[Advisory] Online Reporting in Schools
Crispin Weston
crispin.weston@alphalearning.co.uk
Tue, 5 Jan 2010 18:57:21 -0000
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Hi all,
I seem to have stirred something up here. Thanks to everyone's comments and
apologies in advance for a correspondingly long essay in response.
@Mike. I agree.
@Alistair: thanks for the bouquet - but I think you may have misunderstood
my position and I fear that the bouquet might metamorphose into a brickbat.
My point is that I *agree* with Chris Gerry that schools should become more
like supermarkets in terms of their business intelligence (though not, of
course, in terms of the service they offer). My criticism of real time
reporting is not of the aspiration but of the failure to put in place some
of the essential prerequisites beforehand.
Of course I also agree with the stuff about children being happy, fulfilled
individuals - but I am suspicious of what I take to be a suggestion that
efficiency is the enemy of happiness. People's happiness increases a little
when they receive a public service which is efficient and appropriate to
their needs. My happiness increases when I go into Tesco and find that they
have my favourite type of Taramosalata in stock and I am (moderately)
grateful for the computerised logistics systems which ensure that it is. A
student becomes a little happier when he receives teaching which is relevant
to his needs and is not required to sit in a classroom for years on end
being taught things that he either doesn't understand or already knows, just
because the school hasn't bothered accurately to assess and track what that
student's learning needs are.
To respond to Jeff's pithy comment:
"You can't fatten a pig by weighing it!"
I agree that you fatten a pig by feeding it. But you establish how much and
what sort of food to feed it by weighing it. Try telling a pig farmer that
he should not bother to weigh his pigs and I suspect he would tell you that
you know nothing about running a pig farm. Any efficient business is
completely dependent on feedback and analysis of what it is doing. The
systems that we have in place for doing this in education are generally
extraordinarily primitive.
I have some sympathy with Alistair's comment
"the graphs ? I seriously do not
understand where they fit in"
but the problem here is not the fact that the data is being collected but
that it is not being used efficiently. Nothing is joined up. There is no
benefit in collecting data just for the sake of making pretty graphs.
So what *is* the point of collecting the data? It seems to me that one of
the primary criteria of efficiency in education (putting aside motivation
for a moment) is the correct pitching of teaching. In my experience as a
teacher, there is a time when a student is ready to learn something. Apart
from *wanting* to learn it (again, a motivational aspect), the student must
have mastered the necessary prerequisites.
So the key requirement for an efficient education system is managing
progression, differentiation and personalisation to ensure that the right
student gets the right bit of teaching at the right time - just as a farmer
gives the right sort of food to the right pig or puts the right bit of
fertilizer on the right bit of the field. And in managerial terms for the
classroom teacher, that is an extremely complex managerial task.
We start from an extraordinarily antiquated system in which people are
driven through the syllabus in age-based cohorts, like troops being driven
over the top at the Somme in neat lines. But to get away from this, we have
to have systems capable of tracking students' individual capabilities. This
type of tracking of business effectiveness is so ubiquitous and its value so
widely accepted that I find it very strange that we are even having this
discussion as to whether we should be doing the same things in education.
Of course, in education unlike farming, the student (unlike the pig) has an
important say in what he/she needs - but this is a question of where the
data comes from and does not undermine the need to track it. This links back
to the motivational aspect: I am more likely to be motivated if the system
is tracking (and responding to) my individual needs - and even more
motivated if it is tracking (and responding to) my individual wants. The
whole point of modern business intelligence systems is that they *do* treat
people as individuals, even though there are large numbers of them in the
system.
@Ray: I am not criticising the software systems that are out there (either
for tracking student progress or even for e-portfolio :-) but rather the
difficulty of getting data in sufficient quality and quantity into these
systems. I do not see real-time reporting or the involvement of parents as a
pre-requisite but rather as a follow-on benefit from implementing effective
internal systems. So the fact that real-time reporting is a relatively
recent government target does not undermine the fact that, internally, the
requirement for business intelligence has been long-standing.
I support the objective of real time reporting. The danger (as with so many
other systems) is that it will be introduced in response to what some
Secretary of State dreamed up in the bath, driven through by civil servants
who are only concerned to tick the right boxes, fail miserably to do anyone
any good and end up with people saying "real time reporting doesn't work".
It is very important to manage the introduction of these projects properly
and, in the case of real-time reporting, this means ensuring that you have a
sufficient supply of data to the reporting component.
Hardly any of these components (real-time reporting, e-portfolio, learning
tools, VLEs, MIS) is really viable on its own - which is why
interoperability ought to have been the first thing to be fixed and why it
has been such a disaster that it wasn't.
Re. the Moodle video you link to - I completely agree with the point that
this is making. The data that the parent can see is the data which is being
automatically managed by Moodle from the online assignments. When it comes
to offline assignments, no-one is realistically going to sit down in the
evening and key in the data. So the more data is collected automatically
(and I think most people would agree that at the moment, the type of data
being collected by Moodle, is fairly rudimentary) the richer the online
reporting to parents can become.
@John. I agree that you need to show the right data to the right people in
the right way (see comments on drowning in data below). I agree with your
analysis of what parents probably want. But the fact that this is what you
show to parents does not mean that you should not be tracking other types of
data as well, which may be of interest to other people, either in raw or
processed form. There may be aspects of pupil's performance and competency
which the over-pressed or stand-in teacher is completely unaware of.
@Neil: I agree with many of your concerns but not with your conclusion. My
responses inline.
All very well talking bar codes, but learning outcomes are not "articles"
that can be given an EAN and scanned into a system.
I don't see why not. Has Johnny handed in a satisfactory piece of work
demonstrating an understanding of Pythagoras? Yes? Bleep!
Of course I exaggerate a bit and a binary "bleep" does not represent
particularly high quality data - but other quantitative data like scores and
grades are all useful. You will get teachers to input comments wherever
possible - and make it as easy as possible for them to do so - but teacher
comments are (a) expensive and (b) are not always uber-reliable either. One
of the big gains for businesses in using the internet is in getting the
customer to do a lot of the data entry that clerical staff used to have to
do. Which is my original point: data entry is the killer and should be
automated wherever possible.
