The Expectations of stakeholders

Recently, I have been working on a program for the senior school and it is interesting to reflect on this. The first point of reflection is the “why” question. Why do we want to incorperate technology into the program, and this isn’t just a technology program it is actually about any form of change.

I believe that this is directed from 5 different sets of stakeholders who will influence to greater of lesser extent the change in schools. Each brings with them a bias and a unique perspective to the process of change. For some the change is on a macro level and for others on a micro scale.

They are:

• The government, school district or legislative body over seeing the school
• The school board
• The community
• the teaching staff
• the students

Arching above all, is the legislative body responcible for education. These have a huge influence and often as not, they set direction for  education. They can provide clarity and purpose, focus and support.

Unfortuantely, these are usually political appointments and while often done with best of intents, are reactionary, popularist and frequently uninformed. Am I being harsh? Yes, perhaps I am but realistically, politicians are making decisions from their lofty view point which is poles apart from the perspective of the classroom teacher or the young learner in the classroom. Most politicians and administrators at a senior level have never been in a classroom or if they have it was years prior and in a 19th Century paradigm. We only need to look at well intentioned but nightmarish programmes like NCLB or national standards which have failed in so many countries to see this.

School boards provide the financial control for the school. They help shape direction of the school. They make appointments, approve projects and ally shape the environment of learning.

Usually, containing elected members of the community, they are meant to be the peoples voice, and indeed many are. But like politicans, the experience of most board members is harkening back to their own school days. Many will see the integration of Technology as important and will feel that more computers is a good thing, but the mechanics in a classroom? The oneof the things that oncerns me about school boards is the tendency for them to attract crusaders. Those on a mission to become elected, to bring in their agenda or ideas, to right percieved wrongs. How often do we see a very limited selection of nominees for school boards, and those who do nominate themselves having an often worthy agenda but with a limited perspective or holistic overview?

The communities influence is often a quieter one, the average parent who does not have time to be a board member as they are working to put food on the table. And as such does not have a great deal of influence except in the carpark as they talk amongst themselves or when they vote with their feet.

Parents want their children to succeed. They want them to be engaged and motivated and enjoying school. They too are influenced by their own educational experiences and this often temers their view of what happens in the classroom. The classic “it  worked for me and look how I turned out.” comments. If the only mode of education you have experienced is teacher centric, chalk and talk, rote learning; the dynamic, flexible and sometimes seemlingly chaotic world of students centric differentitated learning can be disconcerting. So the community to brings in its bias.

Teachers are the catalysts of change. Like a chemical reaction depended on a catalyst you can bring the reagents together, foster an optimal environment, but without the catalyst the reaction is painfully slow often to the point of being immeasurably tiny. Add the catalyst and the reaction proceeds at pace.

In a chemical reaction, the catalyst is often not used up or effected. In the classroom, teachers are always effected and to frequently are changed or just worn out. So we must have a supply of new catalysts – this places an onus of responcibility on pre-service educators.

The quietest of voices and alas the least influencial of stakeholders is the students themselves. Those on whom we are bestowing our educational wisdom, our hope and future, have the least say in direction. This is a hard balance to make how much influence should a student have on their learning? They can lack the wisdom (wisdom = Knowledge + experience) to be able to plot a learning course. They are often living in the now rather than considering the future. They struggle to scaffold and conceptualise why we proceed as we do in the classroom.

BUT does this mean they should not have an input, they should not be involved in shaping the direction of their learning? No they are vital, we must have their buy in, but unfortunately we can actually and do survive with out this.

So where does this leave us?

The shape of any program or change within a school is shaped by the degree of influence of these 5 stakeholders.  For collaborative, sustainable change to occur the expectations of all the groups must be considered and balanced.

Change is  influenced by the expectations and drivers of each of these groups. Sustainable change will see the expectations of each group considered, valued and balanced. The overall goals and objectives are derived from this.

I have long been a fan of Open source and for about three years I have been a user of Open Office, in fact our school has migrated from Microsoft Office and later Star Office to Open Office.

One of the problems that all of the productivity suites have is the level of complexity for the younger students. Many adult users do not come close to the full capacity of their productivity suite and students particularly in the younger years certainly wont.

So imagine my suprise when this morning Miguel Guhlin and Julie Lindsay both posted in there blogs about OOo4Kids – open Office for Kids.

This is great. Its still in Beta, but the screenshots look excellent and I have downloaded the Beta to trial.

The layout is simplified, the icons larger and clear and better suited for the younger learners. The removal of the majority of the buttons makes its more applicable (see below). I am looking forward to this coming out of Beta and into Gold.

