The city as the learning environment

making change happen in Leicester's schools

Josie FraserICT Strategy Lead (Children’s Capital)

Leicester City Council

licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Leicester!

BSF in Leicester

• Approximately £340 million capital build programme

• 23 secondary schools - including Secondary Behavioural Support Service, SEN schools, Children’s Hospital School

• 20,000 Learner places – building works completed by 2015

Some broader contexts

• Mainstreaming of internet connected device ownership & social networking services

• e-Government agenda • e-Safety & cyberbullying• Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) Energy

Efficiency Scheme• ‘The Importance of Teaching’ Nov 2010

Where are we heading?

The question is not:

Do we need to think about addressing digital literacy in

schools?

The question is:

How do we make sure that the ways we address digital literacy

in schools doesn’t further disadvantage already vulnerable

children & young people?

Children & young people’s priorities – the school environment

We asked 400 young people from across the City about their school environment

priorities. These are their top 15 concerns.

Children & young people’s priorities – the school environment

1. More indoor social spaces2. Better, extended library spaces3. Comfy chairs4. Attractive modern design, better use of colour5. Vegetable gardens

Children & young people’s priorities – the school environment

6. Sustainable buildings, design & practice7. Nicer toilets 8. Bigger dining spaces with more food choice9. Flexible classroom spaces & furniture10. More variety in teaching methods

Children & young people’s priorities – the school environment

11. More student input into everything12. More flexible use of technology13. Greater choice & variety of subjects, more information about subjects 14. Outdoor shelters & classrooms15. Better careers information

Children & young people’s priorities-school technology

We asked 400 young people from across the City about their school technology

priorities. These are their top 10 concerns.

Children & young people’s priorities – school technology

1. Faster computers 2. More creative, student-centred and student-

led use of technology3. Less use of technology for it’s own sake4. More flexible use/internet access – school,

city centre, community5. Laptop borrowing/home use

Children & young people’s priorities – school technology

6. Collaboration with young people in other schools & countries7. Access to local & national decision makers via social media8. Young people only access/space in the city centre9. Teachers who can help them use social media – better privacy & e-safety advice10. A say in school filtering & blocking

Where are we heading?

• Increasing critical infrastructure, network & connectivity

• Into the cloud – services and storage• Learner Owned devices• Use of technology to support energy reduction• Increasingly school-centred decision making and

budgets• Current flux regarding curriculum & indicators• Lack of national commitment to technology for

education

Strategic priorities

• space & place• workforce development & innovation• networked learning & communities• information management• green ICT• e-safety & e-citizenship

The city as the learning environment

Networked communities - If we want the schools to be at the heart of their communities we need to re-imagine what a learning space is. Positioning the city as the learning environment turns the role of the school inside out, opens up the promise of digital to augment and reinforce psychical learning environments We need to start taking localism seriously

Thank you!

@josiefraser