The personal touch - Brislington Enterprise College achieves true personalisation with technology
12 January 2010
Brislington Enterprise College (BEC) opened brand new doors to its 1200 students in September 2008 as part of the Government’s Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme. Fifteen months on, the school’s forward-thinking and flexible approach to ICT, managed by Northgate Managed Services has helped teachers achieve to true personalisation for students.
Brislington Enterprise College is a mixed comprehensive college in Bristol, catering for 1200 11-18 year-old students. As one of the largest education institutions in the area, one of the biggest challenges the college faces is the delivery of personalised learning to every student. A major element of the college’s success has been down to effective implementation and use of ICT. To achieve this, the college works closely with Northgate Managed Services to ensure that every piece of technology is properly tailored to the needs of staff and students and that it runs optimally all day, every day.
The college’s extensive wireless network combined with easily transportable kit such as laptops, handheld devices and wireless projectors, enables staff and students to collaborate wherever they are in the college. In the past, teachers had to book a computer suite or a set of laptops in advance of a lesson which meant students only had ad-hoc access to technology. Ryan Lewin, Director of Post-16 Community and Teacher of Geography at BEC, comments: “Now that the college has gone wireless, my class can instantly start work on any given task or activity in the classroom. At BEC, we believe that students must be provided with continuity for their use of technology in order to develop proficient ICT skills which we are now able to achieve.”
As the college is based on such a large site, it is also incredibly important that technologies are mobile and that every student has the opportunity to use them. Richard Sykes, BEC’s eLearning Coordinator and Teacher of Music, is using Apple iTouch’s with music students to listen to instruments and music and help them interact with him throughout the lesson. Richard comments: “It is vital that teachers embrace the fact that young people are accessing mobile technologies all day, every day and develop ways to integrate them into teaching practice. We also provide students with access to handheld devices such as the iTouch outside of the classroom in practice rooms which helps reinforce their learning.”
Anytime, anywhere learning
Every student and member of staff at BEC has access to their own online personalised learning space through the college’s managed learning environment (MLE), N-able. Designed by Northgate, the MLE allows students to work on assignments, store work and access emails, enabling them to communicate with teachers and fellow students. Ryan Lewin comments: “The 24/7 accessibility to information on the MLE has had a tremendous impact on the learning experience for students. For example, I am able to upload everything my GCSE students need to complete activities and revise in one, easy-to-access place. In the past, I had to refer them to a multitude of different resources, whereas now, they are can download course materials and presentations, complete the work and upload it to the MLE to submit it for marking.”
The MLE provides flexibility for when, where and how teachers at BEC work. No longer confined to the four walls of their classroom, teachers can plan, set and review work from home, the library or anywhere with an internet connection. Richard Sykes was recently was off-site all day on a training course, which in the past, would have meant sorting out supply cover. However, he was able to logon to the MLE the previous evening and set work for his BTEC students who then completed and submitted it online to his deadline. Richard comments: “The MLE even enables me to see the time and date that my students upload their work, the specific resources they access and how long it takes them to complete it, so I can feel confident that they are still learning should I occasionally be out of college.”
Teachers at BEC are also utilising the MLE to plan and deliver lessons. Each class has their own assigned virtual room where teachers can upload resources to cover in class and activities to extend their learning at home. Details such as the topics they are due to cover or information they should read beforehand are reflected in their online timetable so they come to each lesson fully prepared. Richard, comments: “I also use the MLE to upload keynote presentations, handouts and audio recordings after class which they can discuss in the MLE’s moderated forums and chat rooms or share their work with parents.”
Student engagement
Staff at BEC believe it is important to teach with some of the latest technologies students own and use them as a way to engage them in their learning. Richard Sykes, comments: “Technology has become an intrinsic part of students’ lives and their preferred method of accessing and processing information, so the natural step has been to bring this into the classroom environment. Our young people are incredibly intuitive and excited by technology - as soon as they have new kit in their hands they want to progress it and use it in all their lessons. Often, they don’t want lessons to end and ask to come back after college to continue using it, which, in turn is also helping to improve their grades.”
Richard also believes it is important that schools and colleges continuously evolve their ICT offering to students to keep them engaged. He comments: “Many of our students own the latest digital technologies such as iPhones and PSPs so we have to continuously evolve our ICT offering to keep them interested in using technology and not let it become an archaic experience.”
The college is exploring the use of a wide range of devices in the classroom such as mobile phones, which students enjoy using and find familiar. Ryan Lewin gives his advice on this subject to other schools and colleges: “It is important that use of ICT is strongly linked to learning objectives to keep students on task. At BEC, we ensure students are using technologies that are reflective of the outside world and are keen to provide students with an experience which will help equip them to continue their education or enter the workplace.”
The managed service has played a pivotal role in successful ICT provision and student engagement at BEC. John Matthews, College Principal at BEC, comments: “To engage staff and students in ICT, it is imperative that it operates efficiently. The managed service ensures that our server and technologies are up and running whenever students want to use them and if there is a fault, the problem is fixed quickly before it impacts on their learning. Working with Northgate has also relieved the pressure on our technician who can spend more time helping everyone get to grips with new technologies.”
At BEC, staff understand that technology does not stand still and in order to keep abreast of innovation and implementing technology which continues to complement the college’s vision for learning, they need to work with professionals. John Matthews, comments: “Northgate provides a team of specialists who look out for cost-effective, tailored technologies to improve our offering to students and who continuously work to ensure that existing ICT is working efficiently.”
Independent learners
Teachers at BEC believe it is vital that students leave college as confident, independent learners prepared for higher education or the world of work. To help achieve this, an Enterprise Centre has been created and is open until 5pm each day for students to use. The suite comprises of 70 PCs, 60 mobile devices and a suite of Apple Macs for students studying media and has the look and feel of a higher education centre as opposed to a school library. John, comments: “We appreciate that currently, some of our students do not have access to a computer or the internet at home, so the Enterprise Centre provides a place that they can come to complete their work at lunchtime or after college. This has been well received by students who are very proud of their facilities. As a result of this more professional atmosphere, students are coming in and getting on with their work with minimal disruption or vandalism.”
By providing students with their own personalised learning area, BEC is able to provide the additional support and assistance they need to maximise independent study and to progress according to their own individual learning plan. Teachers are able to monitor each student’s progress to ensure that they are on track and progressing. The college has also set up eLearning community forums for each class to encourage students to collaborate with their peers if they need help with their work.
Richard Sykes, comments: “Using N-able, teachers set and develop a personalised learning pathway for each student which they work through in their own time. The MLE allows us to set deadlines for students and view when they upload their work, helping them to take ownership of their learning in preparation for life after college.”
Parental engagement
At BEC, teachers understand the importance of parental and guardian involvement in their child’s education and encourage parents to log-on to the MLE to view the work they have been doing and homework to complete. John Matthews, comments: “We really want our students’ families to feel part of the college community and understand more about their child’s day-to-day activities. As they have online access, parents can log-on to the portal anytime, anywhere, whether they are at home, at work or even on the move using their mobile phone.”
The future
The college has many exciting plans for the future, including a trial of Microsoft Surface, a 42-inch touch-screen to encourage greater collaboration between students. John Matthews concludes: “Traditionally our ICT provision has focused strongly on one-to-one provision to support personalisation for students. We are keen in 2010 to encourage groups of students to work together using technology and look forward to implementing new technologies alongside Northgate to achieve this.”
