Connected education - Dell · Connected education ... partner with schools to create an entire...

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Connected education Four strategies for transforming education in a connected world

Transcript of Connected education - Dell · Connected education ... partner with schools to create an entire...

Connected education Four strategies for transforming education in a connected world

Four Building Blocks of Educational Success

1 Increase access to global resources with a robust infrastructure Page 5

2 Develop 21st century college and career readiness Page 6

3 Foster strong professional development and support Page 7 professional learning communities

4 Ensure eff ective use of data and accountability Page 8

Connected education

All stakeholders have a role to play in creating a robust educational system that links the four building blocks to every aspect of the learning environment.

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21st Century College & Career

Readiness

Professional Development & Professional Learning

Communities

Global Resources & Infrastructure

Data & Accountability

Connected School

Connected Administrator and TechnologistConnected Classroom

Connected Student

Connected Teacher

Connected Parents, Community and Policymakers

Connected education Four strategies for transforming education in a connected world

We live in a connected world where technology empowers people to connect with one another … opens up access to knowledge, information and tools … and inspires people to actively participate in their community. These principles of technology empowerment through connectivity can and should transform the entire learning environment by strengthening the bonds of human relationships, supporting the quest for knowledge and fostering active participation in learning.

Policymakers have a vital leadership role to play in transforming education. They can improve opportunities and results for students by incorporating four building blocks of success into education legislation and funding.

These building blocks offer a substantive and relevant framework around which all education stakeholders can collaborate in meaningful ways.

Like educators and policymakers, at Dell we know that technology alone is not enough to transform education. Instead, it’s what we do with technology that matters. That’s why for more than 25 years, Dell has been a global partner with schools to create an entire learning environment that connects people throughout the system and supports them in building the relationships, knowledge and skills that contribute to student achievement. In this environment, every student can easily communicate and collaborate with other students, thus making learning a shared endeavor for which all are mutually responsible.

Equally important, every student can connect to people in every other constituency in the educational system, including teachers, classrooms, administrators, technologists, schools, parents, the community, and policymakers. These connections help enable students to plan their learning, get different perspectives, monitor their progress, ask for and receive timely support, and share their successes. Therefore, students become full and engaged partners in their own learning.

These same dynamic connections apply to everyone else in the system as well, so that teachers, administrators and parents can communicate and collaborate easily with their peers and with all other stakeholders. These connections make it easier for the adults in the education system to learn, grow and work together—and to support students.

Four Building Blocks of Educational Success

1 Increase access to global resources with a robust infrastructure

2 Develop 21st century college and career readiness

3 Foster strong professional development and support professional learning communities

4 Ensure effective use of data and accountability

The Four Building Blocks 1 Increase access to global resources with a robust infrastructure

What’s possible? Students, teachers, parents and administrators deserve fast and ready access to the rich array of global resources available across 195 countries. From digital books and news sources to multimedia presentations of information, global resources include learning content, as well as interactive educational spaces for connecting and collaborating. These resources contribute to improved learning and expanded horizons and they foster global awareness and understanding. These are the kinds of outcomes that prepare students for colleges and careers.

What’s needed to achieve the vision? Participating fully in this connected world requires a robust infrastructure that is accessible, affordable and ubiquitous. Students and educators cannot fully benefit from sophisticated global resources available without a reliable technology infrastructure that supports the backbone for connecting students, parents, community members and educators to these resources.

Example: The city-state of Singapore has been highly effective in wiring its nation, including schools and homes. Over 80% of households have access to at least one computer1, but more important, among households with school -attending children, the rate is 94%.

Policymaker roles

Policymakers have a key role to play in making this vision a reality.Specifically, policymakers can:

• Supporthigh-speedbroadbanddeploymentandadoptionsothateverystudent, school, library, parent and community member can have online access

• AllocatededicatedfundingforITineducationthatwillenableschooldistricts to use funds on IT-related products, services and infrastructure

• Ensurethattextbookfunding may be used for e-textbooks and digital content, which are interactive and can be instantly updated

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Dell connected learning for school

Technologists more efficient

Teachers more interactive

Administrators more successful

Parents more informed

Students more engaged

Community more aware

2 Develop 21st century higher education and career readiness

What’s possible? All students require an education that prepares them for their next step in life—whether it is university or a career. They must be prepared for success in school and workplaces that expect people to collaborate, turn information into knowledge and develop solutions to problems. Students need to master both academic content and the skills that are valued in both higher education and the workplace. As a company, Dell knows how important it is for every Dell employee to think critically, collaborate and create. Indeed, every potential new Dell employee is specifically evaluated based on these types of criteria in the interview process. These are pre-requisite skills for every member of the 21st century workforce today. This kind of knowledge and literacy is also increasingly important for people to engage in daily life in the 21st century, but these basic 21st century survival skills are not yet emphasised in schools.

