All portfolio items
These are all the events in my life I recorded in compiling my portfolio of practice.
South East Essex Association of Deputy Heads
I presented on 'The 21st Century Classroom' to this conference
| When | Jun 09, 1999 |
|---|---|
| Where | Shoeburyness |
(Words: 25 )
QA Teaching on the Internet
A seminar organised for Anglia Polytechnic University colleagues with Ultralab
| When | Jun 17, 1999 |
|---|---|
| Where | Chelmsford |
The brief:
TEACHING ON THE INTERNET
THURSDAY 17th JUNE
ULTRALAB
WORKSHOP GROUP 1
Imagine you are a student....
New technology has arrived in strength!
Your study bedroom has a net access point and there is no restriction to the log on time, and a sponsor has made available lap-tops for all the course members.
Now for the bad news!
You have just discovered that the University has decided that the course for which you have signed up and that is central to your job prospects will be delivered entirely on line.
Try to imagine:
- your reaction;
- your fears;
- how you imagine learning will be;
- what about your relationships with other students;
- what about your relationships with tutors;
- what technology demands and skills you might need;
- what advantages and disadvantages there might be;
Having brainstormed the reaction that a student might have, now prioritise (with reasons) and presenát to the whole group.
WORKSHOP GROUP 2
Imagine you are a tutor....
New technology has arrived in strength with adequate resources for your wildest dreams!
Unfortunately, your head of department insists that you will teach all your courses online.
Try to imagine:
- your reaction;
- your fears;
- how you will teach;
- what about your relationships with students;
- what about your relationships with other tutors;
- what technology demands and skills you might need;
- what advantages and disadvantages there might be;
- what training you might need;
- how will you assess students;
- how will you know that the submitted work belongs to the student;
- how will you know that students are satisfied;
Having brainstormed the reaction that a tutor might have, now prioritise (with reasons) and present to the whole group.
My notes:
The QAA definition of distance learning and analysis of learning tends to focus on content rather than process.
Little discussion of:
- how learning takes place;
- the limits on such learning;
- time commitment and entitlement;
- cohorts of students benefitting from shared learning goals;
- how distance learning might complement the teaching and learning strategy of an institution rather than fulfil it
(Words: 488 )
The New Technologies - some issues
I presented with Graham Hart at the 1999 Anglia Polytechnic University Staff Conference '99
| When | Sep 15, 1999 |
|---|---|
| Where | Cambridge |
We presented some slides and also ran a workshop which raised the following issues:
- Learning as a social not a purely technical activity?
- On-line demands on the teaching staff - response time, hours?
- Exclusion for the information-poor - what is the university's role and mission?
- Some learning outcomes demand collaborative working - how with technology?
- What does attendance mean for learners? Need for clarity about expectations?
- Widening access is not synonymous with lifelong learning
- Synchronous meetings help keep deadlines and manage learning and time-demands
- Face-to-face can make a good basis for subsequent online learning
- Training for staff expectation
- Students expecting flexibility
- Minimum specification for the technology
- Frequently asked questions important
- More flexible administrative processes for assessement
- Courses intensive or totally open-ended should be options
- University should exploit its stand-alone modules
- Series of incremental expansion, not 'big-bang'
- Don't lose sight of other technologies - local broadcast etc
- Technology overload for staff - no real way of knowing whats on offer - do we need an Intranet for sharing knowledge between staff?
- Must not lose the message in the medium
- Need for staff development - resource implications - how would central services communicate courses on offer
- Do not go overboard on technology - it should be appropriate and work sensibly with other resources
- Tension between administrative convenience and student experience
- Timescales - should we allow flexibility for the student
- Tension between student expectation and what can be delivered - need for technical support for students
- Need for a general policy statement about technology expectations - potential mismatch between students' technology and centrally determined standards?
(Words: 376 )
[C14] Talking Heads / Virtual Heads
These two large-scale action research projects delivered by Ultralab were directed at the development of school leadership, establishing an online community of practice for headteachers (Talking Heads) and subsequently an online learning community for aspiring headteachers to support the National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH).
| When |
Jan 01, 2000
to
Dec 31, 2003 |
|---|---|
| Where | Chelmsford, Essex |
Aim: To design learning resources to support headteachers in embarking on online community for their continuing professional development.
Reflection: This project was the first managed directly within Ultralab that involved so many participants nationwide, and in my position as effective deputy head of Ultralab I was aware of a real step up in responsibility and impact. Matters of ethics, organisation and communication became paramount in this large-scale action research.
