Tideway School, Southdown Road, Newhaven, East Sussex, BN9 9JL
A local network
Creating a local network with junior school partners
This has been one of our most challenging areas of work. A common Learning Platform across school partners raises the prospect of improved collaboration, including the sharing of information and good practice that should lead to improved teaching and learning in all of the institutions involved.
Does a 'one-size-fits-all' approach to this technology work. The answer is a qualified maybe. During Saturday morning KS2 ICT Club in Tideway, Learning Platform use was tested with Year 5 and Year 6 pupils. They seemed to have few issues with the technology and grasped pretty quickly the functions and uses of the software. More school based research is needed in this area however.
The Newhaven Management Initiative (NMI) is a committee of junior and secondary headteachers, one of whose purposes is to ensure a smooth transition from KS2 to KS3. A Learning Platform presentation has been made to this committee (November 2006). Whilst headteachers saw the potential for the technology to track, monitor and assess pupil progress, the suitability of a 'secondary' platform in a junior school environment was a concern that was voiced.
That's as far as the school has progressed in any attempt to set up a collaborative network between junior and secondary schools.
In 2007 junior and secondary staff who are directly responsible for the transition process plan to use the platform to improve communication between the group.
The Art & Design Department plan to establish an online gallery using the platform to showcase joint work between junior and secondary schools.
More information will be added to this page as these plans are put in place.
Source Unknown but it illustrates clearly the confusion concerning our attempts to establish a local network.
'chat tools make it easy for pupils to communicate within a school or even across schools' DFES
