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

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.

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.

 

 

 

Keeping track of formative learning

Robert Bok, pastry tutor and WelTec Staff Award recipient 2015 (Emerging Teacher category), explains how he follows the progress of each of his students. With simple but thorough organisation, and using online and hard copy methods, he monitors each learner’s development.

Gerard Duignan speaks to him on this YouTube video for Spark 

21st century learning: gathering evidence

We extol the value of collaborating online and collecting evidence from students and we assist with training and support, but for many staff  it’s a hard grind.

I talked with two women who have struggled to find creative ways to collect evidence of student work.

Gathering evidence

Caroline is a tutor on the Fashion Make Up course and an early technology adopter who, with her colleagues  was among the first to use eportfolios .  We in EdTech are impressed with the dedication these tutors show to their craft (both teaching and make up) so I asked Caroline why she wants to use eportfolios, what she has tried and what she uses now. I also asked her why she perseveres.

Listen here: Caroline’s portfolio ‘journey’

Lee teaches in the Trades Academy and Animal Care areas. She has students two days a week – so she’s been trying to find a way to maximise the class time by flipping the classroom.

I asked her about the ways she collects evidence from her students. She tells me that she has explored several ways but has hit on one that she thinks might work.

Listen here. Gathering evidence of student work.

What does this mean for Ed Tech?

It’s an advantage  for Caroline that students are expected to develop digital skills for the industry, even if these skills are not specifically outlined in course learning outcomes.  The portfolio activity becomes an authentic activity.

Brett O Riley says in  Driving the skills agenda: Preparing students for the future (p.10): “ICT skills are no longer an option; they are basic skills for operating in society”.  His  report recommends that new skills and so called ‘soft skills’  are  taught using real world problems and work opportunities (p12).

For Lee, the issue is more complex. Her  Trades Academy students visit our tertiary institution from local schools for short term ‘introduction to tertiary study’ courses and the demand on her is to make the experience interesting, engaging and integrated into the several core skills the students are expected to develop.  She has decided that collecting evidence of student work using a web page will work for her students.

A new tutor  is exploring  Moodle’s portfolio system. It looks ok but there are some aspects we’d like to improve – like students  being able to contribute to other users’ folders. We are also exploring using Moodle Wiki for collecting evidence of student work – and this may be the best solution for him. Glossaries can also be used for students to add work – but again they are not private. It depends whether or not you want students  to see each other’s work – which is not a bad thing. Workshop, also in Moodle, allows students to peer review  but this too can be a bit clunky.

In busy work situations where there are so many demands on tutors it’s encouraging to see those who work tirelessly to find authentic ways to engage students and collect evidence of their work. In spite of assistance from our Ed Tech team  I am not sure that we have found the best ways for tutors to collect evidence of student work and we’d love to hear your success stories.

NB: We recommend using Firefox or Chrome to open SoundCloud.

How do you know how well your students are doing?

Image: John Hitchcock

If your job is to teach stuff to students, then to do it well you need to be constantly monitoring what they are making of your teaching. Hopefully they will be learning something to do with their purpose for being in your class, but how do you know? Here are some ideas.
Ask them. Say “How are you doing?” and listen to the answer. Or better, ask them the Three Magic Questions: “What is one thing you understand, one thing you are not sure of, and one question you have”.

Even better, make these questions into a three question questionnaire so you can take what they say back to your desk and ruminate on it.
Watch them. When they are doing an activity, watch what each student is doing. How do they organise their work space? How do they choose and handle the tools? How focused do they seem?

Listen to them. What things do they say in discussions, in the workshop or on the job? What questions to they ask? How are they expressing ideas or using the words from the subject? Who is confident and leads the talking, who is thoughtful, who is silent?

Look at the work they do. Whatever it is, how well is it done? Have they missed anything? How well do they describe their work to you? Get them to tell each other things, or hand work in to you.

If you don’t know how well your students – each one of them – are doing, it is very hard to be an effective teacher. Knowing where your learners are at gives you a place to start from which to build their skills and knowledge.

a fitting end to the year: emotions in teaching and learning

Terry Anderson in Virtual Canuck draws our attention to a report from the Learning Analytics Community Exchange which focuses on emotions.

