ICT
Over the last few years, Information and Communication Technology has rapidly become the vital ingredient for teaching, learning, administration and communication in education. At Wellington School, we have taken a number of great steps in keeping pace with these exciting changes.
Although pupils still use pens and paper in nearly every lesson, the benefits offered by this technology are used wherever and whenever it is appropriate, enriching the educational experience of our pupils; it is never used for its own sake. The technology is slave to the educational process and used enthusiastically in teaching and learning where it has proven benefits. This places emphasis on using the technology as a useful tool rather than a subject in its own right.
Pupils are given opportunities to acquire and improve their skills and competence in a variety of areas, with a view to using them within the broader educational context and into life beyond the classroom. ICT is used to plan, source, search for and select information. To explore, develop and exchange information, and gain new information. Finally, to present information including examples of text, number and images.
The school academic network is constantly being improved, expanded and extended and currently has over 120 workstations, with a similar number of standalones, accessible to pupils and teaching staff, at numerous locations around the school. It is run from four servers across a 100Mb infrastructure, which enables efficient file sharing, regularly updated virus protection and filtered Internet access. Using Easylink pupils are able to access their work and other resources stored on the network from home. Plans are afoot to improve network wireless access in the boarding houses and the Sixth Form Centre, increase the number of ceiling mounted digital projectors linked to a networked computer in classrooms and to build a third ICT suite for the Modern Languages department. There are over 80 different applications based around MS Office with many professional graphics, modelling, web editing packages and subject specific software.
- Generic typing skills
- Word processing - Word
- Spreadsheets - Excel
- Databases - Access
- Desktop publishing – Publisher & PageMaker
- Vector graphics – Serif DrawPlus
- Photo manipulation – PaintShop Pro & PhotoDraw
- Animation - Photo Story & Animation Shop
- GIS (Geographic Information Systems) – Memory Map, Aegis 3 & MapMaker Pro
- CAD (Computer Aided Design) - ProDesktop
- Information presentation – PowerPoint & Quandry
- Information retrieval – Internet Explorer
- Modelling & simulation – Robo Arm, Script Logo & Robolab
- Music composition - Sibelius
- Web site authoring – PageMill & FrontPage
- A further 40 different subject specific titles
ICT facilities are open throughout the day from 8am and into the evening for boarders.
The ICT Department teaches pupils as a discrete subject up to the end of the Third Year (Year 9) and then again as a more advanced course in the Sixth Form. Pupils also use ICT on a cross curricular basis within other subjects in all years; such as databases in development studies in Geography, animation in Art, spreadsheets in Mathematics or CAD packages in Technology.