The document discusses two philosophies of education: Philosophy A views education as broken but fixable through technology and targets, while Philosophy B sees it as a long-term investment requiring teacher support. It provides examples of projects by Learning and Teaching Scotland that apply Philosophy B, such as the Glow national schools intranet and Scottish Learning Festival conference, and argues educational change requires long-haul development of teacher skills with technology as just one part of their work.

1. Putting Philosophy
into Practice
Laurie O’Donnell
Director of Learning and Technology
Learning and Teaching Scotland
Monday, 20 October 2008

2. Overview
Philosophy A
Philosophy B
Putting Philosophy B into Practice
With a little help from ...
Questions
Monday, 20 October 2008

3. Philosophy A
Education Broken but can be fixed (quickly)
Technology Drives change
Teachers Another problem that needs to be fixed
Learners The future workforce
Innovation Let a thousand projects flourish
Success Input targets & attainment
Curriculum Don’t trust the teachers
Monday, 20 October 2008

4. Philosophy B
Education Long term investment in the future
Technology Enables, supports & accelerates change
Teachers Supported professionals
Learners More than just the future workforce
Curriculum Guidance & support for teachers
Innovation Got to be scalable and sustainable
Success Wider long term benefits
Monday, 20 October 2008

5. Implications of
Philosophy B
Educational change is a
long haul
Developing teacher
professional skills and
judgement is crucial
Technology is just part of
the teacher’s repertoire
Monday, 20 October 2008

6. Example 1:
LTS Online Service
Single integrated site
40,000 web pages to support Scottish teachers
First port of call for 90% of teachers seeking
resources, advice, exemplification & support
30,000 visits in 2003
Over 4,000,000 visits in 2007
http://www.ltscotland.org.uk
Monday, 20 October 2008

7. Example 2:
Glow
National schools intranet
32 local authorities
3,000 schools
53,000 teachers
700,000 learners
Features
Web based, single sign-on
National tools and environment
Designed to support sharing and collaboration
http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/glowscotland
Monday, 20 October 2008

8. Example 3:
The Scottish Learning Festival
Festival of learning
Showcase of Scottish education
170 practitioner led seminars
International keynote speakers
Fringe events
200 exhibitors
7,000 delegates over 2 days
Focus on learning, teaching and cpd not just ICT
http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/slf
Monday, 20 October 2008

9. Example 4:
Connected Live
Discourse shifting r&d
Social media for learning
Scalable
Sustainable
http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/connected
Monday, 20 October 2008

10. Example 5:
The Consolarium
Discourse shifting r&d
Commercial
computer games for
learning
Scalable
Sustainable
http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/consolarium
Monday, 20 October 2008

11. With a little help
from ...
Politicians (committed to long-term development)
Civil servants (who see the big picture and can
manage risk)
Secure funding (not based on projects)
Great people (competent/passionate/grounded)
who are doing the right things for the right reasons
Resilience
Hard work and a whole lotta luck
Monday, 20 October 2008

12. Contact
Laurie O’Donnell
E:l.odonnell@ltscotland.org.uk
W:www.ltscotland.org.uk
B:ltsblogs.org.uk/laurieodonnell
Monday, 20 October 2008