Day 26 - Pack it in!

Today I really packed in the tech...  Mobile technology can free students mind and help them to express themselves in a more creative way. However the skills of learning how to improve your skills as a learner, made teaching. This is where many schools fall down and classes become confused. A lesson with an iPad available to use is different to an iPad lesson. My belief is that the driving force of any lesson is the learning objective. Any resource that is used to support the students in achieving the lesson objective should be used when appropriate. This does not change when you include an iPad into the equation. The iPad is the tool in which learning is furthered - it's not an end in itself.

With a class brimming with 33 individual needs to be met the teachers ability to give timely support is a skill that is not always achieved. However, with iPad and a little time management and patience this can transform a classroom into one that is pupil centred and led. The latter is achievable and the benefits are clear once the initial teething problems are overcome. 

Skills the children require and acquire:

- to be able to follow instructions 

- self check their work and moderate for quality. 

- be open to suggestions from others

- flexible, responsible and motivated

- creative and good at overcoming difficulties (resilient) 

- open to new ideas and willing to take risks and try something new (flexible & creative) entrepreneurial 

- work to deadlines

So far none of these  skills would be disputed by a teacher as being beneficial. They also are skills that aren't necessarily stated in any learning objectives of primary school children let alone secondary school children. However having a mobile device in the classroom allows the teacher to specifically teach and promote these skills appropriately for the age group they are teaching. The 2015 Nesta report recently underlined the need for the country to invest time to train a workforce with transferable digital skills, I would argue that these are the most valuable learning objectives and the ones that will make a difference to our students a they mature and inevitably join the workforce. So how is this achieved? 

What I have used in the classroom today?

In order to give the children autonomy with their work they have to be given an overview of the tasks in hand. The best way to achieve this is with a file sharing such as Foldr  or Showbie. It can also be achieved by using iTunes U. If iTunes U courses are used in the school this is the optimal way of teaching the skills that digital citizens will need. 

1) iTunes U course. 

Each of the year groups computing curriculum is delivered as an iTunes U course. It allows me to develop resources, differentiate for each individual and collectively, collect and grade work and give individual feedback. It also gives the opportunity for my students work to be peer assessed and for them to further their understanding through the discussions option. It also allows me to change the course easily and update my resources. 

2) Yak-it Kids animation app which gives an additional way to quickly ascertain the level of individual learning. I used this as a exit ticket challenge. The short 15 second recording limits words so the student had to script a speech that succinctly explained email etiquette. 

3) Hopscotch - today we finished our Shang Dynasty games - each pair published their game the Hopscotch website which means they have the opportunity to hold their skills up beside their peers and to receive the critical feedback to help them further their learning into future projects. 

4) Explain Everything : the students revisited their own series of animations which depicted multiplication methods and chose their preferred method to complete their work this week. It showed just how vital it is that in maths students are able to articulate their learning and this enables them to truly understand the concepts.

5) The zoom function that can be found in accessibility. A few students like to have their work made cleared due to failing eyesight. 

But many like to have the work that is modelled on their iPad to have clarity. By activating the zoom function in settings/general/ accessibility/ zoom the three finger tip tap can make all the difference to following instructions. 

Day 25 - Creative Connections

The joy of mobile technology is how every student can put their own spin on a creative task. They surprise themselves with how much fun it is and how effective and professional the results can be. This is especially true for the students that struggle with writing or expressing their ideas on paper. 

What did I use in the classroom today? 

1. Maths - Year 5&6, investigating methods of multiplication. Having last week looked at Explain Everything for the first time, this weeks investigation based on www.nrich.maths.org  was the catalyst for the lesson.  Taking one sum 23x21 and seeing how many different ways this could be multiplied. The methods ranged from the usual column multiplication to the mindblowingly whacky lines method. 

The students task was to make a series of slides showing the calculation in each method and then trying out their own multiplication sums using their preferred method. 

