Talkin' 'bout my cerebration.

I have successfully pitched the project concept to my immediate supervisor, who reported to the principal and I have their support for this (relatively) radical project. The project is based on my understanding of Transformative Learning, as proposed originally by Mezirow and built on concepts such as Connectivism and 21C learning skills.  Why do I term it relatively radical – quite simply nothing like this has been implemented at my school previously therefore staff and students have not experienced this approach to learning.  I’ve blogged my thinking that has lead to this project before – A potential project; Constructing purposeful learning spaces; Planning my learning environments for 2010; and Learning 2010 – an update.

So my thinking has formalised into a project proposal, that in a rough form was pitched to my supervising Deputy Principal. I pitched the idea using one slide and a lot of talk.  I’ll need to refine that when I pitch to staff.  The slide used is embedded below.

As you can see, there are three learning foci; content learning, conceptual / contextual learning, and reflective learning. It is the interaction of these three learning foci that will determine the success of this project for students and parents.  I believe it is the support and professional development of teachers that will determine the success for teachers.  These two (2) vital components need to be combined and considered at the forefront of the project for success to be achieved.  A lot of work, but exciting times.

The final question that will form the framing of the action learning project is yet to be finalised, however the one I am proposing when pitching the project to my staff on Tuesday is included in the project pitch here.  Details of the project are still forming in my head (and my evernote), however the teachers who decide to be involved need to be included in the final development of the project plan.  This in itself will be an exciting process as I encourage my staff to unlearn then re-learn.  I intend to post more here as the project develops.

The existing infrastructure that enables this project includes blocking the 2 classes onto the one timetable line – which means they are both in PE at the same time.  This ensures the two teachers teach the cohort instead of singular teachers teaching their classes.  The National Secondary Schools Computer Fund ensures I can have 30 laptops in my classroom, and convert 5 LAN points to wireless access points.  I’ve been given permission to research and purchase (partially funded through the facilities budget) alternative furniture that will align with the goals of the project.  The HPE department already owns a large number of devices that can be utilised.

Fingers crossed it will be well received.  It is significantly different to anything they have considered previously.

It is that time of year when many teachers are responsible for the development of a pre-service teacher (university student) who is inevitably in the final practicum of their degree.  Whilst some teachers avoid working with per-service teachers, and some of my students openly disagree with having to learn from a pre-service teacher, I find this responsibility one of the most important aspects of my role.  There are a number of reasons for this.  First and foremost, I seriously consider myself a significant influence on the development of a few pre-service teachers.  I want students to learn, enjoy learning and grow from learning.  The pre-service teacher is also a learner.

Secondly, my particular subject area is one marginalised by the push for a national curriculum.  Health and Physical Education has always been seen as non-compulsory and a poorer cousin of the big three (English, Maths, Science).  Without a guernsey on the national curriculum, the status and inclusion of HPE is under threat in many schools.  By nurturing teachers in my subject area I can help that little bit by ensuring HPE trained teachers are always part of the teaching workforce.  They will advocate for HPE in their schools and continue to promote the benefits of physically active learning.

However, the most significant reason for wanting to incorporate a pre-service teacher into my learning environments is that I need my students to learn how to learn from others.  I pride myself in the relationships and rapport I have with my students.  I take pride in the learning the demonstrate from learning activities within my learning environments.  But I also realise I will not always be there for them.  They need to learn from others, and learn how to manage their own learning.

A colleague posted recently on her blog, Making Connections: Proud moments about nervousness in taking a step back.  She has regularly tweeted about this nervousness.  To me this is great.  It signals here is a teacher who is concerned about the learning of her students.  Here is a teacher who is focused on her students and the engagement she has managed to engender in a subject area not normally embraced by today’s students.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with feeling nervous about drawing back.  Especially when you consider the class she is speaking about is year 11.

Yet I pose these questions to her, and others who are hesitant when it comes to “handing over control” to a developing teacher;

1. Is the learning you are proud of existent due to you?
2. Could the students (and do they) demonstrate the same learning in other classes?
3. Are you establishing yourself or the students as the dependent factor in this learning equation?

If you answer these thinking that the students are the central reason behind the learning, then it should not matter who is teaching.  If you really establish the student as the dependent factor, they will demonstrate learning despite the teacher or the learning context.  To me this was the central theme, and most exciting area of personal development, of the Digital Pedagogy License Advanced when I undertook the course last year.  It is my interpretation of the concept of transformative learning.  I see the benefits daily.  Learning processes nurtured in my learning environments transferred across contexts.  Other teachers talking to me about what little Johnny does in their class that they said I taught them (students’ words).  The learner becomes the dependent factor.

