Educational Origami

Source: BBC website - http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/57818000/jpg/_57818371_cubetoys.jpg

Can you imagine how your classroom would be changed if the students could make the models and products they design there and then in the classroom? I am not just talking about a design or technology classroom. Consider the science classroom as the students are constructing models of molecules, protiens or strings of RNA or DNA. Or the art suite where digital sculpture becomes real, the biomechanics class in physical education. The humanities class where designing a game to show understanding of ancient civilizations takes a new dimension of representation. The potential is endless, but I unreachable.

Well, that no longer seems to be true. CES 2012, the consumer electronics show has affordable 3D printers. In a BBC news article they have detailed affordable and easy to use 3D printers.

Affordable? Under US$2000. This is not affordable as in every classroom has one, but it does make 3D printing something that its within the reach of most schools. And the benefits/learning outcomes are huge.

Here are a list of the sites mentioned in the article:

Base article 3D printer makers rival visions of the future – http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16503443

TinkerCad – Online free 3D modeling tool - http://tinkercad.com/

Thingiverse – sharing digital designs - http://www.thingiverse.com/

Cubify – makers of the Cube - http://cubify.com/cube/index.aspx

3D Systems – makers of personal and professional 3D systems - http://www.3dsystems.com/personal-3d-printers

Google Sketchup – 3D modeling software - http://sketchup.google.com/

FabLab Model Maker – paper based model maker - http://www.aspexsoftware.com/download_modelmaker.htm

The UK, like many countries is struggling with how to teach ICT. They have been teaching a skills based program in isolation from the context. They like many people have taught “excel” or “powerpoint” rather than integrating these skills sets into every aspect of teaching and learning. (I know this is a broad and sweeping generalization, but it is supported by the articles attached and this podcast also from the BBC)

“Imagine the dramatic change which could be possible in just a few years, once we remove the roadblock of the existing ICT curriculum. ”Instead of children bored out of their minds being taught how to use Word or Excel by bored teachers, we could have 11-year-olds able to write simple 2D computer animations,” he said.”

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-16493929

What the royal society is proposing is changing ICT to computer science. teaching programming via robotics and web development from the early years of  school. The implication is that the teaching of basic ICT skills like:

• File management and standard operating procedures,
• principles of graphical design,
• principles of data processing,
• principles of presentations,
• Digital citizenship,

“If we cannot address the problem of how to educate our young people in inspirational and appropriate ways, we risk a future workforce that is totally unskilled and unsuited to tomorrow’s job market,” he said.

The aspiration, said Prof Furber, was to allow all children with an interest in computing to gain experience of programming and robotics, from basic computer languages in primary schools to web-based systems for those in senior school.”

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16515275   Royal society offers ways to overhaul ICT program.

Here is another related BBC article - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-16493929 School ICT to be replaced by computer science program.

The podcast - http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9675000/9675420.stm – “a nation of digital illiterates”

I have been enjoying this summer break and having a little technology downtime. However the kids have been playing quite extensively on the iPads as the weather has not always been conducive to swimming and playing around outside.

We have a wide selection of games on the iPad for the “kids” enjoyment and a couple leap to mine as useful tools that could be applied to learning. Why would I want to use games for learning, well they are engaging, self motivating, rewarding and have instant feedback. So here are a couple that I think have potential:

Simple Physics. Here you are required to build structures for a specific task. In the image below its a bomb shelter. The task is to build a shelter that withstands three explosion and remain within budget. The lower the cost the more points. To build it you must consider angles and strength, direction and force. Its fun and engaging. But its more than a bomb shelter, you build dams cranes, tree houses, submarines and staircases.

URL: http://itunes.apple.com/nz/app/simplephysics/id408233979?mt=8

Here is a screengrab

Tinkerbox – this is a similar physics game to Simple Physics. Here you use logic, force, motion and mechanics to solve a series of problems. The game is supported by a tutorials (see below) that assist you in developing your solution. They are not easy either, there is considerable challenge involved in this game.

URL: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tinkerbox-hd/id415722219?mt=8

Rush Hour – this is a change of style and genre, but is an excellent learning and thinking game. This is a computer simulation of the real game of the same name. The objective is to move the cars in a sequence to allows you to release the red car from the grid lock it is in. The number of cars and the complexity of the sequence varies from easy to hard. Its a great game for developing logic and process. .

