Digital Learning

The Swine Flu Pandemic – What do Schools Need to be Thinking

Headteacher, Eileen Field, looks at the issues schools face with Swine Flue and how technology could be used to help minimise the impact of swine flu on pupils' achievement.

Raising pupils’ attainment is not the only issue occupying the minds of school leaders. Many heads will also be thinking about how they can best support their staff and pupils in the event of a swine flu outbreak in their school. Headteacher, Eileen Field, looks at the issues schools face and how technology could be used to help minimise the impact of swine flu on pupils’ achievement.

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Leadership Briefings Issue 4.04 (40)"
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      string(4744) "ResourcePLANNING FOR A HUMAN INFLUENZA PANDEMICOriginal DocumentPlanning For A Human Influenza Pandemic – Guidance To Schools And Children’s Services. Now that the Swine Flu virus is established in the community, expert advice is that there is no longer a strong case for closing schools to contain the spread of infection. However, the UK Health Departments have published a framework for how the Government should respond during an influenza pandemic. This DfES report provides emergency planning guidance for schools and recommends that all schools work closely with their local authority in dealing with the pandemic.KeywordsSwine flu, influenza pandemic, framework, schools, adviceSummaryNow that the virus is established in the community, expert advice is that there is no longer a strong case for closing schools to contain the spread of infection. Current HPA advice is that schools with confirmed cases of swine flu should stay open unless specifically advised otherwise.Given current information on the virus, which for most people results in a mild illness, experts have advised against mass closure of schools.This DfES report, first published in 2006, recommends that all schools work closely with their local authority during an influenza pandemic.Advice To Head Teachers– What you should do in a pandemic:· You should put into practice plans prepared earlier with your governing body and all staff, involving staff unions. Your employer will receive information on whether the Government nationally has advised that schools should close when the pandemic reaches their area, and information from the local authority on whether that now applies to your school.· If your school is remaining open, you should activate contingency plans for dealing with likely staff absence. In these circumstances, it is important that you give very high priority to rigorous infection control measures, and ask parents to collect and take home any pupil who becomes ill – though you may need arrangements to look after such children until a parent can collect them.· If the school is closed to all pupils, attendance registers should show that the school was closed and pupils should not be marked as absent. The sessions affected should not be included in the number of available sessions when compiling attendance data returns. If a school sends some pupils home or closes completely during a session but after the register has been taken for a session, the marks in the register must not be changed. If some pupils are sent home during a session before the register is taken then the register should show them as having authorised absence. Those schools using electronic registers should use codes such as “closed to all” or “enforced closure”.· If your school closes because of staff absences, you should ensure you have contact details that will enable you to tell parents when you are able to re-open.· If your school closes for an extended period for child welfare reasons, you should work with your local authority to put into effect their plans to provide a reasonable level of education for children at home. Your employer or governing body will contact you when they receive advice to re-open all or part of the school, and will tell you whether it is to re-open for all pupils or only those who have had pandemic flu and recovered.· A head teacher (under delegated authority from the governing body) might decide to close a school because insufficient staff are available to run the school safely. The head teacher and governing body should agree in advance the minimum number of staff in different categories needed to continue operating.· The Government may also advise that schools in affected areas should close to pupils on child welfare grounds, to reduce the spread of infection among children.· In maintained schools, governing bodies will remain legally responsible for school closures and should ensure that the head has delegated powers to close the school at short notice if advised to do so.· In the case of schools with sixth forms, it is likely that any advice to close to pupils would apply up to Y11 only. Schools will however need to take account of practical issues that might affect their ability to operate for sixth form pupils only.ActionNotesAuthorRaspal Chima, Imaginative MindsDate CreatedSeptember 2009Enquiries to:raspal.chima@yahoo.co.uk (Authoring Unit)Month / YearPage 1 of 1©Birmingham City Council"
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Leadership

