Amplifying best practice with BYOD and Google Classroom (or any online platform)

Video - Google Classrooms, Learner Agency & Universal Design for Learning

In this day and age it blows me away that there are still high schools debating whether to introduce Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), and then it frustrates me further than when they do go BYOD and they choose to make it optional or drip feed it in level by level.

Those yet to introduce BYOD are doing their students a massive disservice, potentially widening the gap between the "haves and have-nots". Young people need these skills, and considering your school probably has something in the vision or mission statement about preparing young people, you're really not delivering the goods.

And as for those who are doing the slowly, slowly drip feed of BYOD, bravo for taking the first step, but you need to recognise that you are increasing your teacher's workload, not reducing it, and the chances are you are not getting anywhere near the benefits that a one to one BYOD programme can offer.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know what you are saying, change is hard for teachers, but dipping your toes takes just as much work, on top of still doing traditional prep and the chances are the efforts are half-arsed as a result and the students are frustrated because it's bloody unclear how they should be learning. This also allows for the nervous and reticent amongst your teaching staff to pretty much opt out and to lean on the offline they strategies they are confident in. And remember universal BYOD or one to one does not mean that you forgo that fabulous face to face offline practice, it just means that you can invest time and energy to do the online strategies well.

And yeah, yeah, yeah I hear others saying their learners just can't afford it. Well personally, I think those learners are the ones that need and deserve it more than any. Get your retailers/ICT suppliers to put together a weekly payment plan for a naked chromebook or laptop, ie. simply a chromebook or laptop. Not one that comes with case, insurance, steak knives and kitchen sink. You should be able to get these down to a few dollars a week. If your school budget or some kind school supporters can stretch to it, bulk buy and let families pay back at $3-4 a week. Yes, these strategies take time, and some financial risk,  but quite frankly if this means we are going to close the digital divide for our students and possibly their families, it is time bloody time and money well spent!

But I digress, this blogpost is supposed to about how BYOD can and amplify best practice.

Note - If your behaviour management is poor, if your lessons are poorly planned and your contexts less than engaging (and if you don't get of your bottom throughout each and every lesson) your BYOD will stand for Bring Your Own Distraction.

As the quote states below, technology can help education where it's already doing well!

Rather than finding a digital educational cure, he came to understand what he calls technology’s “Law of Amplification”: technology could help education where it’s already doing well, but it does little for mediocre educational systems. Worse, in dysfunctional schools, it “can cause outright harm.” He added: “Unfortunately, there is no technological fix…more technology only magnifies socioeconomic disparities, and the only way to avoid that is non-technological.”

- Dr. Kentaro Toyama in Time Magazine

Therefore it is key that when you bring in devices and start using an online learning platform you need to ensure it works to reinforce best practice. At Hobsonville Point Secondary School we have three principles that we believe underpins powerful learning: innovate through personalising learning, engage through powerful partnerships and inspire through deep challenge and inquiry. So when we looked at developing a best practice guide for e-learning our fabulous E-learning Specialist Classroom leader Danielle Myburgh used these principles to organise and construct a guide that outlined expectations for our teachers.

E-learning Best Practice Guide developed by Danielle Myburgh as E-SCT

One of the key ways we support learning at HPSS is through the development of a Learning Design Model that underpins a shared learning taxonomy that all staff use to formulate learning objectives for each and every module and lesson.

Learning Design Model - designed and supported by Di Cavallo and our awesome Learning Design Leaders

To ensure these learning objectives are visible I ensure I publish them at the beginning of each lesson, along with clear instructions as to what we are doing, so if any students are away or need to review their learning, they can do so with ease. 

A typical Google Classroom announcement

The quotes below are taken from our end of module feedback form where students were asked to comment on my use of Google Classroom.

Student Voice about visible learning strategies in my module

As well as ensuring learning is visible I am also keen to ensure that learning is as inclusive as possible. To this end I try to use a fairly simplistic approach to try and ensure that the principles of Universal Design for Learning is also underpinning how I use my online platforms (and how the students get to use their devices).

Image from CAST

This means that I try to use a range of modes for students learning about any one topic or developing any skill.