So I want my pre-service teachers to be the dependent factor in their personal learning equations, and my students will learn reagrdless of who “delivers the content.”

I have challenged my pre-service teacher in this unit we are currently doing.  There is not a lot of “content” that the students need to know.  However they must be able to form an educated opinion and validate that opinion through evidence and discussion.  I have challenged my pre-serice teacher to not deliver content.  Any content she requires them to consume or pay attention to can be delivered to the students by students, guest speakers or research.  I have told her she is not allowed to provide them information about the topic.

This has caused her some stress, noe the least because it is completely different to anything she has been taught in her university study.  However, only 2 weeks in she can see the benefits.  She realises when she walks into class she is going to engage in conversations with the students, not content delivery.  If you relate this to Bloom’s Taxonomy of the cognitive domain then foundation thinking (knowledge, understanding, application) is completed by students under their own management.  We as teachers then concentrate on developing the higher order abilities (analysis, evaluation, synthesis / creation) when we have direct contact with them.  How she has managed this is impressive.  Essentially the class is split in two.  One half is provided access to the computers to manage their own learning, the other half is taken outside where they discuss a topic in a community of inquiry.  At the halfway mark they switch.

So in reality, we have reduced our dependence on the learning equation.  And what we are witnessing is impressive.  Students learning from each other.  Students reaching out into the world in search of relevant knowledge.  Students teaching us also.

Does this reduce the importance of the teacher?  No, in fact I think we become more important as we guide students along a path of discovery and encourage them to learn from each other.  We are still responsible for the measurable product of learning (which is a debate for another time) and the relationships within the learnign environment.  I think this approach requires more work outside of traditional class time, and significantly increases the maount of time in conversation with students.  But it is worthwhile, and a system I am happy to dwell in.

So should my colleague be nervous about “letting go?”  Definitely.  But please don’t let that stop you, it is important for the development of both the students and the pre-service teacher.

My two previous posts have referred to a professional development session which I was fortunate enough to be invited to, discussing a framework for eLearning.  At this professional development conference I had the opportunity to experience productive and collaborative collation of notes and resources with @jnxyz, @gayleenjackson, @checkingboxes, @hoyshane and a number of other conference participants, and demonstrate the power of this to other conference attendees.  For me it was exciting to participate, and ultimately rewarding when I reflect back on the portfolio of information, links and resources we have developed.

Initially a conference tag needed to be set, and this can be seen in my previous posts.   I have invested more of my time into consistently tagging my information across various platforms recently, and realise the convenience of setting and using such a tag.  When we explained the tag to the group, my perception was that many did not understand what I was talking about.  If you do not,search in google for #WTDW and you will see the benefits of a common tag for an event. @gayleenjackson set the tag, and we were away.

The collaboration consisted of tagged tweets in Twitter, public notes in Evernote, bookmarks in Delicious, a conference Ning and an etherpad.  These allowed us to post links to resources, import RSS feeds and sort information for our liking.  Through this whole process I see two significant benefits;

1. All the information is stored in the cloud, and is therefore accessible to anyone.
2. Collaborative memory is more extensive than individual memory.

My brain has been running since thinking how can I incorporate this in my teaching.  Currently I use tags, and searches of tags, to provide feeds of information from my work to students.  I could definitely use public evernotes to proide links to my notes.  Currently I export Zotero notebooks to students who use Zotero.  The same could be done for students using evernote.  We do collaboratively research and store this in a wiki within BlackBoard, but this is generally typed, copied or links.  I could expand this by educating students on RSS feeds and tags.  However one main difference remains.  In this collaborative experience, we each contributed how we were comfortable and then shared with each other.  Some conference members were only comfortable sharing within the Ning blogs.  What is important is the sharing, the collaboration.  The location is simply a function of familiarity and choice.  The colleagues I worked with on this day are more comfortable with the tools mentioned, and this is where I regularly interact with them.  My students however collaborate in entirely different forums and environments.  It is unreasonable for me to expect them to move to my way of thinking (as I have with Zotero) without similar adaptation in reversed roles.  I should be learning about their environments more concentratedly, and exploring options to utilise that for productive communication, collaboration and learning.

The power of networked learning outperforms that of any individual.  It was great to experience real collaboration (common goal and unrestricted sharing) and I’ve no doubtmy learning has benefitted.

