Smart learning

I spend most of my time in the future, but I do go home at weekends. At least, that is my explanation about why I am so fascinated with the future. I always have been, ever since I was a little boy and started reading science fiction novels. From Asimov to Heinlein, and Clark to Wells, I hungrily devoured them all and fed my mind on what was to come.

I'm in a dream job now, talking about technology and learning, and how we can optimise one from the other. Inevitably, people invite me to speak at events and ask me to give my ideas about what is just around the corner.

My recent involvement with the New Media Consortium Horizon Report committee was another outlet for thinking about the future. That came up in today's keynote at the 15th International Conference on Interactive and Collaborative Learning (#ICL2012), here deep in the Austrian Alps, in a little town called Villach. I spoke of Learning 3.0, and speculated on what learning might look like in a few years. I proposed that a great deal of learning will take place in the future through the use of mobile tools, and that tablets, phones and other handheld devices would be just the start of our new technology enhanced learning journey.

Learning 3.0 and the Smart eXtended Web from Steve Wheeler

Augmented reality, intelligent filtering, 3D spatial interaction, enhanced vision and other seemingly exotic or out of reach technologies will one day merge to become our new reality. The technology is already there, but as William Gibson once said 'the future is not widely distributed'. Eventually, all widely adopted technologies tend to fade into the background and become mundane, as learning breaks through to take centre stage. When will this happen? We can't say for sure, because other random factors continually intervene. Pictures and quotes from the past, shown in the slide set above, demonstrate that we are not always very good at predicting accurately what our future will hold, but with current trends, we can see farther than we have ever been able to see before down the corridor of time. And we can see that technology is not slowing down, and neither is our thirst for small gadgets, smart objects and embedded technologies. Learning 3.0 will be the nexus, the meeting point of all these smart tools, where people will connect seamlessly with other people, objects and information and learn when they need to, what they need to, where they need to. We will then be tapping into the combined intelligence of the entire globe, and that will be powerful beyond measure. At least, that is my vision for the future.

I hope you enjoy looking at the slides. I certainly enjoyed presenting them today, and discussing my ideas with delegates at ICL2012 in Villach, Austria.

Photo by Joaquim F. Silva


Smart learning by Steve Wheeler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at steve-wheeler.blogspot.com.

In an Internet minute

The futurologist Ray Kurzweil once said that 'change is not linear, it is exponential.' Sociologist Alvin Toffler described three waves of evolution in our interaction with tools. The first two, the agricultural and industrial revolutions laid the foundations for the larger, Third Wave - the technology revolution. Prior to the technological wave,  life changed relatively slowly, and change was linear, but in the advent of new technologies, we are lurching from change to change without pause. The technological Wave has changed everything in life, including the way we work and trade, learn, provide healthcare, entertain ourselves, conduct our relationships and interact. Arguably, old rubrics which described, but did not govern the pace of technological change (see for example Metcalfe's Law or Moore's Law) may already be outmoded.

The infographic on this page illustrates the sheer volume of  user generated content and user activity that occurs every 60 seconds somewhere on the Internet. In one minute there are over 2 million search queries on Google, 6 million Facebook views, over 200 million e-mails sent and 100,000 tweets. These staggering metrics are only the tip of the iceberg. We can expect to see exponential rises in all of these and the emergence of new and more dynamic social media and communication systems. One of the most marked changes are the upsurge in the use of mobile technology, with 1,300 new mobile users every minute. Mobile phones, tablets and laptops are portable gateways into the Internet, and it is predicted by 2015 that there will be twice as many mobile devices on the planet as there are humans. This means that access to the Web will increase, and there will be a steep rise in Internet activity, probably beyond what we can ever imagine. This assumes that the growth rate will continue at its current pace, which of course it won't. It also assumes that people will (and are) using more than one device to access the Internet. I currently have 3 devices with me, and I'm using two of them to write this blog post.

Whichever way we look at this, we know beyond reasonable doubt that demands on the Internet will continue to rise. Are we prepared for this exponential rise in use? The biggest challenge facing us now is not how to use the Internet, but being able to futureproof it so that we have enough bandwidth, capacity and storage space to hold all of the user generated content that is coming. Another challenge is to ensure that the Internet improves in terms of speed, security and usability.

