Inclusive Technology shortlisted for Manchester Evening News business awards

Inclusive Technology, the special education needs specialist which RM owns 25% of, is shortlisted in the Manchester Evening News Business of the Year Awards. Inclusive is a contender in the under £10m turnover category.

See the Manchester Evening News Web site for more details.

The Guardian on assessment and testing

It’s summer, so no surprise that education correspondents are talking about examinations. Interesting though that Polly Curtis, the Guardian’s Education Editor, has chosen to file a positive piece on e-testing; it makes a change the usual “exam system buckles under the strain” coverage.

The Guardian piece focuses on how Simon Lebus, Chief Executive of Cambridge Assessment, sees e-Testing developing over the next 10 to 15 years.

RM has worked closely with Cambridge Assessment, providing technology solutions that help them deliver their vision of computerised testing. So far, most of the activity has been in e-Marking; however, as the Guardian says, there’s more going on than that. The piece talks about a “fully e-assessed GCSE in environmental and land-based science”, which 1,800 candidates will take this summer. RM has worked with OCR (the division of Cambridge Assessment which offers the qualification) to develop the on-screen tests and to manage the test delivery process.

e-Testing is largely a pilot activity at the moment; don’t forget though that e-Marking was a pilot activity only a few years ago. The work OCR has done with environmental and land-based science is a clear indication of the direction things are travelling in.

Public service – private delivery

An interesting piece in Friday’s FT about future delivery models for public services. There’s no mention of education but it’s easy enough to see a read across. With the Conservative party talking about giving state schools independence, it’s interesting to speculate how radical they might be.

TimesOnline visits RM Group company Isis Concepts

SchoolGate, a TimesOnline blog, is asking the question, “Do our children need better furniture to help their school experience?” They visited recently-acquired RM Group company, Isis Concepts, to find out.

The blog post is here, and it makes interesting reading. The conclusion is that furniture does make a difference, but SchoolGate worries that it won’t be given the priority it deserves. Looking at budget recommendations for the BSF programme might make you more optimistic. With something like £1m allocated for furniture, fixtures and equipment in a typical 1000-pupil school, it could be that pupils will get the environments they need.

An interesting aside, SchoolGate says, “it was seeing the items which made all the difference to my understanding”, which is exactly why RM has opened the REAL Centre. It’s well worth a visit if you want to understand how a well-designed educational environment can contribute to teaching and learning.

(Even) bigger role for Partnerships for Schools

Partnerships for Schools (PfS), the agency responsible for delivering BSF, is to take responsibility for all of the English Government’s schools capital programmes. This means that PfS will take over the management of the Primary Capital Programme (£1.6bn), Devolved Formula Capital (£1.6bn) and Targeted Capital Programmes (£1.8bn). The transfer of responsibility from the Department for Children Schools and Families takes place on 1 October 2009.

Effectively PfS now has oversight of all strategic investment in the fabric of England’s schools, which makes PfS Chief Executive, Tim Byles, one of the most influential men in education. It’s a very strong endorsement of PfS, clearly indicating the DCSF’s approval of the way Byles’ team has been rolling out the BSF programme. Byles’ quote in the press release announcing the change sets out his rationale for why PfS are the right people for the job:

For each of the last three years now, BSF has met or exceeded its delivery targets for school openings and we have worked hard to improve the processes that support the delivery of the programme – most recently introducing changes that look set to deliver savings of up to £250m.

California streaming

Listeners to this morning’s Radio 4 Today Programme may have heard Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzeneggar, talking about replacing text books with Internet-delivered curriculum materials. There’s a summary piece on the BBC news Web site.

Some commentators have immediately jumped to the view that Arnie’s initiative is a combination of cost saving and eye-catching diversionary politics. And it is easy to be cynical, especially given the current state of the Californian economy. However, there’s a real trend to be spotted as well – it’s a clear indication that, in the Obama era, American policy makers are embracing technology as a modernising force in education.

Good news for Computrac, who will provide some of the classroom technology required.

(Credit, by the way, to John Dunford, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, who was the Today Programme’s talking head on the story. As always, John’s balanced response made a lot of sense, suggesting that there’s place for all kinds of resources.)

