Computers In Schools: Early days for primary platforms

There was a time when parents waved their children goodbye at the school gates and didn't have much idea what they were up to until the end of the day. Letters home about homework or school trips could languish in the bottom of school bags and the only time mothers and fathers heard about how their little darlings were really doing was at parents' evening.

New technology means parents can now track everything from whether their children are on time for lessons to what marks they are getting by accessing school information online. Nowhere is this change being felt more than in schools that have implemented virtual learning environments.

A virtual learning environment (VLE), sometimes known as a managed learning environment or a learning platform, is a combination of web-based tools designed to support teaching, learning and school management.

Timetables, lesson plans and policies can be uploaded onto a VLE, which also often includes an online personal learning space for each pupil - a kind of portfolio containing examples of their work. And because the information is web-based, it can be looked at by teachers, parents and pupils anywhere, any time - as long as they have access to a computer, an internet connection and the relevant password.

Although the first institutions to take VLEs seriously in the UK were universities and colleges, schools have become increasingly interested in what these platforms can offer, including better communication between staff and parents and a reduction in teacher workloads by allowing departments and even schools to share resources.

Research last year by the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (Becta), found that 61 per cent of secondary schools were using VLEs - spurred on, in part, by the Department for Education and Skills' target that all pupils should have access to an online learning space by 2008.

Primary schools, perhaps because of their relatively small sizes and budgets, have been slower to take up the baton, but Becta says that is changing. One third of UK primary schools already used VLEs at the start of last year and another third said they intended to sign up in the following months. As far as Becta is concerned, this is a positive step.

"The benefits of having this level of technology pays off," says a Becta spokesman. "We are seeing more engagement and more involvement from children, and that has to be a good thing." This is hardly a surprising view from an agency whose raison d'être is to promote learning through technology. Two months ago it launched a framework of 10 approved suppliers to help schools choose which learning platforms to invest in.

Microsoft Learning Gateway is one platform on offer. Alan Dodson, Learning Gateway manager for Sandwell, in the West Midlands, explains how the area was one of three local authorities chosen to pilot a four-year, Becta-managed and DfES-funded project to test VLEs in schools. Thirteen of its 93 primary schools now use the VLE, with plans for the rest to follow suit. "In the schools that have taken it on, it's become crucial both as a school management tool and as a learning and teaching tool," Dodson says. "Initially, nobody knew what it would do and how they would use it. Now they are asking how they managed without it."

But primary teachers have sounded a note of caution. Matthew Goodyear, assistant head teacher at Warren Junior School in Barking and Dagenham, London - another of the local authorities chosen for the DfES pilot in 2002 - says problems soon became apparent.

"It's a huge undertaking to load up an empty VLE with content, even if it's existing content," he says. "We quickly realised that it would probably take four years because of all our other commitments. We just couldn't give it the time it deserved."

Cost was another concern. "As a school, you need to be able to teach, come what may," Goodyear says. "If you've put all your eggs in one basket and invested in a product which has a yearly maintenance cost, you may not be able to afford it in the future."

He also fears that VLE, initially developed with secondary and further education students in mind, may not be suitable for younger children. "Older children can work independently and have good reading skills," he says. "Primary kids don't necessarily have those skills. They need more support, more feedback. It's also important to remember that not every family has a PC, is connected to the internet, or can even speak English."

Dodson admits there are challenges but says the results are worth the effort. "We initially faced a great deal of apathy, fear and ignorance - in the nicest sense of the word - from teachers," he says. "But there are ways around that. The schools where it has been most effective are where there has been buy-in from the top."

Access to decent technical support is also essential. In Sandwell, each school has a technician on hand and Dodson heads a team based at Shireland Language College who can be called on to iron out problems. He says those children who don't have internet access at home can log on at faith centres, libraries and community centres.

Most importantly, says Dodson, schools should use the technology to enhance what they already do, not be led by it. "Schools should have the vision to see what they can do with it even if they don't know how it works," he says. "You should always make the technology do what the school needs to do, rather than trying to squeeze the school practice into the confines of the technology."

'We couldn't function without it'

Kirsty Tonks says she knew little about technology when she agreed to become a "champion" for a new virtual learning environment at Crocketts Lane Primary School in Smethwick, West Midlands. Now the primary school's ICT manager, she says the VLE has transformed the school, which educates 280 children from diverse backgrounds in a deprived area.

"It took two-and-a-half years to get all the staff on board but now we could not live without it," she says. "It does cost money and initially there was an increase in workload, but the amount of time it now saves and the way it has transformed our entire system of communication is priceless." Teachers use the gateway to plan lessons, contact parents and each other and mark school work from home. Pupils can upload their homework for marking and benefit from an e-portfolio of all their computer work, while parents can access their children's work, check on their attendance and behaviour and even look at pictures of school trips.

"Unless you invited parents in every week there's no way they'd have such a window into the life of the school," says Tonks. "As teachers, instead of having to photocopy lesson plans or lug boxes of files around, it's all there, all the time. I just know as a school we couldn't function without it."