Activity 5.2.1 Dealing with the potential pitfalls (Core)

Watch the video clip from a school in Canada.
Make notes on the issues this teacher has encountered, and what she did about them.

5.2.1 Dealing with potential pitfalls - Canada

Pope Memorial Elementary School
Bury, Quebec, Canada
Eastern Townships School Board
Teacher: Jocelyn Bennett
URL: http://pope.etsb.qc.ca

Reading strategies .- Seeing pictures with iPad
Children went to internet
Are they just surfing around? Are they doing the work they’re supposed to?
Where to look and what information is good information
‘Know boxes’ Sheet of paper with grids
Sheet with boxes they could only use 5 or 6 words per box including the source (one box for each site)
They categorize information and put it in their own words. The strategies lets fall into copy-paste practice.

Select ‘which websites’.
Critical thinking ¿Where did that information come from? Specially form laptops and the internet. Education site. Ask questions from every site. Extensions, question the source, click on ‘about’ (when the site was born and who founded it).
Techniques used to attract attention.

Create a code of conduct for the computers. Children and teachers sign a document with the code of conduct. If they are searching for information and something inappropriate comes they have to close it and notify their teacher what they were doing and what happened. They won’t reveal that  to their fellow mates.

They don’t let students play games in class unless they prove useful for education.

Children become problem-solvers because they learn to use the tools. They send their work to the teacher through an app. One time they couldn’t play a video and a student gave the answer to make it play by putting it in a document so they solved problems together.


They chose Minecraft to play and build together to create things. They choose their own games.

Watch the short video from a school in Moscow.
Reflect on how difficult it would be to set up something similar in your own school.

Mmm... well, I found this option at kickstarter called the "Microbescope" at  £88.00 which, basically is a AAA size battery operated portable microscope to use with most smartphones and tablets which allows to share real time video of the specimens. It is expensive enough but certainly a lot more cheaper than the versions used in the Moscow school.

Try to identify pitfalls and obstacles you could meet in your own context (let’s try not to focus on the financial dimension) and on why a teacher says in the video from Bury “it hasn’t been an easy journey”. 

Regarding pitfalls, they can be simmilar to those reported in the Canadian school. The first one is still to convince teachers to combine ITC with their regular lessons.
The copy-paste issue can be present as much as activities stay in that design level. Developing alternatives to let students reformulate information in their own words would be an alternative.


Record your answers into your Course Journal. 

Activity 5.1.2 An inspiring project that overcame some challenges (Core)

Watch the inspiring example of a science project that was used in a primary school: the Darwin project. 

Think about the following questions. 

• How would you describe this innovation from your point of view?
• What kind of challenges do you think this team of educators have faced while implementing and developing that project?
• What are the elements of this project that you find inspiring and that you might use to overcome some of your own challenges?

Record your answers into your Course Journal. You will come back to them again towards the end of the week.

I believe its an outstanding effort to bring children into a scientific reasoning procedure. However, I feel more in touch with Beau Lotto's approach toware scientific thinking and kids in 'Beau Lotto + Amy O'Toole: Science is for everyone, kids included',  (Lotto, 2012)

The principal challenge I believe would be how to develop the concept respecting children's essence in order that they feel themselves respected, while incorporating science in their research. The Darwin project structure seems quite complex and not very accessible in terms of interface graphic design. Almost the whole tool is dominated bay text. And while the concept and involving specialists to follow-up children's achievements seems a great idea, I still get the feeling that the Darwin project tends to go more to the adult side than to the children's world.

I really didn't find any particular element inspiring. I think the mechanic is quite complex.

Reference

Lotto, B. & O'Toole, A. (2012). Science is for everyone, kids included.  [Video archive]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/beau_lotto_amy_o_toole_science_is_for_everyone_kids_included

Activity 1.4.2 (Core) 'Supporting teachers'

Assess your priorities for teachers’ and leaders’ needs as they plan the integration of ICT, using Section 1.5 ‘The lessons learned’ from the document you downloaded in Activity 1.2.5, Chapter 1: Setting the Context. 
Record them in your Course Journal in the 'Supporting teachers' section

Key (levels of priority after assessment excercise)

(1)= immediate
(2)= medium term
(3)= long term

Notice: Since this is not my institution but the school my children are attending I am doing the exercise based on what I have seen could be done in there from the position toward ICT from the institution.  

Leadership issues

(1) Recruitment is important, so aim to attract teachers who can work like with
learning technologies.
(2) Remove external constraints on the teaching where possible, to enable innovation to be carried through more easily.
(1) Set out to learn from the successes in other schools.
(1) Unlock sites like YouTube, Facebook, Google, as otherwise it is not possible to teach a consciousness of appropriate ICT use to the students.
(2) Put ICT devices in the library and access halls because it is important for everyone to see the children working on computers.
(3) Instead of a one-off large entrance fee to pay for ICT at the school there should be a lower cost annual fee per student, to allow more mobility in the application of funds. This would enable them to serve the distinctive needs of classes over time.
(2) Give a greater role to ICT in development and assessment, as it is very motivating for learners to get immediate feedback.
(2) Provide more mobile devices with wifi. Fixed equipment is expensive and their scope of use is limited, while mobile devices plus wifi allow more flexible use of ICT.

Lessons learned about what teachers need

(3) Give teachers and students one-to-one access as soon as possible.
(3) Teachers should have received much more attention: they should have received Notebooks prior to engaging them at school with pupils.
(1) We should have inspired teachers more, by helping them understand that ICT is not necessarily evil, but one of many opportunities to enable the growth of the child’s mind and soul.
(2) From the earliest opportunity, provide consistent and frequent technology training sessions for staff members, so that they feel comfortable incorporating the technology, which can be uncomfortable or overwhelming, making some teachers hesitant to use the technology.
(2) Provide professional development for teachers to be better trained by external trainers.
(2) A technician oriented towards pedagogic innovation is needed more regularly in the school.
(1) Recognise teacher leaders for their contribution to the training of their colleagues.
Give teaching staff:
(2) good conditions for their work,
(1) open, public acknowledgement of their activities,
(3) a special financial bonus,
(2) opportunities to take part in conferences.