Contribution: I helped set up the project initially, developing the database of participants and continued to act as a mentor to the personnel involved. I also designed and developed the interactive multimedia and carried out the technical production of the CD-ROM, applying my knowledge of multiple text tracks and interactivity in Quicktime. My part: 5% (with Stephen Heppell, Leonie Ramondt, Carole Chapman, Stephen Powell and others)
Originality, impact and importance: These projects devised new online facilitation for the busiest of professionals as they led schools. It opened new channels of communication for heads who otherwise were rarely in contact with each other and who were distributed throughout the UK. The learning conversations that resulted lead directly to school improvement and the project laid the foundations for the National College's practice for years to come.
Talking Heads provided a solution to the National College for School Leadership to network headteachers. It provided a place for practitioners to share knowledge and support and a platform for continuing professional development. The software used was an adaptation of Think.com, the web-based online community software developed and designed by Ultralab in collaboration with Oracle.
To support the headteachers, an introductory pack including an interactive CD-ROM was developed with multimedia materials including speeches from then Prime Minister Tony Blair, NCSL director Heather Du Quesnay and project staff. It was set up within a very short timescale, initially addressing the 1,200 new headteachers taking up posts in 2000 and subsequently extending to all.
Led by Leonie Ramondt, Carole Chapman and Stephen Powell, the Talking Heads project drew on experienced Ultranauts from the Tesco Schoolnet and Mpowernet projects and laid the foundation for the Ultraversity project in 2003.
In 2001, Virtual Heads was launched as an online learning community for school staff studying for the NPQH. The introductory CD-ROM was developed further to incorporate new material addressing their needs.
(Words: 457 )
General Teaching Council website
I was invited to this consultation meeting to offer the GTC advice on the design of their website
| When | Feb 17, 2000 |
|---|---|
| Where | London |
My contributions:
The GTC Web Site: Purposes, Content, Services, Stages of Development
Teachers' need |
The issue |
The evidence |
|---|---|---|
| to identify their needs (but not 100 times) | filling in search forms and registering on many commercial sites is difficult to sustain and is a barrier to efficiency and take-up | how many logins and passwords do you have? |
| to find resources which match their needs | why should the search for resources(people, materials, CPD) be laborious, when the results could be automatically 'pushed' to you according to preference? | CNN News etc |
| to be engaged in their CPD through reflective practice | computers can help through tools which make abstractions more concrete and through aggregates which reveal how one fits in or stands out | mPowerNet online profiling model |
| to store a model (profile) of themself on a trusted, independent organisation's server | making judgements about oneself is tough - confidence in the security of data is vital as is the knowledge that it is solely to serve the teacher's needs | Research at ULTRALAB / APU SoE |
| to participate in online debate and professional discussion | online access to a wide range of teachers is clearly beneficial, particularly for isolated specialisms | SENCO forum and many others |
(Words: 283 )
DfEE ICT Awayday at Ultralab
Senior civil servants from the Department for Education and Employment attended Ultralab to meet and discuss issues relating to ICT in Education with Stephen Heppell, Carole Chapman and myself
| When | Feb 22, 2000 |
|---|---|
| Where | Chelmsford, Essex |
Some of the issues discussed:
(Words: 54 )
European Knowledge Centre UK
A presentation to the European Knowledge Centre UK seminar 2: 'Classroom practice and educational research: using ICT to build European networks for innovation and change'
| When | Mar 06, 2000 |
|---|---|
| Where | Reading |
My presentation:
Effective Virtual Community Development
| Issue | What does it mean | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Communication | People like to communicate. Although the web has been used extensively as a broadcast medium, when given the chance, people use simple messaging more than anything else. | The DTI funded Schools Online project which involved about 100 schools in an online community where participants could create web pages, engage in discussion and make shared bookmarks to useful resources. More than half of all items created were 'posties' - short messages sent from person to person.
|
| Participation | Sharing the power - giving everyone the tools to create discussions or other objects - creates a strong sense of ownership and thus involvement. | The Learning in the New Millennium project has successfully given equal roles to school kids and adults leading to effective learning debate across age groups. |
| Identity | A commitment to your identity brings further sense of ownership, consistent authorship and a sense of 'being there' , promoting to responsible behaviour. | In each of the projects above, a strong sense of individual identity has been supported by 'passports' and resumés.
|
| Currency | Knowing when information was produced and updated leads to confidence - surprising how often this is omitted. Creating automatic mechanisms seems best. This can also be extended to seeing who and when an item has been viewed. |  |
| Purpose | Having a clear reason for engaging in an online community with a sense of purpose increases effective contribution. | The Tesco SchoolNet 2000 project - in which children contributed well-structured pieces based on their experiences - will be in the Guinness Book of Records for largest educational web community. |
| Closure and milestones | How is a debate to end? How can one be fully committed to an open ended discussion? What will allow purpose to be fulfilled? Online activities need an endpoint, whether a deadline or some kind or fulfilment (e.g. all participants have contributed.) | Teaching online - the IMICS scheme has included online modules since 1995, but it has been a learning curve for tutors to get the entitlements and responsibilities right for effective teaching and learning.
|
| Mediation and summary | Asking a human to mediate (kick-off, intervene to progress, close and summarise) is considered essential for productive activity. Only unneccessary, perhaps, when participants already have substantial existing relationship or shared need. | Of course this is not new - teachers have always had this rôle.
