A true literary masterpiece.

Remember those Chose Your Own Adventure books when you were a kid? How good were they? Seriously. As a kid in school who was not an avid reader, the fact that I could have some input in how the story ended and the choices that my character could make was pretty awesome! Now up until this point in time, I’ve never ever thought about trying to write one, let alone teach others how to write one, and hence this post!

A little while back I attended a great day of professional learning which was facilitated by the DLTV titled “Tell your own adventure: Literacy and DigiTech through interactive fiction”. What caught my eye with this event was that I love my technology and the ways in which, when used effectively, can support student learning outcomes. Additionally to that, my school has had a large push on building the capacity of our students to shift from ‘being good at writing to being great writers’.  Based on that I felt this PL opportunity would encourage that.

Now not having a great deal of knowledge about Interactive Fiction, it was great to have heard from those that have had first-hand experience in writing it, namely Mr. Joel Martin. Joel is a fictional writer and novelist as well as having worked in the video game industry where he wrote and developed storylines and plots. Joel spoke about the importance of how interactive fiction (I.F.) often takes a non-linear approach, meaning that what we as an audience often perceive to be a beginning/middle/end type of story (linear), I.F. does not. It can take many different paths and have either multiple endings or regardless of the journey being undertaken, the ending can remain the same – however, there can be many paths to getting there. It is because of this, that I.F. stories allow a reader (or video game player) to imagine and immerse themselves in the text to a point where they make the decisions based on if they were the actual character. That there is why I.F. is such an engaging genre to read, and arguably an even more engaging genre to write.

As you might imagine, following on from this I was super keen to get started and was quite interested in how I could go about writing my own I.F. story!

Now it had been a while since I had led a ‘techie brekkie’ at my school. That “while”, being since 2018 – therefore it’s safe to say that the wheels had fallen off in that space. Regardless of that, however – it is better late than never and I felt that the information obtained was very much worthwhile sharing with staff. Based on that, please find below the presentation and associated links that you may find useful and or informative.

Of note regarding the presentation below is slide 9, a google doc that I created highlighting a selecting of tools that can be used, by students, to create I.F. Well worth a look if I do say so myself.

Before finishing up and focusing upon the main tool of choice, Twine, I have embedded below the I.F. story I started on the day of the PL. It’s short, it’s no masterpiece, and yet I am proud of it for my very first attempt. 🙂 Now I do need to add that it MAY NOT work… therefore I have “screenshotted” several images and added these below so you get the ‘gist’… 🙂

The ‘blueprint’ of your writing. Here is where your story is mapped.

The edit section for each page you add. Notice the double brackets are what creates new ‘branches’.

The finished product #1

The finished product #2

The finished product #3

The finished product #4

The finished product #5

As always – thanks for reading! 🙂

Minecraft. Once upon a time, this was a, or possibly ‘the’, bain of my teaching life.

Constantly asking students politely (and or sometimes yelling at them!) to ‘get off it’ during class time. Having students wanting to do nothing more than to “play” Minecraft each and every day. Even during break time. Engaging in the many discussions with parents about how to get their kids off the game at school, and home. The discussions with staff about how to combat the nonstop talk about the game amongst students and how to redirect their focus towards the class work that had been set. It was fair to say that it was intense. And somewhat still is…

It was not until 2010 that I first attended a Minecraft Workshop whilst attending the uLearn Conference in Christchurch, NZ, that I truly began to understand the game. Tony Richards, now a Business Development Executive at Apple, ran a great workshop introducing teachers to this world and how it could potentially be used to engage and educate. From that time on I have always had a go at the game and made some attempts, most feeble, at having students engage with it for an educational context from time to time.

Friday before last, I was fortunate enough to attend the ‘Minecraft for Education Teacher Starter Academy’. This was hosted at Microsoft HQ in Melbourne and led by Stephen Elford, a DET Digital Learning Coach and Minecraft Global Mentor.

The day was in its entirety an opportunity for us in attendance to learn the basics of the game, primarily the education edition, and discuss with others how we could best implement this back in our own settings.

We also discussed the differences between Gamification and Game-Based Learning. Two things, which to my surprise, most of those in the room had never heard of before. I have done a little bit of work over the years in this space and have always felt there is a dedicated place for GBL to be embedded into the education system.

A great video that was shared with us that outlines GBL is embedded below.

