Chapter 8

1. Sevenoaks Senior College success has been from a number of factors and innovations. Name them.

Vision
(i) Build a clear vision of an adult and workplace oriented culture.
(ii) A high degree of flexibility with all students involved in Structured Workplace Learning.
(iii) Students are actively engaged in their own learning through online curriculum and strong connections to the learning community

Providing a new and innovative learning environment
(i) Focus on the adult ethos, the needs of young people today and the various learning styles of today's students along with industry and community partnerships and word-based learning with school-industry-university links.

Provide young people with an environment where they feel valued and supported
(i) Use preventative and pro-active approach to support young people.
(ii) Each student has a teacher advocate as part of the learning community.
(iii) Structured Workplace Learning gives all students the opportunity to gain practical knowledge and experience in different work environment.
(iv) Vocational Education and Training is integrated across all programs and has provided students with the chance to obtain a range of nationally accredited competencies in the areas of business, communication and information technology, etc..

Innovative infrastructure supporting the community of learners
(i) The establishment of learning suites. The buildings were built with careful planning of the ICT infrastructure.
(ii) A data communications network connecting 200 desktop computers, the phone system and a wireless network for laptops are provided.
(iii) Every teacher has their own laptop, which they can plug into sockets any where within the college.
(iv) One computer is provided for every two students who do not have computers or Internet access at home.
(v) Fees and HECS payments are not charged and the Sevenoaks students may be credited with the module if they continue their studies at Curtin University.
(vi) The Virtual Library is developed to provide online curriculum courses and modules. This provides students with the chance to take responsibility for their own learning and to work at their own pace.

Support from Teacher Librarian or webmaster
(i) Responsible for library and web administration, staff development and online curriculum development.
(ii) Prepare online modules with stress on social-constructivist philosophy where students can work in teams to support knowledge construction.

Support for teachers
(i) A performance management program is used to increase staff awareness and help to prioritize and set realistic goals.
(ii) Teacher Librarian provides support to teachers on developing online materials through the curriculum development system.
(iii) The school head is a transformational leader to ensure the infrastructure, building, school learning environment and staff selection are supportive of school vision and aims.

Partnership with business, community and educational organizations
(i) The partners have made commitment to the college to create the ICT infrastructure and contribute funding.


2. Do you know of a school like Sevenoaks Senior College in Hong Kong? Yes/No? Why/Why not?

As I have not heard of related information before, it is difficult to answer this question. In my view, there may not be such a school in Hong Kong now as the school needs to spend quite a lot of resources (funding, infrastructure, etc.) and manpower on developing similar outcome as Sevenoaks Senior College. But I may say some are developing in different stages or with focus on certain aspects which the school has prioritized. What I know is that some schools have encouraged their students to use knowledge forum, especially during the long holidays.


3. When constructing online curriculum how important was the librarian/webmaster in the role of helping in the transformation of this school?

(i) The librarian/webmaster is responsible for library and web administration, staff development and online curriculum development.
(ii) The librarian/webmaster prepares online modules with stress on social-constructivist philosophy where students can work in teams to support knowledge construction.
(iii) The Librarian provides workshops to help teachers use the ICT environment at the beginning of each year. He is available for as many one-on-one tutorials as the teachers required.
(iv) The Librarian is responsible for facilitating staff development, acting as a staff trainer, a mentor and an initiator in the development or creation of modules of online curriculum.
(v) The Librarian is located in a central position at school and accessible to staff at any time.
(vi) The Librarian helps teachers to develop their online modules without putting too much pressure to them.