While I agree that the definition of some teaching aims and outcomes are
subjective, so are the buying decisions of many shoppers. But complex,
subjective buying decisions can nevertheless, when analysed, demonstrate
surprising degrees of consistency. Maths models probability really quite
well.
That is the problem with software and (even) performance/competency data -
much of it has a subjective element that "learning software (really useful
and compelling in its own right)" cannot automatically assess and post into
your data capture system. Then there's a whole range of "softer" skills that
are even harder to assess in that way, but which are vital to modern life.
So, following from above, I agree about the subjectivity but do not see this
as a problem so long as the system recognises the fact of this uncertainty.
I would call any measure of competency a "competency claim", just as a
philosopher might talk about a "truth claim". If you start to see a large
number of competency claims from different sources showing a significant
degree of consistency, you can start to talk about that student's competency
with some degree of confidence.
Competency claims will very often be accompanied by the evidence (e.g.
student output on a student e-portfolio) which supports the claim.
Quantitative data can be qualified by comments. So the subjective element
can be reviewed and interpreted and conclusions moderated. The subjective
tendencies of particular assessors can also be tracked and compensated for.
Also, I am proposing the measurement of competency as an *input* and not an
*output* of the system. A group of students who are perceived to be weak on
subtraction are not failed in their end-of-course exams; but they are given
some extra teaching before the introduction of a unit on long division. If
that perception is misjudged in a few cases, no very great harm has been
done and the decision to make that intervention can be quickly overridden.
Making interventions based on some kind of business intelligence seems to me
to be preferable, even if the intelligence is not perfect, to making no
interventions at all. People might say that, in the current environment,
intervention is left to the professional judgement of the teacher - but we
all know that, 90% of the time, hardly anything happens at all. The swill is
just shovelled into the trough and the pigs are left to fight for it.
And finally, while some "soft" competencies are very subjective, others are
actually pretty straightforward. How good is someone's French vocab within a
particular domain? Not really that difficult for a computer-delivered
activity to measure with a fair degree of accuracy. For all the talk of
advanced conceptual skills, there is quite a lot of learning which is pretty
humdrum. One massive efficiency would be to ensure that the skilled graduate
teacher (who represents a valuable resource) should not be put in front of a
class of students who have not acquired the basic knowledge which will allow
them to access the particular thing that the skilled graduate teacher has to
offer. This is why Chris Gerry's approach combines business intelligence
with flexible grouping and staffing systems.
The Government (quite reasonably) wants to reduce teacher workload through
automation, but there comes a point at which we have to ask "what can be
reasonably" automated. As it is, the reductionist approach is creating more
and more problems with SATs (let alone workload involved) as it becomes
harder and harder to align the capability that pupils display year-on-year.
That of course begs the whole norm vs criterion-referenced exam debate.
I think I agree with what you are saying here. I have never thought that a
paragraph of bureaucratic text (which is what criterion referencing gave us)
is sufficient to define a competency. Everyone understands the paragraph
differently, which has given governments the opportunity to manipulate
results data for their own purposes. I would see a competency definition as
a "live" thing, which lived through a continuous process of moderation,
discussion and revision. Which what good teachers do anyway.
At the moment people are (because the current system is more reductionist,
criterion-based) teaching to the test and "standards" are going up. But is
that actually educating children better? Do they get to the next stage of
education and into work actually more capable (as against "competent")? I
think not.
I don't see any problem with teaching to the test if it is a good test. The
traditional academic essay, well examined, provided a real test of original
and creative thought and I do not think that I am alone in remembering that
I learnt more when revising for my major exams than in years of cruising
along in classrooms. OK - the academic essay is not appropriate to many
students and many types of examination - but I think that a properly
reconstituted examination system should be able to come up with tests which
do not reward mechanistic teaching or merely the regurgitation of rote
learning.
So, are we chasing our tails by thinking we really can produce
software-assessed learning tasks?
I think there is a bit of a false dichotomy here between computer and
teacher. Some tasks (see above) can be computer assessed very easily -
others cannot. But in the latter case, the job of the teacher can be made
very much easier by being assisted by appropriate computer systems. The fact
that I am writing this on the computer does not dehumanize my thoughts,
(whether you agree with the views or not).
or does the VLE-emperor have no clothes after all?
I think in many respects the VLE-emperor as currently implemented is a
pretty skimpy dresser. But that leaves a vacant imperial throne which I
think you will see being occupied by more capable systems which will bring
the long delayed digital revolution to schools. Any good software system
requires some kind of infrastructure-content set up. What sits in the
vacated VLE throne will be the infrastructure bits (plural) of the system.
I tend to believe it is rather naked and is going to remain so until the
much vaunted but yet-way-into-the-future true artificial intelligence is
delivered.
I do not think that there will ever be a magical (and rather spooky) total
AI solution - rather *sufficient* intelligence for any particular task, with
the ultimate intelligence always coming back to the human teacher. This is
all about supporting, not replacing, the human teacher who (in supermarket
terms) will always be the store manager. People who have read too much
Asimov and Orwell get very worked up about dehumanising robots without
noticing that they are using them all the time and that the robots are
fantastically useful.
I believe we should be doing more to get resources and tools to learners to
learn and to teachers to help them teach, but not get so hung up chasing a
data-driven dream.
I do not think that resources-and-tools on the one hand and data on the
other are separable. To take Microsoft Word as an example: it produces
documents (i.e. data). It simplifies the task by saving style sheets (more
data). Every time it launches it reads my preferences (more data) from an
initialisation file. When I am half way through writing a document, I can
save state (data again). And in a formal teaching context, when a teacher
asks the class to do something, doesn't the teacher expect to see what the
students have done, if anything?
One of the major problems with learning resources and tools at the moment
(and which we are trying to address through the BECTA/ISB Content Packaging
project) is the fact that so much learning content is "static" and not data
aware - it does not contextualise, personalise, adapt and report.
Much of this data does not cross the human's retina - it works in the
background. People drown not because the sea is big but because they can't
swim. People "drown in data" not because there is too much data but because
it is not understandable or because it is not useful or they are show the
wrong sort or in the wrong way. John Wasteney says that parents do not want
to see attendance records but they do like to receive a text message when
their child hasn't turned up to school. Quite agree. But that is a point
about the presentation of data, not about whether data is a good thing in
itself.
