A blog, an iPhone, a school visit and its impact

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Catriona Pene is head of curriculum for St Francis Xavier Catholic School, passionate about ICT and teacher of year 3.

We invited Catriona to put together the above video about her Room 10 blog as a great example of how to use this platform as a way of engaging stakeholders, parents, those who couldn't experience the specific events first hand, plus its impact.

CORE Education loves to champion simple and effective examples of using new media technologies in and out of the classroom.

What do you think? Have you used blogging in other ways in your teaching? What else can be achieved using these platforms and an iPhone (and other non-Apple-related but smartphone goodies)?

Catriona PeneCatriona Pene is head of curriculum for St Francis Xavier Catholic School, passionate about ICT and teacher of Year 3. Her class blog states: "We love ICT and sharing our work with our families and the world on our class blog."

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Ten Trends 2012: Ubiquitous Computing

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Annually, CORE Education explores ten emerging ICT trends that will impact upon the education landscape for New Zealand and beyond. These are known as CORE Education's Ten Trends. Each month we will post an in-depth article about each trend by a champion from CORE staff.

If we take the definition of Ubiquitous as 'existing or being everywhere, especially at the same time' then ubiquitous learning is not a new trend. Learning has always happened everywhere. As humans we are always learning regardless of the time and place. What is driving this trend is the idea of ubiquitous computing and how it is influencing learning.

So what is ubiquitous computing – known to its friends as ubicomp? A computer scientist from the Xerox PARC laboratory called Mark Weiser is credited as the father of the concept in the 80s & 90s. He spoke of three waves of computing:

  • Mainframes
  • Personal Computers
  • Ubiquitous Computing

In the first two waves the users have to go to the computers in order to interact, and the technology takes centre stage. In the third wave technology recedes into the background and becomes an almost invisible part of everyday life.

He defined four key concepts of ubicomp:

  • The purpose of a computer is to help do something else
  • The best computer is a quite and invisible servant
  • Computers should extend the unconcious
  • Technology should create calm, ie. inform but not demand focus of attention

Finally Weiser described three levels of ubicomp devices:

  • Tabs – centimetre sized wearable devices
  • Pads – handheld size devices
  • Boards – metre sized interactive boards

The thing that is now driving the trend of ubiquitous technology is the arrival of the devices that Weiser envisioned. We now have the embeddable wearable chips, the iPad has pushed into the limelight the concept of the handheld Pad, and interactive boards and tabletops are also available.

A second driver, which comes back to the idea of ubiquity being 'everywhere at the same time' is cloud computing, which allows us to access the same data from any location, on multiple devices, at the same time. Google docs is a good example of this, with multiple people anywhere in the world, using a variety of devices can all edit the same document at the same time. 

The impact of this for teaching and learning is that the need to go to the technology to do 'computer stuff' is rapidly disappearing. Mobile devices like iPads and smart phones mean that technology can be more easily integrated into the learning process, anytime and any place. Technology is becoming that quiet invisible servant that informs but does not demand attention.

The two key implications for schools are:

  • Infrastructure provision needs to focus on robust wireless networks to facilitate the widespread use of ubiquitous computing devices, particularly student owned devices
  • All teaching content and student generated data needs to be cloud based to allow for access from anywhere on any device

For the last couple of centuries we have got into the mindset that in order to learn you have to turn up at a certain place and stay there for a set number of hours each day. Hopefully, more than anything, what ubicomp will do is push learning back to what it has always been, a ubiquitous process.

Can you already see ubiquitous computing impacting on your classroom?

What steps is your school taking to be ready for the rise of ubicomp?

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Where have all our children gone?

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Our centre has had huge financial problems with so many families being relocated to other areas. When I first started at this centre we had 48 children, and it's just that one day that changed everything.
– teacher, Christchurch east centre

Where have all the children gone?

In September 2011 CORE Education completed a project for the Ministry of Education exploring the impact of Christchurch earthquakes on ECE provision in eastern suburbs, an area of Christchurch most detrimentally affected by the 22 Feb quake. 

The report is now available on the Ministry website.

Not surprisingly the findings of this project confirmed that significant population movement following 22 February dramatically affected the Christchurch ECE sector. The project reports on data collected between 23 May and 22 July, including an 82% return rate of survey data from 150 ECE services, and interviews with 23 non-Governmental organizations and community groups, and 96 parents/whānau.