So it suits younger users, is free, small download, is ethical (you are not pirating it). Excellent

http://wiki.ooo4kids.org/index.php/Main_Page

Download – http://wiki.ooo4kids.org/index.php/Download

Video demo – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJkyPcP-TeU&feature=player_embedded

In this update of on the wire I am looking at only one site (well almost) – The University of Utah – Genetics Learning Centre (http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/).

This is a brilliant aid to the science teacher and the senior biologist. So lets see what this site has for us…

1. Homepage (http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/) – this links through to a variety of pages, most with a genetics theme but also an interesting look at the ecology of salt lake.

2. Amazing cells (http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/begin/cells/) – this is the portal page for animations, interactive activities, videos and alike – a couple of stand out pages are: Cell size and scale http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/begin/cells/scale/(a brilliant interactive resources showing cell etc) and Inside a cell http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/begin/cells/insideacell/(this interactive allows you to select cell compenets and have these explained to you)

They also produce resources for teachers – http://teach.genetics.utah.edu/content/begin/cells/ for cell biology.

3. The Genetics section is also very well resourced with sections on:

• Protien synthesis – http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/begin/dna/
• Heredity - http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/begin/traits/
• Epigenetics – http://teach.genetics.utah.edu/content/epigenetics/
• Cloning – http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/tech/cloning/

Plus a great resource page which indexes their easily accessable materials and lesson plans – http://teach.genetics.utah.edu/content/

4.Tap into the world of comics - http://www.slideshare.net/shend5/tap-into-the-world-of-comics this is a slideshare presentation on 21 uses for comics in the classroom and contains some great resources

5. Finally a quick one from the read write web  – what will the internet look like in 5 years time – http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/google_web_in_five_years.php – This is from Google’s Eric Schmidt

The Digital Citizen Acceptable use agreement details six facets of behaviour that a digital citizen should follow to be an appropriate and respectful digital citizen. The statements are kept deliberately broad and generalised and provide outlines for suitable behaviour.

As we are working to implement this, I have been asked to expand on the different aspects or facets and give the students some more concrete ideas about what they need to do to be respectful and protect themselves. So the list below represents some starting points for taking the Six facets of digital citizenship into the real world we operate in.

Respecting and Protecting yourself by:

1. looking after your hardware appropriately, carrying your laptop/mobile device in a bag, securing it in a safe place and keeping it charged

2. saving your work regularly

3. backing up important data regularly (recommended minimum is weekly)

4. scanning your computer for viruses regularly, update the virus definitions regularly.

5. applying patches and updates to your operating systems and software

6. selecting suitable online names, that you can use in professional communications

7. selecting strong passwords and changing these regularly. Recommendations are:

• 8 characters or more

• Number and letters

• Special characters

• Upper and lower case

8. protecting your passwords, don’t share these with anyone. Locking your computer.

9. managing your files

10. using descriptive file names

11. creating and organising into folders

12. considering what personal information is made public. This can be on your social networking site, when you sign up to services or register software.

13. only put required information in online profiles.

14. considering who you allow to be your friends online.

15. building positive relationships online, keeping these open and transparent. Being cautious in who we share information with and who we meet.

16. posting only material that portrays you in a positive light.

17. consider which images of yourself you publish

18. keep email addresses and personal details private

19. considering carefully when and where I use my credit card details etc

20. remembering anything you say online is public and usually permanent

21. reporting any attacks or inappropriate behaviour directed at you

22. acting with integrity and respect.

Respecting and Protecting others by:

1. reporting abuse to appropriate authorities when I see it.

2. not flaming or abusing people

3. not forwarding junk mail, spam or inappropriate materials

4. not visiting sites that are degrading or inappropriate

5. not entering private spaces or change other people pages

6. informing people appropriately when they have left open their profile etc

7. not using anyone else accounts, log ons etc.

8. asking permission before I publish images ot content that may contain details about other people.

9. respecting other people’s rights to privacy and anonymity

10. respecting the trust others have in me by protecting other people email, IM and skype addresses and contact details.

11. protecting other on my network by having a protected, updated and antivirus checked computer.

12. always acting with integrity and respect.

Respecting and Protecting Intellectual Property by:

1. having an understanding of the rules and laws applying to:

• copyright
• intellectual property
• Fair use
• creative commons

2. asking permission before I use materials and respect the owners decision regarding this material.

3. only using software and media that I have permission to use. This can be material made available under creative commons or the public domain, material I have purchased etc.

4. not sharing my media or software with others unless the license allows me to do this.

5. using free and open source alternative software and medias instead of pirating licensed or copy written ones.

6. registering my software and alway considering what information I need to provide the company. I will read the options and make sure that I understand that my information and details may be distributed and sold.

7. validating all information sources

8. citing my information sources using a suitable bibliography method.

