I need to write a development plan

[Little-Miss]

I know this has been asked before and i have got some info from the old threads but was wondering if anyone else had anything to add.

 

Basically i've been working at a primary school since september and if im honest, the IT there is not anywhere near the standard it should be. It obviously didnt take priority with the previous head and i think with the new one its time for a change.

 

So, i think i need to write a plan to show them what needs changing and why and guess what!? I've never done this before so could do with some sort of guideline..(i know there are no set rules) just need a place to start.

 

So any tips for a numptey like me would be gratefully recieved..!

[FN-GM]

I would first identify what needs changing, what isnt working properly, what is broken what people need and how you can improve the service.

[witch]

How about trying to go and see some local primaries? If you could contact the IT people I'm sure they would be happy to show you around and you could get a good idea of what you need to get your school up to scratch.

How big is the school? I work in a junior and a middle school and could give you an idea of what we have in both if it would help

As a guideline, the primary (curriculum network only) has: one 2003 server, one caching server, one UPS, one IT suite with enough computers for a whole class,( which are about 4 years old and should be updated within the year, I think) with one screen and projector for showing what is on the teacher's computer. A network printer

An interactive whiteboard in every class

A laptop for every teacher (part-timers are a bit of an issue!)

A lapsafe with wireless laptops for use by a class (hate these, myself but there you are)

A separate networked machine in the library with dedicated library software

An area with several computers and printer for the staff to use. (useful for PPA time)

Several computers in a room for the SEN team

Separate computer for pastoral support, and staff room (with printers)

Some wireless areas around the school (if you go down this route, spend the money on decent wireless or your life will be very difficult)

Other things like video cameras, webcams, digital cameras etc as desired

That's about it, I think

That's the basics

Edited February 15, 2009 by witch

[shutdownplease]

I dont think there should be any set rules for a devplan - just make sure that whatever you write contains clear targets and goals for your school.

 

Whenever I write devplans I tend to work from a timescale basis

 

- what needs doing tomorrow and in the next few weeks

- what needs doing in the next few months

- where do we want to be in a year, 2 years, etc

 

that way I dont end up listing a humongous amount of tasks which all need to be done yesterday

[JOrdan01070]

Little Miss if you want you can visit the school i look after not sure if it will help but the offer is there. Let me know

[Little-Miss]

I think the school has a lot of outdated equipment.

 

Major bugbear at the moment is lack of printers. Got some new ones on the way so now its a matter of placing them around the school to please the teachers (i know!)

 

Got company coming to do a wireless survey because the place needs flooding but no one believes me.

 

We have promethean boards with these awful Becta boxes i think they're called (a box on the wall, where you can flick between 2 inputs for the board) which are kinda useful, but just cause so much confusion.

 

Teachers laptops are in dire need of replacing, they are bloody awful!

 

There is no computers for staff use accept one in the room where i work, there are network points in the staff room, but they wont allow anything in there as its a place to relax!

 

Can i include the swapping and updating of staff in my plan?!

[machin05]

Always try and focus on how it will improve the teaching and learning and not just the technical capabilities. It's what head teachers get off on!

[penfold]

Talk to the teachers there. See what areas they think are lacking and see what needs to be done. Ultimately you are aiming to maintain a network that can be used for teaching and learning. Is there an equivalent of an ICT Coordinator in primaries? If so talk to them.

 

You can include training as part of your plan as new equipment tends to require initial training(you can also include training for existing stuff if people dont know how to use it)

 

Find out where the school would like to be in 1,3 and 5 years time. See if your network could cope with that as it is, and if not highlight those areas. Identify what you would need to do in order to achieve those aims. As you have said that your IT standard is not good enough, maybe start with creating a minimum client specifcation for your school. Then idenitfy what machines would need to be replaced.

[Little-Miss]

Do you think giving out some sort of questionnaire or something similar for staff to fill out would be helpful?

As long as they no its not for critisim, its what they feel is needed to be put in place in the school to enhance teaching and learning. in the future...

[machin05]

Do you think giving out some sort of questionnaire or something similar for staff to fill out would be helpful?

As long as they no its not for critisim, its what they feel is needed to be put in place in the school to enhance teaching and learning. in the future...