Asked why this way of investigating would help one girl said " I know if I get stuck on a different sum, I could replay the video and it will help me get started again. " Exactly!  The magic nature of the lines method always raises a gasp...

The animated nature of the slides showing how to deconstruct each stage is transformational in learning. It allows the student to take control of how they learn , even down to what they say and how they say it...powerful stuff! 

2) English Grammar - Year 5&6 Book Creator

Having to explain onomatopoeia is one of life's great mysteries. It's easy when the word is accompanied by the sound because it makes sense. So today year five and six made examples of phrases using onomatopoeic words but added that own sound this also gives as a starting point a useful support in their hot writing task later in the week when they will need to compose their own poetry.

3). Using Adobe Voice with Year3&4. Setting up email. 

Adobe voice is to Resik app easy to use intuitive and quick. All the attributes you need for a successful digital classroom based activity. Today in the class we managed to set up everybody with an email and a password. In year three this was no mean feat! Part of the computering curriculum asks that the students have experience of email its usage and for me for their safety online education, it's misuse. I first read to the class Websters email which is a fantastic way to open the topic of conversation on communication and its limitations. Collaboration in classroom is championed but we also need to be mindful that children also need to know when best not to use and share their information.

It was important for my lesson to make sure that the children understood that and email address was a way of tagging you as a person and it is that way that many companies use to track your movements on the Internet. Adobe voice requires each child to have an account. Therefore each child has to have an email account attached to their profile. In itself this is acceptable. However I would ask that companies like Adobe voice realise the power of their app within the classroom and to make it more accessible to the whole school. By the end of the lesson every child had signed up to Adobe voice using that email and they're protected password, they had looked at the tutorial and started to make their own version of a short animation explaining the virtues of email.

 

Day 24 - Shine!

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If differentiation is the ultimate aim for every teacher then it follows that it's also important to allow opportunities for every child to feel successful. I believe including mobile technology in your classroom allows you to achieve this. Today there was another example of how the iPad gave a student a voice. It is now them to express themselves in the classroom in a way that may not have been possible previously. In a class of 32, sometimes individuals can be lost. Today four students shone brightly. We were using Hopscotch and the idea the task was to code a game with a partner based on the Shang Dynasty. This is a topic in key stage two which has not had very much time to excite teachers and their ability to match it to the curriculum is quite weak. Many teachers wish they could still study World War II. So they have a wealth of resources to draw upon. In out classroom, we made our own!

We celebrated the fact that the children were able to work with a partner and the tutorial (as well as peer guidance ) to make a game for this specific topic. The use of the text and then the emoji keyboard allowed them to use appropriate symbols in their game. The latest iOS update gave some invaluable additional material for them. 

What as a teacher I was particularly pleased with was the two children that produce this game were not those that easily are the best at maths, grammar, handwriting, science or in fact any core subject. But with computing they were able to code their game with ease and aplomb. The smiles on their faces as they shared their work by publishing it onto the hopscotch site for all their peers to play was priceless. Almost as shiny as their Headmaster award sticker! 

The added bonus to publishing this particular game on to the Hopscotch website was that it spurred on the rest of the class and motivated them to also want to feel as they like the designer of a game. It increase motivation to finish the task but also to complete it to the best of this skill and to make it as accurate and the code as complicated as they could manage. In a busy day, fraught with noise and incidences, the 45 minutes that the students were coding with their partner on their iPads was focused, quiet, concentrated bliss! 

Day 23 - As easy as breathing?

Any measure of success for embedding technology into a curriculum is whether the technology is invisible. Do the learners feel they have a capacity to utilise technology when it's the best tool for the job, as a normal accepted every day occurrence - this is a goal that is worth pursuing. 

It seems however that most technology needs to be overtly encouraged. Perhaps the is a need to make a fuss in order to validate the cost, the time spent introducing the new method of learning or the simple fact that the devices are available. So, as teachers we feel a compulsion to 'shout' about it every time the device is turned on. That certainly doesn't happen with times tables practice, an essential life skill yes, but one that is repeated everyday without any special attention or recognition. Perhaps using an iPad in school is still not mainstream enough not to be singled out and highlighted. A little like a student receiving Ritalin for ADHD! 

