Djanogly City Academy win national award for best school for use of ICT

One of the Toshiba Ambassador founder member schools won the top accolade in this years BECTA ICT Excellence Awards held in Sheffield last week.

Originally one of the first city technology colleges established in the 1990’s Djanogly has become a beacon for the effective use of ICT, especially for a school serving a challenging area of Nottingham with a third of the intake receiving free school meals and many of the children not having English as a first language.

College Principal, Mike Butler, a founder member of the Toshiba Ambassadors, recognises the importance of having a vision for the next horizon and was renowned for getting rid of fixed interactive whiteboards and replacing them with wireless projectors and tablet computers when the Academy was established 2 years ago.

The school has developed an effective approach to personalised learning through its Learning Gateway and has also been very successful in integrating the management information systems and establishing links with the community.

“It is always a challenge thinking about where we are going next…. but it essential we keep investing in technology enhanced learning and I am clear about what research is telling us” said Mike, proving the point as he attended the opening of the Learning Sciences Research Institute at Nottingham University the day after the BECTA Awards.

A full list of all the award winners can be seen at

http://awards.becta.org.uk/display.cfm?page=1744

The Learning Sciences Research Institute was formally opened by Professor Roy Pea, Professor of Digital Media at Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, recognised as one of the worlds leading thinkers and researcher on the use of digital technologies for learning.

Although LSRI has been open for some time, under the leadership of the “Godfather” of Mobile Learning, Professor Mike Sharples it has an international reputation for research into the science and technology of learning and it explores the cognitive, social and cultural aspects of learning and aims to design innovative technologies and environments for learners and teachers.
It cannot be a coincidence that the these two organisations are just a stones throw from each other and the National College for School Leadership shares the Jubilee Campus with the LSRI so the potential for synergy should be built upon.

Details of research and programmes at LSRI can be seen here

www.nottingham.ac.uk/lsri

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