The teachers at Fortismere School are embracing ICT in all aspects of the curriculum. Lisa Savage reports from a truly inspiring school

Fortismere School in Haringey, south London, is a co-educational school for students aged 11 to 18. It opened in 1983 and was granted Technology College status in 1997. It’s a busy, bustling place and has all the signs of a modern school looking to the future, with its impressive, remodelled workshops, brand new science block, learning resource centre and ICT equipment in most classrooms.

Murat Yakup, who has been at Fortismere School for five years, oversees use of ICT throughout the school. And it is Murat who gives us a broad overview of their computer system set-up. “We use a wide range of ICT here,” he explains, “predominantly Microsoft-based PCs and using the control software Logicator.” Murat has plenty of plans to expand this in the future: “We are looking into the best option for pupils to experience personalised and collaborative learning, where pupils will have their own online space, access to resources, discussion forums, e-Portfolios, email and video conferencing,“ he tells us.

Online learning
This concept of online learning and communication with fellow students is a popular one in education right now, and Fortismere is already making moves to set it up. “We have started to pilot a VLE/MLE with our A Level students, via the London Grid for Learning,” says Murat. “The benefits of using an online secure space for A Level students means they can submit their work to us online and we in turn can create a secure area for moderators to sample and assess their coursework.”

Deputy head teacher, Martin Henson, is also a keen supporter of pupils having online space. “We already have electronic registration systems and we write reports using the Internet, but eventually we will have a system where parents and pupils will be able to access pupil data and assessment via the internet.”

Language learning
From the ICT department, it’s over to the languages block where MFL teachers are making use of the equipment at their disposal in innovative ways. “We use various CD-ROM packages that are installed on the network and used in the ICT room,” explains one of the language teachers, “but these are predominantly for KS4. At KS3, our Expo, Echo and Listos textbooks (for French, German and Spanish) have interactive packages whereby various activities and resources are directly linked to each unit of work. We also subscribe to web-based linguistic teaching packages such as modlangs.co.uk, linguascope.co.uk and authentikdigital.com. “This means that in classes where there is an interactive whiteboard,” he continues, “students are able to take part in activities where they can play with word order, match up grammatical parts of a sentence, and so on. We find that this is also good for motivating less able students (particularly boys) who enjoy ICT.” The languages teachers also make use of projectors in their classrooms

Students’ online security is a priority for schools and colleges, and Lisa Savage has come up with some useful tips for getting it right.

These days, as use of technology in schools increases, so does the need to keep on top of students’ security and safety when using the internet and email. We all read about pupils’ accounts being hacked into and unsavoury individuals procuring children’s email addresses, but luckily a lot of the hype is exactly that… hype. However, that doesn’t mean that we should be any less vigilant about students’ online access, and that’s where these top tips should come in handy.

1. Always encourage students to use email and Internet on your school network, at break times and before or after school. At least that way you have some control over what emails they can send and receive, and what sites they can visit. If they don’t have access at school, they’re more likely to access the Internet from home, where parental control may be less, or even non-existent.
2. Many teachers like to set up all pupils and students with a school or college email address that they can access through a server or via a mailbox that can be monitored by an adult, often the ICT coordinator. Remember that pupils must be informed that their incoming and outgoing emails may be monitored. And bear in mind that if you don’t set them up with an email address they’re more likely to set up their own email on something like Hotmail or Yahoo!, which could open them up to spam, indecent emails and no parental control at all.
3. One idea suggested by the panel of teachers who contribute to Learning Curve magazine was to allow pupils and students greater responsibility, as they get older. So, while younger pupils would only be able to send and receive emails from or to a specified mailbox (for example their teachers, fellow pupils and family), older children could have this circle of contacts expanded, perhaps to include friends at other schools and more family members, until control is completely relaxed.
4. If school email addresses are accessed via a server rather than a mailbox on the school network computers, this means that students’ emails can be accessed from a computer anywhere, whether it’s at home or at the youth club, yet you still have control over content if need be.
5. Think about linking use of email via the school network into a wider e-Portfolio concept, where students can submit homework or assignments via email, and teachers can mark tests or give feedback using the same method.
6. Never assume that students will refrain from looking at adult content sites. At a school where I used to teach, I’d quite often observe kids doing Google searches on rude words (and clicking on the resulting links!) even when a teacher was in the classroom, looking over their shoulder. Hence it is really important to set up restrictions on sites that can be accessed, and any searches that can be done, on all computers in school, even those in the staffroom! Even if this makes it harder for staff to carry out legitimate research, at least you know it’s protecting the children.
7. Consider talking to your head teacher about making it a punishable offence for a student to search for, or look at, adult content sites on any school computers (if it’s not already). This way, pupils will be discouraged from doing so and teachers will have more power to stop it happening in the first place!
8. Ensure you make kids aware that giving out their email address to a stranger is just like giving out your phone number, in that it can easily invite unwanted and unsavoury attention.
9. Spell out the dangers of chatrooms and make it clear that while many are innocent fun, some of them give unscrupulous adults the chance to masquerade as another child and obtain information, phone numbers, addresses and email addresses from unwitting pupils.
10. On a positive note, do point out the benefits of email and internet use, whether as a means of communication with the outside world, a stepping stone to responsibilities in work, or as an indispensable tool when it comes to research and information gathering. Although there is plenty of hype about the ‘nasties’ lurking online, as a whole it is a beneficial tool with which to arm the next generation!
    

High-speed internet access in schools opens up a whole world of online video communication, as Neil Mohr is about to discover…

 Video conferencing… these two words are enough to conjure up images of decadent boardrooms with tables the size of entire staffrooms and enough hi-tech equipment to organise a terribly misconceived military endeavour in the Middle East, rather than images of your normal, run-of-the-mill comprehensive school classroom.However, despite the rather business-sounding ring, ‘video conferencing’ is something that everyone can do and is something that many pupils are probably already using thanks to cheap webcams and mobile videophones that are all available to schools these days. 

