To LMS or not to LMS...that is the question

Interestingly, when I started out at HPSS I was completely convinced that we would not need a formal LMS (Learning Management System). I believed the time of Moodle, KnowledgeNet and UltraNet was behind us. I believed that students should manage themselves and teachers and students should have free choice. I believed that providing one LMS as our main online space was simply no longer needed. Then, as time passed, I reconsidered, I started to look back on Moodle with increasingly rose tinted glasses. I remembered the structure, the untapped potential of all those activities, all those plugins. Before I knew it I was making a steady u-turn. I began thinking, yes, we do need a LMS, we need that Moodle - even if only as a front door, a front door that allowed us to mash up Google Apps, Gmail, KAMAR student portal, MyPortfolio and links to eTV and our Library Management System. Moodle, Google and MyPortfolio supported by SSO (single sign-on) became the vision once more. 

With this thinking fresh in my mind, I started to craft our ICT and eLearning strategic plan, lovingly aligning decisions with our values and visions (see my last post), got in touch with Catalyst and Norrcom discussed hosting and SSO - I thought I had cracked it!

Then came a couple of great comments on my blog, politely challenging my thinking around having an LMS....haven't we moved beyond that? Then boom, it hit me. Maybe I was doing exactly what I was afraid I would do - I tweaked my thinking and then I retreated to what I knew from the past, potentially missing an opportunity for doing something new, something fresh and innovative. 

So where does this leave me, back where I began, pondering the future and the necessity of having a formal LMS. 

In the time before my "tweak and retreat" thinking, I had been considering simply providing a Google Site as a front door and a means for providing a simple architecture. This would still work as a SSO page and could include links to Gmail, Google Drive, MyPortfolio, eTV and the library. I know Ormiston do this, and I would be keen to hear from others doing similar. It does however raise the question around KAMAR student portal, could still you embed it somehow? Could you embed individual Gmail account views? I understand how we could embed a school Google Calendar and any number of hyperlinks...but I want more than that. And I still can't get away from the things I like about Moodle...I like the courses that students can self-enrol into, I like the way that it is individualised and dynamically so, in a way a simple website isn't....or am I wrong about this? Or am I missing the point altogether. Do students not even need this anymore?

Darn it. It would seem that I have got myself stuck at a philosophical ICT planning crossroads. If we go with a formal LMS am I retreating back into a comfort zone? If we go the Google Site way are we doing so at the expense of student online experience? 

LMS or not to LMS? 

What you think? 

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ICT and eLearning at HPSS Vision and Strategic Planning

In the spirit of openness and sharing, here is my first draft (of many I am sure) of our ICT and e-learning strategic plan which is born out of school values and vision.

Our Vision, Values and ICTs

Our Vision

To create a stimulating, inclusive learning environment which empowers learners to contribute confidently and responsibly in our changing world

Our Mission

Innovate, Engage, Inspire

Our Goal

Innovate through personalising learning. Engage through powerful partnerships. Inspire learners to be empowered.

Our Values

Empowered Learners who are resilient, responsive, resourceful

Personalised learning which develops curiosity, passion, excellence

Powerful Partnerships which enables learners to connect, collaborate and contribute

