ICT and inter-institutional collaboration
Summary of findings from qualitative research
The first of two cluster-wide ICT Test Bed themes is the use of ICT to develop more effective collaboration between schools and their linked college. This is an important part of Government policy to provide pupils with more continuity and coherence of educational experience as they move from primary to secondary schools and into further or higher education.
The formal meetings and informal discussions that have taken place over the first two years, in order to plan and take decisions, have provided an ideal basis for beginning to share resources and undertake joint projects. ICT Test Bed schools and colleges have excellent electronic networking which makes communications easier once habits of use are established. The installation of virtual learning environments in two of the clusters provides a repository for teaching resources to enable sharing but the process of assembling these resources is only at an early stage.
The colleges are independent organisations which are not, like the schools, under the governance of an LEA. The establishment of links between the three colleges and their cluster schools was, therefore, not easy, and they have developed at different rates. In one cluster the college is a very active partner and has organized training days for school staff and taken a lead on developing home and community links. In another, as a result of major college re-structuring and a change in the ICT Test Bed manager, collaboration has progressed much more slowly. In the third, which has also had a change in the ICT Test Bed manager, collaboration is now developing well, for example through a college-based workshop to develop e-learning resources.
In a study of the use of whole-class technologies in 24 classrooms, the evaluators saw evidence of collaboration in the development of resources between school subject coordinators across the cluster. The college in one cluster has established a content-development workshop to support teachers in developing e-learning materials. This supports more effective use of the college's VLE by college tutors, but is also a resource for use by staff from cluster schools. School and college staff can use the well-resourced workshop to develop materials with the help of three full-time materials' developers. The logistics of school staff traveling to the college to make use of this facility have proved difficult. Video-conferencing links are planned but are not yet in use. Nevertheless, schools perceive college staff as friendly and supportive and there are some cases where interactive resources have been collaboratively developed.
The evaluators carried out a case study of a collaborative project in one cluster, using Apple Macintosh computers and professional standard digital cameras and software. The original aims were to establish a pool of specialist equipment at the college for use by schools, to develop vocationally-appropriate skills in school and college students, and to create a public website to enhance pupils' motivation for carrying out assessed course work. The logistics of sharing equipment proved complex and somewhat limited the possibilities for independent work and creativity. It also proved difficult for school pupils to visit the college because of the need for them to be accompanied by a member of staff. Use of the professional digital equipment enabled pupils to generate ideas rapidly and produce new forms of outcomes, giving them a better chance of realising their potential. However, the digital medium also encouraged a way of working that involved taking - and discarding - many more pictures and did not fit well with the assumptions of an external assessment process designed for traditional media where each step in the process of production could easily be collected and displayed in a portfolio.