PELeCON Kidsmeet

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Recently, as part of the larger PELeCON conference in Plymouth, Pete Yeomans asked if I’d like to come and help out with an afternoon ‘Kidsmeet’ session. I immediately liked the idea of this and wasn’t disappointed. The idea was to invite kids (aged 8-12) to come along with their parents and attend a workshop (in the truest sense of the word) that would involve them making some stuff. Also in attendance were Jo Neale, Paul Hutson (The Night Zookeeper), Pete Yeomans himself and some teacher trainees from the university.

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Plymouth University provided some ‘kit’ in the form of ipads, Flip cameras, laptops, some Robosapiens and other resources and attendees were invited to avail of the kit to produce stuff. What might that ‘stuff’ be? Well, they could do stop-frame animation, something using Scratch or Kodu, a piece of music, whatever. There was also the understanding that the resultant ‘artefacts’ would be showcased to conference delegates later in the afternoon (a true proud-dad moment for me).

Will and Fionn test-driving their Kodu games

Will and Fionn test-driving their Kodu games

I set myself up as something of a Kodu person and introduced it to my own son, Fionn (10) and an 11 year old called Will. Both Will and Fionn are huge Minecrafters and so I was interested to see how they got on with Kodu. Both boys definitely needed 5-10 minutes introductory input to get them into what it is that Kodu actually does and the ins and outs of the software. I was glad I had brushed up on it myself in advance of the Kidsmeet. In an astonishing display of rapid, highly-motivated, intuitive learning, Will then sped away with the software, quickly finding his way to achieving the results he was looking for, opting to use the Xbox controller as his interface device of choice. In a couple of hours, he had produced a couple of wonderful, working games with considerable complexity.

IMG_4537Something I realised but should have known is that the stop-frame stuff was probably the activity of choice because it was something intuitive – the ICanAnimate app is so straightforward, it requires no prior experience or input (point and click). Scratch and Kodu (and to a certain extent the Robosapiens) need a little bit of teaching to get them off the ground. On reflection, I’m sorry now not to have got some people going with Scratch.

IMG_4545I really like Kidsmeet and am left thinking about how I might be involved in future events such as this or even the possibilities of organising one.

 

 

 

Why I like the model and why I think it works:

  • Kids learning with and alongside parents is a very powerful thing
  • This highly constructivist model is very effective
  • There was a joy about the learning and activity
  • The session was very open-ended (perhaps a little too much so)

What might be an improvement:

  • A little more direction for the participants. Think effective EYFS practice here – it isn’t just the presentation of the resources and opportunities for learning that are provided, the skillful practitioner leads learners in and moves them along (I’m not saying this didn’t happen, just that I, personally might have done it more and is something I’ll bear in mind for the future)
  • Some way to shift people away from the comfort zones (too many(?) opted for stop-frame). Again, EYFS approaches would help.

Further reading:
Paul’s essential pre-meet cribsheet
Tyla Elworthy’s reflection
Jo Neale’s blogpost

Some of the animations:

Dilemma!

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Dilemma

Another school governance post. A ‘partner’ post to my one on the Role of the Staff Governor. This time, I have been thinking about the challenges that face parent governors and the problems they face with the different metaphorical hats that they need to wear.

Here are some thought-provoking scenarios that parent governors may face. What do you think? Have you had any similar ones? Can you think of others? How would you deal with them?

1. Through discussions at governors meetings, you are aware that a member of the teaching staff has been experiencing relationship difficulties and has consequently been taking frequent time off school as sick leave and for a variety of appointments. A group of parents approach you and demand to know what you, as a parent governor, propose to do about it. How do you respond? What about if your own child is in that teacher’s class?

2. There is another parent governor who you also know socially. Over coffee, they start to express concerns about the ability of one of the teachers at the school, saying that they are not up to the job and that children are not making progress. How do you respond? What about if the concerns are about the Headteacher’s competence/ability?

3. You are a parent governor in a primary school that does not have a formal school uniform. You believe very strongly that the school should have a school uniform and expressed that view at a governors meeting at which the decision was taken to continue without the uniform. A parent approaches you and says “I really think there should be a school uniform! What a stupid decision! What do you think?” How do you respond?

4. You receive an invitation on Facebook to join a Facebook group that is critical of the school/headteacher. How do you respond? If you are not on Facebook but are aware of the group’s existence, what would you do?

