tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74330599292583914882024-02-20T08:16:56.124-08:00Mike Gunn - Failing to Learn BetterA blog about my attempts to learn better, teach better, lead better, and fail with positive consequencesAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16001217724756297022noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7433059929258391488.post-24052493590743087162015-11-25T08:40:00.000-08:002015-11-25T08:40:59.906-08:00BYOD - A viable alternativeThere were a lot of people at the National Academies Show today who asked me for a copy of my presentation, and whose names and emails I didn't have time to take down (really sorry! Other people waiting to speak behind me!), so here, for those of you who are gluttons for punishment and want to go through it a second time, is <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/MikeGunn/setting-up-byodpptx" target="_blank">the thing...</a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwGVq45amkFbc7idezpccPq5hcBR5p7o5ukptq2wMlihP9CHO4W6oLlsQrLejoMWqPAofsI2OiPTZPujpo8RS3Bt3w-RXXTqh8gct7HlnBEqYDAEqkRpLQECVcA_H55qYwveDukaMzyoo/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-11-25+at+16.35.32.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="http://www.slideshare.net/MikeGunn/setting-up-byodpptx" border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwGVq45amkFbc7idezpccPq5hcBR5p7o5ukptq2wMlihP9CHO4W6oLlsQrLejoMWqPAofsI2OiPTZPujpo8RS3Bt3w-RXXTqh8gct7HlnBEqYDAEqkRpLQECVcA_H55qYwveDukaMzyoo/s400/Screen+Shot+2015-11-25+at+16.35.32.png" title="Click the link below" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/MikeGunn/setting-up-byodpptx" target="_blank">http://www.slideshare.net/MikeGunn/setting-up-byodpptx</a></td></tr>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16001217724756297022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7433059929258391488.post-30188723123304726512015-10-10T12:59:00.001-07:002015-10-10T12:59:15.439-07:00Well-beingI've read a lot of really good blogs recently about teacher well-being, and what a tough nut it is to crack. Depending on whether you come from a leadership point of view or a chalk-face view, you will have different interpretations of where the problems lie, and what the solutions might be.<br />
<a href="https://dailygenius.wordpress.com/2015/10/10/the-rocket-science-of-wellbeing/" target="_blank">@kevbartle</a> talked recently about the tokenism of some approaches (free tea and coffee anyone?), or the tick-box approach we are often forced to adopt by external agencies who also want to be seen to be "doing something" to solve the problem. Surprisingly, none of them seem to work. Surprisingly.<br />
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For what it's worth, here is my contribution to the debate. I hope it gets to the nub of the problem:<br />
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The first given in the debate is this: The business of schools is to produce students who, be it through good exam results or just more ambition, self-respect and belief, are ready for the outside world. We are there to give them "life chances" in the jargon. In a utilitarian view of education, they are the product which feeds the economy, and the product has to be top-notch. From a more humanitarian perspective, students are individual humans whose contribution can improve society if we have done our job well.<br />
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The second given is that our job as teachers and school leaders is to deliver that. The ultimate needs of the students must come above our own. Unfortunately, this very often includes the needs of staff well-being, or the needs we may have as normal human beings to have a life. We have chosen a career which, if we let it, can degenerate into a massive black hole for all our energies.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3lMTseuCU6nDu0qhAAxJmMtNZlR6P6h1ojo_pzLv2hRCdHuUmW07EQ10PLTKi70QZ96OyTjkYKGzsBWBYCli__MzFT1JmQNn6fQQVN2Qm42cdVFn-_FN3D0829Of4t-SG114rqMf348c/s1600/carving-96088_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3lMTseuCU6nDu0qhAAxJmMtNZlR6P6h1ojo_pzLv2hRCdHuUmW07EQ10PLTKi70QZ96OyTjkYKGzsBWBYCli__MzFT1JmQNn6fQQVN2Qm42cdVFn-_FN3D0829Of4t-SG114rqMf348c/s320/carving-96088_1920.jpg" width="320" /></a>In this context, my contention is this: If students are the products of the system, we are the craftspeople who shape the product. We, and I realise I am risking derision for my choice of words here, are tools. If you're happy for me to carry on with this analogy, it works like this: A craftsman chooses how well he keeps his tools. He can buy them cheap, use them until they wear out, and then just get rid of them. Or, as is the case with real craftsmen, you can look after them carefully, keep them sharp, and produce excellent work with them for a long time.<br />
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For me, the well-being debate boils down to this: As a school leader, do your actions contribute towards wearing the tools out prematurely or do they contribute towards keeping them as sharp as possible for as long as possible?<br />
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To make my point, under which of the two categories would you place the following activities?<br />
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<li>Free tea and coffee at break-times</li>
<li>Creating support systems around the school (ICT, SIMS, First Aid, school comms etc) which <i>just work</i> reliably day in day out</li>
<li>A reliable and easy-to-use VLE</li>
<li>Time to meet in teams to plan lessons together</li>
<li>Audits of lessons, learning objectives, marking etc</li>
<li>Staff socials</li>
<li>Timetables which minimise split classes, room changes, etc</li>
<li>Timetables which give staff time to socialise and discuss daily problems</li>
<li>Setting up a staff well-being committee</li>
<li>Staff freebies, such as health insurance or discounts on well-being services</li>
<li>Thinking hard about any new initiative, and whether it adds to or distracts from the "main thing": Teaching and learning.</li>
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To me, anything which allows teachers to teach more effectively and more efficiently is a sharpening tool: Anything which gets in the way of that is blunting the effectiveness of the tool. Ultimately, that will have knock-on effects for the outcomes we produce as schools.</div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16001217724756297022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7433059929258391488.post-58507963345430250812015-07-06T05:51:00.000-07:002015-07-06T06:00:50.367-07:00#PedagooLondon2015Very swift blog post following on from a session I delivered to this year's (inspiring!) #PedagooLondon2015 conference...<br />
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Apart from the sheer joy of getting to meet forces for positivity such as the likes of <a href="https://twitter.com/kevbartle" target="_blank">@Kevbartle</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/hgaldinoshea" target="_blank">@hgaldinoshea,</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/edutronic_net" target="_blank">@Edutronic_Net</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/joeybagstock" target="_blank">@joeybagstock</a> and several other personal heroes(!), the conference gave me the opportunity to reflect on my own practice, collect my own thoughts on how well it was going, and be realistic in my appraisal of the major obstacles I was facing. Through the ensuing debates about the validity of what I was proposing as a pedagogy on Twitter, you'll see there were plenty of questions which are hard to answer over 140 characters, so if you would like to engage in debate and discussion, please feel free to <a href="mailto:mike_gunn@sky.com" target="_blank">email me</a>, or leave a comment.<br />
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If anyone wants some practical help with implementing the nitty-gritty of this stuff in their school, I'm sure mine will be happy to release me. Probably for a fee. Don't go thinking I get a cut of it neither!<br />
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Anyway, here are the slides...<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="420" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/key/MW91d6xEE3Js3n" style="border-width: 1px; border: 1px solid #CCC; margin-bottom: 5px; max-width: 100%;" width="510"> </iframe> <br />
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<strong> <a href="https://www.slideshare.net/MikeGunn/flippin-gthe-classroom-using-mobile-technology-pedagoolondon2015-presentation" target="_blank" title="Flippin gthe classroom using mobile technology - #PedagooLondon2015 presentation">Flippin gthe classroom using mobile technology - #PedagooLondon2015 presentation</a> </strong> from <strong><a href="https://www.slideshare.net/MikeGunn" target="_blank">Mike Gunn</a></strong> </div>
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<a href="http://www.slideshare.net/MikeGunn/flippin-gthe-classroom-using-mobile-technology-pedagoolondon2015-presentation" target="_blank">Flipping the classroom using mobile technology</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16001217724756297022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7433059929258391488.post-22820645601916358862015-04-06T06:03:00.001-07:002015-04-06T06:03:28.883-07:00Boss It! - A guide to planning and writing outstanding exam essaysOur English department at school are great, and they really do create some great study aids, as well as fantastic acronyms and scary posters. Frankly, they don't get the credit they deserve!<br /><br />
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So I've decided it's my mission today to get their fantastic-ness out there to all of you who are either revising for exams, or trying desperately to get your students to do so! This video follows on directly from my video playlist on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_7p2m7heJHU4ukuy4FR6jn5JzFEfn-Gk" target="_blank">effective revision strategies</a> which I shared last week, and which is based on the latest research into cognitive techniques. hopefully it will help.<br /><br />
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But once you've learnt your stuff, you can easily score an extra 10% in exams (in my humble opinion) by having a system for planning and writing essays as comprehensively as this.<br /><br />
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Please share far and wide, and let me know what you think...<br /><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/h0SjtVuH2OA" width="459"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16001217724756297022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7433059929258391488.post-3075711897364082015-04-06T03:21:00.001-07:002015-04-06T03:21:20.333-07:00Revision planningA series of videos put together from material researched by the ever-generous @chrishildrew.<br /><br />
Hope this helps students to revise effectively...<br /><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bK17BFx8Cmo?list=PL_7p2m7heJHU4ukuy4FR6jn5JzFEfn-Gk" width="480"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16001217724756297022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7433059929258391488.post-68652570943322513462015-01-04T03:57:00.000-08:002015-01-04T04:02:46.160-08:00Principles of a good work-life balance in teaching<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Over October half-term I wrote a blog about <a href="http://failingtolearnbetter.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/holiday-nurture.html" target="_blank">how teachers could reconnect with themselves</a> as people, in order to start looking for that elusive work-life balance thingy they all talk about. As we approached New Year and I indulged in the usual reflections about the year, I came to two conclusions:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />1) 2014 had been <i>extremely</i> kind to me and my family;</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2) My job as a teacher hadn't dominated my thoughts about how good the year had been.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are lots of ways to read that, but I think it means that for me, considering what an excellent year it had been professionally (ALPS1/2 for A levels, FFTD for GCSE, major show within the Faculty, and lots of particular success stories for individual students which, while they didn't look overwhelming on paper, were significant milestones for them personally), I had also managed not to make my work the be-all and end-all of my perception of happiness. Other things have mattered more, and I think that's a great thing. Maybe it even represents <i>personal growth.</i> Wow.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><span style="background-color: white;">Anyway, for this quick New Year's post, I thought I would share a few of the fundamental principles I've found helpful in the search for that balance, for no other reason than the fact that, in my opinion, a balanced, healthy teacher is a <i>more effective</i> teacher. Here goes...</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><span style="background-color: white;">1) Remember that some jobs are fundamentally incompatible with day-to-day family engagement: Accept this and work around it</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><span style="background-color: white;">2) Never put the quality of your life in the hands of someone else: You won't like their version of what your balanced life should look like</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><span style="background-color: white;">3) Elongate the timeframe in your search for balance: think about it over a term rather than a day or a week: What does your ideal term look like?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><span style="background-color: white;">4) Make sure that your balance contains elements which nurture you physically, emotionally, spiritually and intellectually</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><span style="background-color: white;">5) Sweat the small stuff rather than big gestures: There is a huge difference in perception between how important you think a big gesture is, and how important others think it is. There is often a similar disparity between what you might think of as a little thing, and how much help it has been to someone else. Apparently, my offering to do someone's detention duty for them in the last couple of weeks of last term was a gesture which meant a massive amount to them at the end of a crippling term.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><span style="background-color: white;">6) On that theme, be <i>kind: </i> Not just generally a nice person. Look for opportunities to bestow kindness on others, without judging how deserving they are. Do it in secret as much as in public: The well-being benefit is as much for yourself, and these acts come back to you <i>all the time.</i> Actually looking out for the kind things other people do for you is equally a great way to become a more positive person: It takes your focus away from the negative, and it helps you deal with it much more successfully when the negatives arise.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><span style="background-color: white;">That's it. Short but sweet. I hope that 2015 is your happiest, most balanced year yet.</span></span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16001217724756297022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7433059929258391488.post-91035738503556744492014-11-17T10:53:00.001-08:002014-11-17T10:53:41.835-08:00The perpetual anxiety of educationThis blog post follows a series of events which have clearly contributed to its central idea: These events include (in no particular order), a summer holiday where I truly reconnected with myself for the first time in ages, a set of excellent exam results across the Faculty I lead, a first half-term which nigh-on wiped that feel-good factor out, a Middle leadership meeting that left me feeling the overwhelming weight of national educational change coming soon, a well-being meeting where we tinkered around the edges but never really got to the crux of the problem, and a graded observation which was Good (with some outstanding features) but didn't really reflect what I've been doing this year.<br />
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What I've been doing this year is mostly consolidating a range of pedagogical tweaks I've learnt, mostly thanks to Twitterati (@headguruteacher, @HuntingEnglish, @ICTevangelist, @jkfairclough, @kathydarlison85, @hgaldinoshea and @ragazza_inglese to name a tiny proportion) but also some fantastic colleagues at my school, and formalising them into concrete lessons via our new FROG OS VLE (a school development area). The VLE has been useful in helping me get to a really deep level of flipped learning, which I've always wanted to do, to the point where I have several classes where some students are now lessons ahead of others, and really powering through the learning. It has increased the independence of a significant number of the most motivated and able students I teach, and at the same time highlighted just how teacher-dependent some of my least able are. It has also, frustratingly, pushed me back in pedagogical terms by preventing me from combining the VLE with all of the great things I've learnt from two years of working with iPads, because the two won't talk to each other. All of which is irrelevant to the actual post, but you need the context to see why this topic is important to me.<br />
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The feeling I have at the moment is a horrendously negative feeling that I hate, because I'm not that man. I see myself as a positive person, someone who leads by example and encouragement. But at the moment I feel like quitting. I don't feel that moving up the career ladder to leadership positions is the answer, but I'm not enjoying where I am either. And I can't work out why.<br />
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Except today, it hit me. Like an epiphany. A more bleeding obvious epiphany you will probably never hear, and I appreciate that the first sign of publishing this will be greeted by a chorus of "Duh!"s, but here it is anyway. It's called the Perpetual Anxiety of Education. It's the result of the Accountability Matrix. Yes, probably very similar to the one your heard about in the Wachowski brothers' film, but not quite as entertaining. It starts with targets. As soon as targets are formulated, your job is to meet them. Aspirational or not makes no difference, you still have to meet them. And as a teacher, you spend your entire year in this state of anxiety about students meeting their targets. This of course is exacerbated by senior management, who have the same worries, but spread across the whole school, and with often only indirect power to do anything about it: Hell with a side order of chips! The less control you have, the more anxious you are likely to be. Hence the plethora of "accountability measures" deployed in order to keep checking that everyone is doing their utmost to hit those targets.<br />
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As a teacher, this constant surveillance makes it very difficult for you to put it out of your mind, hence why I called it a perpetual state of anxiety. And there are few teachers who can do their job effectively without communicating this anxiety to the students. Thus the students themselves are also afflicted by the same perpetual anxiety. Ask the Year 11s in my mentor group who, despite my support and encouragement, feel this overwhelm from all sides. Because of course it's not simply teachers who are putting the pressure on, but parents as well. Are their kids doing as well as the others in their class? In their year group? In their school? What about other schools? Could we be sending our kids to a better school? What about the education system itself? Is it too soft? Is it "fit for purpose"? Is it really preparing my child to do career capital battle with that wiry, hungry little Singaporean kid I hear so much about in the papers, with his 25 hours extra tuition a day on top of his fifteen hours of regular school, per day...? Perpetual anxiety.<br />
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Now let's go back to this situation in schools. We have leadership whose job it is to deliver the targets, who have least classroom time to do it in. Their only weapons are by proxy, and they have to deploy these increasingly atomistic dictats to get the rest of their staff to get to "best practice" at all times: Do you have your MUST SHOULD COULD? Do your students know their targets? Their Working at Grades? Was the homework you set meaningful? Was it marked that day? Was it responded to in a meaningful ongoing dialogue which lasted until seconds before the exam? Did you push the students along at the perfect pace for them to cope while maintaining consistently high expectations etc? Don't get me wrong: This is NOT an anti-SLT rant, because I've been on the verge of going for these sorts of positions myself for a year or two, and the thing which has always stopped me is this very question: What would I do differently? You see, I think the vast majority of teachers and leaders are good people with the best of intentions, but these are too often warped by the target culture. The accountability matrix. What happens when you meet your target? That's a moot point to be honest. Because the vast majority of teachers only hit their target when the exam results come out. Even if you've hit them beforehand, the criticism is that you've under-estimated your target, you haven't been aspirational enough. So here's a higher one. But once the exam results are out, we have a week to celebrate the achievement of 51 weeks of anxiety-ridden stress, before 1) sending the students off to their next life stage, which will be even more target-riddled than the last, and 2) beginning a whole new round of targets of our own. Hamster-wheel, anyone?<br />
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And then we come to the staff well-being meeting. Where nobody can work out quite why staff aren't responding über-positively to the Friday morning cakes, the fruit bowl in the staff room, the staff silly jumper day and the disaggregated day off. These are drops in the ocean of a culture which is otherwise dominated by doubts about whether you could be doing that little bit more to hit those targets. The anxiety is the permanent, low-level background noise which defines the existence of many teachers on a day to day basis.<br />
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What's the worst thing about this state of perpetual anxiety? I'm not sure that this is just about education. There is a very good argument for saying that this pretty much covers the majority of our social ills at the moment, in a society which seems hell-bent on better and more rather than sufficient and happy. But I know which I would prefer if given the choice of how to live my life. And that's a BIG "if"...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16001217724756297022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7433059929258391488.post-51609038602737700272014-10-27T10:50:00.000-07:002014-10-27T13:24:51.418-07:00Twelve Ways for teachers to reconnect with themselves in the holiday<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's a long-held belief of mine that teachers work bloody hard. Too hard, very often. Twenty years of practice at chalkface (now the digital interface of course), bags under the eyes and an alarming number of wrinkles I swear never used to be there can help me attest to this fact from personal experience. Whether all of this work is always efficient, effective, or indeed has ANY effect on my students' learning may well be a matter for debate, but not in this post.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In this half-term post, I want to come back to an idea I've out out <a href="http://failingtolearnbetter.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/teachers-health.html" target="_blank">a while ago</a>, namely how teachers can remain healthy. As part of our appraisal systems this year, we've been asked to write down the number of days of absence we had last year, and I found that these stats had all been pre-compiled for me. The nice surprise in this otherwise fairly worrying surveillance trend was to find out that this year marks 5 years (and here I am currently touching enough wood to reconstitute an entire forest!) without illness. In a secondary school as full of snot and lack of hygiene as any teen-dominated environment, I was pretty impressed by this statistic.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I try to take care of myself. I try to devote time to myself, my physical and mental well-being, and I will take on anyone who thinks you have to be "pragmatic" about these matters. "Sometimes you've just got to get your nose to the grindstone and get it done Mike, and things like exercise go out of the window for a bit", I'm told. As far as I'm concerned, that's the thin end of the wedge. If you're going to work ridiculous numbers of hours and devote your life to teaching, at the expense often of family and friends, then you'd better be fit enough to do this for the duration, otherwise you WILL drop. I've seen this happen to too many good teachers to doubt my convictions on this one.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So half-term has come around again, I have shedloads to do, but I've started the half-term on a positive footing. Every day of this half-term, I will do something for me, something for my family, and something for my spirit. Only I couldn't think of anything. Hence, the quest began to think of activities to get myself off the work treadmill, or rather fit the work around, and between us, my daughter and I have come up with some good ones. I share them here in the hope that</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">a) You will get some inspiration to look after your own health;</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">b) You'll pass on your own recommendations for me: A virtuous circle if you like.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyway, here goes...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Twelve ways to reconnect with yourself this half-term...</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">1. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Watch a good film that inspires you: For this half-term, I've chosen John Favreau's fab performance in </span><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2883512/" style="background-color: white;" target="_blank">Chef</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">: One man's journey from Michelin-starred chef de cuisine to taco-van owner as he rediscovers the roots of his passion for cooking. Don't watch on an empty stomach.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Try t'ai chi or yoga. It might be new, it might feel a bit hippy, but try it. I've been doing this since the day I started teacher training, and trust me, it works. Disengage your brain, take time for yourself, take stock of where your body is at. It will thank you later, possibly in old age, possibly by making sure that you're still around to have one!</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. Play cards, or board games: Let's face it, the cards are just an excuse for a good conversation with the whole family, a drink, some nibbles. Play Top Trumps if you like. Nobody cares. Just enjoy each other's company, and laugh.</span></span><br />