URL: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/rush-hour/id336542036?mt=8

W.E.L.D.E.R. This stands for Word Examination Laboratory for Dynamic Extraction and Reassessment. Yea its a triffle ostentatious, but behind this mouthful lies a great game for the english student. Simply rearrange the letters and add in a few to create words (they have over 15000 loaded in the dictionary) Spell the word correctly, score the points and the letters are removed. It is a very addictive game.

URL: http://itunes.apple.com/nz/app/w.e.l.d.e.r./id471056941?mt=8

Its easy to overlook the potential of games for learning. Find a game that matches your learning objectives, that reinforces a concept, that provides a different mode of understanding and you can unlock a world of engagement and fun.

WHAT GAMES HAVE YOU FOUND THAT COULD BE USE IN CLASS? I would love to hear about them.

I have long thought that there are parallels that can be drawn between Digital and Global Citizenship. In Digital citizenship the core aspects are respect and protecting oneself, others and property. I believe the same basic tenants can be applied to Global citizenship.

So here is my first go at Global Citizenship

It is worth comparing the Digital and Global Citizenships side by side. I don’t have room in a post to do this easily, so here is a draft version.global and digital citizenship Draft 1.01

Please comment and make suggestions. This is only a draft and the final product will be licensed under the creative commons share and share-alike license so I would ask that you don’t use this version rather comment and contribute.

I have updated the Senior students Digital citizenship agreement. I have added in two elements into:

• Protecting others – I will moderate unacceptable materials and conversations
• Respecting Intellectual property – I will acknowledge primary sources

Global Digital Citizenship is a critical element of any teaching program at any level. Our students are connected. Irrespective of the age of the student they are wired. We are seeing devices reducing in cost, increasing in availability and entering most classrooms and almost every school.

If you ask a students a question there first response is likely to be to “google” it. If you go to a library for research, the students are most likely to use the computers.The digital world is a world almost universally without boundaries (Some countries do still attempt to restrict access, but these are usually the same countries that are restrictive with their people as well). Visiting, talking, chatting, messaging are seemless, real time and simple. The distance between two people is now measured in milliseconds rather than miles.

All of this, the speed, immediacy, accessibility and ease of use means that Global Digital Citizenship is paramount.

But how do we teach Global Digital Citizenship, a fluency that is critical at all levels of education?

I think there are four aspects of this.

1. Clarity and rationale – Whether we are giving the students guidelines (my personal preference) or sets of rules there must be clarity and a transparent rationale behind the statements we make. Too often the communications that the students and staff sign to are not explained, written in quazi-legaleze and are too specific. I have seen schools and school districts present year1-3 students with documents to sign, stipulating what they can or can not do, written in language that I struggle with. The fact that the language used means the kids DO NOT understand it and therefore it is irrelevant AND the reality that a minor signing an agreement is immisable is often ignored. So a better option is to write guidelines that are flexible, encompassing and age specific. This adds CLARITY. The guidelines must have a logical basis – this is what we need from you and THIS IS WHY WE NEED IT – this is the rationale. If you can not provide a reasonable explanation for a decision or guideline then it is a POOR decision.
2. Understanding and Purpose – this is the communication aspect with the students and  the community. You have to develop and instil in the students an understanding of WHY we are making these recommendations and setting these expectations. They need to see the bigger purpose of respecting and protecting themselves, other people and intellectual property. They need to understand about their actions and the consequences of these. They must be aware of global considerations and inherent in this the cultural difference that exist. Again this is age specific.
3. Monitoring and consequences – As critical as rationale and purpose, monitoring and consequences should be transparent, timely and appropriate. We are building a trust model, which digital citizenship inherently is, but there must be a process of keeping safe and learning lessons. It is appropriate to have filtering of the internet at different age levels, it is critical to have tracking and recording of use and access – but these MUST be CLEARLY communicated. There needs to be immediacy in dealing with actions that are unacceptable, whether it is inappropriate content, actions or communications. The consequences must reflect the action. I would guarantee that most schools would have different levels of consequences for similar real and virtual actions. Consider this…. a student goes into the music department and steals a CD of the latest popular music  – the consequences of such theft would be severe. Take the online equivalent the student uses the schools network to pirate (steal) the digital equivalent of the album. The students is likely to be told this is not appropriate. How are the two actions different in the underlying action -both are  stealing media. But one is considered a lesser crime or action. Similarly how is cyberbullying less damaging than bullying face to face?
4. Individual and community involvement. In developing and implementing our digital citizenship guidelines and processes we sought, valued and used feedback from staff, students and the community. We ask our parents to apply our guidelines at home. We had our students critique our guidelines and THEN WE MODIFIED THEM based on student voice, where appropriate. Getting buy in and understanding from all sides is critical. If the student is involved in designing, implementing and using the guidelines they develop ownership and it becomes their guidelines and their ethical and moral compass, a compass that is hopefully aligned to respecting and protecting themselves, other people and property by their actions, behaviours and in some cases inactions.

