Digitizing the Curriculum

Dominic Tester, assistant head teacher at Costello Technology College, discusses how schools can develop engaging online learning resources and ensure pupils receive the highest tuition at school and home.

As technology continues to be a common feature in the classroom, pupils are increasingly being given access to mobile technology and online learning resources. Earlier this year the unexpected snow and adverse weather meant many pupils received an extended Christmas holiday.

Despite what the naysayer would have you believe, schools take every measure possible to ensure their school stays open during such occasions. When there is no choice but to advise pupils and parents to stay at home, education technology is providing teachers with methods of minimising the impact on a pupil’s learning. 

A recent survey at the BETT 2010 show indicated that mobile technology and the provision of access to online learning materials are top priorities for schools, colleges and local authorities in the coming year (Fifty face-to-face interviews were conducted with primary and secondary teachers, university lecturers, IT managers and consultants from schools, colleges, universities and local authorities during BETT 2010). The ICT and technology sector is constantly providing innovative and exciting technologies for the classroom. But more important than having the latest glamorous gadgets is ensuring a school is making the most of the technology that is already in place to meet the needs of its pupils.

Many secondary schools and colleges have an online resource, such as a virtual learning environment (VLE) or similar, affording pupils access to learning content via the Internet. These provide an excellent resource for pupils but, in order to reach their full potential, teachers need to ensure learning content is tailored to the individual requirements of their students. Ensuring pupils receive quality, teacher led lessons and instructions when working independently on homework or coursework, as well as when they are unable to attend school due to an unforeseen closure or prolonged illness, is crucial. 

Developing Engaging content for pupils

At Costello Technology College, we create learning content using a type of software called screencasting, which is also referred to as lecture capture. Using a program called Camtasia Studio, our teachers are able to record a video of the activity on a computer screen and, at the same time, record their voice over the top. This allows them to explain what is happening on screen as the video is played back or overlaying a narrative over a PowerPoint presentation.

Screencasting was initially used as a method of demonstrating how to use specific software programs. For example, if a classroom activity involved pupils recording and producing their own podcasts, a video could be created to walk students through this process on a step-by-step basis, with a teacher’s voice narrating the video. Such videos can be made available online for pupils to review either during the lesson or as part of a homework assignment. When viewing in class, the pupils can pause the video as they go and skip back if they miss any steps. This frees up the teacher to provide individual and differentiated support as required.

Alternatively, pupils can review the video from home as part of a homework assignment. If this is completed before a lesson takes place, pupils are able to spend the maximum amount of time on completing practical in-class activities, having come armed with all the theory they need in advance.   

The pupils at Costello Technology College are what we call ‘digital natives’. They have grown up with computers in their homes and use the Web as part of their everyday life. This kind of content really capitalises on that, appealing to an existing interest in general technology. Some videos have also been uploaded to the college’s YouTube channel, as many pupils use this site to view video already.

On-demand revision aids

There is the potential to expand the use of screencasting across the wider curriculum. Many teachers use PowerPoint to deliver lesson content, narrating information on slides as they go. A side effect of this is the requirement for pupils to make copious amounts of notes, which distracts from what the teacher is saying. 

It is possible to record such lessons and create a video version of the lesson as it was delivered. There is also the ability to add a webcam recording of the teacher delivering the lesson alongside the presentation. By regularly capturing lessons and placing them online, a bank of resources is built up that pupils can access at any time from either home or at school. 

If this is completed over the period of a term or academic year, it creates a rich interactive curriculum of web-based content. While these will never match the actual classroom experience, the videos act as a useful revision aid. They can also be used as a catch up for any pupil who missed a lesson, providing much more information than a photocopy of a friend’s classroom notes.  

As lessons are recorded as they happen, pupils can review lessons that may have taken place months previously. A mathematics class, for example, may cover how to calculate the circumference of a circle very early in the year. If such a topic were to appear on a summer exam paper, pupils may struggle to remember the exact calculation required. By reviewing a screencast of the lesson they can get an instant refresh, regardless of how much time has passed since the lesson took place. The screencasts can also be augmented with bolt-on quizzes within the video. Teachers can add these towards the end of the year and set video revision as homework, using the bolt-on quiz to assess where a pupil is confident with a subject, and where further revision lessons need to focus. 

Distance Learning

Creating a series of videos over a term has the added benefit of creating distance learning resources. Where pupils are unable to attend school, perhaps due to long term illness, lessons can be delivered to them online at home.

One of our past pupils had myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), which made it difficult for him to attend lessons. He was able to access the videos online and work independently from home.

By creating tailored learning content, school leaders and teachers can ensure they are providing cutting edge facilities to their pupils for completing homework, revision aids or independent learning activities. This provides schools with insurance against unforeseen school closures and, equally important, such resources ensure the technology in place is being used to its greatest potential.

Dominic Tester is assistant head teacher at

Costello Technology College, a third phase specialist school

for 11-16 year olds in Basingstoke.