Our Values, ICTs and eLearning

We inspire to develop empowered learners who are:	This means:	What this looks like:
Resilient	persistence, determination, self-motivation, positive thinking, flexible, manawanui, spirited, pono, managing distractions, ‘can-do’ attitude	Open internet access that encourages learners to develop strategies for managing self online. Giving learners choice around tools and platforms for illustrating their learning.
Responsive	responsive, flexible, open-minded, seize opportunities, actively engaged with others, with opportunities, respectful relationships, caring, empathy, honest, fair, integrity, ethical, responsibility, awhinatanga, manaakitanga, whakapiringatanga	Learners develop digital citizenship skills and strategies so as develop respectful and ethical behaviours online. Platforms and tools are flexible and learners have choice to ensure they can be responsive to needs. Learners will have easy access to a range of technology, will be encouraged to bring their own device, to ensure access as and when needed.
Resourceful	enterprising, able to access and use resources around them, problem solving, critical thinking, ingenious, independent, imaginative, creative, capable, purposeful, rauhanga	Being able to locate, critically assess and use resources online according to need. Being proactive and persistent in their use of technology. Being ready, willing and able to learn how to use ICTs in different ways - independently or with others. Using online and offline resources usefully.
We innovate through personalised learning to develop:	This means:	What this looks like:
Curiosity	questioning, playfulness, inquiry, questioning, discovering, exploring, seek, investigation, thirst for knowledge, reflective, thinking	Thinking critically, creatively, reflectively about their use of ICTs. A stimulating culture of inquiry teaching and challenging inquiry based learning. Using evidence to inform choice of ICT tools and platforms to support teaching and learning.
Passion	enthusiastic, excitement, positive, interested, engaged, inspire and be inspired, hunger for learning, absorption, dedication	Learners develop, use and share ICT tools and platforms of their choice. Teachers sharing their passions and encouraging learners to do the same. Learning without boundaries or limits of time and place enabled by effective use of online environments.
Excellence	innovation, risk taking, high expectations, mastery, rigour, challenging , authentic, quality, leadership, pai, agency, metacognition, mana motuhake	We all set high standards for ourselves and expectations of others. We establish a model of high-trust and clear consequences around managing self online. Learners demonstrate mastery in the use of ICT tools and platforms with a clear understanding of best fit for specific learning outcomes.
We engage through powerful partnerships which allow us to:	This means:	This looks like:
Connect	build trust, develop relationships, communicate effectively, whanaungatanga, making links	We develop caring, trusting productive relationships off and online. We communicate effectively. We use ICT tools and platforms effectively to make links in our learning, between people and to the community and wider world.
Collaborate	co-constructing, teamwork, sharing, cooperation, negotiation, planning, kotahitanga	We are ready, willing and able to use a range of ICT tools and platforms to listen to, work with and learn from others. We all add to and draw from the strengths of each other. Working online and offline with others on a local, national and global scale.
Contribute	participate, actively engage with, give back, service (community projects, academic, sporting, cultural, entrepreneurial, co-curricular) koha	We contribute to our own growth and learning, to our community, environment and wider world as responsible digital citizens. We share our learning with others online, through collaborative online platforms such as Google, Moodle and the VLN. Using a range of ICT tools and platforms to participate in and share community projects, academic, sporting, cultural, entrepreneurial and/or co-curricular activities.

Strategic Planning

Infrastructure

As a PPP school much of the infrastructure is set up for us by Hawkins Construction. Torque IP have also been engaged to take on the role of advice and guidance to support with the planning and procurement of any additional ICT infrastructure and services such as copiers, printing and telephony.

Wireless/Internet Access

We would like universal internet access available to all teachers and students on site at Hobsonville Point Schools. We would preferably like a “hot spot” style of internet connection that allowed connection via a webpage requiring username and password.

Security

As we are a secondary school, we feel it is appropriated to have as open internet with as little filtering as possible. Whilst it would be useful to have low level internet filtering and the ability to monitor internet use, it will be important that for the most part learners are trusted to manage themselves appropriately online. Clear parameters around “appropriate use” will need to be established, supported by a “high trust, swift consequences” approach to managing use of the Internet and related resources.

Hardware

As we are planning to be a BYOD school we will be moving away from the traditional computer labs. Specialised learning areas will be equipped with desktops according to need, e.g. Macs for graphic design, Music, Media etc. A number of desktops will be available to students in each learning area. A number of laptops, tablets, digital cameras and accessories will be available for students (and staff) through the library issuing system.

Staff laptops (and tablets)

Staff will be issued with a base model TELA laptop of their choice. Staff are invited to bring their own tablet to use at school. If they do not own a tablet and would like access one, they may choose to use a school tablet in school or if if they wish to purchase one HPSS will broker a hire purchase agreement with Cyclone Computers which would allow for staff to own a tablet for a small weekly payment.

BYOD

HPSS will be a ‘bring your own device’ school, which means students will be invited to bring their own device(s) for learning. Recommended specifications will be provided for students and parents. Equity devices (Most likely netbooks) will be available on loan through the library system to those students that need them. HPSS will also establish a hire purchase agreement with Cyclone Computers on the parents behalf, which would allow learners to own a device for a small weekly payment. A number of desktop computers will also be available to all students in the learning commons and classrooms around the school.

LMSs

One of our challenges will be maintaining the balance between learners having choice and the need to provide a single “front door” for learners, family and whanau. I would like to suggest that an integrated platform using Moodle as the first point of contact will meet this need. I would like to suggest the integration of the following online platforms:

• Moodle
• Google Apps (Can we have Google+ open for the secondary school and closed for the primary?)
• MyPortfolio
• eTV (this may be available for the secondary only, due to access to mature content?)
• plus our library system (Oliver, Koha, AccessIT?)

Decisions will need to made as to how many of these platforms will run across both schools.

Teachers and learners will be encouraged to use Moodle as the first point of access and information for all Specialised Learning Modules. They will also be free to integrate any other tools and platforms that meet the specific needs and demands of learning outcomes.

SMS

Kamar has already been installed as the Hobsonville Point Primary School student management system. It would be useful to maintain a single SMS across the two schools. This may however present issues in terms of how we would each like to use it and/or have it structured. It would also be useful to have the Kamar parent and student portal available via the Moodle front door.

