names, ideas, people

It seems an age since I heard James Dalziel talk about personalised learning environments.  It was. 2003.

There have been so many inspirational visitors to NZ – Laurilliard, Levine, Conole, Lambert, Downes, Barrett, Anderson……..

Most inspired some activity as did the many conference speakers.   There’s  been storytelling, augmented reality, m-learning, constructivism, video, audio, MOOCs, learning objects (don’t get me started), Open Educational Resources, Open Educational Practices, repositories, gaming, kanohi ki kanohi concerns for Māori, e-mat for Pacific people, OTARA and the very excellent (:-)) eLearning Guidelines.

Image from elearning guidelines

The eLearning Guidelines were developed in  2005 under the Tertiary Education Commission and led by AUT University and Massey University. They are excellent for assisting staff to consider requirements in relation to developing courses. WelTec staff have applied them to Self Assessment for Learning Environments (SABLE) —a quality assurance  document. While the guidelines are useful for individuals and tutorial staff they also have  useful guidelines for institutions.

Terry Anderson’s work on presence  has always interested me: you can’t learn if your emotions are not engaged and you can’t  learn if emotions outside the classroom get in the way.        This excellent blog post post goes into more depth.

Wenger and others also inspired me. Part of the philosophy of Access courses was to build a kind of community of practice, although I didn’t  have the vocab then. Instead we looked towards concepts of tuakana teina (older sibling to younger sibling), and the ako – that learning and teaching are one and the same. As part of our practice we found ‘leaders’ or those who could teach others. We found that expertise lay within the group.

For me it’s a natural way to work and a natural way to develop staff capability.  And yes, here is the video we made.

I shan’t be here long enough to complete one with the construction guys  but they are working in the same inspiring way.

And that takes me to stories. You get emotion, reflection, epiphanies and humour as well as increased digital skills. Helen Barrett and Alan Levine told us this many, many years ago and they talked about how wonderful eportfolios could be.  Good things just take time.

And before my cynicism shows let me remind myself of Bordieu and Bishop. Cultural capital and culture counts.  And let me thank all those with whom I have worked—I have learned from each of you and I still treasure some of the multimedia we’ve developed (cheers Lisa and Jeremy) the web developers I’ve worked with (cheers Troy), the metadata I struggled with (hey Brent), the Moodle, CDX and Mahara skills I’ve developed (Ivy and everyone)  the automotive tutors and the work we’ve all done to make learning and teaching, well, just different and perhaps better. All the people who supported me.

elearning Aotearoa: the fun bit

In 1999 Ann Devoy invited me to be part of  small team at Whitireia.  My task was to work with staff to develop courses for online delivery using Blackboard. The first and most memorable course I was involved in was  in the Māori Business Management Diploma— a true blended one—online resources and activities with regular face to face hui.

At the height of the elearning ‘movement’ I was in Hamilton at Wintec.  A large centralised  team under the foresighted Jenny Newby-Fraser  included 3 instructional/learning designers who managed projects, a web developer, a multimedia developer, a Moodle administrator, a Moodle ‘technologist’ who input the material/activities and images following our design, a part-time graphic artist, and two part-time administrators who also input data, sorted copyright and added text and sourced images.  Tutorial staff were given time to work in the centre to develop courses and the learning/instructional designers worked closely with faculty on policy and training.

In 2004/2005 Nola Campbell set up FLINZ (Flexible Leaders in New Zealand) and through FLINZer Stephen Harlow I was introduced to digital story telling, and our own small company Storyboards.

Led by Jenny the Wintec team  established e-fest (initally talk-fest) where everyone with an interest in elearning congregated, at first in Hamilton and later at other venues, finally settling on Wellington as a preferred venue.

In 2004/2005 I participated in one of many ITPNZ  projects— GeTTS (generic trade training) a collaborative project between Wintec and Weltec. Others included research into Māoriand Pasifika experiences online, the development of an elearning project toolbox and Moodle.

It was a time of excitement and enthusiasm supported by the government via awards, funding and mentoring.

going forward, looking back

 Drawing and dancing were my favourite activities at ‘kindy’.

Drawing and dancing were my favourite activities at training college too, along with children’s literature with Betty Gilderdale.   I was lucky enough to have access to the work of Elwyn Richardson  and his book  In the early world (see The heArt of the matter). 

“The period from the mid-1970s saw an end to the post-war expansion of teacher training. North Shore Teachers College was closed. Other colleges suffered cutbacks in student quotas and staff redundancies (Opens haw, 1996). There were renewed calls for teacher training to be more classroom based, with less emphasis on educational theory and a wider understanding of society. ” (2006, p. 113).

