Neoteny, one of my favorite words, means the retention of childlike attributes in adulthood: idealism, experimentation and wonder. In this new world, not only must we behave more like children, we also must teach the next generation to retain those attributes that will allow them to be world-changing, innovative adults who will help us reinvent the future.
and made these comments in a great piece about technology and belief systems from the New York Times.
His words stuck with me, particularly at a time when I am leading technological change in a team of people. So much of what we need to instill in colleagues, as well as our more blasé older teenage customers, is a sense of adventure and wonder in what we do. Learning through play and experimentation is tremendously powerful and whilst childlike, requires a step away from the fear and insecurity that adults will instinctively veer towards.
So how can we create a safe culture of experimentation in a results-orientated institution? How can we create space for making mistakes, time for inefficiency as we hone new skills and understanding for when things don't go right first time?
I am increasingly of the view that digital leaders have to allow experimentation to thrive by leading from the front, and they must expect a percentage of the time invested to not have any obvious yield. The pathway to increased digital uptake among teachers needs to have at its heart the freedom to get stuff wrong. If that space isn't there, the green shoots of innovation get crowded out by the older, more established strategies which may not be all-singing and dancing, but can be relied upon to deliver.
I attended my first ISC ICT conference this week, which was hosted at Berkhamsted on Wednesday 7th December.
It was a fantastic day and I felt very privileged to speak about the work I am doing in my department on colaborative learning using iPads.
that Sacha van Straten, Rosie McColl and I presented.
of my presentation. Quality is so-so but the message is there!
I also got to listen to some fantastic speakers, including who's enlightened take on communication strategies was really engaging, and who inspired us with his talk "Gutenberg 2.0". Mark Steed's opening words are . Lord Knight of Weymouth, formerly Minister for Schools, was very much on the same page as us about how the future needs to be flexible, probably device-agnostic and centered around the technology the students bring to school anyway. Interesting times!
My team is currently developing our vision for what ICT should look like at our school. It's shaping up as follows:
Our school will provide a technology enriched interactive environment which acts as a hub for lifelong learning in our community. Learning will be high quality, engaging and aspirational, and will prepare learners for economic well-being in the 21st century.
Connectivity
Every learning space has reliable internet and network access.
Interactivity
Enhanced learning technology is available in learning spaces to enable learners to take an interactive role in their learning.
Community
Our school becomes a hub for high quality e-learning in the community.
Capability
Learners and teachers are empowered with skills and understanding to thrive in an interactive and information-rich learning environment.
I was recently asked by a friend to share tips and advice on how to approach applying for senior leadership posts in school. Here is the list so far, thanks to kind colleagues for sharing. What would you add?
1. Go through the job spec and person specification and methodically answer every part of it with evidence of what you have done to positively affect outcomes.
2. Use bullet points rather than extensive prose to communicate evidence and factual info.
3. Refer to inspection reports and exams analysis overtly so you can show your capacity to understand and interpret data and how it shapes the school improvement plan.
4. Make the key principles that shape your leadership style clear.
5. K now the issues in school and don't be afraid to tackle them head on (using your in-house advantage if you are an internal candidate)
6. Be prepared for lots of 'what if' scenarios at interview that may be outside of a middle leader's experience, especially things to do with child protection, inspection scenarios, performance management / tackling inadequate or unprofessional teaching
7. Be absolutely clued up about the 'next big things'. Assessment for learning is now 10 years old and should be well embedded (!). Papers on personalising learning were coming out 6 or 7 years ago. Learning styles is now old hat and hemispheric dominance never really hit the big time. Innovative ways of adapting and using learning spaces, 24/7/365 learning, interactivity and communication skills for the 21st century learner are right up there at the moment. Politically so is safeguarding, e-safety, making learning budgets go further in a sustainable way and investing in technology appropriately.