One of the characteristics of modern technology is how user interfaces have
become very much simpler to use. Good software will collect the data, make
sense of the data, and present to the teacher only what the teacher finds
useful. Substitute parent/student/head teacher/special needs adviser etc for
teacher as required.
In summary, my position is that data is the life-blood of any modern
business and education is a very large, very complex, very expensive
business.
Some data is very straightforward and objective. Some is more subjective and
nuanced. So create systems which run the right horse on the right course.
Codify and measure where you can (because codification allows automation),
use free text where you need nuance and interpretation. I can't see the
problem.
Ultimately, it doesn't seem to me to be very reasonable that teachers should
benefit from the efficiency gains offered by other services and at the same
time, when it comes to offering the same level of efficiency in the service
that they are responsible for providing, claim that they inhabit some sort
of Arcadian grove where the writ of modern business management techniques
does not run.
I guess that should be accompanied by sounds of more stirring!
Crispin.
2010/1/5 Crispin Weston <crispin.weston@alphalearning.co.uk>
It has always struck me that the real-time reporting agenda has a massive
missing piece: where is the data that you are meant to be reporting on?
I thought Chris Gerry (an innovative Head Teacher from Kent) made an
excellent presentation at the NAACE autumn conference, pointing out that
while Tesco analyses data on virtually every aspect of shoppers' purchasing
preferences, schools are, in terms of business intelligence, still in a sort
of Dickensian Dark Age of paper-based ledgers. Most schools have very little
useful performance or competency data in their systems. There's a big
emphasis on attendance, I suspect, because it is about the only useful
real-time data that schools have.
The feet of clay of any business intelligence system is data input - and
manual input is never the answer. The revolution for the supermarkets lay in
the bar-code reader. The revolution for schools will be when learning
software (really useful and compelling in its own right) can report student
performance and competence straight into central systems, which must also of
course be able to make sense of that data.
I think that until this kind of interoperable data flow is sorted out, most
of the energy in real time reporting programme will go on covering up the
fact that schools will simply be unable to deliver what has been promised by
the government.
Crispin.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: advisory-admin@talk.naace.org [mailto:advisory-
> admin@talk.naace.org] On Behalf Of Colin J Revell
> Sent: 31 December 2009 18:05
> To: advisory@talk.naace.org; secondary@talk.naace.org
> Subject: [Advisory] Online Reporting in Schools
>
> Some thought for comment;
>
> Being as I am in the process of rolling out secure online access to
> parents
> I find it interesting that there is very little "official"
> information about
> this that I have come across. If you search online for real time
> reporting
> to parents or similar, you mainly get references to the letter that
> Ed Balls
> released at BETT in Jan 2008.
>
> Where is the official guidance of exactly what has to be done, by
> whom and
> by when - as far as I can see there is more rumour than substance
> and I am
> wandering, in my more cynical moments, how much of the momentum for
> this
> change is coming from the MIS providers?
>
> Colin
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: secondary-admin@talk.naace.org [mailto:secondary-
> admin@talk.naace.org]
> On Behalf Of Tony Parkin
> Sent: 31 December 2009 14:22
> To: advisory@talk.naace.org; secondary@talk.naace.org
> Cc: Ray Tolley
> Subject: RE: [Secondary] FW: [Advisory] Online Reporting in Primary
> Schools
>
> Fergus
>
> ... and it may be worth a reminder to those schools exploring this
> journey
> of the 'expectations' in this area, as currently delineated on the
> Becta
> website.....?
> Ray might even like to ask suppliers in his calls how their
> offerings
> measure up against these requirements?
>
> "What is online reporting?
>
> Online reporting involves using ICT to enable parents to receive and
> access
> information about their children's work, progress, attendance and
> behaviour
> when and where they want, using secure, online access.
>
> What do I have to do and when?
>
> Secondary schools are expected to make the following information
> available
> to parents through secure online access by September 2010:
> * Attendance and behaviour (both positive and challenging)
> * Progress and attainment
> * Special needs
> All primary schools are expected to achieve this by September 2012."
>
> It is worth noting that not all these aspects are addressed in some
> of the
> solutions being promoted to schools as ideal ways of meeting these
> aspirations.
>
> Also perhaps that 'real-time reporting', though clearly invaluable
> and
> undoubtedly welcomed by parents, is NOT part of the specification?
>
> Tony
> --------------------------------------------
> Tony Parkin
> Head of ICT Development
> Specialist Schools & Academies Trust
> 17th Floor, Millbank Tower
> 21-24 Millbank
> London SW1P 4QP
>
> Email:tony.parkin@ssatrust.org.uk
<mailto:Email%3Atony.parkin@ssatrust.org.uk>
> Tel: +44 20 7802 2306
> Mob:+44 07739 436073
> Skype: parkintony
> MSN: a.c.parkin@hotmail.co.uk
> --------------------------------------------
> ________________________________________
> From: secondary-admin@talk.naace.org [secondary-
> admin@talk.naace.org] On
> Behalf Of Ray Tolley [rjt@maximise-ict.co.uk]
> Sent: 31 December 2009 12:41
> To: advisory@talk.naace.org; secondary@talk.naace.org
> Subject: [Secondary] FW: [Advisory] Online Reporting in Primary
> Schools
>
> Hi, Fergus,
>
> I agree with Tony up to a point, but 'reports' are always about past
> experience and possibly previous teaching and learning styles. I
> did a
> quick phone-round of some of the suppliers but unfortunately they
> were all
> on holiday.
>
> I have my own ideas on the benefits of on-line reporting and will
> 'interrogate' leading known suppliers as to how they see on-line
> reporting
> moving in the near future. - I will report back shortly - probably
> next
> week.
>
> Meanwhile, I would suggest that there are three different aspects to
> this
> issue:
>
> 1. The appropriate access to real-time reporting of progress
> through
> activities completed using some form of assessment software like
> 'SmartAssess';
> 2. The reporting written by teachers, that can be reasonably up-to-
> date,
> such as provided by SERCO/CMIS/Facility;
> 3. The formative and possibly informal reporting available through
> a good
> e-Portfolio system.
>
> I'm sure that there are several other competitive products - but
> firstly it
> will depend on your present VLE provider.
>
> PS: BETT will be a good source of advice even if coloured by some
> degree of
> 'sales pitch'.