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<a href="http://bks7.books.google.co.uk/books?id=i9qgrEqqGbgC&printsec=frontcover&img=1&zoom=1&edge=curl&imgtk=AFLRE7369wD06mKFPFmVifdYtBr3Xe7jNyNBGUhPGdnz1NEWSxXU4iZIaL1jGL2psuFEdIDEPwto1mzYo8rPDfkHbqgs1_wTVi7z5AGo5trceTlwAwcAqcsJvMExrlLVHnyyKiAMOAub" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://bks7.books.google.co.uk/books?id=i9qgrEqqGbgC&printsec=frontcover&img=1&zoom=1&edge=curl&imgtk=AFLRE7369wD06mKFPFmVifdYtBr3Xe7jNyNBGUhPGdnz1NEWSxXU4iZIaL1jGL2psuFEdIDEPwto1mzYo8rPDfkHbqgs1_wTVi7z5AGo5trceTlwAwcAqcsJvMExrlLVHnyyKiAMOAub" /></span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. Read something for pleasure, not work. Read something to give you a new perspective. My personal recommendation at the moment is The Kite Runner - Great book about Afghanistan, which will help you see that country and culture in a new light.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. Cook a meal with or for someone you love: Take care over it. Get it perfect. Enjoy the process of making, tasting, rolling, kneading. The eating isn't the only sensual part of the meal.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6. Get to know your own area as you've never quite seen it before by trying <a href="https://www.geocaching.com/" target="_blank">geocaching</a>: Free membership, and millions of ready-made treasure hunts around your area.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">7. Switch the heating on. Go out for a walk in the dark and the wind. Come home. Relax in the warm under a duvet. Reconnect with nature, and then appreciate the modern comforts which seclude you from being at its mercy all the time.</span></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.theoasiscc.com/clientimages/50203/bonfire-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://www.theoasiscc.com/clientimages/50203/bonfire-7.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">8. Seeing as it's October half-term (I promise I will try and update these every time we have a holiday so that all advice is guaranteed seasonal and organic!), go see a firework display with friends and children. Make an occasion of it. Take some flasks of mulled wine, roast chestnuts etc to share. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Better still, make your own bonfire, and learn how to light it without matches. Get those neighbours you never have time to speak to properly round, and enjoy each other's company.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">9. Switch off all your electronic devices for 24 hours: Phones, ipads, laptops, TV, the lot. Spend the time listening, to yourself, to your friends, and to your family. See what type of day you had compared to normal. If you're a digital addict like I am, you'll be amazed at how you feel after this one, once the initial frustrations wear off!</span></span><br />
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<a href="http://media02.hongkiat.com/light-painting/light-painting-artwork.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://media02.hongkiat.com/light-painting/light-painting-artwork.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">10. Get in touch with your creative side: Now that the nights have drawn in, go outside and light paint. You need a camera with a long exposure setting, then take a torch or any light source, and draw </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">11. Do a taste test. Indulge your palette and reconnect to your senses. Wine, chocolate, smoothies, doesn't matter. Make loads, invite people round, and enjoy talking about your senses, including what they make of your weirder concoctions...</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">12. Go to an independent cinema. Watch an independent film. Watch a British film. </span><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3169706/" style="background-color: white;" target="_blank">Pride</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> is my recommendation this month: A great (true) story about the support the LGBT community gave the striking miners during the mid-80s, and a chance to see Dominic West as a true Dancing Queen.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hope this gives you some ideas for starters: Please leave me yours in the comments.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Happy half-term!</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16001217724756297022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7433059929258391488.post-21296311878196091952014-06-18T03:19:00.000-07:002014-06-18T07:43:17.600-07:00In defence of Media and Film<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was quaking in my boots a little when OFQUAL published their list of subjects being considered for "reform" (or not!) a few weeks ago. And lo, there it was: Film is disappearing. One of the hardest, most engaging courses I teach, as well as one of the most enjoyable. Going. Going. Gone.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Those of you who follow these developments will know how this story goes: Two hours later OFQUAL rescinded their own publication, claiming that Film should not have been on the list (<a href="https://twitter.com/ofqual/status/474123880303697920" target="_blank">here </a>if you're interested). Huzzah and hurrah. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But then it struck me that, rather than feeling happy at this, I should have been more than a little indignant at the fact that we have to defend our subject's validity YET AGAIN! So I decided act, and to take their <a href="http://ofqual.gov.uk/news/gcse-level-reform-consultation/" target="_blank">consultation</a> document: For all the good it did. A series of anodine and difficult to disagree with statements which will eventually secure tacit agreement for the measurements they were going to take anyway, I suspect. So I wrote to them. This is my open letter to OFQUAL, in defence of Media and Film Studies' place on our curriculum.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">To whom it may concern<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I am writing to you
about your online consultation concerning the reform of GCSEs and A Level qualifications.
Having filled in the entire document online, I was disappointed that that the
consultation document provided no opportunity to argue for the continuance of Media
or Film Studies at GCSE, AS and A level, so this letter is a direct appeal in
support of these subjects for your consideration in reforming them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">First, for the vast
majority of the students I teach, Media and Film Studies are the most important
subjects they learn, despite also studying so-called “traditional”
qualifications alongside them. I teach in a highly academic school, and we do
not teach for passes, we teach for excellence. Of the students I teach, seven
in the past year alone have been nominated for national and regional awards for
their Media and Film production work (including BFI Young Film-maker of the
Year). I doubt that they would ever have achieved this level of quality of
their own volition, without someone to introduce the subject to them in the
first place through passion, rigorous academic study and through practical
experimentation. These are the media and film professionals of the future, but
they need time to master their arts. Students who arrive at university to
embark on Media or Film as courses they are studying for the first time are at
a clear disadvantage according to my former students, and the fact that mine
have been training in professional skills since Year 10 means that one day,
they WILL join the industries and move these industries forward innovatively
and creatively, and keep the UK at the very top on international media and film
production, with all that this entails for National economic growth and
prosperity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">On an academic level, I
would draw your attention to the already demanding nature of assessment: GCSE
involves extended comparative writing which motivates many to improve their
linguistic abilities; A level examinations are currently substantial essay-based
examination papers. Both subjects include assessment of research skills, as
well as analytical skills. These are the bedrock of the “traditional”
curriculum we seem to be returning towards, so why would we withdraw subjects
which reinforce such skills?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Second, there is a
popular perception of Media and Film Studies as “soft” subjects, which I would
disagree with fundamentally. The vast majority of my students will also tell
you that Media and Film were far tougher courses than their “academic”
counterparts. In part this is the fault of the mass media itself and its largely
biased reporting of the subjects: The tabloids have no qualms about labelling
our subjects as lesser subjects compared to the “traditional” subjects being
pushed by the present government. The fact that the broadsheets put inverted
commas around the word <i>soft</i> does not
in any way absolve them of blame for reinforcing this perception, in my opinion.
The message from the media is clear: Studying media or film is an easy option. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">However,
I would argue that OFQUAL is equally to blame in this process for not
countering this perception explicitly with evidence. I would contend that the level
of demand at both GCSE and A level is very high: Students analyse film and
media texts in exactly the same way as they do in English, except that they
must take account of not only linguistic characteristics of texts, but also the
way the layout, camera angles, editing and sound work in tandem with these
linguistic features. This adds layers of meaning which are very subtle,
additional to those studied in English, and indeed constitute an entire
language of their own. And this only covers the textual analysis aspects of the
courses. Film and Media Studies also require that students understand <i>why</i> texts are the way they are, by
taking into account institutional, social, political, economic, historical and
technological factors which may influence meaning and interpretations of texts.
While this is a skill which is taught in English, I would argue that the
up-to-date nature of film and media studies enquiries makes it much more challenging
for students to interpret the influence of these contexts, as they are not
doing so with the benefits of hindsight, or with the help of “expert voices” to
guide them. Media and Film students learn a basic framework of analysis, but
from there they are applying this to texts which are so new they are largely
untouched by academic study. They have to apply their learning very subtly,
often drawing in a range of material which benefits other subjects, such as History,
English, Philosophy and Ethics, Sociology and Psychology.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Third, I would argue
that the range of topics which are studied at GCSE and A level is also extending
for students. The subject involves more than a study of mainstream popular film
and media texts. It involves the study of texts from other cultures around the
world, in other languages (my own students study Spanish, French, Iranian and
Cantonese/Mandarin texts), and asks that we understand those cultures so as to
be able to discern their influence on particular films, and their influence on
our own culture. These are skills which are incredibly demanding for students
between the ages of 14 and 18. Furthermore, film and media texts act as a
cultural resource and a way of gaining access to experiences and cultures, and raising
important issues relevant to society today (including, ironically, the idea of
media bias and media agendas, and their influence on the political agenda, the
reason that you are carrying out this consultation in the first place, one
might argue: See point 2 above). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_WrdIBRx1_gzjHs5kgnHCi78qjXnF_X1MMFnxqnBVgPPFFZhwS7DNG9uT_RrNMK4VemWzTybp9nAU1z1-l1WbDupSmJqgCFdItwGis_-fQ6kZhKjQKQzoTiFoXuJ6kQm6wWZ-MorBsUU/s1600/agendasetting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_WrdIBRx1_gzjHs5kgnHCi78qjXnF_X1MMFnxqnBVgPPFFZhwS7DNG9uT_RrNMK4VemWzTybp9nAU1z1-l1WbDupSmJqgCFdItwGis_-fQ6kZhKjQKQzoTiFoXuJ6kQm6wWZ-MorBsUU/s1600/agendasetting.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The media and film
industries shape, and arguably construct, the terms of people’s perceptions,
the way people think, their attitudes, values and beliefs. Students need to understand
the role of the media in that process if they are to have any chance of
becoming engaged, active and reflective citizens within our society. If we deny
them these opportunities, we can only blame ourselves when society somnambulates
into a future of fear, despair and obsequious conformity. We owe our students a
better future than that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I hope that you will
give the above arguments the weight of consideration they deserve when
considering how the subjects should be reformed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Yours faithfully<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Mike Gunn<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">If you want to write to them with your own equally passionate (but undoubtedly more eloquent) supporting letter, please feel free. The address is below:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Ofqual,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Spring Place,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Coventry Business Park,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Herald Avenue,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">COVENTRY<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">CV5 6UB </span><br />
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PS Rest assured: I didn't post cartoons with my original letter to OFQUAL!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16001217724756297022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7433059929258391488.post-34280473495404179632014-06-04T11:50:00.000-07:002014-06-04T11:50:50.181-07:00Technology tools that support new teachersBeing a new teacher can be daunting. To be honest, even when you've taught for many years, a move to a new school can make you feel almost entirely like a beginner again. The nature of teacher is that students listen when they respect you, and rarely before that point. Your job as the teacher is to establish high expectations, behaviour boundaries, and what I used to call "the deal": "You guys work hard, and I'll make your learning worthwhile and engaging".<br />
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<b>Behaviour for learning</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.bestappsite.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/RandomMaster.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.bestappsite.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/RandomMaster.png" height="198" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">RandomMaster</td></tr>
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As such, the first thing to establish is your behavioural expectations, and I would say it's worth sweating the small stuff. New teachers often say that the added distraction of students using mobile devices is just another discipline headache they don't want to have to deal with, hence they don't go near technology. Personally, I think that if students are misusing technology, what you have is a behaviour problem, not a technology problem, and it should be treated as such. A few little routines, however, can make a real difference. Things like "screens off" time while you explain tasks, and insisting on tablets and devices being flat on the desk where you can see them go some way to creating the attention levels and transparency of use that you want. The same goes for acceptable noise levels, no hands up during questioning and creating an atmosphere in which students are allowed to speak without fear of others criticising or interrupting are the bedrock of good classroom dynamics. A couple of really useful little apps I've found are RandomMaster and Too Noisy (really good for Primary classrooms!)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://toonoisyapp.com/wp-content/themes/iPhoneApp/images/4.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://toonoisyapp.com/wp-content/themes/iPhoneApp/images/4.png" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Too Noisy</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/random-master/id372122978?mt=8" style="background-color: white; color: #7d181e; line-height: 18.200000762939453px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">RandomMaster</a> is a student selection app<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">: Pre-enter the students' names, and it simply randomizes them as necessary, in front of their eyes on the AppleTV, and there's no arguing, and no bloody lollipop sticks! It can be used to put students into groups, pick the student to answer a question at random, and assign roles within groups (Expert, scribe, researcher and so on). </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">Too Noisy is an ambient volume level measurer: You set what is an acceptable level of noise while the class are working independently, and the display will show students when it is getting too loud, without you having to tell them every two minutes. Again, it's simple stuff, but it makes your expectations clear from the off.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;"><br /></span></span>
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/xdoUdEwHEwM?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">Amongst the other apps you can use are things like timers to stop some students dominating class discussion, and spinners to assign random questions. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">A great tool for this is <a href="http://www.triptico.co.uk/" target="_blank">Triptico</a> which, if you've never seen it, gives you loads of little animated apps such as timers, spinners, scorers, task selectors, word magnets for labelling, order sorters, thinklink hexagons (if you're a SOLO Taxonomist, which isn't as creepy as it sounds!) and various different quiz formats. It's absolutely brilliant if you're working on a desktop or laptop or whiteboard, especially as you can run multiple activities on a screen at once (timer, quiz, student selector etc) BUT it's not yet available as a mobile device app, which is a shame for people like me who don't like swapping between devices for tasks in class. As a new teacher, that might not seem like such a big deal, but every moment you spend getting round tech problems is a moment the class can go off-task and off-boil. The fewer of those you have, the better at the start. That said, it's still well worth checking out...</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">Triptico is a nice little link to the next, most important part of teaching:</span></span><br />
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<b>Engagement</b><br />
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Before we start, a caveat: Beware of using technology in and of itself as a "thing". In terms of engaging students, this is short-termism at its worst. The fact that students are using mobile devices does not mean you have their attention. Sometimes it means you have a good deal less of it than you think. And it definitely doesn't necessarily mean they are learning! But it does offer you a huge variety of new worlds to explore from within your classroom. And it's the tasks that you set which will engage students or not. So think carefully.<br />
<ul>
<li>Fun activities are one way to make learning fun and effective, so use apps like Triptico to make the learning enjoyable.</li>
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<ul>
<li>Differentiation is another key area which mobile technology can help you with if you want to engage all students. It makes it considerably easier to assign students different materials depending on their ability levels. "Flipping the classroom" is something I really rate as a means of differentiating work, and allowing students to work at their own pace (See my post about <a href="http://failingtolearnbetter.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/flipping-classroom.html" target="_blank">Flipped Learning here</a>), and technology makes it very easy to distribute these different resources to different students, whether it's over your VLE, through Youtube playlists or web-pages (you can collate these easily on <a href="http://gb.pinterest.com/fpsmediateacher/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> for instance), or simply sending out different electronic resources via email. Want to make it flash? Use QR codes or augmented reality apps like Aurasma or Layar.</li>
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<ul><a href="http://edcetera.rafter.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/explain_everything_blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://edcetera.rafter.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/explain_everything_blog.jpg" height="247" width="320" /></a>
<li>Getting your students to show their learning in different ways which are more accessible from whatever stage they are at is one of the great uses of technology in teaching. Some students are ultra-bright in certain areas, but can't show their learning in writing yet. It's important that they learn how to write well, but nevertheless, a student can create a brilliant Science report or MFL monologue without being able to write it down, especially if tech is at your side. Try using apps like Explain Everything to allow them to create videos with their own written or verbal commentaries to show you their learning. Tellagami is another lovely little app which allows students who are a bit shy to speak their findings through a cartoon character, with background pictures to illustrate their learning. Or for longer projects which are intended to develop written skills, what about getting your students to create their own interactive books, with video links, hyperlinks, pictures, and even quizzes. Apple's iBooks is a great way to do this, but I tend to go with <a href="http://getcreativebookbuilder.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Creative Book Builder </a>for its simplicity, and the fact that Apple don't get to put a whole stack of obstacles between you and the sharing of your work! (Apple? Proprietary about their software? You jest, I hear you not cry...)</li>
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<ul><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFxHKeYqeCW3aNZX5UbR85Toc31_O8YRGkJNoPmHilz_dv-RV9Rkz7UJTDgI69yE4kf8bvtVsbR8VFJde6mZvRGntAI8CasdeUOZ1RlgEKG0I0q4blWUZtrj2l-JkcAaPKiy8sRfI1D7A/s1600/CBB2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFxHKeYqeCW3aNZX5UbR85Toc31_O8YRGkJNoPmHilz_dv-RV9Rkz7UJTDgI69yE4kf8bvtVsbR8VFJde6mZvRGntAI8CasdeUOZ1RlgEKG0I0q4blWUZtrj2l-JkcAaPKiy8sRfI1D7A/s1600/CBB2.png" height="296" style="cursor: move;" width="400" /></a>
<li>Finally, technology is more than ever about communication, especially with the advent of mobile tech. It gives you the ability as a teacher to bring the outside world in, make the learning relevant to that outside world through face-to-face interactions (Skype, FaceTime, Google hang-outs). Our own Science department did a superb project with NASA last year, communicating weekly over Skype to talk to their experts about global warming, and to help them with aspects of their work. I can't tell you how many sparks were lit by that single project, but the students still talk about it today.</li>
