Passey, Don (2018) School improvement through digital technologies : Using managed service/support in schools in Northern Ireland with case studies of success. [Report]
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Abstract
Schools in Northern Ireland, like those in any country, face educational challenges, whilst they are, at the same time, supported with a range of resource provision. Facing and addressing educational challenges enables schools to improve, in a range of possible and different ways: at an individual pupil level; at a single class level; for pupils across the school; with teachers across the schools; or for parents across the school. Some of the resource provision that is available to schools in Northern Ireland consists of the centrally-provided digital technology managed services and support from C2k and Capita. These services provide fundamental connectivity and networking within and across schools, hardware that can be added to and integrated with a school’s own devices, a communication platform (Office 365, Google, or Fronter), and a wide range of selected software curriculum resources. This latter digital technology provision offers a very wide range of tools that teachers can select to use in specific teaching and learning circumstances. Whilst the affordances offered from selected networking connectivity, hardware, a communication platform and software curriculum resources can be utilised to support specific subject or topic tasks, they can also be selected to explore and address educational challenges and consequently to support school improvement leading to better outcomes for the learner. The process and examples that some schools have taken in this respect – selecting digital resources to address educational challenges to lead to school improvement – are the focus of this document.