Is your classroom technology safe from damage & theft?
Whilst classroom technology continues to transform the learning environment and empower students with the tools that they need to succeed, it also puts schools under additional pressure, due to the financial investment that is involved. As the use of devices increases in our classrooms, so does the risk of damage and theft, so what can schools do to ensure the technology they are investing thousands of pounds in is secure? James Symons, CEO, LocknCharge offers some advice. Technology comes at a price, and with many schools working with limited, and in some cases shrinking, budgets, it’s more important than ever that they are taking measures to prevent the risk of damage and theft. Of course, there are simple steps that can be taken, using high-quality cases and screen protectors on tablets, and keeping them locked away when they’re not in use, for example, but these things are no longer enough. Protecting devices from accidental damage Encourage students to take responsibility for classroom resources! It doesn’t harm children to know the value of the technology that they are using, as it helps them to understand why it’s so important that they take care of it. If they are taught that it’s a privilege to have tablets in their classroom, they’re more likely to treat them with respect. Creating a set of rules for students, which outlines clearly how the devices are intended to be used, works for lots of schools. Explain to them that by following the rules, they are helping to lower the risk of accidental damage and therefore saving the school money that can be used for new technology in the future. Of course, accidents can (and do) happen, but by putting a policy in place and reminding students that the technology they are handling is expensive, they couldbe prevented. It could be as simple as explaining to students that unlike traditional learning resources, such as textbooks, mobile devices can’t just be left in a pile in the corner at the end of each day. Explain that they need to be locked away securely and charged, or they won’t be ready to be used the following day; there’s no reason why students can’t be responsible for making sure that happens! Expecting children to keep a large number of devices charged and ready-for-use can of course be a tedious task, which is why many schools now install charging carts in their classrooms, for up to 40 tablets at one time. By selecting top loading ones with baskets, the collection and deployment of devices is simplified for the students and staff. Devices can be distributed in half of the time compared to cabinet style carts – saving 70 hours of instruction each year per 30 unit cart. Containing devices in a cart or charging station also protects the cables for the devices, which can easily go missing. Using a cart with a power management system removes the problem of there not being enough plug sockets to charge lots of devices at once and assures circuits aren’t overloaded. Delegating small positions of authority to students teaches them to accept responsibility; it also creates a team-work mentality and will teach them to appreciate the technology they are being given access to. Even better, handing over the responsibility to students means valuable teaching time isn’t impacted by the implementation of technology; it is supposed to be a positive addition to the classroom after all! Securing devices to prevent theft We know that kitting out classrooms with learning technology is beneficial where educational outcomes are concerned, and it’s great to see that schools are investing their budgets in the technology that is proven to enhance creativity and increase engagement. The bit that remains a challenge is getting schools to recognise the importance of protecting these products and devices so that they are safe from theft, which continues to be a problem in schools. So many schools now have classrooms filled with tablets and other ICT equipment, and it’s exactly that which, unfortunately, makes them more attractive to thieves. These schools that rely so heavily on technology could find themselves at a serious disadvantage if they were to be left without it. So, what can they do? As negative as it sounds, schools must prepare for the worst case scenario. A school that uses tablets every single day, for example, would be faced with a real problem if the tablets were suddenly stolen; budgets are tight and simply replacing them isn’t likely to be an option. Here are a few examples of recent school burglaries that prove the seriousness of the issue: * More than £5000 worth of iPad Minis have been stolen from a number of high schools in Edinburgh over the past two years. Laptops costing four-figure sums were also stolen