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<li>And it's not just about bringing the outside world into your classroom: It's as much about getting the work of your students out there. Primary schools are now getting their students to blog their learning to other schools internationally, and forging international relationships with other students. Blogger is free, it's connected to a Google e-mail account, and it's easy enough for a monkey to use, as the last 500 words should easily attest. My own personal ambition for my film students is for their work to be known before they even leave our school. We formed the Finham Film-Makers Society, we set up a dedicated <a href="http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_7p2m7heJHUCag8afmposIEjNqDJUa_4" target="_blank">Youtube playlist</a> from the department channel, and already the students are starting to gain the sort of exposure they will need to succeed in a competitive business. Can you imagine doing that ten years ago?</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Before we end though, a second caveat. Once your use of technology is confident, re-appraise what you're doing in the light of the most crucial question: How far does this enhance learning? Are you using technology and time to create resources which are having no impact on learning? Have a look at the SAMR model below, and if you think you're just substituting stuff, take a step back. Either re-think what you're doing, or give it up. Life's too short to spend time on tasks which don't benefit your students. Re-formulate your task in the light of what you want students to learn, and you'll soon start to work your way up the ladder.</li>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://rde.nsw.edu.au/files/images/SAMR2.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://rde.nsw.edu.au/files/images/SAMR2.gif" height="450" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The SAMR model: How transformative is your practice?</td></tr>
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I could write another whole section down here on another of the most important aspects of good teaching and learning, which is Assessment for learning. But you know what? You've probably had enough reading for the day. Conscientious blog-readers such as your good selves will probably have a stack of other (far more interesting and erudite!) blogs to be getting on with, so we can cover Socrative, GoogleDocs, and all those delights at a later stage. We could even set it for homework. Let's go crazy. In the meantime, for those of you just starting out, I wish you all the best. It's a great profession.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16001217724756297022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7433059929258391488.post-35636622591515239712014-05-28T01:09:00.000-07:002014-05-28T01:09:36.044-07:00The Media Teacher's iPadAs an advocate of BYOD, I've always talked to colleagues about the benefits of different devices and approaches within a "mixed economy" digital learning space (or "classroom where everyone's phone is different, as it's more commonly known). Largely, what you want to do should dictate the type of device you use, and I'm quite happy to work in a multi-device environment. Until I walk into my Media classroom.<br />
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I should make it clear that I have no particular beef with any other individual device, or operating system, or anything else at which you think I may be showing signs of beefage. But the iPad has always been, and remains for the moment, the device with the most power in terms of Media and Film teaching. Think about it in terms of the skills you are trying to teach, and you'll see why:<br />
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<b><u>Analysis Skills</u></b><br />
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Analysis is about note-taking, acquiring knowledge, and applying that knowledge in such a way as to develop critical faculties. This is one area of Media and Film Studies which might be considered "device-neutral" (bear with me here, we're in a new digital environment, and there will plenty more neologisms before the blog is out!). For note-taking, I use Evernote, with its easy-to-use UI, easy sharing, tagging and cataloging, and the ease with which I can record verbal feedback as audio attachments to notes. For formal written work, there's GoogleDocs, with comments, editing, sharing, peer feedback and revision checker facilities (I've written about these <a href="http://failingtolearnbetter.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/googledocs-evernote-and-visible-feedback.html" target="_blank">here</a>, so forgive me for skimming). We do a lot of mind-mapping through Popplet, we use Notability to distribute, annotate and save PDF resources, and we use Explain Everything amongst others to offer different ways of showing learning. So far, so uncontroversial in BYOD terms. I don't think there is an app there which isn't multi-platform, and that's part of the reason I use them, because the students can get used to them in my lesson, and transfer those skills to their other lessons where a variety of different devices are in use.<br />
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<b><u>Resources and curation</u></b><br />
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Similarly, in terms of resource curation, there are a host of ways of bringing information together for your students into one place which again should be accessible on whichever platform you want. Except Blackberry. There's always a kid with a Blackberry. And they're always the ones who can't access ANYTHING! I digress, somewhat bitterly...<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/Finhammedia" target="_blank">Youtube</a> is where all my video tutorials go (might just have<a href="http://failingtolearnbetter.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/10-ways-to-use-youtube-channel-in.html" target="_blank"> blogged about that before</a> as well), <a href="http://gb.pinterest.com/fpsmediateacher/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> is the magpie nest where I collate all of the useful and/or shiny things I find on the web, and if you don't already have a VLE to centralise all of this stuff at your school and distribute it to your students, you could do worse than Edmodo, an excellent all-rounder which has been made to mimic Facebook in an "acceptable to all teenagers" sort of a way.<br />
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<b><u>Revision</u></b><br />
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Finally, for revision, there are a couple of nice apps called <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/revise-media-studies/id568122481?mt=8" target="_blank">Revise Media Studies</a> and <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/revise-film-studies/id579958515?mt=8" target="_blank">Revise Film Studies</a> which are, somewhat predictably if you've gathered the gist of this blog so far, also available on iTunes and Google. They're both pretty good for vocabulary learning, though if you want your students to learn specific definitions of yours, why not get them to make their own flashcard sets with Quizlet? It matches definitions to key terms, and has lots of useful games for testing, and it's available... You guessed it. Here's one I made earlier, à la Blue Peter. Or was it Jamie Oliver? Always get those two mixed up.<br />
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<b><u>Practical Media</u></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz7abix_6AKkYjspMTiynH_AuuGn_ZphuVAkmfWodaYm0tx3BJcr7gOW9BCLUKtQUf0FocVSMnFawDZPPQzxdZvJjFgdx9MvUIJF8LDu2IsCJiXXYAd__U2gosa2o87HKSNuBVkCGTvjM/s1600/photo+(1).PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz7abix_6AKkYjspMTiynH_AuuGn_ZphuVAkmfWodaYm0tx3BJcr7gOW9BCLUKtQUf0FocVSMnFawDZPPQzxdZvJjFgdx9MvUIJF8LDu2IsCJiXXYAd__U2gosa2o87HKSNuBVkCGTvjM/s1600/photo+(1).PNG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
Practical Media and film production are the areas where Google struggles to keep up with the vast breadth of the Apple app ecosystem, and where Windows are, well, the less said the better frankly. Here, iTunes seems to have a plethora of simple tutorial apps available for Film which show you the basics of filming and editing, such as <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/making-movies-make-sense/id585174936?mt=8" target="_blank">Making Movies Make Sense</a> and for the more advanced students, the more in-depth <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/close-up-film-language-glossary/id413663130?mt=8" target="_blank">CLOSE-UP</a>, an app of advanced film vocabulary which is really useful, with a variety of checklists for commenting on different elements of film making. For example, the checklist for Lighting includes sliders between low and high-key, high and low contrast, soft and hard light, as well as options for shadows, composition and light sources. Developers just seem to think that their most lucrative education market will be Apple users, and thus they write first for iTunes. Some stop at that, others get a Google app up and going soon afterwards, but that, I think, is why Apple are currently still ahead of the game.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">CeltX in action</td></tr>
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<b><u>Film Scripting</u></b><br />
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One of my favourite simple apps for creating scripts of any kind (theatre, radio, TV, film) is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pD5HMWIqDw&list=PL_7p2m7heJHVdDb1vi7gcwiA0KnvhYa7y&index=3" target="_blank">CeltX</a>, and the iPad app is excellent for this. The app formats scripts exactly as they would be presented professionally, and prompts you for slug-lines, actions, character names, dialogue, parentheses, camera angles et al. When you write in what you want, the app automatically formats the information as it would be in a script. Character information is in capitals and centred, for example, whereas dialogue is indented appropriately. A free account means you can access any of your scripts in the cloud, via the desktop app, the iPad app, or the online editor. Simple, brilliant. Available on Google, but not as crisp or easy to use for some reason. No idea why.<br />
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<b><u>Storyboarding</u></b><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn3.theblackandblue.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/storyboard-composer-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn3.theblackandblue.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/storyboard-composer-2.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cinemek: Why can't the kids ever pronounce it?!</td></tr>
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Storyboarding is one of the film-maker's key tools. There are a shedload of storyboarding apps out there, but the one I love most is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_7p2m7heJHUeW6iAQiph3DPYEoXc1NrR" target="_blank">Cinemek</a>, because it uses photos taken on the device you are working on, and incorporates them into the storyboard frames. That seems like a faff to some students, because they want to draw something quickly and get on with filming. But the beauty of needing to take photos is that students need to think beyond showing the story events: They need to work out where they are shooting it from, what angle is best, the distance of the camera from the subject etc. And all of this gets them into the swing of thinking of the film product not simply as a story-showing device, but as a means of artistic expression in itself. And while the camera shooting gets them thinking about framing, the storyboard itself gets them to think about timing (they can change the duration of each frame), about camera movement (they can insert track and zoom symbols), about how the script and the visuals go together, and finally they can even play back a quick video to show them how the storyboard looks in motion. Awesomeness.<br />
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<b><u>Filming</u></b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/La4JR-bYtns?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe>If you're a "real" film or media teacher, the iPad filming solution isn't a satisfactory one, but filming on an iPad certainly gives you an idea of pre-viz, and at lower ability levels or for younger age groups, it offers a lot of practical skills if you combine iPad filming with iMovie editing (especially good for its trailer templates) and / or Pinnacle Studio: The two have different functions, but are becoming much of a muchness (speed up, slow down, titles, images, sound effects etc). It's now also possible to get a bit better quality of sound and stability with Mic attachments (such as the iRig system, for use with proper microphones) and tripods designed deliberately for use with iPads. You can even control a multicamera shoot with the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGMPng_uFNI" target="_blank">Collabracam app</a> and if you want to go really nuts, there are basic Green Screen apps, as well as some more fun things like ACTION MOVIE, an app which allows you to ham up your real-life footage with exploding monsters, tumbling cars, you name it. All of these are plenty to exercise the creative minds of young students, and the process and skills are the basics you want them to learn for later on in their Media and film careers, from pre- to post-production, just a bit simpler.<br />
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<b><u>Print</u></b><br />
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There are oodles of photo editing apps out there too, many of which do some neat things (Snapseed, Filterstorm, PS Express to name but a few), but few of them seem to do everything you want. For some reason, the apps which alter photos don't do good layout design, and the apps which do good layout aren't great for image editing. Personally I go with <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/adobe-photoshop-touch/id495716481?mt=8" target="_blank">PS Touch</a> for combining posters and images, and working with layers especially. There are standard Photoshop tools such as selection, magic wand, painting, cloning and blurring tools, as well as adjustment tools, a load of preset styles and effects, text, fill, gradient, lens flare... You get the idea. There's a lot of stuff. PS Touch makes them savable and they can then be used in other apps from the camera roll. However, having praised it to the heavens for its functionality, I should warn you that the functionality is inversely proportional to its usability! Get your degree first, then try to work out how to use it...<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn2.digitalartsonline.co.uk/cmsdata/features/3465422/Quark-DesignPad-512.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn2.digitalartsonline.co.uk/cmsdata/features/3465422/Quark-DesignPad-512.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Quark Design Pad</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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For bringing the whole thing together, <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/quark-designpad/id551786067?mt=8" target="_blank">QuarkDesign Pad</a> allows you to create full design products which are exportable as PDF and PNG. We use Adobe InDesign with A-level students, but this is pretty good as a cut-down version. The app allows you to place boxes, designated them as text or image or background, give them shape and outlines and colour / opacity properties. And unlike PS Touch, the interface is a lot more intuitive. Between the two of them, you can get some pretty fancy print work going.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Web</u></b><br />
<br />
There are tonnes of app design and webpage design tools out there to choose from, and I'd be loathe to name one over another, because their suitability will depend largely on your proficiency level and the quality and key functions of what you want to achieve. You can easily knock up something from templates with apps such as <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/lk/app/simpl/id506609825?mt=8" target="_blank">Simpl easy website builder</a>. On the other hand, if you want to build from scratch and have something which is CSS editable, you could go for something like <a href="http://de.appszoom.com/ipad-apps/productivity/idzign-web-page-builder-v3_grxdy.html" target="_blank">i-Dzign Web Page Builder</a>, with its easy WYSIWYG interface, ability to save in a variety of formats, and also the ability to publish via an in app FTP client.<br />
<br />
And there you have it. An almost complete tool-kit for Media and Film teachers, all on one portable (beautifully designed and premium-priced) device. Get a class set. Get an AppleTV to show everyone's work, and Robert's your father's brother and other such old-fashioned witticisms.<br />
Enjoy.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16001217724756297022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7433059929258391488.post-87257973872298636752014-05-11T04:47:00.000-07:002014-05-11T04:47:03.559-07:00BYOD in schools - Part 6: Engaging parents<script src="//assets.pinterest.com/js/pinit.js" type="text/javascript"></script>One of the most important factors in moving forward towards a roll-out of any form of mobile learning school, whether it be iPad 1:1, or BYOD in our case, is getting teachers, students and parents on board with the process simultaneously. Try shooting five basketballs towards a basket at the same time: It's more or less the same exercise. Or planning, teaching, marking, answering a thousand e-mail requests for paperwork and having any sort of life outside of school, for that matter.<br />
<br />
I've dealt elsewhere with our general <a href="http://failingtolearnbetter.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/bring-your-own-device-in-schools.html" target="_blank">strategy and rationale</a> for the <a href="http://failingtolearnbetter.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/bring-your-own-device-in-schools_16.html" target="_blank">roll-out </a>, and looked specifically at the issues of <a href="http://failingtolearnbetter.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/byod-implementation-in-schools-part-3.html" target="_blank">staff training</a>, <a href="http://failingtolearnbetter.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/byod-in-schools-part-4-student.html" target="_blank">student engagement</a> in the process and <a href="http://failingtolearnbetter.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/so-last-week-we-finally-interviewed-our.html" target="_blank">the part played by Digital Leaders</a> in this process, so forgive me if I don't revisit old ground here. We developed our strategy, worked out how we could train teachers gradually, and interviewed and trained our Digital Leaders to help us with our class trials. But now the big step to a whole-school roll-out looms, and we really need to get ALL of our parents on-board, or they won't allow their students to bring their devices in in the first place.<br />
<br />
These are the key points we need to communicate to them, in my opinion:<br />
<ul>
<li>They need to understand that this is not a gimmick to engage students: There is a <b>clear educational rationale</b> behind the move, which we consider will help improve the performance of our students on a long-term basis. In other words, they have to understand that our move is fundamentally about teaching and learning, and that the use of mobile devices in lesson will occur when there is a clear way in which it can augment, modify or redefine the learning in that lesson, and not otherwise.</li>
<li><br /></li>
<li>They need to <b>understand why we have decided not to specify a particular device</b> (often iPads in these types of schemes), or indeed pay for the roll-out ourselves from school funds. Essentially there are two key reasons for this move, which are economic and pedagogical. Economically, we as a school cannot afford to pay for them ourselves (£70000 every three years?), and if we passed the cost on to the parents, many of them may not be able to afford it either, especially in times of recession, economic insecurity etc. So not only are we saving ourselves money (three more teachers potentially to help their students?), we are also saving them money, as 99.6% of our students already own devices which they probably bring in to school on a daily basis. Pedagogically, much as I am a fan of the iPad itself, I can't pretend that other devices are not catching them up quickly. Each new iPad seems less of an education game-changer than the last, and yet the premium is still charged. More importantly, I think there is real benefit to be had from giving students and parents the choice of what to bring in, and getting them to discuss issues of what each phone/tablet can and cannot do in the context of teaching and learning, rather than mere functionality (my graphics card is faster and bigger than yours, sort of thing).</li>
<li><br /></li>
<li>We as a school need to address <b>insurance worries</b> head on: Many parents could quite reasonably object to their children being asked to bring mobile devices into school on the grounds that they could get damaged or stolen. But what if they currently allow their child to bring their phone into school at the moment? Then there is no change in the situation. The phones can still be insured as part of household contents insurance or, as many people already do, can be insured as discrete devices. Having said that, we as a school do also need to make it as secure an environment as possible for our students to bring their phones and devices to school safely. That means addressing potential areas where students might have to leave their devices unattended (changing rooms for instance), and ensuring that we are vigilant at all times, and have water-tight security systems in place to protect student property. To my mind, we should be doing that already. Similarly, in this new digital learning environment, we as a school ought to be pressing the insurance industry for easy, cheap and viable schemes which will allow us to protect our students' devices without costing the earth. Already, some financial institutions are beginning to respond to these requirements.</li>
<li><br /></li>
<li>Finally, I think it is imperative that <b>parents can SEE the enhanced learning which occurs as a result of using mobile devices</b>. They need to see it in action: We should be inviting them to watch model lessons with students, with a debrief showing how it has enhanced the learning, the students' organisation, their motivation and the differentiation which devices can enable. They need to see these enhancements to lessons in order to understand just how much difference mobile learning can make to their child's education. If we can accompany these sessions with Q&A at the end, with both the teacher and the students involved, (as happened <a href="http://failingtolearnbetter.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/an-outstanding-lesson-using-mobile.html" target="_blank">here</a> when I taught a lesson in front of colleagues from across the city using the same techniques as part of a rolling programme of CPD observations "for real"), then I think parents will be a lot more positive about the use of mobile technology as an integral part of their child's learning experience.</li>
</ul>
My ideal way of organising this would be as follows: A festival of mobile learning. As part of this, the school would perhaps need to be open a day at a weekend (and perhaps have a day off as recompense?), and invite parents and members of the local community in to see a variety of activities in action. We would have different subjects running workshops on some of the ways in which they use mobile technology as part of teaching and learning and explaining how it works in an open session for all students and parents. We would also have several "show" lessons occurring simultaneously which parents could visit, look at the teaching, look at the types of activities students were undertaking, and talk to both students and teachers about how exactly the mobile devices are enhancing teaching and learning. You could even invite local companies connected with mobile devices and mobile learning to come in and sponsor the event, and use it to pitch the benefits of their products to parents, showing them the possibilities.<br />
<br />
A fundamental building block of this strategy would be the involvement of students who already use mobile learning, and Digital Leaders in particular. Alongside the teacher-led workshops and model lessons, the student leaders could lead "Genius bar" style sessions including videos of other lessons throughout the year, the students' own thoughts on mobile learning, and the advantages it gives them over other learners. They would be able to show how they themselves support the process in school, answer technical queries, and could also talk to parents knowledgeably about the different sorts of devices they have used, the advantages and disadvantages of each for different subjects, and they could blog about this afterwards so that this advice is permanently there for parents to refer to, with direct links from the school website.<br />
<br />
One of the other things this type of festival would facilitate is for other teachers who are less confident about tech use in lessons (from other schools, or from within our own) to get the same information, to interrogate the possibilities for themselves, and to make their own first steps. This would be great CPD for all involved, sharing best and next practice widely, and also enabling schools like ours to clearly demonstrate our role as a support school to those in the wider community. In fact, I think it would be great to follow this up with an hour's TeachMeet at the end of the day for teachers to share their best apps and resources, divided into different categories (AFL, BFL, differentiation and personalisation, etc), so teachers can get what they want out of it. That would act as a great summary of everything which has been shared that day, and really send people away with lots to think about.<br />
<br />
After an event like that, I think very few parents will be in any doubt about the school's rationale for using mobile devices to enhance learning, and I would hope that teachers and students would be enthused, and that the wider community would be able to see just what a forward-thinking institution this was...<br />
<br />
