Developing e-learning in the DT curriculum: Rationale

At School W:

Year 9 = Fifth Form

Year 10 = Lower Shell

Year 11 = Upper Shell

Year 12 = 6^th Form

Year 13 = Remove

Autumn term = Play term

Spring term = Lent term

Summer term = Election term

School W. is a leading independent day and boarding school in central London. In 2010-2011 School W. was judged to be the country’s foremost academic school for the fifth year running by the FT league table that measures success at A level. In 2011, 87.1% of its GCSE grades were A*. After rigorous academic selection, boys begin their school career at the beginning of 5^th Form and girls may apply for 6^th Form.  5^th Form pupils are drawn from a variety of feeder prep schools and London primary schools.

The use of ICT within the school as a whole

The school’s ICT facilities and infrastructure are impressive, overseen by a team of dedicated ICT support staff who play an invaluable role in ensuring that things run smoothly on a day to day basis. The school’s well-established intranet is used widely by school members. It contains a wealth of administrative, academic and pastoral information and departmental links including links to the school library’s digital media resources which include e-books and audiobooks. The intranet is also used to download internal examination results, termly assessments and reports which may be accessed by tutors and parents.   A detailed explanation of the school’s e-safety policy can be accessed via the intranet home page. The school has a comprehensive policy on the acceptable use of the computer network for pupils. Cyber bullying is taken seriously and a culture of zero tolerance is embedded within the school.

As part of the School’s 2010-2011 development plan, the school is developing its use of SharePoint. The development plan also outlines a review of the ICT curriculum to ensure digital literacy in both the Upper and Lower School (Years 9,10,11).

What is unusual about School W. is that pupils are allowed to bring smartphones, iPads, tablets and laptops to school and connect to the network. Staff and students regularly communicate with each other via email, often generated on smartphones.  Having worked in a school that imposed a blanket ban on any such device but particularly mobile phones, this has been a revelation. Smartphones are also used regularly both in and out of lessons. The school’s approach towards the use of mobile phones is rare but offers an exciting range of possibilities with regard to using them as a learning tool both in a formal and informal learning context. The school also has an iPhone app which serves as a homework diary and downloads the daily menu, a function far more in tune with the psyche of the average 5^th former than a reminder that his homework is due!

The school carried out a survey of the use of ICT across the curriculum in February 2012. The role of the ICT Department includes ensuring HoDs are aware of possibilities, sharing good practice, and providing training and support as required as well as maintaining infrastructure. GCSE ICT is not offered at School W. Instead the ICT department ensures that 5^th Form pupils receive a thorough grounding in Office applications and as they progress through the school, discrete tuition in programming, web design, database design and system development.

The use of ICT within specialist subject areas is diverse and extensive. Some departments use SharePoint more than others. The Modern Language department makes extensive use of internet resources and digital recording devices. A level German students use Facebook to contact their exchange partners in Munich, the first department-led use of a social networking in the school. English uses the library online facilities on a regular basis as a research tool and to encourage reading.  In Humanities and the Arts, ICT is used to prepare PowerPoint presentations and the occasional Prezi. Many departments encourage the use of the internet to independently research, but not all. The History department makes its feelings clear, “such use of the internet (to research) is not something we encourage in History: there is a lot of rubbish on historical topics, and it can be hard for younger pupils to distinguish the wheat from the chaff.” A view that is very much at odds with Davidson’s and Goldberg’s proselytizing of Wikipedia in their paper, The Future of Learning Institutions in the Digital Age.”

A vast range of specialist software is used in Maths, Science and DT to analyse and present data, to develop ideas and present research findings. Individual Science teachers have begun to generate QR codes to use with their Upper School students. Some departments, particularly MFL and DT use iPhone apps to consolidate what has been learnt in lessons and as revision aids.

In the main, digital technology is used by staff in a contributory, rather than participatory way, for consumption rather than collaboration. With the exception of A level German, the use of social networking or blogging by teachers is rare. It is the boys who are taking the initiative and are working in more collaborative ways.  For example, a group of Upper Shell Classics students has set up their own Skype study group to provide mutual support and help with homework. With the school’s enlightened approach to pupil-owned devices and the fact that approximately 25% of the pupils board, it can only be a matter of time before the use of social networking sites to offer mutual support and feedback snowballs.

The use of ICT in Design Technology.

The DT department is small, comprising of one Product Design teacher and two Electronics teachers. Both the Electronics and Product Design areas have their own Heads of Department.

