Children's Role in home-school relationships and the role of digital technologies

A literature review by Lyndsay Grant, August 2009

Digital technologies are an integral part of many families’ home environments and communication strategies, and are increasingly used by schools to support learning, communicate with parents and provide access to school resources from the home and so may offer opportunities to facilitate communication and the building of relationships between home and school.

This review provides an overview of the key debates and current practice and research into home-school
relationships, with a particular focus on children’s role and the opportunities offered by digital technologies to
facilitate home-school relationships.

In order to explore children’s role in home-school relationships, the role of parents in home-school relationships will first be discussed, focusing on parental engagement and parent-school partnerships.

The review will then move on from looking at parents relationships with schools to looking more broadly at
connections between learning in the different contexts of home and school. It then goes on to explore how children  themselves make transitions and connections between home and school, focusing on children’s agency in and perspective on this relationship. The use and potential of technologies to support the home-school relationship is discussed within these main sections.

This review is intended to serve as an introduction to the broader context of this topic, discussing key issues raised research and practice, to inform professionals and practitioners with an interest in the field. Relationships between home and school have been the subject of many years’ research, and this review does not intend to provide a comprehensive academic analysis of the entire field, to make claims about the ‘effectiveness’ of different approaches, or to provide recommendations for policymakers or practitioners.

For full report, go to this url - http://www.futurelab.org.uk/resources/documents/lit_reviews/HomeSchool.pdf
 
Source: Future Lab

“Every single lesson without fail” - How iPhones are helping students learn

By Kim Thomas –Future Lab http://www.futurelab.org.uk/

The iPhone is the must-have device for the cool and trendy: a multimedia phone that allows you to make calls, watch videos, search the internet, play music, help you find your way when you’re lost and locate the nearest restaurant. It can do everything, it seems, apart from the washing-up – and it probably won’t be long before someone creates an app for that.

One thing that the iPhone isn’t associated with, however, is education. So the decision last December to give 28 students at Gumley House Convent School an iPhone each for a year and see what happens was pioneering. The trial is being run by Brentford City Learning Centre (CLC), and the aim is to see if the devices help the students, ranging in age from 11-18, to learn more effectively, both inside and outside the classroom.

As expected, the usage of the iPhones has varied depending on the age of the students. The younger students took longer to adapt to the iPhones, approaching them initially with caution, while the year 11 students began looking up revision apps straightaway. Between them, the 28 students have downloaded 620 apps, a mixture of games and educational applications.

Click here to read the full article.

Robots to Help Children With Autism - TMCnet - 12 Aug 2010

PITTSBURGH, Aug 12, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Interbots, Inc., a high-tech spin-off company associated with the Carnegie Mellon University Entertainment Technology Center has teamed up with the Autism Center of Pittsburgh to provide innovative robot-based therapy for children with autism.The program, "Character Therapy," through the use of the Interbot robot "Popchilla" will test the ability of children with autism with limited or no verbal skills.


According to Seema Patel, CEO and co-founder of Interbots, "We've had numerous individuals tell us our robots could be tremendous tools for Autism therapy. We're excited to be working with the Autism Center of Pittsburgh and the Sprout Foundation to take this first step. We're going to learn a lot from the next few months." "The premise behind the program is that children with autism are sometimes more likely to communicate with a non-human entity," said Cindy Waeltermann, Founder and Director of the Autism Centers of Pittsburgh. "When you have a child with autism, you use whatever interests them to gain access into their world. The idea is to bridge the gap between their word and ours.

Popchilla will be used in the first phase of the program with a trained therapist. Programmers and developers at Interbots have created an iPad application that will allow the therapist to direct sessions, which will eventually be transitioned to allow the child to control the robot through an iPad application to identify emotions.

According to Waeltermann, "By using Popchilla as an intermediary, we hope to increase the understanding of the child's internal feelings, thus reducing behavioral frustrations. If they are able to identify that they are 'angry' and what 'angry' means, it can significantly help them understand what they are feeling, reducing behavioral ramifications." The program is funded by Spark. Spark is an initiative of The Sprout Fund catalyzing projects and programs that engage children ages birth to eight through the creative use of technology and media. Spark challenges individuals, organizations, and communities to generate inventive technology-based solutions to the issues and opportunities facing today's young child. Through its funding opportunities and extensive network of support, Spark is unleashing the innovative potential of Southwestern Pennsylvania and transforming our region into one of the best places on earth to be a kid.