Carole Chapman and Leonie Ramondt's paperaddresses these issues amongst others.
|
| Discourse Structure | Technology allows us to structure discourse by a variety of constraints and presentation modes. Little is known about how they will work, but in many face-to-face contexts, constraint can help discussion develop. | Questions include:
|
| Scaling it up | What works for 30 participants may not be best for 3 million. How do we create sub-community? What are good guidelines for participants in online activity? Does it vary depending on the discourse structure? | The virtual college for leadership has 1300 participants and may be expanded to all teachers.
The software (known as Scoop to early adopters) also may expand to all children, worldwide!
|
| Profiling | Storing the facts about yourself on a web site can allow the automated searching of appropriate resources including like-minded others. Add judgements about your capability and it can also help you to see where you fit in or where you stand out. | The mPowernet NOF scheme is experimenting with online profiling to help teachers engage in reflective practice to improve ICT skills.
TeacherNet UK also plans to develop online profiling driven by a teacher centred view of training needs and everyday challenges.
|
| Multimedia and delight! | So far, almost all online communities demand strong textual literacy and preference.
Why not audio / video / visual modes? Why not as delightful as a multimedia CD-ROM can be? |
 |
Millwood, R. 2000 'Presentation to the European Knowledge Centre UK', Seminar 2, 7 March 2000 published in Leask, M. (200c ibid.) Seminar 2 Report: 'Classroom practice and educational research: using ICT to build European networks for innovation and change', mimeo, Bedford: De Montfort University
cited in Leask, M. 2001, 'Issues in Teaching using ICT', Routledge Falmer
(Words: 886 )
Holly Trees Primary School staff
I presented at this professional development day as a governor of the school, on learning with technology using the title: 'Learning @ Holly Trees in the New Millenium'
| When | Apr 14, 2000 |
|---|
(Words: 39 )
Sussex Deputy Headteachers' Conference
I presented on 'The Future Perspective' at the Sussex Joint Secondary Deputy Headteachers' Conference - 'Managing ICT: Raising Achievement in the Classroom'
| When | Jun 07, 2000 |
|---|---|
| Where | Seaford |
(Words: 35 )
NUT National Education Conference
I presented on 'Information & Communications Technology as a Professional Tool' at the National Union of Teachers National Education Conference
| When | Jun 30, 2000 |
|---|---|
| Where | Grantham |
(Words: 37 )
[C15] Summer School
A six year collaboration started with the South East of England Virtual Education Action Zone and the Victoria & Albert Museum to establish and promote the capabilities in young people for digital creativity using technology.
| When |
Jul 01, 2000
to
Jul 31, 2006 |
|---|---|
| Where | London |
Aim: To develop informal learning for digital creativity through student video production.
Reflection: The project and its many preparatory events provided me with the opportunity to discover the potential for alternate genre and media for young people to communicate ideas. Later workshops showed that this also suited adults. This provided a basis for adoption of the patchwork media model in work-focussed learning.
Contribution: My role was to prepare the ground for understanding what could be achieved with new digital creativity tools and help articulate this in collaboration with colleagues in Ultralab, and when the Summer School project took off, to observe its results and feed them in to subsequent work. My part: 10% (with Stephen Heppell, Matthew Eaves and others)
Originality, impact and importance: his approach had been a hallmark of Ultralab's approach to new digital media since the early nineties, but was refined to include unique and key features of student-led creativity and mutual celebration, including the production of a DVD with all the outputs. This DVD was widely circulated to make impact on the children's creativity community. I am particularly proud of having led the Summer School with youth groups in Belfast. This was held in the week leading up to the 12th July parades which were catalysts for trouble. Our colleagues in Belfast pointed out that we had successfully retained the interest and celebrated the talent amongst teenagers collaborating from both sides who would otherwise be engaged in building bonfires..
This digital creativity project invited students to make short films on the basis of a themed challenge. Each year, young people in small groups from schools in the south east of England took part in their summer holidays. A one-day kick off meeting in Ultralab set the scene and familiarised them with the equipment and video-editing tools process. A second day was used to polish and present in friendly circumstances before taking over the theatre in the V&A in London to exhibit all the work to a wider audience, often including television executives. Finally Ultralab prepared a DVD which was distributed widely to disseminate the work.
This project could not have taken place without many years of experimentation with digital tools and many one-off workshops with the schools we invited to join us in Ultralab, and later, the extension of the project to international (Thailand, Scotland and Northern Ireland) and other age groups.
All of this experience set the scene for the Input CBBC project, in which the Children's BBC channel investigated the conditions under which children's work might be sought for broadcast.
