Tech&LearningUK September 2016 Digital by Future PLC

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MAKING LIFE EASIER FOR ALL Editor: Heather McLean heather@mclean-media.com Executive Editor: Paddy Baker pbaker@nbmedia.com Executive Editor: Joanne Ruddock jruddock@nbmedia.com Head of Design: Jat Garcha jgarcha@nbmedia.com Designer: Tom Carpenter tcarpenter@nbmedia.com Sales Manager: Gurpreet Purewal gpurewal@nbmedia.com US Sales - Executive Vice President: Adam Goldstein agoldstein@nbmedia.com Production Executive: Warren Kelly wkelly@nbmedia.com Digital Director: Diane Oliver doliver@nbmedia.com Content Director: James McKeown Contributors: Ian McMurray, Terry Freedman, Mark Chambers, Stuart Swann, Andrew Robinson

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Welcome to our early autumn edition of Tech&Learning UK. As students return to school after long summer holidays and the nights begin to draw in, it is time to turn our attention to making the lives of everyone in educational establishments easier, from head teachers to academic heads of departments, from kids to caretakers. Technology is one way of making this possible. We are living in the era of the connected classroom. Whether yours is or not right now, it will soon need to be; staff and pupils demand and need instant connectivity throughout schools, colleges and universities across a plethora of devices. Yet while some acknowledge this, others are still reluctant to give technology the attention it deserves, pushing it Editor: Heather McLean heather@mclean-media.com down the list of priorities. However, students are leading the charge with change, and are almost forcing places of learning to take the techie leap. Students today view their technology and access to in the same way that older generations view electricity; it should just be there all the time to make things work. Mobile devices are a perfect example of this. They are not only in every student’s pocket today, but in every member of staff’s also. In our Mobile Learning feature on page 12 we take a look at smartphones and their big brother, tablets. While the mobile revolution is truly upon us, we do need to make sure mobile devices are a useful tool in schools, and not a distraction. This changing way of working through devices like the smartphone and laptop means we are becoming ever more mobile. That means the software and programs used to run schools and unis also needs to become mobile. On page 16 we have a feature on the cloud, which is enabling the mobile transformation of learning. The cloud offers simplified access, the opportunity to scale as you grow, better control of costs, improved agility and a platform from which to innovate faster; what’s not to love? Speaking of economies of scale and staying ahead of the times, our big interview is with the London Grid for Learning’s CEO, John Jackson. The grid is an uber network for London schools, providing higher-quality connectivity than a lot of businesses get today, and it is not only for schools in the capital; it is spreading its reach, being used already by the public sector and schools across the country. Turn to page 6 and find out how its plans can help you. I hope you find this issue of Tech&Learning UK useful and informative. The next one will be with you in November, so keep an eye out! Have a great autumn and enjoy the leaves. @techlearningUK

CONTRIBUTORS Ian McMurray has over 30 years’ experience in marketing, communications and media relations with high-technology companies in the IT and audiovisual markets. His experience and knowledge now contribute towards his career as a freelance writer, working across various titles.

Terry Freedman is an independent writer, consultant, trainer, and speaker in the ﬁeld of educational ICT and computing. He has been a head of department and Ofsted inspector, and publishes the ICT & Computing in Education website. He loves writing about education and technology, and education technology.

Stuart Swann is an educational consultant and vice chair of the National Association of Primary Education (NAPE), as well as a Lego Education academy certiﬁed trainer. He has 20 years’ teaching experience and began his career in primary schools, where he was responsible for music and ICT.

Andrew Robinson has enjoyed a 25-year career in the education sector in educational and academic publishing roles at Taylor & Francis, Pearson and, for the past eight years, at Cengage Learning where he has been engaged in a number of leadership roles, including director of higher education.

Mark Chambers is the CEO of ICT in education association, Naace. Chambers’ previous roles have included responsibility for a local authority school improvement team and school senior leadership. He is a current member of the Education Technology Action Group (ETAG) and the national interest group UKForCE.

SEptember 2016

CONTENTS

Opinion

NAPE’s Stuart Swann on STEM success for pressured schools Cengage Learning’s Andrew Robinson looks at Brexit facts Naace’s Mark Chambers on ﬁnding the right tech partner

10 Interview London Grid for Learning Trust’s CEO, John Jackson, speaks about the grid, its growth and its future role

12 Mobile Learning Are mobile devices in class a useful learning tool, or merely a distraction?

28 University of Central Lancashire App system replaces response hardware

30 Barnsley College

16 Cloud Who in education is adopting this transformative technology, and why

Budgeting for big storage from Tegile

20 Optimising WiFi The increasing importance of proper WiFi provision in schools

22 Show Review Looking back at EdTechXEurope and RM Education’s Real

24 Showcase Take a look at these must-have projectors

32 Product Focus Matrox Monarch LCS: a value-formoney lecture capture device Making, coding and hacking with the Kano Computer Kit

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OPINION

STUART SWANN A hands-on approach to learning will help with meeting national curriculum requirements for assessments in science and computing, and with developing a basis for success in STEM

here is a great deal of pressure placed upon schools to prepare pupils for national assessments, and there is an inherent danger in this. The guidelines are ever changing, and there is always a new standard for schools to live up to. The concept of ‘results’ in itself is problematic, as this essentially translates to success in examination, rather than achieving good results in terms of pupil wellbeing and development. By focusing on examinations as the sole measure of monitoring school progress, the art of teaching can be reduced down to what is essentially a box-ticking exercise. In a time of high demand for good results, teachers are expected to ﬁll children with facts, which in turn limits the possibility for exploration and discovery, something that we as educators know is essential to their educational – and personal – development. At present, a large gap exists between what is provided by science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) education and what is needed by the industry. This is due in part to the determination of government to enforce a curriculum that is in danger of limiting pupils’ imagination and creativity, and greatly harming the future prospects of a generation. Schools need to be given the space and opportunity to develop their pupils’ skills at a more fundamental level. There is a real need for teachers to be allowed

September 2016

to bring the element of creativity back into the classroom, as it is impossible to deny the importance of engagement; it is no secret that when children are excited about the learning experience and having fun in their lessons, they learn more and they learn better.

‘There is a real need for teachers to be allowed to bring the element of creativity back into the classroom, as it is impossible to deny the importance of engagement’ A thematic approach and hands-on tasks give children opportunities to see the practical applications of ideas and concepts, while technology such as tablets enables pupils and teachers to record and create digital content within lessons. There are a wide range of resources available that meet the requirements of the computing curriculum within the context of science and the wider curriculum. A thematic approach also helps pupils to understand the links between subjects and develop their abilities to apply their skills to a variety of tasks and topics.

For example, using robotics resources, pupils are able to take a task and make it their own, considering elements of design technology, scientific reasoning and mathematical calculations to create their own solutions to a problem, all the while using programming to help their creations come to life. In every subject, it’s important to foster resilience among pupils so that they can learn how to fail. This is especially important in STEM subjects, as it is often the case that the first time round, the code won’t work or the results of an experiment won’t be what you had expected or hoped for. Supporting children through these setbacks and allowing them to explore their solutions further will help them to identify the areas in which they aren’t so confident and to develop their own strategies to overcome them. Similarly, from the perspective of teachers, it can be very difficult to approach new concepts in a subject like computing if they have no prior experience to draw upon. In these cases, finding resources and frameworks that

also include curriculum support and training will give schools the ability to develop a strong aligned strategy and provide teachers with a solid basis from which they can conduct truly engaging lessons which raise attainment across the curriculum. If teachers are inspired and excited about their subjects, this will naturally transfer into the engagement of pupils. By implementing a creative, hands-on and exploratory approach to learning, when schools eventually come to tick the boxes for curriculum requirements and assessment, they will be able to tick more of them. This is because the essential skills developed through thematic learning provide children with a fundamental basis of understanding that, in turn, helps them to absorb and process the information they need to succeed in assessment, rather than just reciting facts and ﬁgures. Q Stuart Swann is educational consultant and vice chair of the National Association of Primary Education (NAPE). www.nape.org.uk

OPINION

ANDREW ROBINSON Understanding Brexit, the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) and the need for UK universities to remain competitive

ince 24 June there has been extensive speculation on the chief causes of Britain’s decision to leave the European Union (EU). Divisions within society must be examined, as must the influence of the media. Many are quick to point fingers at what they describe as a lacklustre Remain campaign, which has been accused of lacking direction as well as a chronic failure to understand the concerns of Leave voters. However, one sector that cannot be accused of lacking zeal in the Remain campaign is higher education (HE), arguably one of the sectors that was most likely to be hit by a Leave vote. Putting to one side the international nature of HE and academia in general, the chief concerns from the institutions themselves included losing the 2.6% of their total income that currently comes from the EU [TEF Technical Consultation for Year 2], 16% of their research income [HEPI Student Academic Survey 2016] and the potential loss of over 125,000 fee-paying EU students. With up to 49% of UK students now going on to HE [Department for Business, Innovation and Skills 2013], the largest source of expansion within the sector comes from international students. However, following Brexit, a steady flow of students from the EU can no longer be guaranteed. All of this means it is now more important than ever to ensure that UK HE institutions remain highly competitive and that the UK is the ‘go-to’ place for highquality teaching and learning.

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The Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), which will see the government monitoring and assessing the quality of teaching in British universities, has been viewed by some as an unwelcome intervention, yet I would argue it is set to become more important than ever in our post-EU world. Moreover it appears that as with academisation, Brexit and Boris Johnson, the TEF is here to stay. It is therefore essential that universities get to grips with the framework .

‘It is now more important than ever to ensure that UK HE institutions remain highly competitive and that the UK is the “go-to” place for high-quality teaching and learning’ In the government’s TEF Technical Consultation for Year 2, the three deﬁning aspects of quality for which UK universities are to be monitored and assessed are: teaching quality; learning environment; and student outcomes and learning gain. ‘Teaching quality’ includes teaching practices that provide an appropriate level of contact, stimulation and challenge, and encourage student eﬀort and engagement.

‘Learning environment’ means the wider context for teaching, which includes the effectiveness of resources designed to support learning, maximise completion, and aid the development of independent study and research skills. ‘Student outcomes and learning gain’ refers to the educational and employment outcomes of graduates and the gains made by students from a range of different backgrounds. Those universities deemed ‘excellent’ in all areas will be rewarded with the right to increase undergraduate fees in line with inflation, currently sitting at 2%. Mock TEF studies are now complete but the metrics to measure TEF are yet to be finalised. So how should universities prepare? My advice to HE institutions would be to review investment in digital learning solutions, which typically include assessment and feedback tools as well as data and analytics on student performance. Such solutions provide teaching staff with clear insight into student progress and equip them with the information they need to deliver highly targeted teaching.