>
> Best Wishes,
>
> Ray Tolley FEIDCT, NAACE Fellow, ACQI, MBILD
> ICT Education Consultant
> Maximise ICT Ltd
> P: http://raytolley.v2efolioworld.mnscu.edu/
> B: http://www.efoliointheuk.blogspot.com/
> W: http://www.maximise-ict.co.uk/eFolio-01.htm
> Winner of the IMS 'Leadership Regional Award 2009'
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: advisory-admin@talk.naace.org [mailto:advisory-
> admin@talk.naace.org]
> On Behalf Of Fergus Reynolds
> Sent: 31 December 2009 09:18
> To: advisory@talk.naace.org
> Subject: [Advisory] Online Reporting in Primary Schools
>
> Colleagues,
>
> Does anybody have any advice, hints or tips on developing online
> reporting in Primary schools? I am interested in examples of good
> practice and any suggestions colleagues may have to help avoid
> pitfalls in getting going. I am also interested in any schools that
> colleagues could recommend as examples of good practice in this area
> -
> especially in the North West of England. Any help, comments, etc
> appreciated.
> I am happy to receive responses offline if colleagues prefer that. I
> would be happy to collate responses if anyone would be interested in
> receiving that. Thanks in anticipation.
>
> Best wishes for a Happy new Year
>
> Fergus Reynolds
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<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Hi =
all,<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>I seem to have stirred something up =
here.
Thanks to everyone’s comments and apologies in advance for a
correspondingly long essay in response.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>@Mike. I =
agree.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>@Alistair: thanks for the bouquet =
–
but I think you may have misunderstood my position and I fear that the =
bouquet might
metamorphose into a brickbat. My point is that I *<b><span
style=3D'font-weight:bold'>agree</span></b>* with Chris Gerry that =
schools should
become more like supermarkets in terms of their business intelligence =
(though
not, of course, in terms of the service they offer). My criticism of =
real time
reporting is not of the aspiration but of the failure to put in place =
some of
the essential prerequisites beforehand.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Of course I also agree with the =
stuff
about children being happy, fulfilled individuals – but I am =
suspicious
of what I take to be a suggestion that efficiency is the enemy of =
happiness. People’s
happiness increases a little when they receive a public service which is =
efficient
and appropriate to their needs. My happiness increases when I go into =
Tesco and
find that they have my favourite type of Taramosalata in stock and I am =
(moderately)
grateful for the computerised logistics systems which ensure that it is. =
A
student becomes a little happier when he receives teaching which is =
relevant to
his needs and is not required to sit in a classroom for years on end =
being
taught things that he either doesn’t understand or already knows, =
just
because the school hasn’t bothered accurately to assess and track =
what
that student’s learning needs are.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>To respond to Jeff’s pithy =
comment:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>“</span></font><font size=3D2
face=3D"Courier New"><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>You
can't fatten a pig by weighing it!”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>I agree that you fatten a pig by =
feeding
it. But you establish how much and what sort of food to feed it by =
weighing it.
Try telling a pig farmer that he should not bother to weigh his pigs and =
I
suspect he would tell you that you know nothing about running a pig =
farm. Any
efficient business is completely dependent on feedback and analysis of =
what it
is doing. The systems that we have in place for doing this in education =
are generally
extraordinarily primitive.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>I have some sympathy with =
Alistair’s
comment <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'text-autospace:none'><font size=3D2 =
color=3Dnavy
face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>“</span></f=
ont><font
size=3D2 face=3D"Courier New"><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>the
graphs ? I seriously do not <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'text-autospace:none'><font size=3D2 =
face=3D"Courier New"><span
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>understand where =
they fit in”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>but the problem here is not the =
fact that
the data is being collected but that it is not being used efficiently. =
Nothing
is joined up. There is no benefit in collecting data just for the sake =
of
making pretty graphs. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>So what *<b><span =
style=3D'font-weight:bold'>is</span></b>*
the point of collecting the data? It seems to me that one of the primary
criteria of efficiency in education (putting aside motivation for a =
moment) is
the correct pitching of teaching. In my experience as a teacher, there =
is a
time when a student is ready to learn something. Apart from *<b><span
style=3D'font-weight:bold'>wanting</span></b>* to learn it (again, a =
motivational
aspect), the student must have mastered the necessary prerequisites. =
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>So the key requirement for an =
efficient
education system is managing progression, differentiation and =
personalisation
to ensure that the right student gets the right bit of teaching at the =
right
time – just as a farmer gives the right sort of food to the right =
pig or
puts the right bit of fertilizer on the right bit of the field. And in
managerial terms for the classroom teacher, that is an extremely complex =
managerial
task.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>We start from an extraordinarily =
antiquated
system in which people are driven through the syllabus in age-based =
cohorts,
like troops being driven over the top at the <st1:place =
w:st=3D"on">Somme</st1:place>
in neat lines. But to get away from this, we have to have systems =
capable of
tracking students’ individual capabilities. This type of tracking =
of
business effectiveness is so ubiquitous and its value so widely accepted =
that I
find it very strange that we are even having this discussion as to =
whether we
should be doing the same things in =
education.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Of course, in education unlike =
farming,
the student (unlike the pig) has an important say in what he/she needs =
–
but this is a question of where the data comes from and does not =
undermine the
need to track it. This links back to the motivational aspect: I am more =
likely
to be motivated if the system is tracking (and responding to) my =
individual
needs – and even more motivated if it is tracking (and responding =
to) my
individual wants. The whole point of modern business intelligence =
systems is
that they *<b><span style=3D'font-weight:bold'>do</span></b>* treat =
people as individuals,
even though there are large numbers of them in the =
system.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>@Ray: I am not criticising the =
software
systems that are out there (either for tracking student progress or even =
for
e-portfolio </span></font><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy =
face=3DWingdings><span
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Wingdings;color:navy'>J</span></fon=
t><font
size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:navy'> but rather the difficulty of getting data in sufficient =
quality
and quantity into these systems. I do not see real-time reporting or the
involvement of parents as a pre-requisite but rather as a follow-on =
benefit
from implementing effective internal systems. So the fact that real-time
reporting is a relatively recent government target does not undermine =
the fact
