Alfreton Learning Community first INSET Day

The first time I have heard the term ‘INSET terrorisist’

At a discussion today at the Alfreton Learning Community INSET (400 teachers at the Riverside Conference Centre at Pride Park) with all or most of that groups ICT teachers we concluded that school policy for access to Web 2.0 is decided largely by network managers. Wendy Savage from Morts gave a vision of schools using Web 2.0 sites and facilities. All of the sites she mentioned are blocked either by EMBC or locally.
Something I have become aware of in the last couple of weeks is that  in 1998 when I was at Belper, we had classes for families of students to show people how to use the web, email and so on. They were all over subscribed and there was a long waiting list. As teachers we were leading the charge into the new technologies. Now that new technology in picture sharing, social networking and a great deal more is blocked. We have become censors, a reactionary force blocking change. I remember the arguments against email for students, a white list of approved websites and blocking Google, it was eventually seen as ridiculous and I suppose this will althogh I am little pessimistic at the moment.

On the upbeat side Sir John Jones a very emotional and inspiring speaker, he may have given enough people the courage to carry through the change that is needed and push aside the nay-sayers

Web 2.0 Derbyshire ICT conference Nov 2007

November 15th 2007

The Derbyshire Annual ICT conference, the theme this year was Web 2.0. Keynote speakers Ewan McIntosh in the morning and Steve Beard to round off in the afternoon.  The discussions in the workshops including my own on – web 2.0 - seem to be showing common experiences. Web 2.0 technologies are blocked as standard in almost all schools. When ICT in UK schools became effectivley compulsory in 1999, the schools where teaching students things they did not know. At my school at the time we held evening classes that were oversubscribed, in which parents and their children were shown the uses of the Internet, email search engines and so on. At that time the schools were in front of the students and showing them new things. The situation is completely different at the end of 2007. Most of my students spend up to 2 hours a day on MSN chat – banned in school – on BEBO also banned. They may spend time on MIBBA a creative writing social network, but not at school because it is banned. They could use DEVIANT ART as my teenage daughter does most days, but their creative efforts would be blocked next day at school. FLICKR ? banned YOUTUBE ? blocked of course. In a hand full of years UK schools have gone from the enthusiastic adoption of new technologies to a frightened attempt to ban them from schools. For the students a different world exists, they use the developing technologies, they make judgments about the trustworthiness of sites or contacts and they are part of the force that is driving technology forwards.