ETRU Hub

You can tell I’m on holiday due to the number of blog posts written and today’s is something I have been turning over for a while. I intend to write, by the end of the Easter break, a discussion document on hand-held learning for the school. What has occupied my thoughts over the last week or so is not the selection of devices or the examples of use but the principles behind it. For me, this is the most important feature of any approach to e-learning, as it sets out the framework for the use of the technology. This is a slight departure from some of the literature and on educational technology; ‘engagement’, ‘retention’, ‘relevancy’ and ‘preparation for employment’ are usually included as the drivers for use. In the UK this seems an especially problematic as hardware and learning is often combined into the category ‘ICT’ and the promised land of increased achievement does not seem to match the spending. This conflation, and the subsequent lack of clarity, creates an environment where people can easily dismiss technology as a useful tool for educators. This is where John Hattie’s work provides an interesting read. His book, ‘Visible Learning’, a synthesis of 800 educational research studies over the last 15 years, points to a number of research based elements that seem to improve student achievement. Here are just three examples:

1.The ability for students to set their own targets on pieces of work/term grades
2.Small group learning
3.Feedback

He suggests that if we are to become excellent educators, we should heed the ‘signposts’ his research identifies (which, if national figures are taken into account, we do not do). I find his argument persuasive because as a teacher, I want to do the best for my students and his work clearly shows some things work very well in raising performance. I also think the above would provide a clear steer on what the outcomes of the principles should look like, but not limit the ways they could be achieved. Within this ‘space’ of choice, hand-held devices would become another tool but with some very distinctive possibilities in terms of where the learning can take place and when.

For example, students could record their provisional target grades (by submitting an audio file or by filling in a simple text box) and this is stored in a management information system/learning platform/VLE. They and the teacher could refer to the provisional target before attempting the work and then deciding whether the target has been met before submitting (and after). The potential for substantive feedback in this example is obvious and the technology, rather than being the driving force, acts as the vehicle for learning. On a school visit, the use of an application like Scvngr to check comprehension (and giving feedback with hints) on an individual or group level would also facilitate learning in line with the principles.

In both of the examples, mobile devices, with their camera/video recorder features, GPS capability, data connections and rich applications create the possibility to be more thorough in recording and challenging learning beyond the four walls of the classroom than with paper. Notice that they are not the driving force – it is the (research driven) learning that is most visible.

The above is just my first attempt at working through some of the principles behind hand-held learning and I’m sure, after reading Clayton Christensen’s ‘Disrupting Class’, my thinking will be refined. Comments, as usual, are most welcome.

Image: sherrattsam@Flickr

I have been intrigued by the tweets that have been tagged #newleaders over the last week or so. Being a relatively new ‘leader’ myself, I hoped that just like #movemeon, there might be some practical tips that I could use. However, as I began to read the contributions I had a growing sense of unease that many of the contributions seemed to be based on wishlists or ideals of leadership.  I also began to wonder whether the immediacy and character limit of Twitter had caused a complete separation of ideas and context (as I have learned, it is ALL about the context). The result of this personal unease forced me to reflect on my own (short) journey and I’m happy to share what I have learned so far, not as a corrective, but as a supplement to the many ‘crowd sourced’ ideas (and situated with lots of context).

1. Being a new leader means that you are going to make mistakes – lots of them. I made some whoppers at the start (they have slightly reduced on the whopperage scale) and I had to learn to analyse and deal with the disappointment quickly otherwise my ability to influence would never develop. There was once incident in particular that I handled in the wrong way and I felt devastated, personally and professionally, with the consequences. I had to evaluate the situation and rectify it as quickly as possible despite the fact that I was deeply hurt; it also taught me to never put myself in such a situation again. I would like to say that I came to this realisation myself, but I can’t and this leads me neatly to the second thing I learned this year…

2.Get a fantastic mentor. I read the books. I watched the videos. I listened to the audiobooks and I read the webpages. I was methodical with my research. However, it did not prepare me for the changes and challenges I faced when I started. I began to think that the above exists to fill the gap of access to good leadership because they really are a poor substitute for seeing the real thing in action, warts and all. The Headmaster has been brilliant for my development but the Deputy Headmaster has been the Dr Cox to my JD (or should that be Turk?) at my present school. He is a great person to learn from; he has vast experience and is rather good at his job. He is also (and this is the really important thing) happy to fulfil the coaching role in terms of time and effort and as a result he has forced me to look at issues from angles I never would have thought about. He also picks me up and dusts me down when things are not going well (see the first point). This is not to say that he is superhuman; he makes mistakes and is willing to share them, which is all the more important for my development. He leaves for a headship in September and if a Deputy Headmaster position came up at his school, I would not hesitate to apply!

3.Study and listen to your colleagues. I don’t mean just taking advice (or dismissing it if it is not what you would like to hear). I mean really listening to their hopes, dreams and fears because by doing this you can get the necessary information that you need to make a decision. What I have started to learn is that you can pick it up in a very short conversation once you know the person you are speaking to. This skill also helps in judging the mood of meetings, shaping agendas and saying the right things to people because you know them.

4. Don’t take yourself too seriously and learn to laugh at the situation. I can recall one instance where I received an email that appeared to me to be a pure ‘blocking’ tactic. I felt really annoyed at the time. Could they not see they were stopping my grand plan to improve the school? My own self-importance made me laugh and I told myself that it could be resolved with a conversation. I was able to speak to the person comfortably when I next saw them again and realised that their comment was a way of building rapport (the ‘grand plan’ was also implemented too).

In my context, these were important lessons to be learned and maybe that is what #newleaders should be all about – people sharing their experiences within a meaningful context. Without it, comments of leadership may appear banal and devoid of substance. I know this was not the intention of Stuart and Tom who set it up, hence I’ve said that this should be seen as a supplement, not a corrective. After all, as the Scrubs theme goes, ‘I’m no Superman’.

Image: Dunechaser @ Flickr