University gives schools digital leg-up

The University of Portsmouth is helping city schools embrace the digital age with a project aimed at boosting computer-based learning in the classroom.

The University’s IT team joined forces with Portsmouth City Council to provide two primary schools with easy-to-use devices, software and improved Wi-Fi for the duration of the pilot scheme.

Read more of this University of Portsmouth press release.

Read more about the projects findings

Click here to read the full project findings report.

Conclusions from the perspectives of the value of Chromebooks and Google Apps in learning and teaching

Those undertaking the pilot project were enthusiastic about the benefits that the Chromebooks and Google Apps could provide to enhance learning and teaching, even though the pilot only lasted one term the opportunities for embedding technology into curriculum delivery were deemed apparent. As one participant explained his view of the benefits in these terms, they

“help one to one engagement with the lesson and give (children) more opportunity for independent learning”,( they provide) “opportunities to engage in lessons through devices and services in more ad hoc manner. I think it opens up more opportunities to learn in the way (some children) may feel more comfortable with..”

This approach to a more seamless provision of technology is implicated as one of the factors that will allow the development of ‘powerful new ways of thinking’ (Jacobsen et al., 2002 p.366) that are deemed important for effective learning.
Technology was also seen as providing a way of engaging children and “capturing their imagination” by one participant, and as all education processes explore the need for motivation if learning is going to occur (Condie and Munroe, 2007) technology can be seen as a way of providing that motivation. This was perhaps best illustrated by the teacher who talked about the poor writer in her class, who could now through access to the Chromebook not only be motivated to produce more writing, but also because the device was flexible remain with his peers working rather than have to be at a PC away from the other children. However, it was also noted that all the children felt the Chromebooks and Google Apps helped them in their learning.

Using technology in this more flexible way was seen to be developing essential life skills and open up new possibilities for children with a teacher reporting how one year four child had declared

“I really want to be a computer programmer if I can’t be a computer programmer I’ll be a doctor – what a choice – but it enables them to make those decisions, I think it opens their world to them”.

This insight was shared as recognition of the transformative effects that education can have upon children when they begin to feel empowered and confident in their learning.

To truly be effective the move to working in the cloud requires a cultural shift within not just individual schools, but across the education sector in order to overcome issues such as intra school moderation, if children’s work is in the cloud and not all paper based. Both schools recognised the issues of convincing a whole staff team to embrace a “new mind set” and had thought about how these might be overcome in their particular situations. One school suggested it needed a whole school approach to training and implementation to avoid resistance in staff some of whom were seen to be “embedded and …set in their ways so I suppose the culture change has to come in”. They went on to explore what they felt might be the implications of an approach that was not whole school by talking about possible inequalities in the student experience if some of the school are resistant to embrace new ways of working.

The argument here for equality of opportunity is understandable but not the only approach that could be considered. The other teacher suggested that following the pilot they were looking to create a model that built upon the children’s own expertise with the tools as they progress through the school. This approach does require that teachers are comfortable working with children who may in the initial stages be the experts (Gahala, n.d.) and also requires a model that provides the flexibility for the teacher experts to demonstrate and support new ways of working. Where the expertise lies in the teaching staff and how that can be shared e.g. peer observation of practice, is therefore also one of the factors that will contribute to changing cultures within school. Staff in both pilots acknowledged that it would have been difficult to do what they did without the onsite support from the university in the early stages. The recognition that engaging with any new technology is a sacrifice of time that could be spent learning content is part of the cost/ benefit analysis, but once children have learnt how to use, care for and respect a tool then teachers can be supported in understanding how they can deliver content with it. In this instance the move is not just to a new piece of hardware but embracing a new way of working in the cloud which is requiring a ‘new approach to pedagogy’ to be developed (Codie and Munroe, 2007 p.76).

In conclusion therefore the pilot has indicated that using Chromebooks can provide in class access to technology quickly and easily. It has been suggested that it is a flexible resource that can be used to support children’s learning and motivation. The Google Apps suite was seen as a positive tool that could be used to deliver most of the curriculum, notably topic and literacy, and had functions to support teachers with effective planning and both formative and summative assessment opportunities. The collaborative nature of the tool was seen as very positive for enhancing a range of learning opportunities and providing children with independent learning occasions as well as helping them to develop life skills and digital citizenship. The pilot was therefore a success with both schools already having purchased some Chromebooks instead of traditional alternatives. The success of the roll out now depends upon the strategies and support for the staff team to enable them to embrace the culture shift and begin to confidently embed the technology within their classroom practice.