A five star project will take into consideration the following:

1) Accepted aims that are embraced by the staff, pupils and wider stakeholders.  

2) Access to training and advice to support ideas which continually encourage on-going CPD 

3) Appropriate use of apps, ones that encourage free thinking and creativity and do not stifle or restrict the students ability to make decisions about the information presented to them. 

4) Attitude of the students and staff, whether as part of a 1:2:1 or shared set model, can students choose when to use the devices? Is it when it's the best tool for the job or only as a 'special occasion' 'one off' when directed by the teacher? 

5) Availability of band width - does the wifi and other parts of the infrastructure support the activity in the classrooms. Air printing, up dated devices working in optimal conditions to make picking up the device as natural and easy as breathing...

The final A star would be awarded when the students and staff have the ability to celebrate and share their work, through blogs, a website or in house, on presentation screens that stream an ever changing  series of examples of good classroom practice. This cherry on the cake can be provided by Trilby TV, a simple but effective presentation module that is compatible with Apple TV and allows the students to upload their work in real time to a presentation area or screen. Just sit back and watch the self esteem rise! 

What I have used in the classroom today? 

1) BBC. CBeebies Nina and the Neurons - Go Digital Year 1 computing. 

2) BBC Bitesize Dance mat Typing for improving touch typing skills to make typing efficient and fast! 

3) iTunes U bespoke course to deliver the links for the computing curriculum to Year 1&2. 

4) Puppet Pals - to animate stud nets own versions of Roald Dahls Revolting Ryhmes. 

5) Adobe Voice - to record the treasure hunt for computing devices around us. 

6) Book Creator - to record the research facts on toilets to inform about the African charity. 

7) Book Creator - for the ongoing digital profile to capture evidence of progress. 

The iPad can provide many opportunities to include rich resources into teaching and learning, as long as the wifi is robust enough for the job... 

Day 22 - Counting Chickens

  

Sometimes it's the simple things that you take for granted. Take online safety for instance. The year 1's and 2's are like sponges for information. They have a curiosity which makes them hang on every word of a story. Clicking Chicken by Jeanne Willis made them laugh audibly but also voice their disapproval at the fluffy yellow fellow's antics. They understood the principles of strangers online in 20 pages of simple text and illustration. 

I too, had taken the simplicity of Showbie for granted. It rates as one of my favourite apps to make classroom organisation simple, that is until today. Having been a trial blazer for the new non Apple ID MDM, we were feeling rightly chuffed with ourselves for being able to say we had put our faith in the technology. For the most part our courage was well founded. However, today after updating the iPads the only app not to respond was Showbie. It crashed in every case. Teasing us into thinking it would work but fading away at every attempt. This caused some major difficulties. Mainly, it highlighted just how simple Showbie makes sharing, navigating to websites and effortlessly delivering differentiated tasks to individuals. I had begun to take it for granted. Perhaps it's time to evaluate Seesaw? 

If the filesharing app doesn't work, the alternative of typing in website addresses and navigating a complex work flow plainly stilits learning. Mis spelt words, a dot instead of a dash, can seriously frustrate both pupil and teacher...notwithstanding the waste of time in the lesson gathering the correct resources. ( At this point,  I am trying to forget the planning time put in to adding all the resources on to Showbie in the first place)  Secondly, how is it all marked? Notwithstanding the aide of the grading and voice annotation of the bespoke formative and individualised comments that make the difference to progress. I almost gave myself a hernia lifting the 33 exercises books into the back of the car!  

I know the future is with mobile technology, and I am prepared to swallow a bitter pill of progress if the lessons are learnt and the feedback is received by both app developers and MDM proponents. Sometimes you have to push the boundaries to improve. As the Headteacher said - it can be comforting staying in the safe 'known' world of what you have always done because at least you know what your problems will be...but for our school, we are embracing that the steps we are taking into the future will ultimately help the children to become better equipped learners and digital citizens. 

