Over from Australia: Matt Deeble (left) and Rupert Collins at the launch of The Lighthouse Community Virtual Desktop at the Education Development Centre

Grimsby Telegraph HANNAH KENNARD 21 July 2003

Schools in North East Lincolnshire are set to benefit from a technical revolution which will aid pupils with their studies and massively improve communications between teachers, students and parents.

The Lighthouse Community Virtual Desktop will make it possible for pupils, parents and members of the community to access a vast on-line learning library. The learning material is available anywhere in the world at any time, with log-in dependent on just a single password.

Five years ago, Derek Kennard, senior adviser for North East Lincolnshire's Learning and Childcare Directorate, created the vision "everybody learning, anywhere, anytime".

The scheme is the result of that dream, and the culmination of years of hard work from the authority's information communication technology adviser, Rupert Collins.

He said: "This launch is a celebration of years of hard work.

"It is very exciting, and we are very pleased to be finally launching it.

"It really brings together everybody learning, anywhere, anytime."

It was launched in Grimsby by Philip Moss, the chief executive of the Yorkshire and Humberside Grid for Learning Foundation, in the presence of senior education figures from all over the country.

The software used was originally created by Australian firm MyInternet to enable teachers in the outback to deliver lessons and communicate with pupils learning remotely from home.

Chief executive officer of MyInternet, Matt Deeble, travelled from Australia to Grimsby for the launch.

He said: "North East Lincolnshire is an innovator and a leader in the way it is using it."

Peter Lacey, deputy director of education, said: "This is a really exciting addition to our ICT learning strategy.

"We already lead the country in this field and the launch of our Virtual Desktop will ensure we remain at the forefront of technological developments in education.

"We have pooled our learning credits from the Government in order to buy a wealth of high quality on-line learning.

"This means that parents, as well as pupils, can access learning opportunities anywhere and at any time.

"Learning does not end when people leave school, learning is a lifelong exercise and we are totally committed to helping everyone achieve their full potential."

Jim Tattersdale, Education Portfolio holder, said: "This authority is light years ahead of anywhere else in the country when it comes to using leading-edge Internet technology to promote learning at school and in the community.

"The fact that this tiny authority is leading the country is a credit to council senior managers, school staff and the pupils, who have soaked up the learning opportunities they have been offered like human sponges.

"It is wonderful to see, and I believe the rest of the country will soon be following our lead in this field."

hannah.kennard@grimsbytelegraph.co.uk

The Virtual Desktop is assessed through the Learning and Child Care Directorate's own web site, www.tlfe.org.uk, which is now the most popular learning site in the country with more than 1.7 million hits a month.

It enables teachers to tailor min-windows of information relevant to each pupil.

This is ideal for teachers who want to set more challenging work for able students and more supportive work for struggling students.

It also makes it possible for Headteachers to communicate with the teachers, pupils and parents through the school message board.

Students can communicate with each other from their own homes while researching their homework, and can electronically receive tips and feedback from their teachers.

The Virtual Desktop has been made available to 71 schools in North East Lincolnshire and a small number of schools within the Yorkshire and Humberside Grid for Learning Foundation.

Each school has the capacity to set up 12,000 individual accounts with teachers, parents and pupils and each account comes with a whopping 10 megabytes of web space.

The authority is offering each school a full day's training to maximise the effectiveness of the virtual desktop and schools are queuing to sign up for the training sessions.

Lyn Vane, head of Nunsthorpe Early Excellence Centre, said: "It is going to be a really useful thing to have.

"We can give the parents ideas for activities that will help their child that they can do at home with them.

She said: "It is going to be really exciting for us, and will really make our contact with parents so much better."

The centre has students of all ages, from just a few months old right up to 20-year-olds.

Mrs. Vane said the vast range of material available through the Virtual Desktop would help the centre to integrate services and create a great communication network.