Video in the classroom

The main advantage of video conferencing is its ability to take pupils to distant locations all from the comfort and convenience of the classroom. While your first thoughts might be of inter-school communication, it can go further. For instance, educational schemes have been set up to enable pupils to interact with actors playing historical roles at the War Museum, while Science lessons can connect with experts at NASA for an interactive Q&A session, or French students can chat to students across the Channel to find out more about living in France.Reaching out and accessing this sort of interactive and engaging material can be far more rewarding and convenient than a field trip would ever be. 

Conferencing options

The whole video conferencing concept encompasses a wide range of different uses and types of equipment; anything from person to person, small groups of pupils, up to entire classroom to classroom conferences are all possible.No matter what system is used, they all require a number of basic features: a camera, microphone, speakers, a display and a net connection.The equipment to do this goes from the inexpensive, such as an add-on webcam for an existing PC or notebook costing as little as £10, right up to standalone dedicated systems that are solely designed for conferencing and can cost thousands of pounds.Exactly what type of equipment is required depends on how you plan to use the conferencing equipment. It boils down to two types: equipment used with a PC or notebook, or the dedicated conferencing hardware option. 

Communication

The way the system communicates is important too. Until recently ISDN, a dedicated data phone line, was still a common option but it is ageing technology and this is gradually being replaced by IP systems that communicate over the internet using standard network protocols. An IP system hooks into an existing school network and takes advantage of its broadband connection.ISDN does offer the advantage of guaranteed quality of service, as it’s a dedicated line, but each line incurs additional line rental and call costs: one reason why internet-based options are now more attractive. If ISDN access is required, it’s largely dedicated equipment that offers this feature often alongside IP communication as well. PC-based options will require internet access for the connection. 

Get equipped

Exactly what equipment is required depends on what you want to achieve. For individuals or small groups, a basic PC or notebook with a few additions will offer everything required for basic video conferencing. It has a display and speakers, so you can see and hear the remote person in all their digital glory. Certain notebooks come with built-in microphones and cameras but it’s likely in most cases these will be needed as extras. For connection, a wired or wireless internet connection will also be necessary and we’ll assume the PC or notebook is already equipped with one  of these options.At the budget end, an existing system could be ready to video conference for as little as £15 with the addition of a webcam and microphone. The compromise here is that the cheaper webcams will only support lower-resolution video (around 320 x 240dpi), lower frame rates and be tricky to position. The same goes for cheap microphones: basic ones won’t be as sensitive and will pick up background noise as readily as your voice. You may also fi nd the built-in speakers aren’t good enough and a basic screen limits the number of users who can comfortably view it.Moving up the scale somewhat, better webcams will offer higher resolutions of 640 x 480 or 1280 x 960 at the high-end plus full video frame-rates of up to 90 frames per second, providing a far better image for the remote viewer. Motorised options are also available, enabling the camera to track around a large room.These higher-end cameras will usually come with built-in noise cancellation microphones that will help improve sound for small-groups. For larger groups you may want to employ a separate handheld or directional microphone. In these cases you will need to check for feedback from the main speakers but for larger groups, standalone speakers at the back of the room will offer better sound and help eliminate feedback.When moving beyond small groups, the size of display becomes an issue. If classroom-sized gatherings are required then a large LCD fl at-panel display or projector will work best, providing easy viewing for everyone. As these devices are compatible with PCs, they can be easily used as the primary or secondary display for a PC or notebook. 

Dedicated systems

The more ict we use, the more problems we have carrying it around. Keith Stuart rounds up some useful portability tips…

 
Teachers have always had to lug around exercise books, textbooks and planners, but now, with more schools embracing ICT as an everyday part of teaching, notebooks and other gadgets are being added to the load. “Carrying all this around is the worst element of my job,” says languages teacher Kate Gibson, who often finds herself with arms full of books, bags, bottled water and a notebooks. “Sometimes I have to make two journeys or ask the kids to help… and they’re never particularly keen!” While more schools require teachers to use notebooks, few provide anywhere safe to keep them during the day, so what can be done to lighten the load?

Technology solutions
You can scale down your technology load without compromising your power. For example, if you’re taking a bulky notebook to school every day just to access Excel spreadsheets or PowerPoint presentations, an ultra mobile notebook or a handheld PC might be a better option. HP’s iPaq pocket PCs are tiny, powerful and run all the productivity software your PC or notebook uses. They can be easily linked to your home PC to copy all your fi les.

Tablet PCs are another alternative. These have large displays like notebooks but have touch screens instead of keyboards, and are great for the classroom as you can pick them up and show the kids what you have on screen. If you just want an electronic organiser, try a SmartPhone. These can be synchronised with your computer and will also open Excel and Word docs. They can even be used to surf the web or check your emails. But make sure it’s running Windows Mobile 5.0, the most up-to-date version of Microsoft’s mini operating system.

Finally, if you’re carrying loads of CDs and DVDs filled with documents, music or video, consider a decent USB memory stick. A 2Gb model costs less than £30 but stores hundreds of files.

Portability solutions
If you’re stuck with your notebook, there are other ways to make your daily burden a little easier. And just because you’re lugging your whole life around with you doesn’t mean you have to look like a Heathrow baggage handler. It’s now possible to buy stylish notebook bags that store all your other gadgets and books, while still allowing you to appear chic. Targus produces a range of notebook bags in handbag-style designs, but with enough room to keep your mobile phone, PDA and papers safe and secure.

Alternatively, Techair has a selection of messenger-style bags in cool colours and sturdy lightweight fabrics; great for porting all your gear without looking like a nerd or business exec. Rucksack-style carriers are perfect if you walk or cycle to work, or you need your arms free for carrying exercise books. Again, all of these specially designed bags feature padding and extra compartments as standard, plus there’s always plenty of space for other papers. However heavy your burden, there’s a solution for you.

Conclusion
Computer technology is integrating into every area of a teacher’s job, from the lessons themselves to admin tasks like registers and reports, which are now produced on networked computers in a lot of schools. But even with technologies like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth making the sharing of digital information more efficient, you’re still facing a future where carrying a
computer everywhere is essential.

