"A Mosaic of Networks"

The NGfL has been envisaged as a mosaic of interconnected networks, with schools linking to other schools, local education authority and other educational resources, with a range of readily accessible resources available to both pupils and teachers. This chapter examines the extent to which this is beginning to happen by looking at a number of examples of school and LEA networks. The development of Wide Area Networks (WANs) in K12 projects in America is also considered.

In some cases a school has become the centre of an Information Hub, while in others the local authority has developed an intranet providing services to all schools within the LEA. Some of these networks are directly linked to the NGfL while others are more local. Some are readily accessible by the public and some are essentially private. The commercial sector has taken a keen interest in the development of education networks. The examples described here have all benefited from that commercial interest and involvement. A question for the future is to what extent can these examples be emulated by schools and communities not benefiting from the same commercial sponsorship.

The NGfL is about communication and education for life; it is not about IT for its own sake. IT is seen as a tool and resource supporting these aims and making new forms of communications possible. Professor Stephen Heppell, a member of the Stevenson Committee and architect of the NGfL, wrote: "The reason that the new C in ICT appeared was to stress the communication possibilities of information technology… This communication is in both directions so that for the Grid to be successful, it will need to offer a conduit of communication with a parity of contribution between all parties including teachers. Thus the question should not be about ‘to schools’ but should include ‘between schools’ and ‘from schools’." ( Xemplar,1999)

The Connected Learning Community

Microsoft® Education has developed the concept of the Connected Learning Community (CLC) in its involvement in the development of K12 projects in America. "The CLC is an environment in which networking connections provide for dynamic interactions in three ways: within and between schools, between schools and homes, and between schools and the larger community of learning resources via the Internet.". ( Microsoft, 1999).

In Britain, Highdown School in Reading was sponsored as an EDSI project. The project envisaged "an enriched learning environment" ( Microsoft, undated) in which:

All students have access to a PC and information on-line.
Each student is empowered to pursue the individual path of learning best suited to his or her needs.
Learning results not from access alone but from continuous, dynamic interaction between students, teachers, parents and the extended community.

EDSI Group D, which Highdown School was part of, identified three types of networks as necessary for successful networking and internetworking:

Human network of partners and potential users – reflecting Microsoft’s levels one and two
Physical network – connectivity
Resource network - reflecting Microsoft’s third level of linkage.

The Highdown Hub

Highdown School, Reading is a comprehensive school with 1000 pupils and 55 teachers. The Highdown Information Hub (Figure 3), developed in partnership with Microsoft is an information resource offering filtered Internet access, interactive CDROM and curriculum materials, all of which can be accessed by a wide range of users. Two other secondary schools are connected to the Hub by a broadband cable network (4Mbps) and a number of teachers, parents and pupils are connected at home. The vision is that the Hub should provide resources and be a means of accessing resources through the Internet.

It can be helpful to parents, pupils, governors and others concerned with school life to place school information on the school web site. Examples of pupils’ work and advice for parents on a range of topics can develop partnership with parents. The Highdown site provides a wide range of school information and curriculum material, including GCSE and ‘A’ level revision notes, and a link for downloading Logo, a software control language commonly used in school mathematics.

Figure 3 Highdown School Hub Source: www.microsoft.com/uk/education/clc/default.htm

Highdown is not typical. It has benefited from its location, a few minutes drive from major IT suppliers, and from being sponsored to provide an example of what can be achieved. It has been able to prioritise its ICT development and use the enthusiasm of skilled and qualified staff. The school network has a fibre-optic backbone connecting a number of computer clusters and computer rooms. All cabling is to Category 5 standard. The network is serviced by two ICL servers running NT4 Advanced Server.

The beliefs underpinning the Highdown project are:

IT is a core skill
IT is a powerful tool that can support learning
The project, as part of the school, should have a community focus.

Even though Highdown is not typical, it does embody the vision of what the NGfL is about.