Richard Holway – ReEducation

A couple of weeks ago, RM launched the Real Centre – a showcase for its educational solutions – and announced the acquisition of Isis Concepts. There was some comment – including in Richard Holway and Anthony Miller’s TechMarketView – that this was perhaps a diversification too far for a SITS specialist.

Richard came to see RM recently and came away more enthusiastic – hopefully he won’t mind this blog linking to his comments about his visit. He left RM with a good challenge though:

RM needs to ensure that it doesn’t replace one low-margin commodity business (hardware) with another (furniture and other resources). Their challenge now is to get the new business mix reflected in improved financial performance and therefore shareprice. It will not be an easy ride – transformations like this never are; particularly during a period when public sector spend will be under close scrutiny.

New Non-Executive Director for RM Asia-Pacific

Educator, educational software developer and entrepreneur, Bruce Dixon, has joined the Board of RM Asia Pacific as  a Non-Executive Director. Bruce’s detailed biography is included below – suffice to say, he’s made a significant contribution to developing the use of learning technologies, not just in Australia, but in the US, Canada and the UK as well. 

Over the last twelve months, the Asia-Pacific team has strengthened significantly, most notable with the appoint of Nathan Turner as MD. The appointment of Bruce adds real national expertise.

Bruce’s biography:

From a background as an educator, educational software developer, business and social entrepreneur, and strategic consultant, Bruce Dixon has developed a unique niche in building effective strategies for educational leaders and policy makers around the effective use of emerging technologies.

His work in Australia throughout the late 80’s and 90’s led the development of the first 1-to-1 student:computer  initiatives in the world. In 1996, he took the concept to North America, Canada and the UK, before co-founding the not-for-profit Anytime Anywhere Learning Foundation, which provides thought leadership and resources to policy makers and educational leaders in the effective implementation of 1-to-1 initiatives world-wide.

In 1997 Bruce received a award from the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC for his work world-wide  pioneering ubiquitous access to technology, and in 2006 was named as one of  “20 People to Watch”” by the National School Boards Association of America.

Bruce continues to work on a diverse range of innovative projects that aim to making learning a more compelling experience for kids through their immersion in a technology-rich learning environment, and continues to challenge traditional notions of what school should be. He has recently taken up the position as Director of ideaslab in Victoria to better explore the dimensions of what learning technology might make possible.

International accolade for Glow

Glow, Scotland’s pioneering intranet for schools, has gained international recognition at the Learning Impact Awards 2009, receiving a top Platinum Award. Glow was named UK & Ireland regional Award winner in September 2008, then went on to receive top honours internationally. Approximately 50 learning projects made it to the final stage, and Glow received one of only three Platinum Awards.

The Award is a major endorsement of the Scottish Government’s bold and innovative move to build a national learning platform, serving every learner in the country.

RM provides the technology for Glow, which is managed by Learning and Teaching Scotland, the body responsible for the development and support of the curriculum in Scotland including exploring, promoting and developing new technology in education.

Learning and Teaching Scotland has issued a press release giving more details. The full list of projects, along with more details about the Learning Impact Awards and the IMS Global Consortium, which gives them, are here.

Isis Concepts joins the RM Group

Isis Concepts, which creates inspiring learning spaces for schools, has joined the RM Group. Isis is a well-established supplier of specialist education interiors, with significant intellectual property – both in its unique furniture designs and its understanding of how the physical environment can help education.

The details of the transaction are all in this Stock Exchange announcement, so nothing more to say here. It is worth adding some colour to what “innovative education interiors and furniture” really means though. Click over to the Isis Concepts’ Web site and you can see a video clip from the BBC’s Working Lunch show. In it, Nick Topliss, Isis Concepts MD, explains how his concerns about his daughter’s handwriting led to an ingenious new chair design.

Some background to the market opportunity mentioned in the clip: Partnerships for Schools’ guidance for BSF new-build programmes suggests spening £1,000 per pupil (about £1m in total for a typical school) on furniture, fittings and equipment.