If we don't engage parents, and show them the realities of modern education, and the potential mobile technology brings within that environment, we risk them not understanding what we are trying to do, and we all know where that leads...<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16001217724756297022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7433059929258391488.post-17116684452768558492014-04-15T09:13:00.000-07:002014-04-15T09:13:35.531-07:00Effective revision sessionsYesterday I ran a revision session as I often do for my students before their A level exams kick in. Usually it's a fairly dry affair, what-do-you-know, what-don't-you-know (with raised eyebrows hinting at the "and why don't you know it yet?"-ness of the latter). It's never really something I've got my head round how to do well. There must be an answer, but I'm damned if I ever found it. This year, inspired by a particularly brilliant NQT in the department, I decided to try and do things differently. Apparently, according to the students, it was brilliant. This is what we did...<br />
<br />
First, I stopped assuming the student know HOW to revise. We went right back to basics, getting them to think about their state of health as they approach their revision tasks.<br />
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<ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.upbeacon.net/polopoly_fs/1.2942943!/image/3923399118.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_260/3923399118.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.upbeacon.net/polopoly_fs/1.2942943!/image/3923399118.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_260/3923399118.jpg" /></a></div>
<li>We talked about <b>getting the body fit</b> every day: Fit body = oxygenated brain = more effective learning</li>
<li>We talked about the importance of <b>good sleep patterns</b>, getting early nights, and switching off well before they went to bed. Most of them seemed to have no idea that being plugged in to the telly, the computer, Facebook etc just before bed meant their brains were still free-wheeling for a good while after they stopped.</li>
<li>We talked about the importance of fuel: Eating a balanced diet, with plenty of vegetables and fruit, and complex carbohydrates for slow release of energy. We talked about eating little and often while you revise so that your body isn't sluggishly dividing its energies between the brain and the digestion. We talked about water to hydrate the brain.</li>
<li>We talked about the quick energy releases of caffeine and sugar and sweets, and how the come-down is worse than the temporary benefits gained, and leads to lack of focus.</li>
<li>We talked about deep breathing to oxygenate the brain: We started with three deep in breaths, and we showed them that deep breathing is in the diaphragm, not the chest. We let those three deep breaths out as slowly as possible (record was 40 secs for one constant out-breath - pretty impressive). We followed this with three deep in breaths and let them out as forcefully and quickly as possible. They could <i>feel</i> more awareness, more focus (and at nine in the morning, more awake than most of them had felt all year apparently!). We explained about the importance of oxygenating the blood and the brain for peak performance.</li>
</ul>
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After a while they started to see that we were in training: We were athletes, in it for the long haul, and we needed to get ourselves ready.</div>
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<br />
<a href="http://pics.livejournal.com/ccdesan/pic/000zy8s6" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://pics.livejournal.com/ccdesan/pic/000zy8s6" height="123" width="200" /></a>Next we looked at the environment for revision: Getting rid of anything extraneous, anything on the desk apart from what is required. We looked at creating an environment which isn't comfortable, on the basis that comfy and cozy equals sleepy. So the whole session was conducting without sitting down at all during the active bits, with fresh air through open windows so it wasn't too warm to concentrate, and we did the whole session in music-less silence, apart from our own discussions.<br />
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<a href="http://rlv.zcache.com/go_suck_a_lemon_christmas_tree_ornament-rce6e5051e70a4460b71c70c026560727_x7s2y_8byvr_512.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/go_suck_a_lemon_christmas_tree_ornament-rce6e5051e70a4460b71c70c026560727_x7s2y_8byvr_512.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a>And finally we talked about sucking lemons. Old trick I think my Dad taught me before my A levels: Sets the teeth on edge, horrible taste, but my lord does it concentrate the mind!<br />
<br />
Apparently, nobody had ever spoken to our students about this stuff, about how to get yourself in optimal condition to learn. That surprised me, but I liked the way they responded to being treated more like Olympic athletes than teaching fodder. Their response was excellent, and they really seemed to get a lot more out of it that other revision sessions they'd done.<br />
<br />
The important bit for me was that we not only thought about these things, but we modeled them during the session: We had water stations for everyone and herbal tea if they wanted; We provided complex carbohydrate (sugar-free) flapjacks and bananas, and we kept them standing for the 25 minute sessions in a relatively cool classroom.<br />
<br />
Lastly, before we got onto the material itself, we talked about what time of day their bodies and brains work best. We thought about timing, and what your brain can hold at any one time: We discussed working 3 hours a day, beginning early in the day. Morning is always better to get revision out of the way, and it gives them the rest of the day to look forward to, with the sense of achievement and the feel-good factor that goes with it. We talked about never revising for more than 20-25 minutes at a time, and being strictly disciplined with five minute breaks in between: Not over-eating. Rehydrating. Re-energising through breathing before the next session. And no more than 6-8 sessions in a day. And we talked about reflecting on what they'd learnt before they ended each 20-25 minute session, to increase likely retention of material. We talked about maximising this with one session reviewing this revision either later that day - 20 minutes or so - or perhaps first thing the following morning.<br />
<br />
And finally we talked about resting and relaxing after the work is done. If they're disciplined, and they've stuck to their schedule, they've earned it as far as I'm concerned.<br />
<br />
Oddly enough, this was probably the most important bit of the day for the students, according to the feedback we got. The whole motivation industry is well and truly established within education, but many of the students complained that once Mr Motivator had pumped them up and buggered off, they didn't necessarily know how to set about their task. This gave them an idea of what needed to be done on a daily basis in order to achieve those long-term goals, and they seemed to appreciate that help.<br />
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The rest of the sessions were dealing with particular skills and content important to my subject. We worked out how much there was to revise, how often we'd need to review each topic before the exam, and created the revision timetable we needed as a roadmap for the journey. Then we thought about the revision tasks themselves: We talked about summarising content, synthesising ideas and finding links, mind-mapping topics, applying ideas and theories to examples, practising exam tasks, but above we made it clear: NEVER simply read through notes! Revise actively, with colours, different layouts, mind maps etc, but don't just sit down. That way lies death and boredom... Or at least poor results.<br />
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And there you have it. It looks like there was no magic bullet all along. It's all just a matter of teaching the students to be aware of how they learn optimally. We'll see if it worked on results day...<br />
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ADDENDUM: If by any chance there is a magic bullet, and you've found it, please share it. I'm still curious.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16001217724756297022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7433059929258391488.post-34485485611307575972014-03-01T12:15:00.000-08:002014-03-01T12:15:29.261-08:00GoogleDocs, Evernote and visible feedbackIt's been a while since I've blogged with the pressure of impending OFSTED, marking every single word every written by any student to please the new guidelines etc etc, but today I learned something new about GoogleDocs. And it's worth sharing. I thought so, anyway...<br />
<br />
Context: I was presenting at Coventry's Partnership Plus Teaching Conference today about the way in which mobile devices could help teachers improve teaching and learning. Initially I had divided the talk into three sections: Assessment for Learning through questioning, differentiation and fostering independence in students. As a last minute addition (and by last-minute I mean at 4.22 a.m. before the 9.00 start!), I thought I ought to include marking and feedback as OFSTED seem to be putting a great deal of onus on those aspects of teaching and learning.<br />
<br />
As many of you know I use <b>GoogleDocs</b> and <b>Evernote</b> constantly for formal written work.<br />
<br />
<b><u>EVERNOTE</u></b><br />
The students use <b>Evernote</b> as their note-taking tool first and foremost:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>It's easy to use</li>
<li>It can include all sorts of other media (videos of a practical, photos of notes on a board, attached documents you send the students etc)</li>
<li>Documents are easily shareable, through email, link sharing, or on Twitter</li>
<li>Notes are taggable for easy cross-referencing (especially useful when it comes to revision of topics)</li>
<li>And most importantly from my point of view, for verbal feedback</li>
</ul>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeuuU3Ehw-W5gMShVq_2u-2gFsk1hPfEymxobfRDXx6gHdEueX2CzZKGBRpjtcr2eJ8zLNSDiHIJalm7iT3jxnrhF24PuHtzrOphjfNotM2aCnvUoxHSGQQPTno4VFgGWQiNS8dQkRvsM/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-03-01+at+19.45.44.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeuuU3Ehw-W5gMShVq_2u-2gFsk1hPfEymxobfRDXx6gHdEueX2CzZKGBRpjtcr2eJ8zLNSDiHIJalm7iT3jxnrhF24PuHtzrOphjfNotM2aCnvUoxHSGQQPTno4VFgGWQiNS8dQkRvsM/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-03-01+at+19.45.44.png" height="320" width="301" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Use the mic (top right) to record a verbal feedback file (bottom left)</td></tr>
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Let me explain the last point, as it saves a lot of wasted time. It seems to me that the new focus on marking and feedback is leaving many schools floundering in a tidal wave of evidence searching, to prove that we do what we do every day, namely talk to our students. In our school it's "Verbal feedback given" stamps. In other schools, there will be some variation on that theme. And for the sentences or two of advice I give, the whole rigmarole of getting a stamp out, getting students to mark in books what has been written etc is precious time being wasted, which often takes longer than what I'm asking them to action. So here is where Evernote comes in useful: You simply record yourself as you talk to the student, and an audio recording is automatically appended to their notes. It's simple, it's no extra work, it's evidence that I do it, and it's there when ten minutes later the student is about to ask me for the fifth time what I said!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b><u>GOOGLE DOCS</u></b></div>
<div>
For more formal assessed writing, I use GoogleDocs (for presentations, essays, spreadsheets, forms etc). There are several areas of functionality that Docs has which are easier to access than in Evernote, as follows:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Collaborative writing is easily done by students sharing the link to the document they are creating with whoever else they wish to work with. This is useful for collaborative classwork and homework. It is also incredibly easy for me as a marker to see who has contributed what sections of each document, and therefore to distinguish between their input levels, and justify different marks to examiners.</li>
<li>Peer feedback is easy through the comments section, again simply through sharing the link to the document with a given peer. In particular I like the fact that the person sharing the document can set preferences so that they control whether collaborators and peers can view, comment upon or actually edit a document</li>
<li>Sharing documents with me as a teacher creates a system of visible, trackable marking, the "paper trail" OFSTED are often looking for. All comments are dated, and each different collaborator's comments, including mine, come in different colours.</li>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPm7iRbRgVomCn278TYUrLH3ZLJcLazt3Mo3iqzyAP-S61E1038peZYVD6CwIO_NqgA_l3S2sQdcd_nG8jIGFeQtrSL9GNxf2Z-mQTrLe0CGEF4esxaxhsMo1OSYyPO4VlMPBEVF8JoMg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-03-01+at+20.01.19.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPm7iRbRgVomCn278TYUrLH3ZLJcLazt3Mo3iqzyAP-S61E1038peZYVD6CwIO_NqgA_l3S2sQdcd_nG8jIGFeQtrSL9GNxf2Z-mQTrLe0CGEF4esxaxhsMo1OSYyPO4VlMPBEVF8JoMg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-03-01+at+20.01.19.png" height="355" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Comments added down the right</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<li>This then begins a mythical and trackable dialogue with students, through which we can start the processes of DIRT, reflection or whatever you wish to call it. And again, it's very visible.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<b><u>MARK SUPPORT COMMENTS FOR MODERATORS</u></b></div>
<div>
Throughout the process of drafting, marking and re-drafting work, the student has a record of everything that has been said, and the teacher has a record of everything which has been changed, which I think is pretty neat. But someone was about to help me out even further with some learning of my own. During the conference today one colleague stopped me short and asked if we could print out the document with the teacher comments on, as she wanted to write to send her work off to the moderator with her comments typed in the margin. Great idea, I thought, before investigating and finding out it wasn't possible (Google, if you're listening, sort it out!). Another colleague however, reminded us you can export documents as a variety of formats including Word. And lo and behold, when you do, there are all the comments!</div>
</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Comments to support marks down the right, including those of internal moderators in different colours</td></tr>
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So there you have it: Today's revelation. Use GoogleDocs not just to annotate for your students, but also do it for your external moderation: If you cross-moderate within departments, it's even better as the internal moderator's comments are in a different colour. Export the document as a Word document, and print. Job done!</div>
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My workshop, but it was me who was learning as much as anyone there. I do love it when teachers share...</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16001217724756297022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7433059929258391488.post-51241975092199427412014-01-19T02:20:00.000-08:002014-01-19T02:20:52.030-08:00Lesson Observation for RealLast month I <a href="http://failingtolearnbetter.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/an-outstanding-lesson-using-mobile.html" target="_blank">blogged about a lesson I taught</a> in front of a number of colleagues from around the city of Coventry as part of our Partnership Plus CPD programme. An OFSTED inspector was present, and the rationale behind the lesson was to not only see a different type of lesson, but also to hear an Inspector's thought processes when observing it and judging it.<br />
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At the time, 70 plus colleagues attended and saw the lesson live, but I'd forgotten that it had been video recorded as well. My thanks for this go to <a href="https://twitter.com/AlternativeLive" target="_blank">@AlternativeLive</a> for recording and editing this for us. I received it yesterday, and have been poring over it this morning (with mounting embarrassment, it should be said!). One of the things which has struck me however is the fact that the cameraman has captured a lot of aspects of the event that I didn't remember while writing <a href="http://failingtolearnbetter.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/an-outstanding-lesson-using-mobile.html" target="_blank">the blog</a>. The other thing I've really enjoyed reviewing is the comments and questions which followed the lesson (from about halfway through - Feel free to skip through my bits!): The students are talking about their learning and their experiences in class, the teachers are asking really good questions about what was happening, whether technology was useful in moving learning on, and what OFSTED's views on it would be. The OFSTED Inspector's comments were really useful for me to now reflect upon too, as was the ability to see my teaching in action, and I would honestly say that, while it scared the bejeezuz out of me at the time, it's a really useful reference point for me to use to tweak aspects of my delivery, my task-setting, my explanations, and my body language.<br />
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So anyway, I thought that in order to share a little of what I do, I would put the video up for perusal. Please go easy on me personally: The bags under the eyes are a clear testament to the 1 a.m. return from a West End trip two nights before. But any comments on how I can improve my teaching, or comments on how people viewed it afterwards, are most welcome.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frySoGxNKxI&feature=youtu.be&a" style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frySoGxNKxI&feature=youtu.be&a</a></td></tr>
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By the way, I apologise for breaking with tradition and not providing any form of silly cartoon at any point in this blog: I think after you've watched the video it will be clear that I've already offered by far and away enough entertainment material for you already!<div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16001217724756297022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7433059929258391488.post-75926399162428440662013-12-06T07:37:00.003-08:002013-12-08T03:49:15.273-08:00An outstanding lesson using mobile learning?Recently I was asked / was volunteered to lead something called a "lesson observation for real" in Coventry. This is essentially a lesson taught in the round in front of anything up to 100 colleagues and, crucially, an OFSTED registered Inspector. The rationale behind it lies not in the inspection of the lesson for a grade, but the sharing of the inspector's thought processes when observing the lesson, and illuminates the (at times unfathomable) thinking behind it all. As a teacher, I think it's useful to be able to hear that explained with regards to a lesson I can watch live, although I'm not sure that as the person conducting the lesson I was aware of much more than the slight niff of me crapping myself throughout! Not a nice image to leave this first paragraph on.<br />
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<a href="http://www.wpclipart.com/cartoon/people/assorted_people/Me_Worry__Alfred_E_Neumann.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.wpclipart.com/cartoon/people/assorted_people/Me_Worry__Alfred_E_Neumann.png" width="164" /></a>Hopefully you've followed me through to this second paragraph. You'll be pleased to know that, if you have, the worst of the offensive language is over at any rate. Preparing for the lesson was a bit of a nightmare, especially as the closer we got to the event, the more people I knew told me they were coming to see it. As Billy Connolly once said, it's like being forced to sing in front of your aunties! My brief was simple: The previous lesson observations for real run in Coventry (there are at least two or three a year) had tended to focus on KS3 and KS4 classes. This time they wanted to see some KS5 teaching, and it had been suggested that it would be good to see some practical use of mobile technology as part of teaching and learning. As half of my timetable is KS5 and I have been leading our school's BYOD roll-out so far, that was me pretty much dropped in the sh*t and "volunteered" (there's that niff again...)". I had to start thinking...<br />
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So, if I were creating a perfect lesson using mobile learning what would it involve? Well, of course the first thing it would have to do is focus on the learning, not the apps. I would think about learning and visible progress or at least visible problem-solving, and frame those into learning outcomes. For me, it would probably involve SOLO levels as a clear way of demarcating progress from one level of skill to the next, which means it would need a baseline. I also tend to think my best lessons would allow the students to select their tasks (according to SOLO levels), and set their own learning objectives in doing so. It's also important for me to give them freedom in their methods of presenting their learning to me and to the class, as that seems to engage them much more. I don't think that just because students get to post-16 study they are any less likely to be disengaged by poorly conceived tasks and activities.<br />
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Once I've got that idea of the elements I want to include in the lesson, that's when I'd start to think about apps and the technology.<br />
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Another couple of key considerations were how to demonstrate progress and learning. Don't get me wrong: I'm fully aware of the OFSTED dictat which stipulates that they must look for evidence of "progress over time", not progress within a twenty minute segment of a lesson. But the fact remains that students who have had a lesson in which there has been no learning or challenge are not likely to make progress over time either. As such I wanted to include a presentation of the students' work at the end of the lesson for myself and the rest of the class to see, and I wanted to punctuate the lesson with good hinge questions which interrogated what they were doing, and how well they were doing it.<br />
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<a href="http://leadinglearnerdotme.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/solo-taxonomy-with-verbs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://leadinglearnerdotme.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/solo-taxonomy-with-verbs.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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So this is what I came up with...<br />
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The starter activity was a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Der5RuV6rbs" target="_blank">Socrative quiz</a>: Five questions, each of which would tell me their ability to work at a certain SOLO level. I could then analyse the results very quickly, see what levels they were working at, and direct them towards tasks at that SOLO level. (By the way, if any of you have not come across SOLO Taxonomy as a pedagogy before, check <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDXXV-mCLPg" target="_blank">this</a> out, and then get yourself involved in the <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/sh/b06anwln8asi949/SsVhOp4VCx" target="_blank">SOLO Taxonomy network</a>).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdEailiSVlxcOCaqtj4zkbcIfPd9H8-C6OXssTAziTJblo3yGswichMjh2t3C4Zov2JgP1kFNRVPy74mpcTw1SnCJZ_rAFPkY0zQQ4Fj5j2LlABsXsZbR0YIWfGe0CRmRu1Cc3ZgYDkzg/s1600/photo+(1).PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdEailiSVlxcOCaqtj4zkbcIfPd9H8-C6OXssTAziTJblo3yGswichMjh2t3C4Zov2JgP1kFNRVPy74mpcTw1SnCJZ_rAFPkY0zQQ4Fj5j2LlABsXsZbR0YIWfGe0CRmRu1Cc3ZgYDkzg/s400/photo+(1).PNG" width="300" /></a>I should say at this point that on the back of my task sheets was the summary (left) of how I felt the SOLO levels equated (roughly) to the sorts of grades the might get in the exam. The students are all aware of their "working at" grades, and the grades they themselves have targeted, and could then refer to this summary as a way of seeing how far they had made progress not only in relation to the difficulty of the tasks, but also in relation to what they wanted to ultimately achieve by way of grade.<br />
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If students were struggling with definitions for even the most basic analytical terms and techniques, they would do the Uni-structural activity: They would be given a list of key subject terminology relevant to the lesson which they had to be able to define and remember by the end of the first twenty minutes. Using <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIkYNRMseDg&list=PL_7p2m7heJHVmBKPv7iBnG0JPh6KxFUM3&index=1" target="_blank">Quizlet</a>, a great little flashcard creation app, they were asked to look up these terms, write the definitions for themselves on the back of the electronic flashcard, and then use the 'Test" facility within the app to see how many they could get correct. <br />
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<a href="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ7m0kfCLfFic5z67ca1JzY6fAq9pTiKuuDtNRY0lP5cjOZ4UdepqxlcGjK" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="97" src="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ7m0kfCLfFic5z67ca1JzY6fAq9pTiKuuDtNRY0lP5cjOZ4UdepqxlcGjK" width="200" /></a><br />