Student Email

All students will be required to have a Google (gmail) account set up for them on enrollment. This should be within the same domain as the primary school and school staff so as to allow ease of communication and sharing within the Google Apps for Educators environment.

Single Sign-On

Single sign on will be needed across the LMS and SMS platforms to enable seamless integration and to allow students to access all school platforms with a single long in. It would be preferable if this was integrated with wireless hotspot login as well.

Provisioning

It would be useful if all students were provisioned into the outlined LMSs on enrollment. Provision and organisation into class groups will need to determined. Alternatively it may useful to run Moodle in self-enrolment mode to enable learners to enrol into courses and groups as needed.

Digital Citizenship

As HPSS will be operating a high trust model approach to e-learning and ICT use it will be paramount that all learners complete course of study that addresses positive Digital Citizenship in its broadest sense. Netsafe provides the following definition.

A digital citizen:

• is a confident and capable user of ICT

• uses technologies to participate in educational, cultural, and economic activities

• uses and develops critical thinking skills in cyberspace

• is literate in the language, symbols, and texts of digital technologies

• is aware of ICT challenges and can manage them effectively

• uses ICT to relate to others in positive, meaningful ways

• demonstrates honesty and integrity and ethical behaviour in their use of ICT

• respects the concepts of privacy and freedom of speech in a digital world

• contributes and actively promotes the values of digital citizenship

An online resources has been developed to support staff here:

https://sites.google.com/a/hobsonvillepoint.school.nz/hobsonville-point-schools-digital-citizenship-guidelines-for-teachers/

Creative Commons

A creative commons policy has been established as part of our wider school policies. The Creative Commons will become the default copyright status of all documentation produced in school, unless specified otherwise.

HarbourNet/FarNet

As a new school, it will be difficult to provide a full range of subjects that meet the needs of all learners. One way that we would like to address this is through establishing a formal relationship with HabourNet and FarNet as a a way of providing distance learning for subjects we are able to offer in house. This will require a dedicated space with Video Conferencing set up. It will also cost the equivalent of 0.2 of one teacher and the establishment of an e-Dean.

ICT support

Norrcom have been engaged to provide implementation and management of ICT services at Hobsonville Point Schools. At present their support is primarily remote with part-time onsite support. This may be an appropriate level of support for the short term, but will need to be reconsidered long term. Particularly as the secondary school with a BYOD school.

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Thinking about strategic planning for ICTs

Here is a piece I originally wrote for Interface magazine which serves as a preface for my next post which looks at some of our thinking around ICTs and e-learning at Hobsonville Point Secondary School.

Wondering where to start with strategic planning for ICTs? Here are a few thoughts to get you started.

Start with the end in mind

Before you even worry about anything technical, you need to think about THE most important factor - the student. Begin by clarifying your school's vision around what you actually want for your students and their learning. What does their learning like now? What would you like it to look like in 2-3 years time? How will you ensure you don’t limit that vision to your own level of confidence, comfort and expertise around ICTs? This vision, more than anything else, will guide your strategic planning.

So how might you do this? It might be useful to ask a few questions to clarify thinking, such as:

• What does your student want and/or need? How do you know this?
• To what degree do you want your students to be able lead their own learning?
• How do you want your students to share and/or publish their learning?
• Do you want to enable your students to collaborate and work together?

Basically, you need to start with the student. What would you (or even better, what would they) like their learning to look like?

Make a plan

Once you have a clear vision for your student’s learning, this can be translated into a plan for ICT development or redevelopment. Again, you will need to few questions, such as:

• Do you want students to bring their own device? Why? Why not?

• Do you want your students to have open “hotspot” style access to the Internet or something more closed and filtered? Why? Why not?
• Do you want to control the tools and strategies that your students use by imposing a single LMS or mandated platforms? Why? Why not?

Depending on the answers, the amount of time and resources spent on each of the strategic planning areas will then vary. For example, if you want to introduce a genuinely student-led learning experience and therefore would like a BYOD policy with a lot freedom and choice for your students, this will involve investment in; a robust and reliable wireless infrastructure, in-depth and ongoing professional development for shifting teacher pedagogy from a more teacher-centred to a more student-centred approach and a lot of time and resources invested in developing the digital citizenship skills of your staff and students.

Lay the foundations

A robust and reliable ICT infrastructure can be the make or break of any teaching and learning experience that involves technology. To ensure your infrastructure is meeting the needs of the student you need to be guided by how the student will use it. Depending on the needs of the student, this will most likely include: a fast and reliable internet connection, a robust internal school network, a wireless network and some provision of ongoing technical support. As schools move to more cloud-based services for their Student and/or Learning Management Systems the need for physical infrastructures beyond the wireless one is evolving quickly. Schools can seek support in this area from the Network for Learning from whom schools and kura will be able to access affordable, safe and rapid broadband. N4L will also bring internet based services for engaging learners. Additionally N4L will provide services to help streamline school administration.

