Late last year I read with interest a post by Dorothy Burt titled eTools – As Basic as Breathing. This post described the the expectations of what new teachers at Pt England need to know:

But to function effortlessly in the 2010 environment we WILL presume the following:

All our teachers are able to:

• check an email account daily and manage it efficiently
• use a computer or laptop and trouble shoot basic functions ie on/off, connect to printer, connection to internet
• use the internet to search, find information and to communicate
• particpate in online environments eg blogs or forums or Nings or Trademe or Facebook etc
• manage music files in software eg in iTunes
• manage photo files using software
• download photos from a camera
• use a word processing document efficiently
• store and retrieve data from a hard drive eg your computer
• access Google Docs
• edit a short video clip using simple software

Dorothy continues on with of a list of skills teachers would need to learn, with support, as quickly as possible. Included here are such things as using presentation software, administering a blog, using Google Apps… the list continues.

I would encourage you to read this post and apply it to your own situation in your school. What would your non negotiable elearning requirements be?

Soon after reading Dorothy’s post I read this one from Kim Cofino titled Making the Implicit Explicit. Kim (who is soon to begin a new position at Yokohama International School where I coincidentally used to work), describes skills that are often taken for granted but are incredibly important, yet as she mentions often unidentifiable:

knowing to hold your mouse over an icon or a link to see what it does.

understanding that the menus for any program are at the top of the screen, that they are usually very similar, and generally what you find within them (for example: “view” usually means how you see things on the screen and that menu is found in almost every program).

recognizing when something is lit up (or underlined) on a website, you can click on it.

knowing that the cursor changes when held over different parts of the screen and what that means (the little arrow turning into a hand over a weblink for example, or being able to stretch out a picture when it turns into the double-sided arrow).

using tab to move from cell to cell or box to box on forms or websites.

being able to recognize drop-down menus – and that they hold additional features.

understanding that right clicking on things brings up more options.

We don’t need a list of skills for each application, or checklist that ensures we have taught how to change the font in Word or add a transition in Powerpoint. What we need to be doing is to reinforce these elearning operational concepts. In other words, arm teachers and students with a transferable skill set that enables them to better navigate their way online and in applications to solve problems and perform tasks independently. I still have conversations with teachers who want checklist of what skills students should know at the end of a particular school year. I have always been opposed to a prescribed list of skills that end up dictating what is taught to students rather than the learning driving the use of the technology. I remember buying a computing skills checklist back in early 2000, developed by another school in NZ. I came across it just the other day, unused, but such an interesting read!

Jill Hammonds, one of my colleagues at CORE, often discusses the need to do aware with a lot of the how-to workshops that are often prevalent in ICT professional development. These instead are replaced with 2 or 3 sessions that teach the operational concepts/skills required in order for teachers and students to successfully explore, problem solve and teach themselves. It makes sense really and as Kim mentions in her initial list, menus in screens are very similar in all common software packages.

Having an hour long PD session on learning how to use an application or online tool is an overkill. I would be the first to admit that I have done this myself many times. Instead, giving taster sessions to teachers on various etools, showing them what can be possible, combined with the focused teaching of computer operational concepts and skills that are transferable across applications and platforms, is time better spent. Quality time can then be spent on the pedagogy required to integrate these tools effectively into teaching and learning.

For all those little tricky bits and time saving short cuts in applications, nothing beats the the notion of just-in-time learning and ongoing networking of ideas between the staff and in their PLNs.

The follwoing flowchart cartoon, embedded into Kim’s post, reinforces this notion beautifully.

Thanks Dorothy and Kim for both of your respective posts. The combination of the two will initiate many good discussion amongst the principals and facilitators I work with.

Checklist photo courtesy squeaky482 on flickr.

]]> http://nickrate.com/2010/02/03/the-non-negotiables/feed/ 3 http://nickrate.com/2010/01/11/summer-reading/ http://nickrate.com/2010/01/11/summer-reading/#comments Mon, 11 Jan 2010 09:15:08 +0000 Nick http://nickrate.com/?p=623

If you are anything like me you have a folder on your laptop containing numerous readings, research reports and other publications just waiting for you to find the time to read them.

Here are some of the current contents of that folder, some summer reading for you before the new school year starts again.

eLearning/21st Century Learning:

The impact of digital technology: A review of the evidence of the impact of digital technologies on formal education. BECTA. “There is now a growing body of national and international evidence demonstrating the positive impact of digital technologies on measurable learning outcomes…”

The Future of Learning Institutions in a Digital Age. Cathy Davidson and David Goldberg. “Modes of learning have changed dramatically over the past two decades—our sources of information, the ways we exchange and interact with information, how information informs and shapes us. But our schools—how we teach, where we teach, who we teach, who teaches…”

The MILE Guide: Milestones for Improving Learning & Education. Partnership for 21st Century Skills. “The MILE Guide helps districts determine where they are on the spectrum of 21st century skills integration and then use that information to plan a path for future work that brings 21st century skills in their systems of learning.”

Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning. US Dept. of Education. “Online learning—for students and for teachers—is one of the fastest growing trends in educational uses of technology.”

School libraries building capacity for student learning in 21C. Foley and Hay. “An effective school library contributes to the school’s program for integrating the development of information literacy and digital literacy…”

The Pedagogy Strategy – Learning in an online world. MCEETYA. “Pedagogies that integrate information and communication technologies can engage students in ways not previously possible, enhance achievement, create new learning possibilities and extend interaction with local and global communities.”

Equipping Every Learner for the 21st Century. CISCO. “Although the vision is global, the path to 21st century education requires a local journey; one that recognizes and responds to specific challenges and opportunities.”

mLearning:

iPod Touch Research Report. Department of Education, Early Childhood Development., Victoria. “Primary school children today use mobile portable devices as a matter of course in their lives outside school. While the gap between technology devices used in everyday life and those used in schools continues to widen, many schools have decided to trial mobile devices in an effort to keep pace with emerging technologies.”

Pockets of Potential: Using Mobile Technologies to Promote Children’s Learning. Carly Shuler. “Pockets of Potential argues that despite legitimate public concern about the “disruptive track record” of mobile devices in schools, there is reason to be excited about their potential.”

Professional Learning:

Evaluating Professional Development. Thomas R Guskey. “Using five critical levels of evaluation, you can improve your school’s professional development program. But be sure to start with the desired result – improved student outcomes.”

Designing Powerful Professional Development for Teachers and Principals. Dennis Sparks. “This book has a simple three-part premise: First, quality teaching makes a difference in student learning. Second, the professional learning of teachers and principals is…”

School Leadership and Student Outcomes: Identifying What Works and Why. Professor Vivianne M. J. Robinson. “This Best Evidence Synthesis identifies the leadership activities that make a greater difference for students. The findings of the BES provide direction for leaders about where they can most effectively invest their time.”

Teacher professional learning and development. Helen Timperley. “This particular booklet is based on a synthesis of research evidence produced for the New Zealand Ministry of Education’s Iterative Best Evidence Synthesis (BES) Programme, which is designed to be a catalyst for systemic improvement and sustainable development in education.”

Managing Professional Learning and Development in Primary Schools. ERO. “Teaching is a complex and demanding profession. Teachers require high quality support and training throughout their careers to ensure they have the strategies and skills to meet the needs of learners…”

What else can you recommend?

ULearn09 Spotlight with Prof. Helen Timperley co author of the Teacher Professional Learning and Development: Best Evidence Synthesis Iteration (BES). The good news too is that this huge document has been synthesised into an brochure/pamphlet format to make it more accessible to educators, available here.

What are the kinds of teacher professional development and learning that leads to improved student learning?

Firstly, why do teachers need PD? Amongst other reasons, knowledge is changing and the way our students learn is becoming clearer as more research and information comes to light. Teachers learning from experience is not enough!

Four understandings about professional learning for improving student outcomes:

1. Strongly influenced by what and how teachers teach
2. PD cannot be an add on
3. Effective PD responds to how teachers learn (too often we focus on how our students learn but not our teachers)
4. Shaped by the context in which teachers practice. e.g. the environment, opportunities for PD and the students themselves.

What works?

Firstly formative assessment. Formative assessment works for teachers in the same way that it does for students. Teachers know why they are learning and what they are learning. They are in control of and monitor their own success. This is a key point as so often what we practice in the classroom is not mirrored in professional learning opportunities such as teacher only days or after school workshops. We need to adapt what we integrate into the classroom, and what we know works for our students, into our professional learning opportunities.

Secondly, effective professional learning is embedded in the teacher inquiry cycle (the following stages are adapted/revised from those in the BES).

>> What knowledge and skills do students needs? >> What knowledge do we as teachers need? >> Deepen professional knowledge and refine skills >> Engage in new learning experiences >> What has been the impact of our changed actions? >>

Principals of effective PD:

Focus on valued student outcomes: (matched to appropriate teaching activities or learning experiences). The success of any PD is determined by student outcomes NOT teacher skills.

Worthwhile content: known teaching knowledge and skills form the basis of effective PD, supported by research evidence.

Integration of knowledge and skill: essential to promote deep teacher learning. Deep knowledge of curriculum, how to teach effectively and how to assess. Integrating theory and practice.

Assessment for professional inquiry: a formative approach to what teachers need to know based on their analysis and information on student achievement.

Multiple opportunities to learn and apply: within a supportive and trusted and challenging environment.

Approaches are responsive to learning processes: different types of PD are required that relate to existing teacher beliefs. Teachers are as diverse as their students.

Opportunities to process new learning with others: teacher interaction, focused on student outcomes, helps teachers put new learning into their existing practice.

Knowledgeable expertise: to challenge assumptions and beliefs, develop new knowledge and skills.