

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      string(3260) "with certain special educational needs (SEND) may have benefited from the changes brought in by lockdown. According to the EPI Digital Divide paper:“Some school leaders suggest thatpupils with physical needs, such as hearing-impaired children, have alsoexperienced learning gains, possibly due to having a quiet home learningenvironment and device assistance.”It’s also clear that many teaching staff have rapidly upskilled, as they’ve been dropped into the deep end of digital communication, and everyone has been thinking more seriously about the value of digital tools, which feels like a net positive.It’s encouraging, too, that there is now a decent amount of guidance available for schools adapting rapidly to a new lockdown situation, and services like the ongoing EdTech Demonstrator Programme for teachers to access. Centralised learning resources haveproved a valuable support to many educators since lockdown, and brand new, highquality resources cropped up with astonishing speed. The Oak National Academy,for example, was founded in April and has been widely adopted – with 220,000daily users now taking part in more than 20 million lessons across 23 subjects.A number of players in the techsector have been offering their services to educators free of charge, too,either from April to July, or in the case of digital overlays company Singular, indefinitely. Singular’s CEO AndrewHeimbold explains:“We launched Singular for Schools in2019 to ensure that all schools have completely free access to our platform.Pre-COVID, schools used Singular as part of their curriculum in media classesor for informal broadcasting of school events. When the pandemic closedschools, the emphasis shifted towards educators using Singular overlays toaugment their educational and community live streams e.g. this graduation ceremony wasproduced by students from their homes. Teachers have told us that using theplatform has inspired students to think about careers in digital media and thatit’s inspired them to use Singular for everything from advanced sciencelectures to spelling bees.”Reconsidering our optionsThese are extremely challenging times for everyone, and with schools starting up again in an environment of social distancing, local lockdowns and a global recession, the ‘new normal’ of schools and offices returning has not removed much of the uncertainty. However, raising the profile of this problem can bring results surprisingly quickly.When we look beyond expensiveequipment and see technology as a useful social resource, we have a uniquechance to come at tech from the other side; setting out our expectationsaccording to how people really behave and what people really need, rather thantaking our lead from the commercial operators. This could yet prove to be a valuablemoment for redesigning a new relationship with technology within education –one that has little to do with the trendiest apps or methods, and which insteadinvolves asking people what they can really make use of; an approach which,sometimes, might even involve putting tablets and laptops away and getting outa good, old-fashioned pen and paper."
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Blogs

What Happened To Learning During The Lockdown In Leeds?

28 Sep 2020

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      string(3443) "What’smore, we have included parents, giving themtheir own secure log-on details so they canaccess their child’s curriculum and progressdata and communicate quickly and easilywith their child’s teachers.”Since the implementation of the schemein October 2008, KNHS has  seen asignificant increase in learner engagementand enjoyment across all lessons. “Thoselearners that were slightly disaffected,for example those that shied away fromICt is integrated into many subjects at the schoolELT_Closing the digital divide.i36   36 20/5/09   16:29:51 INVESTING IN ICT37SPRING 2009speaking in class, would avoid verbal andpublic communication, making it difficultfor teachers to engage them. However, ournew ICT infrastructure has provided us withways of working with our learners, includingthe option to post work online and useonline tools for feedback. Essentially, byoffering alternative forms of communicationwe have given every child at KNHS avoice”, said Horner.IT now permeates the majority of lessonsat KNHS. As such, learners are exposed toICT on a daily basis, eradicating the need fordedicated IT lessons. Not only has KNHSseen its learners excel in their understandingof IT, but the removal of dedicated ITlessons has freed up the timetable so moretime can be committed to lessons such asmaths and English.In addition, the new ICT infrastructurehas allowed the school to radically reviewhow the school day is organised. Theannual timetable is now digital and as aresult, fully flexible, allowing   teachers toreview learning priorities on a quarterlybasis, adapting the timetable as necessary tomaximise learner development.The futureFor many schools across the country, like thosein Birmingham under the SA@H project,the government’s agenda to attack the digitaldivide is making good headway, allowinglearners from all backgrounds to engage in‘anytime, anywhere’ learning. Helping, too, isthe increased involvement of parents, allowingthem closer access to their children’s learningprocesses and academic development.Commenting on progress at KNHS, Hornersaid: “We are trying to bridge the digitaldivide and foster in all our key stage threelearners the skills that will make them valuablemembers of a highly skilled workforce ofthe future. Parents of our pupils have beenoverwhelmingly in support of the project,recognising the impact that a personal laptopwill have on their child’s learning, progressand life chances.”So what about tomorrow? It’s certainly anexciting time for learners, particularly with themarked successes experienced in Birmingham.The key now is to replicate the resultsachieved in areas like Birmingham across allof the UK. Les Lawrence, Birmingham CityCouncil cabinet member for education said:“Nationwide, we need to look into whichcommunities are facing a challenge in termsof their youngsters’ opportunities for learninggiven the lack of technology available at home.In the 21st century, we need to provide youngpeople with the best possible opportunitiesto learn, and the tools and environments thatresult in the highest success rates. Gainingaccess to ICT equipment is a crucial part ofthis process, helping young learners to securea bright future”.Sue Hulme is a local businessmanager for RM Education. For moreinformation please visit rm.comELT_Closing the digital divide.i37   37 20/5/09   16:29:52"
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Digital Learning

Closing the digital divide

24 Jul 2009