5. You are on an interview panel for the appointment of a teacher. After interviewing a young female candidate, the headteacher says “Oh, we wouldn’t want to appoint her, she’d be off on maternity leave in the next couple of years and we’d have a right headache finding a temporary replacement.” How would you respond?

6. Your child has a really good friend in his/her class that is also your next door neighbour. The child is excluded from the school because of a behavioural incident. His mother, your friend and neighbour, comes round to your house to ask you what you think and to say how unfair she thinks it is. How do you respond?

7. A parent comes up to you and says that they think you obviously became a governor because everyone knows that the children of parent governors get treated more favourably. How do you respond?

8. A parent tells you they are really unhappy with their child’s class teacher who they say is always shouting at the class and making their child unhappy and not want to go to school. They say to you, “You’re a governor. Can you sort it out?” How do you respond?

Image thanks to Broodkast on Flickr

Torn

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dilemmajuliamanzerova

 

 

 

 

 

 

My first post in my capacity as a school governor!
In readiness for a course that I will be running for the first time on ‘The Role of the Staff Governor’, I was thinking about what a difficult role it is from the point of view of potential conflicts of interest and the various ‘hats’ one would need to wear in different situations and contexts. I think that similar challenges exist for all school governors but are particularly accute for parents and staff members of the GB – with staff perhaps edging it in this respect.

I thought I would gather some interesting and challenging scenarios and dilemmas to present to delegates on my course in order to provoke some discussion. This is something I have always done on my course for parent governors and some excellent conversations inevitably follow! I have asked colleagues and my Twitter network and come up with the following:

1. Your headteacher comes to you with diary open to ask to put in some dates for the both of you to meet prior to governors meetings to discuss the upcoming agendas. How do you respond?

2. A staff colleague asks you how you will be voting and says to you, “You know, don’t you, what the majority of staff think about this. You need to represent us by voting our way at the meeting.” You don’t share the majority view. What do you say? How will you vote?

3. A staff colleague approaches you insisting that you raise the issue of the broken staff-room fridge at governors. How do you respond? What if it is the issue of the dangerous paving in the staff car park?

4. A staff colleague sits down next to you in the staff room and starts moaning and slagging off a parent (who is a governor) suggesting they must be dreadful in governors meetings. How do you respond?

5. In a governors meeting, the Headteacher is reporting on the progress of pupils. You become aware that the data has been ‘spruced up’ in a way that you think is deceptive or gives a misleading message to governors. What do you do?

6. A curriculum leader or Head of Department is invited to report to governors about developments in their subject/department. There are some fundamental inaccuracies that you are aware of. What do you do?

7. Another (non-staff) governor asks you your opinion of one of your teaching colleagues. They say they have a right to know about the quality of teaching because OFSTED expect governors to know this stuff now.

8. You are in the supermarket when a parent sidles up to you saying, “You’re a governor up at the school aren’t you? I hope you don’t mind me saying but I’ve got a real problem with that last letter the Headteacher sent out. It was…” How do you respond?

9. You are in the supermarket when a parent sidles up to you saying, “You’re a governor up at the school aren’t you? I’ve heard that there’s a real problem with bullying/drugs at the school. Is this true? What are governors doing about it?” How do you respond?

I would love you to suggest any more in the comments but would also very much welcome your responses to the scenarios! Please do contribute!

The Twitter discussion went off on a slight tangent into a discussion as to whether or not governing bodies should have staff representation at all, or indeed parent representation. At that point, I had to attend a committee meeting (at which we were presented with a report from the Head of Maths…). Please see my other post on the challenges facing parent governors.

Amongst all the people who have helped, I am grateful to the following Twitterers:
@chilledteaching @balance_ec @runsworth @global_teacher
@sugaredpill @ideas_factory @andyisatwork
@clare_collins @cwcomm1 @5N_afzal @ingotian

and to Julia Manzerova on Flickr for the image.

BETTophobia

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I don’t like IKEA. I’ll tell you why. It is because of what I call ‘IKEA Fear’. The symptoms of IKEA Fear are a mounting sense of disquiet that commences the minute I pass through the large revolving doors. This disquiet worsens progressively as I meander first through immaculate living rooms, on through offices, bedrooms and kitchens until it becomes something visceral within my chest and stomach, usually around the time I reach the carpet, curtains and cushions – urging me to run screaming from the building clutching at my hair.