(Words: 487 )
Creating Spaces
This was a unique network of independent professionals from a range of disciplines and institutions who were committed to developing creativity in teaching and learning using digital technologies. Members of the group had extensive experience in a range of settings including education, media, domestic and commercial arenas and considerable experience in national educational research for the DfES, ESRC, BBC and others. Initially funded by the Arts Council of England, the group completed research projects, consultancy and commissions for various agencies including the Arts Council, NESTA and the QCA.
| When |
Jul 22, 2000
to
Dec 31, 2007 |
|---|---|
| Where | London |
This was a document prepared to promote the group in advance of the Arts Council OpenEd conference held in the Roundhouse Camden Town:
Creating Spaces: Making space for creative thinking in education
Who we are:
We are an independent, interdisciplinary, cross-institutional group of professionals who are committed to developing the creative use of digital technologies in teaching and learning. Members are drawn from a diverse community and include representatives from:
- Schools, higher education and educational research
- Inspection and advisory services
- Educational publishing and software production
- The media and industry
Aims
As a group we aim to promote a more inclusive, relevant and theoretically informed approach to teaching and learning with technology.
We are committed to the effective communication of our experience and practice in the creative use of technology in education to the wider community of educators and policy makers through:
- Lobbying
- Sharing information, resources and advice
- Disseminating best practice
- Intervening in debates about the future of teaching and learning and the role that technology may play
What we believe
As a group we all have experience of effective creative learning in practice. We believe that this can only happen through recognising the potential of all young people and through helping teachers to develop/repossess/reclaim their own curriculum.
A working definition of creativity:
Creativity is the challenge to create something tangible out of abstract ideas.
Within this process young people will:
- be energised
- be empowered to express their ideas and opinions
- celebrate their individuality and the individuality of others
- appreciate and understand the connections between themselves and the rest of the world
- look at things from alternative perspectives
- be curious
- become confident and self motivated
- be inspired to work with spirit and imagination and soul
- make decisions, make collaborative decisions, compromise around the decisions they make and make difficult decisions.
Open Exchange
- we plan to open our discussion to a wider audience at OpenEd
- we will present 4 short case studies that have harnessed technology to make room for creativity in teaching and learning
- we invite you to join us to help clarify how we can move forward...
(Words: 496 )
APU Vice Chancellor's Conference 2000
I presented on the future of learning in HE at this Anglia Polytechnic University internal conference
| When | Sep 07, 2000 |
|---|---|
| Where | Broxted |
The questions I addressed were:
- Future?
- Learner in control? - mp3 / Hypermedia / TV remote
- Learning when and where you want?
- Learning conversations?
(Words: 61 )
Denbighshire LEA Headteachers
I presented on 'How ICT supports learning' at this annual conference
| When | Oct 19, 2000 |
|---|---|
| Where | Denbigh |
(Words: 22 )
Arts Council Open Ed
The group Creating Spaces proposed a joint session at this conference at the Roundhouse in Camden. I presented on 'Making room in VI Form Art', discussing the Plume School website portfolio project and raising questions
| When | Nov 05, 2000 |
|---|---|
| Where | London |
This was the overview slide for us all - I designed it:
and this was my summary slide:
(Words: 75 )
ITTE Research Conference 2000
I presented on 'How ICT supports learning' at this Information Technology in Teacher Education research conference.
| When | Nov 11, 2000 |
|---|---|
| Where | Cambridge |
(Words: 28 )
Public Health
I spoke on 'Learning Futures' at this conference on professional development in the health sector
| When | Nov 29, 2000 |
|---|---|
| Where | Chelmsford, Essex |
(Words: 31 )
Primary Headteachers Neath Port Talbot LEA
I contributed to the ‘Teaching and Learning’ aspect of this course, specifically on the impact that IT / Digital Age can make
| When | Dec 01, 2000 |
|---|---|
| Where | Swansea |
The course was run over five days, aimed at serving primary headteachers at Neath Port Talbot LEA.
The five days were based on the five areas of headship (TTA).
Questions I was asked to address:
- Where do we stand now and what is the way forward in terms of IT?
- How will IT as a key skill impact positively on teaching and learning?
- What can schools / headteachers do to facilitate change?
- What are the managerial implications for schools?
(Words: 134 )
BETT 2001
I contributed to this seminar on 'ICT in the early years - questions from research'
| When | Jan 13, 2001 |
|---|---|
| Where | London |
My questions:
- What is the rôle of ICT for early years pupils?
- What can the new tools offer?
- What is the progression & continuity for making movies?
