Karen Meluish posted this on the VLN. While she finishes by saying that her need and her passion for the tool kept up the momentum for the change to her practice, she needed the tool first. How many of our teachers express that frustration because we can't equip them with enough tools? Is it really an excuse? Read on.

What comes first - the teach or the tech?

I remember justifying my purchase of a smartphone two years ago. I wanted
to be able to work while travelling, catch up on reading, listen to music
on the bus, I reasoned. Pretty unremarkable rationale. Nothing for Steve
Jobs to be worried about.

What I didn’t expect was the way it seemed to change the way I worked and
organized aspects of my life in ways that I hadn’t anticipated. So much
so, in fact, that I felt inexplicably bereft when I recently mislaid it
(the phone, not my life). Would I have worked so hard on my photography if
I hadn’t had access to all those apps in my pocket? Would I have managed
the work-home-children juggle so easily without that access-anytime
flexibility?

So - what came first? My needs – or the technology?
In September 2010, the-now-sadly-defunct BECTA published a report on the
ways that digital technologies impact on learning. The assertion that
caught my eye was that

“ICT has reconfigured classroom practice in the project schools in
important ways.”

What causes teachers to adjust their practice? Can the affordances of
technology alone open up possibilities to learning that teachers had not
thought of before – and does this impact on the pedagogy they use?
And, how far is it risky to assert that the technology can drive
pedagogical shift?
The report’s two key findings are interesting:

When teachers make changes to activities, room layout and processes, to
accommodate technology, it makes new forms of classroom practice possible.
In particular, this impacted on differentiation, inspiration, coherence and
engagement, resource-sharing, access to the internet for research and access to
read-to-hand tools can widen the variety of learning practices.

But was it the technology alone that caused shift?
The report also highlighted the there were themes that were central in the
classrooms and schools that experienced change: evolving vision and
leadership, a developing infrastructure for out-of-school learning;
multifaceted staff development and the role of students; redefining
learning spaces.

While technology may be a catalyst for change, it can’t happen without
corresponding change in the surrounding infrastructure, a lift in the
capability across the organization.

So, even if the tech does come first, the report suggests you need some
pretty sound teaching structures in place to keep it flying in a way that
will make a difference.

And that smartphone needs a fairly harassed mother who adores photography
to make the most of what it has to offer;-)
[Source attached: Crook, Harrison, Farrington-Flint, Tomás, Underwood,
(2010), The impact of technology: Value-added classroom practice.
BECTA: The impact of technology_value-added classroom practice
(BECTA_2010)]

[Originally posted inthe e-Leaning Research Network, April 2011]

http://www.vln.school.nz/mod/threaded_forums/topicposts.php?topic=236912&group_guid=53310&post_view=new#236913

(So...is that a good excuse for me to get that smart phone I want? Annemarie)

How Video Games are Changing Education

Via: Online Colleges Guide

Smarter - Not Charter! How to Run Our Schools.

Here we go again - everyone thinks they can do it better than we teachers! Let's let every community group or business run their own school; what do we know?

Fifth in the developed world according to the PISA study? Not quite good enough, says John Key Breakfast, Tuesday 6 December).

To start with, poverty and what's happening in some homes is obviously not the problem. Some children come to school without breakfast, without warm clothes, without the tools they need. They might see Dad hit Mum...or worse.

At my last school, the population had a large number of transient children as their parent (sic) kept moving to avoid the bills, or the boyfriend. These socio-economic factors obviously aren't seen as priority factors. They can't be affecting the students' attitude to learning and families' priorities.

Secondly, let's not worry about the quality of the teachers we train. We don't believe that our trainees should be the top of the pile, and we don't value this career option financially. Anyone can apply to teach and it's a good career for someone returning to work after having kids - even if they have never studied before. We won't worry about their literacy and numeracy levels, and if they aren't au fait with the Numeracy Project or E_learning, never mind.

Thirdly, there is no point throwing more money at making sure schools have all the resources they need. Who can afford one to one devices or small classes?

And finally - why concentrate on empowering our kids and nurturing their talents? We realised that some children would be succesful without the 3 Rs - Peter Leitch is an example of the "failed student" who did well in spite of his schooling. We realised that children could get by on other talents; look at many of our professional rugby players. We started to look at multiple intelligences and learning styles. We started to understand how important having self esteem was, how hard students would work if they could follow their passions. We held thinkers like Ken Robinson up with regard and praised their ideas.

But along came Anne Tolley and National Standards. Students would be failing if they did not reach "the standard". We had to concentrate on reading, writing and arithmetic.

And now let's try charter schools.

I have an elective group at school this week. Our intermediate school of 275 students end the school year with a week of "alternative education." I'm lucky enough to have a small class group of eight (usually I'm a "walking" DP.) These students have chosen to do photography. They each have access to a camera and a computer for editing. They aren't the top students in the school and in fact, two have been stood down on more than one occasion for their behaviour. One hasn't paid his activity fee - I'm doing that. And guess what? The conversation is thoughtful and on task. The students are mesmerised. I'm able to tailor the learning around their needs. We're all learning a lot - and not just about photography.

Small class sizes, enough equipment, tailored learning? Could do better.

Excuse me while I scream out loud with frustration!

Being Literate in a Digital World

"The First Amendment guarantees free speech and a free and unrestrained press as the primary protections for ensuring a diverse marketplace of ideas in support of an informed citizenry. However, to ensure a diverse marketplace of ideas and an informed citizenry, literacy is also essential. Beyond knowing how to read and write, digital literacy means knowing how to leverage digital tools to express ideas, reach a wider audience, and engage with diverse people and ideas from around the world. In these ways, digital tools can help to "ignite the learning light" in each and every student. (25.10.11)"
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/digital-divide-technology-internet-access-literacy-vanessa-vega

The Jury is Out...

You've got to follow this link to a blog post on "Wright's Room" where Shelley Wright has written about an epihany she's had about assessment and learning. Why assess with tests, quizes and exams? Read on...
http://shelleywright.wordpress.com/2010/12/01/the-jury-is-in/