The RSI Shop : Guide to eLearning Credits

What is Curriculum Online?

Launched by the DfES in January 2003, Curriculum Online (www.curriculumonline.gov.uk) is a highly searchable, online catalogue of thousands of multimedia resources, all linked to the curriculum of subjects taught in schools in England.

Resources cover Foundation/Early Years to Key Stage 4, and SEN. It is the definitive list of all resources which can be bought with a school's eLC money (eLearning Credits). Many are free. eLCs are available to all Government-funded nursery, primary and secondary schools in England, up to and including Key Stage 4, as well as Foundation and SEN.

How can teaching professionals use the site?

Users can search the website by subject, title, size of resource or supplier. They can also search specifically for SEN, Foundation or interactive whiteboard resources; or for free resources only. There is the also the option to browse resources relating to a National Curriculum Programme of Study or a QCA Scheme of Work.

The site also offers help and advice on a number of ICT related topics including eLCs, as well as video case studies and guidance on using multimedia resources in the classroom.

The impact of ICT in the classroom

Research attests to the positive impact of ICT in the classroom. For instance, research shows that pupils who make frequent use of computers - in or out of school - enjoy both greater motivation to learn and higher levels of achievement. (Source: ICT in Schools Survey, 2003).

According to the major ImpaCT2 study (DfES 2002), 'ICT has been found to be positively associated with improvements in subject-based learning in several areas.' For instance, the study found that:

" at KS2, high ICT users outperform low ICT users in National Tests for English by 0.16 of a level, or substantially accelerated progress

" at KS3, high ICT users outperform low ICT users in National Tests for Science by 0.21 of a level, or the equivalent of an additional term

" at KS4, high ICT users outperform low ICT users in science and design & technology by approximately half a GCSE grade

What other benefits can ICT bring to teaching and learning?

" It helps to prepare pupils for a world already dominated by the computer.
" It appeals to pupils' natural enjoyment of technology, using devices and applications with which they are already happily familiar in the rest of their lives.
" Multimedia resources offer teachers developmental possibilities too, a chance to build new skill sets and adopt fresh approaches to familiar material.
" According to the 2003 ICT in Schools survey, the majority of Government-funded schools report that ICT 'helps reduce teacher workload in terms of lesson preparation, planning and assessment'.

What are eLCs?

eLC money (eLearning Credits) <http://www.curriculumonline.gov.uk/AboutELCs/WhatareeLCs.htm> is cash given to schools to spend specifically on multimedia resources to support teaching and learning. The deadline to spend this year's money is August 31.

How much money?

By April 2006, schools will have received £330million in eLC money. For the financial year 2004-05, for instance, every school would have received £1000, plus around £9.73 per pupil. This would have been distributed by the end of June 2004.

This money is allocated to individual schools by their LEA. It is available to all Government-funded primary and secondary, and most nursery, education in England, up to and including Key Stage 4.

How are eLCs distributed?

eLC money is distributed via LEAs to Government-funded schools, which decide locally which resources to purchase with it. (Except where schools decide to pool their allotted eLC money to make larger purchases for shared use. Schools may also decide to ask their LEA or Regional Broadband Consortium (RBC) to spend eLC money on their behalf - for example, to obtain a greater diversity of products or to make bulk purchases.)

Teaching professionals buy resources through their school's eLC budget holder, who may be a governor, the head, or the ICT co-ordinator. But of course, every decision-maker and teaching professional in every school can have a say in which resources their school buys with its eLCs.

What's the current deadline?

The current year's funding needs to be spent by August 31 - so schools will want to make the most of their eLC money before the spending deadline expires. Whether it's planning teaching for exams, SATS or next year's curriculum, multimedia resources can be used to provide new approaches to support teaching or to fill short-term planning gaps.

Here are some tips to help teachers make the most of their eLCs:

" Encourage them to check out the Curriculum Online <http://www.curriculumonline.gov.uk/Default.htm> website. Schools can organise all their eLC spending in one place with this definitive and highly searchable directory of all the resources your school can buy with its eLCs - plus many more, also aligned with the school's curriculum, that are available free. Teachers can tailor their searches to focus on, for instance, whiteboard resources or SEN resources or free products only.

" Teachers can use the site's Wishlist facility to 'bookmark' products for the school to purchase - they can email recommendations to their eLC budget holder without leaving the site.

" eLCs can be used to buy content for teaching staff wherever they see the Curriculum Online logo: on websites, in catalogues, at education shows…

" Staff who are looking for recommendations can consult colleagues and read reviews in the education press. They can also read the independent evaluations and teacher reviews on Curriculum Online.

" Good software needs good teachers. Encourage staff to look out for resources that support the ICT your school already has, that suit their teaching style and skills, and that will engage their pupils.