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Can I hack it? A reflection on designing digital solutions to authentic problems

24 April, 2019 By Hilary Purdie Leave a Comment

Written by my colleague, Megan Tubb

I didn’t realise I’d been hacked! After 12 years of teaching highly structured units of work, I found myself teaching in a way that forced me to loosen my grip on the reins of the curriculum. What started as a small discussion with my grade 6 students about the problem of litter in our playground had grown into something so much richer.

My 11 and 12 year old students were: 

  • driving the direction of our learning.
  • thinking of digital solutions to address a real problem in their environment
  • making strong connections to the adults in our local and wider community

The kids were empowered and full of pride! Meanwhile, I was struggling with self-doubt and fear. I had been pushed right out of my comfort zone to face each day with a level of uncertainty. It was innovative. It was challenging. It was exciting.

Could I hack this new way of teaching?

As the world continues to evolve, our education system is lagging behind. We know it is our imperative to develop our students to become active adults, well-equipped to fulfil their potential and find meaningful pathways for their future. Yet for so many teachers it is too threatening to step away from complete control of the direction of learning.

There are educators who are pushing back against old paradigms. Teachers who acknowledge that the old way just isn’t good enough. These teachers know the value of 21st century learning skills. They recognise that in order to equip students with these skills, they need to take a different approach that shifts away from teacher-centred learning. It requires educators to be innovative, creative and brave enough to value students as capable and contributing citizens – key players in the act of learning.

How can we utilise these pockets of innovation within schools to generate cultures of innovation across a whole school? One possible avenue is to draw on the Stanford d School’s principles of “hacking for school improvement”.  ‘Hacking’ has the following characteristics:

  • quick and fast with a bias to act
  • a culture of prototyping (just try)
  • using what we have
  • low risk

This model acknowledges that some teachers can be reluctant to try new ways of doing things because of a need to ‘get it right’. It aims to remove this pressure by grounding innovation in low-risk experiments that value and encourage a bias towards action. According to the Stanford d School:

“Since doing beats talking about doing, we embrace jumping into new, invigorating experiences. Sure, there’s some initial discomfort, but the reward becomes clear as educators stretch beyond their comfort zone to pick up new skills and mindsets.”

By taking a leap of faith and trying something new, rather than waiting for it to be perfect or right, teachers speed up their own learning process. In adopting a fail forward approach, they use their own valuable experiences and reflections to improve the practices they have experimented with.

Leadership at Taroona Primary School saw the initial litter work I was doing with my students. They applied ‘d School’ school improvement hacks to enable, encourage and support me. My experience not only built my personal capacity in the area of authentic learning, but it also served as a model for my colleagues.

Pushed by my principal, pulled by my students’ passion, I very quickly came to realise some of the benefits of bravely working in this new space.

Buy in

Students identified litter in the playground washing into the River Derwent as a problem.  The first thing that excited me was that the students were passionately connected to their learning. This created

Students installing the bird feeder they designed to keep currawongs away from rubbish bins

motivation, as they were invested in their efforts and outcomes. I realised that authentic learning is not only ideal for extending highly able students but also for students who are disengaged and difficult to motivate. There was buy in from my whole class!

Students are likely to think laterally, go left of field and dream big, rather than think something isn’t possible.

I had many projects on the go with students. Some worked, some didn’t. But what each project showed me was that with the naturally inquisitive, creative and uninhibited character of children, creatively solving real problems is a gift for teachers. Students are likely to think laterally, go left of field and dream big, rather than think something isn’t possible. And throughout all this, the significant community connections and learning that took place as a result of the journey, cemented my conviction that this was worthwhile, despite the uncertainties and challenges of working in this new way.

Digital Technologies

What also became obvious was the natural fit for digital technologies. Students intuitively considered digital solutions as part of their design-thinking approaches to problems. Our school had recently taken up the challenge of being early adopters of this curriculum area within the primary sector. It was so exciting to see digital technologies being organically applied within the authentic learning process. It brought alive our vision of ‘aligning and enhancing our current work with the digital technologies curriculum’.

My experience therefore served to build personal capacity in the area of authentic learning, as well as serving as a model for my colleagues.

We know from our own experiences that teachers are dedicated and want the best for their students. It’s what drives them to turn up every day. So why then is there a reluctance to adopt a culture of innovation that welcomes authentic learning? Why aren’t all teachers using the genuine and novel problems that exist within schools and communities to provide an opportunity for students to actively contribute as citizens in their own right?