from primary and secondary schools across the Scottish capital, putting additional pressure on schools that are already struggling with budgets. The figures were released by the city council under freedom of information legislation. Many of the schools that were victims of the break-ins and thefts have had to be reimbursed from the city council’s central budget, because they aren’t able to replace the equipment from their own individual funds. * A large quantity of tablets were also stolen from Witton Church Walk CE Aided Primary School in Northwich back in March. This burglary was the second in the space of a month at this particular school; the combined value of the technology stolen from both break-ins totaled around £10,000. * Back in May, at Grange Primary in Kettering, thieves broke into one of the classrooms and removed a cabinet containing ten iPads. All three of these cases confirm why piling devices into a standard cabinet and locking it is no longer safe enough. They demonstrate why no matter how strategic an investment or policy on the particular technologies or devices, there’s no use having them if they aren’t secure. It’s for this reason that so many schools are now investing in security solutions just as they are in the technology itself; but what
The Importance of Hands on Learning in Schools
Alex Dalton, Managing Director of woodworking machinery specialists Daltons Wadkin, takes a look at the importance of hands on learning, and why subjects such as Design and Technology are important. I think the best example to outline why hands on learning is hugely important is when trying to teach someone to ride a bicycle. You can try and teach them in a classroom, but to actually learn, they should go out and actually ride it. There is the argument that learning from books or academics is the best way to learn, however you can’t ride a bike from reading a book, no matter the number of books you read about cycling, you are still likely to fall off the first time you try! So it is clear that certain situations that hands on learning is vital. It is often hard to properly understand something you have never experienced. This is why hands-on learning is so important in education – there are now more vocational courses that provide more work based experiences than ever before. Hands-on learning allows students to directly take on board and understand what is happening, or how to do something. This is a particularly successful way to teach kinestheticlearners, who learn best by example. However, classes such as art, music, woodworking and mechanics are few and far between these days, which is a shame. This types of classes provide important avenues for both education and career success, not to mention they motivate kids who love hands-on activities to remain interested in coming to school and learning. They also teach practical problem solving, and introduce students to highly skilled trades. Subjects such as Design and Technology (D&T) incorporate many aspects of hands on learning, and give children the opportunity to develop skills, knowledge and understanding of designing and making functional products. D&T is often a misunderstood and misrepresented subject. For many people, including employers and parents, it is still perceived as the subject they probably studied when they were at school, i.e. woodwork or metalwork. But it is vital that pupils develop an understanding of aesthetics and its role in the design of everyday items and architecture, as well as developing communication skills through designing and group work. In reality, it helps to put the T and E into STEM, and does so within school curriculum time, not as part of extra-curricular, enhancement and enrichment activities. We feel it is vital to nurture creativity and innovation through design, and by exploring the world in which we all live and work. The design process is central to project work and as a method of problem solving. It is the act of generating, developing and communicating ideas for products, services, systems andenvironments. Hugely important in responding to user needs and wants and/or market opportunities. Both digital and traditional design tools may be used. Addressing needs though this problem-solving, creativity bounded by constraints and combined with hands-on practical manufacture are the fundamental skills of an industrial economy. Lastly, there is a huge shortage in this country of people to fill jobs in the highly skilled trades. There are many high paying jobs for auto mechanics, certified welders for the oil industry, electricians, and so on. These are jobs that are intellectually challenging, and offergreat job security. Long live Design and Technology!
Is Outsourcing ICT Support Becoming Inevitable in Education?
Martin Pipe, Head of Service Scope & Design at RM Education, explores the growing trend in schools seeking to outsource or co-source their IT support services as a measure to not only save time and cost, but to manage risks, access expertise and future-proof their technology provision. According to RM Education’s latest annual survey, a growing number of schools are now considering outsourcing and co-sourcing their IT support in order to keep up with the constant changes in technologyand minimise overall support costs. As moving to the cloud continues to help schools drive down expenditure and enhance learning, educational institutions of all sizes are also beginning to look for IT partners who can not only help them transition to the cloud, but provide ongoing IT support and expertise as the breadth of available technologies develops. In guidance issued in July this year, the Department for Education (DfE) reiterated that the marketplace is increasingly seeing cloud services as the way forward, but advises schools to select a knowledgeable and experienced service provider that shares the school vision and can provide both initial and ongoing assistance. They also stipulate that ‘as the complexity of locally hosted, school based ICT solutions increases, it can become more and more challenging to ensure the same level of reliability in respect of the ICT provision in schools’ – making the support of a trusted partner in this journey essential. So what are the key influencing factors driving a growing number of schools to outsource or co-source? Central motivators “You’d think there would be a clear starting point, but the motivators for outsourcing IT services are different for every school as it depends entirely on the long-term and unique issues they face,” says Martin. “However, there’s often a more critical driver, such as their existing systems aren’t working well enough, technology is too slow or failing during lessons, infrastructure isn’t supporting new apps and software, the cost of in-house IT support is too high or they’ve had a change of senior leadership who has brought in new ideas.” Cost is still a prominent factor in the decision to outsource IT support and services – almost half the schools surveyed cited cost as a central influence for bringing in third party support – whilst riskmanagement is another key driver, both from a technical and a staff perspective. Outsourcing IT support allows schools to transfer the risk of day-to-day mishaps and any other risks associated with IT to the service provider, as well as providing cover for sickness and holidays. It also minimises any disruptions from technology, as IT partners providing managed services to schools can run proactive checks on the schools’ systems throughout the day to instantly pick up and rectify issues before they become a problem. Conversely, co-sourcing IT support can fill in gaps in internal expertise and save schools time, money, and effort in recruiting additional staff. By combining services from within the school and from a well-chosen partner, both parties can work to achieve the same goals. Bridging the gap However, perhaps the greatest motivator of all is no longer simply about cost, but about addressing the widening technology skills gap; in today’s competitive marketplace and with technology moving at a rapid pace, schools are finding it increasingly difficult to attract the right type of IT specialists to support them. This trend is again reflected in RM’s survey, with 60% of schools citing the need for additional skills and expertise as the most important motivating factor. “Schools have so many of their own challenges that recruiting top IT talent – quite understandably – tends not to be their main priority,” says Martin. “However, the problem is that when they do try to find the right staff, the marketplace is tough – they’re competing with the enterprise IT market and candidates can often get much more from an organisation than from a school. “As technology becomes an increasingly integral part of education, schools need IT expertise in multiple types of technology, which leaves them with two choices; to find a single IT support specialist with the knowledge and expertise of five different people, which is almost impossible – or to employ multiple experts to cover the vast range of technologies, which is very expensive. “When an IT issue occurs that goes beyond the expertise held locally – such as server failure, or pupils not being able to log into something – schools have to rely solely on their Network Support Manager or IT technician, who may not always be able to help. This puts schools in a vulnerable situation as it could ultimately lead to hours of lost teaching time and major classroom disruptions. “And that’s where outsourcing or co-sourcing IT support can become a major advantage for schools, as whatever the issue, they have access to the infinite expertise of a much larger organisation with every possible skillset they need.” Reclaiming time But while existing IT support staff may perceive outsourcing as a threat, the reality is often that they are not only benefiting from broadening their skillset by working with third party IT support providers, butare actually freed up to concentrate on offering more practical, hands-on IT support around the school. The DfE’s guidelines agree that ‘reducing the costs of managing and supporting a school’s ICT infrastructure can make more effective use of available in-house technical support’ and that ‘staff may be refocused away from purely technical support of a multitude of in-house systems towards supporting the uptake of the ICT and thus delivering improved benefits for the teaching and learning outcomes.’ Martin adds: “When you think about the sheer scale of what an IT technician has to do – from in-class support for teachers using ICT and proactive and reactive management and repair to monitoring security updates and load times and everything in between, it’s becoming almost impossible for them to achieve everything on their list without the support of a third party. “For Network Managers, the plethora of responsibilities is even more pronounced; in addition to network and server management they have to manage tight budgets, constantly monitor performance, implement and manage filtering and safeguarding policies, produce monthly reports and manage their team – as well as staying up to date on the changing technologies and developing an intrinsic understanding of how they can support teaching and learning. Ultimately, that model isn’t sustainable.” Bringing in a third party IT partner allows IT technicians, Network Managers and Business Managers to reclaim the headspace they need to focus on the more important tasks; rather like having a smoke alarm – you can confidently walk around your house knowing that if anything happens, you’ll be told. A good IT partner should understand