The TPACK framework has inspired me to work within my own school to build and implement an eLearning framework – something which has been sadly lacking.  I’m excited to work with @skhill_03, a senior English teacher who is our nominated Digital Pedagogy Leader (a regional program conducted by @djone91) and the Deputy Principals responsible for IT and Pedagogy.  We will base the framework on Bloom’s Taxonomy of the Cognitive Domain as it is already instilled as a framework for our academic excellence program.  We intend to develop a community approach to sharing productive digital pedagogy which ties in with the staff review and performance plans that will be implemented later this semester.  As this project progresses I will undoubtedly report on it here.

Welcome to the first in a series of posts describing my personal learning processes. In this post I will deal with the easiest yet most underutilized way to learn (in my opinion), the help menu.

Every software program I have ever used has this great learning tool, generally located at the right of the menu options. The help menu is purposely designed to answer most questions regarding use of the software. Logically, it is in the software developers best interests to support people using their programs. Granted some help menus are not interactive (ie. You can’t ask it a question) but it will still provide you the information you require. Anything I’ve ever needed to know about MS Programs, I’ve learnt from the help menu.

What amazes me is how many people don’t think of this approach when they need to learn something. I’ve often answered a request for assistance by asking if they have accessed the help menu, then taking them through the process to teach them that the help menu can teach effectively.

When software help menus can’t help (pun intended), I turn to Google. You could choose any search engine

In a series of posts I am going to respond to a question I am commonly asked – How do you know all this? Many people beginning their journeys are intimidated by the sheer amount of knowledge that exists, and a never ending self comparison to those more knowledgeable. I learn through a range of media, and I’ll dedicate a post to each of these.

1. Help + Google
2. Listening
3. Reading
4. Connecting
5. Diigo
6. User forums
7. Playing

The most important message I can give is to not worry about not knowing. All of us need help throughout our journeys, and if you never learn you’ll never know.

So I encourage you to read on, stay tuned for the next few posts, and learn as much as you can any way you can.

I’ve blogged previously about my eLearning spaces, and changes I’ve needed to make to ensure I align with my organisation’s policies and expectations. As a leader within my particular school, I’m required to adapt again in order to protect my colleagues as they begin their journeys with digital pedagogy.

There are specific secure spaces my organisation has built and paid for. It is not permitted to store student work, names or other personal information outside of these spaces. As an employee, any materials I produce specifically for my role as an educator are technically owned by my organisation, and therefore restricted by copyright. Ultimately this means I shouldn’t share them outside of my organisation and it’s secure spaces without the permission of my employer.

What does this mean? Common sharing sites are not permitted. No slideshare, no YouTube, no Ning. This is something I don’t think a lot of my colleagues are aware of. Due to this, I believe it is important I audit my eLearning spaces to ensure materials produced by myself or my students are housed only within the secure spaces.

Will this affect my practice? Yes, but it is not something that will inhibit my pedagogy. I will need to work a little harder to ensure that functionality and usability is maintained. I am following with interest another teacher’s use of allocated personal webspace, he’s doing interesting things with wordpress.

All this has lead me to a thought. I believe my students also have access to personal webspace within the organisation. Here is a potentially beneficial eLearning space I have not yet utilised. Definitely worth exploring.

Time to drag out the HTML/XML coding texts, and maybe it’s time to roll up the sleeves and learn some SQL. Now if only I could find that extra few hours in a day.

I’ve referred to my employing organisations framework and infrastructure in this blog before.  As I prepare for a meeting tomorrow to review this framework I am reminded of the even bigger picture.

There are a lot of groups and organisations who research and prepare standards and guidelines for pedagogy and ICTs.  In an age where performance based pay for teachers is often discussed, standards seem to become ever so important.  Indeed, certifications and qualifications are base on standards.  As my journey with digital pedagogy continues I have become increasingly aware of the standards present and relevant to my work within my organisation.

The ISTE  National Educational Technology Standards (NETS•T)  and Performance Indicators for Teachers, and the UNESCO ICT competency standards for teachers are two of the global sets of standards that are relevant, particularly in an era where “common curriculum” seems to be the desire of those wanting national curriculum standards.  I particularly like the reading of the ISTE standards.

The first standard is simply “Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity.”  I like how this is stated before any use or exploration of digital tools and methods.  After all, isn’t this our core business, student learning?  Whether we do this with digital pedagogy or not is irrelevant in the long run.  All that really matters is have we inspired learning.