(Words: 70 )
Foundation Degree Conference
I spoke on 'The Rôle of ICT in the Teaching and Learning of Foundation Degrees' at this conference organised by Anglia Polytechnic University
| When | Feb 14, 2001 |
|---|---|
| Where | Duxford |
My headings were:
1 What isn't learning?
2 What is learning?
3 Expression and Evaluation
4 ICT not IT
5 Online Learning Communities of Practice
6 Talking Heads
(Words: 87 )
The Way Forward
I spoke about Online Communities of Practice at this conference at the City College Norwich
| When | Feb 20, 2001 |
|---|---|
| Where | Norwich |
(Words: 26 )
SITE 2001
I presented with Avril Loveless and Terry Taylor at the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education. Our title was: 'Creative uses of digital technology - developing visual literacy and ict capability'
| When | Mar 07, 2001 |
|---|---|
| Where | Orlando, Florida |
The paper we presented:
Creative uses of digital technology - developing visual literacy and ict capability
Avril M. Loveless, School of Education, University of Brighton, UK, A.M.Loveless@brighton.ac.uk
Terry Taylor, independent artist, UK, terrytaylor100@hotmail.com
Richard Millwood, Ultralab, Anglia Polytechnic University, UK, richard@ultralab.anglia.ac.uk
INTRODUCTION
How do we approach research into the creative uses of digital technologies and evaluate what we have learned from the progression of practice and understanding through our experiences in recent years? The three members of the panel and authors of this paper share a commitment to the promotion of the development of visual literacy and information and communication technology (ICT) capability in children and young people. A practising artist and two teacher educators represent different practices and priorities in researching this process which provide stimulating and provoking perspectives on the growth of our understanding of issues in the area.
Over a period of five years the authors have been involved in the co-ordination, implementation, research and theorising of a range of projects in which digital technologies have played a role in creative expression, dialogue and critique in the visual arts. (References to a range of associated publications and websites are given at the end of this paper.) In reviewing these projects it has been possible to identify progression in a number of key themes relating to the nature of visual literacy, the contribution of ICT, the development of ICT capability, conceptual frameworks of subject knowledge in art and ICT, links with contemporary culture, interactions between artists, teachers, mentors and students, models of resource management and evaluation of pupils’ learning in art and with ICT. The paper and panel presentation address these issues, demonstrate and contextualise key themes by reference to examples of the work made by children and young people and discuss research questions which can underpin further project developments and collaborations.
THE PROJECTS
The projects, which have been written up and presented in a number of formats and forums, are described briefly below. The asterisks indicate those projects which had a specific research focus. The research paradigm was interpretive and hermeneutical adopting ethnographic methods and a grounded approach to analysis and interpretation.
*The Glebe Project 1995
Focus: The observation and description of elements of visual literacy, the contribution of ICT to the activities and changes and challenges to pedagogy.
Context: The 24 primary pupils involved were eight and nine years old, working outside their usual classroom activities with a digital artist and a researcher, using a scanner and image manipulation software. The outcomes were presented with multi-media authoring software. The project lasted three months.
The Bristol Internet Project 1997
Focus: The collaboration between children in separate schools through the exchange and development of visual ideas
Context: Six and seven year old children in two primary schools in the city of Bristol worked with two artists who also worked in each school. Digital cameras, image manipulation software and e-mail were used to capture, develop and exchange images and text messages. The project lasted eight weeks.
*TheAccess Project 1998/99
Focus: The development of visual literacy as a dialogue in making meaning. Collaboration between practising teachers and an artist.
Context: Three teachers in three primary schools worked with their classes of children aged from eight to eleven years. Using the artists’ work as a starting point, ideas were explored in a variety of media. Digital cameras, image manipulation software were used to capture and develop images. The project lasted an academic year.
*Art on the Net 1999/2000
Focus: The development of the role of artists in residence collaborating with practising teachers.
The contribution of digital technologies to art processes. The development of models of access to resources.
Context: Artists and Art teachers in four secondary schools worked with pupils from fourteen to eighteen years old. The artists all used a range of digital technologies within their work which encompassed sculpture, photography, video and performance art. The project lasted a year and was reviewed and exhibited a year later.
Ultralab VI Form Project 1999
Focus: The use of multimedia technologies to document and publish art work undertaken for Art Advanced Level examination. The role of ‘multimedia mentors’ working with school students.
Context: Seventeen and eighteen year old students from one school worked with undergraduates on a Multimedia Degree Course. The work was undertaken at Ultralab away from school. The project lasted eight months.
*MMM: Media and Messages Multimedia Project 1999/2000
Focus: The use of multimedia technologies to relate the art curriculum to contemporary art practice. Changes in the expectations in the teaching and learning environment.
Context: Secondary art teacher and university researcher planned and prepared. Fourteen and fifteen year old students worked within the art curriculum and examination preparation. The project lasted a year.
Genes and Makeup 1999/ 2000
Focus: An art/science collaboration to provide opportunities for young people to use multimedia technologies to explore future identities in relation to genetic engineering.