Offering a range of modes through Google Classroom 

I also let students, where appropriate, use a range of modes for evidencing their learning. For example, rather than demanding an essay, I would always let them present their learning as a podcast, video, infographic or essay/blogpost. Of course if I am assessing writing, I get them to write! But if I ain't, why the hell would I limit their chances of presenting in the way they do best. Note - it does pay to spend a little time teaching/letting them learn how present effectively through each mode. Don't worry, YouTube more than makes up for any teacher inexperience!

Offering a range of modes for evidencing learning (is easy)

The quotes below are taken from our end of module feedback form where students were asked to comment on my use of UDL through Google Classroom.

MoStudent Voice about UDL strategies in my module

Finally, BYOD has to be about developing Learner Agency! You can read more about that here. I believe BYOD and online learning platforms really come into their own when they are used to support learner agency and carefully curated choice! And as well as giving them choice, look at your direct teaching to learning ratio. See if you can do only 10-15 minutes direct instruction (if it's needed at all) and then let THEM learn! Just make sure you don't then sit back and do your sudoku/emails/Pinterest (okay that last one is a reminder for me ;). Use this time to sit amongst your students and question, challenge as support as needed. If you are take advantage of this time to do some quick admin, do it at the back of the class. Learners with screens need your support and your vigilance!

Let's got free-range!

More blogposts on this topic:

Learner Agency - More than just a buzzword #futureschools

"Tech doesn't improve student results - study" - why news reports like this are damaging (and missing the point).

So what are you doing differently this year in your classroom (and/or school)?

SECTOR VOICES: The Future of Education - Navigating the space between educational paradigms

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10 Tips to Make Learning REAL

Another Christmas has passed and I am continually amazed by the technologies that kids now have access to. For example, my son received a drone from my mother-in-law and has been playing with it non-stop for days now. At first, he was focused on just the basics of flying the device. After having mastered take off, landing, and balance, his focus now is on using the camera to take photos and video.  It is awesome to see how engaged he is with the drone, but that he is also learning in the process.   Technology for him, like most kids today, has become an embedded component of their lives. They have grown up in a world where they have become accustomed to the fast-paced evolution of everything digital. 

The world as we know it has fundamentally changed our learners.  It is not that they are learning differently per say, but the environment in which they learn has dramatically changed.  The challenge for educators and schools today is to make learning REAL (relevant, engaging, authentic, and lasting) for all students and aligning it more with their world.  A great deal of emphasis has been placed on personalized opportunities for students. Whereas there are many benefits with this approach, the reliance on technology platform and human interaction can take away from intended outcomes. REAL learning places a greater emphasis on making learning personal for students. 

Below are some quick tips that can make learning more REAL (relevant, engaging, authentic, and lasting):

1. Provide students access to real-world tools to do real-world work (i.e. makerspaces).
2. Allow students to select the best tool to complete a learning task while moving away from a one-size-product-fits-all approach.
3. Provide meaningful feedback in a timely fashion.
4. Connect standards and learning outcomes to their interests and passions.
5. Implement Academy programs (school within a school).
6. Offer virtual course options and innovative self-paced learning opportunities in lieu of traditional independent study programs (i.e. IOCS).
7. Transform outdoor spaces into flexible classrooms and stimulating learning environments.
8. Broaden student horizons by bringing in experts both face-to-face and virtually who work in emerging fields of work. Take kids on field trips through virtual reality technology.
9. Move away from traditional grading and homework practices.
10. Clearly articulate the “why” all the time so that students understand how what they are learning impacts them now and in the future.

REAL learning should be a reality for all of our students.  What would you add to the list I have started above? 

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To LMS...and beyond!

A couple of months ago I was pondering the BIG question - to LMS or not to LMS? For those of you who are not down with the edu lingo, LMS stands for learning management system, which is a term for an online environment or platform that is used as a means for managing learning online...funny that.

Well, ponder I did, and still do, asking myself if we are actually in a post-LMS world. Part of me was convinced we are, that the concept of a LMS was singular and restrictive and quite frankly a bit 'yesterday'. But then, mid-ponder it struck me. I was asking the wrong question. It was not a question of 'To LMS or not to LMS?' It should have actually been the question - 'How do you we evolve the LMS to best meet the changing needs of schools and learners? It was not a matter of 'throwing the baby out with the bath water', it was more about teaching that baby to swim!