The full report can be found here

Google Apps and Chromebook Pilot Findings

Results from Google Apps & Chromebook Pilots

The feedback of the pilots from both staff and students both via the project and from the outcome of the School of Education research was hugely positive:

Working in partnership with schools

Both Westover and St. Georges were keen to work with the University from the outset, although this was not typical of many schools we visited. The feedback received from staff about the level of support received and the confidence this gave them was overwhelmingly positive. As this was a free service, further investigation would be required as to the best business model moving forwards: whether schools would be willing to pay for the service (even if operated on a not-for-profit basis), whether limited services could be provided for free, or if subscribed schools could operate a joint cost-sharing service and cover the cost themselves.

Skills and experience provided

University staff were able to operate within and on behalf of Westover Primary School efficiently and effectively, and feedback indicates that the support received was always satisfactory. Technical support and support was given by the UoP’s Information Services team, and specialist advice on the applications that could be used for certain subject areas was provided by the School of Education and Continuing Studies. If a cost sharing group was set up this specialist knowledge could be even further developed.

Solution benefits

Feedback indicates that the use of Chromebooks and Google Apps in the classroom provided real benefits in terms of student engagement and collaboration, as well as reducing the amount of administration required by tutors. The low cost of devices (from £150 per Chromebook, plus £19 per device for the use of the management console) is a major benefit for schools: a fully mobile IT suite with 24 machines and charging station can be deployed for as little as £6,500 including VAT. The use of Google Apps for Education itself is completely free, which is another major benefit for schools.

A final benefit to note here is the very low cost of supporting the devices, with the Project Team spending a total of 5 hours over the full two-month pilot providing additional help and guidance. If a shared, centralised support group was setup to provide services to a number of schools, this could be one area where significant savings are made.

Training

Initial teacher training in the use of Google products was provided by C-Learning for both the Westover and St George's pilots. In order to evaluate whether this could be delivered by a shared service group, the UoP IT Training Team attended both training sessions. The following feedback was received:

• The training content already offered by the UoP is close to matching that offered by a third party both in content and quality. 
• Content on specific products (Google Sites and Google Groups were the ones noted) could do with additional development. 
• A trainer with previous - or current - experience of working in a primary school environment will be able to offer more knowledge of using the applications in context. 

Schools Investigation Findings

A number of methods were used to gain an insight into the problems facing local schools and their current priorities, including:

• Online surveys to Headteachers, Teachers, and IT personnel, 
• Schools visits and discussions with staff, 
• Workshops with school IT personnel, 
• Attendance at appropriate presentations and forums, 
• Site visits to an existing cost sharing group, 
• Meetings with additional stakeholders. 

Findings

The combination of research undertaken by the project has resulted in a range of findings relating to the current status of ICT provision within schools, common problems, and considerations for setting up a cost sharing group to address these problems. This section will summarise the most relevant findings from the investigation.

Overview of ICT Investment in Schools

The current ICT situation in schools is that third party commercial providers are supporting schools via a commissioning cycle, with no impartial advice being available for a sizable investment. Whilst these providers can deliver operational needs of the school, they may not meet the strategic investment needed as technology increasingly embeds into all areas of the curriculum.

What has become evident is that there is a difference in the level of support available between Secondary schools employing resource onsite and primary schools who may not be able to have support on site at all times and either informally rely on their feeder secondary school or well meaning staff members.

This situation has come about due to the fast development of IT and the lack of sustainable investment from schools, local education authorities and government. This started with New Opportunities Fund - designed to upskill teachers around IT in 2000 and continued with Building Schools for the Future. Developing a strategy for schools can help build a sustainable plan for the embedding of IT into every area of schools.

The full report can be seen here.