Context: Two artists and a scientist worked with a group of 8 fourteen and fifteen year old students. They worked away from the school at Lighthouse, the Brighton Media Centre. The project lasted a year.
KEY THEMES — LITERACY AND CAPABILITY
Visual literacy
The early project, The Glebe Project, recognised 9 elements of children’s experience and expression reflected in their work and evaluation. These elements — narrative, content, audience, colour, text, design, approaches to the technology, affect and ways of working — went beyond those described in the English National Curriculum for Art and encompassed wider cultural influences and affect. It also identified a range of pedagogical practices and processes in which the artist and children were engaged when supporting and facilitating the work. Subsequent projects developed this approach to visual literacy as a cultural practice by highlighting the nature of the dialogue which developed between the work and the maker who drew upon a range of influences and techniques in order to make meanings and develop visual, expressive ideas.
The contribution of ICT
ICT can be described as embodying four characteristics which interact with each other to provide opportunities and experiences which are distinctive in the use of these technologies — interactivity, provisionality, capacity & range and speed & automatic functions. (DfEE, 1998) A range of digital technologies was used for the construction, capture, manipulation, integration, projection and display of meaningful images incorporating visual art, sound and movement. The capacity for interactivity and provisionality in the use of the technologies supported the process and dialogue as the students expressed and developed their ideas, evaluated and reviewed the outcomes and displayed and discussed their work with a wider audience. Whilst the projects focused on the context of expression and learning in the art curriculum, not the technology as a medium or a tool, the characteristics of ICT played a significant role in the process and the priority of policy and funding of resources for the projects.
The development of ICT capability
ICT capability has been described as the ability to participate in a rapidly changing world of technology; use ICT tools to find, explore, analyse, exchange and present information responsibly, creatively and with discrimination; employ ICT to enable access to ideas, experiences, people, communities and cultures; and make informed judgements about the use of ICT and its implications for home and work. (DfEE, 1999) The term ‘capability’ encompasses far more than ability with particular ICT techniques and implies an active, informed and critical approach to using technology appropriately and purposefully. The development of ICT capability within formal schooling structures can range from the teaching of specific techniques to the use of ICT to support teaching within a subject area. The projects demonstrated the situated, contextualised nature of the ways in which students drew upon and developed their experience and expertise of using ICT. These embedded experiences highlighted tensions within the organisation of the students’ ICT experiences in the school, raising questions about where ICT was ‘taught’ and whether students required specific ICT techniques or support in developing approaches to working with new technologies in a range of different contexts.
‘Is this art?’ - conceptual frameworks of knowledge of art and ICT and links with contemporary culture.
Each project highlighted students’ responses to their understanding of the nature of their activity. Many did not consider the work to be ‘art’ as it related to their experiences within the more traditional art curriculum. The outcomes of the work were broadly described as ‘media studies’, ‘drama’, ‘ICT’ and ‘playing’, whilst the connections between the processes in which they were engaged and the variety of tools and techniques employed were often not considered to be ‘art’. Issues were raised about the perceptions of art within the school curriculum, its relationship to the impact of digital technologies in wider culture and teacher knowledge of and access to contemporary practice with and through ICT. Students demonstrated a range of levels of the use of ICT which related to both their confidence with the tools and their active choices about the appropriate media in which to express and develop their ideas. A strong theme in much of the work was the personal nature of the expression of meanings.
Interactions between artists, teachers, students and mentors.
A significant aspect of all the projects was the range of interactions between the participants and the ways in which they shared and developed their knowledge of visual literacy and ICT capability. One approach observed was an open shifting and sharing of roles between students, teachers, artists and mentors to provide support and challenge in techniques, process, evaluation and audience. Another type of interaction highlighted tensions between practitioners and teachers in terms of role expectations, subject knowledge and pedagogy. Such tensions provided opportunities for discussion and action in trying to resolve the issues to reflect and model different ways of working. Questions were raised about ‘what knowledge?’, ‘whose knowledge?’ and the description of a ‘community of practice’ within a curriculum which enabled students and teachers to work with practising artists and multimedia specialists in a variety of settings, spaces and times.
Models of access to resources
The projects raised important practical and political questions about the allocation, organisation and management of ICT resources in models appropriate to learning and teaching processes within different subject areas. The National Grid for Learning Initiative in the UK has provided resources for networking capability in schools. The local management of these ICT resources does not always, however, reflect the needs and working practices of subjects, particularly Art. Many of the resources have been placed in central suites shared between all curriculum areas, rather than placed in subject departments and made available with space and software appropriate to the curriculum area, thus perpetuating an approach to ICT capability which focuses on decontextualised techniques and skills. The projects demonstrated the need for flexible and appropriate models of access to both physical resources and networks of support and professional development.
