Lab

Perhaps the greatest change in schools today is not the integration of technology, not the way classrooms are being built, not even the changes in curriculum and assessment, but that the role of the teacher in the classroom is being transformed in ways that we're not fully aware of or ready for. There's an old saying, «children are not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be lit» Teachers face the challenge of helping to guide students through individualized learning pathways, identifying relevant learning resources, creating collaborative learning opportunities, and providing insight and support both during formal class time and outside of the designated 40 minute instruction period.

We are being challenged to consider how we foster creativity within a system designed to establish conformity, and to encourage diversity, where once there was a single pathway.

Some examples of innovations where the traditional role of the teacher has changed include:

• The emergence of student voice in planning, implementation and assessment cycles.
• Reverse mentoring – for example, students as tutors in programmes such as the Tech Angels.
• Increasing use by schools of student assistance in learning through their own leadership and contribution.
• Enabling multiple sources of knowledge for learners, including use of MLEs and social networking which includes access to expertise outside the classroom.

This shift is easier said than done and ultimately the success or failure of innovative approaches in the classroom hinge on the human factor and the willingness of a teacher to step into unchartered territory.

There are lots of new terms and phrases being bandied around to describe the new role of teachers – coach, mentor, facilitator, guide… My personal favourite is «experienced learner» - in other words, one who can participate as a learner with the students, but who has experience the student doesn't have and so can provide appropriate interventions, suggest more appropriate routes, and generally share from the wisdom of having 'been there before'.

Another concept that is gaining currency is the notion of 'instructional coherence', emphasising the role of teachers in providing the 'glue' in the student learning experience, through amplifying key ideas and concepts, curating the essential skills and knowledge, wayfinding and socially-driven sensemaking, aggregating the multiple sources of knowledge and information and filtering the same, modelling effective learning practices and being the persistent presence alongside the learner.

To be effective in the midst of such change teachers need to be come more critically reflective, being open to examining the deeper assumptions they have about what they are doing and why they are doing it.

Take-aways

• Social and technological networks subvert the classroom-based role of the teacher - How can we achieve clear outcomes through distributed means?
• In what ways do we regard teachers and students as learners in a dynamic system?
• Is school reform possible without a change in the role of teachers?
• What sort of continuing professional development is most effective for teachers to adapt?

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There are now more hand-helds sold world-side every year than desktops, and in New Zealand there are now more mobile phones sold than the size of our population! The relative ubiquity of the hand-held over the locked-in-location limitations of the desktop, combined with the proliferation of feature sets on mobiles mean that an increasing number of people are choosing these smaller, portable devices for communicating, searching the web, storing information, and recording events, as an integral part of their lives.

One only has to note the number of applications now linked to mobiles – incl. Flickr ability to send photos direct etc, plus other apps that ‘push’ information to mobiles as evidence of how things are changing. Think, for instance, of the 'early notification of absences'.

The comparative size, weight, and cost of these devices, combined with the ubiquity of wireless access, and availability of web applications means that mobile technologies are likely to play a more significant role within our schools and universities.

Where physical access to computers in schools for students has always posed a problem, students will increasingly be able to use the mobile in their pocket to quickly search the web, communicate with others, or view sophisticated 3D resources to help their learning.

The increasing availability and affordability of these devices means that an increasing number of students are likely to be carrying one (or more) with them to school. In addition, they provide an attractive option for schools to make available for students to use as an alternative to the traditional desktops and laptop machines.

An interesting claim being made about the use digital devices in general, and mobile devices in particular, is the way these expand options for personalising learning. As the number of internet capable, mobile devices coming to school in the pockets of students increases, so too will the opportunities to explore the ways in which these can be used to effectively enable the sorts of personalised approaches to learning that we've been reading about in recent policy documents.

Take aways

• Do you know what the ownership of mobile technologies is by students at your school?
• What policies do you have in place regarding the use of mobile technologies in your school?
• Is your school network prepared to accommodate student-owned mobile devices being connected?

Discuss this trend

It might seem odd to include the theme of globalised learning in this list of trends, but consider the impact of globalisation on almost every other aspect of our existence, and it's not difficult to understand that education is no different.