Planning For A Human Influenza Pandemic

25 Aug 2009

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      string(4131) "42 AUTUMN 200914-19 diploma43AUTUMN 200914-19 diplomachallenge for most students. Teaching in thesalon is particularly difficult – it requiresintense timetabling and cannot happenfull-time.That’s where computer learning comes in.It provides flexibility to learners – learningcan be delivered anytime and anywhere. Andit means students whose local schools don’toffer the course don’t have to miss out.The theoretical elementFunctional skills (the compulsory numeracyand literacy aspect of the diploma) can  betaught with ease using distance e-learning.So can many theoretical aspects of the course– like the social history of beauty, salonbudgeting and marketing.The industry’s standards body, Habia, hasproduced a useful online and interactivepackage, Diploma U2Learn. It provides userswith engaging content including video clips,animations and activities.Another Habia training package, U2Learn,for hairdressing Level 2 students, teachestheoretical elements of the practice likecutting, colouring and perming. Becauseit provides instant feedback, learners candiscover what they need to do to improve.VTCT will also be launching a qualificationto start in September 2010.What’s next for the diploma?Like every other aspect of the business world,salon management has become totally IT-based – as should hairdressing teaching. It’snaïve to think that perfectly manicured handscan’t design a website or plan a budget inExcel! The hairdressing and beauty diplomais set to thrive, and distance e-learning willsupport and nourish it.The 14-19 diploma in hairdressing and beauty waslaunched in September this year. For schools alsolooking to offer the course, but fearful of its heavilypractical component, Nic Robinson explains howdistance e-learning can help.Classroom learning has been truly transformed by the mass availability of technology. Learners can studythe theory of a subject with computers, thenfurther their practical skills with traditionalclassroom based practice. But with a subjectas practical as the Hair and Beauty StudiesDiploma, it’s amazing to discover the extentto which teachers are embracing IT.The use of distance learning in educationhas become surpr isingly farspread. Ineducation now, technology’s function nowexpands beyond just using a computer fortyping up an essay. An example of howwidespread technology in education hasbecome is the swine flu outbreak. TheGovernment revealed its plans to use virtualschools if a pandemic breaks out – wherestudents would be taught via email. This isalready largely in place – learning platformsalready facilitate home access to schoolwork for sick or excluded children. Thisservice could be extended to allow teachersand pupils to achieve live communication– ‘video conferencing’.CriticismsThe Hair and Beauty diploma has receivedmany criticisms. At some schools, reportersdiscovered that the students need never cuthair to get an A. Students are also critical –one pupil asked what the difference betweenA levels and the diploma is said: “Diploma’seasier, innit?” Many people question how thehair and beauty diploma can be worth 3.5A levels when it covers subjects of nebulousintellectual value like ‘Beauty in AncientEgypt’.But  wi th a  number  of  teenager sdisheartened by the traditional educationsystem, the diploma is an ideal solution tocapture their attention and encourage themto persevere with education or progress toprofessional training. Like it or not, diplomasare on the rise – there are currently 10subjects, and by 2010 there will be 14.Why distance e-learning?The ciriticisms are fair – with hairdressing,there should be a high level of training –which must take place in a salon. But becauseso many students are involved across so manydifferent colleges, scheduling is difficult – asis transport for students expected to attendlessons with specialist teachers miles fromhome.Blending school work with FE Collegelectures and work experience is a realCyber CutsNic Robinson has written for severalhair and beauty titles"
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Digital Learning