What’s needed to achieve the vision? Dell believes that 21st century college, career and life readiness skills must be infused into a connected learning environment in which people can build the relationships, knowledge and skills for success.

For nearly a decade, Dell has been a member of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21), joining with upwards of 40 leading educational and business member organisations to promote rigor and relevance in student outcomes, along with educational support systems that are aligned to include both core subjects and 21st century interdisciplinary themes. Core subjects include: English, reading or language arts; mathematics; science; history; geography; government and civics; economics; world languages; and the arts. For our industry, a focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects, is critical.

The 21st century interdiciplinary themes include: • globalawareness • financial,economic,businessandentrepreneurialliteracy

• healthliteracy • environmentalliteracy

In the current economic environment, the long-term international competitive differentiator is workforce skills. To this end, students need to be proficient in ICT literacy, critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration, effective digital communication, creation and use of multimedia documents, and data analysis and interpretation.

Example: The State of West Virginia is a leader in implementing a 21st century learning plan. The plan, Global 21, was jointly developed by the West Virginia Department of Education and the Board of Education. Its mission is “to develop self-directed, motivated learners who demonstrate the skills and knowledge that are fundamental to becoming successful adults in the digital world.” As such, the state has incorporated rigorous 21st century skills and technology tools into their curriculum. In support of this effort, West Virginia educators developed Teach 21, a comprehensive Web site that assists teachers in planning and delivering effective 21st century skills instruction.

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3 Foster strong professional development and support professional learning communities

What’s possible? In the 21st Century, the ability to use information to create knowledge is key. And also quickly evolving. To keep pace, constant education and professional learning are necessary. Just as a doctor or a lawyer keeps up with current developments, so too do our educators need to constantly develop.

In an effective professional development environment, educators are empowered to connect to one another and to resources that support inquiry, inspiration and instruction. In a connected world, these relationships and resources can extend far beyond classrooms, schools and districts, giving educators efficient ways to access expertise and information from around the world.

Dell understands that innovation depends on investing in professional development for every employee of our company—the Dell team. Worldwide, we invest in our employees so that they have the skills they need to be successful, keep up with changes and contribute to best practices and continuous improvement. School employees – teachers, administrators, and technologists – should have the same support available.

What’s needed to achieve the vision?To become highly effective educators, teachers need a continuous learning and improvement environment and a culture of teamwork and collaboration. Teachers—and the administrators and technologists who support them—must be at the top of their game to improve student achievement. Educators need professional development to keep their content knowledge, pedagogical strategies and technology

skills up to date. Professional learning communities are forums for social learning and collaboration that educators find especially powerful. In these communities of practice, teams of educators can work collectively on shared challenges, such as identifying student needs, differentiating instruction and examining student work.

Example: In Sweden, e-learning for educators has become a priority. The country has engaged in a system of teacher ICT training, and tracks professional achievement in the area. The needs identified include:

1) understanding technology – basic information about technology use etc;

2) school improvement – learning organisation, flexible methods, etc.;

3) efficiency – organisational and efficiency benefits; and

4) legal and ethical issues of ICT use. The programme incorporates web based applications. After the initial pilot launch, the first phase of the programme trained over 1000 educators2. The programme has continued in new iterations as technology and teacher training needs change.

Policymaker roles

Policymakers can improve teacher quality by:

• Supportingprogrammesthatprovideeducatorswithopportunitiesforprofessionaldevelopment

• Ensuringaccesstoprofessionallearningcommunities

• EnsuringfundingisallocatedforeducatorICTtrainingtoimprovereadinessforadoption of ICT facilitation in the classroom

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4 Ensure effective use of data and accountability

What’s possible? Effective use of data is critical to innovation and transformation in education. Without trans parent data, it is impossible for educational stakeholders to make wise choices and deploy limited resources to the best advantage. Dell has built a winning culture and a successful global business with a relentless focus on data and accountability. We use cutting-edge metrics to assess our progress and improve our processes. We are fine-tuned to our customers’ needs. These business practices benefit our company and our customers and can benefit the education system as well.

