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Technology for inclusion with diverse learners

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Are the learning opportunities you are providing in your learning spaces enabling the students with additional needs to succeed, have a voice and demonstrate their learning?

The aim of this post it to share important considerations when introducing a digital technology solution to meet a student’s learning goals based on universal design learning principles that meet the needs and goals of the learner and can be used in the classroom tomorrow.

What is Universal Design for learning?

Universal design for learning is a framework to improve and optimize teaching and learning for all people (CAST, 2018).

Planning for inclusive and universally designed learning opportunities that utilise digital technologies can:

  • Enable all the learners to engage in the learning opportunity at their own capacity and ability level;
  • Enable multiple means of access to learning opportunities that suit any learners’ abilities (support or extension);
  • Allow access (how) to information, communication (what) and engagement (why) to be differentiated;
  • Allow any learner using the technology to adjust or modify settings and empowers and enables personalisation to meet an individual’s needs for use

Evaluating digital technology

When considering the introduction of a new digital tool for a student, it is imperative to remember that the innovation is actually the learner being able to utilise the right digital tool to engage, collaborate, learn, create and increase opportunities to think and share in a way that works for them, not the digital tool itself.

Therefore, considerations and conversations are required, and where appropriate, include the learner before a new digital tool is introduced. Knowing the learner’s needs and building rapport is always the first step. After that comes understanding of their challenges and matching the technology to their needs, areas of strength, and learning goals with the aim of building capacity and independence.

Taking the time in the beginning to ask the right questions, find out what the learners goals and environment look like and matching that to the right digital tool before introducing anything new to a student with additional needs can make a significant difference in the successful implementation of the chosen digital tool.  Questions such as:

  • What are the student’s current abilities/areas of strength and capacity?
  • What are the student’s learning goals?
  • What are the teacher’s learning goals for this student?
  • What are the other students doing that this student needs to be able to achieve?
  • What does the student need or want to be able to do that is difficult to accomplish independently at the moment?

There are four reasons to introduce a digital technology tool for a learner in your learning space. The right tool for an individual learner can improve access to the curriculum, enable the learner to experience success and demonstrate their understanding.

  1. Enhance – helps the learner to learn and function more effectively.
  2. Remedial – helps to practice specific skills.
  3. Compensatory – helps to complete activities and tasks with greater independence. For example text to speech software.
  4. Extension – provides opportunities to further extend and explore their learning, knowledge and abilities.

(adapted from Cook, A. M., & Polgar, J. M. (2008). Cook & Hussey’s Assistive Technologies: Principles and Practice, Mosby Elsevier, St.)

There is a myriad of digital tools to support learners with additional needs, to encourage independence, access and inclusivity in the learning environment.  Universally designing a few ways to improve the engagement and inclusion of our most vulnerable learners, utilising digital technology, can make a big impact on the success and enjoyment our students experience.

One useful tool that you may like to consider using to help guide your decision-making process is an evaluation rubric. Using the rubrics touch points to guide considerations and questions about what digital technology tool to introduce to the student and learning environment can be a positive way to ensure all parties involved in making a decision have the same understanding about priorities for the new tool including learning goals or budget considerations.

Over time I ended up creating my own evaluation rubric template for an inclusive technology assessment that works for the specialised field I work in (sensory impairments) which I can adjust to meet the needs of each individual I am working with. If you would like a copy of this please reach out to me.

Joy Zabala and Tony Vincent have extensive experience in the area of inclusive technologies for students and have both created rubrics to guide teachers and leaders through the decision making process. Both Tony and Joy’s websites and resources are worth checking out before you get started. What I like about these two resources in particular is that they key questions in each area guide you into gathering data and information to support the consideration and implementation of appropriate inclusive technologies that focus on the learner, their educational goals and the learning context first. Once goals in this area have been identified, choosing the right technology or app can commence.

Finally, I would like to leave you with this quote from Dr Kevin Maxwell which has been my screen saver on many devices over the years and reminds me each day of why I am an advocate for purposefully using the right digital technology in our learning spaces.

‘Our job is to teach the students we have.
Not the ones we would like to have.
Not the ones we used to have.
Those we have right now.
All of them.’

