Improving Access and Inclusivity One Step at a Time

Microsoft Education is one of the giants leading the tech revolution in education. Our editor caught up with Chris Rothwell, Director of Education for Microsoft in the UK during January’s Bett conference. In this interview, Chris talks about what he sees as the most important issues facing educators today and talks about some of the ways Microsoft is addressing these challenges.

As the world is becoming digital, every industry is changing, and the employment landscape is changing. You know the people that are in school today are going to enter a workforce that is very different than the one today. And so we know that we have this skills gap in the area of digital. And really we wanted to try and understand how that was impacting teachers. So we initiated some research to try to connect with teachers and really find out how it is showing up in education and maybe start to try and look at what what what might we do about it.

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      string(4459) "In August of this year, Education Secretary Damien Hinds put forth a challenge to the tech industry to ‘launch an education revolution’.1 Along with promise of funds to get more schools connected to ultrafast broadband, he placed a call for educators, government and technology innovators to forge a strong partnership which will ‘ultimately support and inspire the learners of today and tomorrow’.  Hinds’ desire to improve educational access and inclusion, create efficient assessment practices, reduce the burden of administrative work on teachers and to help those outside of the formal education system access online learning systems is reasonably laudable, but his ultimate aim of allowing teachers to ‘focus their time and effort on the pupils in the classroom’ is hardly revolutionary. His examples and his vision for the future lack all sign of inspiration and creativity, and leave us to wonder which of the technology leaders could possibly be interested in taking up such a mundane challenge.  This is yet another example of how the extremes of the positions held by policy leaders and technology leaders are growing further and further apart. Tech companies like Microsoft and Google are developing incredible educational initiatives worldwide, from inexpensive AI wearables to ‘mixed reality’ initiatives and a comprehensive Digital Skills Programme. They have also become the leaders in funding and promoting evidence-based research on the impact of technology on learning. The UK government, meanwhile, is barely registering the developmental potential of educational technology and is instead focusing on safeguarding regulations and administrative efficiency.What does it mean to educate students effectively in 2018 and beyond? We know that technology permeates all areas of existence, yet its role in the classroom is not clearly defined. Should schools spend their budgets on technology infrastructure and take on all the headaches that go along with regular upgrading, troubleshooting and safeguarding issues? Or do we need to protect our children from digital overload and the increasing levels of mental anguish young people are experiencing as a result of digital connectivity? Is technology proving to be a time-consuming distraction to students or is it bringing new depth to the curriculum that is expanding their minds and future possibilities? With these questions in mind and the understanding that the complexities of modern education cannot be easily resolved, we decided it was time for a rebrand and reconfiguration of our e-Learning Update magazine to better align with our strengths and the needs of our readership. Within the pages of Digital Learning, you will still find our same commitment and dedication to exploration of current trends in teaching and learning with technology. However, there will be a more critical look at the tools on the market and a deeper focus on creative and innovative approaches to teaching and learning with technology. In this issue, EdtechTeachers Shawn McCusker and Tom Driscoll  show how to bring the history curriculum to life with great tools that support students in developing critical analytical skills and using resources to construct a narrative to decode the past (p. 36). Andrew Shenton explores what information literacy issues many Sixth-Form students are encountering in their independent study projects (p. 74), and Common Sense Media (p. 48) offers their latest research on some of the dangers of technology use and offers tools for helping young people navigate its perils. In addition, we highlight some of the latest blogs, tools, initiatives and apps that are helping classrooms connect learning to technology.  There is a common belief being put forth that education technology should free students and teachers from the utilitarian need of content mastery and that it should involve developing learning and skills that also transfer to authentic contexts. This is nothing new. Progressive educators have been calling for contextualisation and creation of meaning for students in learning now for centuries. And, as it has proved successful in the past, it is necessary to employ and develop nuanced pedagogy that incorporates technology in a meaningful and transferable manner. We look forward to continuing to inspire and promote creative solutions to this end. Jory Debenham Editor"
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Digital Learning