Day 21 - Café Culture CPD

With a cup of coffee and a chocolate digestive in hand the the teaching assistants were invited to attend a 20 minute 'spotlight on digital skills' session. They had all been released together from their usual duties so that they could increase their own skill level using iPad.

In order for any digital strategy to fully embedded in the school needs to be embraced by the whole staff. More and portly it needs to be understood and accepted as part of the vision for the school. Therefore, the development plan or the digital strategy needs to have been discussed and agreed by staff so that they can understand why it is they are being asked to change or modify their skill set. In my experience if this has happened change is managed much more smoothly and with understanding.

It is in this climate that our first digital skills session was held. Last week all the school's iPads were taken in under the umbrella of the MDM. Although the staff enjoy greater flexibility and less restrictions on their iPads they are part of the schools agreed use a policy and therefore need to appreciate how they work in the classroom with the students to educate them to be responsible and discerning digital citizens.

Our first app was Book Creator (those of you following my blog will also have seen the myriad of ways that the creator is utilised within the curriculum already). The best way to learn any new skill is by doing. So using airplay in one of the classrooms we set about creating our own book from a temp late. After just 15 minutes, and a lot of laughter, each of the TA's had completed a page of their book using all of the features on the + menu. 

 We also had looked at searching for images with the correct usage rights as it's important that the TA's to reinforce the responsible use of the technology whether they are on iPad, a PC or another device at home.

Having shared and published our very brief new book our allotted 20 minutes were up. The attendees went away with the confidence to have a go themselves - and with half term coming up it's a timely opportunity to explore the possibilities of using this particular app. 

An added bonus in this close quarter training is that one of the ladies wanted to ask a 'how do I?' question. She wanted to show a slideshow of images of the work the class had been doing. This was easy as in Photos once an album is created the option to show as a slide show is inbuilt. Having showed the TA's this feature,  I was very pleased that on walking past the year two classroom on their screen was being air-played a slideshow of images of the proud students making salt dough. An activity that they had undertaken that very morning! I'd call that on side! 

Day 20 - Vertically Grouped Opinions

The school which I currently work has three classes of children which are vertically grouped. This has huge benefits when deciding to discuss individual topics and support new ideas. It also can be limiting in its capacity to provide each specific year group with the learning outcomes that they require.

I was confident that year 1 could build on the foundations of their introductory familiarisation with the language of coding lesson and go on to perform much more complex and demanding tasks.

Today, was their second lesson on the introductory steps to coding. Last week we talked about giving unambiguous instructions. I based it on the perennial favourite of making a jam sandwich. To my amazement the children were really enthusiastic about being able to sample a jammy piece of bread at the end of the lesson! So much so,  that I thought this would prevent them from understanding the concept of an algorithm. I was happy to be proved wrong.

This week, we began our lesson by rearranging a large set of photographs from each stage of the algorithm that we created last week. The Year 1's were very proficient at recalling the steps even being able to recall when a mistake or bug was discovered. But why should this be useful in vertically grouped Year 1&2 class?

With my Year 2's, who also have not, as yet, had a great deal of experience using the language of computing. I modified the jam sandwich task for them. They had to debug the set of images Year 1 had taken depicting their jammy algorithm. 

The class were able to proficiently identify where mistakes were made but also to discuss with their year 1 counterparts the likelihood of an algorithm actually working even with a different variable... Was the knife always needed before the butter was opened?

Discussion about the way the bread and plate, knife and jam needed to be organised gave rise to the opportunity to deepen the understanding of each year group. Providing me and them with a rich experience in the need for clarity.

I was impressed by the way the children were able to discuss and move their own learning on through the discussion of the different variables.  Photo Collage app allowed me to very quickly collate the series of images into a format that could be used by one group and debugged by a second.  

The foundations have been laid for this group of children to move into comprehending simple programming. Beebots here we come!