So what have I missed?

Its been a while since I had the time to do a on the wire update, but I have taken a moment and I want to share a couple of interesting articles and resources with you.

Seven things you should know about…..

This is a brilliant series of resources produced by educause that examine an emerging technology and how it could be applied to education. There are several new one out that are worth examining

• Seven things you should know about organising files in the cloud
• Seven things you should know about personalise digital magazines
• Seven things you should know about Gamification
• Seven things you should know about word press
• Seven things you should know about service design
• Seven things you should know about MOOC Massively open online course

These are brilliant resources available in PDF and ePub formats

The second item on my agenda is the national geographic videos about the worlds population reaching  7 Billion.

• http://youtu.be/JwL4mNa2eaQ – this is the typical person video
• http://youtu.be/sc4HxPxNrZ0 – this is the timeline video
• http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/7-billion Home page

7 billion typical person

7 billion timeline

One of the things that I found interesting at the Horizon project meeting this week was the concept of  “Challenging the Examination“.

The concept or process was described to me in the context of a tertiary setting, where a person enters the university with significant experience and is able to sit or challenge the examination immediately rather than covering a course of study and then taking the examination. Should they pass the paper or papers they are given the credit for this and if they fail it the are expected to undertake the course of study to be able to resit the paper at a later stage.

I like this as a concept.

Imagine if this was applied to a school situation.

Imagine if our students could challenge the examination and were able to, with out a prescribed course of study and then  gain these qualifications. How many of our students would be able to do this? Would our school system have the flexibility to be able to do this?  If we were to pre-test the students with an assessment and they succeeded would we be happy to give them the credit they have earned? Are we doing our students justice by making them undertake a course of learning or alternatively by excusing them from it.

Why shouldn’t they be able to do this?

This  concept raises questions about so many aspects of our teaching and our institutions. Our entire education system is based around a progression of teaching and learning culminating in assessments. It adds a level of rigidity and structure that is comfortable and reassuring. It means we know what were are teaching and when and that we don’t have to cope with learners at completely different places.

But this is based around the premise that assessment and therefore qualification is the sole purpose of education. Is it? or is there more to what we do? If there is more is this reflected in how we structure teaching and learning in our schools?

And if our students could “rock up” and pass the assessment without a course of study, what questions would that raise?

It would be interesting to give the students an “assessment grade” pre test and see if they could pass it? And if they could?

Yesterday I attended the Horizon Projects New Zealand meeting. One of the exercises we undertook was to use the Hype cycle, a visualisation tool produced by Gartner to examine the different technologies identified in the New Zealand Horizon report

The hype cycle allows you to plot where either you are or your organisatiuon is on the use of a technology. The cycle is divided into a number of stages which a technology will usually progress through. The initial high expectations. the disappointment where it isn’t delivering quite what was expected and then a steady climb to effective use. The depth and height of peaks and troughs is dependent on the process and investigation that an organisation implements.

In the meeting we went through the three different technology horizons in the reports and then mapped where we consider ourselves to be on the hype cycle from an educational perspective and from a business perspective. The horizons were:

1 year or less

• cloud computing
• collaborative environments
• mobile apps
• tablet computing

2 to 3 years

• digital identity
• electronic publishing
• game based learning
• personal learning environments

4 to 5 years

• augmented reality
• gesture based computing
• next generation batteries
• smart objects

It was an interesting exercise and one that for me provided insight into many of the projects I have been involved in. Where are we on this process? Are we still in the early stages of high expectations or in the trough of disillusionment.