Image source


In an Internet minute by Steve Wheeler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at steve-wheeler.blogspot.com.

Live to learn

As I was walking in to the university yesterday, a thought struck me. I asked myself the question, why do I work at the university? It certainly isn't because of the money. Firstly, I could earn a heck of a lot more in other industries. Secondly, I don't really need to work any more. I don't have a mortgage on the house now, and my children are grown up and independent (two of them have their own homes now). So why do I stay employed? The answer came clearly, as if from the skies above. I 'work' at the university because I love to learn, and going to the university, spending time with my colleagues and students, doing research and exploring all the many possibilities of my chosen subject of study, is incredibly rewarding. I realised that I don't go to university to 'work', but I'm very fortunate that I do get paid doing something I really love. I live to learn. And my university is the closest place to home I know where I am free to explore all the possibilities of that learning - to push the boundaries, try out new things, take risks and see how far I can go with learning new things.

This is also why (I realised, as I was walking to university) that whenever I launch a new student course, module or programme, I always try to agree a contract with my students. I tell them 'I know you want to learn from me, but I would also like to learn from you.' About that point I usually get some strange looks from some of them, but my students all 'get it' in the end. We make an agreement to learn from each other, because even the greatest minds on the planet don't know everything. The wisest minds on the planet are those who realise they actually know very little, and who seek out to try to discover and explore to fill some of the void. Have you ever stood at the edge of the ocean, or gazed up at the stars on a clear night, and felt so very, very small? That's the kind of awe we should feel when we consider learning.

Learning is lifelong and life-wide, but I didn't always know that. I believed the lie I was fed in school that learning stops when you leave formal education. It took me a while to discover that learning is actually only beginning when we leave school. Most people don't actually discover a passion for learning until they have entered a world of work. Tragically, many never discover a passion for learning at all. In a recent post I quoted Ashley Tan who said 'teachers teach, but educators reach'. For those of us who aspire to be educators, to reach beyond mere teaching, this has to be the line in the sand. Are we simply going to teach, or are we going to reach out to a lost generation of learners?

I know why I continue to work in education. Because I have fallen in love with learning. What about you?

Photo by Terry Robinson


Live to learn by Steve Wheeler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at steve-wheeler.blogspot.com.

The future is a big place

If I have learnt nothing else this week, I have learnt that the future is a very, very big place. I wrote recently that we live in exponential times, and this was brought home to all of us this week at The Windsor Debates. We are simply not prepared for the future. We are not ready for the rapid and wide reaching changes that will impact us all in the next few decades. But at least, if we begin to spot the trends, we can try to prepare as best we can.

The Debates are hosted at Windsor Castle at least twice each year, under the auspices of the Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce, and have gained a reputation as a gathering point for the good and the great of business and industry and a nexus for grown-up debate around the issues of the day. On this occasion the economy, science and innovation, technology supported education and training, healthcare, globalisation, technology enhanced humans, world population trends, gender and race issues all came under scrutiny. It was a little surreal to be talking about such futuristic ideas in such an ancient setting as the Windsor Castle dungeon, but that simply added to the appeal and atmosphere of the event. You can view the list of invited speakers at this site. My own presentation outlined the problems of traditional education in a changing world, and called for a closer alignment of business and higher education, so that at least we can begin to understand what we need from each other. Other than that, I'm not at liberty to divulge who said what (Chatham House Rules, see), but I can summarise some of what was said for you.

Many of the speakers were interested in discussing how we can prepare for a future we cannot clearly describe. Some cited seriously frightening statistics about the trends of population growth and decline in the world. China's population will shrink by the middle of this century (to be overtaken by India) while Nigeria's and Indonesia's will rise precipitously. What will be the jobs we will do in the next few years, and where will the work be done? Will there even be a workforce in a few years time, or will we look back on the past 200 years or so and say, yes, that was the era of employment and it was merely a strange blip in human history? Organised, industrial work practices have only existed for that amount of time, it was argued. Prior to that, people generally worked for themselves or for a ruler. Global distribution of products, outsourcing of workforces, ubiquitous technology, new divisions of labour and ways of working, all are contributing to a seismic shift in the way business is being shaped. A lot of soul searching is going on inside companies. One speaker called for an end to hierarchy in the workplace, to be replaced by heterarchy (more on this in my next blogpost), which promotes a more democratic way of working, and gives ownership to all employees. Another advocated Punk HR - a quirky idea that turns out  not to be so strange after all, and may yet gain as much traction as it's pedagogical counterpart - Edupunk.