If during this inspiration we provide opportunity for learners to develop skills and competencies with digital tools, then that is a bonus.  I often query teachers who believe it is the digital tools that inspire, by asking them to determine if the learners are inspired or entertained.  It is the person who inspires, which for me is fundamentally why human contact is the most important ingredient in any learning environment.  The human contact does not need to be face to face, as demonstrated by the vast number of teachers who consider Twitter a significant component of their learning environment.  There is certainly human contact there.

We are a lucky group of people that have significant impact on the lives, development and emotions of numerous people every year.  Why would you do any other job?

Rodd Lucier of The Clever Sheep recently posted a list of 15 things he would like to teach others.  His list contains a range of technologies he believes can enhance the teaching and learning process.  Nic Mobbs of Making Connections posted a response, adding a shorter list which contained a definite focus on helping other teachers to harness the power of ICTs for learning.

I’d like to take the liberty of a slightly alternate viewpoint, and list 15 things I would like others to learn.

1. The power of networking.
2. Effective research skills for the Internet.
3. There is more than one teacher.
4. A teacher need not be a person.
5. Failure is part of learning.
6. There is always a way.
7. There is always a legally free option.
8. Backup.
9. Collaboration.
10. Communication.
11. Creation.
12. Copyright – respect the work of others.
13. Reflect, and share the reflection.
14. Personal Learning Environments / Networks
15. You can teach me too.

I specifically say I want others to learn, as I believe I do not need to be the one to teach them.  By others, I’m referring to anybody – not just teachers.  Any of the items on my list I and many others have learnt through personal learning environments, either online, offline or face to face.  I believe the process of learning a new skill or understanding is powerful, and a desire for learning should be harnessed at any age.  Can I teach them this?  Certainly, but should that be the only way they gain the learning? Definitely not.

I’ve recently re-discovered the beauty of working with concept maps.  This was brought on through some necessity in aiding students to understand complex health relationships.  It is through working with complex health relationships that students can progress from achieving a “C” to an “A” in my subject – Health Education.  I had toyed with concept maps a few years back, using Inspiration on the school network, but did not engage with them in a focussed manner.

At the “My Journey with Digital Pedagogy” presentation mentioned in a previous post, I wanted to represent the expanse of what I consider my Personal Learning Network / Personal Learning Environment.  The most effective way was to build a concept map.  Whilst building this map I began to think of the other benefits of using this in my teaching.  The ability to represent complex relationships provides students with another method of understanding the content, and a tangible resource to refer to when conducting analysis and evaluation.

The quest then began to locate accessible and user friendly software.  There is an abundance of concept mapping software available, from cloud software to local install and even applications for the iPhone / iPod Touch.  For me, the choice is CMaps.  The reasons;

1) local install to server allows collaborative work on concept maps.
2) local install to server allows discussion lists to be attached to concepts.
3) attachments can be embedded on the concept maps
4) concept maps can be programmed as a presentation.

Integration of concept maps into my teaching has provided students who learn visually an insight into my thinking.  I’ve found that the level of understanding of the learning has both deepened and broadened using concept maps.

I recently listened to an Educause podcast from their 2008 annual conference.  The presentation was by Dr. V.S. Ramachandran who is the Professor and Director of the Centre for Brain and Cognition
at the University of California.  This speech offered an insight into
brain function using what we consider abnormal function as the stimulus.

In one section of his speech, Dr. Ramachandran speaks of patients who
experience a phenomenon called synesthesia.  This is a condition where
there is a cross linking of the senses.  I encourage you to download
this podcast and listen.  What had made this significant for me,
follows on from my blogpost about Amanda Baggs.  In this post I
mentioned an old friend who has inspired my practice.  This speech on
synethesia reaffirmed the concept that not everyone thinks the same
way.  But even more significant, is that not everyone interprets the
same stimulus the same way.

If I apply this to my classes, I know there are a variety of thinking strategies and learning behaviours
existent.  I am aware of a variety of teaching strategies I employ to
ensure I am providing a productive learning experiences to as many
students as possible.  Dr. Ramachandran’s speech however, pointed out
to me that the specific stimulus can be interpreted many ways.  How
often has this resulted in a misunderstanding of what I required in an
assessment task?  How often has this resulted in a misunderstanding in
regards to behaviour?  How often have I confused my students and others?

It would be ridiculous to expect that I could tap into the brains of each
and every person I interact with in order to understand the best way to
present information to them.  Yet this speech has pointed out to me
that when I deal with learning in groups, the stimulus (learning)
material may be interpreted in different ways.  This has me thinking
about my interactions in class and noticing (more) the body language
and hearing (more) the verbal language of my students as I attempt to
interpret understanding as I intend it.