I can also draw parallels to what we see in change management. While often we miss the peak of high expectations we do see the four stages that correspond to the trough and slope of enlightenment and plateau of productivity

• denial
• bargaining
• depression
• acceptance

Here is a challenge for you. Pick a technology you have or are thinking of implementing. Now consider where you are on then “cycle”. Now considering your position, what can you do to move quickly to the “plateau of productivity”? How can you reduce the steepness of the slope to the trough or avoid it entirely?

It strike me that with due process and realistic expectations you can avoid most if not all of the roller coaster ride?

Thoughts?

I love the concept of BYOD (Bring your own device) on a number of levels. We have a successful BYOD program at the senior school and it works.

From a administrative and financial aspect BYOD makes sense. You don’t have to provide the students with either laptops, leases or access to machines the cost savings are brilliant. You do still have to provide the students with network & internet access but that’s something that most schools do anyway.

Source: http://viewology.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC_0245-MacBook-Pro-13-On-for-First-Time.jpg

You also have transferred the onus of responsibility and care of the device to the students as opposed to the school. The students are responsible for caring for their own device and insuring it. Interesting the student DO take much better care of their own machines compared to one leased from or provided by the school. The students also make more use of their BYOD too. Its their device and they have customised it (this is a trait of 21st century learners) to suit themselves.

One of the issues people do raise is the distribution and access to materials, this too can be easily solved. We have not stated the software students can use but have stipulated the files formats. For example:

• Documents – Microsoft .doc format – this is accessible from MS office products from 2003 upwards, iWorks pages, Open Office Writer etc
• Presentation – Microsoft .ppt format -this is accessible from MS office products from 2003 upwards, iWorks keynote, Open Office impress etc
• Spreadsheets – Microsoft .xls format -  this is accessible from MS office products from 2003 upwards, iWorks numbers, Open Office calc etc
• Uneditable documents – adobe .pdf format
• Audio – .mp3 format
• video – .avi and mpeg4 formats
• images – .jpg format

By specifying the file format rather than the product we have enabled the students to use any operating system or hardware. This suits different preferences and different budgets.

Connection has been streamlined and uses some great technology that allows the students to register the devices using the mac address and then access the network via a login.

These are the easily solved bits of a BYOD program and the easy advantages.

The more challenging aspects are the control and safety questions. The challenges faced are what do the students bring to school in their laptops? unacceptable, inappropriate or illegal materials. In our system they can not access blatantly inappropriate material. We track and monitor all other sites. But this is only effective for active online access not what is brought in from either cached or deliberately saved personal activity. Nor does this cover the inappropriate use of the laptop – the student playing games etc.

source: http://km.support.apple.com/library/APPLE/APPLECARE_ALLGEOS/HT4517/HT4517_06----en.png

We can not stop  the students using their own personal network connections – We had earlier in the year a contractor who cut our internet pipe. It was fascinating to watch, as the students lost connectivity, the number of personal hotspots and alike that popped up as the students sought other methods of resolving the internet outage. Using these methods, personal hotspots etc,  students can easily connect to social media sites which many schools do try to block.

So……..

The shift to BYOD is fundamentally based on a trust model. The school has accepted that they no longer have control. They have realised they no longer have the same rights of search and seizure that leased and school owned machines had. They no longer have the same level of monitoring of software, internet etc that they previously had.  A question worth pondering is how much of the students appropriate use at school is made by choice and how much is derived from the restrictions that school system have in place to prevent unacceptable activity?

The importance of Digital citizenship is PARAMOUNT in a BYOD school. If inappropriate activity has been curtailed by restriction, what will happen when you remove these restrictions? What will happen when the students can install their own software (legal or illegal), connect to their own internet connection, avoid school based filters.

We must instil in our students a strong ethical and moral approach to the use of technology, an approach that is respectful to themselves, to other people and to property. This ethical and moral approach is backed not by a regime of “these are the rules, now follow them” rather by understanding and transparency. “Here is our approach, this is why we do this, here are the impacts of this, these are the people who are effected”

Its only by being transparent and open, honest and clear, that the students will accept and follow the behaviours and norms that the organisation requires. And this is the only way a BYOD program will flourish

IMHO