Another video that I have used in the past to support GBL is also embedded below;

It’s at this point that we need to be clear about the difference/s between what game Based Learning is and Gamification is as often the two are confused,

Gamification is where we would make the learning process, basically, a game. An example of this would be running a “Who Want’s to Be A Millionaire” style lesson whilst trying to reinforce learned concepts.

Games-Based Learning is where we are using a dedicated game as part of the learning process. Ie. Using Minecraft to have students demonstrate their learning and understandings through creating and making ‘things’ that demonstrate their knowledge. An example of this could be to have students recreate an indigenous fishing contraption/trap and explain how it works. As I had one of my students do.

Now for those who are unaware of this, our own Department of Education here in the great state of Victoria has been pushing quite hard FOR the use of Minecraft in schools. Stephen was part of the team, and was the key driver, in developing the “Mini Melbourne” world that all students can access and get in to. I have included this short story below…

Without delving too deep into the Mini Melbourne space, I have linked below the actual DET sites that can support you in knowing more about it. This is indeed worth a visit to find out more.

• fuse.education.vic.gov.au/pages/minimelbourne

As DET, as mentioned, are pushing for Minecraft to be used quite heavily, with that has also came a wide range of resources and supports for DET teachers, however, there is no reason what so ever that the information that has been developed and shared cannot be used by the masses. Some of these great resources I have linked below.

• Switched On Minecraft Resource
• Minecraft Education Net
• DET Minecraft Education Edition Resources
• DET Minecraft in Education Guidebook

As part of this push, students and staff in Vic DET school are able to download, free of charge, Minecraft Education Edition and use this at their peril in their schools. The foresight for this to be able to be undertaken and achieved makes access to the game, and therefore its use in classrooms across the state, outstanding. This access eliminates equity issues for the game itself. Mind you, devices of whatever description are still needed to play the game off. 

For a minute here, let’s assume that you’re reading this, whoever you are… ;), and are all for the use of Minecraft being used in schools. I would bet that for every one of you, there is also a naysayer who would disagree wholeheartedly! Case in point, when I linked the news story video the following comment appeared…

#ohmy

I hope that this person is not a teacher…

A highlight of the day that I attended was the many discussions that were had in discussing the use and application of such a “game”. Where could it be used? How? In what curriculum areas? With what outcomes? Etc…

Within our groups, for the day we were asked to talk through discussions such as;

• What curriculum outcomes can be / could be demonstrated through the use of Minecraft being used?
• Where might the Critical and Creative Thinking, Ethical, Intercultural, and Personal and Social Victorian Curriculum Capabilities fit?
• How could Minecraft be used as a reflection practice(s)/tool to be used to reinforce or improve student understanding of what they have and or are learning? 

Another video that was shown to highlight this, however not so much in a Victorian/Australian context, is embedded below.

I am sure that there are many more videos like this one around. 

Where to from here? My first step is to get all students accessing Education Education. Most of not all my students have their own version on their iPads devices and play it regularly. However, I am wanting to make sure that their focus is on the learning at hand and that Minecraft is simply one vehicle in which we’ll go about that. And… if that is done via the education edition, I can oversee that just that little bit more.

Once we’re all up and running, context then becomes king. Where does it fit – and with purpose? I am not wanting students to use Minecraft E.E. as something they see as simply ‘busy work’. God knows that students in schools do enough of this already… It needs to be engaging, purposeful and beneficial. It needs to either reinforce their learning or build upon it. Or both.

My only real advice to others in moving forward is to give it a go. Don’t underestimate what your students can do and do not think of this as simply playing video games in class because it is SO not. Unless you let students play Minecraft in their “free time” which A. should never ever happen and B. why would there be “free time” during learning time? 

The resources are out there. The experts are out there. And, there are kids out there who are desperately needing to engage with a tool to reinvigorate their learning.

In my last post, I shared a piece of writing that I had completed for a recent professional learning experience that I had undertaken. In that post, I mentioned that I would continue the writing I had completed as I ventured through the writing process and share with the masses that read this blog. 🙂

As previously shared, and as it goes, the “writing process” outlines 5 core steps in that process. These being;

1. Prewriting / planning,
2. Drafting,
3. Revising,
4. Editing,
5. Publishing.

I have taken the concept of ‘The Writing Process’ from the Victorian Department of Educations ‘Literacy Teaching Toolkit’ as it explains the process in great detail. I have linked this site here.

