Tideway School, Southdown Road, Newhaven, East Sussex, BN9 9JL.
Swimming with Sharks
Jim Fanning and Stephen Grabowski are preparing 'Swimming with Sharks: A Survival Guide to Learning Platforms'.
Background
Tideway School has been using a learning platform or some aspect of the technology since 2001.
In the OFSTED inspection of that year, a Message Forum had been used to encourage students to post comments and respond to those of other students in both History and Social Education lessons. Both lessons were observed. In both observations the inspectors commented that they could see little use for this technology in the classroom.
In 2002 the school received a Best Practice Besearch Award from the DfES to further research the use of collaborative tools in a learning platform.
Making a Choice
In 2003 the school began to examine the different commercial learning platforms that were on offer. Sales representatives from a number of leading companies made presentations to staff before a decision was made. A number of reps (as is probably common in business) offered us significant discounts to make an 'on-the-spot' decision about purchasing their product.
It really did feel like being encircled by sharks and hence the title of this booklet, 'Swimming with Sharks'.
The reality is that with budgets being delegated to LEAs individual schools may have little choice in the selection of prefferred learning platform. In those schools where learning platform use is already becoming embedded a decision will need to be made over continuity or change.
Swimming with Sharks
Title Page Contents Page Introduction In at the deep end Part 1 In at the deep end Part 2
Case Studies : English ICT Social Education History 1 History 2 Science Student Voice
Harry Potter eModerators Parent Access The Next Ten Years : Part 1 Part 2 End Notes
These pages are in jpeg format and will load into your Internet browser.
These are temporary pages and a PDF file will be available.
www.learningplatforms.info
'Normally, sharks eat alone. But sometimes one feeding shark attracts others.' http://www.kidzone.ws/sharks/facts3.htm