I have contemplated this feeling and the possible reasons for it. I have a theory based upon nothing other than my own tenuous guesses. I think my problem may possibly be similar to conditions such as agoraphobia or claustrophobia, and here are a couple of exacerbating factors:
• There is a disorientating absence of any reference to the outside world. If you are lucky, you might glimpse a rectangle of far-off, semi-industrial car-park through a distant fire door (the location of which is noted in the event of a panic-induced exit in due course).
• There is a disturbing juxtaposing of comfy, soft, homely environments in which you can sit and imagine oneself in the bosom of family relaxing after or during a meal… until you look up and witness the horrific, industrial tangle of ducting and steel. I don’t mind telling you that this contrast messes with my head.

Now, on to the BETT Show 2013. This year, it relocated from Olympia to Excel- a move I welcomed initially as it certainly improved accessibility for me. This welcome feeling was short-lived. On arrival at Excel, I attempted to feel upbeat and optimistic but that familiar disquiet, the IKEA Fear, started to creep up on me. I apologise to those friends of mine whom I encountered on that first morning, my brow knitted and jaw slightly tensed. I put on a brave face and greeted you enthusiastically but I wasn’t quite myself. Walking the (seemingly) mile-long boulevards, snickets and ginnels of the exhibition space, my anxiety mounted until I had to make a swift exit. David Mitchell and Julia Skinner were fortunately on hand to scoop me up as I composed myself over some lunch with them.
I struggled throughout the two and a bit days at the show. My misery was mitigated only by the wonderful encounters I had with lovely people. The social, the teachmeet, the laughs and the learning mean that I won’t be boycotting in future. I will take the rough with the smooth.

I miss Olympia. I miss the quirkiness, the characterful architecture, the nooks and crannies, the expanse of sky spread out above. I also miss the opportunities for out-of-body elevations to the balcony for welcome, reorienting breathers during which one could see the layout, establish the landmarks or spot a friend to pursue.

Oh, and I didn’t even see anything especially exciting or innovative in those long corridors of anxiety. Next year, I will dedicate myself to establishing quick exit routes whilst also seeking out people – after all, it is them that make a visit to BETT worthwhile.

Algorithm is a dancer?

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I’ve been having a think – about algorithms and such. I wasn’t sure if I had in all this sorted in my mind and I figured I should. Shouldn’t we all? So, happy to expose my ignorance in the public forum, I asked my lovely Twitter followers what they had to say on the matter. I posted the following tweet:

I got some helpful responses. Firstly from @robthill

And then from Peter Lonsdale:

…and Pat Parslow:

 

Whereas, Richard Hussey came next with:

…but this was questioned by Rob Hill:

I liked Dave Twisleton-Ward’s take on it (with a slight adaption): A final couple of contributions, first from Spatricus:


And a final word from Roger Broadie:

…and a late edition from Richard Hussey again:


Are we any wiser? Are you clear about what an algorithm is? How it differs from a program? Could you a) explain it to a 6yr old? b) know that the 6yr old had understood it?

I think algorithms are generic and don’t require computers (unlike programs, which do).
Programs are generally more complex than algorithms.
I think that if young people are to understand any of this, they need lots of tangible examples with reference to the terminology. But more importantly if teachers are to help with all this (which they may/should be required to), they will need to have all of this clear in their own minds.

We can only teach something effectively when we truly understand it ourselves.

Image thanks to piratejohnny on Flickr under Creative Commons

Protect or not?

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I was asked today whether or not a school or class twitter account should be protected or not (a parent had suggested they should lock down the accounts and only allow approved followers) and whether there was any advice or guidance I could share on the matter. Here’s what I said in my reply. I thought it worth sharing wider:

As a rule, I would advocate open unless there is a compelling argument otherwise – this ensures a wide audience etc. Ask yourself (and the parent maybe) “What exactly are your concerns about the followers and why would you want to set it to accepted followers only?” I’d love to know the answer to this one.

Here are some concerns that may be cited: 

-    Predatory undesirables may follow the account. Answer: They could do this whether or not the account is protected. How would you know whether the request from @dave32457 is Nathan’s grandpa in Australia or a predatory undesirable? What’s more, if you set the account to protected and needed to approve followers you would get:
1. An additional administrative overhead (are you going to ask every new follower to explain who they are and why they want to follow? How would you ever know if that’s the truth?) and
2. A potentially greater problem if it turned out that one of the followers was a known predatory undesirable and the school had (albeit inadvertently) approved them as a follower – the press would like that, I reckon!