In relation to the process and where I am at, it is all about the “Revision”. It is stated that “revising, or the revisiting of the text (often as a result of feedback from peers and/or the teacher), is to improve and enhance the writing”. Goes without saying really, doesn’t it… 

Now, I have not received any feedback from my writing, and that is largely due to myself not seeking any, other than for offering others to give it via my previous post.

Feedback given to students arguably plays the largest part in a piece of writing being further developed and improved. Feedback given from the teacher and peers outlines to the author of a piece what ‘improvements’ can/could be made to that piece for it to be enhanced. Feedback given however is not only limited to the revision stage of the writing process but throughout all stages. It is meaningful, ongoing, and relevant.

Now in terms of revision and “revising” a written piece, it takes time. It takes effort. And it takes courage. Courage for the writer to take on feedback given and potentially to ‘butcher’ their writing to make it have a greater impact on the audience and or to “sound better”.

Revision is hard for students to comprehend. We ask them to plan and draft a piece of writing, and for some, this is extremely daunting, difficult, challenging, and indeed scary. We then ask them to change what they have done and even though that is for the better, that can be for some no comfort whatsoever as they are now required to break up their text. What we as teachers need to ensure is that we make it clear to students that at the end of the revision process, their writing will be a stronger, more fluent and powerful piece.

During the aforementioned professional learning experience I was involved in, led by Narissa Leung, we were exposed to the graphic below that depicts where potentially efforts and time should be focused throughout the writing process. In speaking from my many years of experience in teaching writing, I am unfortunately confident that this has not been the case. I can say that the revision process that I have had students undertake has… not been missing, but close to it. The focus has lied with the editing and ensuring all conventions of the written piece are correct.

Image created by Narissa Leung.

I sit here typing this and reminisce about today’s national NAPLAN Assessments that all year 3, 5, 7 and 9 students in the country began undertaking. In particular, the writing assessment. The above image highlights what I believe, as do many others, where the energies of our students should be focused upon when writing. Unfortunately, and as the NAPLAN assessment showed and proved to me today, it does something completely else and was and is much more like what is below;

Image adapted via original by Narissa Leung.

Finally, we come to my own revised piece. A piece in which I have “attempted” to use the 6 traits of writing to improve my writing. You be the judge. 🙂

“What is it?”. “How the hell should I know?, I’ve just found it sitting here and then called you over”.

It was a peculiar looking object, one that neither George or Harry had ever seen before. There was a feeling of trepidation as the boys squabbled over what to do next.

“Touch it”. Harry demanded of George, curious to see what, if anything, would happen. “Ahh, don’t think so champ. You first”. “If you think I am going to simply pick that thing up you’re gravely mistaken”.

The object being discussed was bright gold, almost glowing even though what sunlight there was left for the day was quickly diminishing. Unknown markings lined each face of the object. Although it was small, it looked powerful and had a presence as it sat there indented into the grass as if it had been dropped from a height.

“Poke it.” George suggested. “It might do something”. “It might not” Harry shrugged. ‘Well, we’re not going to know unless one of us tries, and that one of us should be you”. “How’d you come to that conclusion?” replied Harry. “Well,” said George with a nervous grin on his face, “I’m a faster runner than you, and if something does go south, I’ll get away first. There’s no point both of us going down”. “Hmmm. Fair call”.

Harry reluctantly picked up a fallen branch from a nearby tree, a branch far too large for what he needed it for however in his mind it was better to be safe than sorry.

“Hurry Up!” snapped George, in his impatient way and tone. Immediately hearing this, Harry shot him a piercing glance and responded quickly. “Do you wanna bloody do it?”… 

It’s not been until my current place of employment that I was asked, repeatedly, by parents and caregivers about what the impact would be of iPad devices being integrated in to their student’s learning. In saying that, it does not mean that other parents and caregivers has not been concerned in other settings! It was simply that I had not been asked.

Ever since then it has always been on my mind regarding what exact impact technology has on student learning. I can remember scouring the internet months ago looking for evidence based research to support the use of technology, particularly in a BYOD and or a 1:1 setting. What I found was ad hoc at best and not conducive to what I was wanting.

Now of course, when we think of programs, strategies, initiatives and so on that impact student learning you think of one person in particular – John Hattie.  Most of us would be well versed with Hattie’s meta-analyses of quantitative measures upon educational outcomes and the specific internal and external items that impact this.  Hattie’s books titled ‘Visible Learning’ and ‘Visible Learning and the Science of How We Learn” are predominately the most relevant texts in this space.