Authentic Learning is Messy

Innovative, authentic learning can be a bit like what it feels like letting your toddler have a playdate with some friends. Even though as a parent you know the benefits of free unstructured child-led play, adults can be reluctant to just let kids go. As an adult, structured activities are easier. The adult knows that the fall-out following child-led play can be messy! And the mess can be both literal and figurative. For those who like to be prepared, organised and in control, this style of learning can be challenging. While pre-teaching and scaffolds are a critical part of the journey and are a requirement for student success, the open-ended nature of authentic learning means that it is not always predictable, the progress can be slow and the outcomes are often unknown.

Like a child-led playdate, authentic learning in a school setting provides genuine opportunities for creativity, collaboration, communication and innovation in a way that could never be achieved in a highly structured, adult-centred environment.

Many teachers like the comfort of having content areas mapped out for the year in neatly-defined lessons.  They may justify their reluctance to relinquish control by claiming loss of curriculum coverage. Yet the curriculum is firmly at the centre, incorporated in every aspect of the authentic learning journey. Will everything you try work? No. Will the failures be frustrating? Absolutely. The difference is, authentic learning allows the curriculum to come to life through the actions of engaged, contributing citizens who are making their mark within their school, community or beyond.

It is no longer an option to see schools as places that prepare students for “the real world”.  We ARE the real world!

Hilary Purdie and I are presenting two sessions together at the Leading a Digital School Conference being held in Melbourne at the Crown Promenade Hotel on 8, 9 and 10 August 2019. Our sessions are Bias to action – using hacks to create a culture of innovation and Pump your PL – why mindset alone is not enough for teacher transformation, please come and join us.

Filed Under: Active Learning, Digital Technologies, Innovation, Uncategorised Tagged With: Community, Connection, Hack, Innovation, technology

Tinkering and Music

13 March, 2019 By James Colbert Leave a Comment

‘I would teach children music, physics and philosophy; but most importantly music, for the patterns in music and all the arts are the keys to learning’ (Plato). It is an important message that continues to resonate with me as I watch my 3-year-old daughter bang away at various objects making vastly different sounds. She is completely immersed in the sounds each object makes, thinking about how they connect to each other. The look on her face is wonderment and awe, intense. What is she thinking about?

Music and movement is innate in all of us in some way shape or form. Whether it be playing a musical instrument, singing or connecting with the sound by dancing, tapping or moving. Music is the language we all share. How do we know what music we like? What drives people to be musicians or take up an instrument and learn to play it? Exposing children to music and learning through music improves memory and develops language and reasoning skills. Where does this connect to the modern classroom and student?

We know children learn best through play and experimentation. They like to build things and pull them apart. Their curiosity drives their intensity for learning. However in this day and age, students are expected to learn many concepts and skills, focussing on results and standards otherwise imposed on them. Where is the time to look closely, experiment and build something? At what point does the fun go out of learning?

I feel I am very lucky and privileged to be part of the amazing Upper Primary staff at The Geelong College. I work closely with other passionate educators committed to providing our students with a vast array of experiences to challenge their thinking and capabilities. More particularly in Year 5, I work in a maker-centred classroom that promotes curiosity, creativity and collaboration through making things and tinkering with stuff.

It was over 12 months ago and I was working with a group of students completing a small tinkering activity. We focussed on the Parts, Purposes and Complexities of broken technology. We asked the students to pull things apart, check out the parts, how it worked and how these parts combined to make the machine work. After which I gave them the task of can you use the parts you now have to up-cycle and make something. I had a tub of Makey-Makeys sitting on a table and a student asked what they were and could they use one. I said ‘sure but I’m not telling you what it does or how to use it.’ So off they went to find out.

The students came back to me and asked if they could make a musical instrument as a YouTube clip demonstrated the Makey-Makey turning bananas into piano keys. I said ‘sure, go for it!’ This lit a fire under them. They designed and built their instrument feverously. What was interesting to note was that no one directed them, no one gave them parameters or outcomes, and they followed their idea and passion.

When it came to coding the instrument sounds, again they followed their nose. They investigated ideas on YouTube, learnt new blocks on Scratch and learnt about the way electrical currents and circuits worked. I observed them working. They were in flow, in control and motivated. Other students fed off this enthusiasm and soon others wanted to have a go. Soon the sound in room changed and it became one of sounds, notes and music. The students joined groups and created little bands, recorded their sound and played it for others. Did I teach them anything? I have to be honest and say no. All we did was create the right conditions and it was simply amazing to see 10-year-old children come together through music.

This experience taught me:

  • Children have innate learning skills that are untapped
  • We need to create the right conditions for learning to happen
  • The teacher doesn’t need to be in control
  • Technology is a great tool to bring things to life
  • A set of outcomes and standards doesn’t drive student motivation to learn, it comes from them

Piaget once said ‘knowledge is the consequence of experience’ and this is no truer than what we try to provide for our students in Year 5 at The Geelong College. Making music through tinkering and coding has opened up another avenue for our students to communicate and express themselves creatively. We hope they continue to connect this way as they navigate through the formative stages of their lives. I hope my daughter continues to find joy and happiness in the music she creates.