Cyber Cuts

31 Oct 2009

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e-Learning Update issue 02"
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      string(5561) "IA survey of visitors to the BETT Show2010 suggests that technology tosupport independent and remotelearning will be the top priority forschools, colleges and universitiesin 2010. However, many of thosesurveyed stated the institutionthey work for or with still has noformal plan in place for continuity oflearning in the case of an unforeseenclosure.The survey, by TechSmithconsisted of face-to-face interviewswith a cross-section of visitors atthe show from primary, secondary,further and higher education.When asked about anticipatedtrends for the year ahead, access tovirtual learning environments (VLEs),mobile technology such as netbooksand smartbooks, cloud services and3D imaging ranked the most popular.The majority of respondents soughtaccess to VLEs coupled with mobiletechnology, to allow pupils andstudents to work on independentstudy projects from home.The survey also revealed manyschools are still playing catch-up interms of implementing technologiesthat have been available for severalyears – interactive white boardswere high on the 2010 agenda forseveral of those interviewed.The interviews revealedthat educators are realising theimportance of making learningcontent available online via the Weband through mobile technology.Unforeseen schools closures due tothe swine flu outbreak and adverseweather have made this a toppriority. Providing access for bothpupils and parents was also citedas a specific reason for providingonline resources.However, less than half alreadyuse virtual learning environments,remote access or other web-basedtechnologies to provide access tolearning content from outside aschool, college or university. Thosewith online resources in placesuggested the biggest challengeis finding ways of ensuring thatindependent, remote learning is aseffective as teacher-led, classroom-based learning.Dave McCollom, educationevangelist at TechSmith, said:“Technology will never replacethe role of the teacher or makeclassroom-based learning obsolete.But, when weather conditions orhealth epidemics make face-to-facecontact impossible, it’s encouragingto see that educators are exploringnew technologies that can helpstudents get a similar learningexperience from their own homesas they get in the classroom.”BETT survey reveals remotelearning as top priority for schoolsNEWSBett survey reveals remote learning as top priority for schoolsExam cheating by mobile technologyIT support grants available for pupils in needAre you the brainiest school in britainTeachers can win 20 Notebooks for their schoolChildren dissapointed but not downbeat about school ICT1.2.3.4.5.6.NEWS NEWSExam cheating by mobiletechnologyIreland last summer, comparedwith 4,156 in 2008.Almost half of cases relatedto ‘unauthorised material’ beingtaken into the exam room.A further 1,000 candidatescopied from other candidates,while 539 disturbed other candidateswith disruptive behaviour.Some 349 were penalisedfor writing ‘offensive or obscene’comments on papers or coursework– up 10 per cent on 2008.In almost half of cases ofcheating, pupils lost marks.In a third, they were merelygiven a warning but the remainderwere disqualified from their exam.There was also a rise in thenumber of school staff – oftenteachers – caught giving pupils toomuch help during exams.Boards identified 88 cases,up from 68 the year before, whichresulted in 27 written warningsand 17 staff being suspended frominvolvement in exams.Some 70 schools or collegeswere penalised after cheating wasfound to be the result of seriousmanagement failure – up from 52in 2008.Another report from Ofqualshowed that around 370,000requests were made for marks tobe adjusted due to disadvantagesuffered by the candidate during orshortly before the exam.Special consideration can begranted where pupils are bereaved,but it is also awarded for headaches,stress or hay fever.Pupils gain a maximum 5 percent upgrade if they lost a memberof their immediate family or wereterminally ill.They can earn a 1 or 2 per centupgrade for minor ailments, ‘extremedistress on day of examination’ and‘anxiety for which medication hasbeen prescribed’.Some 97 per cent of requests forspecial consideration were granted– slightly up on last year. Around onein 50 papers sat by candidates weregiven extra marks.Jim Sinclair, the director ofthe Joint Council for Qualifications,representing exam boards, said:‘JCQ members take a zero toleranceapproach to all forms of cheatingin examinations including thepossession of unauthorised itemsNew figures published by Ofqualshow that 4,400 pupils werecaught attempting to cheat inlast year’s GCSEs and A-levels – a6 per cent rise on the year before.The most common offence wasbringing banned items into examrooms – including mobiles, MP3s,BlackBerrys and calculators.Smuggling mobiles were thenused to go on the internet insearch of answers. Others werecaught with information hiddenon MP3 players, accessed usingtiny earpieces.As cheating becomes moresophisticated, schools are fightingback with detection equipment totrace devices being used secretlyin exam rooms, which can identifyany pupil attempting to text,email or surf the internet on theirphones.But pupils are also beingtargeted by websites openlyselling “exam cheat equipment”,including concealed ear-pieces toreceive information.However, Exam boards areinsisting that cheating was stillrare.According to Ofqual, 4,415penalties were handed out toGCSE and A-level students inEngland, Wales and Northernsuch as mobile"
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Digital Learning