– Dr. Kevin Maxwell

I’d love to meet you and share our stories at the Leading a Digital School Conference where I am presenting two sessions; Technology for inclusion with diverse learners (Thursday @ 12.10pm) and Digital tool smashing – Learning can include more than APP smashing! (Saturday @ 12.10pm)

References

CAST (2018). UDL and the learning brain. Wakefield, MA: Author. Retrieved from http://www.cast.org/our-work/publications/2018/udl-learning-brain-neuroscience.html

Vincent, T (2012) Ways to evaluate apps. Retrieved from http://learninginhand.squarespace.com/blog/ways-to-evaluate-educational-apps.html

Walker, H. (2011). Evaluating the effectiveness of apps for mobile devices. Journal of Special Education Technology, 26(4), 59-63.

Zabala, J. S. (2005). Ready, SETT, go! Getting started with the SETT framework. Closing the Gap, 23(6), 1-3. Retrieved from  http://www.joyzabala.com/

 

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Digital tool smashing – Learning can include more than APP smashing!

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So, your class has mastered Book Creator for writing a story to share with a real audience, they rock at using Do Ink for green screen movie making and they are all over SeeSaw for recording their learning. It’s time to integrate a few quality apps to take it to the next level.

App Smashing is the process of students utilising a core of quality apps that complement and enhance each other to create inspiring and engaging ways that not only demonstrate their learning but showcases it and allows you to assess their understanding and skills.  The term App smashing was coined by Greg Kulowiec (USA) in 2013. Laura Cummings has a great blog post about App smashing if you’d like to know more about setting parameters and supporting app smashing in your learning space. Whilst this post focuses on the power of combining iOS apps in an education setting, over time the term app smashing has also come to include the use of more than just iPads and at times more than one device type, for example using a Chrome book,  and an iPad to create a finished product.

Students intuitively explore apps long before we’ve had time as a teacher to offer step by step instructions and often find an apps limitations and special features before we’ve fully explored the apps learning and integration potential. Students also often soon realise one specific app doesn’t allow them to produce a final piece of work or product with all the features they need or want and intuitively experimenting with a variety of apps to create their final product.  They key to app smashing is the camera roll or the ability to save a photo, a video, an image you’ve sourced or created and importing it into another app to combine, manipulate to create something new that wasn’t possible to make happen in either of the other apps on their own. App smashing it more than utilising the features and functions of more than one app to reach an objective.

The power of app smashing is the transformation of projects into rich media creations and encourages the seamless use of digital tools for learning. The two key elements for success when app smashing with iPads are the camera roll and the ability to share your creations. When you first introduce the concept of app smashing to your class, depending on their age and familiarity with the apps, you may recommend and demonstrate how to utilise specific apps together to create a finished product. Eventually, however, the goal is for students to consider the assessment criteria and decide themselves which apps will work best for their learning task or project idea by considering what the various apps features are and which one, two, or even four apps would work well together to suit their needs.

Why App Smash?

  1. encourage creative and imaginative thinking
  2. Support collaboration
  3. Students have choice, control and ownership in their learning process
  4. encourage critical thinking
  5. help students construct knowledge and demonstrate deep learning
  6. help maximize the potential of digital tools by combining features and functions.
  7. Allows creativity to shine and allows students to demonstrate their learning in their preferred communication mode. For example, speaking (audio or video), writing (typing text or with a stylus) or drawing.
  8. Provides opportunities to purposefully create and share with a real audience
  9. Empower students to share their voice and showcase their learning.

Dr. Monica Burns (ClassTechTips.com) recently wrote an e-book How to use App Smashing as an assessment tool full of ideas for using book creator as a formative assessment tool.

Combining apps for innovative project ideas

  1. Create a multimedia book (topic/ theme can cover any curriculum or interest area)
  2. Podcast / radio show/ review (book, movie, TV etc.)
  3. Interactive comic
  4. Student created biography interview videos

A few of my favourite Apps

With links to Apple App Store. Those that I know are also available on other platforms I have identified.

Tips

  1. Communicate clear assessment criteria to your students.
  2. Make sure students know how much time they have to complete the task or project.
  3. Make it a clear and easy process for students submit to you finished work created digitally.

I hope that this post has given you enough ideas to start app smashing with your students, encouraging learning and creativity in your classroom. If you need more inspiration I recommend checking out Jornea Erwin aka @Savvy_Educator, or the #AppSmashing hashtag on Twitter.