Creating a vision for technology in education

6 Nov 2018

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      string(5624) "Pheasey Park Farm Primary School. Microsoft Surface unboxing. Day 2Back in 2014, the quality of teaching at Pheasey Park was described by Ofsted as ‘dusty’ and learning as ‘passive’ and we were in the ‘Requires Improvement’ category. We knew we needed to make immediate changes. That’s when we turned to EdTech to create a more collaborative community and give students more ownership of their learning. This has helped us to  transform behaviour and attendance levels, support school improvement and reduce teacher workload.We changed people’s way of thinking and largely this has been down to our concerted efforts to showcase the benefits of EdTech resources and our continued emphasis on professional development for staff.We were delighted when Ofsted rated the school ‘Good’ in 2016,. They said, ‘technology is used effectively to develop collaboration between pupils.’ Now we are one of the DfE’s official EdTech Demonstrator schools, helping other schools around the country leverage EdTech to their advantage and effectively support teachers and staff both during and beyond the challenges currently faced by the education sector.Minimising disruption in lockdownLike many schools, we had embraced technology long before Covid-19 hit, and had many systems already in place, so fortunately didn’t have to start from scratch unlike some schools.We had plans for subscriptions, so Covid-19 brought that forward almost overnight and we implemented systems such as Microsoft OneNote to help create a central platform for our children to log into and access all of our online content in one place.We made things as straightforward as possible for our parents and children so they would not have to check five or six different subscription sites to access work and homework. This meant there was limited disruption to lessons. We also used the same portal for giving feedback, which staff could deliver via written or audio methods. Audio feedback was particularly effective during lockdown, as children were able to hear the familiar and friendly voice of their teachers.Maintaining normalityWe really wanted to make our children feel as ‘normal as possible’ in what could be described as the most unusual and disruptive time of their lives. Obviously, maths and English and other subject teaching was important, but we also put a lot of time and energy into our learning platform. Every staff member read and recorded stories, conducted daily live discussions covering educational content as well as general conversations to replicate the social element of school.We continued running assemblies and singing practice throughout lockdown to boost morale and these were recorded so children could go back and revisit them. We also did daily handwriting sessions to provide a sense of normality, online PE lessons to support their mental and physical health and wellbeing, and online safety talks which were especially important as we were using technology a lot more. We also created a Safeguarding link for children to have direct access to our Learning Mentor.Our pupils remained highly engaged with their learning and we saw a big increase in children accessing and using online platforms. They were already familiar with many of these resources so this helped learning to continue with minimal disruption. It also allowed us to ensure teaching and learning was as fun and engaging as possible, despite not being in a classroom together. Identifying gaps in learningEdTech proved beneficial in identifying gaps in children’s learning and helped to differentiate content. We need to identify which children understand concepts and which don’t. The simplest way is often by conducting a mini assessment or game Real-time formative feedback is embedded in many of our packages, including EducationCity which helps our teachers evaluate learning. By monitoring progress, our teachers have been able to identify where any learning gaps might be, how serious they are, and what measures might be necessary to close them.Bringing learning to life with the technology It’s simple for our teachers to personalise lessons and activities because they can set specific tasks sequenced in a particular order for a particular child. For example, we had one pupil who had an individual education plan (IEP) for phonics, so using various resources we could easily tailor all his work to phonics activities.Flipped learning has also been helpful in personalising learning. We ask the children to do a task before the lesson, and then the teachers have that feedback to alert them where they should pitch the lesson, what area to focus on and what level. 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Applications and Software

Harnessing EdTech As A Catalyst For Change And Improvement

23 Feb 2021

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      string(5578) "Osian George from Ysgol Bro Edern, a secondary school in Cardiff noted for its ‘digital excellence’The Welsh Government has invested in a central digital learning programme called Hwb that provides centrally-funded access to cloud services, digital infrastructure and digital resources aligned to the Curriculum for Wales for every learner (aged 3 to 18) in maintained schools in the country. The stats are impressive: £45     million investment in school broadband connectivity, including £18 million     for in-school connectivity£80     million EdTech digital infrastructure investment over two yearsAll Hwb     users in Wales have access to a wide range of centrally-funded digital     services and tools, all via a single username and password 600,000+     individual usersHwb is a Welsh word that means “Boost”. The fully bilingual Hwb website is the single port of call for teachers, parents and learners to find education related information.  There are literally thousands of bilingual resources covering all areas of the curriculum plus advice on keeping safe online. Welcome to Bro Edern websiteHwb also gives every user access to the latest versions of web-based software including: Office 365, Google’s G-Suite for Education and the first ever national deployment of Adobe Spark – which works on almost all modern devices.  Through a national licensing deal with Microsoft, the Welsh Government is also providing all teachers and learners with access to Microsoft Office along with Minecraft: Education Edition both in school and at home.The advantages of HwbConsistency is key to success according to aHwb spokesperson: ‘Everything is GDPR compliant. The data-processingagreements, legal requirements, educational contracts, privacy notices – welook after all of that. There are no targeted adverts and we take safeguardingreally seriously, with input from a range of expert partner organisations,including the police, providing advice on how to stay safe online, preventcyber security issues and develop digital resilience. We provide informationfor staff in schools on how to keep data secure and what to do if there is adata breach.’Having a centralised service brings peace ofmind for schools but also saves them time and money. Large scale centralisedpurchasing ensures lower prices and this has freed up money to improve theinfrastructure. There are a number of factors in Hwb’s success. It has been a game changer for Hwb who would not otherwise be able to distribute their resources so easily and promptly throughout the whole country. One recent example is Adobe Spark – a range of creative tools – which the team were able to launch earlier than planned in response to school closures. introduced into Welsh schools in the last few months. They developed localised resources and How to.. webinars, and, almost at the press of an enter key, sent the software out toall their schools. The Hwb Team developed a Spark community throughMicrosoft Teams of around 1000 teachers, who have contributed ideas andinspiration.When Adobe set uptheir Creative Education Programme, 36 Welsh educators were the first in theworld to get the creative badges. Now there are resources covering all areasfrom early years materials for two to four-year-olds through to A-levels,well-being activities and curriculum materials in science and food technology. Theyare all on Hwb in two languages and will be featured on Adobe Exchange soanybody can access them.Award winning schoolOsian George is Welsh BAC Co-ordinator at Ysgol Bro Edern, a secondary school in Cardiff with a strong reputation for its digital excellence. It was selected by Ty Goddard as one of his EdTech 50 schools, an initiative aimed at, ‘shining a light on schools that use EdTech in groundbreaking and impactful ways’. At that time, it was the only 1:1 iPad school in Wales and was producing lots of Welsh resources.  When Ty visited, he attended an art class where ‘I found students drawing insects. They used both real insects and 3D tech replicas to check their work. They could zoom in, view details and amend their drawings as needed. By adopting a technology students are familiar with, Bro Edern has seen pupils increase their depth of learning across subjects.’Playlist for home learning For Osian and the rest of the staff it was a major decision to consider moving from iPads to Chromebooks for their day to day work. Cost savings are one factor but the synergy with Hwb and Google makes it a realistic option.When it became apparent that there would be school closures earlier this year, the school conducted a survey to find out who would need support. All learners from year 8 upwards had iPads already given to them by the school. Year 7 had not received their devices and it was found that well-off families might have had some technology but not necessarily a laptop.Osian said, ‘Pupils may struggle to do their homework on a mobile phone for example, particularly if it involves extended writing and, while they might have internet access on other devices, it might be from tethering to a mobile phone.’The Welsh Government made £3 millionavailable for Local Authorities to repurpose older devices under the Hwb EdTechprogramme. They bought 9,717 software licences to upgrade devices via Neverwareand distributed 10, 848 MiFi dongles to provide internet access. Schools distributed devices or called parents in to collect them. InCarmarthenshire, parents of children eligible for a device"
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Blended Learning