Digital learning can also support students by allowing them to revisit specific concepts that may not have been fully understood during a lesson. Content can be mapped to specific courses and personalised to include the lecturers’ own materials. This enriches the learning experience and frees up teaching staff, allowing them to spend more quality time with students. Although the student experience is still a positive one, students as consumers are becoming more demanding, according to the conclusions of the HEPI Student Academic Survey 2016. That study noted that they are looking for evidence of value for money and are prepared to put in the effort themselves as long as they feel this is matched by being offered an involved experience with high-quality teaching staff who continuously develop their skills, and appropriate levels of contact hours for the subject they choose. I believe that digital learning solutions can go a long way to helping HE institutions achieve this. Q Andrew Robinson is head of HE at Cengage Learning EMEA. www.cengage.co.uk September 2016

OPINION

MARK CHAMBERS Until systems are in place to facilitate the eﬀective use of technology in schools, investments can be left to gather dust and their potential to learning is lost

sing technology is an inescapable element of modern life, especially for children and young people, with more and more owning or having access to a personal device of some kind. Crucial to having an effective and safe experience in this dynamic world is a significant degree of technical literacy. To remain relevant, schools need to keep up with the latest trends in technology, the best methods of empowering the digital citizen, and the most effective teaching and learning tools that offer the best possibility of maximising outcomes for their student population.

‘Poor connectivity, inadequate training and a lack of planning are all prevalent issues preventing schools from improving their education technology provision’ Not surprisingly there is research suggesting 47% of schools are expecting an increase in exposure to ICT in lessons for 2017 [Naace and the British Educational Suppliers

September 2016

Association (BESA) Education Technology Leadership Briefing Paper 2016], so despite rumours suggesting the contrary, we are not seeing the demise of ICT; what we are seeing is an increasingly intelligent and demanding consumption of ICT. However, these developments do not come without challenges. Poor connectivity, inadequate training and a lack of planning are all prevalent issues preventing schools from improving their education technology provision. Sometimes it may be tempting for schools to adopt new technologies with a pupil-led, vibrant approach, or to throw tech in because they feel left out when observing what other schools are doing. However, these more anarchical methods of “dedicated follower of fashion” methods often neglect the necessary planning to make the best of a significant investment, meaning that things can very quickly go wrong. According to Naace and BESA’s recent research, around 46% of schools feel that they will be unable to maintain their planned ICT investments in 2016 and 2017. The reason for this is usually a lack of available budget, but in addition to this, we’re also seeing significant difficulty for school infrastructure, which cannot support the influx of technology. Infrastructure includes everything from hardware and software, to systems and facilities including central networks, routers or cloud-based

storage. These elements form the foundation of effective education technology management, especially when implementing new devices. The research also shows that 38% of primary schools and 20% of secondary schools have predicted that their students will have poor or limited access to the internet this year, which is largely due to regional issues in broadband connectivity, poor service or, and perhaps most commonly, poor internal infrastructure. It is therefore important for schools to find a trusted technology partner and supplier who can support them in developing the infrastructure needed to implement new technologies. These partners and suppliers should be able to demonstrate their understanding of and commitment to the education market and should, as a minimum, offer a full review of the school’s current provision, support with new installations and a point of contact for continuing support.

Such a partner will have staff who are engaged with their own professional development , and will have a strong relationship with a training provider that can ensure the importance and effective delivery of the forgotten investment: the amount of funding that should be devoted to the training of the staff who will be using the technology. These elements are vital to ensure that schools will have both a good service and a good return on their investment. Education technology has the potential to revolutionise the way we teach, providing students with a rich and varied learning environment where they can engage with a wide range of resources and research materials. However, to do this effectively, we need to understand the importance of and develop effectively the relationship between a school and its technology partners. Q Mark Chambers is CEO at Naace. www.naace.co.uk

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INTERVIEW: JOHN JACKSON, LGFL

CONNECTING TO THE MATRIX

The London Grid for Learning (LGfL) is more than a network for schools of the British capital city; it is an uber network for those schools, providing higher quality connectivity than many firms in the City of London enjoy today. It is also spreading its reach, already being used by the public sector and schools across the country, with no plans to slow down. Here, John Jackson, CEO at LGfL Trust, talks to Heather McLean about what this grid is about, and where it is going next What was the internet connectivity situation for London schools like before the grid was launched, and how does its progression compare to broadband provision for businesses in London today? Internet connectivity was really poor, offering low speeds at high prices and generally a massive obstacle to delivering an exciting, inspiring and digitally enabled curriculum. Further, there was no strategic approach to a network development, which meant schools were hobbled further by a dysfunctional array of technologies and standards. What we’ve done through the creation of the London Grid for Learning (LGfL) is to make one of the world’s largest educational networks that few capital cities have. This super grid is powered by providing fibre to the premise – not inferior technologies such as copper or fibre to the cabinet (FTTC) – which means we can deliver massively high speeds to schools to provide content that excites children, enables innovation in the classroom and harnesses leadingedge thinking, as well as enabling the consumption of cloud services. This grid means schools can provide children and teachers with the tools they need to succeed in a digital world. Compare the strategic development of a pan-London learning grid with the chaos in business broadband provision; now, in London, many parts of the capital are poorly served, lacking access to high-speed, fibre-based services. In parts of the capital there are high concentrations of business, particularly in central London, that are being held back or suffering needless pain. This is particularly acute as digital industries are a key growth and wealth generator that we are in danger of

September 2016

hobbling for future generations. If London is a world city it cannot be served by internet speeds that fall way below speeds in Europe. London needs an integrated and co-ordinated approach to ﬁbre-based business broadband and this is something I’m supporting and lobbying for in London.

throughout the UK to beneﬁt from the economies of scale, high-quality access and stable services that children in London already enjoy. We are also diversifying into new markets, including procurement, which allows schools to beneﬁt from our purchasing economies of scale that are unrivalled in the sector.

How is the role of LGfL in education evolving, and why? LGfL is evolving because we are absolutely committed to schools driving and shaping what we do and how we do it. We recognise that times have moved on; schools need to be empowered and provided with meaningful choice over how they deliver teaching and learning. That means enabling schools to choose products that best fit their needs, and unbundling services so schools can mix and match what works for them. We need to enable new models including multi-academy trusts (MATs) and free schools. The creation of large MATs makes it easier to bulk buy technology at discounted prices and share it across schools. Academisation also presents schools and senior leadership teams with the opportunity to learn best practice and share innovation in technology across larger and more diverse areas. So for us, going forward is about freedom and choice. We are also a charity, a not-for-profit organisation that is passionate about advancing teaching and learning and doing things that commercially driven organisations would find it uneconomic to do. We also work extensively with small and medium-sized businesses, which provide energy and dynamism and are at the centre of cutting-edge solutions. And we are ambitious about the future. This includes providing our services nationally. We want schools

What is LGfL up to in terms of its potential future role in the public sector and industry? We are fundamentally a digital ‘super cloud’ for the public sector already, but I want to bring LGfL’s experience in providing cloud services and technology to the wider public sector. This means aggregating digital services so councils and public bodies only do things once, cutting cost and ineﬃciency as well as making it possible to share data easily, so we can help vulnerable people and enable new insights that help solve complex challenges relating to health, education or the environment. We deliver digital and cloud services to schools, local government and other government agencies today. We connect across sectors through our network to enable, for example, councils to access central government systems, such as those provided by the Department for Work and Pensions, and social workers to access health systems when dealing with safeguarding matters. Our cross-sector network means we are, therefore, uniquely placed to enable data sharing and common digital platforms that will fundamentally reshape government, education and skills development. I believe we could reduce the health budget in the UK by 25% and save over a £1 billion in local government by harnessing cloud and digital platforms. These savings will be delivered through

a fundamental redesign of services and mastery of digital data. These opportunities include shared services delivering economies of scale, regional data hubs that pool data to tackle fraud, and applying analytics to deliver breakthrough insight necessary to solve complex problems in health, such as more cost-eﬀective treatment of diabetes. These changes in how services are delivered rely fundamentally on digital platforms that I believe could be delivered once, for everyone, within a digitally secure super cloud. We are building and designing our London grid to become a digital super cloud to enable this scale of change. We already, for example, deliver a single e-admissions system for London and we are using our infrastructure to enable a single point of access to cloud providers such as Microsoft. By linking up wider public sector initiatives we can save lots of money and reinvest that back into schools and the advancement of education and innovation. It is worth noting that this approach has already saved London over £300 million since the inception of the LGfL. Tell us about the growth of Trust Net nationally, and the LgfL upgrade that is now being undertaken? I am really excited by the future. We are rapidly growing as schools and public sector bodies take up our services to meet their needs. At the moment LGfL is expanding both its schools and non-schools base throughout the UK. We now support well in excess of 3,000 schools and public sector bodies across the network, and in the last year schools outside of London have represented more than 10% of our customer base.

INTERVIEW: JOHN JACKSON, LGFL “We can deliver massively high speeds to schools to provide content that excites children, enables innovation in the classroom, harnesses leading-edge thinking, as well as enabling the consumption of cloud services”

We estimate that our grid supports over a million children, 250,000 teachers and more than 750,000 public sector workers. Indeed, every day we process over one billion URL access requests. In overall terms, our current upgrade of the net, LGfL 3, has more than doubled the capacity we provide and the majority of LGfL schools now enjoy speeds of 40Mbps upwards. LGfL 3 is probably the largest educational infrastructure project this year in the UK; over 2,000 schools have been upgraded over a period of around eight months. That upgrade brought more bandwidth at lower cost to subscribing schools along with better, futureproofed kit that is reliable. With this capacity, LGfL 3 can really excite children, because we can now deliver content such as augmented reality and video-rich services that are transformational in education. It’s an approach that enables the delivery of inspirational and groundbreaking content for children and teachers that no one has ever done before. This is such an exciting time and I feel privileged to be helping schools to be the best they can be, and children to fulﬁl their potential. Q www.lgﬂ.net

www.techandlearning.uk

September 2016

FEATURE: MOBILE LEARNING

Children from St Paul’s CE Primary School, Tipton, get to grips with tablets

EMBRACING THE NEW DISTRACTION With the smartphone here to stay – along with its big brother, the tablet – the mobile revolution is truly upon us. But are mobile devices a useful tool in schools, or a distraction? Heather McLean takes a closer look

emember those halcyon school days, staring out of the window at the sunshine and butterﬂies, wondering what adventures you could have when the bell rang? Until your teacher rapped on your desk and made you pay attention to the blackboard again, that was. Today, however, windows are the passé distraction. The mobile internet is the new way for students to amuse themselves, stay social and get away from the boredom of the classroom. In school, students with access to their own mobile devices use them frequently. 12

September 2016

Across six universities and over 700 participants, research found that 86% of participants used mobile devices in class for texting, 68% for emailing and 66% for social networking [McCoy, B. R. 2013]. The reasons given for using their mobiles in this way were: to stay connected (70%); to stave oﬀ boredom (55%); and for entertainment (49%). Worryingly, those students agreed that the pastime was bad for their education, with 90% stating their use of mobile devices caused them to not pay attention in class (90%) and to miss instruction from faculty members (80%).