Open Source Software (OSS) is computer software that can be used, changed and distributed by users. It’s usually free of charge, and it's becoming increasingly popular. So why should school leaders pay attention? Mark Clarkson, ICT teacher explains: "Open Source tools make it easy for students, parents and staff to access software without the need to buy expensive licenses or to illegally download programs. Microsoft Office ranges in price from £100 to over £500, whereas OpenOffice - which features a powerful word processor, spreadsheet, database and presentation tool equivalent to Word, Excel, Access and PowerPoint; comes completely free of charge."
What are the benefits of using OSS?
Using OSS is likely to reduce licensing costs for schools, and BECTA's 2005 study shows that "for OSS schools, cost per PC at primary school was half that of non-OSS schools, and cost per PC at secondary school level was around 20% less that that of the non-OSS schools." However, the benefits go far beyond cost reduction. Miles Berry, Headteacher and BECTA Open Source Schools Community Manager told me that there are four fundamental advantages of using OSS in schools, which allows the freedom to:
• use the software however you choose
• study and adapt the software so it fits more closely to a school's own particular needs
• improve on what's there already, through participating in the project's community
• distribute programs to students and teachers, so they can use the same platform at home and school
Schools using open source have found other benefits too, such as improved reliability, the chance to use innovative, cutting edge technology, and a greener, more sustainable approach to computing. It all sounds pretty liberating!
OSS is more flexible and adaptable than proprietary software. Mark said "A commercial software developer aims to make money by charging for upgrades or extra functionality - sometimes deliberately limiting functionality so as to avoid competing with another product. With open-source software the opposite is true. Software developers want to meet the needs and requests of the end-users". There also is a valuable educational message about the advantages of collaboration here too, as open-source software products are created by teams of people who choose to work together towards a common goal. Open-source software is frequently upgraded to take into account recent security issues, bug fixes and essential features." Moodle, the open-source learning platform, is a great example. It is almost endlessly customisable and modular so that the user can make it their own, and there is a thriving community of committed Moodlers sharing ideas, support and good practice.
Are there any pitfalls my school should be aware of?
I asked Mark whether inertia was a bit problem in getting staff and students on board with using OSS. He said: "Fear, rather than inertia, is a significant factor. People feel comfortable with the names they know and are wary of upsetting the apple cart. There is also an image that 'free' software must be given away because it is rubbish and nobody would pay money for it." Mark also suggested that it takes time to get to know new systems and senior leaders will need to factor training and support into their planning. Generally speaking, it would seem that in the UK we are slightly behind the curve on this. In Eastern Europe, the use of OSS in schools is standard practice.
Will my school get criticised during inspection for using OSS?
Miles said "Becta is increasingly supportive of open source software in schools, publishing some interesting case studies and a study of total cost of ownership savings a few years ago, highlighting concerns over certain proprietary operating systems and office suites, and now supporting the Open Source Schools community of practice for UK teachers and techies. New Cabinet Office guidance is that open source should be the preferred solution for publicly funded projects when all other factors are equal, and Becta is likely to have a key role in advising schools on this." Ofsted's recent report on The Importance of ICT also does much to encourage schools to explore open source for themselves, citing examples of the way open source encourages the development of greater flexibility and transferable ICT capability, as well as helping schools obtain best value in procurement.
Miles added "As OFSTED's report makes clear, too much ICT in too many schools has been concentrated on training children to use a particular suite of applications rather than in developing a broader ICT capability including the ability to critically reflect on software itself. Open source lets schools do far more with their limited ICT budgets, but the vision has to be there for this. Schools also worry about ongoing support of open source, but those who have tried it generally find the support from online open source project communities far better than that via tech. support helplines, and, of course, commercial support is readily available for the better known applications."
I'd like to find out more. What do I do next?
Miles urges school leaders to find out more. First and foremost it is well worth encouraging ICT teachers and network managers to join the Open Source Schools community (http://opensourceschools.org.uk,) and to participate in the OSS 'unconference' at NCSL on 20th July 2009. Mark recommends: "Senior Leaders in school should try using OpenOffice instead of Microsoft Office, look for examples of Moodle learning platforms and calculate the budget savings in replacing some Windows computers with open-source platforms."