that, internally, the requirement for business intelligence has been
long-standing.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>I support the objective of real =
time
reporting. The danger (as with so many other systems) is that it will be
introduced in response to what some Secretary of State dreamed up in the =
bath,
driven through by civil servants who are only concerned to tick the =
right
boxes, fail miserably to do anyone any good and end up with people =
saying “real
time reporting doesn’t work”. It is very important to manage =
the
introduction of these projects properly and, in the case of real-time
reporting, this means ensuring that you have a sufficient supply of data =
to the
reporting component.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Hardly any of these components =
(real-time
reporting, e-portfolio, learning tools, VLEs, MIS) is really viable on =
its own –
which is why interoperability ought to have been the first thing to be =
fixed
and why it has been such a disaster that it wasn’t. =
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Re. the Moodle video you link to =
– I
completely agree with the point that this is making. The data that the =
parent
can see is the data which is being automatically managed by Moodle from =
the online
assignments. When it comes to offline assignments, no-one is =
realistically
going to sit down in the evening and key in the data. So the more data =
is
collected automatically (and I think most people would agree that at the
moment, the type of data being collected by Moodle, is fairly =
rudimentary) the
richer the online reporting to parents can become. =
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>@John. I agree that you need to =
show the
right data to the right people in the right way (see comments on =
drowning in
data below). I agree with your analysis of what parents probably want. =
But the
fact that this is what you show to parents does not mean that you should =
not be
tracking other types of data as well, which may be of interest to other =
people,
either in raw or processed form. There may be aspects of pupil’s
performance and competency which the over-pressed or stand-in teacher is
completely unaware of.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>@Neil: I agree with many of your =
concerns
but not with your conclusion. My responses =
inline.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<div style=3D'border:none;border-left:solid blue 1.5pt;padding:0cm 0cm =
0cm 4.0pt'>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3D3
face=3D"Times New Roman"><span style=3D'font-size:12.0pt'><br>
All very well talking bar codes, but learning outcomes are not
"articles" that can be given an EAN and scanned into a system. =
<font
color=3Dnavy><span =
style=3D'color:navy'><o:p></o:p></span></font></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3D2 =
color=3Dnavy
face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>I don’t
see why not. Has Johnny handed in a satisfactory piece of work =
demonstrating an
understanding of Pythagoras? Yes? Bleep! <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3D2 =
color=3Dnavy
face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Of
course I exaggerate a bit and a binary “bleep” does not =
represent
particularly high quality data – but other quantitative data like =
scores
and grades are all useful. You will get teachers to input comments =
wherever
possible – and make it as easy as possible for them to do so =
– but teacher
comments are (a) expensive and (b) are not always uber-reliable either. =
One of
the big gains for businesses in using the internet is in getting the =
customer
to do a lot of the data entry that clerical staff used to have to do. =
Which is
my original point: data entry is the killer and should be automated =
wherever
possible.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3D2 =
color=3Dnavy
face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>While I
agree that the definition of some teaching aims and outcomes are =
subjective, so
are the buying decisions of many shoppers. But complex, subjective =
buying
decisions can nevertheless, when analysed, demonstrate surprising =
degrees of
consistency. Maths models probability really quite =
well.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3D3
face=3D"Times New Roman"><span style=3D'font-size:12.0pt'>That is the =
problem with
software and (even) performance/competency data - much of it has a =
subjective
element that "learning<font color=3Dnavy><span =
style=3D'color:navy'> </span></font>software
(really useful and compelling in its own right)" cannot =
automatically
assess and post into your data capture system. Then there's a whole =
range of
"softer" skills that are even harder to assess in that way, =
but which
are vital to modern life.<font color=3Dnavy><span =
style=3D'color:navy'><o:p></o:p></span></font></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3D2 =
color=3Dnavy
face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>So,
following from above, I agree about the subjectivity but do not see this =
as a
problem so long as the system recognises the fact of this =
uncertainty.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3D2 =
color=3Dnavy
face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>I would
call any measure of competency a “competency claim”, just as =
a
philosopher might talk about a “truth claim”. If you start =
to see a
large number of competency claims from different sources showing a =
significant
degree of consistency, you can start to talk about that student’s
competency with some degree of confidence.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3D2 =
color=3Dnavy
face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Competency
claims will very often be accompanied by the evidence (e.g. student =
output on a
student e-portfolio) which supports the claim. Quantitative data can be =
qualified
by comments. So the subjective element can be reviewed and interpreted =
and
conclusions moderated. The subjective tendencies of particular assessors =
can
also be tracked and compensated for.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3D2 =
color=3Dnavy
face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Also, I
am proposing the measurement of competency as an *<b><span =
style=3D'font-weight:
bold'>input</span></b>* and not an *<b><span =
style=3D'font-weight:bold'>output</span></b>*
of the system. A group of students who are perceived to be weak on =
subtraction are
not failed in their end-of-course exams; but they are given some extra =
teaching
before the introduction of a unit on long division. If that perception =
is
misjudged in a few cases, no very great harm has been done and the =
decision to
make that intervention can be quickly overridden. Making interventions =
based on
some kind of business intelligence seems to me to be preferable, even if =
the
intelligence is not perfect, to making no interventions at all. People =
might
say that, in the current environment, intervention is left to the =
professional
judgement of the teacher – but we all know that, 90% of the time, =
hardly
anything happens at all. The swill is just shovelled into the trough and =
the
pigs are left to fight for it.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3D2 =
color=3Dnavy
face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>And
finally, while some “soft” competencies are very subjective, =
others
are actually pretty straightforward. How good is someone’s French =
vocab
within a particular domain? Not really that difficult for a =
computer-delivered
activity to measure with a fair degree of accuracy. For all the talk of
advanced conceptual skills, there is quite a lot of learning which is =
pretty
humdrum. One massive efficiency would be to ensure that the skilled =
graduate teacher
(who represents a valuable resource) should not be put in front of a =
class of
students who have not acquired the basic knowledge which will allow them =
to
access the particular thing that the skilled graduate teacher has to =
offer.
