Tag Archives: learning culture

BYOD/BYOT, Impact on learning, Strategic vision, West Lothian

West Lothian Council: Developing a strategy for learning

April 23, 2013 User deactivated Leave a comment

West Lothian Council: Focus on the learning and not on the devcie — Devices embedded in learning opportunities

West Lothian Council has a dedicated anywhere, anytime learning (AAL) channel that is designed to enable a BYOD (bring your own device) model across their school estate. Although this resource/service is available to all schools across West Lothian a process has been put in place by the central team and this must be engaged with by any school who wishes to have their AAL channel switched on. Laura Compton from the central team at West Lothian explained that the focus of their work was all about impact on learning and ensuring better outcomes for learners. To achieve this objective any school which wished to access their AAL channel would need to work in partnership with them to develop a strategy for learning that would make best use of any web-enabled devices that came into the school.

West Lothian Council: The Learning Strategy Laura Compton discusses the need for strategic planning by a school to take place prior to the AAL channel being switched on.

Integral to the jointly authored learning strategy is a shared understanding that the focus is not on the device or the apps that may be available but rather on the rich learning opportunities that can be enabled by access to such technology. There is also an emphasis on ensuring that these learning opportunities are not straight-jacketed by a school that wants to be overly controlling in the management of the resource, a control that may lead to everyone having the same resources and apps on their device. They were adamant that a focus on controlling the device and subsequently the learning in this way would not lead to any sense of culture or transformational change within the school.

We need to talk about learning and not about devices.

In order to create the conditions for any positive change to begin to happen Laura Compton argued that the energy needed to be moved away from ideas of managing devices and wholly channeled into ensuring that the focus was on providing quality learning at every opportunity.

Impact on learning, infrastructure, Strategic vision, West Lothian

West Lothian Council: The AAL channel

April 23, 2013 User deactivated Leave a comment

John Low explained to us that AAL (anywhere, anytime learning) is the definition that they use for the channel on their wireless networks that enables authority non-supported and pupil-owned devices to access the internet. The team at West Lothian Council had wrestled with the fact that learners were journeying on their learning by accessing the internet via the wi-fi on the local bus or in fast-food burger shops but not, alas, in school. The AAL channel was seen as a solution that would enable learning to happen anytime and anywhere – including in school!

West Lothian Council: The AAL channel John Low discusses the AAL Channel in West Lothian

The team at West Lothian were conscious that a situation was developing where the access to technology was restricted by their capacity to provide devices within schools. They were concerned that learners would only gain access to technology in Secondary, for example, when they chose a subject that required access to a set of desktop computers, and that the use of such tools would not permeate through to pupils. Although the central team are confident that progress has been made in helping to develop staff capacity to project online content, they were aware that this was teacher driven and not the individualised process of exploration and enquiry for learners that access to digital technology can enable. These factors came together and were the basis on which they determined to create a sustainable and scalable infrastructure that would enable a ‘bring your own device’ (BYOB) system to work across their school estate.

The central team stressed that the their AAL acronym was the same concept that one may associate with BYOD and that it was just that the AAL vision was well in place before terms such as BYOD, BTOT (bring your own technology) or even BYOB (bring your own browser) were commonly known and used.

All primary and secondary schools have the capacity to have a channel on West Lothian’s enterprise wireless network that allows Authority supported devices to access the web. The AAL channel allows non-supported authority devices provided by the school and learner-owned devices to connect to the internet, and with this connection comes authentication, filtering and the recording of user activity.

There have been many challenges for John Low and his team in setting up the AAL network, and none more significant than working with authority corporate colleagues who have responsibility for issues such as information security, data protection and code of connection. They have, however, managed to resolve many of the issues so that the AAL channel can be used by schools to help prepare the digital environment that can enhance learning and help facilitate better outcomes for learners.

1:1 deployment, Android, Edinburgh, Impact on learning, Learner, Trusting learners

Forrester HS: The learner perspective

April 23, 2013 User deactivated Leave a comment

Forrester HS: Learners with Android devices — What do learners think about the learning with devices?