Consider the the push for a 'global curriculum', with qualifications that are recognised anywhere in the world. The international Baccalureate and the Competency-based NZ Curriclum that stemed from the work of the OECD are both examples of this sort of thinking.

Modern technologies have reduced, and in some cases removed the boundaries for learning. We now live in a 'globalised' world of communications, news feeds, interaction etc. where our actions at a local level have implications at a global level.

Our education is no longer confined to the school we live in - we can access courses/subjects from almost anywhere and at any time. The world is our classroom! Global connectivity now enables student driven niche learning projects - if schools and teachers allow and enable them to happen.

Globalised learning is about taking advantage the ability to communicate and collaborate using a wide range of online and web 2.0 tools. It's also about global issues and widening the scope of student learning, and sets the ground for continued learning beyond school.

Putting learning in a global context involves supporting young people to make sense of their lives by understanding the global interconnections we all have. It helps pupils understand how they are affected by events around the world and to recognise that what they do affects people and the environment in other countries. This learning can help counter a sense of helplessness in the face of ‘global forces’.

Take-aways

• How are the issues of being a part of a global village reflected in your school; in the student body, in the programmes of learning?
• In what ways are ICTs being used in your school to enable participation in the global classroom?
• Do you agree that global learning can help counter the sense of helplessness in the face of ‘global forces’.

Discuss this trend

Ubiquitous computing provides the ability to connect "anywhere, at any time, with any device".

Some refer to this as the third wave in computing, just now beginning. First were mainframes, each shared by lots of people. Now we are in the personal computing era, person and machine staring uneasily at each other across the desktop. Next comes ubiquitous computing, or the age of calm technology, when technology recedes into the background of our lives. Alan Kay of Apple calls this "Third Paradigm" computing.

At a technical level, ubiquitous computing makes us think of the convergence of desktop and mobile environments with cloud-based storage and application use. It includes the installation of 'industry strength' wireless environments within schools - as opposed to the widespread use of consumer-level wireless base stations that we have at present. And it includes ensuring that access to similar networks is available at home and in other community areas, such as libraries. Some cities are even going as far as to provide a wireless 'mesh' across the whole city.

From a teaching and learning perspective, ubiquitous computing enables us to think about availability of virtual mentors or teachers, and/or opportunities for peer to peer and self-paced, deeper learning. With the emergence of increasingly robust connectivity infrastructure and cheaper computers, school systems around the world are now developing the ability to provide learning opportunities to students “anytime, anywhere”. This trend requires a rethinking of the traditional ways in which schools and classes operate.

From the user perspective, it simply means being able to connect to the internet «anywhere, at any time and with any device». Whether they are at home, at school, or in the local café – freely available access to the internet is increasingly expected as the norm.

Take-aways

• How do your programmes of learning enable students to continue learning outside of the classroom and school hours?
• To what extent are staff and students able to go online anywhere in your school environment?
• What expectation do you, your staff, your students have of being able to connect to the internet at any time, from anywhere, with any device?

Discuss this trend

Relatively new terms, "cybercitizenship", "cyber ethics", and "netiquette" refer to responsible cyber social behavior. These terms refer to what people do online when no one else is looking.

It's important to be a good citizen wherever you may find yourself, by following the rules of that place. The Internet is a "place" with its own very special rules. People who communicate over the Internet are called "cybercitizens." It's important to learn the rules of the Internet before you log on, so that you can be a "good cybercitizen."

Learning to be safe and to keep others safe, to be respectful and act appropriately with information online (includes personal privacy issues as well as respect for copyright etc) in an online world is as important to young people nowadays as teaching them the road-code and how to keep safe on the road was a generation ago.

Traveling in the Cyber Community is a lot like traveling in the community you live in. There are rules and responsibilities for both. Both communities contain inappropriate, as well as appropriate places to visit. Just like in the real community, inappropriate places on the Cyber community are unsafe, and should be avoided.

The students coming to our schools may be called 'digital natives' by virtue of the fact that they have been born into and grown up in a world surrounded by digital technologies. But we cannot assume this means that they are automatically prepared as cyber-citizens – any more than we can assume that, having grown up seeing cars travel on our roads that they automatically have any sense of road safety and the road code.

