Our Changing World

John McCarney

Head of Education Services, RM

Today's Presentation

• The times they are a changin’ (again)• Impact of technology:

–What it is and why should you care?

• Glowing Potential

• Questions for discussion

The conditions thattypified training…

• Information was scarce

• Key sources of information were controlled by an ‘elite’

• Teachers were seen as the fonts of knowledge

• The economy demanded mass-production of learning

• The curriculum was centrally determined

• Pedagogy meant ‘knowledge transfer’

“The crux of success or failure is to know which core values to hold on to, and which to discard and replace

when times change.”

Do you know…

What does the average Scottish child spend most time on, after sleeping and

school?

The average Scottish child spends 164 minutes online every day

That’s 41 days a year…

There are over 300 million

registered users of MySpace

There are over 2.7 billion searches performed on

Google every calendar month

To whom were those questions addressed B.G?(Before Google)

The number of text messages sent and received every day

exceeds the population of the planet

The amount of technical information is doubling every two

years which means…

For a student starting a four year technical degree…

50% of what they learned in year one would be outdated by their

third year of study

According to Richard Riley, the former US Secretary of Education…

The top ten “in-demand” jobs in 2014 will not have existed in 2004

We are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist…

that will use technologies that haven’t yet been invented

In order to solve problems that don’t exist yet.

How does this impact on you and me?

When the ‘younger’ generation learn differently…

When students leave school with a variety of new and advanced skills

As educators how do we ensure that our approach to learning, teaching and

development is relevant and meaningful for the 21st

century?

In Finland the government has engaged 5,000 students to teach

their teachers how to use computers and information technology.

Here’s what some commentators say...

Do you agree?

One of the only places operating largely as it did more than 50 years ago would be the

local school.

Nummela and Caine; Making Connections

The world our kids are going to live in is changing four times faster than our

schools.

Dr Willard DaggertDirector of International Centre for Leadership and Education

You can expect to have on your wrist tomorrow, what you had on your desk

today, what filled a room yesterday.

N. Negroponte; Being Digital

Existing systems produce existing results. If something different is required the system

must be changed.

Sir Christopher Ball; More Means Different(from a report on widening access to Higher Education)

Our students have changed radically. Today’s students are no longer the people our educational system was designed to

teach.

Marc Prensky: Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants

The real power of the computer will be as a student-controlled learning tool.

P Nolan; Massey University

Everyone is now a teacher as well as a learner.

And for the first time ever, children are taking over critical elements of a

communications revolution.

Growing up Digital: Tapscott, D.

In the future learning will come from doing. You abolish lectures, you don’t just

read about history you participate in a simulation of it.

The chief role of technology is to help end boredom.

Professor Raj Reddy, Carnegie Mellon University

Perhaps schools won’t look like schools.

Perhaps we will be using the total community as a learning environment.

Anne Taylor; Creating the Future

Learning is the greatest game in life and the most fun.

All children are born believing this and will continue to believe it until we convince

them that learning is very hard work and unpleasant.

Some kids never really learn this lesson, and go through life believing

that learning is fun and the only game worth playing.

We have a name for such people...

We call them geniuses.

G Doman; Teach your Baby Maths

It’s time to ensure that how we learn with technology…

agrees with the way we live with technology

Our New Learners

•Kid on a Dance Mat here

•http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqnNinH8Kz8

Homo ZappiensLearning Strategies of the Digital Generation

Professor Wim Veen, Deft University: Homo Zappiens: Growing Up in a Digital Age

Homo ZappiensBeing in control of information flows

Homo Zappiens learns differently...

Homo Zappiens

twitch speed <multi tasking <

non linear approaches <iconic skills first <

connected <collaborative <

active <learning by playing <

instant payoff <fantasy <

Homo Sapiens

> conventional speed> mono tasking> linear approaches> reading skills first> stand alone> competitive> passive> separating learning and playing> patience> reality

Homo Sapiens

> conventional speed> mono tasking> linear approaches> reading skills first> stand alone> competitive> passive> separating learning and playing> patience> reality

What do they want?

• Straw Poll – write your answer and fold it over

What do they want – survey results

• Take Me Seriously• Challenge me to

think• Nurture my self-

respect• Show me I can make

a difference• Let me do it my way

• Point me towards my goals

• Make me feel important

• Build on my interests• Tap my creativity• Bring out my best

selfEducational Leadership: Giving Students Ownership of Learning 2008

Role of technology

• Common misconceptions; e.g.– Kit is panacea– Children learn by osmosis

• Didactic learning?• Constructivist & creative?• Classroom of future? Where are we?• Victorian classroom? Where are we?

Classroom of the future?

Victorian Classroom

Our New Learners

•Edutopia simulation

•http://www.edutopia.org/no-gamer-left-behind

Our New Learners

•Edutopia simulation

•http://www.edutopia.org/no-gamer-left-behind

The power of technology

• Serious learning meets interactive entertainment

• Interactive pretending- edutopia• Simulations• Technology at point needed (minibeasts hunt/

camera/microscope/ )• Collaborative environments for students &

staff

What is Glow?

A digital network, connecting every individual involved in Scottish education, in a secure online environment.

News feeds Glow Learn

CPD portal Targeted news

Secure File Transfer Video Conferencing

Mailing lists Audio Conferencing

Threaded Discussions Virtual Whiteboard

Glow Groups Application Sharing

Chat rooms Web Hosting

Video Streaming Instant Messaging

Email Importing Web Parts

What does Glow help us do?

Connect – Collaborate - Create

Sharing Nationally

Communicate Internationally

Web conferenceGlow Meet

Access to Resources

Include websites

Customized learning spacesGlow Groups

Use Flash and web 2.0

Share your own spaceMy Glow

Glow is not simply a ‘conduit for content’ but a powerful tool for thinking and personalisation

of learning.

Can your school do this (1) ?

• Collaborative science, electricity lessons with another school

• Webquests on Tropical Rainforest topic • General Knowledge homework; using vokis to ask

questions and using VLE• Dictionary words and maths homework on VLE• Collaborative reading group with another school

using web video conference 3 times a week

Can your school do this (2) ?

• Open Classroom with another school; 2 Teachers, 40 children

• Regular web video-conference with remote school

• Web video-conference to train staff• Peer assessment within & outwith school• Private discussion board for consultation with

external tutor

Disruptive Innovation?

• Few reforms have addressed the root cause of students’ inability to learn

• School reformers have repeatedly tried to “bash” the system & confront it head-on

• If all children learn differently, then current schooling won’t allow customised learning

• User networks democratise developments & allow “end-users” to be enabled

• School leaders to use tools of power and “separation”

Disrupting Class; Christensen, Horn & Johnson, 2008

portal.glowscotland.org.uk

http://www.rm.com jmccarney@rm.com

1.Is your school set up to align learning & teaching to the rapid changes in technology & the outside world?

2.What do your students expect from your school in 2014?

3.How can I, and my school, share with others and move forward together?