By Robin Ball (BECTA)

SUMMARY: A strategic overview of how BECTA believes virtual learning environments should be introduced into schools. Particular focus on cultural changes within schools.

E-STRATEGY:

23,000 schools in England – one size won’t fit all
Initial provision – Online access to learning by 2007-8

LEARNING PLATFORM:

Outline:

• Primarily web-based
• Provision for file access
• Levels of sophistication: Basic repository, VLE or MLE
• Potential for integration into MIS although technology still not really available

Benefits:

• Customised learning
• Home learning (improving inclusion)
• 24/7 Access
• Parental involvement & pupil tracking
• Sharing aims & progress with pupils

How to make it happen:

• Skills – Assess requirements
• Involvement – Consult with staff, SLT, parents
• SLICT – Strategic Leadership in ICT, 2-day course for headteachers

Planning:

• Change management – 5 key elements: vision, skills, incentives, resources, action plan
• Accessibility
• Sustainability
• Data exchange
• Support, maintenance & training
• 5 point plan: product, installation, maintenance, support, training

BECTA Progress:

• Functional specification defined for Learning Platforms
• Procurement process in progress – expected completion Jan 2007

LINKS/FILES/CONTACTS:

http://www.ncsl.org.uk/slict (SLICT course)
http://www.becta.org.uk/publications (BECTA publications)
http://www.swgfl.org.uk/streaming/lp_robin_ball.asp (video of earlier presentation)
How to Get it All Wrong.htm (what to avoid in VLE implementations)
6 Learning Services 2006 NDI.ppt (Powerpoint from seminar)
robin.ball@becta.org.uk

Seminar 1 – Harnessing Technology – A Strategy for Personalised Learning

By Norman Crawford (BECTA)

SUMMARY: A brief discussion of how personalised learning can be achieved through the correct use of technology, particularly by the use of virtual learning environments.

PROBLEMS:
• Only 1 in 6 schools using ICT effectively as of 2004 (source?)
• Often caused by the use of unsuitable technology
• Lack of 24/7 access hinders use

STRATEGY:
• Broadband infrastructure projects – largely completed
• Provision of content – don’t overlook
• “E-maturity” – skills and practices which make the most of the technology available – referenced Becta Matrix (self assessment for schools) & ICT Mark (Accreditation scheme)

DESIRABLE OUTCOMES:

• Closing achievement gaps
• More pupils following on to post 16
• Reducing levels of failure in adult life

(comparison drawn with Every Child Matters agenda)

“E-CONFIDENCE”:

• School is: managed effectively, innovative
• Learner is: self-directed, capable of choosing the correct tool for the job

“WEB 2.0”:

Some brief discussion of new trends in collaborative online communities which are popular with young people (myspace, piczo etc.)

LEARNING PLATFORMS:

Discussion of the terminology:

VLE – Virtual Learning Environment
MIS – Management Information System (e.g. SIMS)
MLE – Managed Learning Environment (i.e. VLE & MLE combined)

Discussion of the benefits:

• Collaboration between teachers
• 24/7 access

Discussion of potential issues:

• Transfer of data between schools (e.g. if pupil moves) may be problematic. Therefore systems should use open data standards. Borough/LA-wide systems may reduce the impact of this issue.

Additional benefits of LA-wide systems:

• Same login details across borough (parents/teachers etc.)
• Improved/easier collaboration between teachers at different schools
• Improved training provision

IMPLEMENTATION:

• Experience shows whole-school deployments best
• Planned strategically
• Teacher-lead

DEADLINES:

2008 – Personal learning space
2010 – Learning platform

LINKS/FILES/CONTACTS:

NW Ed Show Keynote Nov 2006.ppt
norman crawford can be emailed at becta org uk

BEWARE!

The import procedure that Microsoft suggests Class Server administrators use is, well, rubbish.. behold:

!UpdateCls
PrimaryKey	ID	Title
ID	[C:History 6]	History 6
.Teachers
Teacher
AllisonBrown

(header rows emboldened)

That mess would have to be created in Excel, saved to a “Microsoft Excel XML Spreadsheet Format” and then imported via the CSProvision tool on the Class Server to add AllisonBrown as Teacher of History 6. Those 6 rows of spreadsheet generate precisely 1 row in the database (!) which looks like:

ClassID	TeacherID
597	412

(those are the primary key values from the Classes and Persons tables)

If you want to add another teacher to another class, it’ll take you yet another 6 rows and because Microsoft made the syntax multi-line, you’ll have to use a whacking great macro if you plan to generate the data automatically. Lame? Lame! Faced with the proposition of adding teachers to well over 900 classes, Microsoft’s recommended method went hurtling binward.

Instead I decided to pull the classIDs and teacherIDs out of SQL Server then create a lookup table in Excel. That let me generate a ClassID – TeacherID mapping from my SIMS.net CSV file, resulting in 2 long columns of numbers. Import that into the SQL Server “MapTeachersToClasses” table manually and Bob’s your uncle! Job done easily in a couple of hours.

The only challenge remaining now is to get the pupils and their pupil-class mappings into CS4. That should be relatively straightforward – it’s only hampered by the lack of a direct link between SIMS.net and Active Directory. For that trick I shall be using the UPN from SIMS.net and creating the mother of all lookup tables with every child in school listed by username, Active Directory SID and SIMS.net UPN. Ungh!

To be continued…

That is all. 

Until recently, the official Microsoft “community” for Class Server was an MSN group with restricted access. My application for membership was turned down with no reason given. Way to go. After a certain amount of haranguing, Microsoft have now set up a public newsgroup (google’s version here) for community support, but there isn’t a great deal of activity even now and many questions don’t get any response at all. The majority of the support documents are still hosted on classserver.msn.com (why?) and some are a bit, uhm, version 3: Class Server Troubleshooting Guide as linked to by the current Microsoft Support site.

In version 4, Microsoft have turned Class Server into an addon for Sharepoint (available via “web parts”). I’ll have to get them working together nicely before I can decide if I like that, but at the moment I feel it’ll be an improvement. Unfortunately, it won’t save you any time during the “provisioning”(enrolment) process, because Class Server will still need to know which pupils are in which classes. This is no mean feat when you have to drag your data from the clutches of SIMS.net (UK education peeps: shudder now). Rumours that Harrison Ford will be searching for the fabled SIMS.net database documentation in the fourth Indiana Jones movie are apparently unfounded. The provisioning process is now performed with the commandline “CSProvision” tool after studying the 30-page provisioning guide. Fun. I don’t mean to sound like too much of a crybaby, but I suspect that a more readable layout is possible.

The data munging battle continues regardless, with the following aims:

• kids, staff and their respective classes entered in a reasonable time (next year: before term begins)
• enrolment data entered in a repeatable (i.e. well-documented) way
• enrolment data entered with minimal manual manipulation
• class names entered in a way that is useful to staff and pupils (i.e. they can recognise their own classes)
• a working method for rolling the pupils over into their next year without losing their assignments etc. (it’s not much use creating a portfolio of work during year 10, then archiving it at the start of year 11)
• a simple way to archive/delete data from year 11/13 pupils at the end of the school year (this one seems fairly easy)