Along with this research came ‘effect sizes’ and numeral based based figures that gauged the impact of such programs and factors. The graphic below highlights this.

https://uen.instructure.com/courses/314069/pages/4d-tier-1-differentiated-instruction-and-scaffolding

Obviously, we’re aiming for anything with an effect size 0.4 or above. As educators and school leaders we’re wanting what we do to have a positive impact. We want to to be involved in embedding practices that see student learning grow and not fall away. My mind often shifts to Marzano’s work in this space the impact that a highly effective teacher in a highly effective school can have. See below. The question being then however what is “effective”? I have previously written about this before here.

Where does however technology integration and BYOD / 1:1 fit in?

In Hattie’s “Visible Learning”, ‘Computer-Aided Instruction’ comes in with an effect size of 0.37. Not bad. Not great either. In thinking however about’Computer-Aided Instruction’, what though does that exactly mean?

What we know is that ‘Computer-Aided Instruction’ is exactly that. The use of technology to help teachers instruct. Period. What we also know is that is when the following is in play – that the effect size for this meta-analysis increases:

TPACK Model.

SAMR Model.

Personally, I have used this for years within my own teaching as well as having preached it to others. It’s simple, clear and easily understood. There is a place for each of the ‘steps’ if you like in how we can use the SAMR model to assist us in using technology for a greater purpose, or more so to ther point, allowing students to learn in ways which is not at all possible without technology being involved.

Recently I had the opportunity to hear Dr. Chris Blundell speak at an Apple Learning Event in Melbourne. Chris now works at QUT in Queensland and prior to that having been a Deputy Head at the prestigious Redlands College, a setting very well know for using technology to positively impact student learning. Dr. Blundell has recently completed his doctorate with his major thesis having being completed titled “A case study of teachers transforming pedagogical practices through collaborative inquiry based professional learning in a ubiquitous technologies environment”. Yes, it’s a mouthful. You can access that particular thesis here. 

Unlike traditional Apple events where the core focus of what was discussed was being placed on the technology, Dr. Blundell focused purely on the transformation of Pedagogy with the use of digital technologies and the thinking associated with it.

The vast majority, if not all of what Dr. Blundell had to say, was purposeful, challenging, provocative and relevant. One particular graphic that he displayed, and hence this post, caught my attention. See below.

Courtesy of Dr. Chris Blundell. QUT. 2018.

Interesting isn’t it?

2 things immediately caught my eye. The negative impact that using technology can have on student learning. And the ridiculously large positive impact using technology can have on student learning. I have always said that there is a place for the substitution component of SAMR to be used in a learning space. Note taking is a classic example of that. It seems though based on above that as educators we need to be quite mindful of what we are using technology for,

We know in linking back to Hattie’s effect size work, anything with an effect size 0.75 will reap gains of 12 months growth on top of what is expected, so looking at effect sizes of 1.5 +, is quite motivating. Provided that the adoption and integration of technology is being used the correct way, that is, to transform pedagogy and redefine how learning can take place. The question that stems from this then for me is “what exactly does that look like?”. In the same breath I/you need to forget about the anxiety and challenges that come with this. Asking teachers to embrace change and shift their pedagogy is a massive ask. Some of us, not me!, have been teaching the same or similar way for 30 years. Allowing students to bring in 25 ipads devices in which that particular teacher knows little to nothing about is always going to not go well. As Dr. Blundell mentioned and discussed, it is about teachers being asked to change their roles, relationships & actions. Again, changing something they they are very familiar with. That is a whole new post right there. Or thesis! 

So if we now know that teachers who can effectively transform their practices to redefine what student learning looks like, through the adoption of digital technologies, and that they can have a very very large impact on student learning, what is it that we need to do to make this happen more effectively and more often? There’s another post! 

In thinking further about SAMR and its use… SAMR is good, but not great. It certainly assists educators and guides their thinking towards the use of technology to support learning. What is the real game changer is that we see considerable impact being had on student learning when teachers look towards changing (transforming) their pedagogy with the use of digital technologies. To be able to get to this point though there is a lot of work that needs to be done before we can expect to be seeing large student growth and be able to pin that on transformative technology use and integration.

Welcome to the first post, of what I am hoping to be many, for 2018! 

