Digital Leader Programme and Progress Update

It has been a while since I touched base with progress following the initial and follow up training but I thought I would take this opportunity before our next meeting to share some of the exiting collaborative developments that have happened following dissemination of the material to staff and pupils.  This is not an exhaustive list but a flavour of some of the effective working practice that now happens at our centre:

Outstanding National Achievements

Winners of an Into Film Awards 2016, presented in Odeon London at Leicester Square, for a short animation ‘Flow’ which was a collaborative project with University of South Wales.  Press coverage here à http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local-news/two-valleys-schools-won-top-11062997

Winner of 2014 Sigmatak Film competition where one of our first Digital Leaders received an iMac! Details here: http://www.sigmatak.com/film-competition/2014

Digital Safety

For the last two years we have been actively involved in raising awareness of safer internet use via streamlined curriculums and active involvement in the annual Safer Internet Day to which we are now an affiliated supporter: http://www.saferinternet.org.uk/safer-internet-day/2016/supporters?q=PQR&lp=4#ABC

One of our special Internet Safety assemblies with yours truly delivering the “Be an Up-Stander NOT a By-Stander” talk as covered in the digital leaders programme.

  

School and Departmental Digital Presence

Along with our school feed EVERY department now has a digital presence via Twitter and other technologies where up-to-date information gets published regularly such as revision tips, useful resources, announcements and opportunities for celebration.  There was even a hashtag for the solar eclipse back in 2015 viewed from pupils in the school grounds!

A sample of some of our departmental tweets from celebrating Welsh Baccalaureate Work, our Award Winning Eco-Squad working with clusters forged initially by digital collaboration,GCSE results and promoting digital competencies across the board via shared STEM Days.

  

As well as some of the developments above we are now fully wirelessly enabled with a plethora of tablets, notebooks, PC suites and BYOD schemes to boot.  Teachers (even the reluctant ones) have and are becoming more fluent with their use of technology every day to create, resource and evaluate their teaching along with informing performance and assessment.

I had a conversation the other day with Sangeet and one of the other original digital leaders (Alan) and I didn’t think as a school we had progressed much.  Standing back and taking a breath however it seems that digitally we are moving forward and trying to share good practice within the school through designated sessions.

I am looking forward to the next groups of days to catch up with everyone and receive some new material...What’s next BBC Microbits across departments maybe?!

Stu