The future’s bright Your guide to
futureproofed purchasing
The future’s bright Your guide to
futureproofed purchasing
in the final of our three-part ‘the future’s bright’ series
EDITOR’S COMMENT
I
t’s easy, when you’re being steam-rollered by demands from every direction, to feel a little overwhelmed when someone mentions updating your ICT provision. Here at EdExec we understand that it can seem like an unconquerably large undertaking, but we’ve also spoken to enough superstar SBMs and network managers to know that ICT is also its own magical world of possibility, and one which can be pretty exciting too. If you’re someone who prides themselves on their level-headed approach to procurement you’re unlikely to be wowed by passing fads and suspiciously low (or high) price tags. But there are some trends that have rooted themselves in the classroom in recent months and years, and are now being taken pretty seriously – take, for example, 3D printing. In this month’s ‘The future’s bright’ section we take an intrepid step into the (relative) unknown and find out about how the digitised classroom of tomorrow could become a reality for the schools of today (p32). Plus, we explore how a move to the cloud could revolutionise the way you work and help you cut costs in the process (p36). In our opinion, the uptake of cloud technology is encouraging schools to think more like businesses, something we were pretty sure you’d be on board with! Enjoy.
The classroom of tomorrow
Ringing the changes for future generations with an increasingly digitised classroom
HEAD IN THE CLOUDS
We unearth the benefits of moving your operations skyward
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JESS PIKE, EDITOR
The future’s bright {TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS}
The classroom of tomorrow
32
July 2015
The future’s bright {TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS}
GEORGE CAREY looks at how SBMs and network managers can ring the changes for future generations with an increasingly digitised classroom, in particular with 1:1 provision of personal devices and 3D printing
T
he pace of change in schools can make your head spin, with everything from methods of pedagogy to sporting facilities constantly evolving and improving as institutions adapt to make their way in the highly competitive world of education. In no other area is the blistering speed of evolution felt more keenly than ICT, where today’s exciting innovation quickly becomes yesterday’s news. School business managers and their network managers can often feel under-pressure to keep up with, and indeed outdo, the Jones’ with their education technology offering in order to attract pupils and help improve attainment across the school. There are a couple of technology trends in particular that seem set to have a huge impact on the way pupils learn, namely 1:1 provision and 3D printing. So what are schools starting to do with these technologies and how easy are they to integrate into school life? The implementation of 1:1 pupil devices is something that has been on schools’ radars for some time – since the advent of iPads, Chromebooks and other personal devices that lend themselves to that way of working – but it is only now that it is becoming truly widespread, and it looks to be going from strength to strength. One of the early trailblazers in this regard was Chiswick School, which brought in a combination of devices for pupils to aid their learning and ensure they always had access to the technology they needed. The school initially introduced its scheme a year group at a time and by incentivising parents to contribute to the cost, it was able to do so without breaking the bank. Headmaster Tony Ryan is passionate about the power of technology in schools and wants to have 1:1 provision in all years of the school in due course. “IT is definitely integral to what we do and the staff are some of the best trained in the country,” he says. “We haven’t yet got a device for everyone, but we’re on the way there. At the moment Year 7s and 8s have iPads (that’s 430 kids with iPads), and at the top end of the school, sixth form have Chromebooks.” Despite incentivising parents to contribute to costs, Tony was determined that devices would also be available to students
Before you hand out the devices make it clear to yourself and everyone else what you want to achieve
whose parents couldn’t or wouldn’t pay. He explains: “What we agreed on was that if the student uses it in school there’s no charge. But if you want to take it home it’s £20 per term over three years – £10 if you’re on free school meals. So somebody that’s not on free school meals is going to pay £180 back out of the £220 that it cost the school to buy the device and peripherals in the first place, and the rest will be paid for by the school. We felt that it was important that if we were saying that tablets are an essential part of 21st century learning we paid a little bit of it. “They’re our iPads until all the payments have been made; we decided not to go for a BYOD scheme because we wanted to be able to manage it better than we could do through that sort of system. In terms of cost, there was a long philosophical debate with governors over whether we should charge at all, because some believe that education should be free at source. I argued strongly against this because the ownership’s got to be there; these kids have got to feel it’s their machine and the parents have got to feel that they’re buying into it as well, and you’re not going to get that without some financial input.” And so far it’s been a great success, with engaged pupils thriving with the help of their new tools. For any schools keen to know how to make their own 1:1 scheme successful, Tony’s advice is simple: “Get the infrastructure right first and get the wireless in place. Also, before you hand out the devices make it clear to yourself and everyone else what you want to achieve. What outcomes do you want? What will success look like?”