Terry Anderson is someone whose work I admire – he’s the one who talks about teaching, cognitive and social presence in a Community of Inquiry model in education and more specifically in distance education.

The new report introduces emotional presence to the mix:

“Social participation ” say the authors “in online contexts presents several unique emotional challenges to earners and teachers” (Daniel & Stupnisky, 2012). Insecurity about losing voice and identity create fear on an online environment they say. “Emotional presence might (therefore) be an important element that the learning analytics community need to take into account” (p.5).

“…emotions” they say, “can vary significantly from learner to learner” (p.6).

The report proceeds to describe methods for collecting new data and proposes content analysis, natural language processing, and behavioural indicators to gather data from students.

Rientes & Alden Rivers

While I have merely skimmed this report so far, I am keen to read more deeply. It is a valuable addition to learning analytics and to the development of a model which I find useful and sensible in regard to teaching practice.

And on that note: Christmas and Merry don’t match for me so – have an enjoyable and relaxing break.

Alden Rivers, B. & Rientes, B. (2014). Measuring and understanding learner emotions: Evidence and prospects. [Report]. Learning Analytics Exchange. Retrieved from http://laceproject.eu/publications/learning-analytics-and-emotions.pdf

roadshow: microsoft in education

While I know that Travis Smith has copies of his presentation on the ‘net, here’s an image of a slide from today’s presentation at the University of Victoria, Wellington. Travis Smiths’ Technology Roadshow.

There were two main themes:

we learn by using our hand writing skills to reinforce our comprehension of new ideas (i.e. by taking notes, doodling, drawing arrows and mind maps we begin to make links to previous knowledge and so develop the new); and
collaboration is the key to smart thinking, problem solving and jobs and if we want people to collaborate we have to teach them how.

In a lively presentation Travis S introduced us to skeuomorphism (vessel + shape) – that we design new tools on old principals, for example when we develop e-books we use the design principle of the real book – text, turns pages, virtual gutter etc.

Generally, however, he advocated the use of stylus enabled tablets (or computers) and software that allows us to copy ideas, diagrams etc from websites or PowerPoint and then to use the stylus to draw and write our own notes. He quotes Oviatt & Cohen, 2013 to reinforce his theory that we learn best when we write and doodle, as well as facts and figures from PISA. The significance of the PISA results is that introducing creative problem solving skills into the measurement of 15 year olds’ educational abilities has caused results to chance in some countries (for example China where a more formal, rote learning teaching style is used).

OK- so then he showed us ChronoZoom where a marvellous non pixellating view of the cosmos, for example, can be used to search for, find, record, copy information about the solar system.

MetlMonash is a program that enables students to ink, type and draw, develop mind maps, diagrams, formulae and equations live.

Fluid Math which translates written problems into action based examples (loved it) AND allows for collaboration.

He also re-empathised the joys of using One Note for collaborative activities (Note to Self: explore this further).

I liked the idea of Office Mix which we can already use freely as a plug-in to PowerPoint (as long as we have Office 365) but most of all I liked his idea that we encourage tutors NOT to complete PowerPoint presentations, his argument being that when PPTs are incomplete the students have more freedom to think, ask, add, comment. He uses data (unreferenced by me) that there was an 80% positive response from students when PPTs are 40% complete. And conversely (also unreferenced by me) that technology is used most for finding information and practicing routine skills and least for creating resources/presentations or collaboration.
As a final note he suggested that in order to make best use of some of the interactive and collaborative software we need to have a tablet with a stylus and an active screen digitiser. There are, he said, still some problems in working with ipads/iphones and he also suggested that instead of focusing on byod we should be mandating device capability.

So what? Great ideas. I agree. Collaboration, interaction, creativity.

And back to work on the slow network and the sluggish restrictions.

Maybe Santa will give all educational institutions a heap of money and we’ll be able to initiate some of these great projects. Meantime we take from these presentations what we can and explore.

Oviatt, S. & Cohen, A. Toward high-performance communications interfaces for science problem solving, Journal of Science Education and Technology, 2010, 19: 515-531 and Oviatt, S. The Design of Future Educational Interfaces, Routledge Press, 2013