So how is the LMS evolving (or does it need to evolve)? The evolution for me is that it is no longer about a single solution. It is no longer about Moodle, or Moodle and Google or even Moodle, Google and MyPortfolio. It is about using one LMS (such as Moodle) to provide an architecture or framework for bringing together any number of LMSs and platforms. It is about someone or a team of educators curating and gathering a number of platforms and bringing them together and creating a mashed up whole, integrated seamlessly into a single experience through single sign-on. Many may argue this isn't necessary, but I do. A school is a community, a learning hub. So a school needs an online community, an online learning hub that can support and enhance a blended learning environment, blurring lines and connecting school, home, local, global communities to create a learning community that is tangible and easy to identify and connect with.

This of course is nothing new, and many of you are already mashing up and using a whole raft of LMSs and learning platforms. I guess what I needed to do is just shift my focus - from 'Do we need a LMS?' to 'How are we going to manipulate and mash up all of the environments we want to use?'. More importantly, how are we going to make this online space dynamic and engaging? 

In case you are wondering, we are going to use Moodle - but not just any old Moodle. For one, it will look good! Moodle will provide a front door and and will become the virtual home of our online learning hub - 'HobsOnline'. Moodle with be the place where students login to their single sign on environment that will give them easy access to Moodle, Google, MyPortfolio, the library LMS, eTV, Kamar student portal and hopefully N4L. Staff and students will be encouraged to use 'core platforms' as much as possible, but not limit themselves, as everyone (students and teachers) will be encouraged to constantly inquire and to use the best tool for the job or learning outcome. The challenge will be in establishing a range of common core platforms and practices that are used enough, that a genuine online community is established and common practices are shared and valued...but that everyone also feels free to explore and be creative in their online practice. 

So I guess the answer to the original question is - 'to LMS'. No question.

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Edutouring 2.0 - Learning by Doing and Design Thinking at Nueva School

Nueva School is a private California School that provides a constructivist education for gifted students. That said, what they actually provided was a programme that could (and should) be offered to any student. The school's motto is to "learn by doing, learn by caring" with students engaging in project based learning, integrated and thematic studies and as much real world learning as possible. Across the programmes students apply a Design Thinking process that insure learning is built around inquiry. 

Nueva School has been open for 45 years and has traditionally been an elementary and middle school only (same as a full primary in NZ), however they are just about to launch Nueva High School so as to provide a complete educational journey for their students.Students take a range of seemingly traditional subjects such as Maths, Science, Technology (IT), Literature Studies, Humanities and PE. They also take Design Engineering which seemed comparable to the equivalent of all NZ Technology subjects being integrated in a single monster Technology course delivered in a Maker Space (woot!).

I have to declare at this point - I loved this school. Particularly as it was the first school on this tour where they approached technology (and actually the whole curriculum) in a way that I relate to - this school wasn't an Apple school, they weren't a school that put the technology up front all. This school was about outcomes for learners. Technology (in its widest sense) was a tool to be used when it makes sense, as the Principal said - don't try to fit a square peg into a round hole. 

This didn't mean technology wasn't being used, it was, a lot. All students used MacBooks, they also had an incredible iLab which struck me as the ultimate "maker space" with 3D printer, laser cutter, desktop computers, sewing machines, glue guns, paints and a range of hard technology tools and work spaces. Work tables were on wheels to allow quick rearrangement of spaces. 

Nueva School is passionate about Design Thinking and Design Engineering. They have a Design Thinking Institute and Innovation Lab led by Kim Saxe. To me, this aspect of the school was the key to its success. It was also the aspect of the school which in a sense really exemplified what the NZC is all about. Students in this space developed Key Competencies. Their focus on real world learning and focus on empathy meant that it covered the Values and Principles as outlined in the NZC as well. The Design Thinking process they use has been developed by Kim Saxe, based on the Stanford model. It is a inquiry model and thinking process, not unlike the one used in our Technology curriculum. It is however a process that can be used across the curriculum. The real point of difference (for me at least) was the inclusion of empathy in the cycle. A great example of this was the 6th grade Health Innovation programme where students work with a person with health issues, identify needs of health care. Whilst students are not expected to find cures, they do focus on the human experience and identify issues that may have solutions. In one example given, a number of students happened to be working with people with similar illnesses and discovered that each suffered as a result of having to work through a number of different treatments to find which one suited needs, the students identified that if the patients had been informed of all choices up front and able to choose, this could have prevented much of the "trial and error" the patients experienced. 