I will be presenting about these ideas and others at the Leading a Digital School Conference this year, come along and say hi – www.iwb.net.au/digital/program

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Droning In The Classroom

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If we are to believe futurist Thomas Frey, drones will become the most disruptive technology in human history. To be fair Frey’s definition of a drone is more than the flying Unmanned Aerial Vehicles or UAV’s we typically think of when we talk of drones. The reality is though that drones are more than just flying cameras, they’re being used to deliver goods, fight climate change, monitor reefs, supply humanitarian aid, and take part in races.

My involvement with drones is via the statewide VCMP project which uses them to monitor coastal erosion hotspots. “The Victorian Coastal Monitoring Program aims to provide communities with information on coastal condition, change, hazards, and the expected longer-term impacts associated with climate change that will support decision making and adaptation planning.”

As a citizen scientist I’m part of a local team that uses a Phantom 4 drone, aeropoint satellite based markers and some pretty clever software that lets us measure the amount of sand that is shifted along sections of a beach. We do this by overflying sections of the local coast at around two monthly intervals and then crunch the data with the Australian Propellor software. This software allows users to draw virtual transects or plots along or across the beach to compare data across a range of dates. From this we can calculate the amount of sand movement and/or changes in the beach profile amongst other information. The software also enables users to render 3D representations of the beach.

In order to participate in the program we had to undertake some basic training in using the drone safely and efficiently. Whilst not a full remote pilots licence the training did cover off on most of the practical aspects required to get licence certification. We were also made aware of and have to comply with the Civil Aviation Safety Authorities, CASA, rules for flying sub-2kg drones.

Prior to becoming involved in this program I had purchased a couple of small entry level drones with a view to investigating if and where drones might fit within the school curriculum. Since that time a number of things have happened which have sharpened this focus.

The two major consumer drone manufacturers, DJI and Parrot have realised that the education sector is a market that could be tapped into. As a consequence both companies have adapted previous entry level models to better reflect the needs of schools. At the same time educators around the world have also been developing specialised drone options with students in mind. Most of the skills involved in learning to safely fly these entry level drones can also be applied to more sophisticated models, flying a continuous and even figure eight pattern is just as tricky with my Parrot mambo as it is with my Mavic Pro.

Both DJI and Mambo are developing some excellent support materials aimed specifically at the education market. Some major third party developers including Swift Playgrounds amongst others are also developing learning options. Importantly a number of these third party supports originate in Australia and are designing and providing content that fits the Australian Curriculum.

Drones provide a very practical means to develop STEAM projects. In order to best utilize drones it is important to understand the physics of flight and the various systems that combine to keep drones airborne. Designing and making drones fits perfectly within a STEAM framework bringing together science understanding within a design process that involves multiple systems. In addition to basic design work, drone kits provide the opportunity to devise, prototype and test novel uses for drones. The process of constructing drones, (and sometimes flying drones), often involves quite a lot of “trial and error” learning which provides a perfect context for building resilience and learning from failure. Even the best pilots have at least one malfunction.

The better entry level drones come with simple in-built cameras which can be employed to capture images that can be used as evidence of mission completion or as data for analysis. More sophisticated drones can be used in data gathering across the curriculum especially in geography, geology and the natural environment. LEGO connectors on entry level drones enable the addition of lightweight components which can be used to simulate real world missions. In the real world, drones are now also being used to take the place of fireworks and other lighting effects, again something that is within the scope of the classroom.

Another drone component worth considering is an FPV, or first person view camera. When paired with goggles these cameras provides students with an entree to the exciting world of drone racing and open up the many maths based explorations that are involved in this activity. Whilst flying a drone race can be full of thrills, designing courses that are challenging but realistic can be just as exciting.

A number of the entry level drones can also be controlled using code from block based through to Python and Arduino. This opens up the opportunity for students to devise, program and fly missions that mimic real world applications. If students are working with more sophisticated drones there are a number of software options available to plan and run missions. Whether using smartphones, controllers or software, flying and coding drones can be quite different to doing similar tasks using terrestrial based vehicles.

Of course with any new technology there is a cost involved and other considerations to take account of. Flying time is one of these; some entry level models typically provide 8-10 minutes of air time per 30 minute charge. With the better options users can purchase combos that have multiple batteries and spare propellers. With micro drones it’s important to understand the control range after which the drone may ‘get lost’. When looking at larger drones it’s important to consider the camera capability as well as navigation features such as collision avoidance and return to base features.

