Never mind the technology, where’s the learning?

In 1992, I was involved in an exciting ICT and learning conference with this title. I’m assuming that Steve Heppell, who was one of the main organisers for the conference, came up with this phrase to express the theme of the conference. Although a great deal has happened in education since, we’ve still got a long way to go to make this question irrelevant.
•Home | •About |

---

How many steps does it take to recognise ‘progression’?

•Nov 27th, 2008 | •ICT and education | •No Comments
[image: progression pyramid by you.]All this week there has been a series of training events for ICT Mark Assessors. These are the people who are accredited to assess the ICT Mark. To keep your ticket as an assessor, you have to attend one of these events. In a session by Becta it was announced that, from BETT 2009, Becta will launch new ’stepping stones’ towards the ICT Mark known as the “Next Generation Learning Charter”. To quote from the PowerPoint notes for speakers:

“So today, I can announce that we will shortly be launching the Next Generation Learning Charter that builds upon the highly regard Excellence Awards; the prestigious ICT Mark yet opens up the opportunity for EVERY school to make a public commitment and to gain recognition as the progress along their journey.”

The stepping stones (progression pyramid) is shown here, and adds two layers below the ICT Mark to encourage schools to get involved with improvement with ICT. The first layer enables a school to make a public commitment to “improve / advance” by engaging in the process of ICT self-review through the Self-Review Framework within the next three years. The second, and perhaps more controversal, is that it would seem that a school can self-certify that it has made progress on 3 out of 4 of the 8 elements (one must be Element 1) and together with a reference from a ‘critical friend’ apply for a Becta certificate which recognises that ‘progression’ has taken place.
For some providing this ‘ladder’ towards the ICT Mark seems a sensible step. For others it seems to devalue the notion of a quality assured accreditation scheme. There seems a paradox between the ICT Mark that is externally assessed to a national standard and a ‘half way’ certificate that is self-certified. Most concerning of all is the provision of a certificate by the ICT Mark awarding body without any external check on the progression that might have been made or even whether the school has understood the process. Blogged with the Flock Browser
Tags: Becta, ICT Mark, accreditation

Learning to “Dance” but not Strictly

•Nov 25th, 2008 | •technology application | •No Comments
[image: John Sergeant in Strickly Come Dancing]The last week has been interesting when in comes Shirky’s notion of self-forming groups and the power of Web 2.0 and social networking. In Clay Shirky’s book, “Here Comes Eveybody“, he explores the the significant role being played by technological advances on the formation and experience of modern group dynamics. Over the weeks, John Sergeant, the oldest contestant at 64, and former political correspondent was kept in the show by the public vote despite there being potentially better dancers. The tension began to build on 8/9 November when he received just 12 points from the judges, and they pleaded with the public to vote on the dancing, not John’s personality. This only fuelled an apparent campaign on Facebook to not only keep John in, but to defy the ‘authority’ that the judges had assumed over the public. On 10 November there were 166 groups on Facebook either for or against John’s continued participation. The most popular,  John Sergeant to win Strictly Come Dancing 2008! (started by a student at Tunbridge Wells Girls Grammar School) had 800 members on the 10th, but by the following week had doubled to 1635, and although the group cannot of course be solely attributed to John’s continued presence in the show following voting on the 15th November, reading the comments it perhaps illustrates the role a self-forming group might be playing. Following the voluntary withdrawal of John from the show on the 19th, individuals on the group are now eliciting support to boycott the show in the belief that this could trigger the sacking of two of the judges from any future series. The BBC also received over 2000 complains following the withdrawal of Sergeant citing the way in which he had been treated.
The incident can be added to other illustrations of how modern technology enables mass participation and has a real effect on the way we might think and act. On examining members of the Facebook group (as far as one can), it brings together a spectum of people who would not otherwise join together in common cause, from the girl who wishes John Sergeant was her grandad, to those holding right-wing political views using the group to encourage click-throughs to their dubious site. Blogged with the Flock Browser
Tags: Shirky, Here comes everybody, self-forming groups

“Geeking out” good for learning

•Nov 22nd, 2008 | •ICT and education | •No Comments
[image: 2183600139_d00c6977b9_m.jpg]In the latest large scale US research shows that time spent by teenagers online aids their development. The £31 million project financed by the MacArthur Foundation and undertaken by the University of Southern California and the University of California, Berkeley involved interviewing over 800 young people and conducting over 5000 hours of observation on the use of media by youth.
The research showed that most youth use online networks to extend the friendships that they navigate in the familiar contexts of school, religious organizations, sports, and other local activities:

“They can be “always on,” in constant contact with their friends through private communications like instant messaging or mobile phones, as well as in public ways through social network sites such as MySpace and Facebook. With these “friendship-driven” practices, youth are almost always associating with people they already know in their offline lives. The majority of youth use new media to “hang out” and extend existing friendships in these ways.”

A smaller percentage use the online world to explore interests and find information that goes beyond what they have access to at school or in their local community:

“Online groups enable youth to connect to peers who share specialized and niche interests of various kinds, whether that is online gaming, creative writing, video editing, or other artistic endeavors. In these interest-driven networks, youth may find new peers outside the boundaries of their local community. They can also find opportunities to publicize and distribute their work to online audiences, and to gain new forms of visibility and reputation.”

Critically though the research shows that in both forms of activity,

“youth create and navigate new forms of expression and rules for social behavior. By exploring new interests, tinkering, and “messing around” with new forms of media, they acquire various forms of technical and media literacy. Through trial and error, youth add new media skills to their repertoire, such as how to create a video or game, or customize their MySpace page. Teens then share their creations and receive feedback from others online. By its immediacy and breadth of information, the digital world lowers barriers to self-directed learning.”

Despite youth using new media to learn from their peers, adults and teachers still have a role in setting learning goals, particularly were adult hobbists function as role models and more experienced peers, the report states.
Finally, the researchers make a clarion call for educational institutions to keep pace with these rapid changes:

“Youths’ participation in this networked world suggests new ways of thinking about the role of education. What, the authors ask, would it mean to really exploit the potential of the learning opportunities available through online resources and networks? What would it mean to reach beyond traditional education and civic institutions and enlist the help of others in young people’s learning? Rather than assuming that education is primarily about preparing for jobs and careers, they question what it would mean to think of it as a process guiding youths’ participation in public life more generally.”

Listen to the Research Leader, Mizuko Ito:
[ YouTube video ]
Image credit: Marcus Linder Blogged with the Flock Browser

… and why nostalgia applied to new technology is a good thing

•Nov 16th, 2008 | •ICT and education | •No Comments
...