HAMILTON COLLEGE STUDENTS GRAB OPPORTUNITY TO BE HOME LOAN
WITH TOSHIBA PORTABLE PCS
To achieve official Technology Status a secondary school has
to demonstrate commitment to the scheme through substantial, long-term investment
in information technology. The
outcome of this investment being that pupils and staff benefit in all subjects
across the curriculum, educational standards are raised and the local community
benefits as the school forges strong links with businesses and organisations
and passes its knowledge and experience on to other schools locally.
Recent Government figures (January 2000) show that 480 secondary
schools have risen to the challenge of becoming specialist schools.
Some in languages or sport but the majority having opted for Technology
Status.
Qualification for the scheme is not automatic; each school must
raise £50,000 in sponsorship and prepare a four year development plan with
measurable targets in teaching and learning in the specialist subject area.
It must also make provision to involve other schools and the wider
community. In return, the Government
sets up a capital grant for £100,000 plus an additional £120 per pupil per
year.
For a school such as Hamilton College, the logistics of such
an enterprise are made slightly more demanding due to its locality.
Principle, Eddie de Middelaer, is realistic about the challenge facing
his school: ‘Hamilton College
is on the outskirts of Leicester and most of the Council estates are located
on the outer ring. An estimated
65% of the local community is currently looking for work.
However, the exciting thing about this scheme is that it is sustainable,
even in our area and it gives our pupils an educational equality they might
not otherwise have attained.’
Technological investment for Hamilton College has become even
more of an issue since it has recently had to absorb two other schools from
the area, taking it up to a total of 1,200 pupils.
Backing for the bid has come from Toshiba, ABK and local companies
such as ICT Co UK.
Eddie de Middelaer continues: ‘Our Technology Status bid is scheduled for June 2000 but we
more or less hit all the criteria anyway.
Technology already accounts for 10% of the core in our Design Technology
and 20% in Science. Official
Technology Status is the next step forward for us and it will ensure considerable
investment in the technology we see as key to furthering our ambition to propel
Hamilton College where we want it to go educationally.
We will be investing in programs such as CAD/CAM dataloggers for science
and maths work and on the hardware side we aim to fully exploit the power
and flexibility of laptop computers combined with wireless networking technology.
Every one of our teachers will have a laptop, which will help tremendously
with training and hands on experience.
History, English, Drama, Sport, every area of the curriculum will grow
as a result, not just IT. The
targets we had already reached were challenging but we want to see further
rapid but sustained growth.’
In order to encourage closer links with the business community
and official organisations, schools are encouraged to secure local funding
for their bid. A major plus for schools are the links forged with local businesses
as a result. In the case of Hamilton
College these links have also led to an exciting development which will see
every one of its pupils being able to benefit from portable PC technology
and Internet access in both the classroom and their own homes.
ABK services to education has supplied educational establishments
with white goods for over 50 years.
Over this time it has grown to become the only company in the UK which
can offer schools everything from design, build and refurbishment of existing
facilities through to the provision of all items of food technology, textile
technology and information and communication technology equipment.
Plus, schools can choose either to buy or rent these items.
Mike Fitton, Managing Director at ABK is enthusiastic about
technology, both as a business tool and an educational aid.
The company supplies Nortel Networks’ wireless networking technology,
combined with Toshiba portable PCs to schools all over the UK.
‘Over the last three years ABK has metamorphosised into a ‘virtual
company’ simply making excellent use of the technology we recommend to our
clients. We are heavy users of networked PCs, yet you won’t trip over
any wires in our offices.’
But perhaps the greatest opportunity Hamilton College’s Technology
Status will give its pupils is the Home Loan scheme it plans to operate.
This scheme is the brainchild of ABK and the company hopes to see it
become a nation-wide initiative before too long.
Pupils and parents rent a Toshiba portable PC on a weekly basis and
at a subsidised rate. In this
case the Toshiba Satellite 1620 CDS, designed specifically for the education
sector.
The Satellite 1620 CDS is transferable between school and home
and is easily able to access the Internet and school LAN in order to help
with homework research, IT training and data storage. For the first time ever, Hamilton College’s students will be
able to take full advantage of everything the world of IT has to offer education
and their parents will be able to improve their computer skills and keep up
with their child’s progress too. For
a school such as Hamilton College this is an unparalleled opportunity.
Mike Fitton explains why wireless technology is the way ahead
for education: ‘Think about the
layout of most typical schools today - they are spread across large sites,
needing, say, three or four portakabins to house extra classes and pupils
have to move from room to room for each lesson.
Portable PCs and wireless LANs are the only truly viable solutions
which can give teachers and pupils easy access to a PC, the Internet and the
schools own LAN.’
Nortel Networks will supply the wireless LAN through which every
portable PC in the school will be linked and this leading global communications
company is keen to see educational establishments benefit from such up to
date technology. The BayStack
600 Series wireless LAN which will be installed has been designed with enterprising
small/medium sized businesses in mind - a perfect analogy for such a forward
thinking school as Hamilton College.
For information on all aspects of this information please contact Richard Lomer at Toshiba on 01932 841600, Karen McCourt on 01932 822814 or email us on .
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