As our kids go online in increasing numbers, cyber ethics is a critical lesson, especially since poor e-habits can start at an early age. A significant challenge for educators in this regard is the fact that it is very difficult (if not impossible) to teach what it means to be a cyber-citizen unless you, as the teacher, have at least some direct experience of the online environment, and the things that are considered responsible cyber-behaviour.

Take-aways

• Are your school cyber safety policies based on ignorance and fear, or understanding?
• How are the practices of cyber citizens being modelled in your school?
• What would be the response of your staff to a breakdown in this area?

Discuss this trend

Literacy has always been a collection of cultural and communicative practices shared among members of particular groups. As society and technology change, so does literacy. Literacy has in the past been 'centred on language' but with the introduction and use of new technologies and visual texts into school literacies and home literacies, we now encounter, use and interpret multiple kinds of literacies which are embedded in multimodal texts.

Digital literacy refers specifically to the range of skills, knowledge and competencies required to operate effectively in a world immersed in digital technologies. Digital literacy is becoming more integrated into all aspects of our daily lives - such as access to educational opportunities, health and medical services, banking and consumer services, e-government services, and for applying Green ICT solutions to global environmental challenges.

Twenty-first century learners need to...

• Develop proficiency with the tools of technology
• Build relationships with others to pose and solve problems collaboratively and cross-culturally
• Design and share information for global communities to meet a variety of purposes
• Manage, analyze and synthesize multiple streams of simultaneous information
• Create, critique, analyze, and evaluate multi-media texts
• Attend to the ethical responsibilities required by these complex environments

Schools must be planning for how they can integrate the development of these sorts of skills/ understandings/competencies in their students. Digital literacy cannot be taught or learned in isolation from the digial technologies. Like any form of literacy, it is developed through an immersion experience, through constant and ongoing practice and exploration, through reinforcement of acceptable practices.

This is the challenge for schools – to provide these sorts of immersive environments and experiences, to make the use of digital technologies a part of the everyday learning experience, and to provide frameworks and feedback that ensures such literacies are developed and assessed.

Take-aways

• What is your personal vision for being literate in the 21st Century?
• What is your school’s vision for developing 21st Century literacy?
• How is this catered for?
• How is it modelled?

Discuss this trend

Content for learning has long been confined to libraries, or resource collections owned by schools or individual teachers. More recently we’ve accepted that content for learning can come in a variety of media, including audio and video materials – including online.

The common characteristic of this content is that is has been created by content experts, passing through a formal publication process, and protected by traditional terms of use and copyright.

This paradigm is now being truly challenged. There is increasing interest at both organsiation and system level to create and share resources for learning using the creative commons licensing system. The creative commons provides a series of levels under which content can be licensed, determining the extent to which is can be freely distributed and/or altered or repurposed.

Digital technologies are creating increasing opportunity for learners to become content creators instead of simply content consumers. Ease of development of content in rich, multimedia forms as well as traditional print can now be achieved with desktop applications and uploaded with ease to sites for sharing.

Open education resources address several issues that exist for educators:

• they eliminate the barrier of cost in terms of text books and other resources, including the fact that often you have to purchase an entire resource when it is only one chapter or one section that you require.
• if everyone contributes just a few resources to the pool, the result is a very large pool from which to draw – with a much larger variety of resoruces, and resources that are current and tailored to specific needs.
• Resources can be altered, repurposed and combined with others to make them suitable for particular contexts and particular needs – and returned to the pool for sharing with others.

And the biggie..

• The realisation that the educative value isn't in the resource itself, but in the careful and deliberate, planned context into which the resource is introduced and used, and the quality of the discourse that is generated by and around its use.

Take-aways

• What use do your and your staff currently make of open education resources
• Do you have policies and practices in place regarding the use of resources obtained online?
• Do you have policies and practice in place regarding the development and sharing of student and teacher created resources?

Discuss this trend

A simple way of thinking about cloud computing is to consider the idea of moving all the physical servers and applications that are located inside a school into a hosted environment outside the organisation (in the 'cloud'). The 'cloud' is not an actual physical «thing», but may be loosely thought of as a collection of networked servers.

