New multi-million-pound investment to deliver virtual technology in Dumfries and Galloway schools.
Dumfries and Galloway Council is meeting on Thursday (24 September) where councillors will be asked to agree the investment to deliver virtual technology in schools.
Improvements have already been made to the council’s infrastructure where a “Cloud First” model works well and is delivering services in an effective, more responsive, and more flexible way. The investment would see this way of working rolled out to the region’s schools so that technology can be more resilient and responsive.
Following the announcement by the Deputy First Minister in May stating that schools would be moving to a blended learning model, the council needed to prepare for the delivery of learning online for all our pupils. This built on work that the teams had already started on the delivery of ‘Digital Schools’ for pupils and staff. Although the schools have now returned full time, the momentum has increased to have flexible digital learning in place. This delivery of this virtual technology will ensure that solutions are in place for pupils to continue to learn should local lockdowns in our communities be required.
Elaine Murray, Leader of Dumfries and Galloway Council said: “This multi-million-pound investment will deliver virtual and digital school technology across our region. This will help us provide equal access for all learners to high quality, innovative teaching materials right across our region. We recognise the ways young people learn are changing and evolving at an unprecedented rate.”
Rob Davidson, Depute Leader said: “Our schools have had to change so much because of COVID-19. Having the technology in place to support the delivery of digital learning for all our young people is essential. We need to empower, enable and support our children and young people to realise their full potential regardless of their circumstances or where they live across Dumfries and Galloway
The investment in technology outlined in the report supports our ambition that every school becomes a “Digital School” and that there will be “Digital Champions” in staff and pupils in every school. Staff are currently being recruited to develop the Dumfries and Galloway ‘Virtual School’ – a project that will include the ability to deliver remote learning and teaching for any pupil across the region, ease of joint working across schools including shared resources that can be accessed from anywhere and new, effective delivery methods for staff CPD.
Early testing of a proposed Proof of Concept for the delivery of a virtual solution for our schools was carried out during July and August. This testing looked at several different aspects including using different applications, performance, access to interactive boards, printers and other hardware and testing the access and performance from home.
Following the Proof of Concept, councillors will be asked to approve investment in the infrastructure and the technology to enable the delivery of Digital Schools within the region. This investment will include new licensing arrangements, new software applications, new increased bandwidth in all our schools so digital learning and teaching can be delivered effectively and the upgrades to devices across our primary schools.
More on committee report at https://dumfriesgalloway.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=137&MId=4962
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