ITWALES.COM - Getting to grips with NGfL Cymru

Posted: Mon, April 19, 2004

Getting to grips with NGfL Cymru

The National Grid for Learning Cymru, or NGfL Cymru, is Wales' resource for online teaching and learning materials. The three-year contract for developing and managing NGfL Cymru is worth Ł2.3 million and was awarded to Curriculum Data Wales in June 2002.

Curriculum Data Wales is a consortium comprising the Welsh Joint Education Committee, BT Education, Learnthings.com and the 22 Local Education Authorities in Wales. itwales.com spoke to Ian Morgan, deputy director of NGfl Cymru.

ITW: What is your background?

IM: Since April 1996, I was the principal education officer for IT within Caerphilly Local Education Authority (LEA), and as part of that role I was involved in the Association of Directors of Education Wales ICT subgroup, which looked at ICT aspects within education in Wales, and tried to bring them together across the 22 LEAs in Wales.

One of the things that the group highlighted was that there was a lack of content available for schools in Wales, particularly ICT based content, which met the needs of the Welsh language and the differences in curriculum within Wales.

We started to do some work on bringing those things together, and developing some ideas, hence the Assembly agreement to develop a National Grid For Learning Cymru. It wasn't necessarily a natural move for me, but when the jobs were advertised within the National Grid For Learning Cymru I applied and was appointed as the deputy director, so my background for the last 8 years now has been in education and ICT, in particular in terms of its use in the classroom.

ITW: Has your technical background been an advantage in your current position?

IM: I think so. If you've got an understanding of what the technology can do, you're in a better position to try and drive technology-based projects forward. I think it's been a learning curve for me in terms of the educational aspects over the last eight years.

ITW: What does Curriculum Data Wales do?

IM: CDW is really just the name under which the consortium operates. That partnership is made up of the 22 LEAs in Wales, the Welsh Joint Education Committee (WJEC), BT Wales, and Learnthings Ltd.

Each of those brings to the table a different set of skills and a different set of abilities. The LEAs are one of the key partners we work with, because of their links with teachers, so we use the LEAs to disseminate information, encourage publicity and to make sure that teachers are aware that NGfL exists. We also work with teachers to understand where their needs are and what their requirements are in terms of developing teaching resources, and also in identifying resources that already exist, where LEAs have developed materials that meet a specific need. We can then draw those resources into NGfL Cymru and share them across all 22 LEAs.

The WJEC is really the contract holder, because the Assembly awarded the contract to them on behalf of the CDW partnership. Because it is the key examinations board in Wales, it provides a strong link in terms of developing resources that specifically meet the needs of Wales and those particular curriculum aspects, and in terms of its Subject Officers, who work closely in the provision of in-service training for teachers as well. This supports the examination process, and again that gives us access to teachers and access to schools.

Our partnership with Learnthings Ltd was really to give us a good platform on which to build - we knew that if we were going to bid for this work with the Assembly, that we had to have a bank of content that we could make available fairly early on in the process, as opposed to just starting from a clean sheet of paper. So working with a commercial partner did two things for us; it gave us a bank of content which we could put up almost immediately, and we're also using their skills to develop online learning material; we can commission specific resources from them.

BT Wales is providing us with technical support and infrastructure and a number of other technical services.

ITW: What is the core complement of staff at NGfL Cymru?

IM: The core complement is four full time staff, plus two seconded Field Officers at the moment. They're teachers, and their role is to work with us in identifying needs by meeting with LEAs and teachers, and going to schools to see what work is being covered. Additionally, they disseminate best practice methods, identify needs... they are our eyes and ears in terms of the schools and the teachers and the LEAs.

ITW: Do you think NGfL Cymru has made significant inroads to reaching all schools in Wales?

IM: I would like to say we have - we're certainly trying to. One of the biggest problems we have is in getting the message to teachers who are actually teaching in the classrooms. We do a lot of work with the LEAs and there is always strong support from them, particularly in terms of their advisory services, and our message is promoted by all LEAs in terms of the in-service training programs - but we're trying to gain access to about 25,000 - 28,000 teachers in Wales.

That's a lot of people to get that message to, and we find that once people are aware of us, use improves dramatically because they understand what it's for and how they can use it.

But we're not being naefve about, we know it will take quite a while to get that message to all serving teachers in schools. The other issue is, not every teacher is going to find that they are able to gain access to some of these resources, particularly in classrooms that haven't got a PC for example, or classes that haven't got an electronic whiteboard. Fundamentally, if the teacher doesn't have Internet access then they can't gain access to the resources - it is as black and white as that.

