Tech solutions mitigate weather disruption

Just over a year ago several councils across the country shut all their schools, with more than 250,000 pupils missing lessons. At least 1,500 of the 2,500 schools in Scotland also shut. More recently the teacher’s strike of November 30, 2011 closed many schools for a day.

Whether a school is closed for bad weather, or a strike, or if a child is hospitalised for any length of time, technology is the key to facilitating learning continuity. The two leading technologies that support remote learning are learning platforms and parental communication systems.

Six years ago, the government at the time announced its ‘Harnessing Technology Strategy’ which laid out key priorities for increasing the flexibility and opportunities for study and learning using ICT. Just a few months later it went on to announce funding for its learning platform (LP) framework agreement. This is defined by Becta as combining ‘several functions, such as organising, mapping and delivering curriculum activities and the facility for learners and teachers to have a dialogue about the activity, all via ICT’. This means that learning platforms can deliver learning regardless of location.

Cloud Computing
Dylan Jones, managing director of global learning platform provider itslearning, sees continuous access as crucial for 21st century education: “Not only do learning platforms enable schools to deliver uninterrupted education, even during snow days, but cloud computing takes accessibility one step further. Even if the school network is compromised, a learning platform hosted in the cloud means that staff and pupils can continue to work, communicate and access previous work. It also means that system updates continue to add value to the platform, offering added functionality that’s designed to keep pace with advancements in technology”.

Originally the learning platform framework was set up to help schools and colleges meet the government’s target of providing all learners with an online personalised learning space. However the potential of learning platforms, if used correctly, is far further reaching; they enable distance learning and 24/7 access through any internet-connected device. The result is that teachers can send out remote learning through the platform at any time for students to work on from home. Once completed, they can send it back to the teacher, who may also be working at home, for marking.

Gareth Davies, managing director at Learning Platform provider, Frog explains further: “Learning platforms are the perfect solution for teachers, students and parents to stay connected and for learning to continue during snow days. If you have a learning platform that is truly embedded into your school, then this will become a natural part of any school closure. We have many schools using Frog that replicate their normal school functions to help with staff cover and maintain the quality of learning. So on a snow day, teachers can set work and provide learning resources and students can submit work online through the platform – learning isn’t disrupted.”

During this time, systems such as Groupcall, ParentMail and ParentPay also come into play, enabling the schools to quickly, efficiently and cost effectively send out message to the parents or guardians about the closure and the learning solution offered. ParentMail estimates that its parental communication technology can save an average sized school at least £2,000 every year based on the cost of paper, photocopying, telephone calls and postage, as outlined in the graphic below.

Geoff Jones from ParentMail believes that the savings are a vital part of 21st century communication for schools: “The reduction in the cost of material resources – and the staff time saved – mean that schools can divert funds back to the classroom without sacrificing communication, which is crucial. Parental engagement is key in education and if schools are able to correspond effectively and instantly with parents and save money at the same time, ultimately everyone benefits”.

The Warriner School in Bloxham is a regular user of its Groupcall Messenger System and took its calculation one step further to also include the cost of staff time in its calculation. As a high user school, within 12 months, £6,000 has been saved on postage alone with further savings on consumables, time management and reduced telephone calls. They estimate the average operational savings for school to home communication have exceeded £12,000.

However, like any kind of educational programme, distance learning comes with a host of pros and cons, and schools must consider these before considering if this as a solution for them.

Distance learning through a learning platform can offer schools many advantages, the first being flexibility. Regardless of the reason for the school being shut or if a student is hospitalised, they can complete their coursework from just about anywhere, provided there’s a computer and internet connection and, if necessary, parental supervision. Learning platforms also offer students wanting to embark on a specific vocational educational a route to finding a school or college that specialises in a particular field that their school can’t offer.

With these advantages come disadvantages. The first, and in my view the most important, is the lack of social interaction, although this is not an issue for the odd day of school closure due to adverse weather conditions. If education was only about academia, distance learning could be a more permanent fixture in schools, especially post 16.

Schools also have to bear in mind that the learning format doesn’t suit all learners. Many need the motivation and individual attention from a teacher. For these students one or two days away from school due to bad weather may be manageable but it is possibly not a suitable alternative in the longer term. And of course a fact that requires significant consideration involves inclusion. Although the majority of family homes have internet connection, it would be wrong for schools to assume this is the case for every child, particularly in some areas of the country. Giving work to the class on a snowy day with an expectation of having it in for discussion and marking the next day could exclude some of the students.

Dylan Jones of itslearning agrees that learning platforms cannot replace face to face teaching time: “A learning platform is designed to increase accessibility in education but a classroom environment also nurtures skills like communication, collaboration and teamwork, all of which are vital for life beyond the classroom. We see the learning platform as a tool to underpin education that takes place beyond a classroom, and its functionality reflects that”.

One school that used its learning platform to maintain learning during the snow at Christmas time 2010 was the Abbey School in Faversham, Kent. James Baldock, a teacher at the school, explains how they managed to continue with learning while the school was closed. “This was the first time that we’d closed the school at the last minute since having a learning platform. Every year, from November onwards, we put a ‘severe weather’ notice on the front page of our website and encourage staff, students and parents to check when the weather is bad. If we do decide to close the school, this message is changed to inform everyone.

“We give students plenty of information on the website on how they can use our Frog learning platform to access their work, lesson resources and of course the school software to continue their coursework from home.

“This functionality is incredibly important for us as a school. Most of our students and teachers now log onto the learning platform during school closures so that learning isn’t disrupted. The key to our success is making sure that teachers and students are aware of the learning platform all year round. That way, they know instantly that they can still gain virtual access the school to complete homework, add to their coursework or revise for an exam.”

Hemlington Hall School in Middlesbrough uses its learning and places high importance on extended learning throughout the school year. Joanne Knox, ICT and music teacher at the school, found an approach that laid the groundwork for coping with interruptions to normal school life last year. “Like many schools, we had to close in December 2010 due to bad weather,” she says. “But we recorded a message to inform pupils and parents of the closure and made sure that the work we gave to pupils was interactive and fun but still in context for what we were learning about at that time. Being able to use the itslearning platform to communicate and engage with pupils and parents is incredibly useful and the accessibility aspect is very important too, as it means that pupils can learn when they want to – something that pupils expect more and more in the 21st century. It also gives us a wonderful, safe environment for pupils to learn in.