There is no need to change everything at once. OSS can work well side-by-side with proprietary software. The key thing, particularly during this age of budget cuts, is to look at the ICT curriculum and resources and ask "could we be doing more?" and "could we be doing this for less?".
Thanks to:
Mark Clarkson
Mark Clarkson is an ICT teacher and Assistant Head of Department in an Outstanding 11-18 school in the North East of England. He works in a school which uses Solaris, Linux, Mac OS X and Windows operating systems and is a firm believer in education and choice when it comes to making decisions about technology.
Miles Berry
Miles Berry is head of Alton Convent Prep and community manager for the Becta supported Open Source Schools community. He is a fellow of Mirandanet, Naace, the RSA and the British Computer Society, and speaks and writes widely on education technology. In addition to open source, his professional interests include programming in schools, knowledge management, informal learning and learner voice.
This is 20 minutes worth of inspiration, and whilst some teachers will find the weight of the moral responsibility Schwartz gives us hard to bear, I am finding him difficult to disagree with!
Any work that you do that involves other people is moral work, and any moral work depends upon practical wisdom.
He goes on:
As teachers we should strive to be the ordinary heroes, the moral exemplars to the people we mentor... we are always teaching, someone is always watching, the camera is always on.
On both sides of the Atlantic we are facing a school leadership vacuum as the Baby Boomer generation heads towards retirement. Ambition doesn't have to be a dirty word, and there is a recipe for success in moving up the hierarchy in school which benefits everyone. If you are in the early stages of your career, and would like to lead in education, then give these ideas a try. They have all been passed on to me by successful leaders and are definitely worth sharing!
1. Find an influential sponsor in school. This should be someone on or close to the leadership team. They should be unafraid of taking risks and be able to see your potential. They will act as your advocate and guarantor, and will make sure you get noticed.
2. Volunteer for whole school projects. Look at your school's inspection reports and improvement plans to find the projects that need doing and offer to get them done, even if they involve working outside your remit. Senior leaders are always stretched for time and will appreciate your support. There is no such thing as a school with no room for improvement, although not everyone will see it that way! Tread carefully and keep your diplomatic radar switched to 'empathic'.
3. Don't be too picky or too precious about the projects you take on, and stay positive. Take the rough and the smooth will follow once you have shown what you are made of, especially if you demonstrate that you can deliver reliably.
4. Add value. Whether it's raising standards, saving money, generating positive buzz or making the learning experience for kids at your school better, make sure that there are tangible and measurable outcomes to your projects. You are aiming to create an amazing list of great outcomes that you were responsible for.
5. Get positive exposure in school and in the community. Generate 'good news' stories for the local newspaper. Make sure you submit regular articles to your school newsletter. Invite parents and teachers to share in the success of your projects, whether through a website, a letter home or a celebration event. Document what happens with photos, student and staff testimonials and your own learning journal.
6. Network 360° and use feedback. Build up a strong network of peers both locally and beyond who can act as critical friends for your ideas. Make sure you are the first to know about new developments in your area, and make it your business to understand the key challenges and strengths in your school community, including your own.
I am a Fast Track Teacher on my final year in the programme. I am currently Faculty Leader for MFL at Westfield Community College in Watford, and aiming for my first senior leadership post.
For the past year I have been using Twitter to develop my Personal Learning Network. I have found that in combination with my blog, Twitter is a fantastic tool for engaging with other professionals around the world involved in education.
On Sunday 15th March, an article about school reform in the Sunday Times caught my eye. I wrote a response to it on my blog, and shared the post with my followers on Twitter. Since Jim Knight, the Minister for Schools is a Twitter user; I sent him the link to my blog asking for his comments. I didn’t imagine he would respond, but that afternoon we exchanged ideas about what the English education system needed in order to move forwards. To read the article and the post, .