We understand that we're never going to get every teacher in Wales using it tomorrow, because it's going to be something that needs to evolve over a period of time. I think that needs to be allied with further training for teachers as well, in terms of the use of the technology, which is in our remit.

ITW: Can you tell me a little more about the Innovative Schools Fund?

IM: The aim of the Innovative Schools Fund is to provide some funding to allow teachers, predominantly, to develop their own ideas for online resources. What we've found is that lots of teachers have some excellent ideas in terms of using the technology across the curriculum, and may already have developed some resources which they feel comfortable using in their classrooms.

But as soon as you suggest sharing that across the Web for everyone, there are usually issues that they need to address in terms of tidying it up or ensuring the functionality is appropriate and all those sorts of things.

So the Innovative Schools Fund really is to provide some funding to support that, so it can be used for some supply cover for the teacher perhaps, if the teacher needs to come out of the class for a few days to develop those resources further. They can use it perhaps to provide some technical support, because we wouldn't expect teachers to be technical experts in any shape or form - what we're looking for in that context is good teaching ideas, and we can provide some of the support in terms of making it an effective resource.

Also if it's appropriate, one of the things that we've written into the Innovative Schools Fund is if the teacher does that work in their own time, say on weekends or even evenings, and if they can get agreement with the school, then that money can be transferred to them in payment for the work that they've done.

We'd like to think that it will pay some dividends in the long run, that teachers are actually are getting some form of reward for the amount of effort that they're putting in, in developing these sorts of resources.

ITW: Is the ISF actually up and running?

IM: It is - we had agreement from the Assembly two or three weeks ago, to get started on that process, and already we've got about 18 or 20 projects almost underway. We've had the paperwork come in and we're in discussion with those teachers at the moment about how we take that forward.

ITW: What has the teachers' response been to NGfl Cymru and the Innovative Schools Fund?

IM: There is always a positive response from teachers. When we get our message out there and when you're stood in front of the teachers showing them the types of resources that are available, everybody is very impressed. But we have to be able to get to that stage, where we're actually demonstrating the benefits. If they can actually see it, then they're switched on to it at that point and they can see the advantages in it for them.

But if from the outside all they see is a website with teaching resources on it, then unless they actually go and look at the website, it's sometimes difficult to recognise that it is for them. Teachers are busy people.

The other thing that we need to be conscious of is that the key focus of what we're doing is educationally based, not technology based. That's another message that we're keen to get over to teachers, that it isn't about the IT aspects of it, it's about the curriculum, and just using this as another medium.

It shouldn't be seen as throwing out everything they've ever done before because they can now do it using IT - it isn't about that, it's about where can IT add value, where can it make things better and more interesting for pupils. If using a piece of paper or reading something out of a book gets the message over in a better way than using the technology, then fine, carry on using it that way. It's about that mix and match approach, that blended approach to the teaching, where the online resources add value to those sorts of lessons and resources.

ITW: Does the consortium have any plans regarding sustainability of NGfl Cymru?

IM: Really, we're in the hands of the Assembly - there is an option within the contract to extend for a further two years. That is what we would like to see happening - that we get to a stage where it will be extended so it will have run for five years. Thereafter, I think the Assembly is likely to make a decision as to what happens in the longer term. Either way, I don't think that NgflCymru will go away, I think it will be a continuation in some guise, it's just who and how they deliver that will be up for negotiation later on.

ITW: To sum up, what are your thoughts on NGfL Cymru?

IM: I'm confident that this is the right way to be developing, and I think that it will make a difference but it will evolve over a period of time, it's not a revolution by any stretch of the imagination. You've got to tie it in with everything else in terms of teachers' skill sets and the way curricula are developed, and it will take a while for that to be embedded within teaching and learning. It will take a while for us to be in a position where we can cover the majority of the aspects of the curriculum in terms of the resource database that we've got available to us.

The key message for me is that this is a public/private partnership, and we are working collectively to better the access to ICT based teaching and learning resources. Ultimately, we're about raising educational standards, nothing else... the technology is just the vehicle for delivering it, but the ultimate aim is to raise educational standards.

Contacts

National Grid for Learning Cymru
Tel: 02920 265 177
E-mail: info@ngfl-cymru.org.uk
Web: http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/

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