If they got over 80% of the answers correct twice in a row, I'd be pretty certain they had learnt the terms, and move them swiftly on to the tasks at the next level. (The fact that this app is self-marking is an easy AfL win as far as I'm concerned)<br />
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The following activity involved the students showing me that they could recognise a variety of the techniques they'd learnt in the first activity in practical examples, to take their knowledge beyond the abstract. Using one of two apps (they could choose whichever they felt most comfortable with, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBWwzK7hKn0&list=PL_7p2m7heJHXEv0iv4JKiPGh85mfWWig9&index=23" target="_blank">Thinglink</a> or <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b00ZeszvjP4&list=PL_7p2m7heJHXEv0iv4JKiPGh85mfWWig9&index=13" target="_blank">Explain Everything</a>), the students were sent a still image from the film we were analysing, which was also an AURA* which could activate the scene itself on Youtube straight to their devices (I could have done this with a shared QR code too, but most of the students went for the Aura). They had to use their key terms to label the techniques used in the still, and then add others used in the scene itself which might not be evident in a still image (use of editing, soundtrack and diegetic sound etc). The task was peer marked with overview from me, making sure that the students' ideas were correct, and questioning them individually to test the solidity of their knowledge. While from the lesson plan you'd have thought there was very little teacher involvement in the lesson at all apart from setting up the activities, this is where I think the beauty of SOLO lies. It frees up the teacher to test every individual and make these individual interventions where necessary. Even in a 30 minute lesson last night, I managed to spend some good time with each student answering questions, clearing up misconceptions, questioning and guiding students individually if they were having difficulties. That level of differentiation is hard to do when you're teaching a whole class I think.<br />
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Towards the top of the class, the students were working more in pairs, bashing ideas off each other in response to a task which asked them not only to look at the techniques used in the scene and their connotations, but relate them directly to the intellectual, emotional or visceral reactions they might cause in audiences. In a nutshell, the students had to work out why the techniques were used by the director, and whether they worked on all sorts of different audiences. This then allowed me to add additional hinge questions about why they felt certain audience members would react one way and other audiences would react another way. The students embedded the scene clip from Youtube into Explain Everything, labelled the techniques and connotations, and then created an audio commentary on what was happening in the scene, and what they were personally feeling, thinking etc, and then wrote down the key audience effects, and worked out the key techniques used to generate them. They could then create a summary annotation from their thoughts, and send it to me for marking via email (or export it as a movie). I think if the lesson had gone on longer, this would have been a longer task to give time for a deeper level of thinking, and once I'd checked the projects they'd produced, I would have them exported as movies and put on our Youtube channel so as to teach other students further down the SOLO scale. I accept that they could simply have taught this verbally as a presentation in front of the class without the need for tech, but the fact that this "lesson" would have been curated under our online resources is a powerful augmentation of the task which makes coming back to the material at a later date for revision purposes easier for students.<br />
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The final activity on the SOLO scale was given much more time to complete, as it involved thinking about things at a much more profound level. Students were asked to recreate the effect of the Schindler's List scene using different techniques of their own. They could cast it differently, use different camera shots, sounds and edits, and even change the setting and contents of the scene. The task relied on students knowing what Spielberg was trying to achieve in the scene in the first place, relating this back to their prior knowledge on how to create emotional effects in viewers, and using previous work on different filmic techniques to create a new unique piece of their own. Think about that task for a second and ask yourself how easy it would have been for you to do yourself. I think I would have found it difficult, and it's my subject area! But by the end of it, the students who had attempted it were thoroughly immersed in the creative task, and you could see they had really been thinking about it. (As the questions started coming from the audience after the session, she pulled me aside and asked if she could carry on with the task!!)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPe4vr-yMpYG2VhUbXjCJWQlEI5jbwF3TGIVmcLZw3waWvKQ8p3f3UWDyIKL6toxzDzGygHioOlh3T3293fFpcBpWFjROO-vF4Lfn9tziDMeEZivzIFTqnZSdJ9Z4REDINwGXQllzRDYo/s1600/photo+(1)+copy.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPe4vr-yMpYG2VhUbXjCJWQlEI5jbwF3TGIVmcLZw3waWvKQ8p3f3UWDyIKL6toxzDzGygHioOlh3T3293fFpcBpWFjROO-vF4Lfn9tziDMeEZivzIFTqnZSdJ9Z4REDINwGXQllzRDYo/s320/photo+(1)+copy.PNG" width="320" /></a>Here was an activity where the tech did more than simply assist the task, it transformed it. The students could approach the task one of two ways, either by taking stills from Schindler's List itself, and narrating their ideas over it using an app called <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tellagami/id572737805" target="_blank">Tellagami</a> (they hate presenting in person, so this app gives them the chance to disguise themselves. It's very quick to set up a character, and gives them plenty of time for thinking the problem through, though I have to watch that they aren't getting over-distracted by dressing their character up nicely!). This then acts as a presentation for other students, which would be given as the plenary in the lesson to show others a complex response to a higher level task, and again, is archivable on the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/Finhammedia" target="_blank">Youtube channel</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUPCGpF0aJNWYMa0NYChKcZ2yp0tPHR7vL3_vTHgpQ6djEGOHBqqpSd9Nr9ZD1DPzu5_x8xa9BWEWMegJcu-9k-tcnfmEd1a-jPdTsk0r_BY1DHS-J42Csc4ou-4LAuPfqjGv-bUefTkQ/s1600/photo+(1)+copy+2.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUPCGpF0aJNWYMa0NYChKcZ2yp0tPHR7vL3_vTHgpQ6djEGOHBqqpSd9Nr9ZD1DPzu5_x8xa9BWEWMegJcu-9k-tcnfmEd1a-jPdTsk0r_BY1DHS-J42Csc4ou-4LAuPfqjGv-bUefTkQ/s320/photo+(1)+copy+2.PNG" width="320" /></a>The alternative approach to this task was to show how they would have done it rather than offering a verbal commentary, using a storyboard app called <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/storyboard-composer/id325697961" target="_blank">Cinemek</a>. The app allows students to take photographs of themselves and their classmates recreating a scene, and annotating movements, dialogue (they can write as a script or record as audio if they want to perform it), camera movements and edits in such a way that it can all be strung together as one scene at the end. It's a really great app I use constantly because it gets film-makers thinking on a much more technical level about how they show a scene rather than tell a story, but it can be used for a whole number of sequencing and commentating functions in other subjects. In this case, none of the students during the observation used it because frankly, in front of a bunch of other teachers, I think they were embarrassed to be taking pictures of themselves in costumes and theatrical poses! That said, it's certainly an option I would use in other creative and "normal" lessons taking place in my own environment (rather than the gladiator arena of public scrutiny!).<br />
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The half hour lesson gave me plenty of scope for asking questions, for individual interventions, and moving students forwards, but in a full hour's lesson, I would have ended with the students showing their work to me, or at the top end, to the rest of the class, becoming the "experts in their field" by way of a plenary. I would have rounded off with a repeat of the same Socrative quiz as they came in with, slightly modified to make them think a little more. If they've made progress, I should be getting more complex answers to the questions they were initially reasonably insecure about, and an ability to answer the more complex questions at a higher SOLO level.<br />
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After the session the students and I took part in an interesting Q&A discussion about what the teachers and the HMI had seen. It was clear that several of the onlookers had concerns that the learning they had seen had not been "traditional", and many were anxious that there had not been a clear end goal for the whole class. I think my students were brilliant in answering many of these questions, as they made it clear that this model of learning allows them to learn at their level and their (albeit challenging) pace. There were perhaps concerns about how "visible" the learning was, but it was all there on the students' iPads. There was a definite sense of engagement from every student, but where, I was asked, was the progress after 20 minutes? A question which comes from having it ingrained in us that we must demonstrate progress in 20 minute chunks, I suspect. Fortunately, the HMI was fully supportive, and pointed to the fact that we are looking at lessons as an indicator of challenge and progress for all, but only as one factor in judging the key criteria, which is whether or not students made progress "over time". My students could show how these types of lessons have clearly made them think much more deeply, and could show people examples of their GoogleDocs essays, with my comments, which demonstrated this progress. The key to showing progress in SOLO is to show students improving their skills to a point where they can attempt more difficult and profound thinking tasks, and as far as the HMI was concerned, the movement of students from one task to the next, after careful checking by the teacher, was clear evidence of progress. Huzzah!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.scoop.it/p7hgKIowRFDgB3HGvYVrIDl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBVaiQDB_Rd1H6kmuBWtceBJ" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="272" src="http://img.scoop.it/p7hgKIowRFDgB3HGvYVrIDl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBVaiQDB_Rd1H6kmuBWtceBJ" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Copyright 2005 by Randy Galsbergen</td></tr>
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Now I shall wait for the nervous tension to subside, and get back to my normal life... Maybe.<br />
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<i>By the way, I should also at this point like to publicly thank my colleagues who encouraged me to do this, and supported me with their kind words. Most importantly, I want to thank the members of my Year 12 and Year 13 Film Studies classes for their help in being guinea pigs for this session: They were truly brilliant, magnificent ambassadors for the school and for our style of learning. My sincerest gratitude. Cakes on the way...</i><br />
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* If you want to see how Aurasma works for yourself, simply download <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/aurasma/id432526396" target="_blank">the free app</a> (Android link <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.aurasma.aurasma&hl=en_GB" target="_blank">here</a>), find fpsmediateacher in the search section and follow, and then hover the aura target over this picture: If you've done it right, it should turn into a purple swirl, play a weird video quickly, and if you tap on that weird video, it will take you to the link for the scene on Youtube. Simples.<br />
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Addendum: I understand that the video of the lesson may be made publicly available in a few days time. I'm not sure this is a great idea from my point of view (I don't think I got my hair right for a start, and the suit/tie combo I'm told was not up to scratch!), but if anyone is interested, please let me know and I will see if I can get a link to put on the blog.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16001217724756297022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7433059929258391488.post-11996659645436275132013-10-28T04:47:00.002-07:002014-05-03T03:33:44.879-07:00Creating a feedback loop with students: Written formative assessment made easy<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.apenotmonkey.com/comics/2009-02-16-Life-as-a-feedback-loop.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.apenotmonkey.com/comics/2009-02-16-Life-as-a-feedback-loop.gif" height="120" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Weston</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">One of the key improvements I've been wanting to make to my teaching and learning this year has been to put a system in place of improved formative written feedback within my KS4 and KS5 classes. My feedback has always been decent, but I have a tendency to over-mark, and to get little action from students as a result of my efforts, which can be very frustrating. In addition, I hate having spent a load of time on marking which consequently gets lost by the students, or tucked away in a folder never to be referred to again!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">This year, as those of you who follow my blog will know, I've been trying to exploit the potential of mobile technology to improve a whole raft of areas of my teaching. But before you stop reading because you have no access to this kind of tech in your schools, the solution I've found to the marking issue is simple, and doesn't require anything more than the computers most schools and students have already: <b>GoogleDocs.</b></span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">There are several key advantages to using electronic cloud-based media for your work portfolios, regardless of whether or not your school has iPads, Mobile technology etc. Try some of these for size...</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">1) Students just need a gmail address (free) to get their own Drive. Drive is like a huge hard disk in the sky. You can store anything on it, and it will be there any time and anywhere you can access the Internet. If you use the Chrome browser - again free, it will be at the top of the page every time you open it and sign in.</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">2) There are no more excuses for "forgetting" homework: It's always there, online and accessible.</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">3) Students can no longer get away with saying they have made huge alterations to drafts when they've barely touched them. At the top of their documents, you can see the date they were last modified, and you can even see previous revisions: Anything that's pink is new.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><img border="0" class="" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=a175524ba3&view=att&th=141fedcf83941af5&attid=0.1.1&disp=emb&zw&atsh=1" style="max-height: 90%; max-width: 90%;" /> </span><br />
<img border="0" height="339" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=a175524ba3&view=att&th=141fedcf83941af5&attid=0.1.2&disp=emb&zw&atsh=1" style="max-height: 90%; max-width: 90%;" width="640" /><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">4) Another key advantage is that there are no compatibility issues between versions of software, such as when Kevin can't access his homework because he has a more up-to-date version of Word at home!</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">5) Similarly, there are no issues with losing work: Every keystroke is saved.</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">But the main advantage is the ability to save all your work and organise it into folders, and then share it with anyone else who has a gmail address, for assessment by a teacher or a peer. This is how it works in my classroom...</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Students create the essay in Documents, or a spreadsheet, or presentation.</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Students share it with the teacher and other students, and can specify whether or not they want the document to be editable, commentable or simply viewable to each individual. The teacher or partner receives an email telling them a document has been shared with them, with a link which takes you straight to the document.</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Personally I tend to organise my Drive into folders, and put shared work into a folder I set up for each individual student, that way I know all of their work is in one place. Once it's in there, I start reading. </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><img border="0" height="170" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=a175524ba3&view=att&th=141fedcf83941af5&attid=0.1.3&disp=emb&zw&atsh=1" style="max-height: 90%; max-width: 90%;" width="400" /></span><br />
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<tr><td><img border="0" height="400" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=a175524ba3&view=att&th=141fedcf83941af5&attid=0.1.4&disp=emb&zw&atsh=1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-height: 90%; max-width: 90%;" width="369" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption">Leaving questions and comments</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">My next job is to leave comments on sections which could be improved. This could vary in content depending on the student. I can simply highlight or correct errors in the comment (<b><u>sp</u></b> denotes a spelling mistake, <u style="font-weight: bold;">P</u> a punctuation error, <u style="font-weight: bold;">Phrasing</u> a grammar error etc), or highlight something which needs to be re-written, or I can ask questions to extend the student's thinking. This then engages the student to improve a particular section, or to engage in debate with me about what I mean, allowing me to draw out deeper understanding over the period of the conversation (this conversation can happen over time or live, as one of the features of Google Docs is the ability to see when other people are contributing to the document in real time - Great for writing collaborative pieces!). If the student thinks they have got it, they can mark my comment as resolved, but I can go back to that section any time and re-open the comment thread if I feel they haven't quite got it.</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"></span></span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" class="" height="238" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=a175524ba3&view=att&th=141fedcf83941af5&attid=0.1.5&disp=emb&zw&atsh=1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-height: 90%; max-width: 90%;" width="320" /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Leaving formative feedback summaries</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Finally, at the start of the piece, I will leave formative feedback: A maximum of three things which deserve praise (What Went Well), and two key areas to improve (Even Better If). This I have found focuses my marking on the most important aspects which will help the student to get to the next level. </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"></span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"></span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"></span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Recently, a couple of additional features have suggested themselves to me. The first is simply to highlight areas of good practice, so that the students can see examples of what they are doing well </span>(you can choose any colour - I use green, below) <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">. This also helps if you ask them to share a piece of work with other students as a model.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheAaxdtfrSyCBgk1OUIRMee-vLIsEhpTY5b3c_FEfCCxdStZZY2YHriYvmOliqNEA2q4E8PbaB6pD6C_lMs53O9CiCMnpRR2NdAbAY6QPP7Ww7IxxI0ooqq6paf7Jk60JfNxsXh0FmLZ4/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-05-03+at+11.17.01.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheAaxdtfrSyCBgk1OUIRMee-vLIsEhpTY5b3c_FEfCCxdStZZY2YHriYvmOliqNEA2q4E8PbaB6pD6C_lMs53O9CiCMnpRR2NdAbAY6QPP7Ww7IxxI0ooqq6paf7Jk60JfNxsXh0FmLZ4/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-05-03+at+11.17.01.png" height="209" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Highlighting elements of good practice</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The comments function is also a nice way to get better annotations on essays you can then send to moderators for coursework. You have a couple of choices:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">1) Print directly from GoogleDocs: The essays will print out without any of your formative comments, which you can then annotate by hand;</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2gTYwnwxShGiHZnDLVkJy4mFS0d_lytpOrcd_RUgH8aUIU3QD97lgrmEJgoKStydMAkL__pWFKEZaOGVeC9KKf_ggev2AvJJ9qtGijhSdniI9MLcGz9o6NKPZpK0PcOnhQWaoTLujAeM/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-05-03+at+11.26.23.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2gTYwnwxShGiHZnDLVkJy4mFS0d_lytpOrcd_RUgH8aUIU3QD97lgrmEJgoKStydMAkL__pWFKEZaOGVeC9KKf_ggev2AvJJ9qtGijhSdniI9MLcGz9o6NKPZpK0PcOnhQWaoTLujAeM/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-05-03+at+11.26.23.png" height="215" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Annotated coursework for the moderator</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">2) Make a second copy of the document and add your support comments at the side, and then "Download as" a Word document, which keeps all of your comments alongside the essay, ready for the moderator to read.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">And there you have it. An easy way to show progress over time, to evidence marking, but more importantly, to enter into a meaningful formative dialogue with students so that they improve with every piece.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Simples...</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">For easy tutorials on how to use GoogleDrive, please check out our <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/Finhammedia" target="_blank">department Youtube Channel.</a></span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16001217724756297022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7433059929258391488.post-70941787308373371012013-08-04T16:02:00.001-07:002013-08-04T16:05:36.200-07:00Leadership secondment: a great experienceThose of you who have been following my blog over the last few months will know/have surmised/been told/have no idea whatsoever that I was seconded to our leadership team for the past two terms. I can honestly say it probably came at the worst possible time for me, with a colleague who had just left the department and not been replaced, having to take on their exam classes, dealing with some serious personal issues of a couple of colleagues and trying to be a decent father and husband (the last two have been more or less accepted as optional by my family for all but the month of August each year, but that doesn't mean I stop trying, or at the very least feeling guilty about failing!). By the end of the process, however, I would say that it was one of the most worthwhile professional things I have done in the last few years.<br />
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The reasons for this might be divided into two: The worth lies in what I achieved (which is open to debate) and what I experienced. The latter I think is the most important, especially given the paucity of my achievements. I'm sticking with it as the most important thing at any rate. So what did I experience?<br />
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<b><u>1. The opportunity to organise a whole-school project</u></b><br />
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Anyone who has read the non-leadership-y blogs of mine will know that the other element I've been captivated by this year is the potential for mobile technology to transform learning. Because of what I'd been doing in the classroom, other colleagues and leadership were getting interested in what I was doing (or wanting to know how I could justify all the expensive iPads at least). Having discussed the potential of the iPads, and the way they were transforming the teaching and learning in my classroom, it was clear that this was a way forward which could really benefit the school, but as I've written <a href="http://failingtolearnbetter.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/bring-your-own-device-in-schools.html" target="_blank">elsewhere</a>, we were in no financial position to afford a 1:1 iPad programme. The compromise, which actually turned out to be far less of a compromise than I would have thought, was BYOD.<br />
