#CampEd12

Posted on May 10, 2012 by dughall

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.

W(h)ither ICT?

Posted on April 27, 2012 by dughall

I read this blog post by @pixelh8 today about ICT and it got me thinking. I left a comment but want to record my thoughts here as well.

In the post, the author makes the point that ICT is just technology (like pencils are) and that there is a strong case for it ceasing to be a subject in its own right and, like pencils, be something that is subsumed into the rest of the curriculum.

I have some worries about this and they are along the following lines.

In many primary schools, there is a thematic approach taken to learning and this means that ‘subjects’ are often integrated, cross-curricular and, in the perfect world, this would include the effective use of ICT as an embedded tool across curriculum areas – just as pencils are. However, one issue is that although every teacher I have ever come across is a skilled and accomplished user of pencils, the same cannot be said of their use and effective deployment of computers (and other technologies) for learning.

I can hold my hand up and say that I am not the most accomplished musician or artist. However, primary teachers are obliged to teach these subjects. In the hurly-burly of a busy day, week or term I for one might sometimes let something ‘slip’ and, despite best intentions, this might be in an area in which I had slightly less confidence. For me, slippage was sometimes in music or art (to my shame), for others it may be ICT. Isn’t this true also for secondary subject specialists? Their pencil skills are consistent and high-level. How skilled are they in ICT. How readily will a secondary history teacher take to the integration of ICT/technology into their curriculum? Who will monitor this? Who will ensure that there is coverage, progression and appropriate integration happening?

Now, contrast that with a situation in which our class know that on Wednesday mornings we are doing ICT and that this happens every Wednesday morning. This is much harder to avoid and slippage is much less likely. This is not to say that the ICT lesson is the exclusive preserve for the use of technology, or that the curriculum content should be just ‘ICT’ or decontextualised but it is a time when at least we know ICT will happen. If we take that time away, will ICT still happen?

I like the idea of fully integrated, cross-curricular, embedded ICT and I can see where (most of) it can live in other curriculum areas. However, in my experience of schools, staff and approaches to technology I just don’t think we are ready for that yet and we are at serious risk of slippage and doing a huge disservice to the learners.

I may, of course, be wrong. What do you think?

Picture source. Rob Waitling on Flickr

A trip to remember

Posted on February 26, 2012 by dughall

Any visit to a school is always a thoroughly enriching experience. However, my visit to Porchester Junior School in Nottingham this week exceeded my every expectation.

I have been a fan of Simon Widdowson (@xannov) and his work for some time now, so when a teacher colleague (Jenn Lucraft) asked me a couple of months ago if I knew of any primary schools doing anything interesting with mobile technologies (particularly ipads) or ICT generally, I thought immediately of Porchester. A visit would be a good opportunity to see first hand some of the things I’d only previously read about on Simon’s blog.

The day had been carefully planned by Simon and Headteacher, Graham Cullen to ensure that Jenn and I got the most from the experience. This meant that we had opportunities to spend time with Simon, Graham, staff (over a wonderful lunch) and with some incredible pupils.

The school has a technology 'museum'.

We began the day with Graham. I know from my own experience in school and from the many schools that I work with that one of the most important factors influencing a schools sustained success in moving forward, innovating and integrating ICT into learning is the support and vision of school leadership. Graham has only been at Porchester for a matter of weeks but I was certainly persuaded of his commitment to supporting Simon and his vision to keep Porchester at the leading edge in the use of technologies for learning.

From Graham, we moved to an ICT suite (Windows laptops) where Simon was working with a group of upper Key Stage 2 children who were using Scratch for the first time. The children were learning independently. I say ‘independently’; they were working from Youtube tutorials (on the school’s Youtube channel) on the fundamentals of Scratch but they were also collaborating and helping each other. This was great learning. Simon was an essential part of the process but, rather than run a ‘Blue Peter’ lesson from the front with step-by-step instructions to be followed in a linear way by pupils, he handed the learning to them, to work at their own pace and he acted as a facilitator, intervening expertly to move learning on when necessary. I loved speaking to these enthusiastic youngsters about the activity and asked at one point “What do you reckon to Scratch?” I was met with the answer “I prefer it to Kodu but I reckon my favourite is 2Simple, 2DIY.” The assertion was backed up by reference to software features that demonstrated a deep understanding on the part of the pupil. Impressive stuff so far!

Following this session, we had Simon to ourselves. These times when we were able to get Simon alone were brilliant. He shared his subject leader folder but, as is often the way, we would start discussing a topic only to find that we rapidly flew off, excitedly down a different path. We covered policy, planning, strategy, technical issues – everything an effective subject leader has a handle on. Simon has found that over time his planning has evolved into something less ‘wordy’. This is natural but also belies the fact that he builds in flexibility and responsiveness. He doesn’t want to be a slave to planning and cited the example of his discovery of the ‘Aurasma’ augmented reality app as a time when planning went out of the window in order to pursue an exciting new technology (more here). The same was true for Epic Citadel and Silent Movie Maker.

All the stand-alone ICT lessons are led by Simon and, although this is something I worry about, it seems a very effective model at Porchester. He is timetabled to teach ICT but also gets into classrooms and will work with staff to get ICT embedded in cross-curricular learning. Conversations had with staff over lunch testified to the effectiveness of this way of working with teachers citing greater confidence and willingness to use technologies in the classrooms. The school website/blog has become a powerful hub, serving as a record of learning and a vehicle for demonstrating the school’s vision and ethos. Note the site has links to the school’s social media/media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Flickr Amazon wishlist etc)

And so into a classroom. Anne Ingle (Y6 teacher) was kind enough to allow us the privilege of visiting her class whilst they used ipads to ‘write’ their ‘Hare and Tortoise’ stories. It was fascinating to see the pupils working on ipads. They had one between two and were enjoying some really collaborative learning. I was keen to know what the pupils thought the ipad brought to the party and there was certainly an infectious enthusiasm for the technology. “It is really fun!” “They’re better than laptops because they’re just easier to use.” Now, if I’m honest, I could imagine the lesson being equally effective with paper and pencil or laptops and I have no doubt Anne has such lessons because she has the conditions right for learning. What the ipad seemed to bring was a simple, fast tool with an app that made the task easy and rewarding – they were able to quickly produce a professional looking story with text and images with consummate ease. Another thing that impressed me was how everything just ‘worked’ – I have first hand, bitter experience of flying around classrooms trouble-shooting troublesome technology. I know that Simon has worked tirelessly to ensure technical issues are minimized and that what we saw isn’t always the case, however. Impressive stuff again!
I was especially interested in how the lesson concluded. What would the pupils do with their finished projects? What schools ‘do’ with pupil work is an endless source of fascination for me. Save it locally? On the device? How? Save it to a school-based server? How? Where, exactly? Upload it to an online space? How? Share it on a blog? How? Etc. There are some excellent systems in place at Porchester and I was impressed to see some pupils emailing their (PDF) projects to themselves from the ipad in readiness to then upload them to their ‘Learning Space’ (basically a privatized blog). These learning spaces are ‘hidden’ blogs that can then be accessed by staff and staff can also ‘reblog’ or publicise examples of work very simply to the school website. This was seamless and there were identified ‘experts’ in Anne’s class who were able to help others with the process if necessary. Again, this worked well on the day but I’m sure takes some time getting it right and getting the technology to support it. Further, the vagaries of different apps means that output may be easier or harder to save or share, presenting new and different technical challenges. This whole thing is something I’d really like to see getting sorted somehow. There is currently just too much fiddling/faffing about between activity and sharing/saving work. Not the fault of the school but definitely irksome.

After this, we had some more time with Simon. We learned that if you are going to deploy ipads in school, you will probably want to have a Mac or Macbook to help things along such as synching apps and galleries (one way pupils effectively record work is by snap-shotting stuff to the device’s gallery).

I certainly think that schools should consider ipads as an additional device that will bring new and unique learning opportunities to pupils. As Simon said ‘We bought them for research but we are still finding new ways of using them”

My head is still buzzing. Porchester are certainly leading the way in primary ICT and, thanks to the vision, leadership and passion of Simon, they will surely remain at the forefront.

Thank you to Simon, Graham, Anne, staff and those wonderful pupils for an unforgettable and inspiring day!

Keeping the baby in the bath

Posted on February 16, 2012 by dughall

I have been spurred into action based upon a few coinciding events and conversations.

I had a discussion recently with an early years specialist for whom I have enormous respect. The discussion arose from her asserting that she advised early educators to avoid the introduction of technologies such as computers, ipods, ipads and the like until children were the age of two.

She was keen to point out the importance of ‘real-world’ play, exploration and learning. She described the urgent need for youngsters to learn through handling artefacts and objects, getting their hands dirty and getting outside. She was almost apologetic when she started putting her case to me (I’ve come across this before). I think that sometimes people think that because I am an advocate for technology that somehow any argument put forward for other routes to learning will be met with my disapproval or condemnation. Nothing could be further from the truth. I believe in youngsters having as rich an experience of the world as it is possible to provide. This experience must reflect the way the world is. It must include opportunities to explore the full gamut.

Regarding this, there is a problem, well two problems really. Firstly, there is a problem of imbalance and secondly a problem with a failure to ask two important questions ‘So what?’ and ‘Where’s the learning?’

Let’s look first at balance. If a child’s only creative experiences were in the use of paint, they would be missing out on some pretty essential and significant other experiences such as clay, play-dough, coloured pens, pencils, crayons etc. This imbalance would be wrong and would need addressing. Would we ‘blame’ paint for this? Would we suggest that the appropriate age for the introduction of paint should be 2 years old? If there is an overuse of technology in a child’s early experience that is to the detriment of the child’s whole development, does it follow that the technology is bad or that its introduction should be delayed? I would argue not and that to delay its introduction would be equally damaging (in terms of imbalance). There may be some research or scientific evidence to suggest that infants and babies being exposed to technologies such as computers and ipads is detrimental to their eyesight and/or health - I would be very interested to see examples of such research if anyone can point me towards it. (UPDATE: Since publishing, I have been directed to this article - My response is that most of the arguments used against screens could apply equally to books and would we really argue that infants should be deprived of books until the age of 2? ).

Interestingly, the following video clip was cited as exemplifying the problem of introducing technology too early.

To me, it exemplifies the importance of providing a rich balance of experiences. I would extend this to the over exposure to plastic, wood, primary colours and so on. I’ll say it again – Rich. Balance.

I would also add that it also highlights the importance of cooperative/collaborative engagement with technology (whether that technology is a book, magazine or an ipad). By this I refer to the power of an adult sitting down with a youngster and engaging with them and the technology together. Technology should never be a baby-sitter. See here:

This leads me to the second problem and this is linked to the seduction by ‘machines that go ping’ (more on this here on Pete Yeoman’s blog and here on Mark Gleeson’s ). For too many, technology in various forms is seen as a magic bullet. Let’s sit the baby or toddler in front of the TV, computer, ipad (whatever) cos they’ll inevitable learn loads by osmosis. Let’s buy a shedload of shiny stuff cos it’ll impress people and just look at how engaged the kids are! Let’s get some games consoles in class cos it’ll make learning fun. Please people, constantly ask yourselves these two questions: “Where’s the learning?” and “So what?”

The problem does not lie with the technology. It is in its use. It is not the tool… (heard that somewhere before?).

Hacked off

Posted on January 17, 2012 by dughall

If you use Twitter, you will have probably received a direct message from someone you follow that is along these lines: ‘I’ve seen a bad blog about you…’ or ‘You seen what this person is saying about you…’ The message will have a link in it. This is a ruse intended to hack your Twitter account. Contrary to popular belief, simply clicking on the link will not result in your account being compromised. What will happen is that you will be directed to a website that looks identical to Twitter’s own site. However, look carefully at the url:

‘tivvtter.com’ Look familiar? I have seen many similar iterations: tvviter, tvvitter, twittler etc.

Now, think about it. Would anyone really be saying bad things about you or blogging about you? You’re better than that! When was the last time that happened? You are led to a Twitter login via the link; so things are being said about you on Twitter then? And you don’t know about it?

Ok, I forgive you because:

You are in such a hurry in this rapid 21st Century world that you zip between your Twitter timeline and websites in such a rush that you miss the fact that it is a cloned Twitter site.
You opened the link, left it, came back to it later, thought it was Twitter and logged in to it.
I follow you because I generally find your tweets useful.

However, I do get slightly peeved sometimes, hence this tweet from me this morning:

Dear ‘bad things about you’ DMers. I believe your account does this because *you* logged in to a clone Twitter site. Be careful.

— Dughall McCormick (@dughall) January 17, 2012

So, do be careful where you enter your Twitter login details. I probably won’t unfollow you if you do make a mistake (we are all human after all) but I might if the DMs persist or, as seems to happen not long after, you start to sell me weight-loss products.

If this has happened to you, in the first instance, please change your password. You might also want to check who/what is accessing your Twitter account. You can do this via Settings > Applications and revoking access to your Twitter account for any applications you might deem suspicious.

Right. As you were

Teachmeet Bolton

Posted on November 6, 2011 by dughall

To a backdrop of steady rain, punctuated by the pop and whizz of the occasional firework, there assembled a hall full of passionate, excited educators. This was Heathfield CPS (home of @deputymitchell) and this was Teachmeet Bolton.

If readers are unsure about what is meant by a Teachmeet, this brief video clip may help.

As someone helping out with the Teachmeet, and someone who is a self-confessed ‘Teachmeetaholic’, I had hoped that it would include some additional features indicative of its evolution. As I said by way of introduction to the event, Teachmeets I have attended/organized have traditionally been a little ‘Web 1.0‘ for my liking. By this I mean that there has often been an over-emphasis on the one-way flow of information from presenter to recipients. Not that this, in itself, is a bad thing – but I would like things to become a little more Web 2.0 (collaborative, mashed-up, two-way, constructivist) and I’d like to think we succeeded to a certain extent.

I asked that attendees (both local and remote) think about the ideas presented and, more than that, to consider how they might adapt the idea or tool and use it in a way not explicitly described by the presenter. Not only this, but they were to tweet these ‘extended’ ideas via the #tmbolton hashtag. It was great to see some original interpretations and additional uses for tools that had been showcased.
I encouraged people to engage in discussion about the presentations in the inevitable ‘gaps’ in between them. I’ve often thought these gaps that occur whilst one presenter finishes and another sets up are lost opportunities for conversation and creative discussion. I tried to facilitate this by summarizing and encouraging table-discussions.
It was fabulous to know that not only was the event being beamed remotely and live (thanks to Ian Mills’ technical support) to numerous locations worldwide, but also that we were joined by a room full of trainee teachers from Plymouth University (organized by Oliver Quinlan and Pete Yeomans). This was another exciting feature of the whole experience and twice we did a ‘Eurovision’-style live cross-over to Plymouth for a Q&A session with a couple of the students and also for a brief presentation by Oliver (which sadly suffered some Teachmeet gremlins and was let down by some technical glitches).

There was one other very important feature of Teachmeet Bolton – the absence of any sponsorship. I think it was great that such an event could take place and be such a success with nothing more than a £2 contribution by those attending in person and that £2 was a contribution towards the refreshments and pastie & pea supper. I have been to too many Teachmeets recently where the prensence of sponsors has been disproportionately apparent (but that is another blogpost altogether).

On to the presentations! Brief highlights follow – I hope I haven’t forgotten anyone – it was hard to keep track, drink in the atmosphere, tweet, absorb all the information and try to do a ‘DJ’ job!

Ian Mills shared his experiences of using The Xbox Kinect in secondary school classrooms. Exciting, engaging games-based learning.
Chris Mayoh’s presentation “How to get a job. (If you’re 10)” described the process undergone by his ‘Digital Leader’ applicants as the 10 year olds were subject to interviews, application forms etc in the hopes of getting just 7 coveted jobs. Fabulous, real-life skills demonstrated and nurtured. One of the applicants said in her interview, “Share your ideas with people, they’ll get really good at it and share their ideas with other people too.” What Teachmeet is all about, too!

Digital Leaders Interviews from Chris Mayoh

I loved Marie O’Sullivan’s presentation as she engaged the audience in a collaborative learning activity that was our opportunity to experience a great classroom idea from the point of view of the learner – and have our self-esteem raised at the same time!
John Sutton then described a fantastic live blogging project: ‘Monopoly Challenge’ featuring tools such as ipadio and flickit. We were all amazing!
Julian Wood, the ‘airbomb-repeater’ of the Teachmeet world was next. I sat back in awe as ideas and tools were fired into the room. Check out the full list of brilliant ‘generators’ here. Seriously, for each of the many, many tools Julian shared there are days of learning to be had.
Another Teachmeet regular, Simon Haughton gave us an expert tour of Edmodo which is being used very effectively by Simon and others as a collaborative vehicle for learning.
We then had a brief look at Coveritlive with David Mitchell – a fantastic tool for live, embeddable, collaborative learning (in this case creative writing) based upon a stimulus. Pie Corbett was to join the session later. It was Nabeel, however, who provided the entertainment! Follow it here.
Diana Wyatt shared Linoit – a live, virtual post-it note wall with an App too. (one of my favourite tools).
Pete Richardson was unable to join us in person but sent a virtual presentation of fantastic gaming tool ‘Zondle’. He shared great applications of its use to support phonics amongst other things but also offered to ‘friend’ anyone and give them his ideas and resources away for nowt! (That’s the spirit of Teachmeet). Read his blog here.
Next up was Jim Maloney. Jim told us he’d ditched his planned presentation. He summarised the main themes that had emerged from the evening. I’ve forgotten them now but guess they were: creativity, collaboration, enjoyment, learner-centric etc. He then described a day that he held with his Y5 class (inspired I think by Kevin McLaughlin and Oliver Quinlan) on which they planned their own, independent learning activities. I cannot do justice to Jim’s presentation here. He is engaging, passionate educator who had us in no doubt of the power of child-centered learning and the sage-on-the-side role for teacher. Read more on Jim’s blog.
Pete Rafferty took us on a sentimental journey back 6 years to his setting out with children as bloggers. How far we have come and what a difference Pete has had on hundreds of young people through introducing them to blogging.
Frances Smith did a great thing. She described how she had taken two separate ideas from a previous Teachmeet and had mashed them into one classroom activity involving Youblisher to publish children’s writing.
Jane Fisher shared her wonderful ‘Super School’ site.
We finished with David Mitchell sharing his ‘Well Done’ blog. A site guaranteed to elicit a tear of joy in the eye of even the most hardened cynic.

I am a great believer in much of the important learning and networking taking place in the ‘gaps’ (as I said above) and so, true to my word, I endeavoured to meet some brand new people at the half-time break as well as catch up with some old friends.

For me, Teachmeet Bolton was one of the most stimulating, enjoyable, enriching learning experiences I’ve had. And this on a wet Friday evening too!

Some further reading:
Simon Haughton’s reflections
Marie O’Sullivan’s post
Jane Fisher (1)
Jane Fisher (2)
Matt Pearson’s blog

VLEs ‘Virtuous’ Learning Environments?

Posted on September 28, 2011 by dughall

This is me just thinking aloud really.

There are those who believe that the VLE (Virtual Learning Environment) is dead, has been for some time or needs to be slain. This issue was debated to death (see what I did there?) in 2009 but I believe there is still some mileage in a bit more of a discussion.
The debate raised its head once more on the back end of a recent ukedchat discussion about the role of social media in schools with a series of tweets between Miles Berry and Pete Yeomans amongst others. The argument as I see it is between two broad camps:

Why would we want a VLE? We can be more nimble. We can do it all for free using a range of appropriate web 2.0 tools and resources. VLEs are used very badly anyway – at best a storage repository for Powerpoints and worksheets.
With a VLE, we have it all safely under one roof. We have a consistent system that we can rely upon and that we can all get to know.

So firstly, let it be said that in too many cases VLEs have been used very, very badly. If they are indeed being used as online storage at best then they deserve the condemnation they receive in many quarters. I would go further, if a VLE is mostly used to replicate 20^th (or even 19^th) century learning experiences (but online) then it is equally deserving of condemnation. But here’s my point, it is quite simple and has been said before: just because a tool is used in a particular (uninspired, old-fashioned or negative) way, is not the fault of the tool. If teachers only ever encouraged pupils to use computers to read documents, would we say the PC is dead? If an IWB is only ever used as a glorified computer display, is it the fault of the IWB? If we only use a smart phone as a calculator…? It is the use of the technology where the shortcoming lies, not the technology itself.

Good teachers should and do look at tools and resources and consider how they might best meet their students learning needs. Outstanding and exceptional teachers often look at tools and resources (particularly technologies) and consider how they might transform the learning experience. This transformation seems to be increasingly on the agenda of schools and organisations. So, let’s use the tools to do things differently, in ways that aren’t possible or are more difficult without the technology.

Here are some of the reasons I think a VLE is useful.

It keeps everything in one place. Why does this matter? Well it matters if you need to have lots of different logins to lots of different things. I know we can put links to lots of different things in one place and that single sign on can help but a VLE is the simplest solution to all of this.
A proprietary VLE doesn’t depend upon one person’s evangelism and expertise in the same way that a range of tools might do. Does your school depend upon one individual to run and organise e-learning through Google Apps, a blog, and/or a whole host of other stuff? What would you do if that person suddenly moved on? There are sometimes issues in schools where this is the case. Having a proprietary VLE would avoid issues of this kind. It is a safe and reliable single environment for staff and pupils to get used to. It is also reliably externally supported.
With a VLE, everything ‘belongs’ to the school and ‘lives’ within the school. As Miles Berry put it, having a VLE is like children learning to ride bikes in the relative safety of the playground.
Less confident staff often feel more secure with a single thing they need to get used to.
A VLE can be ‘branded’ to the school, maintains the school’s identity and is guaranteed advert-free.

On the down side, there is a cost to a VLE. You actually have to pay for the thing – not something that always goes down well in these days of austerity. Having said that, it isn’t always a bad thing. Sometimes, when something costs you, you value it more and are more inclined to use it (spending a lot of money on expensive running shoes helped me find the motivation to get out there and run for example).

So, what about Google Apps for Education as your VLE? I think GApps is a VLE. Isn’t it? Is it dead? I don’t think so. What I also think is that GApps, like Moodle, can be great from a certain age upwards and that age is somewhere in KS2 (9-10 years old?) in my opinion. I think they are both a bit busy and grown up – certainly for infants or bottom end of KS2.

What would I like in a VLE? I want children to learn to be ‘literate’ and safe in their use of communication tools, the internet, social media etc. Yes, they can access some worksheets, hyperlinks or powerpoints if they must, but they should also communicate, collaborate and create in ways that emulate or reflect what is happening on the web right now. I also want to see ‘social’ features included such as ‘friending’, ‘walls’, status updates, comments and ratings etc etc. I want these features because these exist in the world in which they live and I want them to learn about their uses, advantages, pitfalls and all. I want pupils to make mistakes. I want to help them learn from those mistakes in the safety of a school environment – thus equipping them to be safe and literate once they have left our care. I want them to be doing this learning from the youngest possible age.

I am lucky that the majority of schools that I work with have a VLE with those features (DBPrimary). It is a VLE that suits infants and has those social features built in. It is used with 3 year olds as readily as it is with 11 year olds. The schools seem to like it enough to continue subscribing and those that are, are beginning to do things that move well beyond reproducing 20th Century learning online.

As I say, just me thinking aloud. You are welcome to think aloud in the comments.

PS: I just found my comment on Steve Wheeler’s blog from 2009 and realised I’ve been thinking this for a while!

**Update** Please pop over to Chris Ratcliffe’s blog to read his interesting post on the topic.

Image source

UKedchat Session 1st September 2011

Posted on September 6, 2011 by dughall

I was lucky to be asked by Bill Lord (@joga5) if I would cover his UKedchat session this week which meant that I effectively topped and tailed the UK school holidays with UKedchat discussions having done one back in July. The topic was: ‘How do you build (or mould) a new team at the start of a new academic year?’ There was certainly no shortage of top-notch contributions from some wise and experienced educators as the discussion moved through some interesting phases.

Early contributions tended to focus on initial tips for those first days back at school together as a team, often without the children and devoted to INSET. Headteacher Rachel Orr described in a flurry of tweets how important it is to enjoy laughter and happiness in fun team-bonding games. Rachel wasn’t the only one identifying the importance of happiness and well-being amongst colleagues as key factors in successful teams. Also important at the beginning of the school year is the sharing of school/department vision and clear/effective channels of communication are key to this, as are inspiring and supportive leaders. These leaders recognize the importance of everyone’s contribution and promote and value the views of all team members.

Another key theme that emerged was around team meetings. Many people recognised the importance of focused, meaningful meetings with the needs of learners very much at their heart. Useful suggestions included rotating the chair of meetings as well holding meetings in a different classroom each week.

Discussion also turned to strategies for turning around difficult teams and dealing with negative/blocking colleagues (although ‘passive’ or nodding non-implementers were seen by some as more of a challenge). On the whole, it seems that many would ensure that conflicting views or intransigent people needed to have their views heard and aired (possibly pre-emptively in advance) so that they could be discussed and challenged.

Finally, we should never underestimate the power of food, most notably, cake!

Please make a point of visiting the full summary/archive as it is rich in excellent contributions too numerous to include here.

Here are some of the more notable tweets:
@RachelOrr so……….. one task was to create a set of clothes for the man using only newspaper and cellotape.
@ristuart Friendly, supportive & collaborative ethos moulded me: very sociable office, always chatting, swapping ideas, advice & reassurance
@mean_Teacher: Cake, encouragement, setting expectations and setting a good example…. note, cake was first
@teachertoolkit the absolute priority is to make clear to the team, the department vision, your vision & the expectations of each pp This works!
@deputymitchell Happiness is very important! Happy staff glow like readybreak! The children start to glow too!!
@learningspy Also important to develop a culture where everyone is happy to observe and be observed
@emteaches It is vital that EVERY staff member feels part of a shared vision with the children at the centre. Communication is vital
@aiddy eat together
@geekpeter Treat your pupils the same as your staff – respect them, praise when they do well, tackle them when they don’t!
@petejeffreys Recognise that all team members, old/new, in/experienced, loud/quiet all have a unique perspective to bring to the table. Listen!
@mattfothergill A happy team/staffroom comes from the HT. They are pivotal to creating a pleasant atmosphere at school.
@consultanthead Start sentences with I’m really happy that or I’m so pleased that and remember to use the word we a lot
@andygfarsley each teacher shares good practice at start of each staff meet – been amazing how FS prac can convert to KS2 prac and vice versa
@stephenlev Turning round a team needs honesty. To each other, about each other. Including management. Share the problems, own the solutions
@rachelorr we have staff meetings in each other’s classrooms – time to celebrate children’s work and teachers’ efforts too
@richard_james quickly learn individuals strong points and promote encourage praise and recognise their impact in the team
@consultanthead Don’t always meet weekly – cancel a few meetings and save up the time to have longer together and really thrash out some ideas
@jodieworld I like to prewarn blockers or ask them to help me with something before main meeting so they on board already
@shelibb having staff meet in diff classrooms can create good opps to praise other’s efforts, displays etc #ukedchat – v positive
@creativeEdu My rule of thumb is NEVER ask a member of your team to do something you couldn’t / wouldn’t do yourself…
@mattbuxton10 Negative Brainstorming grt technique; list actions 2 make things worse, then plan 2do the opposite – harness blockers negativity!!

Tweet of the week
For the sheer volume of retweets that it received if nothing else:
@mattbuxton Never use the phrase ‘We need to do this in case Ofsted come in’; either do it because its worth doing, or don’t bother??

Highlighted links
131 tips for new teachers http://ht.ly/6iZrS
Thoughts form @johnsayers http://t.co/NzOrjl8
Maintaining staff well-being under pressure: http://t.co/1Xd9R7t
Email charter: http://emailcharter.org/

Image by elkit on Flickr

Twitter for educators

Posted on July 25, 2011 by dughall

I recently ran a session for my colleagues where my intention was to introduce them to Twitter.

I love Twitter. It has literally changed my life since I signed up in January 2009. I am troubled by the idea that there may be others out there whose lives could be similarly changed for the good, but they just don’t know about it.

So I thought about how I might explain what it is all about and how I might persuade educators that there is something about it they might find useful professionally.

Here is the presentation I put together. It wouldn’t do for you to use in its entirety. It is personal to me and my experience of Twitter (you probably haven’t danced around the room after a Twitter exchange with Darren Huckerby, or got the lowdown on government policy with the (then) Secretary of State for Education). However, it might help provide you with a useful structure that you might use as a framework for your own presentation for colleagues.

There are no rules. This is just the way I do it and it works for me.

Twitter for educators

Here’s my thinking.
Slide 1 – Title slide
Slide 2 – Although Twitter was invented with ‘What are you doing?’ in mind, educators have harnessed it as a powerful networking and sharing medium. You really need an account to use Twitter. This is best done by having an avatar and a brief biography as a minimum. Twitter accounts can be public or protected. I discussed the pros and cons of both. There are also some Twitter rules and things you can do. It is about sharing, collaborating and participating (for me).
Slide 3 – A useful analogy for Twitter is that it is like a lively bar, staffroom or office. You can share something interesting with everyone, you can have conversations with one or more other people and you can have private conversations.
Slide 4 – Some ‘banal’ tweets. NB Sometimes the banal leads to something serendipitous.
Slide 5 – Some ‘useful’ tweets.
Slide 6 – My Twitter page. I pointed out the timeline and my ‘stats’.
Slide 7 – My Twitter profile.
Slide 8 – Tweets that mention me. I *should* get to see absolutely every tweet that addresses me directly or that mentions me.
Slide 9 – The Language of Twitter. As with any ‘gang’, community or society, conventions arise. Some for ‘cliquey’ reasons, others for utility reasons such as economy of space.
Slide 10 – Conversations. Addressing someone else on Twitter requires you to start your tweet with their @name. This particular conversation starts with a ‘banal’ tweet by me but soon develops into something useful.
Slide 11 – Retweeting. Retweets are a bit like forwarding useful emails to the rest of the team. There are different ways for it to be done and different ways to spot it. Twitter RT, RT with edit etc.
Slide 12 – Some examples of retweets
Slide 13 – Hashtags. These have various functions. Mostly they arise because many people need a ‘magic word’ to identify tweets that are all discussing or referencing the same topic. Particularly useful for TV shows, conferences, crowd-sourcing, Twitter ‘chats’ etc.
Slide 14 – Some hashtagged tweets.
Slide 15 – Emoticons. These have arisen because it is not easy to transmit a facial expression, body-language or eye-contact via text alone. I am a naturally smiley person
Slide 16 – Shortening your links so they fit into a tweet. Many Twitter services automatically shorten links anyway. Useful to know about http://bitly.com and others for other purposes though.
Slide 17 – Some schools that tweet. Schools might have a Twitter account in addition to other ways that they face outwards (text messages, website, email etc). Schools may tweet significant dates, weekly menus, closures, updates etc.
Slide 18 – Some classes tweet. It is important to note that Twitter has a 13 year old age limit. These classes have protected Twitter accounts and adults may do the actual tweeting. Twitter provides a global audience for pupils, a real reason for writing and is a powerful medium.
Slide 19 – Twitter is like a river. This is a powerful analogy. You need to know and learn to accept that you cannot realistically read everything on Twitter. This becomes less and less realistic the more people you follow. The river that is Twitter is constantly flowing by. You can choose to sit on the bank and watch it. You can choose to get in and swim around. You can choose to walk away from it altogether. You might glimpse something float by that interests you and get involved.
Slide 20 – Coping with the information. At this point, I introduced Tweetdeck as a way to manage the flow of information. I showed the ‘river’ flowing along in my ‘All friends’ column. I showed my mentions column. I showed how to use a column to follow a hashtag. I also showed how I had made a special column for a list of valued individuals whose tweets I generally don’t want to miss. I have made a list for these 100 or so people and have a column in Tweetdeck for their tweets.
Slide 21 – Who to follow and what to do with new followers? Twitter takes some tending. I check my new followers every day. I seek out new people to follow.
Slide 22 – Twitter becomes particularly powerful when it is ‘mobile’. Particularly sharing photos from smartphones.
Slide 23 – Golden rules. What you tweet is visible. Potentially forever. As a professional, you need to be conscious about what you are saying. I visualise my followers inhabiting a section of a football stand. I visualise their faces. They include my line manager, my wife, my colleagues etc. Am I happy to stand on the pitch and megaphone my tweet to all those people? If yes, then hit ‘Send’.
Slide 24 – Some things simply wouldn’t have been possible without Twitter. This is a very personal slide including: The British Embassy in Washington DC, Ed Balls MP, Darren Huckerby and Councillor Mehboob Kahn. Furthermore, I knew about the earthquake/tsunami, Michael Jackson’s death and other breaking news on Twitter hours before it broke in conventional media.
Slide 25 – Twitter starts like a delicate seedling that needs care and attention. You need to ‘grow’ your Twitter followers if you are to end up with a sturdy tree from which you can
endlessly harvest delicious fruits.
Slide 26 – Do follow up on these links:
CPD provided by Twits by Ian Addison
Twitter for teachers: building your network by @creativeedu
Ten life lessons we can learn on Twitter
13 Ways Twitter Improves Education
And, if you’re in education, follow these people for starters (this is not a definitive list!).

