Memorandum submitted by TANDBERG
SUMMARY
— The Building schools for the Future
Programme provides an unparalleled opportunity to improve the
UK's schools to ensure that they can deliver the best education
possible for future generations. In our opinion, for a school
to be truly sustainable we cannot only focus on the bricks and
mortar. We must ensure that the ICT infrastructure that is put
in place is fit for the future.
— In our opinion the Building Schools
for the Future Programme has not, to date, encouraged contractors
to fully bear this in mind when procuring ICT. The capacity for
new technologies to both complement and build on existing teaching
methods is yet to be fully realised.
— The lack of guidance for contractors
involved in the Building Schools for the Future Programme has
meant that many of the new schools will not be able to take advantage
of new technologies such as video conferencing.
— In addition, the challenges associated
with the 14-19 Agenda and transporting students between different
educational providers have not been fully explored. The potential
for delivering a greater proportion of lessons via video conferencing
should be considered at the earliest opportunity.
INTRODUCTION
1. TANDBERG welcomes the opportunity to
respond to the Children, Schools and Families Committee follow
up inquiry into sustainable schools and the Building Schools for
the Future programme.
2. TANDBERG is a leading global provider
of visual communication products and services. The Company has
dual headquarters in New York and Norway. TANDBERG designs, develops
and markets systems and software for video, voice and data. The
Company provides sales, support and value-added services in more
than 90 countries worldwide.
3. In the UK, we work with a range of public
sector organisations including the emergency services, schools,
local authorities, universities, Primary Care Trusts and central
government departments. We also provide services for some of the
leading private-sector companies in the country.
4. The Building Schools for the Future Programme
provides an unparalleled opportunity to improve the UK's schools
to ensure that they can deliver the best education possible for
future generations. For a school to be truly sustainable we cannot
only focus on the bricks and mortar. We must ensure that the ICT
infrastructure that is put in place is fit for the future.
5. In our opinion the Building Schools for
the Future Programme has not, to date, encouraged contractors
to fully bear this in mind when procuring ICT. The capacity for
new technologies to both complement and build on existing teaching
methods is yet to be fully realised.
6. The inquiry is wide-ranging and deals
with a number of areas which it would not be relevant for us to
comment on. However, we would particularly like to share our expertise
on two areas—ICT procurement and how video conferencing
could help to resolve the challenge that transport presents to
the delivery of the 14-19 Agenda.
DEVELOPMENTS IN
THE PROCUREMENT
AND DESIGN
OF ICT FOR
SCHOOLS
7. In the draft ICT output specification[9]
that was consulted on in April 2004, detailed information was
provided for contractors on the procurement of video conferencing
in schools. The specification highlighted that video conferencing
technology "supports the creation of connected learning communities"
and "can be used not only for external use, but also remote
viewing of internal events or lectures."
8. The draft output specification stated
that the service provided "must be able to support the operation
of up to three video conferencing sessions at any one time, one
of which would involve a class of pupils." It also added
that the service "should include a facility for pupils to
watch lessons remotely (eg from hospital)."
9. However, when the final output specification[10]
was published, this information was significantly watered down,
with the document simply stating that "audio and video conferencing
shall be supported." No further information was provided
to help contractors decide what type of technology might be suitable
and how video conferencing technology could improve the educational
environment.
10. This has led to many contractors installing
proprietary web based video solutions rather than standards based
video conferencing equipment.
11. Put simply, standards based video conferencing
solutions comply with the umbrella standard[11]
which is issued by the International Telecommunications Union
(ITU). The ITU issues guidance on how communications devices should
work, developing standards upon which manufacturers can build
new technologies with confidence in their ability to communicate
with any other devices designed to meet the standard. Conversely
a proprietary system is one which does not adhere to these standards
preventing it from connecting to or working with any device outside
of its own solution.
12. The problem with schools installing
proprietary based systems is that it does not allow them to utilise
the JANET video conferencing service—the broadband network
that connects 18 million end users in UK schools, universities,
FE Colleges, Research Councils, Specialist Colleges and Adult
and Community Learning providers. JANET also links third parties
from around the world to schools in the UK free of charge, provided
they possess a standards based video conferencing solution.
13. The quality of video streaming from
proprietary solutions is also generally much poorer than standards
based options, and could not, for example, be used to project
an image of a teacher to enable them to teach a whole class.