"Our emphasis has always been making the use and control of our robots as simple and flexible as possible. You don't need to have a technical background to control our characters. You can control them with a variety of other familiar devices. So that opens a lot of interesting applications - like having a therapist or a parent use our robots as a tool to interact with children - even the possibility of kids using the robot to express themselves and explore emotions on their own," according to Sabrina Haskell, Interbots, Designer & Co-Founder.

The iPad application is currently in production and the program is slated to begin this fall.

"Nobody is more excited than the parents of the children with autism who have the potential to gain great strides from this program," said Cindy Waeltermann. "That's what this is all about -- thinking outside the box to reach these kids." SOURCE Autism Centers of Pittsburgh

How to make ICT-Enabled Education Succeed

By Kelly Ng | 5 January 2010

ICT lies at the heart of modernising Asia’s education systems. However, technology alone will not be enough to bridge the digital divide, says Anita Dighe, Director, Directorate of Distance Learning, India. She went on to stress areas which governments need to focus on in order to deliver positive outcomes.

“ICT increases educational activity among those who are already learners rather than widening participation to include those who had previously not taken part in formal or informal learning,” said Dighe.Research has shown that projects to promote life-long learning through technology within illiterate communities can strengthen inequalities rather than reduce them. The people who benefit from computers and internet access are generally younger people, instead of the intended people who are older, disabled or unemployed.

The key challenge is to introduce technology in a way which maximises outcomes for the community. Surveys by UNESCO show that technology can increase access to education, particularly in dispersed or remote schools. “The National Open School in India provides secondary level education to many people,” said Gwang-jo Kim, Director, UNESCO APAC Regional Bureau for Education.

With the view to illustrating the problem areas, Dighe took a closer look at the projects and highlighted what governments should work on.

While ICT provides access to knowledge and education, Dighe pointed out that the mere availability of technology does not ensure accessibility. Economic, organisational, and socio-cultural factors are barriers governments need to be aware of. Gender inequalities still persist in most developing countries, she added.

“There is a tendency to miss the social context in which ICT is embedded. You need to acknowledge that the technological and the social aspects of ICT-based projects are intertwined. Educational achievements are shaped not only by the way education is organised but also by the socio-economic background of the learners,” she said.

There are several areas governments and educators need to work on. First, they need to better understand and choose technologies which are best suited for each community. Radio, television, films and other traditional media are more likely to be effective in developing countries compared to computers and the internet.

In November, Mongolia launched an education television programme while schools were closed due to the H1N1 crisis. Students were encouraged to reflect on the lessons and respond by messaging their teachers using mobile phones. “Television is the best way to reach the community because every household has a television. Not all families have computers and fewer have internet access,” Enkhjargal Sukhbaatar, Executive Director, ITEducation of Mongolia told FutureGov.

Second, there is a need for research on the reason behind the success or failure of ICT-based learning programmes. Evidence is sparse on why people engage or do not engage with technology.

http://www.futuregov.asia/articles/2010/jan/05/could-ict-widen-digital-divide/

Singapore Preschools to Receive USD $2 Million Cloud Computing Power from Lien Foundation and Salesforce.com Foundation - lienfoundation.org - 24 May 2010

More than 600 Teachers & Administrators across 60 Non-Profit Preschool Centres to Benefit from USD $2 Million Philanthropic Cooperation

SINGAPORE, May 24, 2010 – The Salesforce.com Foundation, the global leader in integrating philanthropy and business, together with Lien Foundation, a Singapore philanthropic house, announced today a USD $2 million joint initiative aimed at transforming Singapore’s non-profit, preschool sector.

Modeled after Salesforce.com Foundation’s unique 1/1/1 model, Lien Foundation and Salesforce.com Foundation have agreed to pull in resources worth USD $1 million each to transform one education sector in Singapore. Lien Foundation has committed USD $1 million in capital to support the implementation of IT solutions and accompanying hardware to 60 nonprofit preschool centres over the next year and a half. Salesforce.com Foundation will donate USD $1 million in licenses to give more than 600 teachers the ability to update and manage student data in the cloud.

“It is rare to have two foundations– one from the East and one from the West – coming together for an initiative of this size, and with the common interest to enhance the productivity of non-profits through harnessing the power of infocomm technology,” said Mr Lee Poh Wah, Chief Executive Officer of Lien Foundation. “We expect the combined resources from Lien and Salesforce.com Foundation to inspire a major transformation in Singapore’s preschool sector over the next year.”

