A ‘Show & Tell’ event was held recently at Oakington Manor School in North London in which parents, teachers and bloggers came together to experience the benefits of online reporting in a real-life classroom environment. The event was organised by the government agency Becta in relation to their ‘Next Generation Learning’ campaign, which encourages the use of technology to improve communications between you and your child’s school. Oakington Manor school is innovating by not only making technology an integral part of pupils’ learning, but also making it central to the way parents can communicate with the school.
Oakington Manor’s state-of-the-art ICT suite, equipped with interactive white boards and the latest 3D learning technology, was the setting for the interactive ‘Show and Tell’ workshop.
The aim of the event was to support and raise awareness of the benefits of online reporting technology in education, particularly in terms of enabling better communication between you and your child’s school.
Head of ICT, Ophelia Vanderpuye, demonstrated the online reporting technology that is revolutionising the way parents communicate with the school and keeping track of their children’s learning. The event began with a demonstration of the school’s impressive learning technology then quickly moved on to the real focus of the event – online reporting.
Online reporting is the innovative use of media and communication technologies such as email, blogs, websites and text alerts in order to keep you better informed about your child’s educational achievements, progress, behaviour and attendance. Oakington Manor’s comprehensive information-packed learning platform is a great example of such technology as it provides a one-stop-shop for parents to stay in touch and up to date on school news, activities and more importantly their children’s learning.
A dedicated tour of the ‘Parents Room’ on the online platform gave parents and bloggers the opportunity to see first-hand examples of online tools available that enable parents to communicate directly with the school and with other parents. These tools included discussion forums, the ability to vote on topical issues like school uniform, homework and easy one click access to important school information.
Becta recently released the Schools & Parents: A New Partnership report, which is also a part of the ‘Next Generation Learning’ campaign. The report contains information and methods which enables you to become more closely involved in your child’s education and for teachers to update parents with in-school activity via online reporting technology.
To view the Becta Schools & Parents: A New Partnership report in full and to access more information about the ‘Next Generation Learning’ campaign check out www.nextgenerationlearning.org.uk
For more information, please contact:
Sophie Jackson 0207 025 6412 / Sophie.jackson@redconsultancy.com
Catherine Sharrott 0207 025 6589 / Catherine.Sharrott@redconsultancy.com
Kate Cox 02476 797146 / Kate.Cox@becta.org.uk