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The scope of the project itself was huge: It consisted of getting SLT and teachers on board, getting technicians on board and working out how to get the network ready, getting student involvement, getting Digital Leaders trained, and trying to manoeuvre a lot of different elements into place simultaneously which gave me a sense of playing twelve-dimensional tetris permanently for seven months. It's arguable that there is no better training for Assistant Headship than exactly this! The whole project is now an integral part of our next three year focus in school, on the personalisation of learning, so I will genuinely be able to say that I have had an impact on teaching and learning across the school which, by the time the project is fully rolled out, will have affected every single student's learning. When you're a middle leader trying to take that next step up the career ladder, this is often the missing link, the whole-school dimension, where candidates come up short.<br />
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<b><u>2. The opportunity to lead CPD</u></b><br />
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I have rarely worked in a school where there has been such a relentless focus on high-quality CPD, and where the majority of it has been provided by our in-house experts. The BYOD project gave me the chance to lead some of the individualised training our school runs for its staff in order to develop them all as far as we can, and also offered me a chance to view the principles and logistics behind that training programme. For my part, I was able to deliver CPD on how teachers can make use of mobile technology in their teaching and learning, to provide high quality assessment for learning opportunities, and to give students a huge amount of choice in how they learn, and how they present their learning. The CPD I delivered also gave my CPD co-ordinator a good idea of how advanced these practices were, and she in turn gave me the opportunity to deliver similar training to other teachers at <a href="http://failingtolearnbetter.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/fostering-independent-learning-through.html" target="_blank">TeachMeet Brum (1 and 2)</a> and TeachMeet Cov, as well as at the Coventry Teaching and Learning Partnership. These consequently provided me with networking opportunities with other far-sighted teachers, middle and senior leaders and exposed me more importantly to doubts and questions about what I was introducing which were both sincere and legitimate. By the time I'd gone home to reflect on those questions and obstacles, the planned whole-school initiative was beginning to become much more water-tight, and much less likely to fail. That kind of high-level scrutiny and collaboration has been really useful in formulating my ideas, and also in giving me the confidence that the ideas themselves are worth carrying out from the point of view of enhancing teaching and learning, rather than being just another "initiative". My best moment was when a friend who is high up in the IT industry told me (after a half hour grilling me about our BYOD plans) that he couldn't find a flaw or a gap in them. High praise indeed. For the first time in my career I don't feel as defensive, and I don't see criticism as a negative, but as an opportunity for reflection and growth. Again, a real benefit to my career, no matter which direction it heads in from now.<br />
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<b><u>3. The opportunity to observe a high performing leadership team</u></b><br />
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The chance to see how a high performing team operates, and what characterises them, was another key learning development for me this year. I got the opportunity to see how this team was shaped by strategic thinking and planning, long-term plans, conviction that your plan will do the job and get the best results, constant checking of the data, digging for the detail and the stories behind it, a focus on excellence rather than initiatives, a daily togetherness and opportunity to talk about operational matters, weekly meetings which were purposeful, focused and always about how to get the best for our students.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Copyright owner: Randy Glasbergen</td></tr>
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I got to see that, while middle leaders and below often think of SLT as purely results-focused managers, they were actually focused now not just on the results, but also on the adults they wanted our students to become: There was review of the curriculum experiences of the students, their extra-curricular experiences, and the out-of-school opportunities we offer them. We spent time looking at different curriculum models such as the IB, the Middle Years Programme etc, and thinking about how closely the experiences they offered matched our aspirations for our children. Oddly enough, the current turmoil within our educational system served me well, as I got to see a team focus on the basics of the educational experience, and prioritise the things which really matter. I came to see that outstanding curriculum, teaching and learning, student experiences etc are never the result of accident or chance.<br />
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<b><u>3. The opportunity to contribute</u></b><br />
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Within this context, I also had the chance to contribute to the above debates and see whether or not my own ideas stand up to scrutiny at such a high level. I think that's probably all I need to say on that section. They weren't laugh at. To my face, anyway. From my point of view, big win.<br />
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<b><u>4. The opportunity to see how high-performing teams are forged</u></b><br />
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One of the most significant aspects of the secondment for me was seeing how high-performing teams are built and exploited to get the best out of each person. Like any good classroom, the team were divided differently for different tasks and projects, sometimes clearly in light of what they could bring to the project from their own expertise, but at other times to develop more latent skills which each member of the team perhaps needed to work on to become a more effective and rounded leader. There was a constant theme of support, and wanting to maximise the talents within the team, but also a feeling that they were constantly being asked to move forward, and become even better, even more balanced as individuals. What did I learn about myself within this environment? Well, apparently I've got some decent ideas. I have a focus on systems and strategy which will serve me well, but I also have a good eye on people, and hopefully won't ever put the systems above those people delivering them. Within a high performing leadership team, I held my own, hopefully, and would consider I had a shot at most AHT jobs. Having said that, you can probably see through the number of grammatical qualifiers and self-deprecations in the last few paragraphs that I haven't quite shaken off the demons of my own self-doubt. What I did get to see was that this isn't an entirely negative flaw, and that it also makes me a reflective person, which will again serve me well for the future as I try to grow professionally.<br />
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One interesting exercise we undertook as a whole team was a ColourWorks exercise, run by a company (ColourWorks, surprisingly) which asked us to answer a series of random and somewhat irritating questions and then presented us with a bunch of results about our leadership style. Considering how meaningless the exercise felt at the time I was doing it, I have to say that the results were stunningly accurate and insightful. I have 20+ page document at home about me and my leadership style from which neither I, nor any of my family, colleagues or friends have been able to fault more than about three statements. Interestingly, I am less gregarious in leadership than I like to think, and more reflective and logical. I am not pushy, or fiercely driven, and I always value consensus and people. As a result, I think I might be cut out for leadership up to certain levels, but not Headship. I am a good team player, and I can always help others improve their own ideas further, but I'm not necessarily a top leader. Perhaps it's a question of happiness or personal priorities: I find myself not driven enough by ambition to want to disrupt a work life balance which brings me great happiness and satisfaction as well as challenge. I'm not looking to be in a rut, I'm not wanting to coast: I genuinely want to be the best teacher and leader I can be, and to make a difference to as many students as possible. But I think at the very top you need a certain amount more self-belief and, let's face it, <i>cojones</i>, to take on those challenges and assume responsibility for everyone under you. One thing that does occur to me, however, is that someone like me, who doesn't allow things to get in the way of my own happiness, also understands how important this happiness and sense of personal satisfaction are for staff well-being as a whole, and that is an excellent attribute to have on any leadership team.<br />
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<b><u>5. The opportunity to see where middle leaders fit in</u></b><br />
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As a middle leader I understand my function within the school much better now, and what opportunities I have to be able to help the leadership team by speaking up on matters whose impact I am better placed to understand than they perhaps are. This has also given me far more confidence to express those views, and I've noticed the same confidence emerging in others who have also had the same chance to undertake a secondment as I have. My bond with these people has now become much stronger as a result, and I can see that one of the points of offering secondments to middle leaders is to build this capacity for growth, self-discovery, development, and confidence. Similarly, from the leadership team's point of view, seconding middle leaders allows LT to gauge how broad or parochial the views of school issues are to those middle leaders, as well as how practical, feasible and strategic they are, so that when these middle leaders are consulted on matters affecting the whole school, the leadership have a good deal more faith in the feedback they get if they know the middle leaders in question can see things from both sides of the fence.<br />
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So in conclusion... </div>
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<li>I enjoyed the experience thoroughly</li>
<li>I enjoyed the challenges, and really enjoyed the whole-school responsibilities</li>
<li>I learnt an immense amount about how schools function, about how leadership works, and about myself and my own style of leadership</li>
<li>I learnt that leadership teams have real people in them too! And I learnt how to curb my natural tendency to bow in deference to superiors</li>
<li>I would recommend this to anyone, even if it's just to see what lies on "the other side of the fence"</li>
<li>If I hadn't been doing this on my full time-table, I think I would conclude that I might be able to manage a leadership job!</li>
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And finally, I would say I have learnt this, which I would like to pass on to all potential leaders, of the present or of the future:</div>
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Leadership without clearly defined core values, and aims which are consistent with these values, is nothing. Leadership without integrity is nothing. Leadership without reflection and questioning is nothing. Leadership without clear, consistent, transparent communication is nothing. </div>
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There's a reason we are given twice as many ears as mouths, but once you're done using the ears, make sure that what you say is true, committed and strong.</div>
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Oh, and if any of you are thinking I could easily have describe Michael Gove here, go back and re-read the ears thing.</div>
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Now, who's going to give that job...?</div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16001217724756297022noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7433059929258391488.post-76915604849752483142013-07-20T12:25:00.001-07:002013-08-05T04:36:56.797-07:00BYOD in schools - Part 5: What we need from Digital Leaders<script src="//assets.pinterest.com/js/pinit.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
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<span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">So last week we finally interviewed our first set of digital leaders. They will have a huge role in the roll-out of our whole-school BYOD scheme (SMART Learning©) as and when it happens. Specifically, we are expecting them to support our students and our staff as we experiment with using digital devices to enhance teaching and learning across the school. We want teachers to be confident about this process, and we want the Digital Leaders to act as their safety net and inspiration, having explored digital teaching techniques, apps, websites, and ironed out any potential technical obstacles which often put teachers off experimenting with newer technologies. Which is quite a big ask for any 13-14 year old.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Our initial rationale for introducing a BYOD scheme was based around the type of students we have at Finham Park. They are generally motivated, achieve well, looking to be well-taught, and looking to succeed. However, we have a lot of students at the top end whose strategy is to "succeed through obedience": "Tell me what I need to do, and I'll do it" style of thing. It sounds ideal, but it encourages people to coast rather than to think for themselves at a more profound, inquisitive level, and we really wanted these students to break through the glass ceiling and start a life-long journey of discovery and self-motivated learning. These were our key aims:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">- Increase student motivation</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">- Stop students relying on teachers</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">- Promote independence and inquiry</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">- Allow for personalisation</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">- Get students ready for the demands of the future workplace</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">So what exactly are we looking for in our Digital Leaders? How will they contribute towards these SMART learning aims? Some of the key qualities we need from them are:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">* An understanding of the needs of students and, more importantly, scared reticent adults!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">* <b>Innovation</b> - Departments which are linked to Digital Leaders want to explore innovative teaching and learning strategies, but they often don't know where to start. It's important to remember that, if you're reading this and thinking you know exactly where to start in this quest, then you're probably in a minority of 10% of the teaching profession who are currently connected, be it via Twitter, Google Plus or blog-reading. For the rest who really want to try something new but don't know where to start, the innovation and inspiration have to come from the Digital Leaders.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">One of the interesting questions we asked them at interview was this: You are asked to bring in your own tablet or smartphone to school in order to assist with your learning, but your parents refuse to let you. How would you convince them that there is a good educational rationale for allowing you to use your devices in school? I think the best student leaders we interviewed were able to understand and articulate how far-reaching this change to our normal educational landscape might be, and saw what a game-changer BYOD potentially is. Implicitly, they also understand the significance of their role in this context. They know that they will need to lead the way in this revolution, and think outside of the box. Already we've been surprised by the quality of some of their ideas for educational technology solutions, including writing bespoke apps for departments, so we're confident we've made good appointments.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">* <b>Problem-solving and lateral thinking</b> - Another area which often puts teachers off trying new technologies is the fear of the technologies going wrong in front of an entire class, and chaos ensuing! We have to train these student leaders to be able to deal with the simple but frequent technical problems which might impede progress, and hopefully give the teachers the confidence to try new things knowing that there will always be a safety net for them. Digital Leaders will be the superheros to the rescue! As Scott Adams has wisely said, the students who learn to master the new technologies which will dominate our society in the future will eventually become the alpha males and females of the future, on an evolutionary level.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Already the training we're offering is based around problem-solving, and our students seem to be eager to show their problem-solving abilities. Our tech wizard has asked if any of them fancy coming in over the summer to learn to put a computer together for themselves, and they were well up for it. It's that level of inquisitiveness which will stimulate their problem-solving abilities further.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">* <b>Good communication skills - </b>Having the confidence to deal with teachers and other students is probably the most important skill our Digital Leaders will need. Being able to ascertain what someone wants when they're to exactly sure themselves is hard. It involves really perceptive questions, clear understanding and excellent listening skills. In many ways, it requires them to understand that they are putting their skills forward as a service to others, but that others define what the parameters of that service are, and that takes a level of both confidence and humility at the same time, paradoxically.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br />* <b>Patience and enthusiasm</b> - In spades. Enthusiasm will be the torch that lights the way for our staff and students. They already want to know how they can be better at what they do, and they will look to anyone who can show them great ideas. But once the enthusiasm and the great ideas are there, the Digital Leaders will also need the patience to be able to explain them to a variety of different people who will understand them in a variety of different ways, and at different speeds. Essentially, the Digital Leaders will be developing the subtle skills teachers use every day. And at their age, that will be an impressive feat!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">* <b>E-safety awareness</b> - Finally, this is one area which any school wishing to go down a BYOD/iPad/1:1 route will need to tackle. We are letting students access the devices with which they connect to the world, any time, anywhere. While we will always treat attempts to use social media in appropriately in class as behaviour issues rather than technology issues, we need to be aware that students will nevertheless quite naturally be accessing social media around school at other times, and we need to educate students about the problems this might create for them. Frankly, I'm not sure teachers are the best people to do this, for a number of reasons:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">- They are not the digital natives that the students are.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">- They are not necessarily listened to when they take on a "moralising" tone on any issue.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">- And more often than not, their own knowledge of e-safety issues is far from adequate. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I know people who are otherwise extremely professional, but when it comes to their social media presence, seem to have very little awareness of the reach of their comments, and the potential to cause offence. As such, we are reliant on our Digital Leaders to help train the rest of our students and indeed our staff, to ensure that we operate in a community that takes full advantage of the enormous benefits of social media, without leaving ourselves vulnerable to its pitfalls. The DLs have already offered to lead staff training, to take assemblies and PHSE sessions on Internet safety, and we think they'll do a far better job of it than we will.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">There is also a sense of competition between the new Digital Leaders, which when they are in their pairs and teams has been very good natured, but also made them try to be as helpful as possible. They really are trying to push themselves individually and as a team, and that tells us that we've made some good appointments for the future.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">We have now attached them DLs in groups of four or five to the three core departments for next term. Already they have contacted the Subject Leaders, and been given areas to research over the summer, so that by the time we come back in September, they will be ready with their latest ideas on teaching and learning.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">And we are SO looking forward to this journey...</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">For this summer, on our BYOD journey, it's over and it, but we'll be blogging more as the scheme develops next term. Until then, if you have a problem, if no-one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire... The DL Team (@FPS_DL).</span></span></div>
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16001217724756297022noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7433059929258391488.post-33920027905542305662013-06-22T04:49:00.001-07:002013-07-08T12:10:22.843-07:00What's wrong with education policy debate<script type="text/javascript" src="//assets.pinterest.com/js/pinit.js"></script>
I am not prone to ranting. People who know me will tell you I'm neither confrontational nor particularly hard-line. I like to compromise, and find common ground. So this blog may seem out of the blue, and will eventually turn <i>extremely</i> controversial. You read on at your own risk.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://edutechdebate.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/school-myth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://edutechdebate.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/school-myth.jpg" height="256" width="320" /></a>I have several problems with current educational policy, but before you start accusing me of party politics, I would say that the political interference in education by Left or Right is equally bad, and that we ought to aspire to educational aims which are based on future-proof principles, and not constantly vacillating back and forth at the whim of the latest cabinet minister who wants to "make his mark" and stake his claim as the next Prime Minister. Seriously, is that a good basis upon which to decide the future of hundreds and thousands of children?<br />
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Current education policy does, however, seem to me to take the biscuit. It often seems formulated on the basis of very little evidence, which is in turn often flawed (remember the <a href="https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/details_of_surveys_underpinning" target="_blank">farcical uncovering of the "poor historical knowledge of modern youth" which was based on surveys for Premier Inn and the Sea Cadets?</a>). Nevertheless, if a conclusion can be turned into a mantra and repeated frequently enough, and exaggerated further by the press who are looking to arrest their declining relevance in society (i.e. sales), it becomes the truth, does it not? This, in my opinion, is no way to conduct a debate about the nation's education.<br />
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To illustrate my point, let's turn the tables a little... What if we as teachers behaved in the same way as the education debate is being conducted?<br />
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What if we... told our students just to make one point in an essay, repeat the same point <i>ad nauseam</i>, and put it in capitals to make it more convincing and OBVIOUSLY true?<br />
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No, we tell them to evidence everything: Point, evidence, evaluate. We tell them to look for potential counter-arguments so they can see both sides, and then to evaluate for themselves what they think the answer might be. Memorisation of facts is not nearly as powerful as the ability to analyse those facts, take them apart, and find out the truth. Unfortunately, in the current climate, the truth, and the evidence which might prove it, and the nuances of the debates, are all simply collateral damage in the quest to gain political capital. What grab the headlines are not the measured nuanced debates of professionals, but the daily kickings from the Secretary of State and Michael Wilshaw which appeal to the confirmation bias of the 40 plus generation who read these things and nod sagely about how much better it was in their day (Was it really, by the way?).<br />