I came to a wider understanding of society by teaching in London.   If you survived supply teaching in London in the 1970s you survived anything.  While many schools were great, I did discover overt racism (although unwitting) and the difficulty of teaching in open-plan classrooms when students come from overcrowded and unsettled immigrant backgrounds.

Literacy Access course in the 1990s focused on the learner using goal setting, small group collaborative work and individual tuition.  Before the days of NZQA we asked students to self assess their progress: “Could you read before?”,  “Can you read better now?”   One student worked his way through every poster in the room to prove his point.

It was here that, using Computer Assisted Learning  I met computers in education. While I was using Mac Classics we did have access to computers designed specifically for polytechnics. The ‘floppy discs” were the size of old 78 rmp  records.

Using computers allowed students to develop individually but the advent of a more accessible internet gave them more access to online educational games and resources.

Education Research and Perspectives Vo133, No. 2, 2006 New Zealand Teacher Education: Progression or Prescription? Roger Openshaw and Teresa Ball http://www.erpjournal.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/ERPV33-2_Opernshaw-R.-and-Ball-T.-2006-New-Zealand-teacher-education-.pdf

Welcome back

 

• Teaching and Learning Forum Friday 24th February
• Research Forum Friday 3rd February.

 

See you in 2017

science and communication

With changes recently in funding for arts, with governments appearing to reduce funding for science and journalism and the rise, indeed, of mock news stories, it’s been heartening to be in New Zealand after the big earthquake in the Kaikoura/Huranui regions.

Wonderful explanations are coming at us from GNS Science Te Pu Ao

This earthquake simulation is only one of the many pieces of information we’ve seen. This fantastic one about the tsunami comes courtesy of the MacDiarmid Institute.

The Spinoff, an interesting website that carries a variety of  items about ‘pop culture’ carried this great story that kind of sums up our week.

 

But the hero of the hour, in my opinion, was Radio New Zealand, whose funding is alas, under some threat. They were there in the night, and all through the Monday and Tuesday following the quake, when news was scarce and  information rare. There were interviews with a seismologist, fine caring interviews with people  whose houses had fallen off bases and farmers who were out helping neighbours. There were regular news items and in-depth discussions. National radio shows itself, in these occasions to be a national taonga.

So. My not very subtle message? We need scientists AND communicators.

to ‘e’ or not to ‘e’?

istock_000021422864.

Portfolios have become a BIG topic at WelTec and Whitireia, two closely aligned Wellington (NZ) polytechnics.

While the concept has been around for a while and we have promoted the use of a locally produced ‘product’ Mahara,  recent programme changes, due in some ways to NZQA’s Targeted Review of Qualifications (TroQ), have intensified the interest.

It means a change in the trades courses where assessments have traditionally been workbook/exam type with some summative quizzes to tutors considering new ways of how to collect evidence that learners have met learning outcomes.

While we have used Mahara with the Make Up students and tutors it works more successfully with students who are writing reflective pieces and and gathering evidence that requires more writing than sharing images. One of our champion tutors uses Mahara for collaborative portfolios.

Another local ‘product’ (I hate using the words ‘product’, ‘client’ and  ‘customer’ in educational contexts even though in this context it is the correct word) is Record of Work which we viewed today. It has been developed for the construction industry and is not, perhaps, quite ready yet for assessment purposes but is quite close.  The construction and automotive tutors liked it, when we viewed the presentation and it seems suitable. It is essentially an app to which learners add images and text. While the first users are Unitec in Auckland, New Zealand, we are able to design specifications for our own app. Tutors can view users diaries/records of work on a website. Take a look at the video link above or visit their website.

We’ve also generally discussed with staff that boxes and folders work just fine. A step up could be using PowerPoint and Word templates and having the learners either email them to tutors or have them upload them to Moodle drop boxes, and thus viewed and marked online.

Whatever the mode it is essential that learners are given clear, easy to follow instructions and clear expectations about which learning outcomes are to be met (if they are used for assessment). It is also essential that learners understand what is necessary and what is not (i.e. no dumping) and that you, the tutor, understand why you are using this method and are clear about your process. Consider also adding a marking rubric to the instructions.

It is also extremely important that you understand that while you may be assessing the portfolio in the end it belongs to the learner and not the institution.

JISC have as usual  intelligent information to share. Even if they have archived it, it still makes sense. They suggest a six step approach to implementing portfolios: Define, Understand, Prepare, Engage, Implement and Review. Fairly standard practice I’d hope. I particularly like the Implementing e-portfolios checklist. Useful.

Farewell Zaption

Zaption was a great tool that tutors loved as it allowed them to easily add questions into video clips to test if learners’ knowledge throughout the video.