Last evening as part of my schools staff PLC schedule, we were fortunate enough to have received a visit from Paul Zappa, the director and founder of Nirodah. Nirodah itself as a term come from Buddhism and translates to ‘cessation of suffering’, which recognises that throughout life there are major causes of pain, suffering and distress however there are also way and methods to help support and ease that pain. Mindfulness being just one of those techniques.

Paul and his team work with a variety of organisations and educational settings to help them understand that all young people have the ability to learn and learn well, and even more so when there is a greater understanding that has been developed about why young people learn and behave vastly differently from one another. This as we discussed, can often be brought back to a level of trauma a child or young person has experienced.

As Paul stated, “All kids have a different story”. It rings so true. Kids who are from broken homes, have experienced levels of family violence, drug and alcohol abuse, and so on. Then, we have the complete other end of the spectrum. Kids who are doted upon, fully supported, wrapped in a bubble, protected and shielded and everything in between. As educator we then expect these kids for the most part to be at a school on time and 100% ready to learn. That’s not asking to much is it? Or is it?

The teaching and Learning Model that was discussed by Paul to help us as educators and school leaders better understand these young people was as follows;

RELATIONSHIPS > TRUST > VULNERABILITY > TRAUMA > EMPATHY > COMPASSION.

Without one you cannot have the other and as teachers we know all too well when we develop relationships with our students we earn their trust. Trust that leads to discussion that fosters vulnerability through potential experience of trauma. That then leads to empathetic behaviour on our behalf, and certainly NOT to be confused with sympathy. And finally compassion.

Following this our discussions led to, of all things, Neuroplasticity and the ability of us as humans to learn new behaviors and to change what neural pathways we have already forged. A grea examples of this that Paul demonstrated was this little activity.

1. Fold / Cross your arms just as you normally would.
2. Take note of how they’re folded. Which arm is over what.
3. Unfold  your arms, and shake them out.
4. Now fold your arms again. The opposite way.

How’d you go? Tricky is isn’t it! That’s because we;’ve hardwired our brains to automatically fold our arms in a certain way. It’s just how we do it! The same as putting on pants! Not in general of course, but meaning that we always put the same leg in first!

These were great examples of behaviours that are exhibited by some of our students. Their behaviour is hardwired based on what they have experienced time and time again and have had, unfortunately, modelled before their eye over and over.

The good news? They can adjust their neural pathways and learn new behaviours! As educators we seek first to understand their behaviour (COVEY!), and then look to model and teach.

A great quote that Paul mentioned was this: “We don’t excuse behaviour because of trauma that has been experienced. We first need to understand why that behaviour is being exhibited in the first place”. 

It’d be like me standing on the side of the street yelling at my car because it wont start. As amusing to other as that would be, I am sure! Yelling is not going to fix it. I need to understand why it won’t start before I can actually do something about it.

As you’d imagine when talking human behaviour, Daniel Goleman and his work was sure to be mentioned. His extensive work and research on Emotional and Social Intelligence was referenced several times and if you’re not familiar with Goleman’s work, it something you should definitely look at.

A large part of the session with paul and his team had a clear focus on what this post it titled: Vulnerability. It is vulnerability that is the flip side to joy, happiness and empathy.

This about a situation when you felt vulnerable. How did you feel? I bet it wasn’t happiness and joy! When our students feel vulnerable they exhibit behaviours that we generally do not want to see as teachers. Aggression, violence, withdrawal, silence, depression, anxiety and a host of other traits.

A shared clip, by well known researcher Brene’ Brown in the space of Vulnerability, has a wonderful TED talk which I have shared below. It is certainly thought provoking!

When we think about the term vulnerability and feeling vulnerable, it certainly portrays a lot of emotions. Usually not emotions that we like either. However. For those of you reading this who work in the education system you’d know all to well that schools and educational systems love change! Love it! Constant change of curriculum, pedagogy, and environment. I have been teaching 15 years and have seen 5 curriculum changes. 

Anyway!

What we also know about change is that there is usually a feeling by those going through that change of vulnerability because people do not usually like change. They feel vulnerable. Change is different and different is uncomfortable. Brene’ Brown sums it up beautifully below and when I think of this quote of hers, i think of all the true innovators, Jobs, DaVinci, Edison, Tesla, Barclay…  maybe not that last one… who all had to experience being highly vulnerable and subject to shame for their potential “crackpot ideas”. Idea which we now know  have shaped the world in which we live.