9. giving credit to and acknowledge people and sources that have influenced my thinking or products.

10. Acting with integrity and respect

This is not meant to replace the six facets rather is an expansion and some detail on what each means. I would as always appreciate any feedback regarding this.

This material is available as a PDF or in an expanded form on the Edorigami wiki

This is the first Adobe Air tool that has really caught my attention. It is graphic design motion based painting program. It allows you to select a wide range of brushes and the decorate your canvas. Livebrush

Available as a free download or as a low cost pro version this is a neat tool. As it is an Adobe Air tool it does require Air to be installed and this is available from the adobe website

Worth a play certainly – age groups  – I would have to say all ages with a slightly more senior focus due to the formal interface. But really anyone with a bit of creativity will have fun. The end products are exported as an image in PNG format.

This is a stunning video. Ksenya Simonova takes an inspiring and variety piece of music (Apocalytica – Inquistion Symphony) and combines this with a visual performance of drawing. It is very moving as she displays in a visual medium the emotions of the music.

She uses her fingers and sand.

This is stunning. An excellent example of performance, visual imagery, imagination and emotion. I could see this as an excellent resources for English, the performing arts and music.

Here is the URL – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnfO4R1OUxY

Ksenya Simonova

Claire replied to my last post on standards and I commented. As I wrote the comment I felt this is possibly more that just a reply, so I have posted it here. Thanks Claire

There is a sign on a wall of an office near my classroom that says “Presume good intent“. I believe that intention here is good.
As I said in the post I use standards all the time. I am moderator for the International Baccalaureate organisation. I moderate their standards and my moderation is also moderated.

I don’t have a problem with standards if they are used for the improvement of learning. I do have a problem with the baggage that goes with them. I do have a problem with ranking kids, in marking them above or below the norm. I do have a problem with the potential for league tables and ranking teachers. With workloads and teaching to the test.

While I was in the States earlier this year, I saw the impact of national testing. I saw teachers who taught to the test for an entire year. I spoke to teachers who were focusing only on the national tests and forsaking  all other teaching because, quite literally, their jobs depended on it. I spoke to administrators desperate to make a difference but tied to a funding system dependent on students making the national grade.

I don’t want to see teacher teaching to the “test’ oophs standard. I don’t want to see teachers performance in the classroom based on one or two annual events. We all ready see this in secondary schools with national examinations. I want to see flexible, dynamic teaching, with a clear and robust reporting system that helps and supports the learning of our children, rather than ranking or graphing.

I don’t want to lose the teachable moment for the sake of rote learning a book for the national standard.

We are not looking at national testing, we are looking at standards. The intention is a good one. The intention is, in my opinion, to clarify communications with parents and help all 3 sides of the hone-school-student partnership to understand where they are going. However, much that I have heard fails to convince me that this intention will become a reality.  There is too much other stuff blurring the focus and fuzzying the edges.

I hope we don’t see teaching to the test, league tables, performance linked employment, ranking students & classes & teachers & schools.  As Greg said in his blog “I only know of ONE principal who has told their BoT this is going to be great.  And that’s because they see it as a great marketing opportunity and a way to sock it to their neighboring schools.”

I want to see dynamic, exciting, vibrant learning & the child,  school, home partnership enthused with clear communications and the appropriate use of standards.

You never know we might be the first country in the world to get it right!

There is another adage that sadly does spring to mind. “The road to hell is paved with good intentions“.

I don’t have a problem with standards and I suspect most of us don’t have a problem with standards either. I use standards all the time whether they are standards of behaviour, standards of dress or in fact educational standards.

Educational standards provide a platform for equity, a target to work to and beyond, a framework to scaffold learning from.

I don’t have a problem with reporting either. I believe the relationship between school and home is vital and the reporting system we currently have is the opposite of 21st century educational goals of transparency, timely and appropriate feedback.

I do however, have a number of problems with the potential outcomes of the implementation of national standards.

I am troubled in the first instance that standards of learning are set against age, with the expectation that each child at this age will be measured and judged against these criteria. This fails to take into account that children mature and develop differently. It fails to account for the differences between boys and girls.

I am concerned that whether intended or not, the graphing of the child’s performance against a bench mark criteria of “normal” performance will have children condemned irrespective of their actual learning. For the struggling child who has made huge progress forward, who is striving to reach their potential but falls below the benchmark for their age, they are judged by this standard not by their actual learning. For the unmotivated and unengaged student who scores well above the bench mark will be marked as achieving or succeeding while they are well below their potential. This is not accurate or appropriate feedback.

I am concerned that education will become a competition, with Johnny measured against the illusionary milestone of achievement for cohort.

I am concerned about normal distribution and the bell shaped curve creeping in. A standard does not conform to the bell shaped curve.