So don’t end up with some hi-tech new medical complaint brought on by too much hefty equipment; think about ways to reduce your baggage, ditching the Tesco carrier for a properly designed rucksack, and looking at SmartPhones or PDAs. Your back will thank you in the end.

Teachers’ tips
David Moore
Science teacher, Wiltshire

“Because I have to carry so much stuff, I bought a trendy Techair messenger bag with padded notebook section, and pockets for my mobile and MP3 player. I just sling it over my shoulder and keep my hands free for carrying books. I’ve also got a cheap PDA for storing my Excel teaching planner and other documents.”

Thanks to the wonders of technology, livening up those lessons needn`t be a difficult task, as Lisa Savage explains...

You know the feeling… it’s eight o’clock at night, you’ve just done a pile of marking, you’ve got a Year 11 lesson to prepare for, but you really want to watch a film that’s on in a minute. So what do you do? Do you sacrifice the film and plan instead, or do you watch it then stay up ’til dawn sorting your lesson? Or… do you turn to that good old standby, the PowerPoint presentation? Many a late night panic has been calmed with a few simple clicks in PowerPoint, and the great bonus is that presentations can be used and re-used.

Here’s a handful of top tips to make sure you get the most out of your PowerPoint activities and presentations.

1. Keep it simple
   Even if you’re dealing with a complicated subject, keep things simple and clear. It’s much better to have cleaner looking slides and more of them, than cramming loads of info and graphics on to one page.
2. Recycle slides
   If you’ve got a particularly effective presentation or a single slide, see if you can re-use it in another context, or perhaps a fellow teacher could adapt it for a different subject. The most obvious example is where language teachers share slides, simply changing the vocabulary.
3. Speech out
   Don’t forget to use the speech balloons and thought bubbles, which you’ll find under the AutoShapes > Callouts menu. These are great for teaching conversations in MFL (Modern Foreign Languages) but I’ve also seen them used in activities for younger pupils, where they have to guess what characters in a cartoon might be saying.
4. Pictures help learning
   Images aid visual learners to remember words and facts. A geography teacher friend of mine teaches population figures by showing the population figure next to a picture of a person in traditional costume. It’s a bit twee, but it really works.
5. Animations
   Useful for when doing quizzes on the board, animations make text boxes appear one by one, at the click of a button. You can make them appear in all kinds of ways: slowly fading in, flying across the screen, letter by letter like a teleprinter, dissolving into view and many more.
   You’ll find the whole range under Slideshow > Animations, but don’t forget to highlight the boxes of text or images that you want to animate before you click on the menu.
6. Special effects
   Pupils of all ages love it when you add sound effects to your animations. Adding a laser sound effect to a Fly In animation, or a typewriter sound to a teleprinter effect aids with the overall visual learning concept, and helps engage even the most disinterested learners.
7. Word Art
   If you’ve not got time to spend on making your text look interesting, opt for the Word Art function (a 3D blue A in the Draw toolbar). This turns text into fancy graphics, with 3D effects, shadows and different colours. Edit the colours and shapes using the WordArt toolbar (go to Views > Toolbars > WordArt).
8. Charts and graphs
   You can easily show data in a graph with the Chart Wizard. You enter information into a simple spreadsheet, and it’s turned into a bar chart, graph, scatter graph, pie chart or pretty much any other graph you can think of. Click on the Chart Wizard button on the main toolbar, or go to Insert > Chart…
9. Easy reading
   You can tailor the text and colours to suit the range of learners in your class. Dyslexic learners, for instance, benefit from reading a simple serif-less font (Comic Sans is a teacher favourite). Research also shows that dyslexic learners find it easier to read and work out words on a pastel coloured background. Simply click on Format > Slide Background... and choose a colour (or create one of your own) from the dialog box that pops up.
10. Templates
    If you’re stuck for inspiration, browse through the readymade slides in the library. Although some are very business-orientated, there are others that lend themselves to lessons. Go to Format > Slide Design and you’ll find them all in the Content and Designs folders.
11. Lines
    For annotating diagrams or dividing up a slide, there are different lines to use. The Line tool in the Draw toolbar lets you draw a straight line between two points. Under AutoShapes > Connectors you can draw a straight line with various styles (including angled and curved arrows) between two points, but it automatically sticks to the edge of an object box. Block arrows can also be found under AutoShapes, while annotation boxes are under Callouts.
12. Interaction
    PowerPoint presentations encourage interaction between teacher and pupil, and if you devise an activity where pupils can come up to the board or to your notebook to join in the game, it promotes kinesthetic learning. The simplest kind of game is getting pupils to fill in blanks, such as missing words in a sentence or labeling objects or maps. You can put all the text boxes on one slide, or you can do one at a time, on separate slides, and use animations to make the correct answers appear, as if by magic!
13. Shortcuts
    Bag yourself a few extra minutes by using these indispensable shortcuts. (If using a Mac, you’ll usually need to press Apple instead of Ctrl)
    Ctrl + Shift + < or > Decreases and increases text size
    Ctrl + Alt + Shift + < or > Subscript or superscript
    Ctrl + I Italic
    Ctrl + B Bold
    Ctrl + U Underline
    Ctrl + Shift + Z Revert to plain text
    Ctrl + L or R Left or right aligns text
    Ctrl + E Centre aligns text
    Ctrl + F3 Skips between lower case, title case, upper case
    Ctrl + Shift + F Jumps to font menu (doesn’t work on Mac)
    Ctrl + D Creates duplicate object
    Ctrl + M Create new slide from menu (Apple + Shift + M on Mac)
    Ctrl + N Create new presentation
    Ctrl + F6 Go to next window
    Ctrl + Shift + F6 Go to previous window
    Ctrl + Shift + G Group objects
    Ctrl + Shift + H Ungroup objects
    F7 Spell check

Teachers’ tips
Rob Faulkner
Design & Technology teacher, Somerset

“At our school, we have a special folder on our intranet where we all store our PowerPoint presentations, so that we can share ideas and also borrow other people’s templates and slides. I quite often borrow PowerPoint lessons from the Science teachers to use as a basis for my electronics lessons.”