It is when our students feel vulnerable, for fear of being shamed, that they then act out in ways which deflects the attention being on them. Starting a fight, being a class clown, skipping class, etc… Again, we need to first understand why they do this if we are to in fact help them as best we can.

And how do we help them?Through listening and understanding and most of all, by being empathetic.

Empathy is about feeling with people and understanding with emotion the plight they may be in. It takes a true human connection to be made for empathy to be real and genuine. It is that empathetic connection that makes the feeling of being vulnerable better.

The short clip below highlights how empathy is vital in making these human connections. The thing about empathy also is that it can be hard! It can be hard to show empathy, genuine empathy, to that student who just told you where to go. Who walked out of your class swearing. Who beat up on the smaller more vulnerable student. But without empathy we cannot make that connection and move towards compassion, and then begin to look at how to really assist and help that individual.

For my first post back in a while it’s been a abit of a ramble. There is a level of vulnerability here that no one will read it. People will criticise it. Think it’s rubbish. But that’s ok. That’s part of the process in trying something new and putting yourself out there. 😉

Until next time!

Look familiar? Image Credit: https://d1srlirzdlmpew.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/92/2016/04/06022356/connected-kids-FB.jpg

Ask yourself this question; “what do kids REALLY do on their mobile devices when at home?”

What does your mind jump to? Is it the negative? Is it the positive? Is it leaning towards social media use? Online bullying? Creating? Consuming? If not, what else?

Since the beginning of October this year I have had 2 wonderful teachers from my school involved in a collaborative project involving several other educational settings whilst being led by Deakin University.

The project titled, “Everyday Digital”, was charged with researching specific ways to support educators in learning about the everyday digital experiences of their students. Researchers from Deakin worked with teachers and educators to invent and devise ways in which teachers could learn more about their student’s digital use in and out of school, with the aim of developing appropriate curriculum and school based policy responses.

Last Friday was the final gathering of all involved to come together and discuss what had been found, as well as some of the key ‘next steps’ that potentially could be undertaken by schools to alleviate concerns, begin conversations or take action where necessary.

As each setting shared, we were charged with focusing on 3 key takeaways from what was discovered which would form the basis of further discussion. The lead researcher from Deakin University who oversaw the project, Dr. Julian Sefton-Green, mentioned that research in this space was vastly limited and that there were no “good” examples of research that had been conducted in this area. To read a publication from Dr. Julian Sefton-Green head to this link.

As people from the various settings were sharing, along with the Deakin University Research Team, it was reassuring in a way to hear that the issues faced and concerns had were common amongst one another. That what is faced each and everyday by some could be quite easily resonated with by others. Rather than give an indepth analysis as to what was discussed, I have highlighted the key discussion points and takeaways

• An increasing amount of time spent on mobile technology is passive, meaning that students are not being the creators and critical thinkers we potentially want them to be. At home use is heavily geared to watching, viewing and browsing. I.e. YouTube, Vimeo, etc…
• That there is a need for us as educators to identify what needs to be explicitly taught to students vs. what needs to be integrated and or embedded. An example of this is cybersafety and digital citizenship.
• Clearer expectations must be identified between what is expected at school when technology is used and what can be done at home. Either way, one side of that home/school fence is too lax with what is appropriate behaviour from students when engaging in online activity.
• There is a heavy perception that parents/caregivers are leaving it up to schools to educate students about not only what appropriate online behaviour looks like, but also what is appropriate fullstop. And is this our job?
• Students, more so in upper primary and secondary, can easily identify and articulate what appropriate behaviour and technology use/online use looks like, however, rarely put it in to practice.
• The divide between school and home is either growing or stagnant in its development to work in tandem to educate and combat tech based and online issues.
• Traditional forms of technology, even at home are diminishing. Desktop computers are falling by the wayside to more mobile means in the forms of netbooks, laptops and of course tablets.
• There are still a major issues within education regarding teacher knowledge of effective technology use and integration.
• That even as great as BYOD programs are for schools, as students get older and move through their respective year levels (secondary school), there is a major shift towards devices being used a lot more for personal purposes than for actual learning. Social media is playing a large part in this.
• As educators how do we contextualise the use of technology with our students through modelling how we as teachers and leaders use technology? Is how we use technology all that different from how students use technology? I.e. Netflix, Streaming, Social Media, etc…
• Enthusiasm is high amongst educators to use the technology and use it well with purpose, however there is a lot of hesitation and anxiety from schools as to how to best do this.
• Primary settings appear to be more advanced at both using technology more effectively whilst also having the teachers with the capacity to integrate the technology more effectively, however primary schools seem uncertain as to where to draw the line with over use. Or, as was mentioned, perhaps in 2017 there is no line. 

