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Implementation models …

Wandering through the IT education world yesterday I had a conversation about Apple. There was a very long line outside the Hong Kong Apple Store of people wanting the new iPhone 4S. Understandable I guess, but some had been waiting days! I was wondering – would students line up early outside a classroom that had new technology – would teachers? What is it about technology out of school that is so engrossing – while in school it tends to be laden with baggage?

Apple has spent a lot of time and money creating its brand image as new and trendy. They aim for design and functionality, not just functionality. That approach has always meant that their products are good looking and appealing to their target market.

But to link this to the topic, I think that Apple is a great model to technology implementation. See Apple rarely goes for an off the shelf design – they don’t look at what is in the cupboards and say “what can we make with this?”, “What can we cobble together?”. Rather, they ask themselves, “What does the consumer need/want?”. Then they innovate and engineer to provide a product.

They are also able to capitilise on their vertical integration model of research, design, production, distribution and software. An amazing degree of control – the only other computer maker that comes close is HP I think.

Now imagine if schools could have as much control over the design and delivery of their IT products! I think that many of the problems would be reduced. Issues in IT are often not IT issues, but management issues. Managing the process, being able to assist in the design of the product, this would allows us to create systems that work for us, not adapt how we work to the system.

And this is a big issues. With any new technology, invariably it is the school that has to adapt; to apply someone else’s idea, some alien software, some new technology. So the school adapts, the school changes. Apple, on the other hand, adapts the technology to the user. It starts with the user in mind, not the technology, then makes the technology to suit. As a result the end product is far more attractive and usable. I think eleadership could certainly learn from that. Start to lead the conversation, not just react to it!

Give us the keys …

Teachers are getting a lot better at IT – in no small part than because their use of IT outside the classroom in their personal lives is now far greater. We can now see the benefits of that technology on us. This goes a long way to allowing us to understand and better recognise the benefits of technology for our students. Increasingly it is the teachers now pulling IT into the classroom – rather than government or school policy pushing it there. After all who is better placed to know what a teacher needs than a teacher? So let’s give teachers a greater voice in how, when and what IT is used in the classroom.

So I  think that IT use is greatly just dependent on teachers being given leave and license to develop their skills in a manner that is most appropriate for the classroom. I appreciate that, in reality, this may be a little simplistic – IT funding, implementation and use is a far more complex issue; dependent on so many factors – each of which can scuttle the best of intentions:

1. Government Policy and funding
2. Leadership model and school ethos
3. Infrastructure
4. CPD
5. Middle management positions such head of faculty and ICT co-ordinator
6. Other initiatives being implemented
7. Parental concerns

These are just a few! If you strip away all of the rhetoric surrounding IT, then at the core is the student. Surely teachers are in one of the best positions to comment on that. We may not all be experts in IT, but are in teaching. Greater moves towards IT use out of the classroom should be encouraged for teachers – engagement in and use of IT at home and play will serve to increase their knowledge and confidence. We all draw upon our broader lives to help our teaching – this is just another element for us to use.

How Games Can Influence Learning | MindShift

Via Scoop.it – Teachogeek

What do games have anything to do with learning? We spoke to nationally recognized researchers, teachers, game-based schools and companies that develop educational games and asked how they see games fitting into the education landscape.
Via mindshift.kqed.org

IT is not a waste of time

There’s been a lot of talk lately at my school about Web 2.0 use in the classroom. One of biggest issues that many teachers have about the read/write web is that teaching the student to use the tools and getting them set up takes time away from their natural curriculum. In the senior school this is especially concerning to teachers. So what to do?

Well I don’t think this is a problem that is going to go away soon. As the web develops and new tools are created teachers and students will need to continuously learn to use them. I think we need to change our mindset in relation to the use of IT in the classroom.

Sure it takes time – time to start up the computers, time to log in, time to learn to use the tool etc etc. But as a teacher I pride myself on the ‘other’ lessons I teacher my students – the non-curriculum learning if you will. Ethics, history, interpersonal communication skills – these do not appear as part of my subject specific curriculum, but I teach them nonetheless. I enjoy this paternal aspect of the job and see it as just as – if not more – important than some of the subject content I cover.

I take the same approach to IT in the classroom – sure it takes up my lesson time – but it is not a waste of spirit. I’m giving my charges the key skills they will need to operate in the IT age. They are learning more than just the subject content – they are learning life skills. Learning how to deconstruct and navigate the web. Learning the possibilities that it holds for their own time management and knowledge acquisition. Learning how to communicate and interact with others in a dynamic online way. These skills are not taught in our ICT course – but they are crucial to a modern educated workforce.

I think for teachers that recognise this, it reduces the stress involved with implementing IT into the classroom.

Hello world!

Hello:

I’m a secondary school teacher working in an international school in Hong Kong. I don’t teach ICT as a subject, but see that as a great benefit, as I concentrate in IT use for non-experts and look for opportunities to incorporate IT into a diverse number of subject areas.

I teach English, Film Studies and and IB course called Theory of Knowledge (TOK). I’m currently doing a MSc in IT at Hong Kong University and I’m concentrating on IT in education and specifically IT leadership in secondary schools. I’ve seen too many badly planned and poorly executed implementation policies in education, private business and government to not be interested in trying to get it right.

Enjoy reading and please feel free to feedback – positive or negative all welcomed.  I’m here to learn too!