We spoke with some of the S1 pupils about their experiences of the Android device pilot at Forrester HS. They were generally excited and positive about having access to a tablet device all the time in school and at home. They talked about how everything was now much easier with the device! When asked to elaborate on this they talked about how it had enhanced the way they now edited their writing and how good it was to access tools that enabled them to respond differently to tasks rather than solely using pencil and paper. They talked about how some teachers are using Edmodo to help support homework and WordPress for blogging and about how they were able to access and download resources such as worksheets. The fact that there was instant access to their device and to the information they were seeking was much much better than having to wait to get their booked slot at the ICT suite. Finally, some of the learners talked about the fact that they come from a world where technology is part of their everyday experience and to have it in school was very appealing. They agreed that these initiatives, such as the Android device pilot, were about helping to develop an appropriate learning culture that met their needs.

First interview with learners from Forrester HS:

Forrester HS: pupil interview 1 Interview 1 with learners from Forrester HS

Second interview with learners from Forrester HS:

Forrester HS: pupil interview 2 Interview 2 with learners from Forrester HS

1:1 deployment, Android, Edinburgh, Impact on learning

Forrester HS: Impact on learning and unexpected wins

April 19, 2013 User deactivated Leave a comment

The Android and iPad pilots in Edinburgh City are all put in place with the express intention that their impact would lead to enhanced learning and better outcomes for learners. Derek Curran’s (headteacher) ambitions for the device pilot in his school are no different from Edinburgh City’s and although his pilot was still in its early stages he was keen to share his thoughts and observations to date about just what impact he wanted to see and what he thought was happening.

Although he was content with the progress that was being made at such an early stage of the pilot, Mr Curran thought that there might have been more evidence of staff using a range of media beyond text to support their teaching than was the case; however, he was sure that this would come as the pilot progressed and the staff increased their confidence and competence in the use of the device. He felt that gradual improvements and lessons learned by his staff would have a cumulative effect that would lead to a gathering momentum of developing expertise and understanding of just how learning can be enhanced with the use of digital tools.

Forrester HS: Impact on learning and teaching Interview with Mr Curran (HT) about impact on learning of the Android pilot

We went on to discuss with Mr Curran what he felt the device pilot would bring to his school in terms of helping to create opportunities for collaborative learning to occur in his school. He believed that social learning tools such as blogs and wikis can have an enriching impact on learning both in and out of school and that there was evidence of his pupils already engaging with these contexts for learning. He anticipates that as access to the devices and the online tools that they offer become more embedded in the life of teaching and learning across the school he will see enhanced collaborative, working with learners moderating their learning via shared wikis, for instance.

Forrester HS: Enhanced learning Mr Curran (HT) discusses the potential that digital technology has to enhance learning

Mr Curran also talked about the unexpected wins that can be gained from pilots such as the one his school was trialling. His discussions with the school librarian brought up the fact that Edinburgh City library had a huge range of ebooks available to library members. He saw this as a perfect opportunity to get all pupils involved in the pilot to join the city library and have access to the range of texts that are freely available via this service.

Forrester HS: Unexpected wins Mr Curran (HT) discusses the unexpected wins that such a pilot can bring to the life of learning of a school

Apple, Edinburgh, Impact on learning, Parental

Sciennes PS: Initial parental perspectives

April 11, 2013 User deactivated Leave a comment

Sciennes PS: Parents convinced learning is happening — Parents convinced learning is happening

Relationships with the parents and carers is a priority at Sciennes PS. The school is committed to ensuring that information is communicated effectively with parents and that parental feedback is taken on board and considered.

In relation to the parental response to the iPad pilot at Sciennes PS, Lucy Gallagher (depute headteacher) believes that it has been an incredibly favourable one. The only issue that she feels there has been was that some parents had a concern about, or questioned, whether the iPad was a learning device. Mrs Gallagher feels that this initial question has been addressed through the way in which the iPad is now used by the children to access their learning at home, so that the wider life of learning, more than just homework, has increased visibility to parents and carers. This perception seems to be echoed by many of the pupils who believe that their parents/carers are now much more involved and engaged with their learning. This is because their parents/carers can now see more of what what they have been doing and as a result are even keener to get involved.

Sciennes PS: parental views Mrs Gallagher discusses initial parental perceptions of the pilot

Mrs Gallagher described this increased level of learner-parent engagement as a joyful experience.

