We have started using DigCompOrg framework in our organization, so we need to think about how are we working and managing ICTs in order to establish protocols and policies. 

I am the ICT coordinator but there is another person to manage the infrastructure and we are working together. I have been for some years teaching subjects related to mechanics and working ass ICT coordinator in the schools, offering support to the staff of the school in order to digitalize different processes, promoting the use of digital tools in learning processes and offering training to teachers. It’s not easy to share two roles, in my case I’m lucky and this year I have all my time to work in ICT coordination. 

We have started developing and registering managing policies and one of the goals we have is to document our network, we have not right now, so we have big problem when the infrastructure manager is ill. 

The main challenge is to give a good service through WiFi connections. We are updating our switch infrastructure from 100M to 1G and WiFi antennas. We had a big crisis for some time when some school departments started using laptops, we didn’t foresee the problem and we have been investing in hi-capacity antennas for the last two years. 

Nowadays, we are trying to create hardware and software policies for the school IT management, so, we hope in the future we will manage the IT system in a better way. 

We have around 20 Xirrus XR 620 WiFi athens for 600 laptops and other devices, when we finish the deployment next month, we will see if it is enough, we hope it will be. 

We have different SSIDs for students, staff, events and an open SSID just for breaks. Each teacher has its own username and password.

This year we are also thinking about BYOD in another way, our students need computers in class and we have big problems with the IT system sustainability; so another option is to ask them to bring their own computer. We have to analyze the pros and the cons. 

In some subjects students can use their own device, but it’s just an experience some teachers are carrying on. I think it’s an opportunity since they would have to learn how to use different devices for work and digital citizenships. All of us, students, teachers, families, managers… are learning how to manage digital devices in different work and social environments, we need new agreements about the use of this kind of devices in the school, and forbid them is not the solution.

Since we are thinking that students will bring to the school their own laptop, we need to offer solutions in order to charge the computer’s batteries, to give technical support and to have a safe place for the devices. First of all we need to define the school framework and policies for this project. I hope we will do it along this school year.  

So we signed up for a G Suite account and we started working with teachers and some groups of students. Nowadays, every student and teacher has a G Suite account and we use mainly those services: Gmail, Groups, Drive, Docs, Classroom and Sites.

For us esafety it’s very important, so we are using the European Schoolnet eSafety label model to take care of it. 

The main challenge we have is the students and teachers training and the second one the safety. As always the weak link are the persons. We are around 140 teachers and every year the 20% of them can be different. Most of our students are in the school for 53 weeks but some of them just for a few weeks. So we have to think about formulas to offer the training all of them need. The second challenge is the safety, students and teachers are not very aware of the risks in the digital world; we have policies for the use of digital services but you need to be pushing once and again.

We share our AUPs (for students and teachers) in SlideShare in Spanish and Basque language. They are based in the esafetylabel model.

We have a newsletter about eSafety in the school, since most of our students are adults we use the same for teachers and students.

It was a surprise to earn the silver label. We were told that to share our experience and documents we created with the community was a key point to earn it.  

Every year we organise some event around Safer Internet Day: privacity, data protection, safe access to accounts are some of the subjects we have addressed in this events and we have to follow pushing on it.

She mentions that they use mobiles for searching information what I think is a good use for mobile devices although for creation are better laptops or desktops. 

Another thing we are thinking about is to give one computer each teacher in the school. We use shared computers in departments and classrooms but I think it would be an improvement in the devices management to do the same way they do in those schools.

We are thinking about BYOD, however, being a VET school we need devices with keyboards, so, It’s not enough to have a smartphone. Right now we are doing a qualitative inventory of hardware and software in order to make decisions.

The last long course I did, one week in Brussels, was about eSafety in European Schoolnet. Since we were implementing G-Suite and giving accounts to all our students that was the course I (we) need, and so, because we could use the learnings in a very short term the course was very good. So, I think that you have to identify in each moment which are your priorities and try to find some training that fits them.