Product Design endured a tumultuous 2010 which for a number of reasons culminated in a leaderless department for the majority of the summer term. I joined the school as Head of Department in September 2011 faced with a subject that was struggling to keep its head above water. Although GCSE results remained strong, the lack of able leadership had cost the subject its credibility and 2012 GCSE uptake was pitifully low. The quality of much of the Lower School practical work was suspect and the majority of it unfinished. 2011 was spent implementing a strategically planned curriculum at Fifth Form and GCSE level, the focus of which was to produce exciting, well made, fully functional objects using a range of traditional workshop and CAD CAM equipment.

To an extent, digital technology is already being used to enhance teaching and learning. In 2011, 5^th Form boys completed two practical projects and a drawing systems unit in the Election term. An MP3 amplifier and Modernist inspired tea light holder used a wide range of traditional workshop tools and equipment in conjunction with 2D Design, a laser cutter and a CNC Denford router.

GCSE results have remained strong but September 2011 provided me with the opportunity to banish the elephant’s graveyard of A3 paper portfolios gathering dust in numerous piles and introduce e-portfolios. Students used PowerPoint to generate their portfolios, embedding mobile phone sound-bites, photographs and flip videos. This proved particularly successful during the development section of their coursework as they were able to effectively “tell the story” of their design ideas and embed evaluative comments of their friends during the lesson rather than retrospectively.  The impact was two-fold. Because they weren’t trying to remember what had happened in the lesson their critical analysis and explanation of their work was detailed and had a sense of immediacy. They were also more willing to show and explain what went wrong and how they solved problems rather than sweep mishaps under the carpet for fear of ruining a “pretty” A3 sheet.  

Rationale: What and Why?

School W’s approach to student owned devices combined with the academic capabilities of the boys and the positive, trusting relationships they enjoy with the teaching staff offer a wealth of opportunities for using digital technology to enhance learning in DT. It is very tempting to get carried away and adopt  a scattergun approach, setting up Evernote accounts, Wikispaces, blogs and voting software that could prove unmanageable. I need to focus on one aspect of DT teaching and learning that could really benefit from digital technology. In order to do this I need to focus on the key issues that are preventing effective learning taking place or causing pupils to fail to engage with the subject.  

In the Fifth Form, by far the greatest factors preventing effective learning are time constraints and a lack of practical DT experience. Unless they have come from a state primary, very few of the pupils beginning the school in the Fifth Form (Year 9) have taken part in any DT activity at all as independent prep schools teach to common entrance rather than the national curriculum. When confronted with the demands of practical work for the first time, many pupils lack confidence, initiative and resilience expecting one-to-one individual tuition when the going gets tough.

Time constraints are even more of an issue. Terms are between ten and twelve weeks. Product Design rotates with Electronics at Play half term meaning that the boys have between five and six weeks to complete a practical project. The same pattern is repeated in the spring term meaning that pupils experience only 18 hours (maximum, often less) of Product Design before they take their GCSE options. This compares to the 162 hours of DT a child would have experienced at KS3 assuming a one double period a week of 1 and 1/2 hours. adn terms of twelve weeks. This does not take into consideration DT hours at KS2. Add a residential school trip in the Play term, a music lesson or sporting fixture into the mix and it becomes increasingly difficult to complete any type of product, let alone a quality one. We have managed to combat this partially by working collaboratively on the MP3 amplifier project; the Electronics department producing the circuit and Product Design producing a laser cut acrylic body. I have also run an average of five extra sessions a week during lunchtimes and after school to allow boys to catch up and to ensure they finish. This is not sustainable.

My aim is to use digital technology to help boys who have missed a lesson. I also aim to boost the confidence of those who find DT challenging and to reinforce learning in those who have found their DT feet. I intend to build a video library of practical demonstrations showing the manufacture of the Modernist tea light holder to be made in the Play term. The aim is to encourage more independence from those who have missed a lesson – in the first instance they watch the video and then ask if they are still unsure. This applies equally to those who switch off during demos or find it difficult to retain instruction from one week to another! The videos will be stored on a departmental blog, a Wikispace or SharePoint and a workshop stand-alone PC, an “electronic buddy” that can metaphorically hold their hand through the process.  In addition to this, I will generate QR codes linked to the videos that will be displayed next the tool or equipment in question and accessed via a pupil’s smartphone.