COMPETING WITH THE SMALL SCREEN Because of the rapid inﬂux of mobile phones into a vast number of student pockets over the last few years, schools and universities have had to face up to the realisation that teachers and lecturers ﬁnd it tough to compete with a smartphone screen, and many now ban the devices during schools hours. It has been proven there is an improvement in student performance of 6.41% in schools that have introduced a mobile phone ban [Centre for Economic Performance, London School

of Economics and Political Science, May 2015]. Particularly, banning mobile phones improves outcomes for the low-achieving students (14.23% of a standard deviation), while it has no signiﬁcant impact on high achievers, the study stated. Yet the study also said, “however, these ﬁndings do not discount the possibility that mobile phones could be a useful learning tool if their use is properly structured”. Another study showed that students that abstained from using their mobile devices, or engaged in class-relevant texting, earned a

FEATURE: MOBILE LEARNING 10-17% higher percentage grade on a multiple choice test, scored 53- 70% higher on information recall, and scored 51-58% higher on note-taking, than those groups engaged in Twitter and irrelevant texting [Jeffrey H Kuznekoff, Stevie Munz, Scott Titsworth 2015]. The same study stated that “all told, the control group and relevant texting group consistently demonstrated superior note-taking and recall than the other groups. The ﬁndings from our study reinforce, and extend, those of other studies, and provide clear evidence that frequent messaging unrelated to class content interferes with student learning while in class”.

compared to their peers. Lack of access is only one of the layers of the digital divide we see being countered by appropriate mobile technology; there is definitely growth improvement data to show the learning potential of the right technology matched with transformational content. “Equally, mobile technology gives power to students who learn differently. While many students learn very well through traditional methods, some greatly benefit from touch, or manipulative learning through tablets. Mobile technology planned with universal designs in mind enables teachers to support all students through assistive technology capabilities.”

Ofcom’s 2015 Communications Market Report found that one-third (33%) of internet users in the UK see their smartphone as the most important device for going online, compared to 30% who are sticking with their laptop. The rise in smartphone surﬁng marks a clear shift since 2014, when just 22% turned to their phone ﬁrst, and 40% preferred their laptop. Also, the vast majority (90%) of 16 to 24 year olds own a smartphone, against just 66% of UK adults, Ofcom’s report stated. However, the study added that “relevant messaging does not appear to negatively impact student learning”. It continued to note that “it does appear that appropriately integrating the use of these [mobile] devices into class may help student learning”.

TROUBLESOME DILEMMA Many of those educational establishments that have banned mobile devices are now using or looking at using them as a way to engage students. While this may seem to be a troublesome dilemma, with careful planning and preparation, mobile kit is having a good eﬀect in many schools and universities. Dave Saltmarsh, education evangelist at provider of Apple device management, Jamf Software, comments: “The long-term value of mobile technology in education is providing learning experiences that students couldn’t otherwise achieve. If schools are not providing desktops and laptops then students that don’t have access to smart technology outside of school can be disadvantaged

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INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGY Aled Williams, deputy head at All Saints Church in Wales Primary School, based in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, is an advocate of mobile technology. Williams comments: “Tech has to be integrated into the way children learn, from our youngest to our oldest. The iPad is the 21st century pencil case; there are so many tools on it that children can decide where they want to take their learning.” He says the school has done a lot of fundraising in order to buy mobile resources for the children over the past four years. “It’s been a gradual process towards mobile,” he says. “We are integrating technology all over the school, so we are creating flexibility, understanding that sometimes children do need to move around the school and use different equipment. They have to walk the walk of attaining knowledge, knowing how to do it, when to do it and where to do it. It’s the Martini effect; you can learn any time, any place and anywhere; you don’t have to be stuck at a desk,” Williams states.

Karine George, head teacher and consultant at Westﬁelds Junior School in Yateley, Hampshire, did her homework before investing in mobile technology for her school. She says she travelled the country visiting schools to see how they had approached mobile. While initially being anti-Apple due to the closed ecosystem and the overall cost of that tech, she states: “I couldn’t get away from the fact that Android didn’t have the interoperability of the apps I needed, and Apple did.” She bought a tablet herself, gradually acquiring more for her management team over four years until all staﬀ had one. It was not all plain sailing though, she notes: “I had one teacher who cried when I gave her an iPad.”

platform, which went live in January this year. Anne-Marie Scott, deputy director of learning, teaching and web services at the University of Edinburgh, says the proliferation of smartphones was the answer: “We had been thinking about what we could do to generate more video content, and then realised that every member of staff and every student is walking around with an HD camera in their pocket. There are so many possibilities for video; it’s a core digital skill that our staff and students need to be able to communicate with, and they have the tools to do it already.” To make it easier for staff and students to create high-quality videos, including tutorials on topics for revision,

To start slowly, all staff diaries were co-ordinated through the iPads, and then, George comments, “it took off big time!” Now the school provides a VAT-free buying scheme for students, which at first suffered a backlash as parents rebelled against the idea, but now does well. George concludes: “I don’t want to push parents to buy iPads; it’s just an offer. But I say to them, if you believe your kids will make good use of them, get one. Now we use them for apps like Coach’s Eye, Book Creator, GarageBand and Explain Everything. You won’t go a day in the school without seeing kids using tablets.”

as well as field trip adventures, Scott tested different pieces of kit over the first half of the year, from lighting to grips and microphones. She has created a £200 bundle of kit to do this and ordered 12 sets; six of the bundles will be loaned to whoever wants to borrow them, while six are reserved for training courses on creating good-quality video. Meanwhile schools within the university have begun showing interest in potentially buying their own sets. On the new kit and the possibility that more schools within the university will invest in their own sets, including some of those that Scott knows have been looking at replacing high-end kit

Today in Europe 93% of households have mobile access via at least one phone, and at least 88% of people in every Member State have mobile access, according to the E-Communications and the Digital Single Market May 2016 study from the European Commission. That study also showed there is a generational gap in the perception of the most important services in respondents’ daily lives: the youngest respondents, aged 15 to 24, were far more likely to mention online communications services as the most important, against those aged 55-plus (66% versus 26%); next was mobile internet, mentioned by 62% of 15 to 24 year olds, versus only 12% of those over 55. This generational gap is also evident in the use of social networks, with an EU average of 44% of 15 to 24 year old respondents posting daily on social networks. PHONE PROLIFERATION Meanwhile, the University of Edinburgh has come up with an idea to use the mobile devices in everyone’s pocket to generate content for its Kaltura video

that costs in the region of £2,000 to £3,000, she comments: “It’s fairly early days in bringing this technology into the classroom, but I’m expecting to see a big rise in the next academic year.” September 2016

FEATURE: MOBILE LEARNING

Working hard at Howley Grange Primary School in Halesowen, West Midlands

LIVING UP TO THE HYPE Yet Mark Yorke, managing director at Tablet Academy, an organisation created to support educational institutions in technology, is pessimistic of early attempts to bring mobile into education. “The use of mobile technology across educational institutions in the UK in most situations has failed to live up to the hype generated by the industry. There are a number of schools that have embraced the technology, moving to a one-to-one environment, or investing in a strategy to support the use of mobile devices, but in general many schools have purchased the tech without investing in a wider strategy that ensures the technical infrastructure is able to support the mobile devices, and staff receive the required professional development to embed the use of the technology in the classroom.” 14

September 2016

He goes on to recommend how best to do it: “Currently, common uses include online research, using the camera to collect evidence, educational ‘ice breaker’ games and word processing, with a small number of teachers in schools utilising subject-speciﬁc applications. However, the schools that have successfully embedded a wider strategy are able to engage students with a range of digital tools, enabling students to demonstrate their understanding of subjects by producing stop animation, green-screen video, mind mapping, e-books, comic strips and more.” Yorke advises schools to, “develop a ‘teaching with technology’ strategy, which sits alongside an IT strategy and has clear objectives and outcomes, linked to teaching and learning”. He adds: “The technology is only a small piece in a much bigger puzzle, which fundamentally comes down to change management.”

EVOLVING TECHNOLOGY Use of mobile tech is evolving, Yorke states: “A decision many institutions are currently exploring is whether to migrate data to the cloud, utilising solutions like Oﬃce365 or Google Apps for Education. This movement will enable and increase the use of mobile devices with educators and learners being able to access their content anywhere, at any time.” Notes Saltmarsh: “We have the potential now with mobile tech to look around the room to see how students are progressing. The scary part for many teachers is what to do next. Once they’ve determined half their class doesn’t understand a concept, how do they resolve the issue? In my opinion, the next step we’ll be seeing is predictive learning: apps that can automatically review a student’s test results, accurately predict their learning style, and recommend class exercises or further applications based on that.

“I also see potential for an automated assignment of apps that calculates a student’s best way of working based on previous test results. Personalised learning is a hot topic currently. The next iteration of technology will all be automated so that with various degrees of teacher guidance, a personalised learning suite can be created for each student,” concludes Saltmarsh. A tremendous challenge facing educators in schools and universities today is how to engage student interest while those students stay connected to the wider world via their devices. It seems that with good planning and some imagination, it can be done, very successfully. www.allsaintspsbarry.com www.westﬁeldsjuniorschool.co.uk www.ed.ac.uk www.jamfsoftware.com www.tablet-academy.com

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FEATURE: CLOUD

IT’S A CLOUD-SHAPED WORLD

The market for cloud-based services is becoming increasingly mainstream in education, according to Steve Forbes, head of networks at RM Education

Gradually, but almost overwhelmingly, the cloud has taken over our computing lives. Ian McMurray ﬁnds out whether schools, colleges and universities are adopting what is certainly a transformative technology

hen a major force in the IT industry oﬀers to pay $9.3 billion for a cloud software supplier – as Oracle did for NetSuite in July – it seems reasonable to conclude that the cloud may well be the future. That perception is reinforced by Gartner’s forecast that the worldwide public cloud services market will grow by 16.5% this year to $204 billion, a rate of growth it expects to continue in the coming year. It should come as no surprise, then, that the UK education sector is sitting up and taking notice. “The market for cloud-based services is becoming increasingly mainstream in education,” says Steve Forbes, head of networks at RM Education, which supplies software, services and systems to UK education. “As people are using more 16

September 2016

cloud services in their personal lives, it’s becoming more commonplace in the education market. One of the key drivers is the increasing budget pressures and resourcing challenges on schools, making cloud services a viable option for saving time and money.” Adds Grahame Smee, VP sales Europe at cloud security company CensorNet: “Many of our customers are educators and this year we have seen a big increase in IT teams moving away from onpremise security and choosing to trial our cloud-based platform.” Meanwhile, Samantha Blyth, director of FE and schools at Canvas, a virtual learning environment provider, states: “Tech experts are united in the view that schools and colleges can reap the same beneﬁts of virtualisation and cloud services as their counterparts in commercial industries.”