Essentially, the mood was that we are in a post-modern age, where all the rules we previously held dear are being challenged, eroded and supplanted by other, looser ideas. Many of the companies represented at the Debates are household names. Top ranking executives attended from each. Together, these people pack a big punch, and have impressive pedigrees, and each more or less agreed that we need to start moving in new directions, and do things differently if we are to survive into this new century. The demise of Kodak was cited.  Kodak was a leading global corporation that stuck to its old practices and business model, and paid a severe price, because it believed in a product that non-one wanted anymore. It didn't adapt to the trends, looked inward instead of outward, and ultimately paid the price.

Some of the futurologists present gave us insight into technological trends, and we discussed what it means to be a modified, enhanced human being. The ethics surrounding this debate were disturbing and complex, and the animated conversations lasted long into the night. Some of the statistics cited about ubiquitous computing, Giganomic trends (look it up), population growth and decline, and economic flow were as imposing as making your entry through the Henry VIII gate, past the stern armed police officers, and into the Castle compound. If you are ever invited to attend a Windsor Debate, grab it with both hands. You certainly won't be disappointed.

Image source


The future is a big place by Steve Wheeler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at steve-wheeler.blogspot.com.

Limitless learning

The personal learning environment (PLE) is still a bone of contention. Over at the Open University of Catalonia, in Barcelona, Ismael Peña-López has been doing some stirling work on theories surrounding Vygotsky's learning model and PLEs. His article can be accessed here in its entirety. Ismael starts by simplifying Vygotskian theory. He reasons that for Vygotsky, learning features three distinct layers: 1) What learners can achieve independently, 2) what they can do with the help of someone else (he calls this a more knowledgeable other or MKO and 3) that which is beyond the learner's reach, even with the help of an MKO.

Layer two can be defined as the Zone of Proximal Development or ZPD. What is interesting about Ismael's model is the way he incorporates the ZPD into a general model of the PLE, and argues that in fact, both MKOs and ZPD can constitute a PLE. This is all premised on whether we conceive of a PLE as a learning philosophy rather than simply a set of tools as most people see it. I'm in agreement with Ismael on this - I see the Personal Learning Environment as more than just a set of tools, or experiences, or environments. For me, the PLE is also more than a counterpoint to the centralisation/standardisation philosophy that spawned the institutional content management systems and services we see commonly today in schools, colleges and universities.

For me, the PLE is peculiar to the individual who makes it. It reflects his personality, learning characteristics and preferences. PLEs are constructed by the individuals who use them. This requires individuals to manage the connections between the tools, experiences, spaces and people, and this is often achieved within a digital framework. It is at the point that we accept that PLE is a learning philosophy, says Ishmael, that the entire vista of possibilities begins to open up to us. Ismael then makes the bold claim: "A PLE can be conformed by virtually everything that exists out in the cyberspace. If virtually everything is at reach, virtually everything can be understood as the more knowledgeable other. With a full, total, comprehensive access to the more knowledgeable other there virtually is no upper limit of the Zone of Proximal Development, there virtually is no level of problem solving that is unreachable for the student." The diagram above illustrates this vast potential very clearly. This is a bold and interesting theoretical punt which should serve to reinvigorate the debate about the purpose and scope of Personal Learning Environments. It means that potentially, if we have the appropriate tools and are connected to the right people, learning will be limitless.