Findings from Interviews & Online Questionnaires (Oct 2014 - Feb 2015)

Sources Online Questionnaire / Competition 65 respondents 35 Schools represented Phone conversation with 64 out of 65 schools Portsmouth City Council	65 Schools in Portsmouth Secondary, Primary, Junior and Infant (not Nurseries)
	Role of respondents (n65) Most of the respondents were either teachers (46%) or IT staff (40%) as would be expected. Response from Head Teachers (6%)
23% Of Portsmouth Schools currently have Academy status	Information provided by Portsmouth City Council showed that 23% of Schools in Portsmouth had academy status. It is expected that the number of Schools that have academy status will continue to grow over the next few years.
43% Primary Schools engaged with the project	21 out of the 49 Primary Schools in Portsmouth engaged with the project. Both of our pilot studies were Primary Schools.
53% Secondary Schools engaged with the project	8 out of the 15 Secondary Schools in Portsmouth engaged with the project.
6% Head Teachers engaged with the project	4 out of the 65 Headteachers in Portsmouth Schools engaged with the project. Heads appear to delegate all IT issues to their IT member of staff.
69% of respondents felt that their IT enabled them to effectively support the ICT curriculum.	Information gathered from the online competition, with a response of 53 members of staff from 27 Schools in Portsmouth. Over two thirds of respondents said that their IT enabled them to effectively support the new ICT curriculum, with a third either not knowing or not providing a response. Other evidence gathered on an informal basis seems to lean more towards schools not feeling comfortable with their ICT provision. Whilst 40% of those who responded were IT staff, when we removed their response the proportion who agreed remained broadly similar.
85% of respondents rated their current IT support as Good / Very Good or Excellent	Information gathered from the online competition, with a response of 53 members of staff from 27 Schools in Portsmouth. Whilst 40% of those who responded were IT staff, when we removed their response the proportion who agreed remained broadly similar.
Information gathered from the results of the online questionnaires, site visit interviews and phone conversations. 64 out of 65 Schools responded. Research suggests that the type of support used by a school is reliant on funding. Every academy school had its own internal IT support. 73% of Primary Schools rely on 3rd party support. 13% of Secondary Schools use 3rd party support.
50% of Schools have a VLE 32% of Schools do not have a VLE 18% of Schools did not know if they had a VLE	Information gathered from respondents to our on-line questionnaires, site visit interviews and phone conversations. 50% of Schools have a VLE. It was a surprise that a third of Schools do not have a VLE and a further 18% of respondents didn't know whether they had one.
	What email system do you use in your School? This question was asked to ascertain whether the school uses either of the two largest on-line education platforms, Google Apps for Education or Microsoft 365 for Education. The most common education platform is Google Apps for Education (62%) followed by Microsoft 365 for Education (23%). To find out what level these are being used would require further investigation. This Information was gathered from interviews as well as the on-line questionnaires (n65).
73% Of Primary Schools use 3rd party support	36 out of 49 of Portsmouth Primary Schools use 3rd party support. Only 12% have their own IT support or Coordinator.
13% Of Secondary Schools use 3rd party support	2 out of the 15 Portsmouth Secondary Schools use 3rd party support. All have their own IT support on site.

Project Brief (reminder)

On 15th April 2014 The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) gave an award to the University of Portsmouth (UoP) to explore the feasibility of a setting up a cost sharing group to deliver IT services to education providers across Portsmouth, in collaboration with Portsmouth City Council (PCC). The objectives of this investigation were to:

• Determine whether there was an appetite among Portsmouth education providers to engage in a not-for-profit,VAT-exempt cost sharing group, 
• Investigate which services could realistically be shared, 
• Asses the various models that could be adopted to provide these services and outline a recommendation for moving forwards. 

The ultimate aim of the initiative is to help raise the standards of IT across the city whilst reducing costs and service duplication, as well as an opportunity to share best practice. This is particularly timely as the withdrawal of the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme may have left some schools in difficulty with their ICT provision. This work complements the UoP’s strategic aim of engaging with the local community and raising learning outcomes across the city.

In order to achieve the objectives stated above, the project was split into four different work streams (see table below)

DCU Summit - Google Apps for Education

Stuart Graves and Paul Brian gave a presentation to the Dublin City University Summit featuring Google Apps for Education this month on the projects work helping local Schools in Portsmouth 'Go Google'.

A quick update on the Westover Primary pilot

The Westover Primary pilot has now finished and has been a great success, the school loved Google Apps for Education and have now purchased their first set of Chromebooks and a charging trolley. We will publish more information shortly.

We visited the BETT show this year and bumped into Paul Farrell from C-Learning.

They have been helping our with some loan Chromebooks and training for our School pilots.

We also had a chat with our Google contact Adam Stewart.

And saw a nice stat which seems to backup what we are finding with Schools in our area!