PARADIGM SHIFT For many, notably those whose computing experience has been based on application software installed on their own PCs, and ﬁles stored on their own disk drive and backed up to a physical medium they can see and touch, the cloud represents a troubling paradigm shift in the way computing works. Inevitably, that is reﬂected in the education market. “There is certainly some resistance to moving to the cloud, with the fear of the unknown and concern over ‘what if it all goes wrong?’,” continues Forbes. Inevitably, perhaps, there is resistance also not just from those who are wary of the perceived lack of familiarity that comes with cloudbased computing, but also those whose concerns are broader.

Believes Anna Dutton, head of learning and education for EMEA at online video company Kaltura: “The resistance to moving to the cloud tends to emanate from institutions that have a history of keeping technologies in house, supported by large IT teams who have concerns about losing control of the solutions, as well as about potential job replacement. We have found that when teams are reallocated to adoption and growth, provided with training, and asked to manage solutions rather than focus on maintenance, most of these concerns dissipate.” According to Blyth, a recent study undertaken by Canvas discovered that 65% of those questioned had concerns about security in a cloud environment, and 60% were worried about privacy.

FEATURE: CLOUD “It’s understandable that when looking at virtual technology like the cloud, and relinquishing control of data to a third party, security concerns are front of mind,” she says. “It’s crucial, then, that schools choose the right partner, which can help allay these apprehensions. Any online learning tool or cloud storage system should be adaptable, safe and able to evolve within an agile ICT environment. If it’s a burden or security risk, then it’s not doing its job.”

SEEING SENSE But the naysayers and doubters are, in many cases, beginning to see sense, as proponents of the cloud might say. “There are still some pockets of resistance, but the teachers at Leeds City College can see the benefits of working online and especially Google Classroom,” says Jenny Aleksandrowicz, learning technologist at Leeds City College. “Google Classroom and Google Docs have been the dealbreakers for the college. Their simplicity and ease have persuaded teachers to adapt to cloud technologies.” It is not just their simplicity and ease of use, though, according to Martin Hamilton, futurist at Jisc, the digital solutions organisation for UK education and research. “Google and Microsoft’s cloud collaboration suites – Google Apps for Education and Office365 – are of particular interest to the sector because they offer state-of-the-art features while also potentially saving institutions significant sums of money and freeing up staff time,” he explains. “For example, the University of Dundee estimated that it saved over £500,000 by moving to Office365,” Hamilton continues. “While already free for education institutions and not-forprofits, we have negotiated national agreements for both products that save institutions time and money in terms of contractual negotiations and fees for legal advice, while giving them certainty over critical aspects of terms and conditions such as privacy and data protection. Over 100 universities have now migrated to Office365, and Google Apps is particularly popular among further education colleges. Over 50 million staff and students use Google Apps for Education globally.”

www.techandlearning.uk

The pay-as-you-go nature of public cloud infrastructures like Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure makes them very attractive for use in teaching and learning, according to Martin Hamilton, futurist at Jisc Products from Google and Microsoft (Hamilton notes that Microsoft has recently launched its own Classroom product, which is in private preview at the time of writing) recur regularly in any discussion of the cloud in education, but possible applications extend much further. Virtual learning environments (VLEs), massive online open courses (MOOCs), asset management, content distribution and remote access are just some of the many uses to which cloud technology is being put.

“Another key benefit,” he goes on, “is the sharing of collaborative resources; cloud computing not only offers different communication methods but can also positively change the way that staff share and collaborate.” “Cloud software can be used to remove the need for teachers to duplicate work, enabling them to set up groups for sharing within departments or teaching groups to

work collaboratively on resources,” adds Forbes. “Moving to the cloud also centralises your support function; your technical team no longer have to worry about the maintenance of onsite kit, freeing up time for them to spend more time supporting teaching and learning. And, in terms of facilitating learning on demand, the cloud enables pupils and teachers to access resources, documents, work and emails wherever and whenever they need to, extending learning beyond the school gates for teachers and pupils.”

DEMONSTRABLE, COMPELLING The “resistance” to which Aleksandrowicz refers is diminishing largely, it seems, because the benefits of a cloud-based infrastructure are both demonstrable and compelling. “Using cloud technologies has helped to save teachers time and help with collaboration and organisation,” she says. “The students are happy to use these technologies too, and can see the benefits of them, including being able to access their work whenever and wherever they want. They can also study at their own pace and catch up on missed lessons. All the above means that as a college we are working much more efficiently, saving costs, time and money while communication has greatly increased.” Forbes claims: “The main benefit is cost efficiencies. Cloud computing can replace expensive servers, save on printing, reduce spend on devices and support costs.”

BEST IN BREED

“Thherre is cerrtainlyy som me re esisstaancce to moviing to o thhe clo oud, witth the e fearr off thhe unkknown” Ste eve Forbe es, RM Edu ucaatio on

And as if those weren’t persuasive enough reasons, there are plenty more. “Moving to the cloud allows institutions to leverage best-inbreed technologies and get access to information quickly,” says Dutton. “It also creates a redundancy and coverage plan for when there are oncampus outages, while providing a way to get information everywhere. “Educational organisations can grow organically, and futureproof that growth, by using an easily expandable and reputable cloud environment, with predictable costs and predictable service levels,” continues Dutton. “Put simply, the cloud oﬀers simpliﬁed access, the opportunity to scale as you grow, better control of costs, improved agility and a platform from which to innovate faster.” SEptember 2016

FEATURE: CLOUD Gartner has forecast that the worldwide public cloud services market will grow by 16.5% this year to $204 billion

In the face of so many convincing advantages, the question ‘what’s not to like?’ springs to mind. Unsurprisingly, there are challenges. “The greatest challenges are getting the teachers on board,” claims Aleksandrowicz. “Students tend not to have too many qualms about it. The problem that teachers have is that they are so pressed for time and have such heavy workloads that only a very clear and straightforward tool can persuade them to upskill. I usually try to ﬁnd an app that will make the most diﬀerence to them by giving them a demonstration and explaining how it can reduce their stress levels and workload.” And then there’s the perennial and thorny issue of security, and of access to inappropriate sites. Notes Smee: “Whenever the cloud is used by students, there is always risk. Most of these risks are caused by poor behaviour and/or weak policy enforcement. It is critical that all applications and their use are monitored and managed to ensure data is not lost or stolen, to protect against cyberbullying and pupils from accessing inappropriate or potentially harmful sites.” CensorNet recently completed a survey among its education customers, which highlighted that 34% of schools were concerned with students visiting self-harming websites and blogs, with 40% worried about students having 18

September 2016

access to content on drug abuse. Adult websites, social media and gaming sites ranked highest in the poll as ongoing concerns for student safety online.

POTENTIAL ISSUES While the cloud is a financially attractive model, this too brings potential issues. “The pay as you go nature of public cloud infrastructures like Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure makes them very attractive for development, testing and use in teaching and learning,” explains Hamilton. “However, this has historically been problematic for institutions due to the difficulty of predicting costs and actually paying for cloud services that have been bought independently by individual staff members; the so-called ‘credit card professors’. “At Jisc we have been working to help institutions address these challenges,” Hamilton continues. “We have collaborated with Arcus Global to build an institutional portal onto Amazon Web Services. This gives institutions a top-level view of usage and spending by staff members, with the ability to create delegated budgets for individual departments, projects and research groups. By aggregating institutional demand, the organisation also starts to receive volume discounts on its use of Amazon resources.”

Google Classroom and Google Docs have been adopted at Leeds City College; their simplicity and ease of use have persuaded teachers to switch to cloud technologies

Adds Blyth: “Schools’ and colleges’ reticence to adopt cloud technology starts with misconceptions around the procurement process. The education industry’s view of any new technology is clouded by IT purchases of old, which came with implementation challenges, costly set-up and maintenance, and an inability to deliver quick and measurable return on investment.” For educational establishments that have not yet made the transition to the cloud, the good news is that it is a journey they need not make alone. “To avoid this common pitfall, the Department for Education, whose recent guidance paper outlines the importance of schools using cloud computing services, and many technology providers, such as Microsoft and Google, all recommend making this move with a trusted IT partner,” says Forbes. “This partner should have experience in the migration, set-up, training and embedding and be able to oﬀer exactly the type of support needed.”

WARY TEAMS Yet Smee warns: “ICT teams are always wary of migrating away from a longused, locally hosted solution into the cloud, seeing it as a risk and additional work.” He adds: “However, this is more of a mindset than a reality and it really is very straightforward. With the right technology partner who will provide ICT teams with migration support and training, it really is just a case of

logging in and taking it from there.” Suggests Dutton: “Work closely with your chosen vendors to build a consolidated solution that works for your institution. Experiment frequently and involve students in the process of launching new services. Connect with others who are using the same solutions to share learnings.” Aleksandrowicz rejoins: “Ask people who are already using these technologies. In any college, there will be people who will be leading this change; get to know who they are, and arrange a meeting or training session. This applies to individual teachers and the college management and technical management staff as a whole.” In the way in which education has embraced so-called consumer technologies – the growing trend for large flat panel displays and the adoption of bring your own device spring to mind – it seems obvious that the cloud is yet another example of schools, colleges and universities reflecting what is, for many, an everyday reality. “Students expect the cloud,” smiles Dutton. “For them, it’s the norm. They grew up in a cloud-shaped world.” www.canvasvle.net www.censornet.com www.jisc.ac.uk www.kaltura.org www.leedscitycollege.ac.uk www.rm.com

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HOW TO: OPTIMISE WIFI

WIFI – THE NEW UTILITY Year 5 pupils take advantage of the excellent WiFi facilities at Victoria Park Academy

With growing demand for mobile technology today, schools are facing up to the increasingly important role that good WiFi brings to educational establishments. Here, Terry Freedman looks at exactly what is needed, how the technology can be implemented well, and the challenges it brings

ohn, Year 7, looks preoccupied as he boards the school bus. “Is there WiFi on this minibus?” he asks the driver. The driver and the teacher exchange glances. “Not yet,” he replies. Paul Hynes, vice principal at the George Spencer Academy in Stapleford, Nottingham, cites this as an example of current expectations.: “Wireless internet access has become so ingrained in our students’ lives that they take access for granted. I’m certain that WiFi on school minibuses will soon be standard.” Mat Edwards, senior product marketing manager at Aerohive, agrees: “You can even buy a Barbie doll that is WiFi enabled. WiFi should now be regarded as a utility, not an optional extra.”