-     Some Twitter accounts are clearly undesirable and inappropriate to have as followers. This is an unfortunate feature of Twitter that occasionally such accounts appear as new followers. This is the only potentially compelling argument to protect a class/school account. However, for me, it doesn’t outweigh the benefits of being open. My advice on this would be to monitor followers daily and block any inappropriate or undesirable ones. You may have to actually view the timeline of the new follower’s account for this.

-     Followers are visible as followers and they may tweet inappropriate things and this may impact negatively on our reputation as a school by association. My answer to this is that what your followers say on Twitter is no more your responsibility than what parents might say down the pub or on Facebook – it is their look-out.

-     “I don’t want my chiild’s image published on the internet.” This is more than just a Twitter argument actually. Answer: Why not? Exactly why not? Ok, fair enough if there is a genuine child-protection issue but if not? What exactly are you worried about?

 One of the great things about an unprotected account is that it does provide a genuine and potentially huge global audience which is one compelling reason for a school/class to use Twitter, alongside the other which is parental engagement. Another, slightly technical reason for keeping it open is that retweets from protected accounts do not work so, someone like myself (or Nathan’s mum for instance) would be unable  to share further the fabulous stuff being tweeted  (including to Nathan’s grandpa – who might not yet be following). I love the way that I can share the greatness of Twitter as a fantastic school tool by retweeting school/class accounts to my wider following of schools and educators and this would be curtailed with a protected account. Whether you follow other accounts and who they are is another matter and worthy of some caution and consideration as it represents a choice.

What do you think? Should schools or classes protect or unprotect their Twitter feeds? Is it different for a class account vs a school account? Have I missed anything? I would really welcome your input as a comment!

Images with thanks to leehaywood on Flickr (via creative commons)

3D Printing

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You may remember I’m involved in a primary school 3D printing project. We have come some way with this recently. We held a competition for schools to submit ‘Dragons’ Den’ pitches to have a printer located at their school. We have decided upon a printer, the Bits from Bytes ‘3D Touch’ and had it delivered to the winning school – Birkenshaw Primary School.

On 9th July, we had an afternoon at the school working with some Year 4 children. We were lucky to be joined by a key member of our project team, Dejan Mitrovic from the Royal College of Art. Dejan is a design specialist who also has considerable experience and expertise in the use of 3D Printing. He is responsible for Kide™ and Kideville ™, concepts that have led to young people engaging with 3D printing in exciting and innovative ways through hands-on approaches in a variety of contexts, from exhibitions at galleries (such as the V&A) and trade-fairs to primary school classrooms.

 

 

Dejan came to Birkenshaw with a well-structured, punchy afternoon of activity for the children to get stuck into. Recognising the need for learning to be relevant, he themed the afternoon around the design of a (Olympic) stadium. Initially Dejan talked about form and function and shared numerous examples of stadia from around the world. He then introduced a paper-based activity in which the children were asked to design their own stadium (in pairs). They were asked to do ‘front’, ‘side’ and ‘top’ views of their stadium as well as having a go at a 3D view. It was fascinating to see the children’s differing approaches and the diversity in creativity and technical ability.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Slideshow:
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We then moved to computer-based design and the children were introduced to 3Dtin  – browser-based 3D design software. I love 3Dtin. It is intuitive and straightforward and children could get going straight away (it also has an interesting ‘social’ element). Having said that, they did experience varying degrees of success with regards to producing a finished design for a stadium. I think this was essentially down to time – there simply wasn’t long enough for them to tackle some new software and apply that to the project.

Slideshow:
Fullscreen:

As with any unfamiliar medium – whether it is clay, paint, a musical instrument or software, I am a real advocate of allowing space to ‘play and learn’ before applying that knowledge in context. Despite this, a number of children did produce designs suitable for printing. A quick vote decided a winning design to be ‘printed’ there and then.

The 3Dtin software allows for files to be exported in a format (STL) that can be understood by the printer and so it is a relatively simple process (via a USB memory stick) to get a file printing (an object emerges incrementally through the extrusion of a line of 0.25mm molten plastic). The printing process itself is mesmerising and children and adults alike find the emergence of an object a hypnotic experience.

The end result was a great little ‘stadium’.

Slideshow:
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Social Learning. This is literacy.