Image by Ismael Peña-López


Limitless learning by Steve Wheeler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Exponential times

We live in exponential times. Change is rapid and events often take us all by surprise. Social, economic, environmental and political challenges roll across our screens every day. Now, more than ever, we need good education to negotiate our way through the turbulence of our times. There is a distinct separation forming between those who are teachers and those who aspire to be educators. Anyone can be a teacher, and indeed, whether they know it or not, just about everyone does do some teaching during an average week, usually on a very informal basis. Although we all teach, not everyone can be an educator. Educators are a breed apart, and although the professional title of 'teacher' is sustained in schools, it is often the educators that make all the difference. Not everyone can see the difference between teachers and educators, and many tend to think they are synonymous as this online discussion forum demonstrates. But there are distinct differences, and it is essentially the attitude of the individual that is at the heart of the question. I read an excellent blog recently which brings the differences into sharp focus:

Ashley Tan's blog Another dot in the Blogosphere? features an excellent exposition of the differences between educators and teachers, and I really believe it needs a wider audience. So here, on this blog, is a summary:

A teacher teaches; an educator reaches.

A teacher typically focuses on curriculum and assessment. An educator focuses on development and evaluation.

In the curricular race, a teacher perspires. In the journey of lifelong learning, an educator inspires. (An educator goes the extra mile.)

A teacher works with content. An educator deals with people.

Teaching is a job. Educating is a calling.

Some teachers do this to earn. Educators do this to learn (about themselves, their learners, better ways to inspire, etc).

A teacher might network locally. An educator is connected globally (and thinks and acts that way too).

The world needs individuals who will go the extra mile. This is what true educators do. They reach out to our young people, and they make a difference. It's not simply a job for them, and no amount of money would recompense them for all their commitment and overtime spent engaging their students, preparing, marking, planning and studying. As a teaching profession, we all need to work more with people than we do with content. In 1962, President John F. Kennedy stated that 'a child miseducated, is a child lost'. During my lifetime I have encountered many individuals who were miseducated, and took the wrong pathway in life. We need to be so careful how we execute our roles as learning professionals, because the future of an entire generation is in our hands. Any poor decisions we make can influence our students badly, but conversely, any good decisions we make can inspire that same generation to succeed, to burn brightly, and be a real force for good in this world. What an opportunity we have, but what a frightening prospect, if we get it wrong.  Yes, we live in exponential times, with change and uncertainty all around, but I have met some incredible educators in the last few years that give me a lot of hope for the future. They are more connected that any previous generation of educators, and they are more passionate. They will be the ones who make a difference to young lives. I believe that one day we'll look back on this period of time and say 'that was an extraordinary generation of educators.'

Photo by Anders Hoff


Exponential times by Steve Wheeler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at steve-wheeler.blogspot.com.

Uncertainty principles

It's extremely difficult to predict the future accurately, because as futurologist Ray Kurzweil once said, change isn't linear, it's exponential. I often consult The Horizon Report, which is published every year and attempts to predict what will be the widespread adoptions of technologies in education and training. The annual report is published after extensive consultation with an international panel of technology and pedagogy experts. Yet even this is problematic, because the farther you move away from the present, the more opportunity there will be for unforeseen and unpredictable events to occur. And experts are not infallible. You really have to turn to science fiction and read something like Isaac Asimov's Foundation Trilogy to appreciate some of the complexity associated with this kind of uncertainty. What does the future hold? We can't be certain, because right now it's imaginary. The Horizon Report is usually quite accurate in the 1 year cycle. When we examine the predictions in the 2-3 year cycle, it becomes a little hit and miss, and by the time we attempt to predict what will be widely available on the 5 year horizon, it becomes even more tricky to maintain accuracy. The farther out we move in projected time from the familiarity of 'here and now' the less accurate we are in our predictions.

I was invited to speak at the Learning and Performance Institute's annual conference - Learning Live - at St Paul's in London recently, on the subject of Learning Futures, and afterwards talked to Martin Couzins, who recorded the brief video interview below (yes, I know it says 'learning tends'... but perhaps that's a fortuitous error):



Uncertainty principles by Steve Wheeler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at steve-wheeler.blogspot.com.

