Information Scotland The Journal of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals in Scotland ISSN 1743-5471 Issue contents | Journal contents | About the online edition of the journal April 2004 Volume 2 (2)

School libraries

Join the band

Catherine Kearney outlines the benefits of the Scottish Schools Digital Network which is connecting up all schools in Scotland.

The Scottish Schools Digital Network (SSDN) (www.ltscotland.org.uk/ssdn/) is the latest key development for the National Grid For Learning, (www.ngfl.gov.uk/) the initiative launched in 1998 to take forward the educational benefits of ICT to schools and the wider community.

The SSDN is being led by Learning and Teaching Scotland (www.ltscotland.org.uk/), the body sponsored to advise the Executive and to support development in learning and education. SLIC is working with LT Scotland within their ICT Development Reference Group, to explore the challenges and opportunities for the library community as SSDN is rolled out.

The SSDN encompasses pre-school, primary, special and secondary education with links to both FE and HE. The first stage – ‘Interconnect’ – has already been implemented linking all 32 education authorities via a broadband network, to each other, to SQA (www.sqa.org.uk/) and LTS. As in FE and HE sectors UKERNA (www.ukerna.ac.uk/) will deliver the service.

Broadband is the term used to describe a wide range of technologies that enable high speed always-on connections between computers and provide enhanced access to the Internet. The Scottish Executive in Connecting Scotland – our broadband future (www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/life-long/csbf-00.asp) outlined the vision of ICT and broadband in particular as the strategic imperative for business and education. Its commitment to exploiting the full potential of broadband in education is demonstrated in funding the SSDN.

Within education broadband technology is the key to a wealth of new opportunities which have the potential to change the way students learn, to widen access and to transform the learning experience as well as make more efficient the management of schools. High bandwidth opens up a range of possibilities for using the Internet as a key educational and communication tool. For example, it allows sharing of large datasets very quickly, promotes collaborative work, encourages sophisticated online content, supports videoconferencing, and improves efficiency.

The challenge for SLIC and the library community as the SSDN procurement exercise progresses is to anticipate how service development can be taken forward in this online environment. School broadband strategies will articulate how it will be incorporated into teaching and learning and librarians will want to be involved in ‘on’ and ‘off’ campus service development and curriculum support issues.

The SSDN is planned to be a secure online environment which will be used to deliver services, applications and content to schools across the country. Its core elements will include:

1. An authentication system to permit secure access
2. A virtual learning environment
3. A range of collaborative communications tools

1. An authentication system to permit service access offers potential for libraries to offer a range of resources and services to learners irrespective of location. Choosing e-resources to be delivered in this way could become a matter for discussion with other e-content providers like the public library sector to maximise access to resources and minimise unnecessary duplication. The potential exists for differentiating content offered remotely and on-site with decisions on sophisticated content delivered via broadband perhaps best kept for ‘on’ campus delivery while other reference resources may be ideal for delivery to the desktop for those with narrowband connectivity in the home.

2. A virtual learning environment (VLE) is a piece of software which delivers controlled access to learning materials, tools to create online content, tracking of learner activity and achievement, communication tools (chat, email, bulletin boards) and collaboration tools (online forums, e-diaries) The development of VLE’s in HE and FE gives school libraries experience to draw upon when considering how services can be extended. The recent publication of the SLIC FE Quality Toolkit (www.slainte.org.uk/Files/pdf/FEnet/toolkit03.pdf) also provides a wealth of useful examples for online service development and integration with VLE’s. As in other education sectors schools will want to ensure that the library service is working towards integration with whole school ICT.

3. Collaborative communication tools. For the first time in schools the potential opened up by sharing resources or working together on initiatives in real time can be realised. Using net meetings in an online environment means that single person services are more able to participate and contribute because it doesn’t require closing the library. Cross sectoral communication and cooperation also becomes possible using the technology included within SSDN. For librarians, it offers new possibilities such as an online community of practice where good ideas and collaborative tasks can be shared. New possibilities will develop through chat and conference facilities, and using instant messaging and videoconferencing.

Librarians and teachers need to have a clear understanding of how broadband can help them do their job more efficiently and effectively. Establishing a shared vision of the potential of broadband to deliver SSDN content is very important to SLIC because it facilitates links from schools to the wider community – public libraries and museums, for example – to widen access to educational material and provide scope for joint initiatives and partnership working. SLIC will continue to offer support for the change management process that will accompany the introduction of broadband ICT into schools and seek to assist in articulating how broadband can best be embedded in the learning services of schools.

Cathy Kearney is Assistant Director, SLIC.

Information Scotland Vol. 2 (2) April 2004

Information Scotland is delivered online by the SAPIENS electronic publishing service based at the Centre for Digital Library Research. SLAINTE (Scottish libraries across the Internet) offers further information about librarianship and information management in Scotland.