Bristol Metropolitan College
Using innovative technology from Northgate to support classroom teaching and learning.
Bristol Metropolitan College (BMC), formerly Whitefield Fishponds Community School was newly built and officially opened in July 2008.
BMC is Bristol's First Specialist Language College and has a vibrant and dynamic community with pride in their identity and past achievements. The new building and ICT enables the school to respond to the new agendas for learning.
With space for 1080 students, the new BMC is organised in a series of 'learning clusters' for different subject areas. The central language cluster reflects the school's status as a language college, with two further learning cluster linked by an internal street. This provides a main focus of activity, creating a space that is bright and spacious.
BMC is committed to:
- Building on past achievements and best practice
- Ensuring future success
- maximising the opportunities to transform learning
- Placing learners at the heart of the learning community
- Engaging with parents as active partners
ICT Managed Service
BMC has become a world class centre of learning using innovative technology to engage and educate its students. It aims to create the best possible setting for young people to learn and meet the educational needs of its 700 students. Using innovative technology to support classroom teaching, the school is equipped with the very latest learning and teaching tools such as laptops, interactive whiteboards and hand held devices.
N-able - Managed Learning Environment
Each learner has access to N-able, Northgate's Managed Learning Environment (MLE) which provides students with their own personalised learning area with the support and assistance they need to maximise independent study and to progress in line with their own individual learning plan.
Accessible via the internet from any location, N-able gives each learner their own on line space to work on assignments, store work and access emails enabling them to communicate with teachers and fellow students. Each teacher has a digital tool box to enable them to continually assess pupil's work and offer as much or as little guidance as they might need. N-able also allows the school to incorporate administration systems such as pupil access and registration, as well as pupil achievements such as exam and homework marks.
Smart
To further improve school efficiency each member of staff and each student has a smart card which is used to securely access the school buildings, to make cashless purchases in the canteen, to print and to take out books from the library. By logging into their personal on line space on N-Able both students and staff can see when their library books are due back as well as order specific books. The cashless catering function allows students to keep track of how much they have spent in the school canteen and to know when they need to top up their balance. By having access to all of this information in one place students can not only efficiently keep track of all their information and take responsibility for it, but parents can also request access, allowing them to become more involved in their child's education.
Principal, commented:
"Since the school opened the students have been making full use of the new technology including the Managed Learning Environment. Being able to access their work electronically from home as well as at school means that young learners can view their education as more than just what goes on in a classroom. N-able allows students to really take ownership and control of their education and promotes lifelong learning which is at the heart of what we are trying to achieve."
Northgate's Managed Support Service
The implementation of a Managed Learning Environment enables learners and teachers to share and store work and resources that can be securely accessed anywhere and anytime. N-able is part of a wider ICT managed service provided for Bristol Metropolitan College by Northgate Education. Along with educational resources, Northgate provides a centrally managed printing solution which limits the amount of printers and paper used. Accessed by the identity cards this enables the school to help control paper wastage, maintaining a 'green' school environment. To further reduce power usage the ICT Technician can monitor all workstations to ensure none are left on overnight or at the weekends.