The open ECE services in both ChCh east and comparison (located outside of ChCh east) groups reported that 1,072 children left their service following 22 February.  The destinations were identified as:

  • 304 moved to other cities in New Zealand.
  • 90 moved overseas.
  • 206 moved within Christchurch and enrolled in another ECE service (196 from east services)
  • 59 children were no longer participating in ECE
  • 413 destinations unknown.

The large number of ‘destinations unknown’ was not surprising as the movement of many families/whānau was immediate, taking place during the initial disaster period when all ECE services were temporarily closed.  ECE teachers and peers were not able to farewell children and families/whānau in the way ECE is regularly accustomed to. Rather, many services were left wondering where their families/whānau had gone.

Fourteen Christchurch east ECE services closed altogether due to significant damage following the 22 February quake. Many of these services remain closed to date. These closures resulted in an estimate of 500 lost ECE enrolments with families needing to find alternative placements. There was no way of accurately knowing where these children and their families/whānau relocated. When adding the 500 lost enrolments from closed services with the 413 children who left open services for destinations unknown (total 913) you begin to get a picture of the size of possible ECE population loss for Christchurch, and of the concerns about the impact on ECE participation overall.

Parent interviews suggested that not all children leaving an ECE service had re-enrolled elsewhere. Parents became discerning about their ECE decisions. Many wanted to keep children close and for some this meant moving their child to an ECE service located closer to home or work, while others made the decision to keep their child with them at home.

Comparative enrolment data of open Christchurch east ECE and outside Christchurch east services confirmed that a number of families moving within Christchurch had re-enrolled children in ECE.  Christchurch east services had a 17.54% net loss of enrolments while the comparison ECE services had a net gain of 21.18% new enrolments. The tables below illustrate these changes.

Graph 1: Enrolments in Christchurch schools 2010 vs 2011

Graph 2: Total enrolments in Christchurch schools 2010 vs 2011

Financial viability for many east located ECE services continues to be at risk as they struggle to balance a continuing loss of income due to reduced enrollments with retaining a quality service for their community.

‘The new enrolments are less in number than those who have left therefore we have less money coming in from parent fees and funding.’
– Manager, east Christchurch

The movement of families/whānau within and beyond Christchurch is set to continue as decisions are made about where to live. ECE services and families/whānau will continue to live in an uncertain climate for some time to come, a situation that is not helped by ongoing quakes and resulting delays to the city’s rebuild.

‘We’re uncertain about our building and whether we can even return’; ‘How many families will be here to serve?’ ‘We have found that a lot of our families are in the red zone but we’re still not sure what will happen’; ‘We don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow.’
– teachers, east Christchurch

Ideally I want [child] to be with children who go to the same school but not knowing where families will move to means this is not certain now.’
– east Christchurch parent

An overwhelming finding in this project was recognition that ECE had been instrumental in community recovery following 22 February. Services retained a sense of normality for children and families/whānau, provided a place for the social needs of communities, and offered additional support for ECE staff, families/whānau. This sense of community support continues to be a priority for ECE services, particularly those located in or near the red or orange-zoned areas.

We are educators. What we do sets up the main highways for all future learning. …. Post earthquake we have not only provided education for our tamariki, we have provided a sense of security, normality, a return to routines and patterns. We have also provided education, strategies & support for their whānau. We have been the whānau support and resource. We are an important part of Christchurch's recovery.
– Supervisor, east Christchurch centre

As the aftermath of the events of 22 February shapes the new normal in Christchurch, ECE services are turning attention to new demands and challenges with the wellbeing of communities remaining uppermost in their minds.

On the positive side, there is a stronger sense of community and people have formed relationships with others that they previously would not have. The parents/families who have stayed in ChCh were, and are, very supportive to each other and the centre.
– Supervisor, east Christchurch

2012 will prove to be demanding on all early childhood services in Christchurch in different ways. Financial sustainability will be of major concern for many while capacity to meet demand may provide new challenges for others. As always, the tenacity and resilience of the ECE sector is sure to rise to the challenge!

The project team:
Jocelyn Wright, Keryn Davis, Glenda Albon, Josephine Winter and Ruta McKenzie.