Getting involved with local communities is all part of pc world education’s drive to provide ict for everyone…

Here at PC World Education, we’re dedicated to making sure that as many children as possible get access to relevant ICT technologies for their learning, and don’t get left behind in the digital revolution.

To help fulfil this aim, PC World’s parent company DSGi has set up the Switched On Communities scheme, a three-year investment programme that supports local charities and four national partner charities: e-Learning Foundation, Eco-Schools, Foyer and AbilityNet. Each of the four charities is devoted to bringing access to technology, advice and support to people around the country.

e-Learning Foundation
The collaboration between PC World Education and the e-Learning Foundation should provide prime funding for around 45 local schools and communities, speeding up the process of delivering technology into the hands of those who need it most.
Baroness Estelle Morris, recent Chair of the e-Learning Foundation is certain that the scheme will meet its target to bring ICT to children everywhere, a necessity in our increasingly hi-tech society. “Technology is so integrated into our daily lives,” she comments, “we take it for granted. Yet 2.5 million school children do not have access to IT and the internet at home, and are victims of the digital divide. Access to and familiarity with IT is critical to their futures as it has become the medium of global business.”

Eco-Schools
Technology is really important to the education of young people but equally is the disposal and responsible use of ICT. PC World Education is delighted to be supporting Eco-Schools, a charity that raises awareness of environmental issues in school, and PC World Education’s donations will fund eco projects such as energy-effi cient appliances and other equipment.

AbilityNet
Young people with special educational needs and lesser abilities also need access to ICT, and that’s where the AbilityNet charity comes in. AbilityNet offers expert advice and information, to ensure that any disabled people can experience the liberating effect of accessible ICT.

Foyer
Foyer is a charity that supports over ten thousand 16- to 25-year-olds each year, combining accommodation, training, life skills and personal support. PC World Education’s link with Foyer means that homeless or other disadvantaged youngsters can gain access to ICT equipment and life skills support while staying at some of the Foyers around the country.

PC World Education encourages its staff and stores to get involved by applying for grants to support local charities or by organising events to raise even more money for the four linked charities. For more information about how your school can receive help and support from the Switched On Communities charities, you can enquire at your local store or emaileducation@pcwb.com

Learning doesn`t have to be dull, and many educational programs can add a touch of fun to the classroom, as Joe Williams Discovers....

Learning and fun have always gone hand in hand, from our toddler days of learning our alphabet songs or counting rhymes, right through to motivational team-building training for middle-aged businessmen. While there’s probably not much to be gained from sending a group of Year 7 pupils on a paintball expedition (apart from them learning about the pain of close-range paint strikes, of course!), there are ways and means of introducing fun to the classroom, some of which involve ICT.

As newly qualified Languages teacher, Anna Britten, knows, games can capture the attention of pupils and help reinforce learning. “During my PGCE year, one of our tasks was to devise a game to help pupils learn the imperfect past tense,” she explains.
“I came up with the idea of a board game (played on the whiteboard via a Powerpoint presentation) combined with a little song, and I couldn’t believe how eager the pupils were to learn the song and play the game. Even six months after we’d introduced the game, I would hear pupils singing bits of the song in the playground, and the imperfect verbs they’d picked up through the game stayed in their memory much longer than others that we learned over the rest of term.”

Learning techniques
As every teacher knows, learners can be categorised into three groups – kinaesthetic, visual and auditory – and many educational software programs employ techniques that support each of these types of learner. However, you can do your bit to engage each of these groups, simply by using the ICT that’s already in your classroom.
For kinaesthetic learners, for instance, you could do something as simple as making up actions to go with a song that’s played through your whiteboard speaker system, or planning an activity that involves pupils coming up to the board and moving words or objects around with a pointer or pen. “When we’re doing listening exercises,” says Anna Britten, “I get the pupils to stand up when they hear a particular phrase or word, and it’s amazing how it encourages everyone to join in, even the most bored boys who usually sit at the back, pretending to be grumpy!”
For visual learners, the obvious technique is to employ images and graphics. Linking words with pictures is a classic way to learn (remember ‘A is for apple’?), but this reaches far into the education stream, and even sixthform and university students can benefit from linking facts and words with pictures and graphics. “With our junior pupils,” says Julian Banes, headteacher of a primary school in Dorset, “we use the Riverdeep educational programs for Maths and Music that introduce cartoon characters to talk students through all kinds of concepts, from basic introductions to musical notes right through to complex mathematical subjects. However, the fact that there’s a ‘person’ to empathise with, and plenty of pictures and graphics as well, it seems to make the learning easier, and it sinks in more too.”
Auditory learners have been shown to learn and develop more through the use of audio, and this can easily been forced in an ICT-equipped classroom.
Consider adding sound effects to your Powerpoint lessons, teaching songs and chants to help reinforce basic learning (of things like times tables, numbers, letters, spelling and so on), using different voices when reading stories, or playing music when children come into class in the morning. “Last year in our school,” says headteacher Julian, “we had a PGCE Music student who took it upon herself to write lots of little songs to help with learning. If anyone had a subject that they wanted to teach in a slightly special way, they’d get Jill to write a song for them. Now, we have loads of songs to help with multiplication tables, capital cities, dates of historic battles, animals and their homes (called The Squirrel And His Drey!), basic chemical symbols and loads more. And we have recorded versions of all of them, saved on the staffroom PCs, so teachers can copy them to their class notebooks via a memory stick.”

The fun of ICT
Of course, the very presence of ICT in the classroom can help make a lesson more fun. Even these days, where ICT has become an integral part of everyday school life, it’s still something of a novelty to pupils, so as soon as you add a technology element to your lesson, it catches the attention, whether you’re showing a DVD, giving a Powerpoint presentation on the interactive whiteboard or booking a session in the ICT suite.
However, actually devising games and activities, or using educational programs or resources that promote kinaesthetic, auditory and visual learning techniques at the same time as encouraging group participation, can take your teaching to a new level.
Songs, board games, cartoon-based programs, Powerpoint sound effects and group activities can all make learning a lot of fun for the pupils, but can help make the teaching (as well as the planning and preparation) a lot more interesting for you. Now, where did I put that dice?