“The idea behind Salesforce.com Foundation’s 1/1/1 model is to harness the power of a company’s resources, such as the intellectual wealth of its employees, technology or products and financial resources to support organizations that are making the world a better place,” said Suzanne DiBianca, Executive Director, Salesforce.com Foundation. “We are proud to join forces with Lien Foundation and use our collective resources to radically transform the nonprofit, preschool sector in Singapore.”

The project will begin its implementation with a pilot in five major non-profit preschool operators, including Presbyterian Community Services (PCS) and Persatuan Pemudi Islam Singapura (PPIS). The pilot is scheduled to begin in June this year.

Mr Laurence Wee, Executive Director, PCS said, “The quality of preschool education is not only dependent on teachers but also the infrastructure that can aid or hamper their teaching. Unfortunately, preschools from the nonprofit sector often face intense competition for resources and have minimal IT infrastructure and limited funds. We believe this initiative can help empower our staff and children to their greater potential.”

This project is timely for Ms Nadhira Koyakutty, Head, Early Childhood Education, PPIS. She said, “IT is an important tool that we use to support our curriculum. With greater IT access and support to help our teachers become more productive, we can expect a very positive impact on teaching. For instance, we can reduce manual tasks and unnecessary duplication of work. We look forward to streamlining the students’ records, creating lesson plans creatively and having regular and better feedback with parents through the new system. Ultimately, we hope to enhance our children’s education in their most formative years.”

Source: http://www.lienfoundation.org/press/SFDC%20Lien%20Foundation%20Release%20Final%20.pdf?id=2002

More tuition centres turn high-tech - TODAYonline - 7th June 2010

By EVELYN LAM

SINGAPORE - More tuition centres have adopted high technology as part of their educational aids.

One such centre, A Tick for That!, spent $50,000 to incorporate the iPod Touch as one of its teaching aids.
Students who sign up for a six-month course will be provided with an iPod Touch pre-loaded with their school homework and past-year exam papers - doing away with students having to lug heavy 10-year-series books, worksheets and textbooks.

Another tuition centre, Voice Works Learning Centre, also relies on computers as educational aids. The centre said students find it easier to retain information when computers are used.

Intel's Classmate comes to UK - BBC - 14 Jan 2009

A new version of a laptop
originally designed by Intel
for the developing world is
making its debut in the UK.

The newly designed
Classmate machine can be
converted from a traditional
laptop to a tablet PC to allow
children to write and draw
more naturally.

It will be available in the UK in
February, and will be sold
directly to schools as well as
via online retailer Amazon and high street store Argos.

But with a retail price of £349 the machine will not be cheap.

There are 1.3 billion school-age children around the world but only 5%
have access to a PC or the internet.

In 2007 Intel began to market its Classmate PC as a low-cost way of
getting technology into the most needy regions of the world with a
price tag of between $200 (£137) and $400 (£275).

So far Intel has sold "close to one million units" in the developing
world, and last year began to push the machine in more mature
markets.

'No conflict'

Initially it announced a deal in
Portugal which will see the device
distributed to 500,000 children
aged between six and 11 during the
course of 2009.

Gordon Graylish, deputy general
manger of Intel Europe, believes
there is no conflict between the two
markets.

"It doesn't matter whether the
children are in Mali, Vietnam, France or the US," he said.

"The research we did across both the developing and the developed
world showed that human beings are actually quite similar, with similar
needs, particularly if they are five years old."

Each of the 120 vendors signed up to sell the Classmate provides
localised software.

The main reason for Intel's push into western countries is down to the
renewed efforts governments are making to close digital divides.

Social deprivation

"Two years ago there was not a lot of interest from mature markets,
but that has changed and governments are saying they need to do
something to combat social deprivation," said Mr Graylish.

The UK government announced last year that it was to revive its Home
Access scheme by distributing one million PCs to the most needy
households.

"It is encouraging that the UK
government has publicly committed itself to driving higher
standards and better outcomes for
children by breaking down barriers
to achievement and tackling the
link between deprivation and low
educational attainment," said Mr
Graylish.

Intel is in talks with the UK
government about distributing
Classmate PCs under this scheme.

It will make the machine available
to schools at a reduced price of around £260.

The laptop comes preloaded with educational software, including
Algodoo, a 2D simulation environment designed to explain physics,
and the Easybits Magic Desktop, a simplified Windows-based interface.
Mr Graylish is convinced that laptops can play a vital role in
transforming education.

"Education through technology can have a profound effect on
children," he said.

"It's important that we are not cynical. Bear in mind that some of us
got excited when we got ballpoint pens."