This is why Chris Gerry’s approach combines business intelligence =
with
flexible grouping and staffing systems.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3D3
face=3D"Times New Roman"><span style=3D'font-size:12.0pt'>The Government =
(quite
reasonably) wants to reduce teacher workload through automation, but =
there
comes a point at which we have to ask "what can be reasonably"
automated. As it is, the reductionist approach is creating more and more
problems with SATs (let alone workload involved) as it becomes harder =
and
harder to align the capability that pupils display year-on-year. That of =
course
begs the whole norm vs criterion-referenced exam debate. <font =
color=3Dnavy><span
style=3D'color:navy'><o:p></o:p></span></font></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3D2 =
color=3Dnavy
face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>I think
I agree with what you are saying here. I have never thought that a =
paragraph of
bureaucratic text (which is what criterion referencing gave us) is =
sufficient
to define a competency. Everyone understands the paragraph differently, =
which
has given governments the opportunity to manipulate results data for =
their own
purposes. I would see a competency definition as a “live” =
thing, which
lived through a continuous process of moderation, discussion and =
revision. Which
what good teachers do anyway.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3D3
face=3D"Times New Roman"><span style=3D'font-size:12.0pt'>At the moment =
people are
(because the current system is more reductionist, criterion-based) =
teaching to
the test and "standards" are going up. But is that actually =
educating
children better? Do they get to the next stage of education and into =
work
actually more capable (as against "competent")? I think =
not.<font
color=3Dnavy><span =
style=3D'color:navy'><o:p></o:p></span></font></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3D2 =
color=3Dnavy
face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>I don’t
see any problem with teaching to the test if it is a good test. The =
traditional
academic essay, well examined, provided a real test of original and =
creative
thought and I do not think that I am alone in remembering that I learnt =
more
when revising for my major exams than in years of cruising along in =
classrooms.
OK – the academic essay is not appropriate to many students and =
many types
of examination – but I think that a properly reconstituted =
examination
system should be able to come up with tests which do not reward =
mechanistic
teaching or merely the regurgitation of rote =
learning.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3D3
face=3D"Times New Roman"><span style=3D'font-size:12.0pt'>So, are we =
chasing our
tails by thinking we really can produce software-assessed learning =
tasks? <font
color=3Dnavy><span =
style=3D'color:navy'><o:p></o:p></span></font></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3D2 =
color=3Dnavy
face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>I think
there is a bit of a false dichotomy here between computer and teacher. =
Some
tasks (see above) can be computer assessed very easily – others =
cannot.
But in the latter case, the job of the teacher can be made very much =
easier by
being assisted by appropriate computer systems. The fact that I am =
writing this
on the computer does not dehumanize my thoughts, (whether you agree with =
the
views or not).<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3D3
face=3D"Times New Roman"><span style=3D'font-size:12.0pt'>or does the =
VLE-emperor
have no clothes after all? <font color=3Dnavy><span =
style=3D'color:navy'><o:p></o:p></span></font></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3D2 =
color=3Dnavy
face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>I think
in many respects the VLE-emperor as currently implemented is a pretty =
skimpy
dresser. But that leaves a vacant imperial throne which I think you will =
see
being occupied by more capable systems which will bring the long delayed
digital revolution to schools. Any good software system requires some =
kind of
infrastructure-content set up. What sits in the vacated VLE throne will =
be the
infrastructure bits (plural) of the system. =
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3D3
face=3D"Times New Roman"><span style=3D'font-size:12.0pt'>I tend to =
believe it is
rather naked and is going to remain so until the much vaunted but
yet-way-into-the-future true artificial intelligence is delivered.<font
color=3Dnavy><span =
style=3D'color:navy'><o:p></o:p></span></font></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3D2 =
color=3Dnavy
face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>I do not
think that there will ever be a magical (and rather spooky) total AI =
solution –
rather *<b><span style=3D'font-weight:bold'>sufficient</span></b>* =
intelligence
for any particular task, with the ultimate intelligence always coming =
back to
the human teacher. This is all about supporting, not replacing, the =
human
teacher who (in supermarket terms) will always be the store manager. =
People who
have read too much Asimov and Orwell get very worked up about =
dehumanising robots
without noticing that they are using them all the time and that the =
robots are
fantastically useful.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3D3
face=3D"Times New Roman"><span style=3D'font-size:12.0pt'>I believe we =
should be
doing more to get resources and tools to learners to learn and to =
teachers to
help them teach, but not get so hung up chasing a data-driven =
dream.<font
color=3Dnavy><span =
style=3D'color:navy'><o:p></o:p></span></font></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3D2 =
color=3Dnavy
face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>I do not
think that resources-and-tools on the one hand and data on the other are
separable. To take Microsoft Word as an example: it produces documents =
(i.e.
data). It simplifies the task by saving style sheets (more data). Every =
time it
launches it reads my preferences (more data) from an initialisation =
file. When
I am half way through writing a document, I can save state (data again). =
And in
a formal teaching context, when a teacher asks the class to do =
something, doesn’t
the teacher expect to see what the students have done, if =
anything?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3D2 =
color=3Dnavy
face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>One of
the major problems with learning resources and tools at the moment (and =
which
we are trying to address through the BECTA/ISB Content Packaging =
project) is
the fact that so much learning content is “static” and not =
data
aware – it does not contextualise, personalise, adapt and =
report.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3D2 =
color=3Dnavy
face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Much of
this data does not cross the human’s retina – it works in =
the
background. People drown not because the sea is big but because they =
can’t
swim. People “drown in data” not because there is too much =
data but
because it is not understandable or because it is not useful or they are =
show
the wrong sort or in the wrong way. John Wasteney says that parents do =
not want
to see attendance records but they do like to receive a text message =
when their
child hasn’t turned up to school. Quite agree. But that is a point =
about
the presentation of data, not about whether data is a good thing in =
itself.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3D2 =
color=3Dnavy
face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>One of
the characteristics of modern technology is how user interfaces have =
become
very much simpler to use. Good software will collect the data, make =
sense of
the data, and present to the teacher only what the teacher finds useful.