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What if we... started telling the whole class off when the naughty child at the back starts making too much noise? And then went out into the playground and started telling every who will listen that everyone was just as bad as that naughty child? Which of us has not been told that this is the first thing you <i>never</i> do in teaching? And yet the journalistic tendencies of making sweeping generalisations from those at the top is remarkable. I'd contend it's not appropriate for education, though. And one of the ways in which citizens would know that is if they had been trained in media criticism, such as is the case in Media Studies, and taught not to accept things at face value. Oh, but it's one of the subjects Michael Gove wants rid of. I wonder why? The journalist is someone who knows a lot of things superficially, and then claims the mantle of the expert. But the very nature of journalism is that it flies from one subject to the next so quickly that 1) it does not develop true expertise, and 2) it looks at things from the skewed perspective of what will sell/scare/interest/amaze the reader rather than reveal what is necessarily true. And these are just the good journalists. As we all know, there are plenty more in the industry who are hacks who will be far less thorough in researching a story, and simply find a couple of provocatively different views from which to formulate a story, and then let rhetoric do the rest. Did you notice I did that myself at the start of the last sentence? Clever and subtle, isn't it? This is how Gove and Wilshaw are winning the battle of the media day by day, and unless teachers fight fire with fire, and can convince the news media that there is a genuinely interesting story to be had in the misuse of statistics and in the manipulation of data for political and commercial ends within education, then we may well be doomed to lose the debate.<br />
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Clearly education must be failing: It says so in the papers. Despite the fact that OFSTED's latest data on inspections puts around 70% of schools as Good or Outstanding (not all under the new framework, to be fair). We have a major problem in education: Again it says so in the papers. Every day. Last week we were (collectively, all of us, remember?) responsible for failing pupil premium students, the higher achieving students. Oh, and we were responsible for <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2013/jun/14/failure-schools-edl-michael-wilshaw" target="_blank">the rise of the EDL</a>. The problem has been identified, and repeated again and again, so it must be the problem to focus upon. <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2012/jan/28/state-schools-private-sector-revolution" target="_blank">Privatisation of education</a> has been identified as a key solution, as well as making everything harder. That will automatically tell us how to do our jobs better.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://c0389161.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/dyn/str_strip/338354.full.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://c0389161.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/dyn/str_strip/338354.full.gif" height="224" width="320" /></a>Let's look at this situation in a little more detail. A perceived problem has been identified, repeated forcefully and often: People who disagree have been demonised (anyone else an "enemy of promise"?), and we have been told that these enemies threaten our very future. This sounds almost exactly like the way newspapers create a moral panic, and for exactly the same reason, to inspire the feeling of trust in a protector who is looking out for us. You can see where any sense of nuanced debate is being lost here. As for the solutions, clearly privatised schools would not fail: Private companies never fail. And harder exams will obviously inevitably lead to better outcomes, despite the fact that teachers are not being told how to get their students to achieve these higher levels of attainment. <br />
Indeed, if you think about it, how can we possibly get future students to be cleverer when half the profession are a product of the declining educational standards of the last twenty years?<br />
<br />
What if we... scared the hell out of our students about their future, and then told them to do everything we say and that will get them home safe and sound? Like sheep.<br />
<br />
So here's the controversial bit. Having worked incredibly hard for years to raise my own game as well as that of my students, the last year has coincidentally seen me think seriously about quitting this great profession several times. The egotist in me asks why on earth I should let politicians force me out of a profession I love and am, as an outstanding teacher apparently, quite good at. But then I started thinking of the other people who've probably had similar thoughts.<br />
<br />
What if we, as a profession, quit <i>en masse</i>?<br />
<br />
Not going on strike. That makes us easy targets to demonise. Governments are great at getting the public to turn against anyone who inconveniences them. But actually quit. Said "We are not prepared to participate in an education system which we believe damages the future of your children, and decreases the life chances of a significant number of them. Find someone else to teach what you want taught."<br />
<br />
So far, I've had a variety of gut negative reactions to that suggestion, including my wife's. Gove isn't forcing me to quit a profession I love, goes the line. Except you love the ideal of the profession, not, very often, its actual current substance. We teach <i>despite</i> the fact that we don't like the direction. But then I would argue we are more or less complicit, or at the very least placing ourselves at the mercy of the whims of each Secretary of State. We have long talked about the depoliticisation of education, and even Mr Gove himself has alluded to this as a noble aim of his. But do any of us seriously believe he has that intention?<br />
<br />
So I go back to my point. Quit. What would happen?<br />
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First, if Heads and teachers quit together, we could not be blamed for holding the nation to ransom. The Secretary of State can simply replace us. In a year, when new teachers have been trained. Oh, and since most PGCE courses have been replaced by in-school training, who is going to do that training? And who's going to do the appointing? I seem to remember the Khmer Rouge getting rid of all Cambodian teachers because they were bourgeois professionals who undermined the Marxist revolution. The effect was catastrophic. Parents are not going to like the fact that their children have nowhere to go. But we aren't withholding our labour: We quit. Perhaps parents after the initial anger directed towards those who have inconvenienced them, would want to know why teachers would actually be prepared to leave their jobs because of the Secretary of State's policies? Maybe then we'd have slightly more informed debate on the subject, and the public would demand our reinstatement?<br />
<br />
Maybe I'm an idealist.<br />
<br />
But I'd rather be an idealist than a collaborator who fears there is no other option. There always is. And the vast majority of answers I've had about this, while intelligently rationalised, have always been reactions of personal fear.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16001217724756297022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7433059929258391488.post-89370422238549692042013-06-15T04:28:00.001-07:002013-06-15T04:28:37.471-07:0010 Ways to use a Youtube channel in educationYoutube: The ultimate distraction (apart from Twitter, but that's for grown-ups, right?).<br />
<br />
A marmite resource which teachers either love or hate. Personally, I love it. Marmite me up all day long, if you will. It provides a never-ending source of educational videos, inspiration, challenge, provocation and kittens launching themselves at erratic torch-beams wielded by sadistic owners waiting for their cat to splat into a wall and bag them £500 from "You've Been Framed". What's not to like?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEoCAXCpPXFYbLlXAnV1aTbodpnpWfdxVnuW1LzCdKulcGW2VkaYDdUrK4K540xv3PgPw5kQtPYCLd5xM3Gj9HCyiRvRO8ZK_CRLUYF6ZCSIU5g_IoZQ-RH2ib4lFOAvPy55RypsSZ46o/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-06-15+at+10.56.47.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEoCAXCpPXFYbLlXAnV1aTbodpnpWfdxVnuW1LzCdKulcGW2VkaYDdUrK4K540xv3PgPw5kQtPYCLd5xM3Gj9HCyiRvRO8ZK_CRLUYF6ZCSIU5g_IoZQ-RH2ib4lFOAvPy55RypsSZ46o/s400/Screen+Shot+2013-06-15+at+10.56.47.png" title="" width="400" /></a>Apart from the cats bit, that's why I started our own <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/Finhammedia" target="_blank">Finham Park Media Youtube channel</a>. It's been building up gradually over the last few months, the longer I've been on my journey to explore how iPads and BYOD technologies can be used to enhance my own teaching and learning practice (previously blogged about <a href="http://failingtolearnbetter.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/my-ipad-journey.html" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://failingtolearnbetter.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/bring-your-own-device-in-schools.html" target="_blank">here</a>, so forgive me if I don't go over old ground). I've found it an invaluable companion to this journey, so I thought I would share the countless opportunities Youtube offers educationalists in this blog*. In the form of a list. So you can count them. Ahem...<br />
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1. The simplest way to use Youtube is as a place of stimulus and discussion for class topics. A video URL can easily be set as research, to provoke debate, to extend thinking for more able students or to help explain something more simply for those having trouble getting to grips with a new concept. Once the students watch the video you've shared, the comments section below allows for the debate to occur. If you "Favourite" the video, it will appear in your channel, and you can then direct students to your channel, and supervise and moderate what they're saying, especially if you have set this as a homework task.<br />
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2. I love using Youtube as a place for flipped learning videos too: I create a very simple video, say a tutorial on a concept I'm teaching, an app or piece of software I need students to be able to use, or instructions for hardware such as cameras, particularly useful for subjects like ICT, Media, Photography, DT, Music etc (example <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=105eiYqixtw" target="_blank">here</a>). A Youtube channel allows you to curate all of your videos in one easily-accessed place for your students.<br />
<ol>
<li><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGnYJmeKEGG-qpiI6WRR6HgifHmTjLzPxuHJe_bWojdL38qPa8JTujKO4dqBMQ30S3_gIVY6U-cv_2DX4mrFZ2H2tR7p_AQR-TjbPdmEEtFmmby5-rNXvPx2BOSSkGJcYY7KyybIj0vaY/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-06-15+at+11.35.38.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGnYJmeKEGG-qpiI6WRR6HgifHmTjLzPxuHJe_bWojdL38qPa8JTujKO4dqBMQ30S3_gIVY6U-cv_2DX4mrFZ2H2tR7p_AQR-TjbPdmEEtFmmby5-rNXvPx2BOSSkGJcYY7KyybIj0vaY/s200/Screen+Shot+2013-06-15+at+11.35.38.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=105eiYqixtw" target="_blank">Video tutorial</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I then set it as homework for students to watch and take notes on, so that they come to the lesson knowing how to do what I've been describing, or as a minimum, having questions they want clarifying. The ability to review the videos as often as they like allows the students not to feel they have to move at the same middle-ground pace as the rest of the class, and personalises the learning a little more. Allowing questions right from the start of the lesson also allows me to differentiate from the start, allowing those who know what they're doing to get right on, while I can spend time helping those who had questions. I should say at this point that I am aware there has been much criticism of the Khan Academy approach to flipped learning, about the boring videos and inaccuracies, <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbodZdmgYgh4BSbUrxZYhUMMLkRy-z_D4-ks2VEgXoFmvsxGo2RCuDTvGj3vzMHraFAGL7LYZziVt7qbNB_4l2_UpLZxcN0k6CLhIGqV6YmoC-7jSIXNOuQvec9DWh0qoAFwtRjOknuuE/s1600/146_comic_sal_khan_grilled_cheese.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbodZdmgYgh4BSbUrxZYhUMMLkRy-z_D4-ks2VEgXoFmvsxGo2RCuDTvGj3vzMHraFAGL7LYZziVt7qbNB_4l2_UpLZxcN0k6CLhIGqV6YmoC-7jSIXNOuQvec9DWh0qoAFwtRjOknuuE/s320/146_comic_sal_khan_grilled_cheese.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
but these criticisms mostly miss the point, which is the principle that if you create a video of information you've already taught in class, it can not only be accessed any time to refresh the students' memories, but it can also be done slightly differently to differentiate, be that to stretch the most able, or to assist the less. The great thing about having these videos on your own channel is that you can arrange them into playlists on the same subjects, and have the playlist order follow the same logical order that students should tackle them in, gradually getting harder. the students are improving their skills with every video, but tackling each new topic at their own pace, once they fell they have mastered the preceding step.</li>
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3. I tend to use flipped video lessons in conjunction with Ted-Ed, a brilliant resource in itself which I've described <a href="http://failingtolearnbetter.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/flipping-classroom.html" target="_blank">elsewhere</a>. It allows you to take any TED or Youtube video and create quizzes based on the videos which students can undertake as the test of how well they have done their homework, and be used as the basis for differentiation from the start of the class. The test immediately shows who has not done the homework, who has done it but needs more input, and who should be moved on straight away. The quizzes can be done different ways, in class, using different software, or even paper if you're into that sort of thing, but the TED-Ed quiz facility has a few nice features (such as hints about where in the video the answer lies if students struggle, and a self-marking facility) which add to the variety of your teaching.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiKs0FOMfW5j8F6OTgKMl2YiXTLz1vN8a4P41Vf09hqAEZprtJkNYOZzngRsUBJs4RRedVq_tJuAnB7qZIxyBUuDeLbrIizC0o_3ugvsh2Aj-Z67hBfg65VRnfOsLjS60iEk6n8vHkZBo/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-06-15+at+11.57.32.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiKs0FOMfW5j8F6OTgKMl2YiXTLz1vN8a4P41Vf09hqAEZprtJkNYOZzngRsUBJs4RRedVq_tJuAnB7qZIxyBUuDeLbrIizC0o_3ugvsh2Aj-Z67hBfg65VRnfOsLjS60iEk6n8vHkZBo/s400/Screen+Shot+2013-06-15+at+11.57.32.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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4. The same principle applies to teachers. I use my Youtube channel to help other teachers with app tutorials to help them work out how to make best use of certain apps to improve their teaching and learning. Again, all of these are arranged into playlists, by topic, to make them hopefully easier to find. I learnt a lot from other teachers who have put tutorials on Youtube (<a href="https://twitter.com/eyebeams" target="_blank">@eyebeams</a> was one particular early inspiration), and a Youtube channel for me just felt like an easy way to share things I was showing teachers in my own school. </div>
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5. However, new media technologies take us way beyond simply finding things other clever people have done, and this is where your own Youtube channel comes into its own. For a start, if your students create their own video work (on phones, iPads, at home, on PCs etc), it is the place to store it for later referral, for assessment (remember, you can comment on their work from there). The process of uploading is incredibly easy once you have the video file, or even more automatic from certain apps which are already linked to Youtube.</div>
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6. This also acts as a public showcase for your students' work, which is a huge incentive for them. You need their permission to share this work publicly (you can upload things to Youtube but keep them private, or stipulate that only people in your classes can see them), but if they and the people they filmed are happy with it, you can then open the channel up to more public eyes and exposure. This knowledge that anyone could come across their work can really sharpen their focus and inspire students to produce over and above their usual class efforts.</div>
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<a href="http://www.i-heart-god.com/images/success%20comes%20in%20%20cans.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.i-heart-god.com/images/success%20comes%20in%20%20cans.jpg" width="143" /></a>7. Not only that, but if your students are serious about their work, the channel acts as a networking opportunity for your students, to allow others to see what they have done, and allow them to talk about and discuss their work with industry professionals. It might even get them noticed by someone really important, but even if they're don't get signed for their first multi-million dollar film deal, the channel opens up the way for discussions with people who can help them to improve their practice. In one recent example, a friend of mine who works on video effects saw the work of a student and started a conversation with them about how they could get better, and different techniques they could use. hey presto, the student's next piece was even better. Feedback from an expert certainly carries more weight than mine does (apparently!).</div>
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8. The discussion and comments sections for videos also allow an opportunity for extended peer feedback: By sharing the links with other schools, you allow your students to put their work before a broader audience of their peers, and a broader range of criticism. This acts the same way as the way other colleagues share their class blogs between schools, and with the same positive effect in my experience.</div>
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9. Additionally, I think having your own channels allows you to share your students' work with other teaching professionals, providing an opportunity for moderation. Anyone who finds themselves in my position of working in a small department without a budget to send you to those costly moderation meetings will appreciate the ability to share your links with other professionals and get their opinion on the marks you're giving, or how the work could be improved, especially if you're feeling a bit too close to the work to be objective.</div>
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10. Finally, there is a great deal to be said for how far a Youtube channel gets you noticed as a school. Ours has attracted attention from all over the place, and when people from around the country discuss the work of Finham Park students, many of them have seen it on our Youtube channels, so our school's reputation is enhanced.</div>
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One final word on Youtube. Many schools block it, despite the fact that it is the most extensive resources of video material the world has ever seen. For me, that's all horribly wrong. The fact that students could access inappropriate material via Youtube is not a reason to ban it. After all, no school banned the Internet, despite the rumour that at one stage it consisted of 90% pornography (This may be apocryphal and impossible to prove, but you have to admit it's persuasive and emotive: Everything we need from a "Gove-fact"!) Essentially, it should not be for technicians or bureaucrats to decide what your students can and can't access. It should be for the teacher. If the teacher doesn't feel confident that students will stay on task and use learning-related sites they have stipulated, then they shouldn't take a risk in using it. On the other hand, if you feel you trust your students, or that you have the ability to manage behaviour (it is the behaviour which you are criticising after all, not the technology), then use it. As far as I am concerned, what students can access should be a matter of teaching and learning, not decided by technicians. They are there to serve the teaching and learning community after all, and that's a powerful argument to take to leadership teams to get them to unblock these sites.<ol>
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*If you are about to skip the rest of this blog o the basis that Youtube is blocked in your school, I suggest starting at the LAST paragraph</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16001217724756297022noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7433059929258391488.post-54433544484345481552013-06-02T04:36:00.001-07:002013-06-02T04:36:34.950-07:00BYOD In Schools - Part 4: Student EngagementThis year has seen our school begin the process of implementing a <a href="http://failingtolearnbetter.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/bring-your-own-device-in-schools.html" target="_blank">Bring Your Own Device Strategy</a> (BYOD) across the whole school, notionally led by me, which is somewhat worrying. Fortunately my erstwhile co-leader <a href="https://twitter.com/Gripweed1" target="_blank">@Gripweed1</a> has made up for my many deficiencies in the process, and we enter the final half-term of the year, 6 months after starting, having successfully negotiated the first stage of the process. I've blogged about the different parts of Stage One before, but a quick recap may save you trawling through all that:<br />
<br />
We started by mapping out the route we would take, looking into other schools which had gone down similar or alternative roads, and identifying areas of planning and infrastructure issues we had to address first before moving forward. We then began involving students with @Gripweed1 leading a highly successful Safer Internet Day, where students were consulted about the rights and responsibilities of them being able to use their own devices in school as a learning tool. Their input was critical in allowing us to develop a BYOD policy, and the intention is to have students review this annually as part of our PHSE programme, to ensure it remains up-to-date and fit for purpose. While our focus shifted on to a small group of "dangerous teachers" who were conducting class trials with the students, we realised that the students were going to be the key to the success or failure of the whole process, and it is this student engagement I want to address today.<br />
<br />
So far, we have engaged different sections of the student community at different levels. All were involved in the development of the Acceptable Use Policy, and several classes across different year groups have been involved in exploring the technologies through trials. Now we're looking at the issue of digital leaders, and the contributions they might make to moving the process forward. There is a great deal of talk across the Twittersphere about digital leadership: Some of it is little more than a nod towards it, as I've seen in several schools where student leaders are more or less teachers' assistants. However, there are many other schools where it is clear that students are genuinely leading not just other students, but also the teaching and learning process through mobile technology, and here they seem to be driving the idea forward almost more effectively than if the process were top-down. Mark Anderson (<a href="https://twitter.com/ICTEvangelist" target="_blank">@ICTEvangelist</a>)'s work at Clevedon in the South-West is a case in point, and we have learnt a great deal from his generously shared expertise.<br />
<br />
Our initial discussions for the roles of digital leaders looked at a variety of potential roles Digital Leaders could undertake. These ranged from having<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>FROG champions who would train students and teachers in the use of our FROG VLE</li>
<li>Technical support leaders who would almost be apprentice technicians </li>
<li>E-Safety Specialists whose job would be to advise and monitor e-safety across the school</li>
<li>Device Specialists whose job would be to look at the way certain device workflows could be translated to other devices without causing problems </li>
<li>We even then started thinking about having specialists in different types of software as these need considerable training too, for example Adobe specialists, Microsoft Specialists, Android Specialists etc</li>
</ul>
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You can see that the lists eventually became far too cumbersome to be workable! We were ourselves in danger of losing sight of "the main thing" and turning our digital leaders into glorified Techies, so we changed our focus back to Teaching and Learning, and this proved far more fruitful. All aspects of the role can now be clearly related back to leading, enhancing or supporting teaching and learning, and we have also looked at how digital leaders can be used to smooth the transition of students coming up from primary schools so that they are confident and ready to meet the challenges of secondary. Equally, we would like Digital Leaders to be able to use their experiences to gain accredited qualifications which would help them further a career in this sector if they so wished, and we are currently exploring the sorts of qualifications on offer.<br />
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This is what we came up with in the end...<br />
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<u><b>Digital Leadership at Finham Park</b></u><br />
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<b><u>Job description</u></b><br />
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Digital leaders will...<br />
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Be able to support teaching and learning through SMART Learning<br />
Be able to support the use of mobile devices by teachers and students<br />
Be able to support and develop the use of VLE<br />
Be able to assist specific departments with the acquisition of teaching and learning resources (apps, websites, software)<br />
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Be able to develop outreach programmes<br />