Inspired

The Plymouth University Vice Chancellor Enterprise Awards and Gala Dinner took place in a large marquee on Plymouth Hoe this weekend. It was a grand event, with chandeliers, live music and an excellent dinner, and as you can see, it was a black tie affair (you may never see me dressed so smartly again). My colleagues Peter Yeomans, Oliver Quinlan and I were delighted to be nominated for this year's inspirational teacher award, and we attended in the hope that we might be in with a chance. However, it was a very strong field, with 4 other shortlisted nominees, all doing remarkable work with their learners, and seeing incredible results. We were very proud then, when the envelope was opened, to hear our names being read out as the winners. Making our way from the very back of the hall, meandering around the tables and onto the stage to receive our award while the spotlights played upon us, it all felt a little like the Oscar ceremony, but we didn't get to make a speech, thankfully. We were doubly proud because not only had we been nominated for the award by our university colleagues, but also by our current and past students too. Here is an excerpt from the website nomination, with endorsements from a former student and a current student:

This team has been developing a collaborative, open and meaningful social media presence in e-learning and primary pedagogy. They are developing an innovative pedagogy by working to enable trainee teachers to develop their own sustainable network of professional development and the confidence to draw the best of their contacts into lectures and seminars, to enhance their own student experience. The team has inspired students to learn beyond their course, engaging with national experts and using their own personal blogs to make meaning of the learning taking place on the course. The result is a stream of nationally significant educators, willing to spend time helping our students and seeking to take our students on placements. Some students were able to showcase their dissertations as part of the international PELeCON conference. The goal of their work is to create connected students who are "hammers, not nails", with a credible and deep understanding of their own values and the purpose of education.

The team have put Plymouth on the national and international map amongst the social media in education fraternity. Regularly the team receive complements about the quality of the @plymuni experience which shared with thousands of twitter followers.

"During my time at university they inspired not only me, but many others on my course to think in a way that challenges the norm. Through their influence a generation of trainee teachers were pushed to consider the rights and needs of the children in their care above all other influences. They encouraged us all to be passionate about our work, to think creatively and to make changes to our world. For me personally they have long been a source of support, advice and inspiration. Since leaving the University they have supported me in my new career and their way of working is still a standard I hope to reach. In this way they have empowered me, and many others they work with to continue challenging ourselves to improve." - Alumni.

"They have encouraged me to do things that I never thought I could do. Firstly, I was asked to speak at an event in front of 200 professionals. I then had the opportunity to arrange a Teach Meet conference for like-minded professionals. They have opened my eyes to the world of teaching in a way that no other lecturers have been able to do. They motivate me to get involved with all aspects of University life and because of this, I am now involved in volunteer projects, arranging Teach Meets and I had the confidence to stand for secretary of the Plymouth Education Society, which I was successful with. I know that without the support and dedication that I have been given, I would still be working my way through University without taking part in all of these projects and events that really are life-changing for me." - Student.

That is why this award means so much to Peter, Oliver and I - it is recognition that we are in some small way contributing to inspiring a generation of new teachers who are, or who will soon be, let loose to teach our children, to pass on that inspiration - that zest for learning, and curiosity to ask the what if questions for the rest of their lives. Thanks to everyone who has sent us congratulatory messages. It means a lot.

Photo by Amy Parkin


Inspired by Steve Wheeler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at steve-wheeler.blogspot.com.

Learning by making

The transmission model of learning is still dominant in education. Whether you are in a primary or secondary school classroom, or in a lecture hall or laboratory in a university, you will almost always see the teacher or lecturer directing proceedings, often from the front, usually 'instructing' their students in some way. You may also witness other, underlying pedagogical models playing out, usually where students are asked to do some group work or find out for themselves through individual project work. Whilst these approaches to learning are often more effective for personalised and collaborative learning, they tend to be kept to a minimum in most cases, because teachers like to maintain some level of control over their students, and finite time and resources constrain them. So passive reception often becomes the dominant mode of learning in traditional environments.