Substitute parent/student/head teacher/special needs adviser etc for =
teacher as
required.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3D2 =
color=3Dnavy
face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>In
summary, my position is that data is the life-blood of any modern =
business and
education is a very large, very complex, very expensive business. =
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3D2 =
color=3Dnavy
face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Some
data is very straightforward and objective. Some is more subjective and
nuanced. So create systems which run the right horse on the right =
course. Codify
and measure where you can (because codification allows automation), use =
free
text where you need nuance and interpretation. I can’t see the =
problem.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3D2 =
color=3Dnavy
face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Ultimately,
it doesn’t seem to me to be very reasonable that teachers should =
benefit
from the efficiency gains offered by other services and at the same =
time, when
it comes to offering the same level of efficiency in the service that =
they are
responsible for providing, claim that they inhabit some sort of Arcadian =
grove
where the writ of modern business management techniques does not =
run.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3D2 =
color=3Dnavy
face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>I guess
that should be accompanied by sounds of more =
stirring!<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3D2 =
color=3Dnavy
face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Crispin.<o:p></o:=
p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3D3
face=3D"Times New Roman"><span style=3D'font-size:12.0pt'><br>
<br>
<br>
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D3 face=3D"Times New Roman"><span =
style=3D'font-size:
12.0pt'>2010/1/5 Crispin Weston <<a
href=3D"mailto:crispin.weston@alphalearning.co.uk">crispin.weston@alphale=
arning.co.uk</a>><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D3 face=3D"Times New Roman"><span =
style=3D'font-size:
12.0pt'>It has always struck me that the real-time reporting agenda has =
a
massive<br>
missing piece: where is the data that you are meant to be reporting =
on?<br>
I thought Chris Gerry (an innovative Head Teacher from =
<st1:country-region
w:st=3D"on"><st1:place =
w:st=3D"on">Kent</st1:place></st1:country-region>) made an<br>
excellent presentation at the NAACE autumn conference, pointing out =
that<br>
while Tesco analyses data on virtually every aspect of shoppers' =
purchasing<br>
preferences, schools are, in terms of business intelligence, still in a =
sort<br>
of Dickensian Dark Age of paper-based ledgers. Most schools have very =
little<br>
useful performance or competency data in their systems. There's a =
big<br>
emphasis on attendance, I suspect, because it is about the only =
useful<br>
real-time data that schools have.<br>
The feet of clay of any business intelligence system is data input - =
and<br>
manual input is never the answer. The revolution for the supermarkets =
lay in<br>
the bar-code reader. The revolution for schools will be when =
learning<br>
software (really useful and compelling in its own right) can report =
student<br>
performance and competence straight into central systems, which must =
also of<br>
course be able to make sense of that data.<br>
I think that until this kind of interoperable data flow is sorted out, =
most<br>
of the energy in real time reporting programme will go on covering up =
the<br>
fact that schools will simply be unable to deliver what has been =
promised by<br>
the government.<br>
Crispin.<br>
<br>
<br>
> -----Original Message-----<br>
> From: <a =
href=3D"mailto:advisory-admin@talk.naace.org">advisory-admin@talk.naace.o=
rg</a>
[mailto:<a href=3D"mailto:advisory-">advisory-</a><br>
> <a href=3D"mailto:admin@talk.naace.org">admin@talk.naace.org</a>] =
On Behalf
Of Colin J Revell<br>
> Sent: 31 December 2009 18:05<br>
> To: <a =
href=3D"mailto:advisory@talk.naace.org">advisory@talk.naace.org</a>; <a
href=3D"mailto:secondary@talk.naace.org">secondary@talk.naace.org</a><br>=
> Subject: [Advisory] Online Reporting in Schools<br>
><br>
> Some thought for comment;<br>
><br>
> Being as I am in the process of rolling out secure online access =
to<br>
> parents<br>
> I find it interesting that there is very little =
"official"<br>
> information about<br>
> this that I have come across. If you search online for real =
time<br>
> reporting<br>
> to parents or similar, you mainly get references to the letter =
that<br>
> Ed Balls<br>
> released at BETT in Jan 2008.<br>
><br>
> Where is the official guidance of exactly what has to be done, =
by<br>
> whom and<br>
> by when - as far as I can see there is more rumour than =
substance<br>
> and I am<br>
> wandering, in my more cynical moments, how much of the momentum =
for<br>
> this<br>
> change is coming from the MIS providers?<br>
><br>
> Colin<br>
><br>
> -----Original Message-----<br>
> From: <a =
href=3D"mailto:secondary-admin@talk.naace.org">secondary-admin@talk.naace=
.org</a>
[mailto:<a href=3D"mailto:secondary-">secondary-</a><br>
> <a =
href=3D"mailto:admin@talk.naace.org">admin@talk.naace.org</a>]<br>
> On Behalf Of Tony Parkin<br>
> Sent: 31 December 2009 14:22<br>
> To: <a =
href=3D"mailto:advisory@talk.naace.org">advisory@talk.naace.org</a>; <a
href=3D"mailto:secondary@talk.naace.org">secondary@talk.naace.org</a><br>=
> Cc: Ray Tolley<br>
> Subject: RE: [Secondary] FW: [Advisory] Online Reporting in =
Primary<br>
> Schools<br>
><br>
> Fergus<br>
><br>
> ... and it may be worth a reminder to those schools exploring =
this<br>
> journey<br>
> of the 'expectations' in this area, as currently delineated on =
the<br>
> Becta<br>
> website.....?<br>
> Ray might even like to ask suppliers in his calls how their<br>
> offerings<br>
> measure up against these requirements?<br>
><br>
> "What is online reporting?<br>
><br>
> Online reporting involves using ICT to enable parents to receive =
and<br>
> access<br>
> information about their children's work, progress, attendance =
and<br>
> behaviour<br>
> when and where they want, using secure, online access.<br>
><br>
> What do I have to do and when?<br>
><br>