Overlaying all of these consideration is that drones are becoming increasingly available; some are available for as little as $20 from popular stores such as K-Mart. Micro-drones that fit into the palm of your hand can be purchased online again for very minimal cost. Despite the fact that these products contain flyers and instructions on safe and responsible drone use, experience suggests that these are often ignored. Schools offer an opportunity for a more structured review of these rules. Working with drones in schools also provides an opportunity to discuss and consider privacy and other issues associated with drones. Schools also provides a context for learning safe procedures; most damage to drones occurs not in flight but in packing, unpacking and transport.

Having hands-on experience with even entry level drones enables students to better consider options for the use of drones in the wider world. It can also lead to senior level students undertaking certificate level qualifications and even RePL, (remote pilot licences) as is already happening in a number of settings.

Come and meet me at the Leading a Digital School Conference where I will be facilitating hands-0n workshops around Droning in the Classroom, Augmented and Virtual Reality, Engineering Robots, Coding and Data.

Innovation in Action (Rapid Prototyping)

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Rapid Prototyping……Moving from our presentation on Teaching Innovation to the practical of Innovation in the Classroom, cuts into many areas.  As teachers and students, it can be difficult to cram these into a crowded curriculum and assess them against standards. Innovation as a concept requires measurement of some concepts and ideals that are difficult to quantify in the short term and difficult to measure against sensible / meaningful grades.

Some of these ideas include collaboration, creative problem solving, communication, critical thinking.  Wrapping these in the broader social ideals of global citizenship, entrepreneurial literacy, environmental awareness and ethics we start to provide a very broad place to operate within, one where we can focus on what students do; actions here are important.

In our workshop, Innovation in Action, at the Leading a Digital School Conference 2019 we will unpack some of these, as well as how to introduce students in a process of evolutionary innovation that follows a framework that fits into any problem solving methodology.

  1. What problem are we solving

    • why and who – we observe the the world and ask questions

  2. How can we solve this problem

    • what tools / skills and resources  do we have that might help, what do we need.
    • What are we actually going to do to solve the problem.
    • This is often the ideation stage.

  3. Plan and build

    • Prototype the solution

  4. Test and Evaluate

    • Did our solution work? (If not we can re-prototype)
    • How do we know it worked? (testing)
    • Did we deliver the product / service we said we were going to?

These fit most problem solving methodologies and are flexible enough to be adapted.

Our workshop will take attendees through a rapid version of this, where you will be expected to look at the world, discover a problem, come up with a solution, prototype the solution, and evaluate the solution.

We will use peer evaluation and presentation of solutions to evaluate this and most people will be able to take their prototype away with them.

Our workshop can be scaled and can be adapted to most year levels, and we provide concrete examples of differentiation.  What we won’t talk about is how we assess this, to find out why we don’t formally assess Innovation in Action, you will need to attend our presentation on Teaching Innovation.

Jon Roberts and Matt Zarb

Artificial Intelligence (AI) in school education: are you ready for it? *

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Artificial Intelligence

Interest in the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Australian schools is growing. More educators are participating in important exchanges about AI as understanding develops around how it will impact the work of teachers and students in schools. This post – it first appeared on AARE EduResearch Matters blog in September 2018 – adds to nascent conversations on AI and raises issues and questions that are critical as we start to think about AI in school education.

What do we mean by ‘Artificial Intelligence’?

Defining the term ‘Artificial Intelligence’ or AI as it is commonly known is tricky because the field is so interdisciplinary, and AI relates to many different branches of knowledge including computer science, education, game design and psychology, just to name a few.

I like the definition offered by Swedish-American physicist and cosmologist Max Tegmark. He describes Artificial Intelligence systems as being ‘narrowly intelligent because while they are able to accomplish complex goals, each AI system is only able to accomplish goals that are very specific.’

I like this definition because it mentions how complex AI can be but makes us focus on the reality that AI is narrowly focused to fulfill specific goals.

We already live in a world full of AI systems including Siri, Alexa, GPS navigators, self-driving cars and so on. In the world of education, big international companies are currently working on or already marketing AI systems that develop “intelligent instruction design and digital platforms that use AI to provide learning, testing and feedback to students”.

We need to pay attention to how AI will impact pedagogy, curriculum and assessment in schools, that is, how it will impact end users (teachers and students). There is a lot to think about and talk about here already.