The focus on empathy and social action is woven throughout the curriculum at Nueva. Students don't just take "Business Studies" they instead learn and explore Social Entrepreneurship. They also learn a language of choice throughout using this as a platform for exploring world issues and social action on global level. Students learned about the country of their language and even engaged in a longterm in depth inquiry around designing and building an Eco house in the country they were focusing on. In the final year of the middle school, all students then spend two weeks in that country, one with a host family and the other exploring the country itself.

Inquiry was everywhere at Nueva. All students engaged in inquiries for each of the subjects, with much of the final two months of the school year being dedicated to inquiries in preparation for their "culmination" presentations which (I think) were basically an opportunity for students to present and celebrate their learning. Another core value of the school is collaboration and "collective knowledge", therefore presentations may be in groups or individual depending on how the learning took place.

Students also engaged in a passion project in Middle School. The project was based on something the student is passionate about and also betters the world (that component is optional but 2/3s still opt in).

Students have a mentor outside of the school and the project is very much based in the "real world". Students also participate in self-initiated projects that they engage in at lunchtime.

In summary, this was (to me anyway) genuine 21st Century teaching and learning in practice. Forget the fact that it is pitched at gifted students (it needn't be) or the fact that it is private (this could easily delivered in any public NZ school) - this school put their learners at the centre, put inquiry at the centre, put social action at the centre and they provided educators that worked alongside learners as facilitators of knowledge rather than teachers. 

We could all afford to do a whole lot more learning by doing and especially learning by caring. 

Websites:

http://www.nuevaschool.org/

http://nuevadesigninstitute.org/

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Edutouring 2.0 - iDreaming at San Antonio Elementary School

San Antonio is a low decile elementary school in San Jose. Whilst it is a long established school, it was in a sense recreated two years ago with new buildings and the launch of the iDream programme. The programme involved funding from Apple for a full technical set up across the school, including wifi infrastructure, Promethean whiteboards in every room and all students being provided with either iPods or iPads in school time. Like the school we visited before it, and much like many of the schools in NZ, San Antonio was at the beginning of implementing change, enabled by technology.

In terms of preparing staff, teachers at San Antonio had a week of training with a MacBook and iPads. They were shown how to use a range of apps. The school now has an Apple Resource teacher to support staff. Initially the IDream programme was meant to be able to offer a full time Apple support person and days of professional development. But like so many promising initiatives this dwindled actually down to 16 days of a Apple resource person on staff. Now it's down to staff to work out best use. The technical support person is at district office, working across 25 schools.

Students don't have the device at home, they are kept in the lock box over night.

In terms of student use, they would usually spend 25-30% of the day using devices with 5th graders using iPads 50-60% of the day. This certainly represented the tiny snapshot we saw whilst touring the hallways of San Antonio. The last class of our tour was definitely the highlight - a groups of 4th and 5th graders passionate about learning and equally passionate about their iPads. As we walked into the room we were greeted by an enthusiastic young man desperate to share us his iMovie about his culture, another young lady was desperate to share her inquiry project and then a third wanted to demonstrate how she was using EduCreations and KeyNote to show her working in Math. These students were awesome and there was no denying that technology (undoubtedly supported by an excellent passionate teacher) was playing a central role in igniting the students passion for learning.