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Turning disaster into opportunity: giving young people a voice

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Chris Henderson

For Chris Henderson, winner of the 2011 CORE Education Travel Scholarship, a key role for teachers is to encourage and enable students to think about how the world works and what their part is in it. Teachers, through personal involvement in agencies and organisations, can open up access to people and places that give young people a voice, particularly in times of disaster and recovery.

Last year, Chris, then teaching geography at Aranui High School in East Christchurch, used the scholarship funds to attend the 8th International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability, held at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. His paper, 'Social Media as an Educational Tool for Developing Youth Citizenship in a Post Disaster Context' fitted perfectly within the session theme of Social Sustainability and Citizenship and drew on his experiences during the Canterbury earthquakes.

He was also able to extend this experience with an invitation to present a workshop about about disaster recovery at Centre for Human Relations and Community Development at Concordia University in Montreal.

Teachers are important

Two key things struck Chris during the conference. First, the emphasis placed on the importance of educators in economic and social sustainability. He turned up with the idea that he would need to push the role of teachers. However, surrounded by climate scientists, urban planners and the like, he heard their clear message that progress can’t be made without the key role of teachers; if schools aren’t on board, then young people are not reached.

Secondly, he was overwhelmed by positive feedback about his workshop, and realised the skill teachers have to engage and communicate messages as well as learning in a way that other professionals don’t. These strengths are transferable and are needed in other spheres outside the education system. In the same way, he believes we need to be teaching young people these skills through exposure to events and experiences that allow them to gain confidence and find their voice.

2011 highlights

Some of the many things Chris was involved with last year:

1. Pasifika Youth Climate Leadership Workshop in Fiji

One of the students he took to this conference in June 2011, a 15 year-old, gave an ‘earth-shattering, most powerful speech’, that talked of the pride and strength his Pasifika culture gave him, but, at the same time, it was also a culture that didn’t always listen to people his age.

The student went on to communicate that his age group does have something to say, and that they must tell their elders what they want now and in the future. Many of the audience broke down in tears, and the same student, after this experience, went from being disengaged in school to being selected as Pacific delegate for UN environment conference on youth in Indonesia. His newfound confidence and ambition also led him to research other international events to attend.

In three weeks, Chris fundraised $25,000 to take five Pasifika students, himself, and a social worker to this conference. He sees his involvement in agencies such as UNESCO and the UN allowed him to achieve this goal. Doors were opened in a way that would not have been if he had simply been a teacher with no connections asking for money. In the end, his work with those agencies gave his request weight.

If I’m a teacher going to UNESCO and saying ‘I need these funds’, you’re just a teacher. But to say, ‘ I’m one of the officers, and this is some of our work…these are the funds we need ‘, then bang it happens. Teachers connected into other organisations strengthen their ability to get young people involved in things on a global scale.’

2. Youth Vision 2050

Being an officer with the Christchurch-based Social Innovation Trust allowed Chris to open doors for students. The three-day workshop in May 2011, organised by the Trust, focused on leadership through disaster, and worked in with the TEDxEQChCh event held at the same time.

Students who attended the TED event wore red t-shirts and dispersed themselves throughout the auditorium, sitting next to business leaders and academics to meet as many speakers as they could. They aimed to receive advice, and to also promote their message. The students practiced ‘elevator pitches’, encouraging them to feel confident and in control when talking to fellow guests at the event.

After this experience, two students, tired of hearing people speak of the eastern suburbs of Christchurch and its problems in ways which didn’t resonate with them at all, formed ‘Burst the Bubble’ [of ignorance], and hosted an event for fellow students from western schools to talk.

3. Pacific Islands Forum

Chris took three students to Auckland as representatives of Pacific Youth at the recent Pacific Government Leaders Forum. As well as speaking at the forum, they toured South Auckland schools to raise awareness of environmental issues threatening the Islands. He said his students spoke of how living in New Zealand gave them access to a world their elders in the Islands do not have, and that they needed to be speaking out for them.

Importance of student voice

Chris has enormous respect for the students he has worked with over his two years at Aranui High School. He explains that in his years of attending events—both international and national—he has found that the usual "student voice" is representative of high academic achievers. These are often those who are used to ‘saying the right things’, and who have had to write essays or presentations as part of the selection process. The students he has worked with have not necessarily been in this group.

