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ICT in the Curriculum | Staff | ICT Hardware

Free and Cheap Software for Students

Parents can buy Microsoft software for 10-15% of its street price from www software4students.co.uk. I would suggest Office 2007, including OneNote, if the computer has a good enough specification. Access is not necessary, but Publisher is worth having. Only available to DCPS families, although most schools are signed up.

Textease is available free of charge to DCPS families and is the software of choice in many areas until the end of Year 6. You can download from www.softease.com. Follow the community@home links. Once installed, the password can be obtained from nford@dcpskent org.

Older pupils (or siblings, or yourselves) might value the use of Serif DrawPlus and PhotoPlus and their other packages. Older versions are often on magazine cover discs, but you can buy the latest for £10 per title. The Design Suite of 4 programs is £35, and all 6 cost £45, plus p/p. Please contact nford@dcpskent.org after 1/9/08 for an order form or phone 0800 376 6868 and quote ref TN17 3NP.

If you are buying a laptop for your child to use at school, do consider the Asus eeePC 901 (not 700). A full featured laptop for approx £300, we are trialling one here (June 2008) and it is stunning. 1kg, A5 in size, and no moving parts to break so can be carried around without worrying about back strain or breakage. Windows and Linux versions to consider. If you want to come and see one in action, contact Mr Ford and make an appointment.

Aims of ICT

Here at DCPS we aim to allow pupils to explore the variety of ways that ICT can help them learn more effectively. ICT is used within a wide range of subjects from the youngest 3-year-olds to the pupils at the top of the school.

By teaching the pupils that computers and related technology are merely tools that enhance their learning experience, we hope that they will develop a critical awareness of the place that ICT tools have in their lives.

All Upper School children are asked to sign the Responsible Use document below which is printed in the termly Prep Book and displayed in classrooms. (adapted from KCC, with thanks).  The school operates a software filter and inappropriate web-sites are blocked.  Sites are categorized, and repeated attempts to access those which involve sex, violence, racism, drugs, or violence, may lead to disciplinary action.

RESPONSIBLE AND SAFE USE OF THE INTERNET AND COMPUTERS

The school computers and Internet connection are for learning.  They can be used by everyone in lessons and break times.  These rules will help you to be fair to others and keep everyone safe.

• when you have been looking at the screen for more than 35 minutes non-stop, you need a break. Looking out of the window rests your eyes. Stand up and stretch after an hour or so.
• use only your own login and password. You must keep these secret. Change your password if you think someone else knows it.
• do not look at, or delete, other people's files.
• do not use floppy disks in school without getting them checked by the ICT department.
• if the  website or software has sound, either turn off the speaker or use headphones.
• you must ask for permission before printing in colour.  Private printing is not allowed.
• only e-mail people you know, or those approved of by a teacher.
• e-mail messages must be polite and sensible.
• when sending e-mail, do not give your private address or phone number.
• do not arrange to meet anyone you do not know.  Never arrange to meet your key-pals in the real world without your Parent/Carer, and stay in a public place.  People may not be who you think they are.
• you are not allowed to use public Internet chatrooms; only those approved by the Head of ICT.
• ask for permission before opening an e-mail attachment.  They can carry viruses which may damage your work, or the computer system.
• you must not search the Internet for material a teacher or parent would not approve of.
• if you see anything on a web site you are unhappy with, or if you receive e-mail you do not like, tell a teacher immediately.

The school may check your computer files, and will use software to monitor e-mail and the Internet sites you visit. 
If you deliberately break these rules, there will be consequences: for example, you could be suspended for quite some time from using the Internet or computers - except in lessons.

The school will exercise its right by electronic means to monitor all users of the school's computer systems, including the monitoring of web-sites, the interception of E-mail and the deletion of inappropriate materials in circumstances where it believes unauthorised use of the school's computer system is, or may be, taking place, or the system is, or may be, being used for criminal purposes or for storing text or imagery which is unauthorised or unlawful.

To show you have read and understood this

Please sign and date:

Pupil                             …………………………  ………………..             Parent/Guardian           …………………………  ………………..

Form teacher/Tutor       …………………………  ………………..

PERSONAL WEBPAGES

A recent phenomenon on the web is the social web-site – blogs, Flikr, Wikipedia, etc.  These are wonderful tools when well-used, but there is always the opportunity to abuse them.  A number have now sprung up where anyone can create a personal web-page and these have great appeal to teenagers - examples include Bebo, Zorpia and MySpace.

We are blocking access to these sites in school, for several reasons.  Whilst some require a minimum age limit of 13 or 14 to register, there are no checks to make sure that the information supplied is correct, so anyone can fake an identity. Some of the material posted on these pages is probably not what you would want your children to see.  There have been instances of bullying reported from other schools, as users can post comments about others.  Whilst it is possible to set permissions on pages, so that only invited friends can view, children rarely do this as it defeats the purpose.

We will also be educating the children in how to use these sites safely, as they are here to stay and serve a useful social link between far-flung friends.  You may want to take appropriate action at home, perhaps checking what photos are being uploaded.  Only the vaguest of addresses should be given – perhaps W Kent, or SE England – certainly not postcodes, phone numbers or any other details that could help locate a child.

We would advise you to be vigilant regarding your children’s on-line activity, asking them about webspaces, posted information and blogs.  You may like to search Google (<Internet safety children> works well) for further guidance on teaching your child how to use the internet safely.

SOME USEFUL WEBSITES: