Dilemma!

Posted on March 11, 2013 by dughall

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

Protect or not?

Posted on September 25, 2012 by dughall

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

Posted on July 23, 2012 by dughall

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 9^th 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:

Fullscreen:

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:

Fullscreen:

Social Learning. This is literacy.

Posted on June 23, 2012 by dughall

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.

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?).

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

AM. The Future?

Posted on July 10, 2011 by dughall

I was recently invited to attend the ‘Additive Manufacturing Sandpit event’ at Loughborough University that took place on Wednesday 6^th July. “What on earth is ‘Additive Manufacturing (AM)’?” I hear you cry and I have to admit I was initially a little unsure of what to expect. AM is also known as ‘3D printing’ and is a way to make stuff by adding very thin layers of polymers, metals or ceramics. This is generally done in liquid, powder or sheet form. So you can ‘print’ things. Things that have previously been designed on a computer (using CAD software). Here’s one:

And here’s a video clip of a printer in action:

I was so ignorant of this technology that I wanted to know at least a little more prior to the event. An enquiry on Twitter and a bit of googling led me to Dave White, a teacher doing some amazing things and blogging about it here. I also came across this amazing use of a printer. And why not ‘print’ your own chocolates?

The day started with three presentations.
We heard from Denise Stephens (of Enabled by Design) describing the challenges that she and fellow MS sufferers encounter. The lack of any design innovation in assistive technology in the last 40 years was driven home to me as Denise shared some truly disheartening images of AT such as crutches, stools, ‘walkers’ etc. They all looked like something out of a 1950s hospital with their sterile, beige features. Why can’t designers consider everyone’s needs? Needs that could be met with relative simplicity, as they are with the Breville Hotcup dispensing kettle for instance (removing the risk of a boiling water spillage).

We heard from Andrew Haslett, Director of Strategy Development at The Energy Technology Institute. Frankly, I was left depressed. In brief, there is a major energy crisis emerging and new and urgent approaches are required (no real surprise, I suppose). Oh, and what’s more, our feeble efforts at a domestic/local level are but drops in an immense ocean. Ok, this is perhaps somewhat gloomier than Andrew’s intended message, but rosy it ain’t.

Finally, we were treated to a presentation by Mike Sharples, an education guru from The University of Nottingham. Mike’s message was refreshing and optimistic in tone. Amongst other things, he lamented the demise of bricolage or ‘tinkering’ in learning. This really resonated with me as someone that is a passionate believer in the power of this approach to learning and it reminded me of my favourite TED talk by founder of ‘The Tinkering School’, Gever Tulley. I could see immediately how AM technology might be one possible route to the resurrection of tinkering. Mike also cited John Dewey, an advocate of constructivist, hands-on experiential learning.

The rest of the day was then spent ‘sand-pitting’. In groups of varying sizes and demographics, we discussed AM with a view to proposing a project that may be chosen to receive £5000 backing. The project/proposal could have a social, energy, assistive technology or education focus.

My group developed a proposal that would involve installing a printer in a primary school, a ‘Dragons’ Den’ activity and a Design Technology project to produce relevant, valuable, useful artefacts. The school in question would become a ‘hub’ for good practice in this technology. We weren’t sure whether there is a primary school in the UK with such a technology, but we were all convinced of the value it could bring.

So what might a school get out of this? Well, it would certainly reinvigorate a Design Technology curriculum. The sheer rapidity of the process of design/manufacture to artifact is exciting and easily allows for multiple iterations. This is where tweaking and tinkering can be exploited. Imagine the possibilities for DT projects: cups/containers, mobile phone cases, stands for MP3 players, jewelry, ornaments, action figures etc. Children will certainly come up with endless suggestions for projects. Dejan Mitrovic has a portable printer that he has taken into a school where the children each designed there own building in Google Sketchup before they printed the class ‘town’.

Prices for this technology are tumbling and it is becoming ever more accessible. Once upon a time, the first computers appeared in UK schools and opened up a world of programming to a generation of youngsters. The UK is now a world leader in the computer games industry. Coincidence?

Who knows, the Christmas Present of the near future might be a personal 3-D printer. Print your own Lego pieces, Christmas tree decorations, earrings, jewelry, parts for the broken washing machine. Or, if you don’t have one at home, send your designs off to the local community printer and have them produced for you there.

My eyes have certainly been opened!

In a roundabout way

Tag Archives: Education

Dilemma!

Protect or not?

3D Printing

A trip to remember

Keeping the baby in the bath

UKedchat Session 1st September 2011

Twitter for educators

Ukedchat end of year roundup 21st July 2011

AM. The Future?