If this is the learning age, why am I doing this course?
Let's start with what this shared blog is all about and how does works? This is a space where we will meet regularly*, share our thinking, comment on others thinking, ask questions of each other and support each other. We're all leaders in our respective schools (me included). Our group is made up of aspiring leaders, principals, leading teachers and assistant principals. We all understand the daily pressures of working in schools, the ebb and flow of expectations we feel from a wide variety of parties and the roller coaster of emotions that come with that. This is a professional space but that
doesn't mean we can't show our human side either.
*regularly - in the initial few weeks make an effort to log into the blog and post something 2-3 times a week. This can be as short as: Login, scroll through the conversation, ask someone a question or share your thinking on the prompts I have posted. Maybe one week you will be really taken by one of the readings or viewing and you feel compelled to write a more extended comment.
The idea is that this blog will become and fluid and organic exchange of ideas and thinking. It might feel a bit forced to begin with but the more that you engage and practice this skill the more comfortable you will become communicating like this.
Your First E-Journal:
Complete this by logging into your own personal blog. There will always be blog prompts in the course guide but this blog is YOURS. You may feel like straying from the script at times, don't feel bound by the prompts. Make sure it about you and your learning on the course. There may be incidents that are significant momnets along the way that just need to documented. This is the space for that. I will read and respond to your blog and Nikki is very active in responding to these blogs as well. Feel free to write back to us in the comment section too.
Start by thinking about:
o Why am I
doing this course?
o What do I
want to get out of it?
o What do I
want to build on?
Your Film Festival Entry:
Have you read the requirements for the Film Festival entry yet? This is an extensive project and getting your head into the task early will help you get into the mind set necessary. This is vision work, think big picture. Consider the time limit, you have a
Please do not make this an advertisement for your current school. We all know you work in fantastic schools full of amazing individuals but this in not what this assignment is about. We're trying to imagine and the future.
It doesn't matter if your future doesn't come true, it can still be a great story. THINK BIG.
This week's Professional Viewing:
The Future of Learning,
features how current, readily available technologies are being used by some for
learning. It highlights how personally meaningful such learning is to the
individual making it so powerful, so relevant, that educators need to sit up
and take notice of this. Our Professional Reading, A Rich Seam - How New Pedagogies Find Deep Learning,
explains "The New Pedagogies" but it also clearly identifies why it
is so important that educators, not others but you and I, must make
transformational changes to our education system.
The Group Discussion: (Occurs at the bottom of this post in the comments section)
For our group discussion this week, I thought we might
explore together the theme for this week and a few quotes that resonated with me from the reading and viewings
Here is the question for discussion:
1. Why should we, as school leaders, be discussing Leading Schools in the Digital Age?
"For most of the last century we were struggling to get
technology to do what we wanted in terms of learning. Now it's so good we can
do anything we want and the real question is, 'What do we want to do?' "
-Prof Stephen Heppell
2. SO... What do YOU want to do in education?
"When you are held to tightly in school, when you're
let go, all you do is relax because you haven't learned to stand alone. So part
of the job of learning is to learn how to continue to learn." - Anthony
Minghella CBE
"Technology allows us to take risks with our learning.
We need that ability to learn from failure." -Prof Stephen Heppell
"The one thing that we can be certain about is you
can't build one solution." -Prof Stephen Heppell
Below are two quotes taken from our second Professional
Reading is Chapters 1 to 6 of A Rich Seam -
How New Pedagogies Find Deep Learning
“The new pedagogies require students to create new knowledge
and connect it to the world by using the power of digital tools.”
"Through the combination of the ‘push’ of traditional
schooling that fails to keep students or teachers engaged, and the ‘pull’ of
new pedagogies unleashed through digital access, the transformation of
education systems on a broad scale becomes not only possible, but inevitable.
Excitingly, these developments are now being driven and sustained primarily by
teachers and students."
4. How does the "transformation of education systems" make you feel. Are you feeling ready to embrace the change or are your already driving the change necessary?
I'm looking forward to getting to know you through these conversations.
Catch you online.
Matt
Why should we, as school leaders, be discussing Leading Schools in the Digital Age?
ReplyDeleteI want to support present students so they can maximise the quality of learning and living in theirs/others future of life-long-learning.
I want to be able to access global learners so my tiny classroom students can engage in the world beyond their small part of the world.
I want to collaborate with rich projects and not have to be the only one that ignites the ideas or initiates the project
I want to be accessing networks digitally.
