p2pnet news | Freedom:- British teachers say they want proof that government plans for online ‘real time reporting’ on children’s progress won’t mean more work for teachers.

“The so called ‘real time’ reporting of pupils’ progress will allow parents to access frequently updated information on achievement, attendance and behaviour ‘whenever and wherever’ they want through school intranets, text alerts, emails or even video conferencing,” says Guardian Unlimited, going on:

“The idea was mooted in the Children’s Plan last month as a way of getting parents more involved in their child’s education, particularly ‘hard to reach’ parents from deprived areas or from some minority ethnic groups.”

But the story quotes Steve Sinnott, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, as saying schools minister Jim Knight needs to be more specific about the goals of real time reporting.

Pupils’, “attendance, behaviour and academic performance will be put online by 2012, allowing parents to check their progress daily. Schools are even being encouraged to use text messaging or video-conferencing to communicate,” says Times Online, continuing:

“The idea could end parents’ evenings, with teachers instead providing daily updates on ‘real-time’ reporting systems. Schools could also monitor how often parents checked their child’s progress.

“Parents’ groups said that the online updates could devalue the impact of the annual school report, and voiced concerns about the security of sensitive information. Teachers’ leaders said that it could add to workloads. Even the Government admitted that parents could be swamped with data if schools were not sufficiently selective. However, parents who find it hard to get detailed information about their child are likely to welcome the development.”

On Monday, p2pnet reported another Guardian Unlimited.story had Knight stating real-time reporting of a child’s progress, via a school intranet and/ or directly through each student’s designated personal tutor, would mean parents “can start to have a proper conversation and get properly involved in that child’s learning”.

He said he wants to “create a genuine personal alliance between parent and teacher, parent and tutor which can radically change the outcomes for children, particularly the most disadvantaged which is the biggest frustration that we have”.

Knight is in talks with companies such as Microsoft, BT, Sky, Virgin and RM, “to help close the widening achievement gap between pupils from the richest and poorest families,” said the story.

It can, though, “be safely assumed any involvement with Microsoft, et al, will in some form or another ultimately mean private and personal information on the children, their parents, activities, trends, and so on, will seep into corporate marketing data banks,” p2pnet suggested.

This in turn could lead to even more marketing intrusions into classrooms than exists already.

Slashdot it!

Also see:

Guardian Unlimited – Teachers fear email reports mean more work, January 9, 2008
Times Online – Parents to get daily class reports online, January 9, 2008
p2pnet – Compulsory Net access for UK children?, January 7, 2008
Guardian Unlimited – Plan to give every child internet access at home, January 4, 2008

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 9th, 2008 at 7:21 am and is filed under Freedom. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

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