I will be presenting; STEAM into the Humanities and Tinkering with Music at this year’s Leading a Digital School Conference, in Melbourne in August. I hope to see you there.

James Colbert

Filed Under: Digital Technologies, Innovation Tagged With: Making, Music, technology, Tinkering

3 Quick Ways to Increase the Digital Technology Count in Your School

7 June, 2018 By Rick Noack Leave a Comment

Here are 3 Quick Ways to Increase the Digital Technology Count in Your School, in Response to Amanda Taylor’s comment on my Blog post “The Ever Changing Role in Digital Leadership (Kotter Model unpacked)” Amanda asked “In an environment where BYOT is impractical due to extraordinary social poverty, how do we access the hardware to enact the amazing groundswell of pedagogical change the staff are poised to implement? We are desperately trying to instigate innovative teaching and learning on a limited number of devices as our school has no budget to supply the tech hardware. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.”

I have provided Amanda with 3 strategies which I have used to get more hands onto digital technology devices within the schools I have worked. Check out my response back to Amanda.

Hi Amanda,

Yes this is a very interesting issue to face however there are a couple of solutions.

  1. In South Australian Government Schools, we have the opportunity to apply for our ACE scheme which is an internal procurement process where the department sources possible digital technology options and schools can opt in for a lease type arrangement over 3 years. This then allows a greater purchase of digital technologies immediately with the cost spread over 3 years. This is how I have managed to do this in the schools I have worked.
  2. You could also look to Computer Recyclers in your state. Whilst you may not be getting the most up to date digital technology equipment, you can build the digital technology capabilities within your site quickly at a reasonable low cost, then begin to budget for a replacement plan over the coming 3-5 years.
  3. There are often trials/grants with Apple and a range of PC providers which many schools opt into. These do require some dedicated learning paths and often the grants allow for digital technologies to be supplied to the school.

With all of these options Amanda one of  the most important points is to strategically plan/map out where the digital technology equipment is most needed and who will be your early adopters so that the momentum takes hold. A well mapped out plan will help you identify where to start the groundswell.

I hope you are going to be able to make it to Melbourne for the Leading a Digital School Conference in August. I would be happy to chat with you more about this there.

Meet Rick Noack at the Leading a Digital School Conference 2019

Cheers

Rick

Filed Under: Digital Technologies Tagged With: Apple, purchasing, technology

Using Microsoft PowerPoint to create Flipped videos and improve workflow

23 April, 2018 By Steven Kolber Leave a Comment

Creating Flipped Videos in Microsoft PowerPoint allows for greater accessibility and smoother workflow for flipped educators.

An exciting development in Office 2016 is the addition of built in support for recording of PowerPoint presentations. This is a great improvement upon the previous iteration of this feature. This means that teachers are more likely to stumble upon this function and as a result find themselves producing video form content that might one day lead them towards a flipped learning methodology.

It also means that for practitioners looking to train staff in technology to support a flipped learning approach, the possibility of teachers new to the pedagogy can begin working within a program that is the industry standard for content presentations in class. It also means that the process of creating instructional video is streamlined, removing some key steps from the workflow.

Consider, the older, experienced PowerPoint king or queen at your teaching setting. Their presentations feature such a high level of development: animations, images throughout, diagrams and carefully crafted, word-perfect descriptions and depictions of key concepts. These highly proficient teachers could adapt their well-produced and refined, existing, presentations into videos by just clicking across the toolbar at the top of the program. As a result their practice begins to transform and modernise into the 21st century.

Technological competency serves as a great obstacle for teacher trainers and school systems generally. Any movement towards simplicity and accessibility for less technically savvy teachers opens up a range of possibilities that lead towards the pedagogy of flipped learning. A practice that carves out time for students and teachers to interact in more effective and engaging ways and practice a number of practices that are often viewed as lofty or somewhat mythical. Things such as differentiation, individualised intervention and mastery learning within the confines of a normal school. These concepts are often referred to, but less often achieved in the realities of actual teaching practice.

Below is a 1-minute description of how to create one of these recordings made using the exact functionality that it describes. The development of the resource, a PowerPoint slide deck took some time, but the actual conversion of it from a staid PowerPoint presentation to a video took the same amount of time as the length of this video.

The notable feature of this method is that it removes a common and problematic step in the production of instructional video, editing. The program has a way to remove silent elements from the final produced video, largely removing the need to spend additional time in ‘post-production’.