There are plenty of ways to use your flatscreens around school, and here Trevor Coley advises how to use and choose your flat monitor…

Over the last few years, flatscreen monitors, like many other pieces of modern technology, have come down massively in price. Now that they’re more affordable, there’s more reason to find use for them in your school or college.
The most obvious way to use a TFT (thin film transistor) monitor is with your Mac or PC on a desk. Flatscreens take up much less room than traditional CRT (cathode ray tube) monitors, and so can be used in rooms where space is at a premium. It also means you can have your monitor directly in front of you, rather than wedged at an angle into the far corner of your desk.

Thinking outside the box, some schools use flat screens in the main foyer, mounted to the wall, where they display PowerPoint slideshows featuring pictures of the school, its pupils, staff and events. A friend of mine teaches at a school where they’ve put a flatscreen monitor in the dining hall, where it displays the current day’s menu and other announcements like pupils’ birthdays. At the same school, they use a flatscreen monitor on the wall of the
ICT suite, as there isn’t enough space for a full-size whiteboard on the wall.

What to look for
When it comes to specifications, you want the best your budget can buy. Firstly consider the screen size and resolution. Size is given in inches and measured diagonally, while resolution is given in pixels, the most usual quality standard being around 1280x1024.

Response rate, given in milliseconds (ms), is the time it takes for the pixels to redraw, important for when showing fast-moving video; while contrast ratio refers to the differentiation between black and white tones. Allied to these figures is the brightness factor, measured in cd/m2. This useful equation may help you to find the right monitor:

Fast response time (12ms)
+ Contrast ratio (500:1)
+ Brightness (300cd/m2)

To get you connected, monitors should come with a power cable and a VGA cable to link to your PC or Mac. However, look out for extra SCART, S-VHS & DVI connections, which allow you to hook the monitor up to things like a DVD player, video camera, games console or even a TV tuner.

Teachers’ tips
Amy Tapscott
Year 3 teacher, Corsham Primary School, Wiltshire“

Space around computer areas within the classroom or in ICT suites is often very limited and so the use of flatscreen monitors in schools is a brilliant space-saving solution. I have a flatscreen monitor on my computer trolley in my classroom which enables me to display helpful hints and tips right next to the screen to help the children as they work independently on ICT tasks.”

Finding space in school for your ict equipment can be a difficult task. Teacher Amy Tapscott comes up with some space-saving tips...

Storing ICT equipment usefully in schools is a constant challenge. No sooner do you think you’ve got it right than additional resources become available and you need to think again. I’m really fortunate and work in a fairly newly built school, yet space is still at a premium.

Lack of space
When I began teaching I had one old computer gathering dust in the corner of my room to be shared between 35 children. The logistics of making sure everyone was able to have hands-on practice of ICT skills was really challenging for an NQT (newly qualified teacher). Whole class teaching was always disrupted as children went to the computer to carry out activities that weren’t necessarily associated with the lesson, or interrupted me to complain that “It just went blank, Miss!”

Many schools have now overcome this unsatisfactory arrangement by making space for dedicated ICT suites in corridors, libraries, alcoves and even cupboards, or by investing in alternatives such as a laptop trolley. Lots of primary classrooms have spaces neatly labelled ‘ICT area’, but some teachers have to make do with squeezing a single computer on to a desk at the back of the class. Or, worse still; sharing one computer between several classrooms.

Working solutions
In my classroom I have two computers housed in purpose-built trolleys. These trolleys have spaces for the keyboard and mouse to slide underneath the monitor and be locked away. They also have cupboards at the back for storing ICT software safely. I find that this arrangement works well if I need groups of children or individuals to work on a specific activity related to the lesson I’m teaching. For example, I can usually find an activity online, or on a CD-ROM, to support my objectives in my numeracy lesson.

The children join in the whole class teaching and then practise the skills or concepts through the ICT activity. However, we’ve all experienced those chilling moments when a baffled child appears at your side telling you that the computer has gone off and so we’re pulled away from working with our carefully selected focus group to spend the rest of the lesson helping those struggling on the computer instead.  Furthermore, this arrangement, if used in isolation, does not easily allow for enough hands-on ICT experience for our pupils. Gathering 30 pupils around a PC to demonstrate an ICT skill without losing their attention is challenging to say the least!

Suite space
Along with many other schools, we have installed an ICT suite of sorts in the main corridor of our school. This may sound rather bleak but luckily our main corridor is a nice wide, light and airy atrium. We commissioned someone to build benches designed to hold five computers for each Key Stage, and allocated sessions of the timetable so that each class had at least one session where all 10 computers were available. This arrangement worked well for me with older KS2 pupils. I was able to teach the ICT skills using children to demonstrate on two or three computers, which enabled more pupils to see the screens and then the class could practise what they had learnt immediately. Admittedly, three children had to share one computer and I was kept very busy up and down the atrium checking their progress and sorting out behaviour issues, but it was a system that worked well… and the kids loved it!

A colleague of mine in another school is fortunate to have a dedicated ICT suite with 30 fl at-screen computers: enough for every child in the class to use! Initially she was rather against ICT suites but she has been won over. She described how, at the start of the year, her class demanded all her attention during her allocated slot.

They couldn’t log on or get out of difficulty themselves. However, before too long she was able to take more of a back seat as far as troubleshooting went and could concentrate on teaching the children. The class quickly became more confident and competent in their ICT skills. For her, having space for an ICT suite has been invaluable in giving children sufficient time and access to computers in order to make good progress in their learning.