1:1 deployment, Apple, Edinburgh, Impact on learning

Sciennes PS: Enhanced learning dialogue and self-directed learning

April 10, 2013 User deactivated Leave a comment

Sciennes PS: Enhanced dialogue around the device — Enhanced dialogue around the device

Lucy Gallagher (depute headteacher) at Sciennes PS in Edinburgh was keen to share with us her perceptions of the impact on learning of the iPad pilot that she was supporting in her school. She believed that what has been happening had surpassed her initial expectations and that this was down not to the device in itself but to the professional and informed integration of the devices by the two class teachers who were leading the classes involved. As a result of the procedures and processes put in place Mrs Gallagher said that there is now much more emphasis on talking about learning between learners, teachers and parents. She argued that, because of the way devices enable access for learners to their school work, parents are much more aware of the wider school learning experience, as opposed to just seeing homework.

Sciennes PS: Enhanced Learning Dialogue Mrs Gallagher talks about enhanced learning dialogue

Mrs Gallagher also commented on what she saw as a change in the learning culture in the classrooms where the devices were being used in relation to the development of a dynamic that encourages the learner to be the main active agent when choosing which app to use when. She discussed the ways in which the teachers involved may have had different approaches in the early stages of the pilot in relation to how they introduced apps: one teacher retained more control of what was explored by giving direction to learners while the other was more comfortable being a little less prescriptive and giving learners the freedom and autonomy to explore the device. Even though there might have been differences in approach, Mrs Gallagher has observed that both classrooms now have learners who thrive in a learning culture that actively encourages personalisation and choice of how to address learning tasks and to direct their own learning.

Sciennes PS: Self Directed Learning Mrs Gallagher talks about self-directed learning

1:1 deployment, Apple, Impact on learning, Independent Schools, Teacher

Cedars School of Excellence: Impact on Learning

April 10, 2013 User deactivated Leave a comment

Cedarspost3HL — iPads part of the everyday life of learning at Cedars

Cedars School of Excellence in Greenock is an independent school catering for children ages from 5 to 17 years. In 2009 they were inspired by the announcement of the Apple’s new iPad that would lead them to become the first school to offer 1:1 iPad provision for learners and staff. Since that time they have been working to integrate the use of this technology into the fabric of learning in their school. We visited them in October 2012 to find out what their experience with their 1:1 approach had been.

We met with Fraser Speirs (computing teacher) and Andrew Jewell (class teacher) to ask them what they had seen in terms of impact on learning as a result of their iPad initiative. Mr Speirs felt that that one of the biggest benefits with subsequent impact on learning was that life in school was very much like life outside of school in terms of their learners being able to access and use digital technology without having to make any adjustments or compromises. He also explained that much of the teaching in the school had been realigned in keeping with what the school felt was a change of emphasis on what was really important, an emphasis informed and influenced by access to tablet devices, always on access to the web and the range of apps that are now available. One example of this was that there was now less of a focus on tasks such as Word Processing with greater emphasis being place on developing a delivering effective presentations that communicated a message that was beyond text.

cedars_fspeirsimpact Listen to Fraser Speirs talk about impact on learning

Apple, Impact on learning, West Dunbartonshire

Dalreoch PS: Do these devices have an impact on learning?

April 8, 2013 User deactivated Leave a comment

dalreoch3feature — Focus on learning at Dalreoch PS

In our discussions with Sat Bance (headteacher) at Dalreoch PS in West Dunbartonshire we asked him what he perceived to be the impact on learning of the iPad pilot in his school. We were fully appreciative that the pilot had not been happening for too long, however, we were keen to hear about what he was seeing in the classrooms where the devices were being used.

Mr Bance commented that he believed that with the advent of the devices in his school he was seeing greater opportunity for the learners to engage with ICTs in a much more creative way than they possibly could have in the past. He also referred to the ways in which the device became a shared source/tool to enable collaborative group working to take place more readily and effectively, but what he thought was particularly powerful was the way in which learners could now make informed decisions about how to respond to tasks in a way that they, and not the teacher, decided. He gave the example of his P7 children being given a task where they were given the freedom to respond whatever means/app/resource they felt best suited their response. This led to a degree of personalisation of learning as a result of a task being set, but with the response mechanism being left open to learner choice. Mr Bance suggested that the technology and the way it was being used was leading to a change in the learning culture of the school; one which was offering greater personalisation and choice for the learner.

We asked Mr Bance if he had any concerns that teachers might be seduced by the highly professional finish that many apps (such as iMovie trailers) automatically offer the user to the extent that it may mask what might not be particularly strong learning, in effect dumbing down the learning. He was keen to express an awareness of this but to highlight that in his school they were equally concerned with the processes of learning that are being nurtured and grown in his school as they were with any finished article that learners may make.

Dalreoch PS, impact on learning Sat Bance talks about impact on learning