A couple of final points worth dropping in:

How does Twitter differ from Facebook? Facebook is for the people you went to school with. Twitter is for the people you wish you’d been to school with.

Watch your Twitter/life balance. I do need to regularly remind myself where my priorities lie!

Finally, a huge thank you to all those you helped me whislt I put this presentation together, responded to my mid-presentation appeal and who continue to enrich me daily with their wisdom and wit.

@dughall

Image by sjcockell on Flickr

Ukedchat end of year roundup 21st July 2011

Posted on July 25, 2011 by dughall

For those that don’t know, I am an occasional moderator for the weekly Twitter discussion, UKedcchat. Early in the week, I was asked by Ian Addison if I would stand in for him and run the last session of the academic year. Ian had found himself indisposed due to an end-of-term commitment but had set things up nicely via his blog.

I attempted to structure the hour-long session into four broad sections:

Sharing successes and highlights of the previous year
Sharing lessons that had been learned
Challenges and lowlights
Looking forward to next year

I was staggered by the shear quantity and quality of contributions from ukedchat old-timers and first-timers. As I was preparing this summary and reading all the tweets from Thursday, I initially intended to pick out a few select tweets that seemed to sum up the mood or that were particularly reflective or useful. It soon became clear, however, that just about every tweet that wasn’t ‘conversation’ or retweeting was pretty much worthy of sharing and celebrating in the summary.
I therefore make no apology for what seems like a lengthy roundup but I’d rather let the tweets speak for themselves this week. Apologies if I’ve missed anyone in the maelstrom of tweets this week.

It never ceases to amaze me how inspiring, reflective and benevolent the educators on Twitter are. Just look at the tweets below and let your heart sing along with mine.

Some selected Tweets sharing past successes, highlights and ideas:
@KnikiDavies The blog has been my biggest success this year. Great engagement from children & parents.
@learningspy I’ll kick off – I started English GCSE course with a scheme focussing on PLTS mindsets and dispositions. Fantastic
@knikidavies Drama has also been great for enhancing writing.
@philwheeler1 It’s been a busy yr, but I’ve learnt how to motivate the quiet one at the back in new subject I’ve not taught before
@chrisleach78 ok, my y6 cd cover design project worked really well, shame run out of time. Summer term stuff
@gsussex Yr 5 & 6 Young Enterprise days went well, but likely to run in house next yr so pace better for our pupils
@bevevans22 Had a really good session – Y6 lit. ALN pupils had dictionary work comparing real & online dictionaries – they loved it!
@john_at_muuua this year has been all about simplifying our curriculum and making it transparent. Polished everything
@bucharesttutor Meeting and sharing new ideas and resources in Twitter has helped me grow immensely in my career
@misshbond Like @cherrylkd I also joined Twitter but was cynical. Turns out it’s better for CPD than I could ever have imagined.
@mrsprentice11 the blog for my English set, gave them huge confidence in their writing & great research for my MA
@benrogersOVA Hard to summarise this year. We opened as a new academy and it’s been transformational. A once in a career experience. Amazing.
@clivesir I taught Sri Lankan teachers about internet and email – now they are global!
@stephen_logan Training someone else. It has really made me think about my teaching and learning
@bobtoms100 My summer EFL learners have loved online 100 word creative writing challenge (w/ peer feedback) + correcting own written mistakes
@GaryAveryICT I learnt that my lower ability English set can create amazing movies…
@john_at_muuua biggest success has been learning that even the most technophobic teacher can use ICT if mentored appropriately
@ICTmagic First time teaching Year Six and a huge learning curve. I have Y5&6 next year again and feeling ready for it this time.
@mattharding007 A simplified School Improvement Plan worked well – no more than 3 focuses for whole year. Can achieve something then!
@chrisrat Jumping in as a non teacher, but my highlight of the last year was definitely the UK Blog Awards. So inspirational
@garyaveryict biggest success is in getting the fun back into learning… water rockets, string telephones, tin foil switches… many smiles
@karliva89 we’ve introduced skype to our students also had a batch of ipod touches complete with evernote to help with assessment
@janhs I’ve also found that comments on my blogs have been so useful (thanks)
@gsussex highs joining Twitter, Teachmeets and starting my first website/blog Lows paperwork, people with unrealistic expectations
@jackieschneider seeing young students taking part in democratic protests against student fees cheered me no end
@stephen_logan Taking business students to canary wharf and a big enterprise activity at Hull Guildhall definitely highlights
@mrg_ict I’ve learned this year that talking quietly when telling a child off is surprisingly more effective than shouting….
@knikidavies School went solo with our own design of creative curriculum. Very successful!
@rebeccagcole whole school writing on Transition Day inspired by mysterious giant eggs discovered in nature garden. Web idea… Kids loved it!
@ADSH_11 Reception class blog started from nothing this year, was greatly appreciated and well received by parents, everyone blogging nxt y
@teach_it_so Collective CPD on teaching and learning. Run by staff for staff, and programmed incrementally for the year. Support and buy-in.
@shelibb Collaborating with other schools through Comenius project and a separate etwinning project has been amazing this year
@chrisleach78 This year I’ve learnt that using blogs, Twitter etc to give kids real audience can really motivate and engage
@dmchugh675 highlight was using paragraph burgers to scaffold extended writing skils in Y8. It actually worked! http://t.co/M9DZv4o
@helenmew As a #governor doing my tiny bit to help our gov body & school move forward – highlight