Back in the early 1990s, when I was involved in nurse education, I introduced a project where students were given an entire day to create a 5 minute video on a subject directly related to their course. In groups of threes and fours, the student nurses were sent out to conceive their video, script and storyboard it, decide on roles, procure their props, scout out shooting locations, record their video, and then edit it. Then, during the final hour of the day, each group introduced, showed and discussed their 5 minute video. Many of my colleagues were sceptical about the value of this kind of approach to learning. They argued that it was a waste of time when the nurses could be studying their text books, writing their essays, or practicing how to give injections into oranges. I countered that the students were, in fact, engaged in a very high level of cognitive activity where they were engaged in learning by making. It wasn't until a few years later when I discovered the work of Seymour Papert (now one of my Facebook friends!), that I was able to build a theoretical framework around the nurses video project. In his theory of constructionism, Papert argued that we build mental representations of what we learn, and that the situated nature of where we learn influences and strengthens that representation. In other words, we learn by doing and building within relevant environments, and that authentic tasks can be very powerful in support of that situated learning.

At the time I showed my colleagues that the nursing students were learning numerous skills that they would later be able to transfer across into their professional practice. To successfully complete their video project they needed to be able to solve problems, create content, construct artefacts, take decisions and make critical judgements, work together as a team, divide their labour and select appropriate tasks, manage their time, think creatively, negotiate difficult situations, consider ethical issues, work with finite resources, successfully bring a task to completion and reflect on their practice. How many of these skills could be modelled and situated within a classroom in such a short period of time?  The very act of constructing something tangible allows students to test out hypotheses, learn from each other and solve problems as they progress. Abstract ideas and concepts become concrete and are situated in real life contexts. These are essential skills for 21st Century working. It is for these reasons that making things is a central part of all my courses, and whether it is a video, podcast, blog or any other digital artefact, students gain ownership, and invest their energies and their ingenuity into making and presenting it. In so doing they are constructing their own versions of knowledge and developing the skills they will later need outside in the world of work.

Photo by Ah Zut


Learning by making by Steve Wheeler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at steve-wheeler.blogspot.com.

The games we play

What is it about games that make them so popular, and such a powerful learning method? For a start, there are an impressive array of transferrable skills to be acquired, especially if the games played are designed effectively. Secondly, most people now have the capability to play games on the move, using smart phones, touch screen tablets and handheld consoles. Thirdly, many online games have very rich social dimensions, which lead gamers to extend their learning further through discussion, collaboration and competition. Many scholars have researched the effects of games on learning, but perhaps one of the most prolific and profound games theorists is James Paul Gee. Gee provides several principles that together constitute a games based learning theory. The first is the psychological moratorium principle, which could also be referred to a 'suspension of reality'. Gamers are free to take risks in spaces where 'real world' consequences are negated. In a first person shooter game for example, you can kill as many enemies as you wish, and you won't be prosecuted for murder. You can fall from the top of a building or endure a high speed car crash, but you won't suffer a scratch or a bruise.

There is also the committed learning principle, which describes how gamers have sustained engagement as extensions of their real world identities in relation to their virtual identity (or avatar). This often enables gamers to develop an emotional attachment for which they feel some sense of commitment, and this also makes the virtual world they inhabit more compelling. Lots of effort and practice invested in World of Warcraft or the Sims results from the gamer being committed (some might even say 'hooked') to the game.

Another principle is the identity principle, which relates closely to the committed learning principle above. Learning through games often involves manipulation of identity in such a way that the gamer has real choice over how they wish to represent themselves, particularly in social games. This can result in forms of role playing where the gamer can choose to be a hero, a villain, or something entirely different.

The self knowledge principle relates to virtual worlds (or games terrains) being constructed in such a way that gamers learn not only about that environment, but also about themselves and their current skills, knowledge and capabilities. Gamers can make mistakes and learn from them. Next time, they improve their performance and avoid the same errors. As Graham Brown-Martin remarked, gaming is powerful because there is constant assessment of performance (usually self assessment, but also from the community who are playing the game if it is a social game).

Perhaps one of the most powerful principles is the achievement principle, which is instrumental in bringing many gamers back time and time again to improve their scores, hone their skills and relive previous experiences within the game. There are intrinsic rewards within most games, which if designed cleverly, will provide a gradient of difficulty (levels and goals) including problems to solve and knowledge to gather, which gamers can achieve with incremental effort and commitment. It is clear that problem solving and critical thinking skills are essential skills for successful learning and working.

There are several other principles identified by Gee, but I believe the ones listed above provide a reasonably clear model that explains why games are so powerful, and why they should be considered as tools to support learning for the 21st Century. More on Gee's learning principles can be found at this website.