Artificial Intelligence in Education

Conversations about Artificial Intelligence in Education (AIEd) have been going on for many years in the world of education. This year the London Festival of Learning organised by Professor Rose Luckin and her team brought together scholars from around the world in the fields of AIEd, Learning at Scale (large scale online learning platforms) and the Learning Sciences.

Closer to home the NSW Department of Education has been on the front foot in raising awareness of AIEd in a series of papers in its Future Frontiers agenda. This is a compilation of essays that canvas “perspectives from thought leaders, technology experts and futurists from Australia and around the world.” These are helpful and well worth seeking out to inform budding discussions you might want to have about AIEd.

Questions for schools and teachers

It is important for researchers and teacher educators like myself to explore how AIEd will supplement and change the nature of teachers’ work in schools. We need to understand how this can be done in education so that the human intelligence and the relational roles of teachers dominate.

How will schools be involved? And how could the changing education landscape be managed as the subject of AIEd attracts more attention?

Leading research scientist and world expert in AIEd at University College London, Professor Rose Luckin (who incidentally is a former teacher, school governor, and AI developer/computer scientist), captures the core argument when it comes to school education. She says: It’s more about how teachers and students will develop sufficient understanding of AIEd so that it can be augmented by human intelligence when determining what AIEd should and should not be designed to do. For example, Luckin suggests if only purely technological solutions dominate the agenda then what AIEd can offer for change and transformation in teaching and learning will be limited.

The Australian Government’s Innovation and Science Australia (2017) report, Australia 2030, recommends prioritisation of the “development of advanced capability in artificial intelligence and machine learning in the medium- to long-term to ensure growth of the cyber–physical economy”.

It also lists education as one of its “five imperatives for the Australian innovation, science and research system” that will equip Australians with skills relevant to 2030, thus highlighting the need to understand the implications of AIEd for schools.

Critical moment for school education

There is conclusive international evidence that we are at a critical moment for setting clearer directions for AIEd in school education.

With crucial questions being asked internationally about AIEd and national reports like Australia 2030 published we must start to probe Australian policy makers, politicians, school principals, students and parents, as well as the teaching profession more broadly about such vital issues.

Schools are one focus of the agenda, but how are teacher education programs in universities preparing preservice teachers for this future? Are we considering questions of AI in our preparation programs? If we need to lift the skill levels of all school students to work in an AI world then what changes might we need to make to accommodate AI in school curriculum, assessment, pedagogy, workload and teacher professional learning?

The debate about robots replacing teachers is not the main event. There will be assistants in the form of a dashboard/s for instance but humans will still do all the things that machines cannot do.

Moreover there is also a great need for deeper understandings of learning analytics. There are also questions of opaque systems, bias in algorithms, and policy/governance questions around data ethics. Such topics could form foundational programs in teacher education courses.

More hard questions

What implications do AIEd and automated worlds have for school infrastructure? How can higher education and industry support schools to be responsive and supportive to this rapidly changing world of AI?

Leaping back to the London Festival of Learning for one moment, Professor Paulo Blikstein, from Stanford University, in his keynote address painted a grim picture of the dangers that lie ahead and he told his audience that it is time to ‘make hard choices for AIEd.’

He explained a phenomenon of We Will Take It From Here (WWTIFH) that happens to researchers. It is when tech businesses tell researchers to ‘go away and play with their toys’ and that they will take over and develop the work technologically … taking over things “in the most horrible way”. Blikstein outlined how most tech companies use algorithms that are impervious and don’t consult with the field – there are few policy or ethical guidelines in the US that oversee decision making in these areas – it’s a “dangerous cocktail” described by Blikstein’s formula of:

WWTIFH + Going Mainstream + Silicon Valley Culture + Huge Economic Potential = DANGER.

I agree with his caution in that people in positions of power in teaching and learning in education need to be aware of the limitations of AI. It can help decision makers but not make decisions for them. This awareness becomes increasingly important as educational leaders interact and work more frequently with tech companies.

In teacher education in Australian universities we must begin to talk more about AIEd with those whom we teach and research. We should be thinking all the time about what AI really is and not be naïve and privilege AI over humans. There are many participants in the AIEd conversation and those involved in education at all levels in Australian schools have an important voice. This is a serious and necessary dialogue.

*This post touches on some of the key themes in a spotlight session conducted by Dr Hunter at the Leading a Digital School Conference being held on 8, 9 and 10 August 2019 in Melbourne.