Looking below at the diagram you notice the standard five steps of creating a flipped instructional video and that two of these, content preparation and lesson planning, are standard teacher work. So the first thing you consider is that flipped learning is adding three additional steps to within the production of lessons. The benefits of flipped learning will not be discussed here for brevities sake but consider here from an outsiders’ perspective on adding three additional steps to their workload. Almost undoubtedly the thing that all teachers value the most is time, especially preparation and planning time. So one of the crucial factors for a teacher considering becoming a flipped learning practitioner is to streamline or remove as many of these three additional steps as possible.

Creating Flipped Videos by Traditional Means

Creating Flipped Videos by Traditional Means

Diagram 1: Note the navy colour represents standard teacher work, and the light blue denotes steps unique to flipped learning. Noticeably, filming and recording is a separate step completed with a separate suite of programs.

Notably, the first of the three flipped learning steps is now completed natively within a very familiar program. Notably, the step of editing can be completely removed as it is no longer essential, though a finicky teacher may choose to editing the video file produced for a range of reasons. Lastly, the uploading process is essential to making the videos available for students, however, it is a ‘lock and leave’ type of a process that typically takes place either in the morning of a school day or overnight at home.

The diagram below shows a more streamlined process of flipped learning, using the approach discussed above. Note, the editing is no longer necessary and the preparing content and the filming and recording process is combined for ease of use. This may seem unlikely, but it is not a great addition of workload to finish creating a PowerPoint as you would for a typical class, then plug in a microphone and perform this content, whilst it is fresh in your mind, as you would to a class.

Creating Flipped Videos within Windows PowerPoint

Creating Flipped Videos within Windows PowerPoint

Diagram 2: Note the removal of the editing step of the process, and the combining of the preparing content and the filming and recording.

It is worth mentioning briefly, that, as with all presentation and recording of oneself, there is a hurdle of confidence to be overcome. Just as student teachers have to become comfortable presenting to students, you, even as an experienced teacher may need to re-learn some of your presentation skills. The same tasks that you perform on a daily basis, explaining, describing and providing examples feeling for a time, strange and new. You may find yourself glowing red, or stumbling over your words. By doing this more and more, you will find yourself being more explicit in your instructions and being more strategic in the way that you explain concepts, as you are always aware of the length of the video you may create, or the potential need to edit or restart your explanation. This is one of the hidden benefits of moving towards instructional video and later flipped learning, you will begin to notice speech patterns and habits that you adopt during your presentation of information which you can then improve upon.
Though it may seem like a small change in teacher workflow by using this method it allows for far greater freedom for teachers adopting this teaching methodology. Furthermore, by removing some of the time needed to create flipped videos it also lowers the barriers of entry for teachers new to the concept of flipped learning and teaching through instructional video. Flipped learning can be considered as a way of freeing up the classroom time of a teacher at the expense of their out-of-class time, and this is also true for the students of said class. Therefore, by freeing up more time in the out-of-class space for the teacher, it allows a greater focus on the all-important step of lesson planning. As the ultimate goal of flipped learning is to transform the group space through, active, group and inquiry or problem-based learning, therefore, the lesson planning step is the core task of all teachers, whether they be flipped educators or not. That is why this small, incremental improvement in the out-of-school time necessary to complete a flipped video is so crucial.

As such the core role of a teacher remains always to create circumstances, events and experiences for learning during a lesson. Though at times, the tendency is to create these through a didactic and direct lecture style approach that allows for the communication of information, but less often retrieval practice and active interaction with that knowledge by the students. By forcing yourself away from this type of instruction, which is likely the very style of education that you yourself were educated with, you free yourself up to improvise. You free yourself up to try new teaching approaches, ideas and thoughts and have time within classes to interact with and trial these ideas. You have more time to communicate with individual students and develop more complex relationships with them and their learning needs and goals. Notably, flipped learning does not abandon direct instruction or refute its use, rather it provides a challenge to develop yourself beyond this default approach and to spread your professional wings and become more than a lecturer or deliverer of content.

In summary, the method of using PowerPoint to record instructional video is a clear, simple and speedy process. It eschews the need for editing and allows content creation and video production to be performed in the same place, within the same program, when the information is most fresh and cogent to you the teacher. It also makes the concept of producing instructional video content more achievable for less tech-savvy teachers and thus makes the potentiality of flipped learning being more widely adopted as a pedagogy more likely.

Feel free to watch the video below if you are interested in a quick guide on how to create an instructional video within PowerPoint:

Filed Under: Digital Technologies, Flipped Learning, Innovation, Teacher Health Tagged With: edtech, FLGI, Flipped, individual space, Innovation, instructional video, integration, IWBNet, learning, Microsoft, New users, Obstacles, Streamline, teaching, teaching space, technology, Workflow

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