Be able to liaise with primary schools to promote digital transition<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4LE0AaGdGTQ/UHExMcpxVhI/AAAAAAAABho/8s_2e0V7Bwk/s1600/computer+bully.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4LE0AaGdGTQ/UHExMcpxVhI/AAAAAAAABho/8s_2e0V7Bwk/s1600/computer+bully.jpeg" height="304" width="320" /></a>Be able to manage the digital leaders' social media presence<br />
Be able to work with collaborative networks in order promote and share best practice<br />
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Be able to support the development of e-safety training across the school<br />
Lead assemblies to whole school on e-safety<br />
Lead lessons to students in e-safety<br />
Lead whole staff training on e-safety<br />
Be able to promote the use of digital technology at whole-school events (e.g. Genius bars at Year 7 parental events)<br />
<br />
Be able to offer basic technical support to teachers and departments<br />
Checking computer power, peripherals, sound, mice and keyboards<br />
Helping teachers to use iPads with AppleTV<br />
Clearing a printer jam<br />
Checking toner and paper<br />
Projectors and connections<br />
Problem diagnosis?<br />
Management of school computer screens, uploads and podcasts<br />
Preparation of machine images through FOG<br />
Device usage (ipads and other devices, especially help for staff)<br />
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<b><u>Person Specification</u></b><br />
<br />
Digital Leaders should...<br />
<br />
Be dedicated to this single area of student leadership (there are many other areas of student leadership around the school, but we feel this role is so big it will be time-consuming)<br />
Be a positive role model to other students<br />
Have an interest in developing digital technology skills further<br />
Be responsible users of technology<br />
Be keen to learn to work with other people involved in the creation of a digital environment<br />
Show tenacity and commitment<br />
Be able to demonstrate prior digital skills<br />
Have a clear understanding of safe and responsible social media use<br />
Be willing to foster leadership skills<br />
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Our second draft of a job description has yet to be approved, so I put it out here for discussion: Have we missed anything? Can you help us to tweak it further? If I've learnt anything from blogging and tweeting, it's that no idea I've ever had couldn't be improved by <i>somebody</i> out there, so we very much welcome any input here via the comments section below.<br />
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The class trials will report back at the end of the year, and hopefully we will have enough evidence that mobile technology can have a tangible impact on teaching and learning to move the project forward across the whole school. At this point, the role of the digital leaders will become crucial in the process, and it is more than likely that they will be leading teachers as much as students. This gets us to a stage I think many schools and SLTs are nervous about, namely where the students' expertise begins to overtake that of the staff. I can empathise with this to an extent, although I have to say that mobile technology is one key area where, if teachers don't learn to step outside of their "sage on the stage" role, we won't move forward very fast. As an old t'ai chi teacher of mine once told his students, "if I don't train you with the aspiration of becoming better than me, who then will I learn from?"<br />
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Only if we can get over this psychological obstacle in how we see our role will we truly begin to create a collaborative learning environment, where teachers and students move each other forward.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16001217724756297022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7433059929258391488.post-60355795288403884862013-05-26T01:26:00.000-07:002013-05-26T01:26:20.548-07:00Unfettered Leadership - A Thunk<br />
Quick mini-post today. Forgive the fact that it wasn't just tweeted, but I thought that the quality of responses would be better from comments rather than tweets.<br />
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There has been much inspirational talk over the past week by the #Vision2040 group about the future of our schools, the direction of the curriculum etc. I started a bit of blue-sky day-dreaming about how I would run a school if there were no shackles, and then realised how hard it was to come up with concrete answers. Lots of platitudes and generalities and the like (I'm good at them!), but nothing very specific. So in the spirit of thunkage so popular on Twitter, what I want to know is this:<br />
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If Michael Gove was to de-politicise education entirely, including his present accountability systems, and you had free rein to do as you liked in your schools, what EXACTLY would you do or change?<br />
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Answers in the comments section please. I REALLY want to know what you would do...<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16001217724756297022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7433059929258391488.post-23143697424880699012013-05-05T15:03:00.000-07:002013-05-05T15:04:27.753-07:00BYOD Implementation In Schools - Part 3: Staff trainingI've been teaching for many years now, and I've seen many an initiative come and go. My present school is one of the few I've ever taught in where initiatives are very much superseded by foci. This may sound like no difference at all, but for me the difference has been in the time taken to research, test, trial and embed practice over the long term. Three years our school spent on an AFL "initiative": I'd argue that after three years, that's not an initiative any more: That's a focus. And a pretty serious one at that. And it has brought the vast majority of our staff on in leaps and bounds.<br />
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One of the reasons a focus works better than an initiative is that a focus necessitates full staff commitment, and therefore training. Staff training has been one of the key strands to our BYOD trials at Finham Park, and we are now into our second term. We began by converting one of our school's dozen or so TALK Groups (Teaching and Learning Communities, groups which all staff are part of, including learning supervisors and student teachers) into a group solely devoted to looking at the use of mobile technology to enhance teaching and learning. We co-opted a number of staff covering all faculties, and importantly, covered different levels of technological skill. We didn't want the trial group to be a geek-fest, because any good ideas we came up with could immediately be rejected by other staff on roll-out as just being for the technologically competent or gifted. We had to make sure that this was transparently seen as a focus which could benefit all teachers no matter what level of technological competence they were at.<br />
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During our first meeting we shared our strategy for the BYOD programme (<a href="http://prezi.com/pl9lzul6squv/smart-learning-implimentation-strategy/?kw=view-pl9lzul6squv&rc=ref-15124174" target="_blank">published here</a> if anyone's desperately interested), and shared our rationale behind it. We also made our expectations clear to the staff involved in the trial:<br />
<ul>
<li>To develop their interest and skills in SMART learning in their classroom</li>
<li>To experiment with different web-based apps to enhance learning experience, variety, assessment and effectiveness</li>
<li>To bring back tips, techniques, ideas, apps, problems and obstacles to each TALK group meeting for discussion</li>
<li>To develop skills further based on each TALK group session</li>
<li>To help roll out their experiences and expertise to other teachers, with the help of Digital Leaders when we are confident the major infrastructure obstacles have been tackled</li>
</ul>
In return, we asked staff what they felt their biggest training needs might be (on the understanding that as the trial progressed, some of these might well change, at which point we would change our provision in line with those new needs). The key areas we identified between us were:<br />
<ul>
<li>Learning to use devices to enhance AFL in class</li>
<li>Managing behaviour in the digital classroom</li>
<li>Establishing expectations with students within this new learning environment</li>
<li>How to get the students' devices onto the wifi network</li>
</ul>
I have already written about a variety of ways to use online apps for AFL <a href="http://failingtolearnbetter.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/another-example-of-ipad-lesson.html" target="_blank">elsewhere</a>, so forgive me for not repeating myself here. Go and read it if you want: It's got tutorials, witticisms and cartoons and everything. But finish this first. Patience, young Jedi... The more thorny problem, which vexes teachers and SLT alike, is the potential for classroom disruption and disengagement offered by mobile devices. We've been straight down the line about this all the way through the process, and said that if students disengage using a mobile phone, you have a behaviour problem, not a technology problem. I'm sure everyone wanted to ban pencils when they were first introduced too: As anyone who has seen the outstanding French film Nikita will know, you have serious potential for GBH with a pencil, and that trick The Joker did with a pencil, a table and a gangster in The Dark Knight doesn't bear thinking about either. But we don't ban them. So we talked to staff about how to handle students who misuse devices. In large part, it's about the establishment of clear expectations with students from the start: Students must understand that the mobile device is a learning tool, which can be brought out when the teacher deems it appropriate, and not otherwise. With these expectations firmly in place, students understand that doing anything other than learning with the devices is not acceptable. The other key thing is that disengagement is much easier to spot if students are using mobiles. If students are spending an inordinate amount of time staring down at their crotches during lessons, you can bet they're either texting, or doing something even less savoury. Either way, deal with it quickly and firmly.<br />
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Finally, we needed to liaise with our Tech Support to work out a way to logistically get every student in the trial put on the wifi. In our case, we weren't prepared to simply open the access to everyone, so the technicians agreed to put each individual device on for us. This liaison with our technicians has been extended by inviting one of them to join our TaLK Group each session, so they have a far better overview about what we're trying to achieve, and can give us good advice on the optimal way to achieve these goals. So far, it has been a fruitful relationship which has allowed us as teachers to appreciate the concerns of the Tech Support department, while also allowing them to see what we are trying to achieve as teachers. I will let you know as things develop, but so far I have to say that this mutual collaboration has proven very useful.<br />
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The format of our meetings has followed the format we established for the TaLK Groups when we were trialling AFL techniques: We spend the first ten minutes or so sharing individual experiences, we assist with solutions where problems have arisen, and we generally pat each other on the back encouragingly for how far we've come since last time (think Alcoholics Anonymous meets Star Trek convention). We then go on to look at specific areas where we want to improve our practice: It could be the use of specific AFL techniques, or getting students to organise their work on mobile devices, or investigating a new app: Whatever. We get everyone to pick a partner who is interested in exploring the same area for mutual support, and another partner to go to for advice, and we arrange informal mutual observations, research sharing or discussions to explore whatever it was we wanted to focus on. The meetings are every half-term or so, to give teachers time not only to explore, but also to embed ideas into their practice. And this same cycle of plan-do-review happens during each session, and we help each other move forward with our practice. Simples.<br />
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Between the group, our main areas of focus so far have included assessment for learning, obviously, but also how we can use mobile technology to improve student organisation and student independence too, with personalised learning strategies being developed through mobile technology.<br />
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By next meeting, we will start assessing the impact of the group’s discussions on our practice so far. I'm looking forward to hearing about the individual ideas, the progress, but also seeing what areas we need to iron out before we can go any further with this scheme: Technical issues, infrastructure, teaching and learning problems, all of these are bound to focus our attentions, because unless we can get rid of as many obstacles as possible in our initial group work, we will leave ourselves open to staff who don't want to engage with these ideas simply rejecting them because "the systems aren't in place". And we can't afford that.<br />
<a href="http://www.dg58.us/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/The-SAMR-Model.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" src="http://www.dg58.us/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/The-SAMR-Model.png" width="400" /></a><br />
We will also be looking during our next session more closely at the SAMR model (with thanks to <a href="https://twitter.com/ICTEvangelist" target="_blank">@ICTevangelist</a> from whom we blatantly nicked this one!). The SAMR framework will allow us to assess how effective mobile technology is in enhancing learning. It is easy to get carried away with the novelty of a new focus in the classroom, especially one as shiny and pretty as mobile technology, but unless we can be sure that these technologies are being used in a way which moves learning and teaching forward, then there isn't really much point in making such a song and dance about them. We're hoping that this model will serve as a benchmark, allowing us to reflect on how far along the path we are actually moving, and how far we are genuinely transforming learning. More on this as we go forward. Now I need to work on our Digital Leaders strategy...<br />
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Apposite cartoon...<br />
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And choon and video to really cheer you up. Seriously, watch it...<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16001217724756297022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7433059929258391488.post-88241778243541813612013-04-20T08:50:00.000-07:002013-04-20T08:50:00.016-07:00Obeying our seasonal rhythmsLast week I blogged about teacher's health after a particularly nasty shock about my own.<br />
This week I decided to do something about it.<br />
Last week I said I didn't have the answers to the problems I raised.<br />
This week I tried looking for some. Over the next few weeks I'll do a few mini-blogs on each of the areas I raised during my last post, which will become more and more specific hopefully, and more and more useful.<br />
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Here's what I came up with. Please, if you're serious about maintaining your own health, may I first urge you to do two things in response to this post:<br />
1) Have a go at some of these things, and give me some feedback on how you feel as a result: Does it work for you?<br />
2) Please post some ideas at the bottom which you've tried, so the rest of us can try them. We're using this notion of collaborative working through Twitter et al to improve our teaching, so why should it not work to help us find solutions to over-working?<br />
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So here we go...<br />
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The first point I talked about last week was our seeming inability to obey our seasonal rhythms. I went away and tried to find something which was always very sensible advice when I used to train many years ago, and finally found it. They still ring true for me.<br />
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If you read my last blog (<a href="http://failingtolearnbetter.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/teachers-health.html" target="_blank">here</a>), you'll notice that in TCM we talk about the 5 element system, which has correspondences in every area, including our own bodies (emotions, mental state, organs etc) and the outside world. Each element therefore has a season associated with it, and the nature of the element reflects the sorts of things we should be doing in each season to live in harmony with nature and not struggle against it so much.<br />
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Let's start with the element of Fire. Fire is the element associated with Summer (more detail <a href="http://www.5elements.com/docs/elements/fire.html" target="_blank">here</a>):<br />
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<div class="biglink" style="background-color: white; color: #990000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px;">
<b>Ways to tend your inner Fire</b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">
</div>
<ul style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;" type="disc">
<li>Have fun on a regular basis, even if you have to work at it at first. Make it a priority - schedule your fun, if that's what it takes. Don't compromise. Consider fun as important to your well-being as work or anything else you do.<br /></li>
<li>Give of yourself to others. Take the time to listen. Take the risk of dipping into your own heart and finding what you have to give to others unconditionally - then just do it.<br /></li>
<li>Live your passion, whether it be the church choir, rollerblading, preserving the environment, or writing poetry. If you don't know what your special passion is, be willing to admit that you don't. Meanwhile, stay amused and don't stop looking. When you find that great interest, dive into it wholeheartedly and enjoy!<br /></li>
<li>Get physical. Get into your body and out of your head. Love, exercise, dance, run, play. Get your circulation going.</li>
</ul>
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Earth is the element associated with Late Summer, and <a href="http://www.5elements.com/docs/elements/earth.html" target="_blank">this</a> is what its associations are:<br />
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<div class="biglink" style="background-color: white; color: #990000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px;">
<b>Suggestions for living in harmony with the late summer season</b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">
</div>
<ul style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;" type="disc">
<li><b>Enjoy the abundance of fruits and fresh vegetables</b><br />Be aware of their special qualities, each succulence different from the next. Carrots are crisp, cucumbers cool, tomatoes luscious, peaches sweet. Look at the seeds, and reflect on the fact that within each harvest lie the seeds of the next.</li>
<li><b>Be thoughtful of how you can nourish others.</b><br />In this season when nature gives her bounty, we also rejoice in giving, with attention to the special needs of others. You need not wait until you can give a "great gift." A word, a courtesy, a thoughtfulness - given today - is a great gift.</li>
<li><b>Be conscious of the harvest of your life.</b><br />Think about yourself, your relationships, and your work. What parts of your life are bearing fruit? Where is the harvest rich? Where do you find it stunted?</li>
<li><b>Consider what you need to do to make ready for the letting go of autumn.</b><br />Holding your harvest in mind, ask what is overgrown or unneeded. What distracts you from your dearest concerns? What might you wish to simplify in yourself or in your life?</li>
</ul>
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<a href="http://www.5elements.com/docs/elements/metal.html" target="_blank">Metal</a> is associated with the Autumn season:<br />
<br />
<div class="biglink" style="background-color: white; color: #990000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px;">
<b>Suggestions for living in harmony with the autumn season:</b></div>
<ul style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;" type="disc">
<li>Go through your closet, desk, garage, medicine cabinet - any cluttered storage area-and discard what you no longer need. Then donate, sell, or otherwise circulate what might be of value to others.<br /></li>
<li>Do a mental inventory: Examine attitudes (prejudices, envies, hatreds, jealousies, resentments) stored within your psyche. When possible, contact those with whom you harbor old "stuff." Attempt to resolve the hurtful old issues, and then let them go.<br /></li>
<li>For issues you cannot resolve directly with others, or for old issues with yourself, write them on paper, being as specific as possible. Then burn the paper, symbolically releasing the content.<br /></li>
<li>Take time each day to breathe slowly and deeply. As you inhale the clean autumn air, feel yourself energized and purified. Feel the old negativity, impurity, and pain leave your body and psyche. Then contemplate briefly who you are without these identifications.</li>
</ul>
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Finally, <a href="http://www.5elements.com/docs/elements/water.html" target="_blank">Water</a> is the element associated with Winter:<br />
<div class="biglink" style="background-color: white; color: #990000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px;">
<b>Suggestions for living in harmony with the winter season</b></div>
<ul style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;" type="disc">
<li><b>Get more rest.</b><br />This is nature’s season for rest, repair, and regeneration—a phase important for our next cycle of growth. The <i>Nei Ching,</i>oldest-known document of Chinese medicine, advises: “[In Winter], people should retire early at night and rise late in the morning, and they should wait for the rising of the sun.”</li>
<li><b>Schedule more time for your inner life</b>.<br />Use the energy of the season to discover more about yourself through reflection, reading literature that “restores the spirit,” being more aware of your senses, paying attention to your dreams. The winter season is an especially good time to begin the practice of meditation.</li>
<li><b>Choose more “warming” foods.</b><br />As the weather cools and the body needs to generate more warmth, include more cooked foods and complex carbohydrates in your meals. Try dishes made with whole grains, squashes, beans, peas, and root vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, and garlic.</li>
<li><b>“Gather around the hearth” with people who mean the most to you.</b><br />Winter evenings are an especially good time to rejuvenate and deepen relationships with those closest to you. Keep gatherings simple and relaxed.</li>
</ul>
<i style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 14px;">Copyright 1997 by Neil Gumenick</i><br />
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And finally, let's talk about the present. Spring has finally sprung, and it is associated with the Wood element. You can read its key associations in much more detail <a href="http://www.5elements.com/docs/elements/wood.html" target="_blank">here</a>. However, here are a few things TCM philosophy recommends you can do to make the most of Spring's energy...<br />
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<div class="biglink" style="background-color: white; color: #990000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px;">
<b>Suggestions for living in harmony with the spring season</b></div>
<ul style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;" type="disc">
<li><b>Begin your day early, with a brisk walk.</b><br />Feel the sunshine pull you up and out, like the plants and animals. Watch buds rush into leaf, often doubling their size in a day. Look for birds' nests - you'll find them everywhere, even on top of air conditioners. Feel the life within you, like that outdoors, thrust up out of darkness into new possibilities. Make a garden. Eat greens.</li>
<li><b>Begin new things - at home, in your work, and in yourself.</b><br />In this season when nature reinvents itself, we too can see people and situations with new eyes. Let new tissue grow over old hurts, and take fresh hope. Be creative. Make things, do things. Begin!</li>
<li><b>Consider how you wish to make ready for your summer harvest.</b><br />Spring does not last forever. Use its bountiful energy wisely, so that the crops you sow - again, in yourself, in your work, and in your life - are those you wish to harvest. The energy of spring brings vision.</li>
</ul>
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So there you are. Not rocket science. Just a way of making sure we're not fighting our environment too much. My experience (when I choose to listen to it!) has always shown me how much easier my life is when I don't struggle to overcome what is going on around me, and go with the flow. It is a wise teacher, and in Spring, it is reminding me that I'm as much a part of nature as everything else.<br />
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Good luck. Hope you haven't all turned into tree-hugging screaming hippies by the end of these blogs! And let me know how you get on...<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16001217724756297022noreply@blogger.com0