Schools On-line

Schools On-line is sponsored by Apricot. It also has internetworking as its focus, but it has a very different starting point from the CLC projects. Apricot aims to provide a File Based Intranet in each school, tailored to that school’s requirements. The intranet would be able to span as many areas as possible including both curriculum and administrative functions as well as allowing for pupil involvement. The project provides a relatively simple facility restricted to file based systems only and without the need for a separate web server:

"Basically a file based system simulates an Internet like environment on a local server which is used for other purposes. Pages are created on a drive on the server and the Internet browser is loaded onto the server and configured to pick up the set of files and navigate through them in the same way as you would browse the real net. This allows the school to investigate the use of the technology within their own environment with little capital outlay using their existing infrastructure." ( Apricot, undated)

The project is being trialled with a group of primary schools at present. Apricot acknowleges the approach has limitations but recognises that a file based system is adequate in many schools for most purposes even though it is not possible to integrate email or provide downloads. A project web site has been developed with a password protected ‘swap area’ where participating schools can share ideas and materials. Apricot envisages the project as having a very focused target which will help bind the participating schools together.

Robin Hood School, Birmingham

Robin Hood School is one of the schools participating in the Schools On-line project. It is a Birmingham primary school with a good reputation for ICT. It was not part of EDSI but is a feeder school to some of the EDSI project secondary schools. A problem identified in the EDSI conclusions was the difficulties encountered by children who had attended a well-equipped primary school when moving to a less well-resourced secondary school.

The school found its single dial-up connection to the Internet inadequate for regular classroom use, so it decided to add an intranet to the school’s 15 workstation LAN. The school has identified a number of positive features resulting from this development:

It provides a simulation of the Internet.
It enables more pupils to have access.
Control is maintained over the contents.
It is easy to ‘Web-whack’ material from the Internet proper.
Material can be tailored to the curriculum, but there are still opportunities for fun or ‘kids stuff’.
Differentiation can be provided, not just in curriculum terms, but also in the level of ICT skills required.
School information can be put on the system – school clubs, prospectus and administrative documents such as policies, schemes of work, records, moderated work samples, staff memos and minutes of meetings.

The only disadvantage identified by the school is the time and commitment necessary to maintain the currency of information. (BECTa, undated).

Cisco

Cisco is a major supplier of networking equipment. It has played an important supportive role in the development of many K12 projects, including publishing a CD-ROM "Implementing Networks in Education" and the Cisco Internetworking Academy for Education Video series. Both products are designed to "assist non-technical people"… "to understand what they need to know to set up and administer their networks for Internet access". ( Cisco, 1997)

Cisco has supported a number of Wide Area Network (WAN) developments where a number of educational establishments have been enabled to establish LANs and then internetwork them. LAKEnet in New York links 43 school districts. The project was conceived at the end of 1996, and eight months later 6000 computers had been installed. ( Cisco, 1997). In Oklahoma, $14million was invested in developing a project to address both current educational needs and the needs of other public agencies. The nature of population distribution in the State made distance learning a key priority and the network was designed to support real-time, full-motion video. A range of communications media are utilised including fibre-optic cable, digital and analogue microwave, and satellite technologies. Other large-scale projects have been developed in Washington, Houston and New York.

The American models differ from the UK examples, in that generally in the UK a school has developed its own network and web site and then linked to other schools or community resources. The American examples start with a State or District infrastructure which the schools become part of. A number of UK LEAs are encouraging a similar model.

LEA Intranets

Intranets involve the deployment of Internet technology on a local network. Usually they are built on an existing LAN or WAN. Many local authorities now have intranets and the LEAs are beginning to offer specialist resources to schools through the County intranet. In some LEAs, the LEA itself is acting as an ISP and schools are being encouraged to connect to it. In West Sussex, the LEA has entered into a contract with an ISP and offers filtered Internet access to local schools, as well as being in the process of developing its own intranet.

This model can be useful to smaller schools. They gain from the technical expertise and support of the LEA while gaining access to the Internet and educational resources. Linking to the County intranet can also speed communications within the County. Instead of waiting for the weekly courier service, schools can download important documentation when they need it.

Other local authorities maintain their own intranets, but encourage schools to develop their own resources independently of the local authority. This appears to be the case in Dorset and Staffordshire, where the LEAs have developed curriculum gateways to support schools.

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