Lynn Grove High School, in Gorleston, Norfolk, is a mixed 12-16 urban, specialist, comprehensive school. There are currently 900 on roll, but this is set to increase to 1,100 as the school becomes 11-16 in 2006. In 1995 it was awarded specialist status as a technology college. In the past nine years, Lynn Grove has evolved from having a single room of computers to a network of over 400 desktop computers and 100 laptops. They currently also have ten interactive whiteboards, a number of LCD projectors and their own dedicated Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), hosted on a school web server. ;The school’s Chief Executive, John Fox, explains the background to this shift toward reliance on the use of ICT in the school: “The use of ICT in the school has matured and developed and it is now integrated across our work. A few years ago, if a computer stopped working, the network manager might get one complaint from a teacher in a day.
Now, if there’s a problem, the network manager will receive 20 complaints in a matter of minutes.” John led the team working to develop the e-learning strategy and, together with the school’s senior management team (SMT) and network manager, came to the decision that they needed to purchase a VLE.
At the end of 2001, the SMT and the network manager viewed and assessed a number of VLEs, eventually selecting one that not only met their immediate needs but also offered the most flexibility for future developments. The platform chosen was one created by LJ Group of Norwich, a locally based international company, with whom the school had worked previously and who were known by the LEA.
Nuts And Bolts.
Once the VLE was procured, a small group of staff members were trained in the ‘nuts and bolts’ of the system. These included the network manager, technicians, 2-3 subject area staff and an Advanced Skills Teacher. They also received training in the development of simple e-learning materials that could be easily created and loaded onto the VLE. The VLE has been designed to reflect the key parts of the school (e.g. classrooms, staff room and offices) and was developed in consultation with teachers and students. A ‘staff entrance’ and a ‘student entrance’ were created, with individuals having their own personal ID and password to gain access. Staff were invited to propose content areas where they could develop e-learning and the school then contracted with them to create the content, for which they were paid. Additional free time, where ever possible, was also made available to enable teachers to work on content production.
Inevitably, some departments proved to be more proactive than others, but every department in the school has now contributed content and teachers are approaching the SMT with new ideas for content development or to talk about how the VLE supports their teaching practice. For example, the music department has created a series of online lessons looking at rhythm, which contain both music in note form and as digital audio files. This allows the teachers to create dynamic assessments that really test what the students have understood in their music lessons. The system has been designed to be a very easily accessible resource for teachers. Teaching notes, worksheets and test materials are all stored in an easy-to-follow format which has helped to harmonise cross-curricular activities.