Educating the Dragon

How do students see an ideal school? – one that will get them ready for the future? Whatr is their vision of a great school or classroom?

One where the children play together, the teachers do other kinds of things together. I wish that there was a spa in the classroom for the teachers to relax in. The playground is open to our classroom:- very classroom gets their own playground. The whole school has lunch before morning tea. We have a skate bowl at school. Middle syndicate has fun playing sports. You have to go to a different class to do different stuff. Have our own disco. We can ride our bikes. Lunch orders for lunch AND play. A big pool for everyone to swim in. Getting free lunch. Heaps of computers in our classrooms- to find stuff out. Every class to have an IWB to play games on. I think we should have a basketball stadium and our own Xbox at your place. We should have fizzes and lollies at school.

-It appears to me that my students are wanting ’school’ to prepare them for a job at Googleplex! And why not?

What can the school do to help you get ready for the future?

Help us with our learning: maths, spelling and reading. Help us to get to University. Insist on no junk food. To help us choose what we want to do in the future. Help me save money for the future.

 -Wish the school would help me save too! Isn’t it interesting that ‘insisting on no junk food’ is up there with ‘get to University.

-Perhaps the answers to these questions reveal a lot more about my school and my teaching style than it does about the students par se.

Derek’s blog posted ‘A digital divide in education’  

Throughout our history corporations have organised themselves according to strict hierarchical lines of authority… While hierarchies are not vanishing, profound changes in the nature of technology, demographics, and the global economy are giving rise to powerful new models of production based on community, collaboration, and self-organisation, rather than on hierarchy and control. 

But…people like order, people like hierarchy. It gives them a sense that someone is in charge. Someone has the plan. There is a plan. With that knowledge comes a sense that there are rules and boundaries. Without that sense of order there is uncertainty and in there lies the challenge.  

Just as an aside, my principal and AP went off today on a course all about the new curriculum… I wanted to go… I want to be part of that initial conversation. Perhaps its only for APs and DP and Principals. So then, that just goes to show our education system has some way to go to flatten out. Derek mentions the educational Leader’s
Summit. Who are the educational leaders in this day and generation? Is that a Principals only thing? How do I get classed as an Educational Leader? How do you?  

I agree that those ‘in charge’ need to get it more than they do. They can’t just get with it 2^nd or 3^rd hand. One of the problems though with technology is that much of it is down to time and motivation. Those of you reading this are with-it. By the very fact that you are online reading a blog post, following the links etc, etc. Perhaps there IS too much of a clique in our ‘online community’. Them out there, and us in here.  

I really see the issue as being walking before we can run. Education as a whole in
New Zealand has yet to get ‘online’. Attendance at Ulearn and other conferences shows there are many individuals ready to make the leap into the ‘21^st century learner realm’, but perhaps up-skilling teachers by way of wikis and blogs has some mileage. Let’s face it we’re so busy if we aren’t MADE TO use these tools then the majority of us will not. It is only through their use can we be up-skilled to meet the challenge of educating our students for the 21^st century. 

So what are the ideas and strategies involved to enable those ‘off-line’ to be encouraged to come over to our side of the conversation…. Or at least join the conversation…. At the VERY least know there is a conversation out there?  

The key question:

Are internet communication tools (skype + Talk&Write) is potentially an effective ICT tool to use when extending students oral language and writing?

Group A

 

This group were engaged in the use of skype and talk&write technology to communicate with a mentor ( who were 3 years older than themselves)

Group B

 

This group of students worked with a ‘talking buddy’ in class to edit their writing.

There was no teacher content input for either group at this part of the writing programme. The teacher demonstrated the original writing piece as the students prepared their first draft.

At the end of the trial ‘hardcopies’ were compared and recorded conversations were reviewed.

Background

In his book ‘Computers as Mindtools’ Jonassen augues that tools such as Skype and Talk and write can support networked learning ciommunities with other students, mentors, experts or others. Which may enhance their learning. He talks about the social dynamic not as a distraction to learning but as being critical to the learning process.

Through opportunities presented by skype and its plug-in students are exposed to a greater diversity of experience and persepectives.

Conversation over the internet has the same potential for ‘chatting’ and ‘off-task’ behaviour as any regular classroom context. Acknowledging that there is value in ‘open-conversation’ with fellow students in different geographical locations there still needs ot be focused, purposeful learning.

Talk&Write offers students that. The ‘whiteboard’ feature acts as ‘the object in shared workspace’ which Jonessen states as an essential for increasing the length of productive ‘on-task’ behaviour. This whiteboard “…represents, in itself, the fruits of their intellectual labour.” (p.239)

Some observations

• It was difficult to monitor those online.

• The motivation of the group using the technology was visibly higher than Group B.

• The written record of Group A showed a wider use of vocabluary and greater use of complex sentences than those in Group B.

• Listening to recordings of students working indicated that Group A were enagaged in ‘ontask’ behaviour for longer than Group B.

• The technology had a number of issues; sound cutting in and out, skype dropping of on several occasions and the video ’stalling’

Some questions

Though it would be not accurate to say that nothing was learned, it is not possible to draw any confident conclusions.

So:

1. What is needed to move a piece of classroom research, such as the one described above, from informal to formal?

2. How formal does research need to be before it is of use?

3. How do we define ‘of use’?

4. How could this research be conducted with more rigour?

5. What is the place of informal research, such as this, in the classroom?

Reference

Jonassen, D. (2000). What are mindtools? Computers as mindtools for school. Engaging critical thinking (2^nd ed.). (pp. 3-20).
Columbus, Ohio, Merrill.

Some key questions to review for the ERO visit:

How well can staff articulate the assessment/ literacy/ numeracy process in the school?

Is there evidence of teacher reflection?

Students on task- actively engaged- highly motivated- behaviour?

Is planning linked to the curriculum statementsand schoolwide expectations?

Is planning also linked to national achievement objectives?

Are students able to articulate learning intentions?

Is all work marked and well presented?

Are written comments in books linked to the learning intentions?

Do students set their own success criteria and self assess?

Do students support and respect each others learning?

What is the impact of reading interventions at our school?

How are Maori and Pacific student achievement being analysed and collated?

How does this translate into classroom interventions?

Is achievement information for gifted and tallented students being analysed and how is it used to develop future learning programmes?

This is so cool. You can do it with any word!

Check out Spell with Flickr