Blogging and using Twitter have flattened hierarchies for me in a fantastic way: I network every day with senior leaders, politicians, journalists and international educationalists. As an example, in the past couple of weeks, I have also been discussing digital literacy with the Principal at Berkhamsted School, after reading a really interesting post on his blog. To read the exchange,
The constant drip-feed of new ideas and inspiration that Twitter provides has given me a real edge at school and means I can stay right on the pulse of educational change. I would really recommend it to any aspiring senior leaders to use this tool to access some of the great thinking and innovation that is going on in the world of education, from your doorstep to the other side of the world.
To follow me on Twitter, go to
*This post was reinstated after it got lost in the ether when my blog was updated.*
I have been gathering thoughts on marking. There is nothing new here, and that is part of the problem! In my school we need to review and refresh our lapsed marking policy, and as part of the process I have drafted the following memo for SLT as an overview of my thoughts and practice/policies I have gathered. What is bothering me is that I don't think it's very good. I know that there is loads of innovative work going on with marking and assessment, and 10 years down the line after AFL first appeared there must be a better way. Can you help?
Core Purposes of marking
To acknowledge and assess the students’ learning
To guide the students in their next steps
To inform teacher planning, resourcing and support
To share feedback on progress with students and parents/carers/interested others
They key issues then are:
1. What to mark
A common theme is managing expectations here (particularly parents). Do we mark all student work? Selected parts? What about work which doesn’t appear in the exercise book? An enlightened approach would perhaps be to mark selected pieces in-depth. Other work may simply be acknowledged in a more ’light touch’ way. The appropriateness and frequency of spelling correction / error correction may depend on the subject. Whilst English for example may want to identify all spelling errors, science may prefer to correct spellings of specialist terms only. As long as students (and staff and parents) know what the expectations are it doesn’t seem to be necessary to have a one-size-fits-all approach.
2. How to mark
Marking in a different colour from the student writing clearly matters but opinion varies on what is best. Red seems to be out of favour and green or purple are sometimes used. Some schools (especially primary) seem to use a two colour system – green ticks for good stuff, orange highlighter for parts that need improving or developing, for example.
Cluttering up the student work with information and commentary everywhere seems to make students switch off or become disheartened. Using shorthand or accessible codes makes it quick for teachers to mark and doesn’t cover the page in difficult –to-read feedback.
I would favour a system which separates out organisational and learning-related feedback, so that issues to do with presentation, using rulers, doodles etc didn’t get muddled in with moving to the next national curriculum level. Whilst in some subjects using a ruler correctly makes a difference, you can get level 7 in French without even picking one up. How much time should I spend on writing ‘use a ruler’ in exercise books?
Students should expect a combination of feedback then, including a level or grade, a comment and a target or guidance on how to improve. Having level / grade descriptors available in books is obviously going to help with student understanding here.
3. How often to mark
If marking is to inform planning and progress, it should be regular enough to provide feedback that will make a difference. Having a minimum expectation is helpful for FLs and staff, as long as there is enough flexibility to demonstrate feedback in all skill areas. In creative arts subjects or PE it may be appropriate to gather evidence of student progress within the same timeframes, although the format will obviously need to be different.
4. Record-keeping
Marking using AFL can be difficult to track and it is hard to create data showing small incremental change using NC levels. Using coded Faculty targets can be helpful for this.
5. Homework
Some schools make a big point of homework being clearly indicated in books / files. However, if SLT want evidence that homework is being done, then a homework log in books which includes work done outside of the book might be helpful.
6. Final thoughts
Exercise books can be used by students and staff in a number of ways in different subjects. Sometimes they are rough jotters where students draft work, sometimes they are a place for notes and classwork exercises to be done. Other times they might be more like a portfolio or display of complete work. There is increasing evidence that the exercise book in itself is a pretty outdated concept that is being rapidly taken over in other schools by e-portfolios through school VLEs. Whilst the exercise book provides evidence of work to parents, it can’t be considered in isolation as evidence of the quality of teaching and learning. As I put at the top, marking is in part about feedback to parents and carers, so it would be helpful to them to know what to expect, perhaps by a page in the planner or a letter home. As we already discussed, marking can also be a very time-consuming use of teacher resource (that is not going into lesson planning or resource creation) so whatever we decide must be both quick and effective!
