Looking back part 2

Last year we spent a great day with Chris Nash, he was kind enough to write this after his visit to the North East;

I was delighted recently to be invited to spend a day at Normanby Primary School in Middlesbrough seeing how they teach and learn with mobile technology. The first thing that struck me was the passion for developing teaching and learning that was evident throughout the staff, pupils and parents in the school. This was clearly far more than just a class pilot project; there was evidence of systemic embedding of the technology wherever I looked and pleasingly this included much of the beautifully developed outdoor spaces in the school to support extended learning opportunities.

What was really striking though was a rare recognition by the Head, Carl Faulkner of the power of portable, handheld technology to develop truly independent and personalised learning whereby the balance of control in child’s learning journey is gradually tipped towards the learner.

A personal access model to ICT is only really relevant if the students are given choice to develop their learning at a pace and style which benefits their individual learning needs. Normanby School is still in the early stages of this process where the pupils are very much in control of their technology, from assisting in the device of choice to managing charging, software installations, maintenance and resources. The long term vision from the Head and staff at the school is to see this responsibility develop a greater involvement from the pupils in their own learning development. This might start with them having more independence in choosing appropriate tools to capture, create and share their ideas and moving onto them identifying when they are confident they have mastered particular skills and what needs to be acquired next.

It is clear that the school is not looking for quick fixes – no rush to buy the latest gadget because boys are failing in Literacy etc.  Normanby, under the guidance of their dedicated Head, are looking at making a long term difference by embedding technology relevant to their pupils lives and embracing a shift towards creating passionate 24/7 learners who are not only aware of, but in control of their education.

Chris Nash 2009

Looking back I can really see how our curriculum, and its delivery went through a massive change in 2009. We recently looked at some old planning; the difference in just 18 months is immense. The school is now also organised differently, with resoucres allocated to staff to spend/ deploy/ save as they see fit.

In many ways it has made my life as Head easier. The challenge is now not starting the innovation, its keeping up with it!