Council Meetings Monday 11 June 2012 - My Contributions

Last night we had a series of Council Committee meetings. There were fairly full agendas following the lengthy gap in meetings because of the elections. 


These are the questions and contributions I made.  


Environment Committee
Item 4 Dawson Park Environmental Improvements
"Convener, I welcome the important improvements to Dawson Park detailed in this report. By erecting a fence to curb indiscriminate parking and vehicle turning at the Dunottar Place entrance, the grass will be protected. The extension of the existing network of paths to connect to the play area should help adults and children by improving the underfoot conditions.
It is also positive to see the recycling of building materials. I think this is the second example of fencing being recycled and reused in Dawson Park."


Policy and Resources Committee
Item 8 Supply of IT Equipment
"Convener this is an interesting report in that it details the spend on a range of IT equipment clarifying the types of equipment in which we have invested. It is remarkable in three ways: 

• £696,000, has been spent over a fifteen week period on computers, net books, whiteboards and the majority of the expenditure has been in our schools;
• I am reassured that a national portal for procurement has been used. 
• What however is remarkable in a negative way is the absence of any data on output and outcome measures. How many computers have been purchased for example? What are the anticipated outcomes of their deployment and installation in our schools and other services?

I think that we need and deserve a more detailed report in future when we are investing such a considerable amount of money year on year."


Policy and Resources Committee 
Item 11 Dundee Strategy for the Safe Use of Electronic Communications
"Convener, I welcome this report and the care it demonstrates in promoting the safe use of electronic communications, especially though not exclusively with children in our schools. 
There are many potential dangers which have arisen with the new media which the report refers to. For example, providing new opportunities to bully, swindle, embarrass, steal identities and groom victims. I do think it is right that that we should warn parents, carers, children and young people and vulnerable adults and the staff that work with them about the potential dangers. I do however think we need more emphasis in our schools and and homes on developing discriminating users of electronic media. I think this is potentially embraced in the four capacities at the heart of the Curriculum for Excellence - our aspiration that all our young people should become:

• successful learners,
• confident individuals,
• responsible individuals and
• responsible individuals."

Morgan Academy Participation in Tablet Computer Piloting

On Friday 8 June, with my colleague Councillor Georgia Cruickshank, I visited Morgan Academy. We met the Head Teacher, Stephen Shaw and Senior Computer Science Teacher James Harris for a briefing on the school's participation in the national pilot programme using tablet computers and wi-fi access.
I think this development has the potential to create more opportunities for pupils to engage with information and communications technologies and gain expertise in using these responsibly and creatively. This latter point is important in a city where we are have nationally recognised courses in time based art and digital animation at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Computer Games Technology at Abertay University which underpin the celebrated cluster of computer gaming and animation companies in Dundee.


We were reassured that the school, in conjunction with the Council's IT service, is making sure that the new network will be secure and safe for pupils before the system goes 'live'. 
I hope it won't be long before we are extending the pilot to all our secondary schools in the city, including Grove Academy in my own ward.