> Secondary schools are expected to make the following =
information<br>
> available<br>
> to parents through secure online access by September 2010:<br>
> * Attendance and behaviour (both positive and =
challenging)<br>
> * Progress and attainment<br>
> * Special needs<br>
> All primary schools are expected to achieve this by September =
2012."<br>
><br>
> It is worth noting that not all these aspects are addressed in =
some<br>
> of the<br>
> solutions being promoted to schools as ideal ways of meeting =
these<br>
> aspirations.<br>
><br>
> Also perhaps that 'real-time reporting', though clearly =
invaluable<br>
> and<br>
> undoubtedly welcomed by parents, is NOT part of the =
specification?<br>
><br>
> Tony<br>
> --------------------------------------------<br>
> Tony Parkin<br>
> Head of ICT Development<br>
> <st1:place w:st=3D"on"><st1:PlaceName =
w:st=3D"on">Specialist</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st=3D"on">Schools</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> & Academies =
Trust<br>
> 17th Floor, <st1:place w:st=3D"on"><st1:PlaceName =
w:st=3D"on">Millbank</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st=3D"on">Tower</st1:PlaceType></st1:place><br>
> 21-24 Millbank<br>
> <st1:place w:st=3D"on"><st1:City w:st=3D"on">London</st1:City> =
<st1:PostalCode
w:st=3D"on">SW1P 4QP</st1:PostalCode></st1:place><br>
><br>
> <a =
href=3D"mailto:Email%3Atony.parkin@ssatrust.org.uk">Email:tony.parkin@ssa=
trust.org.uk</a><br>
> Tel: +44 20 7802 2306<br>
> Mob:+44 07739 436073<br>
> Skype: parkintony<br>
> MSN: <a =
href=3D"mailto:a.c.parkin@hotmail.co.uk">a.c.parkin@hotmail.co.uk</a><br>=
> --------------------------------------------<br>
> ________________________________________<br>
> From: <a =
href=3D"mailto:secondary-admin@talk.naace.org">secondary-admin@talk.naace=
.org</a>
[secondary-<br>
> <a href=3D"mailto:admin@talk.naace.org">admin@talk.naace.org</a>] =
On<br>
> Behalf Of Ray Tolley [<a =
href=3D"mailto:rjt@maximise-ict.co.uk">rjt@maximise-ict.co.uk</a>]<br>
> Sent: 31 December 2009 12:41<br>
> To: <a =
href=3D"mailto:advisory@talk.naace.org">advisory@talk.naace.org</a>; <a
href=3D"mailto:secondary@talk.naace.org">secondary@talk.naace.org</a><br>=
> Subject: [Secondary] FW: [Advisory] Online Reporting in Primary<br>
> Schools<br>
><br>
> Hi, Fergus,<br>
><br>
> I agree with Tony up to a point, but 'reports' are always about =
past<br>
> experience and possibly previous teaching and learning styles. =
I<br>
> did a<br>
> quick phone-round of some of the suppliers but unfortunately =
they<br>
> were all<br>
> on holiday.<br>
><br>
> I have my own ideas on the benefits of on-line reporting and =
will<br>
> 'interrogate' leading known suppliers as to how they see =
on-line<br>
> reporting<br>
> moving in the near future. - I will report back shortly - =
probably<br>
> next<br>
> week.<br>
><br>
> Meanwhile, I would suggest that there are three different aspects =
to<br>
> this<br>
> issue:<br>
><br>
> 1. The appropriate access to real-time reporting of =
progress<br>
> through<br>
> activities completed using some form of assessment software =
like<br>
> 'SmartAssess';<br>
> 2. The reporting written by teachers, that can be reasonably =
up-to-<br>
> date,<br>
> such as provided by SERCO/CMIS/Facility;<br>
> 3. The formative and possibly informal reporting available =
through<br>
> a good<br>
> e-Portfolio system.<br>
><br>
> I'm sure that there are several other competitive products - =
but<br>
> firstly it<br>
> will depend on your present VLE provider.<br>
><br>
> PS: BETT will be a good source of advice even if coloured by =
some<br>
> degree of<br>
> 'sales pitch'.<br>
><br>
> Best Wishes,<br>
><br>
> Ray Tolley FEIDCT, NAACE Fellow, ACQI, MBILD<br>
> ICT Education Consultant<br>
> Maximise ICT Ltd<br>
> P: <a href=3D"http://raytolley.v2efolioworld.mnscu.edu/"
target=3D"_blank">http://raytolley.v2efolioworld.mnscu.edu/</a><br>
> B: <a href=3D"http://www.efoliointheuk.blogspot.com/" =
target=3D"_blank">http://www.efoliointheuk.blogspot.com/</a><br>
> W: <a href=3D"http://www.maximise-ict.co.uk/eFolio-01.htm"
target=3D"_blank">http://www.maximise-ict.co.uk/eFolio-01.htm</a><br>
> Winner of the IMS 'Leadership Regional Award 2009'<br>
><br>
> -----Original Message-----<br>
> From: <a =
href=3D"mailto:advisory-admin@talk.naace.org">advisory-admin@talk.naace.o=
rg</a>
[mailto:<a href=3D"mailto:advisory-">advisory-</a><br>
> <a =
href=3D"mailto:admin@talk.naace.org">admin@talk.naace.org</a>]<br>
> On Behalf Of Fergus Reynolds<br>
> Sent: 31 December 2009 09:18<br>
> To: <a =
href=3D"mailto:advisory@talk.naace.org">advisory@talk.naace.org</a><br>
> Subject: [Advisory] Online Reporting in Primary Schools<br>
><br>
> Colleagues,<br>
><br>
> Does anybody have any advice, hints or tips on developing =
online<br>
> reporting in Primary schools? I am interested in examples of =
good<br>
> practice and any suggestions colleagues may have to help avoid<br>
> pitfalls in getting going. I am also interested in any schools =
that<br>
> colleagues could recommend as examples of good practice in this =
area<br>
> -<br>
> especially in the North West of England. Any help, comments, =
etc<br>
> appreciated.<br>
> I am happy to receive responses offline if colleagues prefer that. =
I<br>
> would be happy to collate responses if anyone would be interested =
in<br>
> receiving that. Thanks in anticipation.<br>
><br>
> Best wishes for a Happy new Year<br>
><br>
> Fergus Reynolds<br>
> _______________________________________________<br>
> Advisory mailing list <a =
href=3D"mailto:Advisory@talk.naace.org">Advisory@talk.naace.org</a><br>
> <a href=3D"http://talk.naace.org/mm/listinfo/advisory" =
target=3D"_blank">http://talk.naace.org/mm/listinfo/advisory</a><br>
> To unsubscribe send a message to <a
href=3D"mailto:Advisory-admin@talk.naace.org">Advisory-admin@talk.naace.o=
rg</a>
with<br>
> the body<br>
> text:<br>
><br>
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<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D3 face=3D"Times New Roman"><span =
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<br clear=3Dall>
<br>
-- <br>
<br>
Neil Adam<br>
Beacon ICT<br>
Twitter: @NeilAdam<br>
<a href=3D"http://www.beaconict.co.uk">www.beaconict.co.uk</a> <br>
<br>
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