COULD DO BETTER Andrew Morrish, chief executive of Victoria Academies Trust and author of book, The Art of Standing Out: School Transformation, to Greatness and Beyond, goes even further: “As a multi-academy trust (MAT) we are always bringing new schools into the MAT [and] one of the ﬁrst questions I ask is ‘does it have WiFi?’ In my experience, any school that has not implemented 24/7 connectivity through high-quality WiFi has not been investing wisely in a child’s future.” Unfortunately, research by the British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA) has found that connectivity in schools currently leaves much to be desired. Its 2015 report Tablets and Connectivity 20

September 2016

states that: “Schools are... behind with their level of WiFi connectivity, being at a level of only 52% of the ideal.” Similarly, BESA’s 2015 report ICT in UK Schools revealed that 46% of primary schools and 37% of secondary schools regarded their current WiFi provision as inadequate. An example of poor service comes from William Lau, head of computing at Greenwich Free School in London. He points out that when students and teachers move from building to building, they may find themselves connecting to different wireless access points (WAPs): “There may be blackspots, and some websites with strict security protocols may terminate your service as you access WiFi from a WAP in another room. This can be frustrating, particularly when you are taking the register on your cloud-based management information system.” Kay Sawbridge, faculty leader of computing and ICT at Caroline Chisholm School, Northamptonshire, also mentions that, “a limited WiFi service is often offered that does not have all the programs on the network available, and may also be much slower than using wired computers”.

DEMAND TO INCREASE Mike Sharples, professor of educational technology at The Open University, is clear that the demand for WiFi in schools is likely to go up: “Providing all students with devices isn’t sustainable. Will the UK follow Denmark where a national

• • • • • • • • •

WHAT TO DO NEXT

Plan with the use of free calculator tools Have free site surveys carried out by professional companies Visit other schools to see what they have done Think about what else could be managed as part of the WiFi network Consider reducing the school’s IT costs by adopting a cloud-based or managed service Build in protocols; for example, when should voice over IP take precedence over video streaming? Think about how you can use the data from your WAPs to further optimise your network Futureproof your network for growing areas such as videoconferencing Do not get rid of the wired network just yet, as it is potentially more secure

strategy dictates that all students in public schools must have access to a wireless internet so that students can use their own devices in the classroom?” And Sean Collins, regional director for the UK and Ireland and BeNeLux at Extreme Networks, says that some authorities are predicting a doubling in the number of mobile devices per person over the next few years. “You have to allow for two to three devices per user, possibly double that by 2020,” he says.

THE SOLUTION? So is the answer to simply buy a few more WAPs? Edwards advises against popping into your local computer shop and doing that. The key to good WiFi connectivity, he says, “comes down to thorough planning”. Tris Simmons, director of global product marketing at Netgear, agrees: “A lot of people think in terms of one

device per person, but increasingly people have more than one device. Moreover, there are some aspects of school life that can be WiFi enabled that you might not have considered, such as door entry systems. Managing these devices centrally and automatically can help you reduce bottlenecks and get the most out of your existing set-up.” Collins elaborates: “As well as wireless systems like CCTV, think in terms of the whole network. And consider, too, the user experience, and the diﬀerent needs of diﬀerent users.” www.aerohive.com www.ccs.northants.sch.uk www.extremenetworks.com www.george-spencer.notts.sch.uk www.greenwichfreeschool.co.uk www.netgear.com www.open.ac.uk www.victoriaacademiestrust.org

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SHOW NEWS: EDTECHXEUROPE, RM EDUCATION REAL

LOOKING BACK AT EDTECHXEUROPE

By Terry Freedman

dTechXEurope is a thought leader summit bringing together executivelevel investors, innovators and industry influencers from European and international education companies. Now in its fourth year, EdTechXEurope hosted over 800 global attendees and invited over 150 speakers to showcase edtech innovations and perspectives from around the world. Taking place in London in June, the conference was truly international. That made it a vast market for exchanging ideas and hearing different points of view. The succinct format was interesting; rather than the usual conference format of 45-minute lectures, the keynotes were short at 20 minutes long, while most sessions consisted of panel discussions. These panel discussions, like the conference itself, were highly structured. It worked very well because the short time provided added pace and, crucially, meant that panellists only had time to make their key points. It was like the conference equivalent of a tweet.

One session I attended was concerned with the potential for digital assessment, and I was impressed by a Swedish product called DigiExam. This addresses the fact that when it comes to tests and examinations, a lot of time is taken up by the kind of admin tasks that could and should be done by a computer. The topics covered during the conference covered a broad range, including the maker movement, innovation in education, and success stories of edtech start-ups, to name but a few.

The conference proper was also enhanced by the opportunity to attend field trips the day before. These comprised visits to organisations, demonstrations and panel discussions. Teachers will probably be more familiar with the Bett show, so it is worth pointing out a couple of the differences between the two events. The most obvious one is price; the Bett show is free. Perhaps more importantly, the Bett show has so many seminars that it’s hard to detect any theme, whereas this conference had only five themes or ‘tracks’, including

Now and Next of Ed Tech, International Ed Tech Perspectives, and Global Ed Tech All Stars. Finally, there were more opportunities for networking. Next on the agenda from EdTechXGlobal is the ﬁrst edition of EdTechXAsia in Singapore, China. Tech&Learning UK is pleased to announce we are a media partner for this exciting new event. Collaborating with SingEx, EdTechXAsia will focus on 21st century skills and education on 8 and 9 November 2016. www.edtechxeurope.com

GETTING REAL WITH RM EDUCATION

By Heather McLean

eal (from RM Education) returned to The Mermaid Theatre, London on Wednesday 27 April, with a brand new line-up of top educational speakers and the second Jeremy Vine Education Debate. Real 2016 was designed to allow school leaders to rethink education and learning in the context of urgent issues and emerging challenges facing UK schools in 2016. Speakers included the inspiring Dr Sakena Yacoobi, founder and CEO of the Afghan Institute of Learning, who spoke 22

September 2016

of her experience bringing education to girls and women in Afghanistan. A director at the Essa Foundation in Bolton, Abdhul Chohan, spoke of his school’s transition from, in his words, “a wreck of a school,” to an Apple iPad-fuelled community. There was also Alex Holmes, head of the antibullying campaign at The Diana Award, who spoke of e-safety and bullying issues; plus the notorious Bear Grylls. Toby Black, managing director at RM Education, said on stage at the event, “We need to take time out to think about teaching and learning today”.

Black pointed to three key challenges now faced by schools that will inﬂuence the next 12 months. First was academisation: he noted that “as the government seeks its goals of academisation, it will need to do it at a rate ﬁve times faster than it has been doing to date, so who is going to support schools?”. Second was budgets, which “are down 7% per pupil, the largest real cut since the 1970s”; and the third was technology: “There is no doubt our children will grow up with technology; schools without

technology today mean children will miss out tomorrow”. Real from RM Education aims to connect outstanding educators and leaders from across the UK with other distinguished names in education technology. By bringing together head teachers, business managers, heads of ICT, multiacademy trust CEOs, inspirational speakers and technology leaders, Real provides inspirational ideas and talking points, and a wider network. www.rm.com/events#rmRealEvent

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TECHNOLOGY SHOWCASE: PROJECTORS

PROJECTING INTO THE FUTURE

Projectors are a must-have for all schools, colleges and universities. These vital pieces of kit have come a long way in recent years, so read on for Tech&Learning UK’s selection of some of the best...

PANASONIC PT-RZ570 Projection is a more crucial part of today’s education experience than ever before. Gone are the days of old overhead projectors using transparent film; today’s new generation of laser projectors offer levels of brightness, colour reproduction and energy efficiency that far surpass traditional lamp-based projectors. The PT-RZ570 is a popular laser projector within the education sector. It uses a 5,000 lumen Solid Shine laser light source, removing the need for lamp or filter changes and significantly lowering the total cost of ownership as well as the environmental impact. The technology offers approximately 20,000 hours of maintenance-free operation, as well as a level of colour reproduction that exceeds conventional lamp-based projectors. Laser projectors also have instant on/off functionality,

which is ideal for education as it allows lectures and classes to begin straight away. Laser projectors also oﬀer an extremely slow rate of brightness deterioration over time compared to traditional lamp-based projectors. The light source can maintain the same lamp brightness for about 10,000 hours, the equivalent lifespan of ﬁve conventional projector lamps. Projection clarity is further improved with Panasonic’s Daylight View Basic technology, which uses a sensor to measure ambient light and adjusts the halftone colour and brightness level according to the surrounding illumination, for superior projection quality even in the most brightly lit rooms.

In addition, the extra brightness provided by laser projection makes it possible to maintain excellent projected images whilst the room is lit, making it easier for students to take notes and participate in the session. Finally, like most Panasonic projectors the PT-RZ570 is compatible with a wide range of sharing software in order to fulfil

the growing requirement for BYOD, which helps encourage collaborative working. The PT-RZ570 is in use in Sheffield University’s £81 million Diamond Building, as well as Kingston University’s £30 million IT infrastructure project. http://business.panasonic.co.uk/ solutions/education

coupled with a wide lens shift range. Its high light output means superior performance in situations where other projectors would struggle, even in bright ambient light. The VPL-FHZ700L is capable of over 20,000 hours of virtually maintenancefree use, while also eliminating the need for lamp bulbs, which can be costly and diﬃcult to replace. Solid state laser projectors also do not fade over time as conventional projectors do, meaning they can be used for more permanent installations. Coupled with the range of energy-saving features and versatile installation options provided by the VPL-FHZ700L, this technology is becoming increasingly popular in higher education such as university and lecture halls, where the ‘virtually zero-maintenance’ appeal of laser

promises real reductions in total cost of ownership for heavy usage applications. The University of Bath recently installed multiple VPL-FHZ700L projectors from Sony in its lecture halls to futureproof its technology and capture students’ attention with a more engaging teaching experience. The on-campus AV team has been impressed with laser’s efficiency and reduced power consumption, even with the projectors running up to ten hours a day. The University of Bath is now enjoying the reliability and low ownership costs of laser technology, safe in the knowledge that the image quality will remain consistent throughout the projector’s lifespan. www.sony.co.uk/pro/products/ solutions-education

SONY VPL-FHZ700L The Sony VPL-FHZ700L is a WUXGA 3LCD B2B laser projector. Capable of delivering crisp, brighter images at 7,000 lumens, the VPL-FHZ700L combines great picture quality with reliability, extended operating life and reduced running costs.