Photo by Steve Wheeler


The games we play by Steve Wheeler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at steve-wheeler.blogspot.com.

Touch and go

Since the introduction of the iPad and the subsequent parade of similar touch screen tablets, there has been much speculation about exactly what impact the devices might have on learning and teaching. A lot has been written about the potential of the devices, and much has been purely anecdotal. Clearly tablets are easy to use and have potential to revolutionise the way people access information. But what about formal education? I have contributed to the dialogue on this blog and there is much to discuss in relation to pedagogy, teacher roles, assessment and curriculum issues. There are also huge potential benefits in untethering learning - allowing students to roam while using the devices as mobile learning platforms. Recently a book was published with the title iPads in Schools, and several conference papers and articles are emerging which debate the place of touch tablets in formal education. Will they be a welcome addition to formal learning, or will they be a distraction? The intuitive design of touch screen tablets and their usability serve to fuel the hyperbole. But what impact are iPads really having on learning in formal education?

Until very recently, little empirical evidence had emerged to demonstrate clear learning benefits from tablets. The publication by NAACE (authored by Jan Webb) will add to our knowledge. Entitled 'The iPad as a Tool for Education' the report is one of the most comprehensive yet on the impact of tablets in schools. It is a case study conducted at Longfield Academy in Kent, one of the first schools in the UK to adopt a school wide roll out of iPads to all of its students. Results of the study were mainly positive, showing that iPads were instrumental in encouraging better collaboration and increasing the motivation for learning. The tablets were used to develop beyond school activities and for supporting homework, and the quality of student work and learning outcomes has improved. This will be the first of a range of studies that will emerge in the next year or two, as more school adopt one iPad per child strategies, and time is taken to realise tangible and measurable outcomes from embedding the tools into daily learning and teaching.

Image by Fotopedia


Touch and go by Steve Wheeler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at steve-wheeler.blogspot.com.

Taking the risk

I spent a very enjoyable day in North Yorkshire this week working with the teachers and students of Skipton Girls High School. I was invited to give a keynote presentation at the start of the school year and afterwards watched a showcase of all the students and staff have been doing with technology and learning. In my own presentation I challenged teachers to take risks by breaking down some of the silos that currently exist in education. I asked why we still use ICT suites, which send a message to the children that 'this is where we do computing'. We have the technology to do this now in the palm of our hands, so why do we continue to tether children to one specific space? The same applies to subject teaching. Why do we stick to one subject for each lesson, when in fact all subjects have links across the entire curriculum. Why do we insist on synchronized behaviour, where everything is dependent on the clock? Many of these practices, I argued, are vestiges of a long gone industrial era. They represent the factory model of education where children are 'batch processed' by age group rather than ability. Perpetuating standardised testing regimes is also a big mistake. What does it achieve apart from providing whole school data for league tables? How will standardised testing encourage children to think independently and creatively?

Today, I argued, we need to prepare children for flexible working and agile thinking, where their employment may well be highly mobile and location independent. They will need to acquire critical thinking and problem solving skills, and will need to be highly digitally literate. They will need to be creative and will need to know how to innovate. They will need to know how to self organise, and also work in distributed teams, where the other members of that team may be connected over great distance through technology. They will need to gain an appreciation that change is an opportunity rather than a threat, and that a lifetime of work may encompass a portfolio career of several different jobs, requiring different skill-sets. They will need to be lifelong learners. I warned that anything less will not prepare children for a future we cannot clearly describe, but may even disadvantage them.

I was gratified later on during the student showcases to see that Skipton Girls High School is clearly already adopting many of the innovative learning strategies that will prepare children for portfolio careers in an uncertain future. Skipton is beginning to break down the compartmentalisation between curriculum subjects. I saw several examples of how students are learning a combination of physics and music (analogue and digital sound engineering principles) and again physics coupled with biology (how sound waves are interpreted into impulses for hearing). SGHS is an Engineering specialist school, so the emphasis is clearly on problem solving, design and implementation of ideas. I asked one of the students why she thought it was important to have lessons where different subjects were linked. 'Because when we do that, we get a better understanding of what we are learning' she replied. I was also impressed by the co-construction projects the students were involved in. Co-construction involves group work, collaborative skills, decision making, negotiation, creative problem solving, diplomacy, design skills, and a whole host of other soft skills, all of which are essential in the modern workplace. The students used PowerPoint to create hyperlinks between their content, which they developed as a part of their course. Students creating the course content - now there's innovation. SGHS is a very impressive set up. The teachers and students are willing to take risks to make the necessary changes that will break schools out of the stranglehold the industrial era still exerts on contemporary education. Skipton and other schools are trailblazing the way ahead, where risk taking, creative thinking and new technologies are central components in that process. Let's hope that more schools do the same.