Zaption had other cool features such as analytics of who and what people had answered, was very intuitive and was free! (Polytechs generally don’t have large budgets for education technology tools)  Tutors welcomed the opportunity to be able to easily ensure their learners were watching, thinking and learning in hopefully a fun way.

So, the search was on to find a replacement. As yet nothing tested has the features and usability of Zaption, and the price tag.

This brings back memories of two years ago when Springpad was discovered as a simple, but effective tool for learners for eportfolios. It too ceased to exist and we are still on the lookout for a suitable replacement.

 

 

 

Startups are companies designed to grow rapidly. It’s what happens next that is the issue for us – they can be sold and continue, or in the case of Zaption be sold and closed, or in for Springpad fail to gain enough users and close. Such is the nature of rapid technological change people in the education technology field are challenged by and keeps us interested in the exciting possibilities of the next startups.

The heART of the matter

The Wellington  part of the New Zealand International Film Festival (NZIFF) has finished.  While there are often films about art, poetry or dancing in these festivals there are not usually many about education. This film crosses the art/education/culture boundary and explores the impact that one man, with the support of others, had on art and craft education in the late 1940s and 1950s in New Zealand.  The film is  directed by former director of the National Art Gallery, Luit Bieringa.

Gordon Tovey was appointed art and craft supervisor in the Department of Education in 1946 under Director General of Education Clarence Beeby.

Both men saw that education practices, policy  and philosophies needed to change after the depression and World War Two. Tovey, in his role as supervisor of art and craft initiated roving art and craft advisors and supported the idea that children needed to be creative in order to learn. He also believed that Māori children should be encouraged to explore their heritage and its art forms. He created a course at Ruatoria and wrote The arts of the Māori (1961) and monographs like this which may be familiar to many New Zealanders. The names of many of his students and acolytes may also be familiar:  Whiting, Webb, Cath Brown, Hotere, Aldridge, Lusk…

The film also looks at the work of Elwyn Richardson whose book In the early world influenced me while I was at training college.  Like Beeby and Tovey  Richardson  believed in the inherent power of creativity and his work at Oruaiti School in Northland can be seen in this film, displayed in the words and feelings of some of the people who speak of him.

It’s a film that all of us, especially those who work in the education industry, should see for images of children in the 1950s dancing, singing, wearing masks, making textiles using Māori patterns, making clay pots and using kilns, making etchings and lino cuts.

And as Otago University announces a review of the humanities department and we see falling rolls in these areas, it is, in my opinion a time to reflect on what education is for and how important creativity, art and the arts are in our lives.

 

 

 

21st Century Learning: Themes of Submissions to the Productivity Commission

The New Zealand Productivity Commission inquiry into 21st century learning futures has provided some interesting insights into provider’s positions on digital learning technologies. Two key themes are repeated in various forms throughout the submissions: the use of technology in teaching and learning is growing and has inherent benefits and challenges, and the model of teaching and learning is moving towards acceptance of a more authentic, long term development of the student as an individual.

How this manifests in New Zealand’s Tertiary Education Strategy is yet to be seen. The more confronting aspects for the sector appear to be the growing need for a digitally fluent faculty and the challenge authentic learning poses for traditional delivery institutions.

The use of technology in teaching and learning

Many submissions agree that whatever the learning and teaching context, digital technologies are having an impact on the way teaching and learning happens. For both students and teaching staff, there is a significant challenge dealing with learning technologies.

There is growing awareness that the relationship between student, and knowledge expert and resources is growing. As information is commoditised and costs of institution-based study increase digital technologies, and in particular communication technologies, play an increasingly important role in student success.

Teaching and learning increasingly involves digital technologies as the basis for communication, the source of tools for creation of, and involvement in, learning activities, and as a source of data involved in quality enhancement, renewal, monitoring and review.

Authentic learning journeys                   

Long-term study objectives and part time study while working is likely to enhance decision-making as well as reduce debt carried by learners. The 2011 – 2015 New Zealand Tertiary Education Strategy emphasis on encouraging school-leavers into tertiary study, particularly at degree-level, has proven costly for students and for completion rates.

Balancing work and study over longer periods is more effective preparation for many jobs and for learning in general because of the relevance and authenticity of the learning this can bring and the learning capability that develops in the learner.

Face-to-face and hands-on learning combined with remote learning experiences focussed on up-skilling within ongoing employment are likely to attract a premium status due to the efficiency of the workplace blended model balancing costs and responsibilities across provider, workplace and student.

Authentic learning experiences – especially those that are closely linked to workplaces, actual practice and application – are more able to promote and support the development of ‘work ready’ graduates or, more broadly, contribute to the development of employability skills and capabilities.
Read more about the Productivity Commission inquiry and read the sector submissions here.

First published at ReGear Learning Ltd.