September 2016

The laser projector is capable of switching on/off virtually instantaneously without waiting for conventional lamps to warm up or cool down, and fits seamlessly into any education environment, offering excellent zoom and throw range

TECHNOLOGY SHOWCASE: PROJECTORS CASIO CORE XJ-V10X Casio’s Core series has been designed to make laser and LED projection accessible to everybody through its entry-level pricing. The Core XJ-V10X boasts a brightness of 3300 ANSI lumens, meaning that lights can remain on and curtains open to create the perfect learning environment. The V10X also provides a 1.5x optical zoom, perfect as a replacement projector compatible with existing mounts. Casio’s lamp-free projector line-up ensures consistent brilliant imagery is maintained across the whole 20,000-hour lifespan with no lamps or ﬁlters to change, virtually eliminating maintenance. The sustainable design and environmentally friendly light source means that a power saving of up to 50% is achieved.

The Core XJ-V10X is affordable, with additional benefits of low energy consumption, no parts to replace and minimal maintenance. It easily incorporates into pre-existing AV and IT systems for seamless use and works across a wide range of connections, perfect for the modern BYOD environment. The Core XJ-V10X also offers total flexibility in lesson formats, as its instant on/off capability means that there is no waiting required for lamps to warm up or cool down required before the display is functional. This means teachers can bounce between several different teaching techniques and learning activities. The University of Manchester recently upgraded its science faculties

OPTOMA ZU650, W320USTI

Reliability of equipment is crucial, especially when installed in lecture theatres above seating or school halls with high ceilings where the projector is fairly inaccessible. The dust-sealed design of Optoma’s DLP projectors prevents dust and dirt from affecting the system, ensuring optimal image quality with minimal maintenance. Optoma’s bright new ZU650 lampless laser-phosphor WUXGAresolution projector is perfect for high-ceilinged installations, as there are no lamps to replace and it has an expected life of 20,000 hours. For this reason, Oakwood High School, Rotherham installed the ZU650 to project a 6m-wide image in its high-ceilinged main hall. This bright, compact and quiet projector offers lens shift and five motorised lens

www.techandlearning.uk

options. It can be installed in portrait mode with 360º rotation and has HDBaseT connectivity. Meanwhile, schools also need large screen sizes to be able to share content with the whole class. Coleg Cymunedol Y Dderwen School, near Bridgend, recently supplemented its interactive ﬂat screen displays by installing 20 W320USTi interactive projectors to create bigger imagery the whole class can see with more touch points for student collaboration. The goal of greater collaboration in the classroom is driving the growth of interactive projectors such as Optoma’s super bright 320 range of ultra short throw projectors. Its TouchBeam ﬁnger-touch interactive technology enables several students to work simultaneously on the screen without using a pen. Students can draw, annotate, zoom and rotate images on the projected image. They can open documents or browse the web without even touching a computer. www.optoma.co.uk/education

and required a display solution as multi-purpose as the 24 study rooms they were being installed in. The unusual proportions of the spaces required a large format display solution that could create a tutorial space, a collaboration centre or a BYOD study room. Casio’s

comprehensive five-year or 10,000hour warranty, in combination with the lack of consumables, meant that the University was able to fix its projection costs for five years with no surprises. www.casio.co.uk/products/ projectors/

EPSON EB-595WI The EB-595Wi is Epson’s first finger-touch interactive ultra-short throw projector, and it is perfect for educational environments. With a brightness level of 3,300 lumens, cutting-edge 3LCD technology and WXGA resolution, the device produces impactful imagery, empowering tutors to supplement their teaching with visual aids and captivating displays. Perhaps the projector’s greatest strength is its ability to foster collaboration; thanks to its fingertouch technology, students can engage with the displays in front of them. It is also easy to use, coming with optional wireless capabilities, multi-PC projection and a moderator function, allowing the teacher to stay in control at all times. Plus, it’s got a lamp life of up to 6,000 hours.

The EB-595Wi is convenient for teachers, who can present wirelessly from a PC, iOS or Android device. The EB-595Wi also benefits network managers, as these projectors use less power and are easier to control using Epson’s Network Monitor software. Teachers and students at the King Edmund School and South Essex College have benefitted from using Epson interactive projectors. The features encourage students to engage with learning materials and teachers to create more innovative lessons, plus they are simple to use with finger-touch and with stylus pens. In addition, as these institutions begin to implement BYOD, these devices support wireless connectivity, allowing a student’s tablet display to be beamed on to the interactive screen. www.epson.co.uk/products/projectors

September 2016

TECHNOLOGY SHOWCASE: PROJECTORS NEC PX803UL Resource-stretched schools and colleges are constantly seeking ways to reduce costs and increase operational efficiency. New solid state light source technology offers these establishments compelling benefits that go a long way to fulfilling their needs, with tangible and measurable results. NEC’s PX803UL, along with its entire line-up of SSL projectors, is an ‘install and forget’ projection solution. As a laser projector requires virtually zero maintenance throughout its long life cycle, once an organisation chooses to move to laser it will enjoy a significantly reduced total cost of ownership.

This is one of the key benefits of the NEC PX803UL projector, which is designed for professional installation scenarios including universities and colleges. A flagship product in NEC’s line-up of solid state projectors, its new long-lasting laser light source offers significant benefits to users, while maintaining a consistent and reliable projection of outstanding image quality. A first grade high-end blue laser diode light source, combined with a unique quality phosphor wheel technology, results in up to 20,000 hours’ hassle-free operation. Offering excellent installation flexibility, a wide selection of lenses,

VIVITEK DH759USTI, D756USTI Vivitek has recently announced the successors to its interactive family of ultra-short throw projectors with the DH759USTi and D756USTi. These two advanced Full HD and WXGA resolution ultra-short throw interactive projectors oﬀer increased ease of use, functionality and connectivity over their predecessors. Ideal for all education institutions, the models deliver high brightness, contrast and colour performance to create up to a 110in diagonal image, making any ﬁnely detailed images clearly readable from the back of the classroom or teaching areas. Suited to rooms where space is limited, the DH759USTi and D756USTi ultra-short throw projectors bring to the classroom all the essentials needed to keep students engaged, while meeting a school’s typical space, budget and maintenance considerations. Aiding convenience further is the models’ upgrade from a four-finger

SEptember 2016

to a ten-finger touch capacity, by means of the optional sensor, to create a true interactive education session. The multi-touch capacity can facilitate touch gesture usage – such as pinch and zoom, rotation, click and flicking – and supports intuitive finger writing for a more natural user experience. Also, with the complimentary NovoScreennote Interactive Whiteboard software, multiple students can work simultaneously on an assignment on the whiteboard and screenshots can be captured for later retrieval. The software can also record the user actions performed on the computer. To increase collaboration and interaction even further, the NovoPRO wireless collaboration device can be added to engage up to 64 participants at the same time, allowing them to share ﬁles and response to voting or polling questions. It also allows up to four students to share content spontaneously on the split screen from their connected devices. Vivitek believes these tools will help drive creativity and improve the sharing of knowledge and ideas in the learning environment. www.vivitek.eu/products/ education-projectors/

4K signal support and professional installation features, the PX803UL promises a cinema-quality projection solution and a secure investment for higher education establishments.

Several universities have chosen the NEC PX803UL for large teaching auditoriums, including the University of Kent and Portsmouth University. www.nec-display-solutions.com

VIEWSONIC PJD5353LS/LWS

Projectors still offer a host of advantages that cannot be matched by digital displays, including the best value per screen inch. The ViewSonic PJD5353Ls’ and PJD5353Lws’ widescreen short throw lens enables large images to be projected from short distances (100in screen from approximately 100cm from the wall). In a classroom environment this means there are no distracting shadows cast on the projected image and no blinding lights in the eyes of teachers or students when presenting. Available in both XGA and WXGA resolutions, the PJD5353Ls widescreen short throw projectors are able to be ceiling or table mounted. The PJD5353Ls widescreen is suitable to replace existing either 4:3 or 16:9 classroom projectors in almost any classroom. Featuring HDMI and VGA inputs for flexible connectivity and outputting 3,000 lumens, the projector is guaranteed to produce bright images in any environment, even in high ambient light conditions. The high 20,000:1 contrast ratio also ensures that text and documents are crystal clear, while

ViewSonic’s SuperColor Technology offers a wider colour range than conventional projectors, for true-tolife colour performance. ViewSonic education projectors incorporate robust audio capabilities to support the range of multimedia applications in digital classrooms. LightStream projectors with SonicExpert technology have been designed from the ground up to deliver powerful, distortion-free sound that fills classrooms from wall to wall. This is thanks to multiple design enhancements that include high-quality speaker components and a larger speaker chamber for full frequency range coverage. An optional cable management hood connects onto the back of the projector to hide unsightly rear cable clutter, making it compact and tidy for ceiling mounting, while handy features such as auto power on/off and super-fast power shutdown make the projector an ideal economical, budget friendly, short throw classroom model. www.viewsoniceurope.com/uk/ products/projectors

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SOLUTIONS: UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL LANCASHIRE

HARDWARE OUT, MOBILE APPS IN The University of Central Lancashire is currently engaged in a 10-year, £200 million campus masterplan to blend new facilities with green spaces to beneﬁt itself, its home city of Preston, and the economy of the north-west of England. Part of that plan is exchanging cumbersome hardware for mobile apps...

hifting heavy hardware from one end of an expansive university campus to another for use in a lecture is not an efficient use of time for anybody. This was an issue at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) – one of the largest universities in Europe, with a staff and student community of around 38,000. Here, heavy ‘brick’-like handsets for the interactive student response system, used in lectures and seminars to gauge learning, had to be moved from one room to another as required; for a meeting with 100 students, four flight cases of devices had to be charged up then delivered. Also, the devices, which ran PCbased Question Wizard software from Interactive, Meetings and Learning (IML), a business that was acquired in 2014 by Lumi, were a limited resource, were prone to going missing, and occasionally failed to work or were broken.