A WORLD OF ENDLESS POSSIBILITY A more recent addition to today’s classroom is 3D printing, but it’s potential to positively impact upon learning is no less profound. What’s more surprising is that the technology, in one form or another, is not actually new – rather its recent availability to the masses is the game-changing element here. The first additive manufacturing – as it’s also known – technology was created in the early 1980s. Over the course of the intervening years, different printing methods and technologies have emerged and prices have come down consistently until the point now at which schools are in a position to provide them. While some rather charmless individuals have used the technology to produce guns and put the instructions all over the internet, it’s a technology that’s generally viewed with a great deal of positivity and has been applied to a host of far more useful purposes than the manufacture of firearms. Its influence in education and possible applications looks set to rise and rise as prices fall and schools and consumers buy into the
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The future’s bright {TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS}
We quickly evaluated how printers could be used practically in the classroom to enhance learning outcomes
concept. Indeed, technological Nostradamus Gartner believes that more than two million 3D printers will be sold in 2018 with total spending hitting $13.4bn in the same year. The technology research specialist predicts that consumer 3D printing will grow 10-fold, to sales of 850,000 by 2018. Recognising its potential, the Department for Education trialled the technology in a 3D printing pilot starting in late 2012. Science departments used the printers as a context to discuss the properties of plastics, to build models for teaching science such as molecules, eyeballs, cells and sine waves, and to build components for working equipment such as rockets. One interesting application of the technology was at Honywood Community Science School in Essex, where they designed an advanced 3D development learning tool, enabling pupils to create 3D objects using typed code in POV-Ray3. This enabled pupils to practise writing and debugging code and also supported studying algebra and understanding 3D/2D space. Another school that was involved in the pilot was Settlebeck School, in Cumbria, and it hasn’t looked back since. “Through allowing a small group of students hands-on experience with the printer, we quickly evaluated how printers could be used practically in the classroom to enhance learning outcomes,” says David Jermy, the school’s head of design and technology. He has now incorporated the technology in a more established manner and is reaping the rewards. Although it may seem that the use of 3D printers would involve big costs, David doesn’t think this is the case. “With relatively low-cost and free open source software, 3D printing is very accessible,” he explains. “Whereas students are often restricted in using expensive kit such as laser cutters, they can be let loose on printers without the worry of expensive breakages. Giving them ownership of the full process heightens interest and engagement – the number one factor for good learning.” And the introduction of the technology has had a positive impact in other areas too. David comments: “The success of the 2012 pilot has led to a number of unexpected spin-offs. Our recently learned expertise enabled us to apply for further funding to provide professional development courses and teaching materials.” And things continue to move apace with exciting developments for the little school from Cumbria. “This year, Settlebeck has been invited to take part in a Europe-wide study on the application of 3D printing in maths and science,” says David. He adds: “The media may be making ridiculous claims about the potential of 3D printing, but it’s clear to me that a quiet revolution is taking place in the world of making.” So if you haven’t yet considered equipping your pupils with their own personal device or given them the chance to see their ideas come to life in 3D form, it may well be time to start doing some research. There are schools out there showing us just how successfully it can be done and highlighting the incredible enthusiasm these new devices can inspire in students. Good luck!