At the moment teaching and learning across the school hasn't really changed, the Principal was the first to acknowledge this. However, like any good school the Principal was looking at ways that they could move along the SAMR continuum. Adding to the challenge of leading change, there was also the issue of disconnectedness at home - students were unable to take devices home (as letting them do so in he past had resulted in damage and loss) and most homes had no access to the Internet at home. I couldn't help feeling like this school needed to talk to the Manaiakalani Cluster who strike me as dealing with a similar community and similar challenges. It also made me reflect upon how fortunate we are in NZ in terms of the ground swell around using Teaching as Inquiry as a means of lead change, particularly as I could see the challenges that they were facing in realising that technology doesn't change pedagogy....changing pedagogy changes pedagogy....if that makes sense. Added to these challenges was also the fact that the iDream programme really only funded the set up, the challenge of sustaining the immense shift taking place was purely in the hands of the school and community.

I sort of got the sense that, unless they work bloody hard, this school may be be forced to wake up from their iDream.

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Edutouring 2.0 - Same same but different at St Ignatius College Prep

Our first stop on our TTS US Ed Tour was St Ignatius College Prep - a high decile Catholic school in San Francisco. The intention of the tour is to visit a range of schools who represent the spectrum of e-learning (and for the most part Apple) integration. In many ways St Ignatius was a lovely place to start with the school being at the beginning of its journey as a 1:1 iPad school, just finishing the first year of implementation. Like many NZ schools they are at the point of trial and error, learning with their students how to make the best use of the technology.

So how are they going about it?

All students are provided with a leased iPad which they treat as there own device. They pay a bond for insurance, but the cost of the iPad is actually covered by school fees. Students were issued their iPads at the beginning of summer, so as to give them time to familiarise themselves before the school year began. They also completed a two hour class to set up iPads, showing them how to use email, apps, Dropbox etc. Paul the Vice Principal and our lovely school tour guide admitted that they (the staff) are learning as they are go, particularly with this being the first year.

The students use Dropbox over WebDAV, as they want to move away from school maintaining files, the students need to be ready for college, and quite rightly they want do not want to get into the business of taking care of files.

An interesting thing to note is that the faculty had the iPads for a year before introducing to students. This gave teachers the time to explore and become confident with the device. In that time the staff also came up with a list of recommended apps which included: uPad, Penultimate, Notability, Pages and Keynote. The school then buys the app and students can buy them through the college bookstore at a discounted amount. N.B.This facility is not available in NZ. (Boo)

On the school webpage the school provides some great info about their iPad programme, including recommended apps for students, FAQs as well as the rationale for going 1:1 and choosing iPads. http://www.siprep.org/page.cfm?p=2400

At the same time as they introduced iPads, the school also changed timetable to longer periods, with Mon/Tues having 80 minute periods and Wed/Thurs/Fri having 60 minutes (all periods used to be 50 minutes) with the hope of enabling more student centred practice - this is of course, still a work in progress.

In terms of preparing the staff, each staff member have had a two day orientation about the iPad and teacher laptop. They also have a tech person on site, as well as subject specific mentors. Some staff go to sessions at Apple and other visit other schools. When they first introduced iPads, they had an in-service day with Apple trainers and gave iPads to faculty before students. Similarly to what I have seen in NZ schools, there was and is some resistance. When they started the programme 60% teachers were against using iPads in the classrooms and even now 5% remain anti-iPad. The school has decided to let them be. There is a large group that sit in the middle, using the iPad sometimes, there are also some high flyers. As I mentioned in the title, much of this felt same same same but different. It is comforting to see that all schools, irregardless of geography, face similar challenges when implementing change. It is good to hear as well that the school is keen to ensure there is still a variety of pedagogy, not all iPad focused.

Whilst it might've been easy to right off the situation as simply the same, it was still an excellent opportunity to learn. We could all learn and be reassured by the very fact that their successes and challenges felt so familiar. We also learned many other things, such as double the bandwidth you think you need (you will always need way more than you think), divide up the network for Apple TV, as they read all of the local traffic, Apple TV wasn't built for enterprise, but you can also use a reflector app or remote access to laptop which is connected to data show work and media as a work around.

There final piece of advice? Teach students how to back up data!

In summary, St Ignatius was a great start to out Edutouring 2.0. It allowed us to begin our journey in a familiar place, gaining reassurance that schools in NZ are well placed on the e-learning world stage. We learned tips and tricks and gained insight from a school willing to share not only their successes but their challenges too.

All in all, same same but good. Thank you St Ignatius.

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