TIME FOR AN ALTERNATIVE Michael Wood, senior learning technologist at UCLan, was in charge of overseeing these troublesome devices, and began looking for an alternative. He comments: “Collecting and then charging up handsets from our student response system used to take hours and hours. We then had to carry the kit around the university on a trolley. As the campus is around a mile from end to end, this was no easy feat.” Yet the eﬀort was worth it; Wood notes three strong reasons for continuing to use the devices: student retention; student assessment; and fun. The university looked into why students dropped out of their courses, and found that loneliness was the number one issue. Wood

September 2016

states: “On a campus with thousands of students, it’s easy to get lost. We used these interactive student response devices to help, splitting students into small groups of two to three with one device between them, so they are forced to talk to each other to respond to questions. Dealing with loneliness through the use of these devices has been a real bonus for us, and it has really helped everyone in class.” On assessment, the devices enable lecturers to know whether learning is taking place. A teacher can ask a question at the beginning of class and then ask the same question at the end, to see what has been learnt. “It shows the lecturer if they are teaching well, or if there is a particular concept students are struggling with; having that feedback information is very important to show that learning is taking place,” says Wood. Finally, the response system enables students to have fun, Wood states. During the pilot phase for Question Wizard in 2004, there was a widely disliked medical module that students from diﬀerent degrees studied as a core requirement. It was decided to arrange students into teams and hold a quiz every four weeks, publishing a scoreboard to show which teams were doing well. When the students realised this was set to be a regular occurrence, they began revising for the test together and, according to Wood, “became like a football crowd”, putting themselves deliberately into other teams and giving wrong answers to improve their own team’s score. “We didn’t mind them doing this, giving false answers,” he notes. “To give the wrong answer, you have to know the right one!” The module got a 100% pass rate thanks to this football crowd fun, says Wood.

MAJOR DISADVANTAGES So, although students and staff alike appreciated the interaction these devices allowed, there were several significant disadvantages. It was important to find an alternative in order to continually improve student engagement and provide lecturers with insight into how well they understood and absorbed their teaching. In 2012 the university began using IML Clicks, which are credit card-sized simple devices for students to vote on, and work with Lumi ViewPoint software, an interactive and userfriendly voting plug-in. These small devices use a watch-type battery that is replaced every few years, so are much easier to manage, and the university began phasing out the old brick-sized devices in favour of Clicks. Wood comments: “Now the handsets we have are the size of a credit card and the ‘bricks’ are gone. The new system still requires the physical transportation of kit, but it’s very light.”

BYOD SOLUTION Following the rollout of Clicks, UCLan began talking to Lumi about its new Meetoo application for mobile devices. Meetoo is an instant messaging and live polling platform that can be downloaded onto any iOS or Android mobile device or accessed via the web. This means students can download Meetoo onto their own smartphones or tablet, eliminating the need for the university to buy, transport, maintain or replace hardware. Also, lecturers are no longer responsible for distributing and collecting handsets at the start and end of a session. Meetoo enables students to take part in polling and Q&A sessions during their lectures and seminars. This enhances their engagement

and helps lecturers assess levels of understanding so they can allocate their teaching time accordingly. A PowerPoint add-in enables lecturers to create polls during the session and then show results, providing the flexibility to respond at once to issues arising from their teaching. The ease of having no equipment other than the student’s own phones and a dashboard was one of Meetoo’s main attractions. “The single most important change we’ve seen since we began using Meetoo is that there’s no kit. We don’t have to carry handsets and heavy equipment around the campus or worry about it all getting lost or damaged,” says Wood. Also, as Meetoo is essentially a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform, it can be accessed by an unlimited number of students. “There’s now no barrier to numbers at all so we can run multiple sessions simultaneously, if required,” he points out. However, he adds: “The Meetoo technology on mobile phones has less functionality than the little credit card Clicks devices, so we do still use those.” Wood’s main criterion was that any new solution had to be easy to use. “As we are such a large university we run around 300 types of software. If we weren’t careful, our staff could spend more time on the IT than on the teaching. So I knew I would only be able to encourage them to use any new solution if it were straightforward,” he says. Following the pilot that ended in the first half of 2016, Meetoo is being rolled out as a centrally supported student response system over the next three years. Over 70 lecturers, trainers, marketing and other university staff are now registered to use Meetoo, and early feedback from the pilot

SOLUTIONS: UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL LANCASHIRE has been positive. Students appear enthusiastic as well: overall, once they have logged into the app, 97% have participated in Q&As or polls. Dr Tina Gornall, UCLan associate lecturer, used Meetoo during a last revision lecture before an exam by programming in multiple choice questions and possible answers. Students had to poll the answers among themselves on their mobiles. Gornall comments: “I pushed the results button and they appeared on their phones showing what percentage had chosen which option. Then I could explain which answer was correct and why. The students really enjoyed it as it allowed them to test themselves in a non-intimidating way. As proﬁles can remain anonymous, students couldn’t identify who got the answer wrong so there was no naming

and shaming. Also, as it’s possible to download all data it was useful for me to see which topics needed more work.” Meanwhile, Wood notes there were “no negatives at all (so far)” on Meetoo. He adds: “I’m hoping for improved functionality such as word clouds and numeric questions, but I’m happy to wait (although not too long) for the product

and technology to evolve and develop.” He concludes: “We are very excited about Meetoo; there’s no kit involved, it’s just brilliant! People want to use it. We know it’s going to work.” Q www.uclan.ac.uk www.lumiinsight.com

UCLAN’S STUDENT RESPONSE SYSTEM TIMELINE • 2003 - First IML demo to UCLan in September 2003, resulting in an order of 100 communicators and Question Wizard, which the university received in April 2004 • 2004–2012 – IML’s communicators and Question Wizard PC software used, and resources increased to a total of 250 devices • 2012 – UCLan bought 500 IML Clicks gadgets, which are credit card-sized devices that students can vote on, and that work with ViewPoint software • 2014 – Lumi started to discuss Meetoo with UCLan • Summer through to September 2015 – UCLan started piloting Meetoo • May 2016 – Pilot closed and a three-year trial contract agreed, with full roll-out from September 2016

www.techandlearning.uk

September 2016

SOLUTIONS: BARNSLEY COLLEGE

BUDGETING FOR BIG STORAGE Barnsley College needed to update its IT storage infrastructure to meet increasing demand from its thousands of users, while reducing access and backup times. Yet it had to think hard about its budget, being careful to futureproof systems while saving as much money as possible on the actual technology to be deployed

chool budgets today are continuously squeezed at a time when expensive technology is increasingly on the list of required kit, so making the most of your money is vital. Barnsley College is no exception to this dilemma, and so when it decided to upgrade its poor storage system, the price had to be right. Like many educational institutions, Barnsley College needed to update itsIT infrastructure to improve performance, meet changing user needs and support future development. The college runs ﬁve main sites plus a number of remote sites, and has 800 teachers supporting almost 10,000 students. It had a fully virtualised VMware infrastructure and IBM BladeCenter server architecture running applications including student management, ﬁnance, payroll and HR, plus SQL, CAD and Adobe Creative Suite.

POOR RELIABILITY However, it was experiencing problems with its existing IBM storage infrastructure, including an inability to run 8Gbps ﬁbre channel reliably. Mark Kendrick, head of IT services at the college, comments: “In 2011 we installed an IBM storage area network (SAN) that was 8GB-capable, but due to some problems it wouldn’t go over 4GB. We had loads of problems with it in the beginning; I believe it was badly set up by IBM’s partners. To avoid all the errors we were getting, we had to set it at 4GB; when you’ve paid for something, you 30

September 2016

definitely expect it to work. When you buy an 8GB box, you expect it to run at 8GB!” The result was that connections were frequently lost and data transfer times, especially for backup and disaster recovery, were becoming slower and slower. These performance issues were also affecting the thousands of students who required constant access to their virtualised desktops, personal profiles and documents, with threeand-a-half minute logon times. As a result the college was struggling to provide an efficient service to staff and students alike. “We were no longer confident our existing storage solution could support the storage needs of the college,” explains Kendrick. “As our students and staff need 24-hour access to their personal files and information as well as space to store additional documents, we wanted both high-capacity storage capabilities and streamlined operations for all users. So we researched the market for the best-value solution which would provide the performance we needed at an affordable price.”

INCREASING PERFORMANCE The college needed a new storage infrastructure that could handle its multi-site network, while also increasing the performance of its virtual desktop environment by improving access to user proﬁles and stored ﬁles. The IT team also wanted

to see effective deduplication and compression, to speed up the readwrite process and maximise storage potential for the future, as well as to reduce licensing fees for document management software. In 2014 the college’s IT partner, Fordway, brought a variety of options to the table and allowed the college to decide which it preferred. Kendrick comments: “We nearly went down the NetApp route, and also looked at Microsoft, but we wanted something with features that were included in the overall cost. Tegile, which was very new then, included everything to start with at no additional cost, rather than having to license things every year, so it was a no-brainer really. We took a chance on Tegile and it’s been absolutely fantastic.” Barnsley College initially chose a Tegile HA2100 hybrid flash array with 22TB of capacity, of which 600GB is flash. The unit arrived within a week of order confirmation and was installed within 24 hours of delivery. It has now increased that to a total of 44TB. “Tegile carried out the installation and there was a very smooth transition from our old system to the new, without any noticeable disruption to the service,” explains Kendrick. Tegile’s flash storage arrays offer instantaneous file backups and a 24hour window for full network restore functionality. “Tegile and our partners at Fordway have been very proactive; they monitor the system 24 hours a

day, ﬁxing things before we even know anything’s gone wrong,” says Kendrick.