14. Standards based video conferencing technology,
however, can be used to teach a whole class, or link classes in
different locations together. For example, we have been closely
involved in the provision of video conferencing to Ernesford Grange
Primary School in Coventry. Our equipment has enabled the local
education authority to overcome a lack of language provision at
some schools by delivering lessons remotely with the physical
assistance of a classroom assistant.
15. Standards based video conferencing units
can also link schools to other educational providers via the JANET
video conferencing service, including museums such as the National
Space Centre in Leicester, the Natural History Museum in London,
the National Coal Mining Museum in Wakefield, and many other institutions
that provide interactive, real-time lessons over video. Many of
the proprietary video solutions currently being offered prevents
the use of the service and the ability to collaborate with other
schools at home or abroad.
16. Unfortunately, due to the lack of guidance
on what systems to buy, contractors are often installing proprietary
web based video conferencing solutions as they are cheaper to
buy than the units supplied by the leading suppliers (all of whom
comply with ITU guidance). However, by installing equipment that
does not have the same level of functionality, ultimately it is
the students that lose out as they cannot use the technology to
its full advantage.
17. Video conferencing also promotes innovative
curriculum design. Video conferencing can be fully integrated
with interactive whiteboard technology and used to record the
"lesson experience" for recall later helping populate
school Learning Platforms for use in revision and extending learning
outside school hours.
18. However, due to the fact that many schools
built under the Building Schools for the Future programme are
only installing proprietary solutions because of the limited guidance
available, it has meant that the vast majority of schools built
under the programme will not be able to benefit from these innovative
ways of teaching.
19. This is despite the six figure investment
that has been invested into the JANET network, which will allow
schools and colleges across the country to be able to make use
of high quality video conferencing technology.
20. Further, more detailed, guidance should
be made available to contractors relating to the educational benefits
of standards based video conferencing, to ensure that more students
are able to benefit from the use of the technology.
DELIVERING THE
14-19 AGENDA
21. In September 2008, the first tranche
of Diplomas will start to roll out. One of the main challenges
to the successful delivery of the 14-19 Agenda will be transporting
students between different educational providers.
22. While the provision of affordable transport
to move students from site to site might be cost effective in
urban areas, it is less likely to be so in rural areas where public
transport is less extensive and less frequent. The greater the
distance between consortia institutions, the greater the cost
and the more time spent travelling during the school day which
cannot be spent learning. This has serious implications for the
delivery of Diplomas.
23. On 30 June 2008, the Department for
Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) announced an injection of
£23 million to help rural areas tackle the travel problems
associated with the delivery of Diplomas. The package includes
funding new Transport Coordinators in 40 of the most rural areas,
who will provide advice and guidance on how to tackle the issue.
This has included ideas such as funding students to travel by
moped between the different establishments.
24. We believe that video conferencing provides
a far more efficient, cost effective and green alternative to
the large scale movement of students from site to site than using
mopeds or minibuses. Now that all schools have broadband, video
conferencing provides a logical and realistic solution to the
challenge that transport presents to the delivery of the 14-19
Agenda.
25. By installing video conferencing in
new schools as part of the Building Schools for the Future programme,
this will allow schools to deliver part of the Diploma courses
by video conferencing. This will allow students greater access
to a variety of specialist teachers, whilst minimising time and
money wasted travelling.
26. Video conferencing has been transformed
over recent years. Modern systems provide the highest real time
video and sound quality in face-to-face communication over existing
broadband infrastructure.
27. An additional benefit of including video
conferencing in new schools is that many employers keen to engage
with the 14-19 Agenda already have this technology in place. This
will help to promote joint working and ensure more effective monitoring
of students' progress in the workplace. There is also considerable
potential to exploit such facilities to deliver careers advice.
28. In our opinion, the challenges associated
with transporting students between different educational providers
have not been fully explored, and the potential for delivering
a greater proportion of lessons via video conferencing should
be considered at the earliest opportunity.
July 2008
9 http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/_doc/6372/LEP%20ICT%20spec%20v3.doc Back
10
http://www.p4s.org.uk/documents/BSF_Standard_Documents/ICTOutputSpecificationTemplateAugust2006.doc Back
11
Specifically the H.323 standard as issued by the International
Telecommunications Union (ITU) which ensures compatibility between
video conferencing systems from around the world. Back
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