More trolleys
In addition to our corridor ICT suite, we’ve also come up with a great solution in the shape of a special laptop trolley. This holds 18 laptops and is designed so that the laptops can be charged between lessons. We use these laptops in conjunction with our interactive whiteboards, which makes teaching so much easier as it means you can demonstrate and model skills step-by-step as the pupils work alongside you. However, there are a few things that we have to remember. We have to charge the trolley after use so it is ready for the next session, ensure the laptops have the same process for logging on and that the same software is loaded
on to each one. We have also converted a small resources cupboard into an ICT resources room in which we store the laptop trolley and the back-up computer for our network. And, as for the smaller accessories like CD-ROMs, spare cables and other things that tend to go ‘walkabout’, we’ve made absolutely sure that all the computer trolleys in our classrooms have lockable cupboards.

Ideal ideas
Of course I realise that we’re lucky in having the space and the solutions that we have in our school, and obviously all schools are not as fortunate. But, even if the only space you can find is a corner of a cloakroom, a table in the staffroom or a cupboard at the back of the gym, you should be able to squeeze in a couple of computers!

Video cameras have come down so much in price they are now a viable and exciting learning tool. Steve White sums up what’s out there...

The glitz of the bright lights and excitement of being in front of the camera, generates the sort of enthusiasm and interest that can help grab the attention of even the least enthusiastic pupil. While the price in terms of teaching time can seem high, the monetary costs have certainly tumbled. It’s now the case that many camcorder models can cost less than their still image cousins, with models starting as low as £150, featuring everything you’d need to get at least semi-professional video results.

Digital camcorders come in all shapes and sizes, partly down to the market they’re aimed at, partly down to the features they have and partly down to good old tradition. As with everything in life, you get what you pay for and camcorders, as with most products, can be roughly broken down into budget, mid-range and high-end brackets. Part of this segmentation is down to how the cameras store the video, while the other is how the image is captured in the first place.

Capturing pupils
That last point is the most straightforward to explain. As with still digital cameras, digital video cameras have an electronic sensor called a CCD that detects and captures the image. Even at the high-end the resolution of these can seem ridiculously low-resolution compared to still cameras. On average, budget camcorders have a 0.38 megapixel sensor and even high-end high-def cameras top out at just over two megapixels.

This is simply how video works; because the image is moving, less resolution is required as the eye can only take in so much detail at once. A basic 0.38 megapixel or 380,000-pixel CCD is perfectly adequate to generate standard 4:3 TV resolution video.
The next step up is a widescreen sensor, with a 16:9 display ratio, at standard definition these are around
500,000 pixels. As camcorders move into the mid- and high-range, high definition resolutions open up.

These start at 1280x720 (that’s one megapixel) moving up all the way up to 1920x1080 resolution (which is two megapixel). A final point is that, so far, all these camcorders have used a single CCD, but at the high-end there are devices that make use of tree CCDs in a single device. These capture the red, green and blue colours individually and produce a far superior image quality, but are only required if a professional broadcast quality end-product is needed.

In the can
The other major technical aspect that requires careful consideration is the storage medium the camcorder uses. We could roughly lump storage into three types: tape, DVD and memory cards. Of all three, tapes are the oldest technology but that doesn’t mean they’re a bad option. In fact, tape storage offers some excellent advantages, not more so than in budget options offering low costs and wide support. A format called MiniDV is the most popular tape format and is widely supported by many manufacturers.

Sony have a couple of similar if proprietary options called Digital8 and MicroMV. It may seem that tape is a little antiquated and, out of all the storage technologies, it has been around the longest, but this helps in a couple of ways. First it’s cheap to implement in the camera; budget cameras tend to use Mini DV. Second, tape technology can have all the performance eked out of it; Digital8 and MiniDV are used on high-end cameras. Lastly replacement media has relatively low costs. There are downsides to tapes, most obviously tracking between scenes and transferring footage to either video or computer takes time. Some more expensive tapes have memory built-in to log scenes but this tends to be a more mid- or high-end feature.

True digital
Great alternatives to tapes are mini-DVD cameras. These types of camcorders take an 8cm miniature DVD disc inside. These can be either R or RW style discs and store 1.4Gb of data or around half an hour of video, depending on the quality settings. Despite the seemingly short record time it is more than enough for most class situations. Discs also provide a few real advantages; they’re cheap at around £1, files are recorded as MPEG so can be edited immediately via a PC and finally the discs can be directly played in most DVD players.

The only disadvantage is that the end video quality isn’t potentially as high as other options, such as with tape or hard drive models, due to the restrictive capacity. But this is only an issue if you are wanting broadcast quality video. The final recording option is directly to a hard drive or memory card. The memory card option tends to be used in budget cameras. These might seem convenient and, while the cost of memory cards has tumbled, it’s still more expensive than mini DVD or miniDV options.

At the high-end, hard drive-based cameras record directly to the drive at broadcast resolutions and have capacities of 30Gb or more offering masses of storage in a compact camera design. A downside is that as the hard drive is fixed it’s not the best option for group use where a camera may be shared, as potentially you’ll have to wait for everyone to finish their filming.

That’s a wrap
Those are the two overriding choices when looking at different camcorder models. Beyond them similar features can be found across most models. There are a number of chassis types; horizontal, vertical and compact. Vertical and compact tend to dominate budget and mid-range models and they make for smaller designs. While at the high-end a traditional, horizontal shape remains the norm.

Connections with a digital camcorder are important, providing flexible ways to remove the footage. Traditionally a FireWire port is the usual PC-to-camera connection but look for USB options along with S-Video and composite for video or TV. But these are mostly standard features.

An optical zoom of at least 10x, if not 20x, should be on offer. Digital zoom will be on top of this but can be disregarded. The viewfinder lets you know what you’re pointing the camera at and these days tends to be a flip-out LCD colour display around 2.5-inch in size, more advanced models will offer an eyepiece based EVF.

Cameras may also display a LUX rating; this is a brightness reading and the lower the better for poor light conditions. Zero is perfect but sub-seven should be a pre-requisite. A neat feature to have in your camera is image stabilisation. This can be done digitally or optically, the latter being the best but most expensive option. Digital stabilisation crops into the image and while this can work well when a camera has an oversized CCD, it can sometimes degrade the image quality.

Still image capabilities are something offered by many models. However, on the whole, even with expensive camcorders, the still image performance is such that if you actually require decent still image capture it is better to buy a still digital camera.