I want to be able to carry out diagnostics that currently require access to visiting specialists and the outcomes can take months or years – I want to use technologies to undertake this process more expediently so I can begin to address the diversity of learners’ needs.
I want to use technology to manage immediate assessment at the point of learning to support me being able to adjust curriculum and provide immediate feedback.
I want to lighten my workload and fee myself from so much of the mundane – important stuff – but there must be a better and smarter way.
You seem to have a clear understanding of you own motivations and a lofty vision. How is it looking on the ground in schools in your area. Do you have far to move? Are you already moving toward this vision as a school?
Delete"For most of the last century we were struggling to get technology to do what we wanted in terms of learning. Now it's so good we can do anything we want and the real question is, 'What do we want to do?' " -Prof Stephen Heppell
ReplyDelete- Technology has generally been used as a direct substitute up until recent times e.g. students type a story instead of writing. With the improvements and developments in technology it can now be used to teach (and learn) in ways that are impossible without the technology (SAMR model).
-Students are now born into a world of technology and they expect that they are taught in a way that reflects this and suitably engages them. Technology that is available today allows to students to learn at their own pace and present their learning in a variety of different ways.
-Improvements in technology have eroded the barriers between countries. It has meant that it is easier then ever to access information from countries around the globe.
-One of the major challenges we have in introducing technology is convincing teachers that they do not have to know more than the students when it comes to technology use. We are encouraging teachers to let go some of the control and allow the students to show them what technology can do.
Students are born into this environment but most of teachers are not. Do you think this is why we see the reluctance in our staff Marty? Or is there other things at play?
DeleteI can really relate to your post Marty. I think a lot of it is about the letting go of control. A lot of teacher's have it in-built that they need to have complete control and the whole concept of letting kids teach us something doesn't sit well with some.
DeleteTotally agree Brooke, I think the role of the 'teacher' is changing from being the figurehead standing at the from of the room spouting information to one that provides direction and opportunities for students to demonstrate understanding in a variety of ways.
DeleteA clearer vision – the importance of getting this vision right. Refer to the following quote “a new period of development, trial, error and further development. Pioneers are trying new things, exploring different veins that appear to have value – seeking gold that is often unexpectedly elusive”. Do we want to be the “Pioneer”, searching for something that is “elusive”? Or do we want a model that is proven to succeed and effective in achieving intended learning outcomes? What are these models?
ReplyDeleteI read all about New Pedagogies and I am excited as that is where I want our school to get to – ‘Everyone becoming the teacher’, ‘Learning that is engaging and more connected to real life’.
Whilst reading I often think of the barriers. I don’t want to be a pessimist, so I was relieved when it was acknowledged that “curriculum standards” are “the greatest barriers to the widespread adoption of new pedagogies”
With all this said - what do I want to do in education? At this early stage I don't have a clear vision, but through reading, research and reflection, it is starting to become clearer. As as school leader I need to be "Open to all possibilities with directional ideas but not necessarily concrete plans at this early stage."
Chapter 6: The New Change Leadership, really got me thinking about our school. I believe we have a really collaborative culture, where teachers regularly get together to plan, reflect, refine, share strategies, open are their classrooms etc. I think where we are now at is the 'how' we use technologies to achieve 'Deep Learning'.
A barrier I have met while discussing new Pedagogies is that somehow any teachers feel threatened by the 'new' part and I get it. By saying that we need to do things differently we can sometimes make people feel like the work they have done so far in education is somehow a waste. How would you go about avoiding this situation?
DeleteI think you need to promote the why and the benefits to student learning. Also, providing opportunities for staff to realise it for themselves. It's not necessarily that we are currently doing it wrong, just there are better ways to meet the needs of students in the 21st century.
DeleteVery valid point Joe, the why is so important. I'd be interested to catch up and chat about any strategies you have used to help your colleagues "realise it for themselves" I'm a advocate for providing genuine learning opportunities for all, teachers included!
DeleteI agree with Cheryl- we want to use technology to manage immediate assessment, to act on it then and there, no months down the track where is then become invalid.
ReplyDeleteI want to be able to show my classes that other classes are doing the same thing, or similar, and how they are approaching the theme/topic/project etc. So that they can be inspired by their peers, be in from interstate or globally.
At the moment I am fortunate enough to be taking 12 students through an Ant Survey of our school. As part of this we use the polycom to link up to a scientist and 4 other schools involved in the program. It is only week 2 and the students are loving it. I have bug samples handed to me daily, stories about what they found in their garden last night, and they even ask me what species I think it is! Besides the fact that I have no idea, I tell them it’s their job to identify it, and they are so excited. This is the type of learning I want the students to be doing. This is the type of networking I’d love to be doing. But I want to be doing it with all my students, not just a select group. I am already thinking how I will do it in 2016!