In listening to all people share their findings it was evident that there were two main factors that stood out. These being, CULTURE and TRUST.

Schools who had a more developed mindset in working with students and their families around effective and appropriate technology use had an embedded culture and vision around technology use. It was this culture that fostered a greater trust between home and school and that students who were trusted to be doing not necessarily the right thing all the time on their devices, but more so trusted to not be doing the wrong or inappropriate thing.

Partnerships with parents and caregivers were also much higher in schools where technology issues were lower. This went beyond parent information nights and guest speakers, this involved parents as partners in their child’s education around how to access and engage in online activity that does not compromise an individual’s ‘moral compass’. I.e. Knowing that engaging in something inappropriate is not the right thing and that if they do, there can be quite severe consequences that come their way. I.e. Sexting. 

To contextualise the research undertaken from my own schools perspective, which was lead and developed by again, two great teachers (in Kaitlin and Josh), we can see that the data obtained trends in a similar fashion to what was discussed amongst all settings involved. You can see this data below.

Technology At Home – Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires;

On the back of this, all teachers in the year 3/4 area had students developing a project/presentation to highlight how app’s they enjoy using outside of school could possibly be used in school. App’s such as Terraria, Minecraft, Flow, and YouTube for Kids were some just to name a few.

I have linked the Adobe Spark Page created by Kaitlin below which highlights the expected outcomes we were hoping to achieve for the students.

Deakin Research Project – Teach the Teacher

Now that we all have a better understanding from what was undertaken, the overarching question is what do we do about it? Something in which I certainly do not have the answer to. A segway from here is that in March 2018 I will be hosting a roundtable discussion the National Future Schools Expo and Conference about this exact problem of practice! Hopefully I might see you there, giving the rest of use your answers! 🙂 

I would love to hear your thoughts and or comments about this topic and how you at your setting bridge that gap between home and school. How do we ensure are students are being safe, creative and using technology with a safe mindset as well as how do we get our parental community on board!

As always, thanks for reading.

How often do our students create marvellous pieces of digital content for it to not been seen by a wider audience, if by anyone at all? It’s really no different to them creating and completing a paper based project, work in their books, or even pieces of art work and then for that wonderful work to not be shared and highlighted amongst the greater masses.

Yesterday however, 11 of our students had the wonderful opportunity to share their digital projects at the Adobe “Have A Voice” Showcase at ACMI, Federation Square. This joint venture between Adobe and the Department of Education allowed students to create powerful, rich and provocative at times digital projects about something that the students were passionate about. And my oh my, were they passionate!

It had been pleasing as teachers to see our year 3/4 students engage with this project and work collaboratively to complete what they eventually did. In having started a BYOD iPad program this we had, and have, only really scratched the surface of what the devices are capable of, what the teachers can do and more importantly, what the students can achieve.

That there in itself is often a blocker seen in many settings where students are hampered by what they are allowed to do, restricted to do, or not given the opportunity to do, on their devices.

As part of this project, yes, there were parameters, however students were given many choices regarding the what and the how and from what I witnessed yesterday from all schools involved, students really embraced that openness and created some extremely powerful projects.

In speaking with Tim Kitchen, Adobe’s Senior Education Specialist (APAC), who initiated and led the project, I had mentioned that the opportunity for our students to be able to create these powerful projects and then to have them ‘showcased’ on the big screen was something they will certainly not forget.

Our students being interviewed by Tim on stage! There were a few nerves!

On the back of this, it raised many more questions in how as a teacher and school leader I go about building upon student ownership, voice and opening up what we do on the inside of school to the outside. In effect, we do that currently through YouTube (still a work in progress),  Facebook and other SM platforms. There has to be more to do it however. Digital portfolios via a blog or Google Site? There’s some thinking needed!

Via our school’s YouTube Channel I am aiming to have all students projects up and available for viewing soon. In the meantime, I have shared and linked the projects that were showcased yesterday below.

And finally, if you would like to know more about the Adobe Have A Voice Project, visit this link created by Tim Kitchen.

Adobe Have A Voice Project 2017