Sound is often forgotten but is essential in any video production; good sound quality makes all the difference. All cameras will offer a built-in microphone of some description, however not all are built equal. Some may be boom-mounted or offer zoom control with windshield. If you want advanced sound recording though, look for external microphone connections.

Amy Tapscott
Year 3 teacher at Corsham Primary School, Wiltshire

Using video cameras in the classroom can add a new dimension to children’s learning. This additional teaching strategy harnesses children’s visual, auditory and kinesthetic learning styles and will capture the interest of those whose minds would otherwise wander into the blue!

I particularly like to use video as a tool for children self-evaluating their performance in practical tasks. For instance, we use it when improving their sequences in dance and gymnastics. Whereas usually children comment on each others’ sequences without being able to refer to specific aspects, by filming each group’s performance, pupils can then observe for themselves their strengths and those parts of their performance they need to improve.

Another way of using video effectively is for visual literacy. For example, by taking a short film of a role-play, this can be used as an interesting stimulus for writing. Children can write predictions of what they think will happen next, improve an ending or use it as an opportunity to develop character description. The use of video brings experiences to children they may not otherwise access and offers another way into writing.

A colleague who recently moved into a new school recorded the event on video and used this resource to explore how different types of evidence can be used to find out about the past. Using video has to be manageable and with a clear purpose if it is to have an impact on children’s learning. However, with these considerations in mind, using video cameras as a tool to enhance learning can be a valuable and rewarding experience. It is for me!

Handhelds put the power of a laptop into the palm of your hand. Neil Mohr explains why you’re guaranteed to love them...

 The handheld computer, or Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), is one of the staples of science fiction. In films and TV you can just picture the Spandex-clad science officer tapping away on some hand-sized device, while the fearless starship captain eyes up the nearest alien beauty. And so grew the adage that everything in Star Trek will eventually become reality. So far, as well as having portable communicators, video conferencing and a medical machine that goes ‘ping’, we also have the handheld computers.

Around ten years old, the market for handhelds has remained small compared to desktops and laptops, but in the business sector it has solidly developed. Hand-sized, portable devices enable you to take, read and edit all your documents, emails, notes and more on the move. And, as technology has progressed, full Internet and communications features have been added to the basic handheld. So now, out-of-the-box handhelds are capable of handling email, at least basic web browsing, instant messaging, fi le transfer, network browsing and even telephony on phone models. Most handhelds are also capable of full video and audio playback of the latest files.

Know your handhelds
In the handheld world there are two main options: those that use Palm OS and those that use Microsoft’s Windows Mobile OS. Both do a pretty similar job but it seems that the Microsoft-based devices are winning, with even Palm now releasing devices running Windows Mobile. In broad terms, Palm OS devices tend to require lower specifications and so can be cheaper than Windows Mobile equivalents, and they can offer longer battery life. On the flip side, Windows Mobile devices tend to have more features and run faster. Whichever you opt for, both work in a similar manner. Both products synchronise with your PC or laptop using a piece of installed software. This can synchronise items such as emails, calendar entries, to do lists and specified folders with the handheld, so that both the PC and the handheld hold the same information.

It is also possible to copy files to and from the handheld and, if necessary, these will be converted into a form the device can handle. This is down to the other important difference: the programs that run on handhelds are specific to either the Palm OS or Windows Mobile OS. They can’t run standard desktop PC software, as they require special ‘mobile’ versions. The ‘sync’ process is an important aspect of handhelds as it enables you to take emails, appointments, documents and other files with you and then later have them automatically updated when the handheld is connected again. This makes them perfect and very convenient for taking files from school to home or vice versa.

While handhelds can handle opening most standard documents, such as Word, Excel and jpegs, the handheld may struggle to open more complex documents. For example, if it tries to open a Word document with advanced formatting, most of the formatting will be ignored. And this is the main limitation with these devices.

What to look for
So why would you want one? As devices, handhelds are captivating. They fit in the palm of your hand; have touch-sensitive screens and memory cards that are measured in gigabytes. The fact is, even laptops are cumbersome but, weighing less than 200g, a handheld can be taken and anywhere. This makes them perfect for reading emails and documents on the move and the touch-sensitive interface enables editing and manipulation. When choosing a handheld, there are certain features to look out for. One of these are expansion slots, which will usually be Compact Flash and SD slots. These enable you to add extra storage space and expansion cards.

Many handhelds offer built-in networking or Bluetooth features. Most offer a screen resolution of 320x240, but a small number offer 480x320 or 640x480 resolutions and these make for superb reading devices. As with standard PCs, handhelds come with different processor speeds, so look out for the speed that will suit you. There are a number of other options regarding handhelds to consider. Carry cases are cheap and offer protection, keyboards help input as typing is slow using the stylus, spare styluses are always useful and some have helpful docking stations. But the one sure thing is that once you’ve got one, you won’t be able to live without it!

Top handheld tips
Here’s a quick round up of the most popular things that teachers and lecturers can do with their handhelds…

1. Portable documents: You really can take documents wherever you go.
2. Portable storage: Compact Flash and SD memory cards are so cheap that handhelds can double as portable storage.
3. Media player: Able to play MP3, other audio files and video files, many handhelds can double as a media players to entertain you on the move!
4. Email anywhere: With synchronised email you can read and reply to your emails no matter where you are.
5. Voice recorder: Part of the Pocket PC standard is a built-in microphone, so if you need to store some passing spark of genius, it can easily be saved for posterity.
6. Instant internet: With a wireless network and a handheld with wireless networking, the internet can be to hand wherever you are.
7. To do: Using both available To Do and Notes features, it’s easy to make comprehensive lists and add reminders.
8. Organise your life: With a built-in electronic diary that synchronises, you’ll never miss that vital meeting again!
9. Personal library: With the local storage now available and wide availability of ebooks, transform your handheld into a portable library.
10. Laptop alternative: Some cost a quarter of the cheapest laptops but offer a lot of the same functions.

