Primary Learning Platforms: Questions and Answers:

Q. "How will primary use of learning platforms differ from that in other sectors?"

A. Our view is that many of the traditional characteristics of primary education, such as a more experiential approach and opportunities for social engagement are likely to be carried over into primary virtual learning environments. There will be perhaps less emphasis on presenting sequences of learning objects and more provision for discussions and collaboration. There are also issues around usability, with text heavy interfaces and resources being perhaps less appropriate with younger pupils.

Q. "How can teachers be encouraged to participate in this sort of community of practice?"

A. The barriers to entry need to be kept as low as possible, with membership of the community ideally available for free, and an easy, intuitive interface. Providing a single port of call for resources and the opportunity to experiment with a range of tools will appeal to many. It is, though, only through the active participation of its members that the community can achieve the vibrancy necessary to make continued engagement a reality. Experienced online facilitators and expert 'hotseats' may go some way to promoting this crucial aspect of the community. Given the right tools and encouragement, community members will themselves be able to populate the online environment with the resources and insights that will motivate fellow professionals to participate, thus making the community self perpetuating.

Q. It is vital that primary teachers see learning platforms as potential hosts for rich media, a wide range of activities and social engagement possibilities. It is vital they learn about this through experience and consider some key questions:
How can the need to show this richness of opportunity be balanced against the need to see teachers as learners, who need to work within their own 'safety zone', tackling new concepts when ready?

A. Our model of providing a landscape for participants to explore at their own pace addresses this issue. By allowing teachers to access those areas that are most relevant to them, perhaps as necessitated by issues arising in their classroom practice, they can comfortably find their feet within the environment within their own 'safety zone'. As they explore other areas of the landscape, through the encouragement of the other members of the community, their horizons and experience will broaden, as is often the experience of those who move from legitimate peripheral participation to full membership of communities of practice.

Q. Are the primary teachers entering this CPD landscape envisaged as self-starting independent learners or is it necessary to consider the pedagogy best adopted by those who will motivate, help and guide?

A. As professionals engaged in education, we would look for and encourage a degree of autonomy from CPD participants. Help, motivation and guidance will come from the other members, who are of course also teachers, of the community themselves for the most part. Through taking on this role, with guidance from those creating and maintaining the community, participants will gain insight into and experience of online mentoring and tutoring which will inform, and be informed by, their use of learning platforms within the setting of their own school community.

Q. The CPD landscape envisaged is extensive and will take time and money to implement. What are the priorities? Which bits should be implemented first?

A. Although both time and money may be necessary to set the wheels in motion, as and when the community attains a certain critical mass it would become self-perpetuating, and take to itself the responsibility of resource development and selection, facilitation and moderation, and thus costs could be reduced to the level of those usually associated with web-hosting. The priority has to be the infrastructure. NAACE (or whoever) doesn't provide the CPD, NAACE merely facilitates the environment in which the participants can learn from one another. The key thing is ensuring a sufficient level of participation for the community to become self-perpetuating, and thus barriers need to be kept low, and it needs to be well publicised. More practically, the sandbox facility will allow participants to gain some experience of using learning platform tools for themselves within a supportive setting, and the areas of personalisation and social learning are likely to be of most importance in terms of transforming learning.

Q. The community of practice will need expertise in a wide range of pedagogic knowledge and skills.
Is an individual primary school able to satisfactorily engage in CPD on learning platforms by itself or is there an implication that CPD in this area for primary schools must necessarily be arranged inter-school or in communities of schools?

A. Whilst individual teachers and schools would have much to gain through CPD on learning platforms, in the community of practice model that we propose the greatest benefits will flow from the pooling of resources and expertise within a nationwide, virtual community. Within this broader community, it's possible to envisage groups of professionals working together on shared projects, perhaps for use in a single school or authority, perhaps clustered around specific topics or subjects, or perhaps focused on inter-school collaboration.

Q. The intrinsic motivation to join the community of practice and extrinsic motivation of accreditation will work for some, not all.
In secondary/14-19 the necessity to help students become independent learners able to make use of e-learning, before they leave school and enter the world of work, requires that all students must gain experience of learning platforms. Are there reasons why all pupils at primary level should experience and use some aspects of learning platform functionality?

A. The extrinsic motivation argument holds here too, that in order to prepare primary pupils for learning at secondary school, it's good for them to have some experience of a VLE prior to that. There are though far more compelling reasons for primary teachers to get involved in learning about the opportunities this technology affords - the potential for strengthening links between learning at school and at home, thus leveraging the power of parents' home computers would be one, as would opportunities for collaborative work within and beyond the school,both during school time and at home. Similarly, learning platforms have the potential to open up many possibilities for independent, project-based learning that's long been a part of the good practice of many schools. Put simply, if used well, learning platforms can make a good primary education better still and have the potential genuinely to transform the learning experience.

Q. If all pupils at primary level should experience and use learning platform functionality, what will be the drivers in the primary school which draw the less motivated teachers into appropriate CPD?

A. Primary school teachers are hardworking professionals, committed to providing the highest possible quality of education for their pupils. There's also a long tradition of sharing resources and good ideas in the primary sector. We would seek to draw on that professionalism and cooperative culture to empower primary teachers to join in and contribute to the sort of CPD that they need, day to day and longer term, to let their pupils get the most our of learning platforms. Our vision is for a CPD community that is the first port of call for learning platform ideas and resources, for all primary teachers.