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At the Northern Grid Conference, I continued to refine and express my views about the importance of young people learning social media skills. I have been on about this for a while. Here I am at Teachmeet Bett2010

In my presentation, I described how skills in online communication have equal value to skills in say, letter-writing, instructional texts, reports, explanations etc. Pupils learn about all these genres of writing because there is a recognition that doing so will equip them for a successful future. Do we do the same with social media communication skills? Do we ensure young people learn the subtleties and distinctions between a wiki and a blog? A forum and email? Some teachers do and this is because they recognise that these are essential literacy skills in today’s world. If we deny children this learning, we are not only letting them into the world less well-equipped to succeed but worse, they may end up behaving in a way that adversely impacts upon their own reputation or even result in criminal proceedings.

Social Learning – The literacy that cannot be ignored
I talked a little bit about avatars and how just this aspect of online life itself is a potential minefield and one that should be explored with young people. What does your avatar say about you? Look at the examples on the slides in my presentation. They are genuine avatars from a primary school VLE.
Schools are able to use a whole range of tools and resources to help young people learn these skills from low cost web-based tools (such as blogs and wikis) through to commercial VLEs. Twitter is just one example and I shared some excellent practice from KS1 classes – one of which had recently been praised in an OFSTED inspection.
I finished by saying that everyone will make mistakes. We all do. That is where some of the richest learning can be had. When children are given tools with which to communicate, they are going to make some mistakes and get things wrong. This is good and should be celebrated and grasped as a learning opportunity. If they get something wrong in school, and graze their virtual knees, then at least we can apply some virtual sticking plaster and help them move on. By doing this, we might just save them from making a more serious mistake in the future – like publicly posting an inappropriate image of themselves on the internet, saying something offensive or worse.

#CampEd12

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Leaving things so late has inevitably made things much more difficult. What can I add to these incredibly comprehensive #campEd12 blogposts? Please read them!
Chris Ratcliffe
Matt Pearson
Alex Bellars
Brynn Llewellyn
Dawn Hallybone
Bev Evans
John McLear
Tom Briggs
Emma Dawson
John Sayers
Elizabeth Ratcliffe
Jo Badge (Den-building)
Jo Badge (Science)
Bill Lord
Catherine Steel
Tony Parkin
(Have I missed yours out? Please let me know)

I suppose I had a slightly differing perspective of the event as one of the joint organisers alongside Bill Lord and Helen Daykin. As Bill has said, we built it in the hopes that they would come. And they did. The diversity of attendees was good, but not good enough (more on that later). The weather obliged (at least by staying dry). The content was superb. And the ‘coming-together’ surpassed all expectations.

So, if you’ve read the posts above, you’ll know what it was all about, you’ll know what happened so I’ll add my reflections rather than run over ground well-trod already.

Firstly, I have a thirst for learning (whether that is my own or that of other people) and to be immersed in the midst of rich learning is a joy that I experience in the classroom, at Teachmeets, at a conference and yes, even on a course. This kind of rich learning was evident in abundance at #campEd12 but it differed from my usual experience of learning in one important and unique way. Adults and youngsters were equal partners in the learning experience in a way that I have rarely (if ever) experienced – certainly not on that kind of scale. I think this is important. I like it when young people attend conferences, give presentations, showcase their work, present at Kidsmeets etc. But this was different again. #CampEd12 was a wonderful opportunity to learn with and from others (whether a babe in arms or an ‘old man’).
(This picture courtesy of Dawn Hallybone)

Having enjoyed this first hand with my own wife and children and being struck by the power and impact of this event on me personally and my family, my thoughts inevitably turned to those families that need this kind of experience most. Those families who, as John Sayers says “…don’t get much more beyond the end of their street let alone another county or country!” I say ‘families’ because for me, this is where we should be aiming. How we get there, I have no idea. To extend the event or provide a similar offering to those not in the ‘edtech’/Twitter community would require a wholly different (and more comprehensive) approach to the organisation than the one Bill, Helen and I took. It is however, something that I think we should all think about.

At conferences, courses and other events, I am a big fan of ‘the gaps in between’ as productive hubs for networking and learning. These are the coffee breaks, the opportunities at your table to talk with others. The chat over lunch. The hovering about before the start, finding out more about people. CampEd12 widened the ‘gaps in between’ and some good stuff happened in that space.

Finally, thank you all for coming. Thank you to all the people who led such wonderful sessions. Thank you for the warm thoughts and distant support of those unable to attend (this year). I dare not name you all for fear of missing someone out. However, cheers to you, Bill and you, Helen! We built it – they came.

There are many, many photographs. Some are here.