Tweets sharing what has been learned:
@john_at_muuua What I learnt this year: teachers need to work outside politics that changes with the weather
@misshbond I’ve learnt that parents love having chn email them from a class account and chn love sharing what they’ve learnt. Both sides win
@kimorganix I learned that a good mentor can bring about a quantum leap in your practice.
@bucharesttutor I have learnt the most important word out there and that is SHARE
@deerwood This year I’ve learnt that ebooks are a lot harder to produce than you’d think
@natty08 I also learnt working in a team is hard and I’m a control freak
@deerwood I’ve also learned that online teaching can be both fun and frustrating
@mrsprentice11 I’ve learnt teaching in a school that’s closing is emotionally challenging
@mattbuxton10 I’ve learnt this yr that despite what people say, there IS a difference between Lab & Con; at least on Education!!!!
@creativeedu I’ve learnt in the last 24 hours not to be scared of crowdsourcing, it’s easy and FABULOUS
@teach_it_so Also learned to watch out for e-vangelists, those who believe that any new tech is better than no tech!
@misshbond Being an #NQT I learnt that it’s ok to challenge ideas and that sometimes that can change things for the better
@anhalf I’ve learnt that I have a LOT still to learn about technology and how to maximise its impact in the classroom
@deerwood I’ve also learnt that there’s some damn fine people with inspirational education ideas … Pity none in government though
@missmclachlan learnt never to underestimate pupils ict skills, often amazing…but same time never overestimate. Not all savvy ict superstars!
@anhalf I’ve learnt that most schemes arent worth the money!
@gillpenny The importance of stopping once in a while to acknowledge & celebrate whats been a success Too easy to focus on next challenge.
@shelibb Going to my first ever teachmeet was pretty good- learned loads
@gsussex moving forward is dependent on vision, leadership, teamwork and commitment from whole staff team
@strictteacher99 learnt to be a bit more circumspect about what I let others know..gossip in school is rife!!
@Nic5harrison I’ve learned that after teaching for 15 yrs there are still so many new strategies/resources to explore, don’t get stuck in a rut #ukedchat
@TJ2904 learnt that working with an NQT I learnt as much from them as they did from me
@gillpenny I’ve learned that time for reflection is essential and not a luxury. Teachers trying new things need to know they have support.

Tweets sharing challenges and lowlights:
@bevevans22 Something I’ve found tricky is getting some people to take responsibility for their own ICT/use of tech. It’s been slow process
@gsussex a minus, when people assure you they are doing something they may not be . . . Evidence is always the safest route
@deerwood (online) things don’t work as well as you think. What goes well in class does not always work online. Need almost a new approach #ukedchat
@bryanharrison31 Not so successful = SATs result.
@stephen_logan Many challenges this year with changes to careers information advice and guidance Aim higher funding cuts
@xpunzx trying to do too much at once, or fight all battles on all fronts. one step at a time!
@john_at_muuua I’ve learnt that the gulf of knowledge between those who make the tech and those who use it is the problem.
@dexnott still not always managing the work/life balance but if you put others first! Can reflect on some neglect of family responsibility
@costa_man1 less successful persuading SLT that new technology is good for learning – progress is slower than I want
@jackieschneider seeing kids from low income families decide university isnt for the likes of them – serious lowlight
@john_at_muuua too often teachers are forced to used tech that was made by a genius with only a theory of teaching
@sian_rowland This year’s low: losing my job because of gov cuts
@littlejessw lowlight would be my HoD at placement school being told by management that A level languages weren’t being offered next year.
@miss_kitch Lowlight having to tackle difficult issues across the school – managed it successfully but not enjoyable at the time
@teach_it_so Huge challenge: shifting the emphasis of some of my team from transmitting facts to developing understanding
@mrAcolley My form blog didn’t fly at all. Maybe lack of class timer to focus did for it

Tweets looking ahead:
@jackieschneider Next year I plan to defend comprehensive education from nasty vicious attacks from Dfe
@gsussex next yr – blogging, more outdoor ed, review assessments, promote collegiality/build teamwork more as a number of new staff
@Costa_man1 next year will use edmodo with Cornish and American students to replay 1776 and see if revolution still happens
@learningspy Next year I want to get a job in leadership
@bucharesttutor From my end, I will try and reach out to all my UK educators and friends in Twitter #ukedchat sounds a very achievable plan
@mattbuxton I will start every one of my curriculum team meetings with the words “This meeting will help learning by….”;

Image by disgustipado