ICT and workforce development
Findings from qualitative research
Giving laptops to learning support practitioners
In one LEA, schools experimented with giving laptop computers to learning support practitioners (LSPs) to enable them to extend their role and work more efficiently. A case study of work in two of the schools, carried out in the summer of 2004, provided indicative evidence of progress and possibilities. In one school, laptops were used by LSPs responsible for Ethnic Minority Achievement Grant (EMAG) provision to develop and use administrative tools. In the other, LSPs used laptops more generally to assist them in carrying out a variety of tasks.
School one: specialist support for children from ethnic minorities
This school has a highly multilingual intake; 90% of the children are from ethnic minority families and at the last count 28 different languages were spoken by pupils. Recent immigrant and refugee children can be highly proficient in subjects such as mathematics and science but are held back by their level of language proficiency. The EMAG LSPs have a role in assisting children to overcome this language barrier. The provision of laptops to the EMAG LSPs has led to new developments and benefits:
- The school has developed electronic records. This ICT-based system has been enthusiastically received and used by the EMAG team particularly because it speeds up record keeping and makes it much easier to retrieve records. Electronic versions of individual language plans (ILPs), tick-lists for tracking linguistic progress, and target sheets for children with language needs have been particularly useful.
- Benefits for all staff include: greater ease in sharing documentation; a reduction in the amount of paper used; and time saved on tasks such as photocopying paper-based records.
- Benefits for the EMAG LSPs include: more efficient use of their time; greatly improved ICT skill levels; greatly improved access to computers for the full range of their work (including preparing teaching materials).
- Staff development strategies have included more than 20 hours of basic skills training for each EMAG LSP, often in twilight sessions alongside teachers, and ongoing support from the ICT Test Bed coordinator on a one-to-one basis.
- The high level of collaboration between teachers and EMAG LSPs has further developed the culture of professionalism and mutual respect which already existed in the school.
School two: exploring possibilities for more flexible working
This school faces considerable challenges in terms of language provision, special educational needs and working with refugee children. There has been a substantial increase in the number of LSPs over the past three years with the result that there are now more LSPs than teaching staff. This raises issues for senior managers around LSP deployment, working practices and management. Prior to ICT Test Bed, they decided to develop the role by giving LSPs greater ownership of the work they do with the children, so that they operate more as partners rather than being solely teacher directed. Teams of two LSPs (at levels 3 and 4) work together in leading specified groups of around 12 children for daily literacy and numeracy lessons. In conjunction with the teacher, they have a teaching role in planning, delivering, marking and assessing their group's work. LSPs also work one-to-one with children who have specific educational needs including physical disabilities.
The LSPs use their laptops for a range of purposes including lesson planning, the production of learning resources and everyday learning and teaching. The portability of the laptops offers convenience, information is available immediately and records can be easily printed. One LSP with previous ICT experience outside education has taken on the role of supporting ICT use across the school.
The use of laptops by LSPs has led to some clear perceived benefits:
- LSPs find laptops motivating.
- The easy access to laptop use ('just having it to hand') gives the LSPs flexibility to use them in spare hours at school, or at home, which has greatly increased efficiency.
- Using the laptops at home has greatly increased the ICT skills and confidence of some LSPs, as a result of exploring and experimenting with software.
- Some LSPs report that the laptop ownership makes them feel more valued and respected.
However, there have also been some problems in implementing such a challenging innovation. The LSPs were highly motivated to use laptops and software which would provide children with low language skills with a more visual environment, but there have been problems of software compatibility which have prevented this. The anticipated benefits in terms of efficiency of record keeping have not yet been achieved because so far there has not been time to transfer the processes to the laptops.
The levels of LSPs' proficiency in use of the laptops are very uneven. While some reported using them extensively at home and gaining considerable skills, others felt they had not received sufficient training and reported very low skill levels. Training had been offered but for various reasons not taken up. This pattern of uneven skills' acquisition is often seen in ICT initiatives and reflects the varied learning styles and home circumstances of the LSPs. There were concerns about sustainability of the initiative and the implications for changing LSP roles and responsibilities within the school. On the other hand, some LSPs said that they would now find it very difficult to manage without their laptops.
General points emerging from the work of these two schools
The changes in LSP's working practices and ICT skills resulting from giving them laptops have been generally positive. In the school which has focused on one specific area of work (EMAG provision) there have been considerable gains in efficiency and staff motivation; in the other school, the use of laptops to support a much larger group of LSPs across a wider range of activities has taken longer to establish. New procedures need to be introduced and established across all staff, and training in use of software and equipment for such a large group is challenging. Nevertheless, the potential for very significant efficiency gains is clear.
There are some health and safety issues which need to be addressed. Some LSPs felt vulnerable to attack carrying their laptop on public transport and some commented on their weight. As a result some prefer to leave their laptop at school and transfer files between home and school on a memory stick. Some LSPs felt that owning a laptop was a huge responsibility and felt vulnerable to theft from home or the car traveling to and from school. The cost of replacement was one issue. The fear of children's personal records being stolen was another. Insurance was raised as an issue.