Five Year Development Plan

Learning Platform 5 Year Development Plan

Background

The term Learning Platform is a generic one used to describe the whole range of VLEs that are available. Whilst the product names may vary – First Class, Blackboard, WebCT, UniServity, Moodle, to name just a few – they all have certain common elements.

• All are Internet based.

• They have areas where course materials can be downloaded and student work uploaded.

• They have chat, message board and conference facilities, where synchronous (live) and asynchronous (not live) ‘conversations’ can take place.

• Some have video conferencing, as well as student social, shared calendar, course notice boards and assessment areas.

• They may be linked with an institutions management information system.

• All allow the teacher to track student access; who is using the system, when and for what purpose.

• They are integrated online packages and it is this high level of integration that separates them from stand-alone, independent software solutions.

The pedagogy upon which they are based is collaborative and constructivist ,that is they encourage participants to discuss their learning and it is this critical element that leads to new and deeper learning .

By 2008 every primary and secondary school in England and Wales will have its own Learning Platform.

Many LEAs are consulting schools and providing information and training sessions.

Some LEAs have made decisions to purchase a platform on an authority wide basis.

Some schools already have their own platform.

The DfES policy views learning platforms as a tool that will allow students to work anywhere-anytime that they have access to an Internet connection; that it will make learning more personal as teachers can more easily check individual pupil progress and offer personalised support; that it will help parents/carers become more involved in their child’s learning as they can access schoolwork and progress reports from a home computer; that they will improve collaboration between institutions and result in a more effective use of teacher time.


Student Learning/UniServity Development Policy

Year 6/Transition Project

By the end of year 6:

- some pupils will have attended a Saturday morning ICT Club at Tideway School at which they will have been introduced to UniServity.
- most pupils will have taken part in an online transition project informing them about Tideway School.
- all pupils will have a KS4 mentor who they can contact through the learning platform.
- all pupils will be able to log on to UniServity; download presentations and communicate via message board forums.

Year 7

By the end of Year 7 all students will:

- be able to log in to UniServity from any PC with an Internet connection.
- understand how to use the folder/upload/link tools on their My Archive area.
- be able to enter the ‘rooms’ that have been set up for their curriculum areas and access resources.
- have used a message forum in EITHER the Debating Chamber OR their Room 7 area.
- have accessed UniServity out-of-school-hours EITHER from home OR from an after school club for homework or subject support.
- regularly check their UniServity accounts for school news / information on special events / school calendar / homework calendar.

Some students will have taken responsibility for managing the Room 7 area.

There will be a Year 7 representative on the ICT Committee who will provide feedback on the use of UniServity.

Year 8

Building on the above learning by the end of Year 8 all students will:

- have started to use UniServity in at least their core lessons to access learning resources / download files / upload completed work for teacher assessment.
- have visited the Debating Chamber regularly and posted comments relevant to the current topic.
- have taken online assessments in at least their core subjects.
- have begun to use the communication tools to seek advice from teachers and fellow students.
- have used the collaborative documents/tools for peer assessment.
- have begun to maintain their own online learning diary.
- have begun to use their My Archive page to keep evidence of work.
- show evidence of after school use of the system.

Some students will have taken responsibility for managing the Room 8 area.

There will be a Year 8 representative on the ICT Committee who will provide feedback on the use of UniServity.

Year 9

Building on the above learning by the end of Year 9 all students will:

- have built an online archive of learning resources on their UniServity accounts.
- be regular contributors to forum areas.
- have had an opportunity to use UniServity in all of their subject areas.
- have taken part in at least one event where they can question or receive support from an outside expert.
- have shown evidence of ways in which they use the learning platform to support group work.
- be used to accessing assessment data from the platform.
- have taken part in at least one online assessment opportunity in all subjects.
- have contributed to a survey about whole school policies.
- be using UniServity in a more extensive way to support work outside school hours.

Some students will have taken responsibility for managing the Room 9 area.

There will be a Year 9 representative on the ICT Committee who will provide feedback on the use of UniServity.

Year 10

Building on the above learning by the end of Year 10 all students will:

- have taken part in one extended learning day which will re enforce existing skills and teach new ones (specimen programme attached to this paper).
- be using the learning platform as their main resource and communications tool.
- be accessing the e-Moderator evening support on the system for help with homework and coursework.
- have experienced a degree of flexible learning using the system (e.g. negotiated with staff to complete online lessons at a time and place outside the existing timetable).
- have experienced a range of small group work online across the curriculum
- have regular access to outside experts.
- begin to set up their own forums.
- show evidence that they are using the assessment data on the system to develop their own improvement strategies.
- show evidence of parental/carer access.
- be maintaining a regular My Learning diary.

Some students will have taken responsibility for managing the Room 10 area.

Some students will be trained to act as student e-Moderators, providing support to other staff and students.

There will be a Year 10 representative on the ICT Committee who will provide feedback on the use of UniServity.

Year 11
Building on the above learning by the end of Year 11 all students will:

- be able to show embedded use of the system across the curriculum for flexible and personal learning and assessment.
- have accessed outside advice/career/college support.
- be able to show evidence of a regular dialogue with students and staff about their learning.
- provide support for younger students.

Some students will have taken responsibility for managing the Room 11 area.

There will be a Year 11 representative on the ICT Committee who will provide feedback on the use of UniServity.

Beyond year 11 ex-students will use UniServity to:

- access up to date news about life in school.
- maintain contact with staff and fellow students.
- provide support for online school based projects.


This development policy will also encompass staff development and community.