Gairloch High School: Using Digital Technologies to Empower Pupil's Learning - Evaluation Report - Executive Summary

The Gairloch High School Project

Gairloch High is a small integrated community school in a remote rural village in Ross-shire in the northwest Highlands. The DTP explored the use of digital technologies across a range of different subject areas within the secondary school: Art, Music, Modern Languages, Computing, Modern Studies, Science and Support for Learning. One of the DTP’s key aims was to create a bank of digital resources.
The other key aim of the DTP was to empower pupils in their own learning and use a greater diversity of teaching approaches. The overall aims and objectives of the DTP were to facilitate:

• Subject departments collaborating in the production of digital lessons.

• Digital lessons becoming an integral part of pupil revision and learning resources for future pupils.

• The development of pupils’ skills associated with the use of digital technologies in order to build up digital resources for use by future cohorts of young people.

• The development of the school Intranet to allow digital video streaming to showcase pupil work.

• The use of online digital resources by future pupils, parents and other members of the community.

• The use of digital technology to enhance and integrate the community school approach, allowing all community partners to work more closely together.

• Pupils in participating departments being able to construct personal e-portfolios of their work.
  

Evaluation aims

This evaluation explored whether the project has impacted on pupils, teachers and the community. The key research questions, derived from the DTP’s aims and objectives, are detailed below with the main findings of the evaluation.

Methodology

The research design employed a qualitative approach using both interview and focus group methods. The research was based on the perspectives of the school’s key stakeholders and consisted of 16 one-to-one interviews with staff; 8 pupil focus groups; 14 telephone interviews with selected parents; and 3 telephone/email interviews with community partners.

Research questions and key findings

The main findings are highlighted below, alongside the evaluation’s key research questions

In each of the subject departments involved in the DTP, do the participating teachers report that involvement in this project has developed their ICT skills and the teaching and learning styles in their subject?

Participants agreed that the DTP was a way to enhance teaching and learning in their own subject and an opportunity to explore the use of ICT within their subject. Staff were able to use experiential learning techniques in a flexible way with pupils. It had ‘allowed pupils to get hands on experience and to use more visual types of learning’. Teachers felt more comfortable with digital technology as a result of the DTP. ‘I’m not scared of it anymore! I don’t see the tension between the process and the product, more like a complimentary relationship. The process is the priority.’ In Modern Studies, pupils made a mini documentary, using iLife software, about the health care needs of the elderly. In Modern Languages, pupils had dressed up in typical French clothing, and were video-recorded speaking in French at three periods throughout the year. The DTP ‘makes you aware of your own teaching and makes you reflect. It opens things up. It impacts on everything.’ In Biology, pupils used PowerPoint software to make presentations about the New Zealand flatworm. ‘Digital technology is no longer special; it is what we do!’  

Are subject departments collaborating in the production of digital lessons?

A key example of collaboration was between the Art and Music departments on a project with S3 pupils. The pupils worked in pairs to create their own videos on the topic of ‘emotions’. ‘They created their own compositions using keyboard, fiddle, harps and bagpipes. The software lets them make up the music…It is an ideal platform because it is all integrated in GarageBand [software].’

Have digital lessons become an integral part of pupil revision and learning resources for future pupils?

Pupils reported using digital resources for revision purposes: ‘Bitesize’ and ‘SCHOLAR’ were used in Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics. Other curriculum resources are being piloted in the school and were under development for the Highland Virtual Learning Environment (HVLE) in Biology and Science. 

Have digital technologies and related pupil skills been developed to enable teachers to build up digital resources for use with future classes?

Examples of some of the newly available resources in participating subject departments are: Inspiration, PowerPoint and digital camera and video recorder. The Internet is routinely integrated into teaching and learning. Also routinely used now are DVDs and the interactive whiteboard, web authoring software and GarageBand. 

What additional digital technology skills have staff in participating subject departments developed?

Some participants had learned additional ICT skills as a result of the project. The new skills included movie making, filming, photography, and music composition. Most staff saw the project as a practical way of keeping up-to-date with technological innovations and pupils’ expectations. 

Have pupils in participating departments constructed personal e-portfolios of their work?

Whilst there was no evidence that pupils had constructed personal e-portfolios, they were able to use the DVDs that they had made in Art and Music to demonstrate their skills in support of their applications for a Community Film and Arts course. 

How do the courses in the participating subject departments differ from those taught previously? What is the ‘added value’ of the digital technologies used on pupil skill development?

Pupils highlighted that the digital technology was opening up new and creative ways of working and communicating their ideas to others. An interesting example was the pupils’ use of video diaries for the Duke of Edinburgh (DoE) award. Another innovative example came from Modern Studies: pupils made a video about UNICEF’s worldwide activities, which has been shown in other Highland schools. 

What is the potential for involving other subject departments and pupils undertaking national exams?

In English, class discussions have been digitally recorded on various topics, such as ‘global warming’. The pupils said that reviewing the video clips allowed them to pick up on mistakes rather than relying on the teacher telling them. They also pointed out that a film of their discussion was to be used as an exemplar with the next year group. 

Do pupils, parents and other members of the community use the online digital resources?

A minority of parents reported that they were familiar with digital technology and regularly used the Internet at home. The overwhelming majority of parents saw digital technology as something very important for their children, but not for themselves. Everyone agreed that it was particularly important for children in such an isolated area to keep up to date with the new technology because it would increase their job prospects. ‘My son can now use the computer a lot more than before and using digital cameras and camcorders gives them a sense of doing something important. Hopefully it will help them going forward career-wise.’

Has digital technology allowed community partners to work more closely together?

The DTP had facilitated a number of school/community partnerships, which are still underway. These include the local radio station, the National Trust for Scotland, and the local heritage museum. ‘I know of pupils who are now adept at video editing who were not beforehand… the local radio station is a fantastic opportunity for pupils who are interested.’ School staff provide courses in the use of digital technology for the community. 

What is the impact of the DTP on other subject departments?

Filmmaking is now clearly an integral part of life in the middle and upper school at Gairloch: ‘all trips and events get filmed. It is time consuming but it is worth it!’ Other subject areas where video techniques have been successfully incorporated include Gaelic (a fashion show with a voice-over in Gaelic) and PE where it has been used to provide formative feedback on pupils’ sports performance.

Conclusion

Very significant progress has been made in deploying digital technology across the curriculum in exciting and innovative ways. However, the extent to which Gairloch High School has met the original, ambitious aims of the Digital Technology Project is mixed. Despite the original consultation process some decisions were seen as divisive by a few staff. The equitable distribution of the DTP resources was an issue for the future and would be addressed in relation to the school’s other priorities which are linked to A Curriculum for Excellence: Assessment is for Learning, and Curriculum Flexibility. Nonetheless the project was of significant value to a range of pupils (including those pupils in Support for Learning): they would like to use it more often and in more subjects across the curriculum.

The report can be downloaded in PDF format by clicking on the link below.

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