‘Find it, make it, use it, share it’

Education Minister Leighton Andrews has today (29 March) received the final report from the Digital Classroom Teaching Task and Finish Group which sets out how Welsh schools can deliver digital classrooms in a digital age.

http://new.wales.gov.uk/topics/educationandskills/publications/wagreviews/digital/?lang=en

Led by Janet Hayward, currently headteacher at Cadoxton Primary School, the group considered what digital materials work in the classroom and how the Welsh Government can work towards all schools in Wales being able to deliver digitally.

The report makes a number of recommendations including the creation of a hub to enable learners and teachers to share best practice resources. The report also recommends the creation of a national digital collection of teaching and learning resources.

The Minister will now consider all of the recommendations set down in the report to see how technology in the classroom can be strengthened for the benefit of Wales’ learners.

Education Minister Leighton Andrews said:

“New technologies can offer new approaches to engage learners. Digital content, wireless access in classrooms, cloud computing and mobile handheld touch screen devices can revolutionise the way in which we communicate and share information with each other in the 21st Century.

“It’s not unreasonable for learners, parents and teachers to expect that the technology they use in their daily life can also be used in education. Across schools in Wales you will see an array of technology being used innovatively for learning and teaching.

“It is important that all learners and teachers have access to appropriate technology and can use it with confidence. We know there’s good practice out there, but as with many things in education, it’s important that schools learn and share the best ideas.

“I want Wales to a take a lead on digital inclusion and digital learning and this report shows us how we can achieve that goal.”

Chair of the Task and Finish Group Janet Hayward said:

“In Wales it is clear that there are some real pockets of outstanding practice in the use of technology to enhance learning outcomes.  We have a strong platform to build on.

“The recommendations do not provide a specific template of how a “digital classroom” should look. The recommendations provide more of a vision of how learners and teachers need to engage with and be supported in their use of technology and how we can develop and share world class content.  Hence the name of the report – Find it, make it, use it, share it – learning in digital Wales.

“We’re delighted to be able to present the Minister with our final report, it’s been a labour of love for the group. We are hugely optimistic that it will mark the beginning of a journey that will secure the best learning opportunities for Wales.”

National knowledge service

A UK-wide digital library for British higher education is in reach, says Ann Rossiter (SCONUL), if we can sort the licensing out.

The UK’s status as a world leader in research depends on its institutions having the best possible access to the full range of published work. Although we currently rank alongside the US and outstrip most European and Asian nations, we risk being overtaken in the next decade if we do not grasp the possibilities of new technology.

For the first time, a national digital library has become a realistic possibility, both technologically and economically. Such a shared service, delivering a national core collection of monographs and journals, would allow the UK to maintain its lead in delivering the best content electronically to all students, researchers and academics at higher education institutions. It would also overcome a significant barrier to new entrants to the higher education market: further education colleges would be able to buy into it, rather than having to build up their own individual libraries. The student experience would be improved by resources accessed through a national catalogue.

THES – read more

 

Sharing services

A successful bid by WHELF to CyMAL: Museums Archives Libraries Wales has funded a feasibility study into shared library management systems. This is seen as a potential area to drive further collaboration and forms a key part of the WHELF Action Plan 2011-13. Our strategic vision for the “Sharing Library Services Programme” is to enable access to the collective resources and services of a virtual academic library for Wales.

Our ambition is that the Programme will have direct impacts on individual learners and/or citizens, learning institutions and Wales as a vibrant knowledge economy;

• Individuals will be able to exploit the shared services delivered directly to them,
• learning institutions (across the sectoral boundaries) will find it easier to collaborate for learning, teaching and research and
• Wales will have a visible platform for access to knowledge within & to Welsh businesses as well as showcasing the knowledge created in Wales to economic and political partners.

The HEIDS Shared IT Services Study

Above Campus IT Services for Scottish Universities and Colleges – A Shared Road Map for Local Benefit and Collective Opportunity.
http://www.heids.ac.uk/reports/
July 2011

This study has established the feasibility of a collaborative approach by Scottish higher and further education institutions to a phased adoption of Above Campus IT Services. A range of possibilities associated with such services and their potential benefits has been identified and a framework is proposed for the SFC or institutions to take action and allocate appropriate investments and resources. Seven priority opportunities, some for early wins others with a focus on longer term gains, have been identified, situated in a coherent Road Map and proposals are made for progressing these.