When given the opportunity, these students are creative, with fresh things to say, and fellow delegates are challenged and delighted to hear a ‘different voice’. And Chris is delighted to have seen his high expectations for his students bear fruit and see them grow a stronger belief in themselves.

And his advice on using the travel scholarship fund?

"Go to events that aren’t necessarily about education. You have to inspire people in your subject… [for example if you are a Secondary Science teacher and you] went to UN conference on bio diversity or deforestation – [you can then say] I’ve got an important role to play in this field – I can participate in your discussions. [We need to] broaden experiences outside the classroom to take back in."

2012 applications for the CORE Education Travel Scholarship are expected to open in June 2012.

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Ten Trends 2012: Open-ness

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Annually, CORE Education explores ten emerging ICT trends that will impact upon the education landscape for New Zealand and beyond. These are known as CORE Education’s Ten Trends. Each month we will post an in-depth article about each trend by a champion from CORE staff.

How many times have you heard students express concern that they're not able to use certain content because it is 'copyright', or felt excluded from a particular course or PD opportunity because it is too expensive, or not available to teachers in your area?

The theme of ‘open-ness’ abounds in many aspects of education nowadays – largely as a reaction against the many ‘closed’ characteristics of the current system. Consider things such as enrolment schemes, copyright, student records etc. What were previously regarded as barriers to growth, access, or innovation in our system, are now being challenged or circumvented through the use of systems that are more open and participatory, allowing for greater levels of access and contribution.

The open architecture of the Web2.0 environment has been a key driver of this open-ness. Moving from a predominantly consumer-driven paradigm to one that enables a much greater degree of contribution, participation and collaboration in the learning process. Supporting this have been changes in policy and legal issues, including the alternative to traditional ‘copyright’ that is provided under the ‘creative commons’ licensing approach.

The emerging impact in education can be seen in a number of areas:

Open education resources – There are numerous examples of sites now appearing that provide resources for use in education that are not bound by traditional copyright licenses, and can be used freely for educational purposes. The adoption of the Creative Commons licensing system is an enabler of this, as discussed with Lawrence Lessig last year. Initiatives such as WikiEducator are demonstrating the power of sharing educational resources, with their aim of making lessons in all areas of the curriculum available in any part of the world.

Open source/open software – many schools are now using a variety of open-source applications as an alternative to investing in costly, licensed ones. Examples of this are ‘Open Office’, a free ‘office’ package that will import and export documents to Microsoft Word, “Moodle” which provides an open source alternative to “Blackboard”, and the Android operating system (OS) providing an open source alternative to the AppleOS or WindowsOS.

Open teaching – In an experiment that could point to a more open future for e-learning, Stephen Downes and George Siemens ran an open online course in 2011 that attracted about 1,200 noncredit participants (see Online, Bigger Classes May Be Better Classes) Allowing teachers to teach students and classes irrespective of where they are located is likely to increase, and in the future we’re likely to see more ‘itinerant’ teaching take place, teachers sharing their knowledge and skills outside of traditional institutions and structures.

Open courses – The recent announcement by M.I.T. has ben described as a game-changer in education. The objective – Free Online Education For All – “MIT will make the MITx openlearning software available free of cost, so that others — whether other universities or different educational institutions, such as K-12 school systems — can leverage the same software for their online education offerings.”

And they’re not the only organsiation doing this – a website listing 25 universities offering open courses illustrates just how pervasive this move is becoming.

Open accreditation – the concept of being able to complete classes and courses in a variety of places and through a variety of institutions, then apply to have them recognised and accredited towards a qualification is also a part of this trend. Consider these two posts: On Open Accreditation and Open Accreditation – a model.

Of course, not all are agreeing with where this trend appears to be headed. Consider this cautionary view plus a response from the US government recently that illustrates that the traditional agencies aren’t going to take this laying down. Read Why SOPA could kill the educational open resource movement.

In thinking about where this might develop into the future, and how well you and your school might be prepared for the inevitable impact of this trend, consider the following:

  • How ‘open’ are the approaches to resource development and sharing in your school?
  • What use do you make of ‘open’ content and open teaching in your school?
  • How could access to open education options benefit your students? your staff?
  • What processes would you need to put in place to ensure the appropriate licences are adhered to?
  • How will you/your staff gain the experience of open teaching? How will you ensure your students gain the skills/experience of learning this way?

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Information about CORE’s Ten Trends

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