Technology has revolutionised the way our schools operate. To find out more, Lisa Savage heads back to her old primary school…

Over twenty years have passed since I was at primary school, and both technology and teaching have progressed an awful lot in that time. To appreciate exactly what a difference technology has made to education over the years, I went back to my old primary school to take a look for myself. St John’s School, in Midsomer Norton near Bath is a CEVA primary school with over 400 pupils and about 30 staff. Things have certainly changed since I was there, as the school has been refurbished and remodelled, and long gone are the days when one BBC Micro computer was wheeled between all the classrooms for us to have our fortnightly play on the maze game.

Current head teacher Carolyn Banfield has been at the school for eight years, and in that time has seen things develop quickly. “ICT has revolutionised teaching,” she explains, “and the way we respond to individual learning styles and the methods of recording and analysing assessment data. This is most evident in the delivery of teaching, particularly with the use of interactive whiteboards (IWBs), pupil accessibility to the Internet and how this has supported independent research skills.”

ICT around school
The school is very well off for technology, with interactive whiteboards in all classrooms, an impressive ICT suite and most teachers with their own desktop computers or notebooks. Over in the school office, bursar Jean Harris has also embraced computers during her time in her job. “I’ve done this job since 1984 and am officially known as school secretary and finance manager,” explains Jean. “We use computers mainly for all the finance work, personnel and pupil records. And we also use printers, photocopiers and a fax machine for general jobs.” Teaching and learning at St John’s also involves a lot of reliance on ICT these days.

The blackboards and chalk that were used in my day have now been replaced by interactive whiteboards, as I discover when I visit Year 6 teacher and Maths coordinator Steve Bamford in his classroom in the newly refurbished wing of the school.
“In my classroom, we have an interactive whiteboard, two computers, my teacher’s notebook and connection to the internet,” he shows me. “Downstairs is the ICT suite with computers, printers and a projector; and we also make use of digital cameras, video and scanners.” He finds that ICT helps teaching and learning in a host of ways. “I find I use ICT in most lessons to support learning, and use specific programs to support different subjects,” he explains. “It helps grab pupils’ attention, encourages learning and they are able to communicate their ideas through ICT use. Of course, there are drawbacks, for instance with power cuts or unreliable technology, and it can blind you to the most valuable resource, i.e., the teacher and the learners.”

Steve doesn’t only use ICT in the classroom. “I use computers to do all my planning and preparation,” he continues, “and to keep records of work and achievement, and we also produce teaching/learning videos with our ICT equipment.” Use of ICT software and hardware also helps those with learning difficulties, as SEN (Special Educational Needs) teaching assistant, Ann Savage, points out. “I work with pupils in small groups or one to one, and occasionally in the classroom,” she explains, “and use computers, printers and sometimes digital cameras in my role. I use programs that are specially designed for those pupils with lower abilities, and I find that the SEN children benefit from this as it’s directly targeted to their level of learning, and also teaches them keyboard skills. It also means they can work independently and at their own level.”

Help and support
Teaching assistant, Stacy Flagg, has only been at St John’s for a year, but has already turned her ICT skills to her advantage, helping pupils and teachers in class, and also becoming a quasi-technician! “In my job I use computers, digital cameras and printers,” she begins. “I install most of the software on to all the computers. Of course, we have a technician who comes in once a fortnight and deals with any major problems, but I’m starting to learn lots of techie things from him.”

Stacy sees different equipment being used in a variety of ways throughout the school, as she explains: “We use the digital cameras as much as possible, and then often use the pictures that we’ve taken in PowerPoint presentations, which are shown in the main entrance foyer on a large flatscreen TV. We also have some Apple Macs in the ICT suite, which some of the teaching assistants have used for different animated films, mainly with pupils from Year 2 (age six and seven) upwards.”

Stacy has found the ICT has helped her teaching, but also sees how it enthuses the pupils too. “It’s great to see the children’s confidence grow,” she smiles, “from the reception-age children who can just about sit on the chairs to the Year 6 pupils who can confidently create PowerPoint presentations on World War II. Our Year 2 class recently used the Paintshop Pro program to draw pictures of the Great Fire of London, and even pupils as young as Year 1 are able to cut and paste images from the internet. Just this week we found lots of pictures of Jonah and the whale for a picture project, which they loved doing!”

ICT in the future
Like most schools, St John’s intends to develop and expand its use of ICT throughout the school. Head teacher Carolyn Banfield is all for development and replacement of existing ICT provision. “We have a five-year action plan for ICT, and a budget is set aside each year to support the replacement of ICT. Plans include the purchase of more up-to-date technology, such as our flatscreen that’s on display in the main foyer; we hope to replicate that in other areas of the school. “We’re a forward-looking school,” Carolyn continues, “and we have a clear understanding of how new technology can be used to improve and raise standards of achievement even further.”

Obviously future expansion is always restricted by limited budgets, but there are certain items already on Carolyn’s ideal shopping list. “Within the next year, we hope to purchase a camera for each classroom, and we also want to get a video camera to put inside a bird box in the nature patch, so that pupils can study the life cycle of a bird. If money were no object,” she laughs, “my wish list would include a carousel of 20 notebooks that can be wheeled from classroom to classroom, an active vote system (where pupils have key pads linked to the IWB so they can key in an answer or have votes), and small IWBs that can be used by the teacher with smaller groups of children at their table.”

The idea of a bottomless money pit appeals to the other staff too. Jean in the office has her eye on a new gadget: “In the reception office, a coin-counting machine would be very useful for the fund-raising activities we organise, and a colour photocopier/ printer would be great too.” Year 6 teacher Steve also likes the idea of a limitless budget. “The ideal would be class sets of notebooks or more ICT suites. At the moment we get just one hour in the ICT suite a week, which is inadequate,” he smiles. “I’d also like to see more immersive programs for natural history and developing global links with direct resources.”

Technology will continue to underpin teaching and learning techniques, and the difference between education now and when I was at school will continue to widen, but it’s important to remember the fundamental basics of education and the teacher-pupil relationship, as Steve observes. “Of all the ICT resources we have here, and plan to have in the future, I could live without them all, and that’s a very important point to remember.”