The concept of clouds has been around for some time, but is becoming attractive to those in educational institutions because of;

• The roll-out of fibre networks which allow much faster access to the remote servers
• The increasing number of applications that are available as online 'services', rather than having to be purhased and installed in the school's own servers. This phenomenon is often referred to software as a service, or SaaS

Many people are already making use of software as a service without knowing that's what it is – for instance, the range of sites that will host your blog or wiki for you, the sites that will store your photographs or movies. More significantly are the services such as the Google apps – with Google mail and Google docs etc – available as a service rather than having to purchase and install your own software.

Cloud computing options will provide an attractive alternative to schools looking to spread the risk of their ICT investment. Benefits include:

• it is (more-or-less) infinitely scalable
• clouds shift the costs of IT investment from CAPEX to OPEX which allows finer control of expenditure and avoids costly asset acquisition and maintenances
• services on the cloud can be accessed from anywhere and at anytime, reducing the need for costly firewall and external access systems in the school
• information in the cloud is (generally) backed up and less subject to server failure within the organisation

The concept of cloud computing supports very well with the concept of ubiquitous computing, and the increasing use of internet capable mobile devices that are designed simply to use services that are in the cloud, not necessarily installed on the device.

Take aways

• How would you describe the concept of the cloud to your staff or board of trustees?
• What do you understand to be the advantages and risks of storing school data in the cloud?
• What services currently owned and managed by your school would most easily be provided in the cloud?

Discuss this trend

Ultra-fast, fibre-based networks have been supporting education in many parts of the world for a number of years already – and finally schools and education institutions in New Zealand will be able to experience the benefits of being connected to such a network.

The development of local 'urban fibre networks' that provide fibre based, high speed broadband connectivity to the internet and other online services has been started in many parts of the country, and recent Government funding announcements mean that this is now likely to accelerate – and schools are a primary target. This work includes the development of a National Education Network as a backbone across the whole of NZ.

Schools are realising that using fibre loops the connection between them is very fast and can be used for a great variety of educational and administrative purposes. But fibre speeds offer much more than simply «faster internet» connectivity.

These networks will allow the growth in much of what is currently happening in the virtual learning space (with schools sharing classes and teachers via video conferencing), and create the opportunity for schools to collaborate over the use of shared services, such as student management systems, learning management systems and library management systems for example.

High speed fibre networks create the infrastructure required to fully benefit from the idea of cloud computing – providing access speed that provide the end user with an experience similar to what they'd have when accessing data from their own hard-drive or a servier within the school or organisation.

Take-aways

• Do you know how much your current ICT systems actually cost (including staff time for support and maintenance etc?)
• Are you actively seeking to work with local/regional councils and business groups to find solutions in your area?
• Who in your school/community is charged with understanding and leading this?

Discuss this trend

Assessment is a huge topic that encompasses everything from national or international accountability tests to everyday classroom observations and recording. It involves diagnostic, formative and summative approaches, and includes the use of standards as a means of benchmarking across large cohorts.

In order to grapple with what seems to be an over use of testing, we need to think of assessment as information. The more information we have about students, the clearer the picture we have about achievement or where gaps may occur, and the areas we may need to direct extra effort and guidance.

When we think of assessment as information it becomes easier to think of the myriad of ways in which that information can be gathered, stored and reported.

Technology offers teachers a broad range of tools to collect and analyze data, and richer sets of student data to guide instructional decisions.

Increasingly, digital technologies are being used to assist with assessment practices, including:

• - online quizzes and surveys
• - tracking the history of wiki pages
• - standardised tests such as e-asTTle
• - various forms of e-portfolio

With an increasing emphasis on accountability through assessment in schools, there is a need to focus on strategies that support assessment for and of learning that are consistent with the philosophical frameworks adopted by schools, and with the intent of the New Zealand Curriculum and Te Whariki.

Take-aways

• What are the range of diagnostic, formative and summative assessment practices you currently use in your school?
• Which of these could be or are enabled by the smart use of ICTs?
• How are you using data to support reporting of student progress against national benchmarks?

Discuss this trend