Evaluation of learning and teaching
The discussion of formative and summative assessment of the process and product of art in the curriculum highlights a number of issues of exchanging ideas, supporting process, identifying criteria for assessment and engaging in evaluative judgements. These discussions arose from the nature of the work itself and the working practices developed within the collaborations, but the issue was particularly pertinent in the school phase of ‘high stakes assessment’, that is, external examinations. The assessment and examination systems within schools define boundaries and gateways to particular choices and do not always reflect the knowledge and processes of practitioners. Within the projects which involved students undertaking work for examinations there were discussions of the nature of art and the type of work expected by external assessors and the degree to which students could explore new ideas and new media without ‘penalty’. Some UK examination boards now recognise digital work with screen-based media, but the debate is ongoing as understanding develops within the profession.
The contribution of research
The overview of the work in this particular group of projects reflects a wide range of contexts, participants and areas of focus. It describes a variety of activities and interactions taking place within many different contexts. It is interesting to consider the ways in which the questions for research and enquiry which underpinned the projects have evolved and inform subsequent projects. The questions have changed in focus from enquiries into the expression of visual literacy and the development of dialogue, to the nature of the collaborations between students, teachers and practitioners and the different settings in which they can be developed. Enquiry into the particular contexts of the case studies has also identified some common themes, raising issues which reflect deeper questions and tensions in such work. These include questions about ways of knowing, expressing and analysing ideas - what knowledge?, whose knowledge?, how can it be expressed and developed? What role does ICT play in these debates? Is technology a tool, a medium, a catalyst or a new lens through which to view these questions? What is the impact of ICT in contemporary culture and how the art curriculum might play a more proactive role in the education of young people? What are the challenges to pedagogy and professional development highlighted by such collaborations? How do studies such as these provide rigour and evidence to inform decisions by practitioners and funders in future initiatives? What are the connections between being visually literate and ICT capable in the broader sense of being creative and confident learners, inspired to work with spirit and imagination; to make decisions which might be collaborative and difficult? No one case study or survey can provide easy answers to these challenging questions, but it is timely to consider the role of research in providing both a stimulus for new work and a space for reflection and critique. Patterns and processes can be observed in the ‘bird’s eye view’ which indicate promising directions for further exploration and analysis.
Related References and useful addresses:
URLs
Art on the Net and associated projects of work with young people:
http://www.lighthouse.org.uk/
Ultralab and Plume School outcome:
http://www.ultralab.ac.uk/projects/plumev2/
(Words: 2544 )
IOE Masters Languages Learning
I spoke on 'Using new technologies for continuing professional development and distance learning: online tutorials and learning communities', describing and analysing the Ultra-Language-Lab material and the Talking Heads project
| When | Mar 13, 2001 |
|---|---|
| Where | London |
(Words: 41 )
Key Skills and the post 16 curriculum - an innovative approach
A report written with Phil Langshaw from the Plume School, Maldon about our collaboration to develop celebration and publication of his sixth-form art students through development of a web site published as chapter in the book 'Issues in Teaching Using ICT' edited by Marilyn Leask.
| When | Apr 27, 2001 |
|---|
(Words: 63 )
MSc in Leadership and Management in Schools
I presented one session for this course at the University of East London. I discussed learning, creativity, online tutorials and learning communities
| When | May 09, 2001 |
|---|---|
| Where | Stratford |
(Words: 37 )
You and Yours - teaching touch typing
I was invited by the BBC Radio 4 You and Yours programme to interview about the pros and cons of teaching touch typing. I attended at BBC Essex's studio in Chelmsford and connected to the London studio using their purpose designed ISDN audio conferencing equipment.
| When | May 23, 2001 |
|---|---|
| Where | Chelmsford, Essex |
Me in the studio:
My preparation:
(Words: 77 )
Open for Learning- Libraries and the New Learning Agenda
At this conference, convened by the London Libraries Development Agency and held in Waterstones in Piccadilly, I first presented 'A New Learning Landscape' - a web based presentation which tried to tie together many of my ideas
| When | Jul 06, 2001 |
|---|---|
| Where | London |
(Words: 60 )
ITTE '01 Swansea
Proposed a paper and a workshop for this conference for ICT teacher educators
| When |
Jul 17, 2001
to
Jul 19, 2001 |
|---|---|
| Where | Swansea |
WORKSHOP PROPOSAL
Janete Sander Costa - Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, jtscosta@uol.com.br
Eileen Freeman - Trinity College Dublin, eileen.freeman@cs.tcd.ie
Malcolm Hughes – University of the West of England, Bristol. UK Malcolm.Hughes@uwe.ac.uk
Chris Jones - Sunderland University, chris.jones@sunderland.ac.uk>
Richard Millwood - ULTRALAB, Anglia Polytechnic University, richard@ultralab.anglia.ac.uk [MAIN CONTACT FOR PROPOSAL]
Terry Taylor – Artist, terry.taylor101@virgin.net
Roberta K. Weber – Florida Atlantic University, Jupiter, Florida, USA edutech@gate.net
WORKSHOP TITLE
Life long learning with ICT / EduTech - a reflective and affective activity
ABSTRACT
Participants will reflect on their individual learning path with ICT / EduTech and teacher education by creating a personal film using iMovie, selecting, creating and incorporating images and sounds from the last twenty years of ITTE and educational computing. The workshop hopes to demonstrate the importance of affect in learning with digital tools and proposes a model which may be adapted for use with student teachers, inservice teachers and lecturers in Initial Teacher Training as well as others involved in the development of ICT capability in the education world. The workshop will also afford an opportunity to become familiar with film making with digital tools.