The transformation of education systems excites me! I am just starting out in my career and I am so ready for it!
It seems you are starting to live your vision already. How would you go about bringing other teachers along with you? What skills would you need to improve To help other teachers to do the same?
DeleteBrianna, I have a scientist, I have the technology but I am lacking the project idea...looking for something that we can share beyond our school once we start our investigation. Where did you get your idea about the ants? I need that hook to get me started...just don't feel connected to my scientific brain:(
DeleteI feel that we as leaders in schools we need to be embracing the digital age and using digital technology more in our classrooms. I agree that the classroom has changed dramatically over the past 30 years and the Teaching and Learning strategies which were considered effective in previous times lack the capacity to engage the students in our classrooms today. The challenge as a leader is to ensure that schools incorporate digital learning effectively, encourage and allow the development of the deep learning competencies of all our students.
ReplyDeleteI would like to ensure that the teaching and learning strategies inspire in students a desire to learn and an understanding that learning is ongoing.
I would like digital devices to be used effectively rather than a replacement for a workbook which has occurred in recent years.
Students have grown up in this digital age and we have to ensure that classrooms reflect this type of communication, collaboration which prepares students for the future, by providing them with the skills needed which is very different to the demands of the workforce years ago.
The capacity to link globally is an exciting aspect of how education has shifted and I would like to ensure that this opportunity is encouraged and extended in schools.
I would like to improve my capacity to use and model good use of digital technologies and catch up to the students we teach.
At my school at the moment it is great that we are involved in new projects such as the Adobe Youth Voices competition and an ant survey, both of which are reliant on the use of digital technology and the students are loving it.
The quote which resonates with me is:
"Through the combination of the ‘push’ of traditional schooling that fails to keep students or teachers engaged, and the ‘pull’ of new pedagogies unleashed through digital access, the transformation of education systems on a broad scale becomes not only possible, but inevitable. Excitingly, these developments are now being driven and sustained primarily by teachers and students."
This quote to me indicates the need for change and how this change is occurring in classrooms. It is encouraging to think that this change is being by lead both teacher and students.
The transformation of education systems is exciting and gives me the opportunity to learn more about technology as my students know more than I do. As a leader I ready to drive the change but am always looking for new ways to allow this to happen. I believe my school is ready to incorporate the New Pedagogy for Deep Learning in all aspects of the curriculum.
Using these devices for more than just a substitution of the old is so important. This is sometimes a hurdle we need to overcome when convincing teachers and parents about how tech is being used. We will discuss the idea of concentrating on the Verbs, not the nouns later in the course. But it fits nicely here too. when bringing people on board We need to focus on what we do with the technology, not the device we use to do it. EG talk about communications skills rather than Skype, talk about global collaboration instead of google apps, talk about sharing professional discourse instead of blogger :-).
DeleteLiz, do you feel it is all inevitable and that the only difference will be the timing for systemic adoption of new technologies? I recall the introduction of video players and television sets into schools...it took some time before teachers were confident, the technology was fluent and reliable but wow - when it took off - it went off with a blast! At the same time as all that was happening in OZ, I taught in London with textbooks that were out-dated and in schools that didn't have a solitary electronic device. In 2013 I revisited UK schools - some of them are miles ahead of us - some miles behind. The spread really was amazing. I feel what we have going for us in Victoria is that there is less of a spread and more of a system development...how long this will last is anyone's guess.
DeleteThe verbs versus nouns concept is a great way to promote the digital learning. Promoting the skills the students will develop rather than the Web 2.0 tools they will use.
ReplyDeleteYes - check out our dk2 reflections blog for the image: http://dk2reflections.blogspot.com.au/2015/03/after-first-workshop.html
DeleteI've asked my leaders to envision what sort of new tasks and learning that they would like to see take place while students are at school and in the wider community. That way as educators we can then assess what kinds of technology we could deploy to transform those tasks into authentic learning experiences for the students. Demonstrating the positive problem solving ability of technology is very important for the students, staff and wider community. Would this not also be promoting divergent thinkers?
ReplyDeleteI like that you have asked your leaders to envision the "task and learning" and then identified the tech that supports the task Peter. This is the right orientation, those who think the tech comes first can have trouble selling the "why" to staff.
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