Amnesty International
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David Townsend
Website: www.greenswardacademy.org
Personal Statement | ICT Details | Recent Projects
Personal Statement
I qualified as a Business and Economics Education teacher at the Institute of Education, University of London, at the age of 50 in 2000, after entering teaching as a mature student. Having had both a military career, and a career in British industry, I entered education already with an interest in ICT. In addition to my duties as the Teaching and Learning Leader (Law) in a rural secondary school, I also enjoy the role as an ICT Innovation Champion in which I have the pleasure, and sometimes challenge, of helping my colleagues come to grips with new digital technology as it is introduced into my school. An additional role of Disrupting Technology Co-ordinator ( based on Clayton M. Christensen's Disrupting Class) gives me the oppportunity to trial new technologies in the classroom. I am trialling the use of the Big Blue Button virtual classroom bolted onto our new Moodle-based Learning Platform to extend the learning of school refusers, medical absences, ME sufferes and others.
I piloted a trial involving thin client technology, delivered a reduction in the computer's carbon footprint by 80%, and the introduction of an online personalised learning environment to improve the learning of our students. In my own subject, ‘A' level law, I have recently introduced online learning resources, which are kept more up to date than printed textbooks. I am now researching the use of 3-D animated classrooms for looked-after, excluded and other students who find the 'real' world of school difficult to cope with.
I would hope that my membership of MirandaNet will lead to discovering new methodologies, innovations, and the support of like-minded educationalists.
ICT Interests
After taking a degree and PGCE as a mature entrant to teaching (now aged 62) I have taught as a Business Studies and Law teacher for the last twelve years. Before that I generated an interest in ICT as a ‘user’ of computers as the Tactics and Sonar Officer of both conventional and nuclear submarines, and as the Analysis Officer (Royal Navy) of the Joint Acoustic Analysis Centre analysing submarine patrol data. Moving into industry as a General Manager, I first worked for Kalamazoo Business Systems identifying and training staff for business processes that could be carried out on brilliant new machines called PCs. Up until then only larger companies used computers on a bureaux basis. I then helped run a number of small companies, using my interest in the medium to computerise a number of areas of business from accounts to cost estimation and data handling. I found that by keeping away from the ‘nuts and bolts’ of the technical side of computers I was more able to explain and train non-ICT staff to the ‘user’ joys of the digital age.
An additional role has come my way with a one-year bursary to develop the I.C.T. Maturity Matrix for my Academy with an overlap with the Academies Enterprise Trust. So far this has been a fascinating insight into how 'up for it' my colleagues are, with fifty five additional applications being used within departments independent of the standard school applications provided.
Recent Projects
Recent and current projects include:
'Thick or Thin' A Report on a Pilot Study of thin client computers using OpenOffice and Mozilla
'A Digital Day in the life of a rural Essex School' A light hearted look at 24 hours in the life of a non-ICT teacher using ICT in Greensward Academy.
'ICT Innovation Champion' A series of experimental ICT Drop-in CPD sessions after school for all staff including Teachers, Learning Support and Educational Support
'Remote Classroom' Video-conferenced Law lessons where a student in hospital accesses actual lessons live or recorded and interacts with his classmates and the learning using unique Adobe Connect URL links.
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