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Taking the risk by Steve Wheeler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at steve-wheeler.blogspot.com.

Learner analytics

As was identified in the 2011 NMC Horizon Report ( I served on the advisory board of the UK JISC version), it seems that learner analytics is going to be a big thing for education over the next four to five years. Expect to see it emerging into mainstream practice in a number of versions, specifically aligned to the personalised learning agenda. From the report comes an explanation of learner analytics:

Learner analytics loosely joins a variety of data gathering tools and analytic techniques to study student engagement, performance, and progress in practice, with the goal of what is learned to revise curricula, assessment and teaching in real time. Building on the kinds of information generated by Google Analytics and other similar tools, learner analytics aims to mobilize the power of data-mining tools in the service of learning, and embracing the complexity, diversity and abundance of information that dynamic learning environments can generate.

Below is a very useful infographic developed by the Australian Open Colleges organisation. I think it explains just about everything you will need to know about learning analytics:

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Learner analytics by Steve Wheeler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at steve-wheeler.blogspot.com.

Promoting change in schools

In yesterday's blogpost I discussed the problems of change management in schools and suggested that the biggest barrier to the successful adoption of new technologies lies in the minds of teachers. The attitudes of  teachers toward new technologies for example, are shaped by their perceptions of the usefulness of these technologies in day to day practice. In 2005 I edited a book entitled 'Transforming Primary ICT' (Wheeler, 2005) in which I authored a chapter on change management. Here is an extract, much of which, I believe, still holds true today:

The arrival of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the primary classroom has produced some astounding outcomes. For many, teaching and learning has been transformed, with new methods and practices often emerging as a direct result of the use of computers. The internet has unleashed countless new resources and caused teachers to rethink what teaching and learning are all about. Electronic records and databases enable the classroom practitioner to access a wealth of useful information that was previously out of reach. Tedious and mundane jobs can be automated, liberating teachers to concentrate on the more creative aspects of their professional practice. ICT is quite simply transforming primary education, and it is doing so at many levels.

Teachers have met the rapid uptake of computers in schools with both positive and negative responses. From a positive perspective, ICT brings a number of clear advantages for the teacher and the learner, which encompass new resources, new ways of teaching and new ways of learning. The internet, for example, can provide children with access to a vast repository of information, learning resources and experiences. The use of interactive whiteboards can enhance lessons by providing teachers with a range of new delivery methods and teaching resources. Use of e-mail can cut down response time from days to minutes, with teachers connecting to each other, school governors, Local Education Authorities, suppliers, specialist teachers and advisors, and of course, pupils and their parents. In short, the introduction of ICT has the potential to radically alter the face of teaching and learning in schools.

Less positively, ICT has been instrumental in alienating many teaching staff, causing them to question their role as educators, and engendering a great seal of disquiet and anxiety for the future. With any change comes uncertainty and, in the case of the computer, this change has been all pervasive. It is no wonder that some teachers feel threatened by technology. (pp 7-8).

Seven years on from writing this piece, I am seeing schools adopting technologies and embedding them within the curriculum. Things are improving, but there are still many schools who lag behind, either due to lack of vision or leadership, lack of resources, or a fear of the implications of technology. The latter may be one of the most trenchant barriers to the adoption of new technology in schools. In my next post, I plan to explore 'technophobia' and how it impacts of the adoption of new technologies in education.

References
Wheeler, S. (Ed.) Transforming Primary ICT. Exeter: Learning Matters.

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Promoting change in schools by Steve Wheeler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at steve-wheeler.blogspot.com.