INTRODUCTION
ICT / EduTech developments over the past twenty years have been rapid, leading to formalisation and embedding into the school and teacher education curricula as the importance of digital tools in industry, commerce and civil society has been recognised. These curricula, and many of the practices which have developed to teach them, focus on knowledge and skills. It is rare to find a connection with affective aspects, indeed often a love for computers is associated with obsession and technocentric behaviour. But many of the reports of learners' work with computers shows that their spirit is moved by their relationship with digital tools and that they experience empowerment which changes their relationship with learning. Turkle (1997) reports on a move away from calculation and rules to the promotion of "simulation, navigation, and interaction". Such powerful effects are not simply knowledge and skills. Most importantly, many colleagues in teacher education around the world have little or no experience of pleasure or aesthetic satisfaction with computers - this has to change or they cannot fully engage in discussion with their students about the learning that may be inspired by the use of digital tools and media. "Computers offer themselves as models of mind and as 'objects to think with'." (Turkle 1999)
ACTIVITY
Participants will make a video, using iMovie, from still images from the UK National Archive of Educational Computing. The still images will span the twenty years since microcomputers were introduced into classrooms in numbers. Also available will be music of the period(s) and sound samples from some of the programs. The aim is to pick images and sounds significant in the participants career or personal development and to annotate with subtitles why they were significant, thus telling the story of their engagement with ICT / EduTech. Participants will also be able to film further footage, create their own artwork or sounds and use these as source material. The final products will be shared and discussed in the workshop, participants will evaluate the affective effect on developing competence with the digital tools, media and learning and then put the results on display to the whole conference if they feel safe to do so(!).
RESOURCES
A suite of 8 iMacs or iBooks should allow 16 participants to work in pairs. A projector with decent loudspeakers connected to the workshop leader's notebook should allow presentation of the results. Apple will be approached to support the workshop. [The resources may also form an internet café for the remainder of the conference, as in Cheltenham]
REFERENCES
Kolb, D.(1984) Experiential Learning. Prentice Hall ISBN: 0132952610
Turkle, S.(1997) Seeing Through Computers. Education in a Culture of Simulation. Volume 8, Issue 31. March 1 - April 1 1997 Available at: http://www.prospect.org/print/V8/31/turkle-s.html
Turkle, S. (1999) "What Are We Thinking About When We Are Thinking About Computers?" In The Science Studies Reader, Mario Biagioli (ed.). New York: Routledge, 1999. Available at: http://web.mit.edu/sturkle/www/routledge_reader.html
and the paper proposal:
LONG PAPER PROPOSAL
Richard Millwood - ULTRALAB, Anglia Polytechnic University, richard@ultralab.anglia.ac.uk [MAIN CONTACT FOR PROPOSAL]
Stephen Heppell - ULTRALAB, Anglia Polytechnic University
PAPER TITLE
ULTRALAB 2001 - upsizing over fifteen years
ABSTRACT
ULTRALAB has grown from a small team of three to an enterprise employing over fifty full time personnel, from a wooden hut in the fields of Essex to a central part of Anglia Polytechnic University, from experimental multimedia to worldwide leader in ICT, from 1987 to 2001.
This paper reviews milestone, projects past and present, and maps their design, development and outcomes in a family tree in an attempt to explain this phenomenon. ULTRALAB's core values have helped to maintain coherence in an ambitious programme of applied research which has always attempted to make educational change happen against a backdrop of regularly advancing technological innovation, educational and social movement. The challenge of creating large-scale projects such as Tesco SchoolNet 2000 (involving 17,000 schools) and Talking Heads (involving all headteachers in the UK and aspiring headteachers) has been seductive but hasn't prevented ULTRALAB embarking on relatively small-scale, but ambitious projects such as Etui (to invent a new toy for 4-8 year olds) and Notschool.net (to bring children that school didn't fit back to learning ). In every case the emphasis is on action research in an ethnographic tradition, with a strong moral emphasis that learners are constructive and should be participants. Emerging mantras from all ULTRALAB's work include "content isn't king but community is sovereign" and "affective is effective".
REFERENCES
http://www.ultralab.ac.uk
(Words: 989 )