£30,000 SAVINGS Tegile has enabled network users to log into virtual desktops in 15% of the time it used to take, while saving the college up to £30,000 a year in new storage costs over the next ﬁve to six years of the new system’s life, thanks to the reduction of data volumes through compression and deduplication. Barnsley College has managed to reduce its document storage on disk from around 50TB to 15TB. Precaching for student roaming profiles has also been moved to the Tegile storage, resulting in an immediate improvement in performance for users, while moving Microsoft Exchange data has reduced the backup window from 36 hours to one hour. “Prior to the implementation we received endless complaints about the speed of the network, as it could take up to three-and-a-half minutes to load a single student proﬁle,” says Kendrick. “As soon as the array went online, the deduplication software brought our VMware infrastructure up to 92% utilisation and logon times were reduced to 30 seconds. Within a month, complaints about performance issues had all but disappeared.” www.barnsley.ac.uk www.tegile.com www.fordway.com

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MATROX MONARCH LCS Looking for good lecture capture kit that wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t break the budget?

his standalone network appliance is easy to set up and integrate into any open video management system (VMS) or learning management system (LMS). Monarch LCS lets the user easily define profiles for live streamed and recorded lectures by mixing camera and presentation material from SDI and HDMI sources. Once configured, this versatile H.264 encoding appliance can be operated by anyone at the push of a button. And itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s priced very reasonably, too. A typical set-up of this product would consist of video and audio of the presenter, and a computer source with supporting material, which can be mixed into a single webcast. The operator can select a number of operating modes that include layouts such as Picture-in-picture and Side-by-side. If the operator prefers to dynamically change the inputs throughout the lecture, the Monarch LCS also offers Switcher mode. With very little set-up time, the Monarch LCS can be configured to capture and deliver content such as presentations and seminars in many appealing layouts. Audiences can stay fully engaged, as the Monarch LCS puts control in their hands. In Isolated mode, the appliance provides two independent video files or streams. This feature, when used with a compatible thirdparty player, enables the viewer to select their preferred layout. The synchronised streaming or recording of Monarch LCSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; dual inputs are invaluable when such players are used. By aligning video inputs, the viewer can seamlessly switch to their preferred layout while maintaining perfectly synced audio and video. Matrox Monarch LCS can be controlled and configured via the Monarch LCS Command Centre using any device on the network that supports a standard web browsing 32

application, such as a tablet. The interface is designed for operator ease of use and features one-click operation to start encoding from anywhere within the user interface. A number of typical streaming and recording presets are provided that define all of the encoding parameters, including resolution and bitrate. Encoding parameters can be customised and combined with destination and operating mode settings and saved as a unique profile. If the device must be accessed by different users, profiles can be instantly recalled without having to re-enter data. Designed to work in network environments, Monarch LCS is a network appliance that facilitates seamless integration into existing infrastructures managed by thirdparty asset management solutions, such as OpenCast VMS and Moodle LMS software. In addition, the scheduler feature supports open source iCal software such as Google calendar, which allows users to create a schedule, export to an .ics file format, and easily import to the device. Schedules can be imported at any time and Monarch LCS can be configured to periodically retrieve schedules on the network.

Offering great quality, Monarch LCS can share up to 20Mbps of encoding capacity across its two H.264 encoding channels. Each independent channel has individual bitrate/quality settings and benefits from powerful scaling, deinterlacing, and noise reduction engines that ensure only pristine images are sent to the encoders. When the highest quality is required, each encoder can be set to encode at 1080p30 resolutions. www.matrox.com/video

KEY FEATURES Mix camera and presentation material from SDI and HDMI sources Configure to capture and deliver content such as presentations and seminars Facilitates seamless integration into existing infrastructures Share up to 20Mbps of encoding capacity across two H.264 encoding channels

This dual encoder offers multiple destination options when streaming or recording. When set to recording, an encoding channel captures content in MOV or MP4 format to ensure that video files can be played on virtually any player. Recordings can be stored on local USB drives, SD cards, or network-mapped drives and made available immediately to an LMS or VMS for distance learning. For streaming purposes, the encoders use either RTMP or RTSP protocol to deliver live streams to local media servers or cloud-based CDNs.

September 2016

32 T&LUK Sept 2016 Product Focus_Finalv2.indd 1

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PRODUCT FOCUS

KANO COMPUTER KIT

Joanne Ruddock gets hands-on with a product that enables students of all ages and abilities to build, code and create

lthough I’d heard of Kano previously, the product came more clearly to my attention when Joanna Bersin, head of education at the company, assembled Kano’s Computer Kit while simultaneously discussing computing and coding on the Tech&Learninghosted Meet the Makers panel at EdTechXEurope in June. It seemed only right that we got our hands on one of these kits to see if it really was as simple and engaging to use as Bersin made it look. The Kano Computer Kit arrived in a neat box and included a keyboard and mouse, a HDMI cable, power pieces, a memory card, DIY speaker, a Raspberry Pi 3, a custom case and some stickers to personalise the creation. Simple illustrated instructions were also included to guide students through the build process. To assemble the computer, simply place the micro card in the Raspberry Pi 3 and connect the speaker. The HDMI cable makes it possible to connect to a TV or display. It is then a case of turning on the keyboard, removing the USB (which has a radio antenna) from the back panel and placing it in the computer, connecting the keyboard and the brain. Plug in the charger and you are ready to go. Even for a coding novice the whole build time was approximately ﬁve minutes, the instructions were clear and there were useful touches like colour coding on the keyboard to ‘tell you how it’s feeling’; green means the connection is successful, fast green ﬂashes mean it is low on power and so on. Once the computer is built, the fun really begins as students can learn to code games, design, paint, animate and even hack. Set-up begins with a personalised welcome including more information on what the computer can do and a brief introduction to binary code. Within seconds users have worked out a ‘secret password’ and

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KEY FEATURES Complete computer in an easy-to assemble kit Code games, create art and hack Lesson plans and online resources available to enhance learning

coded their first moving image. Each user then creates a profile and the full scope of the computer is revealed. The main dashboard offers multiple opportunities to learn and develop skills. In story mode users navigate their character through a series of zones, playing games and completing tasks, from playing Pong on the beach to learning about HDMI in woodlands, stopping off at Logic Gate School to learn more about the building blocks of digital computers. This variety means the Computer Kit is suitable for a wide range of ages. Some users may prefer to simply play Pong, others may want to make it. Similarly, users have the option to play, make and hack a special version of Minecraft. Credits are earned as each task is completed and the difficulty level varies. The Make Art app allows participants to draw with code, starting with Basic where they follow simple instructions to create scenes such as a sunny day or a Swiss flag. Even here students are encouraged to play with figures to see how this

changes the look of images. Once the basics have been mastered through a number of challenges students can move on to Pixel Hack, which again takes us back to Pong. This time we create the game ourselves. Hints are available throughout should the student get stuck; although the instructions are easy to follow, it really does teach the need for accuracy as even small errors mean the code is incorrect and the game will not work. Similar challenges for Asteroids develop this and introduce students to more coding language. Finally, in Make Light, students learn how to turn code into light by following instructions to light up diﬀerent parts of a board. By this point students will be picking up numerous coding terms and no doubt coming up with their own ideas of what to create. Navigating between zones is simple, with the home icon taking you back to the central dashboard. If connected to WiFi, more educational apps are available, including Kahoot! and Codeacademy; however most of the functionality is available when not connected.

Although I am not necessarily the target market for the Kano Computer Kit, I can certainly see how it would benefit students. The set-up and instructions are so simple, but there is a sense of achievement just in building the computer. Once you start to use it to code. the tasks are well designed and fun to the point where it does not feel like you are learning. Feedback from teachers suggests using the kit has driven interest in STEM learning and careers, while Kano offers a wide range of resources to ensure educators get the most out of the kit. This includes lesson plans, training and support and an online portal where students can share their projects and see what others have been creating. Kano kits can also be easily taken apart and rebuilt, meaning they can be used across different classes. Accounts are associated with the SD card in the kit; Kano can even provide a log sheet to make it easier to remember which card is associated with which student. www.uk.kano.me September 2016

BACK PAGE PICKS GREAT IDEAS Holographic learning concept launched Neste, a producer of renewable fuels, has released a futuristic education concept, EduCycle,that enables real-life simulation of the natural world and the carbon cycle’s role in it. EduCycle is part of Neste’s Pre-order the Future project, in which one out of five products or service innovations will be chosen for further development this autumn. The winner will go forward to the prototyping phase and the final prototype will be published early 2017. EduCycle is a modular learning kit built mainly out of renewable materials. It is an interactive, holographic simulation where children can alter the virtual landscape by playing with the moving parts of the kit. The ﬁrst lesson of EduCycle will visualise the carbon cycle; removing cars from the landscape or replacing coal power plants with wind power shows a positive change in the cycle. The simulation is enhanced with an augmented reality solution to create an even more immersive learning experience. “EduCycle teaches kids to understand how their actions can change the world either for better or worse. Our planet’s future is highly dependent on how our children will learn to manage their carbon footprint,” said Osmo Kammonen, Neste’s senior VP of communications and brand marketing.

TOP TIPS Lego Education offers free activities for EAL Free hands-on activities, designed to help English as an additional language (EAL) learners to develop language competencies in a motivating and playful environment, have been launched by Lego Education. The activities improve pupils’ communicative abilities, cultural knowledge and 21st century skills through hands-on learning, claims the company. Based on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR level A2) developed by the Council of Europe, the five creative activities develop language and literacy through narrative experiences. Jessica Clifton, marketing manager at Lego Education, said: “These activities provide additional language teachers with ideas and inspiration for their first lessons with EAL pupils. Flexibility was the foundation for the activities’ design; they cover a range of language topics and competencies and can easily be adapted to fit any curriculum by adjusting the objectives or context. While the activities are based on StoryStarter [Lego Education’s literacy resource for Key Stages 1 and 2], schools have the freedom to implement the activities with any Lego bricks.”

RESEARCH Tech-savvy toddlers outpace parents on coding Millions of parents are being left in the dark by their super-geek kids, according to new research. A study of 1,000 parents of children aged three to eight show two-thirds did not realise their little ones were learning coding at school or nursery. Many admit being staggered to hear the youngsters babbling on about ‘hyperlinks’, ‘pop-ups’ and ‘downloads’. ‘Password’, ‘software’ and ‘icons’ are also coding words now used by the nation’s youngsters, according to the study from Fisher-Price. Meanwhile seven in 10 parents have heard their children saying words like ‘bug’, ‘cookie’ and ‘algorithm’. Yet while most parents have some knowledge of computers, a quarter admit they would be out of their depth when it comes to helping with homework related to computer coding they are now learning in school. More than half of parents polled admit that if their child did bring work home from school on coding they would just leave them to it, with 74% wishing they understood more. A third of parents claim they don’t have any understanding of coding, and almost nine in 10 parents are completely baffled when their child talks about ‘programming’ at home, while a third are relying on their children to share their knowledge and skills. Two-thirds of mums and dads admit they lack awareness of modern technology and its elements, and 60% believe it would be helpful if nurseries and schools held lessons for parents first, so they can assist their own children when they learn. The study indicates 28% of parents believe their child is already proficient at using websites and other internet services. In addition, 16% of children aged three to eight can use child-friendly programming languages and 13% can create a simple program of their own. Also, 16% of young children can already use logical reasoning skills on the computer, while 13% can organise digital content and 18% know how to store digital content.

EDITORIAL CALENDAR Coming up in Tech&Learning UK 2016 November Relevance of game-based learning Learning management systems How to: Use e-books for engaging learning Tech showcase: Voting systems Please send editorial submissions to heather@mclean-media.com

Remember – you can follow Tech&Learning UK on Twitter at @TechLearningUK and on the web at www.techandlearning.uk 34

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