(Source: http://www.n4l.co.nz/)

Help your teachers evolve

Often teachers believe that to make the most of ICTs in the classroom, they themselves need to be experts. Whilst a level of skill and confidence can be useful, the most important thing a teacher needs to learn is how to be open to change and how to be confident enough to let their students take charge of leading their own learning. This may be as simple as stepping aside and letting your students find and trial ICT tools and strategies of their choice. An effective way for teachers to begin this evolution is through engaging in the Teaching as Inquiry process, where by the teacher identifies the learning needs of their students and undertakes a teaching inquiry around which ICT tools or strategies may support this learning to take place, tools and strategies are trialled, then the effectiveness of the tools and strategies in relation to the meeting the needs of the learner.

Probably the single most powerful resource to help you with this is the Ministry of Education developed e-Learning Planning Framework (eLPF) which is set of resources that schools and teachers with:

• A self-review tool for schools to gather evidence about practice
• A 'roadmap' for building e-learning capability
• A tool to evaluate the effectiveness of e-learning programmes
• Resources and services to support schools as they build capability

(Source: http://elearning.tki.org.nz/Professional-learning/e-Learning-Planning-Framework2)

The Virtual Learning Network (VLN) is another great source of information and support. The VLN is a network of school clusters and educational institutions collaborating to provide online access to a broad range of curriculum learning opportunities for students.

(Source: http://www.vln.school.nz/)

Develop digital citizens

However it is not just your teachers who will need to evolve, students can often appear confident, this does not necessarily mean that their use of ICTs is either particularly safe or successful. Developing digital citizenship skills is something that needs to taught AND needs to be modelled by teachers. You will need to consider how this will be developed across the school. Will it be taught explicitly? Will it be somehow integrated into curriculum areas? In terms of finding out more about Digital Citizenship, NetSafe (www.netsafe.org.nz/) provide excellent support and guidance for teachers, students and parents. You may also like to check out the Digital Citizenship Project on wikieducator (http://wikieducator.org/Digital_Citizenship), which is a NZ based crowd-sourced set of teaching resources for Digital Citizenship from Years 1-13.

In summary, you need to define what you see strategic planning for ICTs including, develop a clear vision for learning, consider how that might impact on your planning, and then seek out the information and advice. Just as we need to tailor our teaching to meet the needs of our learners, so to will you need to tailor your strategic planning for ICTs to the needs of your school, and more importantly – to the needs of your students.

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The "novelty effect", "Hawthorne effect" and reflecting on ICT related pedagogical change

The novelty effect, in the context of human performance, is the tendency for performance to initially improve when new technology is instituted, not because of any actual improvement in learning or achievement, but in response to increased interest in the new technology.

The Hawthorne effect is a form of reactivity whereby subjects improve or modify an aspect of their behavior being experimentally measured simply in response to the fact that they know they are being studied,[1][2] not in response to any particular experimental manipulation.

Source: Wikipedia

As someone who is passionate about the potential for e-learning and Teaching as Inquiry to be real change makers, I think it is paramount that the potential for the "novelty effect" and "Hawthorne effect" to cloud our results and what we now believe to be true is openly discussed and considered.

Without question I believe that increased access to technology and the Internet have the potential to improve and accelerate student learning and more importantly the ability for the learner to navigate their own way through their learning on their own terms...that's if we actually do let them do it on the OWN terms.

Sugata Mitra's recent TED Talk 'Build a School in the Cloud' demonstrated clearly the power of technology, Internet and self-direction to improve student learning. You can't fail to be impressed and inspired by what he has achieved, and the evidence seems undeniable - huge change has been achieved. But I do wonder if we are often swept along on a sea of TED Talk auto-response of oohing and aahing, collectively worshipping at the alter of TED. On second viewing and further viewing of earlier Sugata Mitra TED talks I do wonder if the improvements can be sustained long term? Or even replicated in an environment where ubiquitous access to the Internet is the norm? At what point does a "hole in the wall" computer cease to appeal to curious children in the slums of India? Will the SOLE (Self Organised Learning Environment) continue to meet the needs of learners once the novelty has worn off...or will the "Granny cloud" provide the surveillance needed to prolong the "Hawthorne effect" indefinitely? You may think I am foolish (quite possibly I am) to even question someone as indisputably brilliant as Mitra, but it does make me think - are we really considering the impact of these effects when celebrating our own and others successes achieved by introducing technology based intervention - particularly if it represents a radical change to what the learner experienced in the past.

So how do we factor in these effects when measuring improvements in learning outcomes as a result of introducing ICT or the Internet? Or should I say...do we even factor in these effects at all? And should we?

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