 

I wouldn't get too precious about critism. It's can be a very helpful medium on which to highlight improvements and make important people happy

[Little-Miss]

lol fair enough, good point..

 

*Imagines the piles of pure critisim she will be given back*

[sparkeh]

Do you think giving out some sort of questionnaire or something similar for staff to fill out would be helpful?

As long as they no its not for critisim, its what they feel is needed to be put in place in the school to enhance teaching and learning. in the future...

 

I gave out a questionnaire when I started here, asking what teachers used, how they rated their skill set (with some examples for them to rate how well they could do things) and what they thought needed improving. It was explained that this was not to find fault but to inform future decisions on training and purchasing and most people were positive. Based on the answers we ran some sessions on common themes that came up and had some individual time with the least confident.

 

Unfortunately there will always been some who see it as criticism or a way to undermine them, these are usually the least confident staff and some get defensive about it. Not all, I have one teacher who is scared at using IT but is very keen to learn and the questionnaire was a safe way to admit this.

[tmcd35]

One of the first things I did was look at the replacement life cycle of exiting equipment. I put our teachers laptops and 4 main ICT suites on a rotating 4-year replacement cycle. Then looked at fitting projectors, other PC's, servers, switches, etc into a replacement cycle.

 

The next step was to look at backend changes - improving data backups, virtualisation, UPS's, etc.

 

Finally I looked at improvements in places like SEN, Library, admin computers, etc. Then fitting those improvements into to where the budget might allow.

 

Finally I wrote all this down, taking each area at a time, explaining whats there now, where I think we should be heading, how long it'll take to get there and how much it's likely to cost.

 

It's a very useful exercise just for yourself, to build up a good working picture of your network and the equipment you're managing.

[penfold]

I'm not sure a questionnaire is the right way to go. Some people wont have the time. A simple conversation about what they see as the main problem could be better as this could be a user issue rather than a technical one. You can also ask where they would like to go with their lessons, and see what implicatoins this would have on the network.

[CyberNerd]

going through the ICTMark is a good way to see what needs to be improved from a teaching and learning point of view. They suggest questionnaires as a good form of evidence

 

Becta Schools - Self-review framework - ICT Mark - Apply for the ICT Mark

 

edit: link to the self review freamework

http://schools.becta.org.uk/index.php?section=srf&rid=11966

[alan-d]

Unless you have plenty of time don't bother with a questionnaire. Go around and talk to the staff, teaching and support staff. Get a feel of what they think is lacking and what they would like to see. Most of which you probably know anyway but still ask them, this will make any transition easier later on because they are aware of what you are trying to achieve.

 

As for the DP itself - start by explaining what you have in place and why it should be replaced or updated. Start from the switches to the servers, on to the clients, IWBs, projectors, printers and software.

 

Don't forget to mention things that the user does not see such as backups, filtering and Anti virus.

 

Then create a step by step plan on what to do to put it right, but do it in a way that a non IT reader can understand the basics of what you are saying. For example when I arrived here there were hubs instead of switches, so I gave a brief explanation as to why switches were better and why they should be given priority over new PCs etc. I them moved to the servers and so on. Eventually you get to a point where you are actually creating a 5 year plan at the same time.

 

I suspect money is tight, so break it down into sizeable lumps which could be spread over a number of years (5 year Plan). The management can then see what needs doing, why it needs doing and what the costs are.

 

The more effort you put into this first plan will ease the pain in future years as you already have a base to work from.

 

I might still have a copy of the first one I did here, obviously out of date but if you want a copy, just let me know.

[EduTech]

My Network Manager has just been told to do one of these, luckily he had the head if ICT to help him with it

 

I know that teaching and learning is a big thing they like, which is why we added alot regarding our VLE etc

 

so look for ways that you can improve the teaching and learning etc.

 

And if you have loads of out dated equipment in rooms, put that you would like to get it changed, even if its 1 ICT room a time, and/or a few class rooms a year.

 

I might have something that would help you out, let me see if i can dig it out

 

James.

[Little-Miss]

Edited: ChrisH

 

sorry dude but there are rules against advertising. I would use an approved sponser before contacting you. Speak to one of the mods for more info!

Edited February 16, 2009 by ChrisH