Lockdown Lessons: Wales – over 9,500 Google Classrooms and over 8,800 Microsoft Class Teams

2 Oct 2020

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      string(4018) "VLEImprove engagement and presentation of contentYou may want to create individual games and quizzes, which is appropriate for your learners. However, a good way to get started with H5P is via the Course Presentation content type. Access Course Presentation on the H5P website to view the examples of what is possible. This content type can mirror your content structure and flow as you might have in a Microsoft PowerPoint. However, you can create a variety of interactions like Interactive Video, Drag and Drop, Hotspots, Flashcards and a range of question types.To get started shaping your content, select a resource to use, preferably a Microsoft PowerPoint, Word or PDF document that has potential to be developed into an online activity. Check it has got:An appropriate amount of text (not text-heavy)Enough text to write instructions and short activitiesSome imagery (illustrations or models you can use)Perhaps videos to embed and layer some questions overWeb links to further resourcesSome tips for organising your material:Outline titles, the flow of content to appear in each section, and trim out unnecessary material – Microsoft PowerPoint is helpful for doing thisDivide learning content into relatable groups of knowledgeDescribe any activities you wish to include so that learning can be assessed and checkedBe mindful of putting too much content in as this can lead to information overload. Equally, including too many interactions can lead to user fatigueDon’t put too much text on screen as it makes it very text-based and may make the object longer. Only keep essential text and present it in small bite-sized chunks, or provide an option saying ‘read more’Use relatable images to match your textUse video and interactive elements to make content engaging and meaningfulThere is a larger process to creating interactive eLearning activities where you will sketch out a storyboard of what will happen. However, as this is rapid you can use the following quick framework that includes key instruction and assessment principles to guide your content development. This rapid approach is not about creating polished eLearning activities, but rough and ready ones based on a take-and-reshape approach. You don’t need to be an instructional designer expert, but having the understanding and skills will help.Aims and objectives (what learners will learn)Introduction/ build-on from previous learningBite-sized theory/interaction Formative assessment activitySummative assessment Aims and objectives (what learners have learned)Do bear in mind that the design and development process could take longer than expected due to the amount of time you put into learning H5P, complexity/volume of content and the level of your digital capabilities, so do consider the following:Time to develop eLearningContent design/structure/layout of your contentWriting instructional contentSourcing quiz questionsSourcing and presenting meaningful/user friendly multimedia contentPerfecting—don’t over produce it, it’s rapidAccessibilityMeeting specific needs – more in-depth guidance Technical guidance from H5P GDPR/confidentiality of contentsCopyright and Creative Commons (you could make your eLearning activity an Open Educational Resource)This topic, along with resources to support you, as well as sourcing, designing and safely and purposefully using digital technology is in the book Learning Technology: A Handbook for FE Teachers and Assessors from Critical Publishing Ltd. Join the conversations on social media following and using #LTbookFE.Daniel Scott is a digital learning specialist who won the ALT Learning Technologist of the Year award 2016.  He holds a Technology Enhanced Learning MSc and is a qualified teacher, assessor and lead internal verifier who can be reached via Twitter (@_Daniel_Scott or LinkedIn. Daniel also blogs about his experiences of learning technology and eLearning practices, ideas and challenges with learning."
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Adaptive Technology

H5P: Creating Interactive Resources for the Primary Classroom

12 Aug 2019

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