Education Business

In the wake of the swine flu outbreak or adverse weather many schools could be forced to close, impacting the consistency of pupil development.
    
Although teacher to pupil contact lessons can never be replaced, students’ education could be less interrupted if teachers were able to deliver lessons remotely to their pupils’ homes.

Contingency planning
It has been rumoured that if schools faced closure because of a swine flu outbreak, the government would use the BBC to broadcast lessons. However, this is impractical for several reasons.
    
Firstly, only one lesson can be broadcast at a time. One lesson can not be broadened to suit all age groups and abilities, meaning students will not be getting a full day’s education and what they do receive may not be suitable for their level of understanding.
    
Secondly, teachers know their pupils personally and as such create lesson plans based upon what they know will work for their class. Often school trips or similar themes and knowledge previously explored is referenced, giving the lesson some context and making it engaging for the pupils.
    
Therefore, while a school closure is never ideal, if a school has ready-made resources in place for its pupils to use from home, it can go some way to offering students an insurance policy against delays in learning.

Bringing the classroom home
Madeley Academy is in the early stages of developing a digital curriculum to offer pupils downloadable lessons and resources to aid their studies. While the primary function of the digital curriculum is not to act as a stand alone learning product, once completed it could be used during a shut down to provide continuity of learning to students working at home.
    
One easy way to facilitate remote home learning is to deliver learning content via video tutorials. These can be easily created using specially designed tools, such as screencast software, which don’t require any specialist training on the part of teachers. Programmes for creating screencasts, also sometimes referred to as lesson capture software, allow the user to record everything happening on their computer screen, such as PowerPoint  presentations or browsing the web. This recording can then have external audio added to it such as voiceover instructions or music. These videos or ‘screencasts’, which mimic a traditional classroom lesson, can then be downloaded by pupils to learn from home.
    
Being able to access lessons during a school closure is especially important for pupils in the run up to vital exam milestones, such as SATs and GCSEs. As subjects at this level are covered at a very fast pace, missing out on even a week’s schooling could lead to pupils falling behind. With downloadable lessons and resources, pupils preparing for examinations would be able to continue receiving their scheduled lessons.

Implementing an online curriculum
Following a review and upgrade of the school’s ICT system and previous success experienced through screencasting at another school, Madeley Academy began using screencast software to create a series of videos that would complement the school’s existing curriculum. The initial intention of the online curriculum was to create videos designed to cover ICT projects and software demonstrations, but is now being extended to cover a wide range of subjects, which, once completed, will form the basis of a comprehensive archive of learning aids.
    
When in class, many teachers at Madeley Academy use PowerPoint presentations to deliver their lessons, talking over slides as content is presented to pupils. In this sort of scenario, lessons can be recorded as they happen using screencasting software such as Camtasia Studio by TechSmith.
    
Real-time recording means screencasts for the online curriculum can be created on the fly, without taking time out of teachers’ planning or marking hours. These screencasts can then be stored in a central location to create an archive of lessons. In the case of an unplanned shut down where a lesson may not have been previously recorded, it can be created and delivered by teachers from their homes.
    
In addition to recording straightforward videos of what is happening on their computer and talking through it as a voiceover, teachers have the option to supplement their lesson capture with webcam videos of themselves delivering the lesson. This further enhances the pupil’s level of engagement.
    
In order to ensure pupils are remaining absorbed in the lesson and their understanding is developing at the expected rate, bolt-on quizzes and interactive tests can be added to the digital lesson. If there are areas the class need to work on, additional lessons or tutorials can be created to expand upon the subject.

More than just a backup plan
An online curriculum is not only useful in times of school closures, it also encourages a culture of learning during the school day. Lessons delivered on a computer are often more engaging to pupils as they tend to already have an interest in technology and the Internet.  
    
Engaging pupils with visually stimulating content through a computer has been recognised at Madeley Academy as a very successful method of getting them to learn and understand their lesson content. In the classroom, pupils can highlight the areas in which they need help. Teachers can then create screencasts focussed on specific areas to explore the problem area more deeply. This means pupils who understand and are comfortable with the subject matter do not have to revisit the content, and the pupil who requires additional help can learn at their own speed. Additionally, teachers can use the same video to help pupils struggling with the same thing in the future, minimising the impact on their time.

Knowledge on-demand
The scope for pupils to download material on-demand means that even when a school is fully operational, they can have access to resources to revise or catch up on missed lessons. This enables pupils to learn and study independently, but still have the guidance of a teacher led lesson.
    
As more lessons are delivered and recorded, the online curriculum will grow. If the syllabus is changed, the curriculum can be updated accordingly. This, unlike investing in books for every pupil, means pupils can always access fresh, relevant content even if they can not attend school. While this is still not as effective as actually being in the classroom, videos of lessons are a valuable learning resource and are ideal for helping pupils keep up with their syllabus.
    
Additional material to supplement lessons can also be created during a shut down where a teacher knows certain pupils will require a deeper explanation on the subject than others. This, in effect, gives pupils a suitable lesson structure; while the teacher is not present to deliver the lesson they can ensure pupils get as much help as they would receive in the classroom.
    
Another situation in which knowledge on-demand can ensure the smoothness of learning is when permanent teachers are taken ill. Cover teachers could view the lessons the class has already received alongside lessons recorded from previous years. Covered lessons can then be adapted to give pupils a smoother transition, reducing interruption to their learning schedule.
    
While, thankfully, the digital curriculum has not been used for a shut down situation at Madeley Academy, once a full curriculum covering all subjects is developed, it will be a relief for pupils, teachers and parents to know that learning can continue during unforeseen closures. The digital curriculum has already delivered proven results by improving the educational experience of pupils and maximising their opportunities to learn. As the online curriculum continues to grow, pupils can access content rich revision aids and, if needed, distance learning tools, creating a highly comprehensive on-demand learning platform for all of the Academy’s pupils.