e-Learning News

11 Feb 2010

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      string(350) "... schools, collegesand local authorities in 2010. According to asurvey conducted at the recent BETT 2010 show,unforeseen school closures due first to last year’s swine fluoutbreak and then the heavy snow last winter have pushedremote access for pupils high up the agenda.Access to mobile computing technology, such aslaptops ..."
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      string(5689) "32 Vol 2.2 n www.teachingtimes.comLeading Learning ICT for LearningSchool Leadership TodayLessons on demandThanks to the digital mediarevolution, TV and other mediaare increasingly accessed ‘ondemand’. Dave McCollomsays there are distinct benefitsif schools offer lessons in asimilar wayProviding mobile technology and online learningmaterials is a top priority for schools, collegesand local authorities in 2010. According to asurvey conducted at the recent BETT 2010 show,unforeseen school closures due first to last year’s swine fluoutbreak and then the heavy snow last winter have pushedremote access for pupils high up the agenda.Access to mobile computing technology, such aslaptops and netbooks, is becoming the norm for manypupils. Another recent study by Microsoft of around 500families estimates that 37 per cent of secondary pupils usecomputers for studying every day at home, compared to 30per cent who use them during the school day.To complement this, many secondary schools andcolleges now have a virtual learning environment (VLE),or similar resource, providing access to learning contentoutside of normal school opening hours. However, suchresources often contain only repurposed lesson materials.The challenge facing teachers and school leaders is howto ensure that pupils still receive quality teacher-led lessonseven when working from home due to a school closureor prolonged illness or when completing homework andcoursework. With some schools even in danger of missingGCSE examinations during the recent cold spell, the need tocreate such resources is higher than ever. Although teacher-led lessons can never be replaced, the impact on learning ofunforeseen closures could be lessened if teachers were ableto give lessons remotely to their pupils’ homes.The swine flu scare and subsequent school closuresduring 2009 led to some interesting rumours, including thatthe government would use the BBC to broadcast lessonsdirect to pupils’ homes. While this might be a useful stop-gap measure, creating learning materials to suit all pupilswould be a near-impossible task.Rather than such extreme measures, one preferredsolution is for schools to create their own bespoke learningmaterials for pupils to access online when unable to attendlessons. Although this sounds like a significant undertaking,it can be relatively straightforward. In creating suchmaterials, teachers are able to take advantage of existingrelationships with their pupils and tailor materials as theywould with traditional lesson plans and classroom activities.Going onlineIt’s no secret that many pupils are keen users of the internet.Creating learning that can be accessed and viewed onlinefrom home, through a VLE or similar resource, is a simpleway to take advantage of this.33www.teachingtimes.com n Vol 2.2Leading LearningICT for LearningLessons on demandOne method of creating such content is through theuse of screencasting software to create ‘lecture captures’.These programs allow teachers to record all the activityon their computer’s screen and save the recording as avideo to be viewed by their pupils. These videos, or lecturecaptures, can be augmented with a teacher’s voice ascommentary or even a webcam video of the lesson beingtaught. While this is no substitute for a traditional teacher-led lesson, on a basic level lecture captures provide a usefulrevision aid or ‘catch-up’ resource for pupils who wereunable to attend a specific lesson. Screencast learningmaterials can be particularly effective when instructingpupils how to use a complex piece of software, website orcomputer system for the first time.Many teachers have begun using screencasting softwareto create lecture captures of their lessons as they are taught,including teachers at the Madeley Academy and CostelloCollege (see case studies overleaf). A simple way to begin isby recording a lesson taught using PowerPoint, or even anassembly, with the teacher narrating the content. This is arelatively straightforward process, but if completed regularlyover the period of a term it will create a whole series ofdigitally recorded lessons. These can then be uploaded to aVLE to provide students with revision materials or serve as auseful resource for pupils who miss a lesson.In addition to simple lecture captures, teachers also havethe capacity to create short video tutorials for pupils to viewand learn from outside the classroom. This is an area that is34 Vol 2.2 n www.teachingtimes.comLeading Learning ICT for Learningparticularly useful for ICT or design & technology teachers.However, with the continuing uptake and use of technologyin schools, it is becoming more and more common and easyto adopt across the wider curriculum.Teachers have the option to instruct pupils in how touse software – Photoshop in an arts or graphic design class,for example – using a live demonstration during class time.However, this means less time is spent on practical activitiesand projects. In addition, it is very difficult to monitor andaccess how much each pupil is learning. 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Leadership

Lessons on demand

15 Apr 2010