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34
July 2015
The future’s bright {CLOUD TECHNOLOGY}
Head in the clouds While many businesses have already moved their operations skyward, some schools seem to be treading more carefully. AUSTIN CLARK unearths the benefits of cloud technology
36
July 2015
The future’s bright {CLOUD TECHNOLOGY}
O
n-site servers might be well-established in education and have done the job of storing important information for years but the exciting opportunities offered by cloud storage can no longer be ignored, with some schools moving their entire database to a third party storage provider. One of the major advantages of today’s cloud-based storage models is that access to relevant teaching apps and documents can be made available from anywhere at any time. This anytime access brings with it a new flexibility for education and increases the ability of students and teachers to access educational materials. Gowerton School near Swansea is a strong advocate of cloudbased learning. Speaking about the school’s Google-based set-up, Darren Long, Gowerton’s ICT teacher and coordinator, said: “A lot of the time you go to an ICT lab and find that it’s all about the technology when it should be about the teaching. Cloud and associated technology such as Chromebooks take away this barrier. This means teachers can concentrate on what they do best – teaching.” The much talked about collaborative learning is one of the biggest benefits of cloud-based systems, says Darren. “Previously students and teachers sent assignments back and forth on email,” he explains. “Now, via the Google Docs system (that we’ve chosen), they can work in the same document at the same time, wherever they are, making group projects much easier and allowing teachers to help to shape it as it progresses, rather than just give a mark at the end of the process and move on. It’s a much better learning experience, and has led to higher attainment levels. By working more collaboratively with students, we’ve seen a real improvement in their grades.” Cloud storage is also starting to look like an essential commodity with the increasing use of mobile devices in schools. It complements the use of tablets and other mobile devices, whether it’s 1:1 provision or BYOD. Pupils employing these devices will need access to their work saved on the network, both in lessons and in the evenings, in order to complete homework tasks. It’s the quickest and safest delivery method to offer students access to their work at all times. As cloud storage and access takes hold, print from mobile devices will soon become an additional benefit of cloud technology according to Eddie Ginja, head of cloud print services at KYOCERA Document Solutions. “Printing from mobile devices is becoming increasingly popular,” he explains. “The latest generation software that will be available soon means pupils can send a document to a printer at their school, directly from their device, whenever and wherever. They can walk into school, swipe their ID card and pick up their job. It’s easy and secure and also means there’s no wasted print as the printer will only release documents when the pupil is at the device.”
THE GREAT ENABLER Clearly a major shift towards cloud technology requires infrastructure to be reviewed and updated, so such a scheme does involve some capital expenditure, such as directing a significant spend towards networking and connectivity, with a high-capacity wireless network and cloud printing. Eddie says: “To fully utilise the benefits of the cloud schools need to ensure they have a capable wireless broadband network. Superfast broadband is the great enabler of cloud solutions. Availability is spreading rapidly and schools are recognising the need for it if they are to move their ICT forward.” There is, however, good news on the cost front according to Eddie, who says that new cloud print software, due to be introduced later this year, will allow schools to utilise solutions without the need for expensive networks. This could be particularly useful for multi-school trusts. “The latest solutions will allow multiple schools to point at the same server, reducing network and server costs dramatically. “The uptake of cloud technology is encouraging schools to think like businesses when it comes to technology. There is increasing digitisation of documents, print fleets are being rationalised, the volume of print is being reduced and collaboration is being increased – thanks to cloud technology. There’s also a move towards the digitisation of back office workflows, which is important as budgets are squeezed.” Schools thinking of shifting to the cloud should note the importance of finding a reliable technology partner to manage the installations, upgrades and day-to-day system maintenance. It’s not only a question of setting up a technical infrastructure, but also creating a virtual learning environment that helps teachers deliver better courses and enables students to achieve greater success. Get it right and the cloud can be a powerful technology.
The uptake of cloud technology is encouraging schools to think like businesses when it comes to technology
Six reasons to head to the cloud It provides a flexible, scalable, cost-effective model that does not tie schools to out-of-date infrastructure or application investments It includes the flexibility to meet rapidly changing software requirements It allows software standardisation, a shared pool of applications for use school-wide and easier maintenance through centralised licensing and updates It enables rapid development and deployment of solutions without the need for in-house expertise It can eliminate the upfront financial burden of deploying new technology through specific hardware Collaboration is supported across the school and beyond.
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