What’s needed to achieve the vision? Data empowers every education stakeholder to play a more active and purposeful role in improving student outcomes. Students who have consistent access to data on their progress will understand first-hand—and immediately—what they need to work on. Parents can better support students at home. Teachers and administrators can more easily recognise student achievement gaps and provide targeted interventions to help students overcome weaknesses. Administrators and the communities can make informed plans and decisions on instructional programmes, tools and resources for classrooms. Data also ensures accountability.

Example: The City of New York has undertaken an extensive effort to collaborate and integrate all available student data and pull together a comprehensive “performance management” programme. With the new tools, and intensive training on how to use them, New York City’s performance management culture is now so ingrained that 66,000 (about three-quarters of all) New York teachers have used the system to focus in on student issues and accelerate student learning. Since the introduction of the new tools, the pace of improvement in student outcomes has increased citywide.

Policymaker roles

Policymakers can help education stakeholders make more effective use of data and hold schoolsaccountable by:

• Prioritisingthedevelopmentofcomprehensivedatasystemsthattrackindividualstudents’ progress from junior school to higher education to foster continuous improvement and personalise learning

• Integratingdataanalysisanduseinto educators’ professional development to help ensure educators know how to access, analyse, and use data effectively

• Implementingbalanced accountability systems

ConclusionIn 2020, today’s secondary school students will complete their final year exams and prepare for the next step. Will they be ready for college and careers? Will they be prepared to live and work, collaborate and compete in the connected world?

Policymakers at all levels of government should ensure that the answer to these questions is “yes, absolutely.” Today’s secondary school students, and students who follow them, will be living and working in a world that is even more connected than it is today. They must be prepared to thrive in colleges and workplaces that expect productive collaboration, innovative use of knowledge and active engagement.

We can achieve the ambitious goals for education—and enhance competitiveness—only if we take focused and sustained action. Four key building blocks of educational success are access to global resources with a robust infrastructure, 21st century college and career readiness, professional development and professional learning communities, and effective use of data and accountability.

Policymakers are encouraged to support all education stakeholders in cultivating the connections that build human relationships and the connections that provide access to knowledge, information and tools. We stand ready to assist policymakers in achieving this vision for transforming the entire learning environment.

Policymakers have set an ambitious new goal for education: Preparing all students to be college and career ready when they finish secondary

school. Students cannot achieve this outcome unless we unleash the capacity of every stakeholder to create a Connected Education approach, which will transform the entire education environment. By focusing on the four building blocks of success:

• Studentscanbeactiveparticipantsinandchampionsoftheirownlearning. They can collaborate with peers and teachers and make more effective and creative use of the array of knowledge, information and tools inside and outside of school

• Teacherscanaccessandcollaboratewiththeirpeersgloballytocreatestimulatingcontent and environments that motivate and engage all students in learning during and beyond the school day

• Parentscanbeinformedadvocatesandpartnersintheirchildren’seducation by gaining clear insights into their progress

• Administratorscanimprovemanagementandproductivity,addressstudentneeds, act as instructional leaders and make the most of scarce budgetary resources

• TechnologistscanfreeupresourcesfromITmaintenancetasksandfocuson supporting teachers in improving educational outcomes

• TheCommunitycanbemoreinformedandinvolvedinsupportingtheeducation of future citizens, employees and leaders. Community members can more easily contribute their expertise to administrator, teacher and student learning

• Policymakerscanhavebetteraccesstodatatofocustheirsupportandinvestments in education around four timely and relevant strategies that are aligned to new aspirations and requirements for student achievement

Notes

To learn more about Dell’s vision for education, visit www.dell.co.uk/schools1. http://www.ida.gov.sg/doc/Publications/Publications_Level3/20090218183328/HH2008ES.pdf2. “Leadership” “Competence Development- ICT for School Leaders in Sweden” by Peter Karlberg. 10 August 2005. www.xpolora.org. Dell Corporation Limited, Reg. No. 02081369, Dell House, The Boulevard, Cain Road, Bracknell, Berkshire RG12 1LF.