I am fearful that the next step we may see is national testing. That the scourge of NCLB may visit us. That we may see education and learning in schools focusing wholly on achieving good scores or standards rather than fostering creativity. This is the sad reality of many schools in America. Where the focus of  a year’s learning is achieving at the national standard at the cost of so many other educational endeavours.

I am worried for those children’s whose talents do not lie in the academic realms of the 3R’s Readin, Riting & rythmatic will be ostracised, marked as failures and not recognised for the talents and diversity they have.

I am frightened that these tests will be used to form a league table measuring schools. In NCLB failure to reach certain levels results in reduced funding, sanctions and in some case closure. The same could happen here with selection of schools based on performance to inaccurate standards tied inaccurately to the perception that a “normal” child can do this by this stage of their school career.

I am concerned that this increased loading on teachers will hamper teaching and learning and make teaching less attractive. That other activities will be sacrificed, that the focus may change from the whole person – well rounded, balanced, inquiring, questioning, curious, imaginative, creative, analytical and evaluative – to a more singular purpose of achieving against the national standard or god forbid mean.

BUT YES I SUPPORT STANDARDS

I want to know that my children have reach this standard or that, not that they are in 95th percentile for the country. I want clear statements that detail what my child can or can’t do – these are standards. I want to know whether they are focused, engaged and motivated or struggling, bored or out of their depth. I want to know the progression of levels that my child’s learning would progress through as they mature as a learner, I need to know where they are in that progression and if they are in need of support and assistance or challenge and extension (or even both).

But I don’t need to know they are at 30% compared to the norm. I don’t want a report that condemns them as poor, below average, an under achiever or dumb.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10604965

The number of websites that have come across my desk this week is quite outstanding. There are some great resources here that will suit many subjects and curriculum levels.

1. Working on the food chain - http://www.msnucleus.org/membership/storybooks/foodchain.html this is a simple explanation of a food chain. A good resource suiting younger students – upper Junior & lower middle school.

2. Cell visualisation project – http://www.kenneth-eward.com/cvp/cvpindex.html This is a more senior site with resources for the cell. Good graphics. The home site has a number of other resources that you may find of benefit – http://www.kenneth-eward.com/index.html

3. Purpose games – http://www.purposegames.com/ this is a site that hosts educational and quiz games. Really its a portal that you should consider visiting.

4. 35 + educational games http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2009/10/35-educational-games-and-games.html Free technology for teachers is one of my favourite sites and this is an excellent collection of educational games.

5. Web 2 tools for schools – http://cooltoolsforschools.wikispaces.com/ This is an excellent wiki developed by a New Zealand Colleague Lenva. A great resources.

6. Starter sheets http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/Starter+Sheets Professional development  and teaching resources for commonweb 2 tools

In this weeks catch from the net we have Mathematics and data sources, infographic maps, web 2.0 tools and more.

1. The Maths Apprentice - http://www.mathapprentice.com/Activity/explore.html – this is a fun primary and middle years site for mathematics. Directed at the younger audience. Worth considering using with an IWB.

2. Kids online – me and mymaths - http://www.kidsolr.com/math/math.html – again for the yiounger middle years audience, but a useful amth site with potential for IWB use too.

3. Dan’s Maths - http://www.dansmath.com/ – this sit is directed at the more senior school audience but is still applicable to midle school students

4. Maths helpAtube - http://www.mathatube.com/ – Video tutorialsa dn resources for mathematics – this is a great site well worth a forage. While not directly associated but worth investigating is teachertube – http://www.teachertube.com

5. US Government Data - http://www.data.gov/ this is a great source of accurate information and statistics. Applicable to mathematics, humanities and many other subject areas. This is a great resource.

6. Infographic Maps – http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/10/30-superb-examples-of-infographic-maps/ Web designer depot is a blog I subscribe to and it provide a wide range of interesting sites and resources. This one has some excellent examples of inforgraphics that are well worth looking at.

7. Ofcom report on Children and Media – http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consumer/2009/10/more-children-have-broadband-in-the-bedroom/ OfCom is the Office of Communication in the UK. This offering is a report on Media and children. Here is one statistic worth considering “35 per cent of 12-15s and 16 per cent of 8-11s now have web access in their bedrooms“. Worth also visiting is the mashable post on net usage http://mashable.com/2009/10/14/net-usage-nielsen/

8. Online comic creation tool – Howtoons – http://www.howtoons.com/ – A nice online cartoon/comic tool which allows you to export as a PDF file. Free

9. How to give a lousy presentation – http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/aug2009/sb20090825_379576.htm This is one of those time to refelct articles. As you read through this post do you cringle a little?

As always these sites are also posted on my Delicious account - http://del.icio.us/achurches