All design work starts with an idea. It can be as simple as just two words, or it can be something more elaborate, like a properly crafted scenario that is based on trend analysis. Here are sample scenarios from the 4th cycle of iTEC. Details on the scenario development process and scenarios from other cycles are available in iTEC deliverables D2.1 through D2.4. Please note that these scenarios were made by FutureLab, another partner in the iTEC project, and not Edukata designers.
Audio/video feedback
CORE PURPOSE – Using video or audio-recording equipment to record feedback given to a piece of student work. The recordings are uploaded to the VLE. Students are given extra-credits if they access the recordings and if they can demonstrate that they acted on the recommendations. The recordings give clues and direct students to additional resources (books, web-based, etc.). Advantages: quicker and more efficient (and more personalised) way of providing feedback; increased chance of students acting on feedback.
NARRATIVE OVERVIEW – Ms L is familiar with the VLE and is interested in new approaches to assessment for learning through technology. She agrees with the head teacher to start a pilot project that will attempt a radical change in the way feedback is given to students, and in how students act on such feedback. Over a semester, Ms L agrees with her students on two or three “feedback target pieces of work”. During the production of these pieces of work students submit their draft versions to Ms L for constructive feedback to enable them to improve the final piece of work. However the feedback will not be given during time consuming face-to-face sessions. Instead, Ms L will use IWB recording technology or similar to record her verbal and written feedback as she marks the piece of work.
Ms L has recently been on a professional development course about giving clear and constructive feedback and she includes a number of “recommendations” in her recordings aimed at supporting the students at improving their draft piece of work and she particularly focuses on elements of individual students’ work that needs to be improved in general in their work in her subject. The feedback produced is stored in audio or video form on the VLE or somewhere else. Students can only see the feedback that concerns them by logging in the system with their credentials. They can do so in their own time and in the privacy of their homes if they wish to and then continue with the piece of work, using the feedback to improve it. The system also allows students to enter a quick response to the feedback, letting Ms L know whether they understand the feedback (this could be a simple red, orange, green traffic light feedback system). Ms L can then arrange to meet face-to-face with students who still need further support.
The aim of this new approach to feedback is to help clarify what good performance is (goals, criteria, expected standards), by providing opportunities to close the gap between current and desired performance, and allowing students to use the feedback to produce improved work. The system could easily allow the teacher to create a “general” feedback, applicable to all students, in which criteria and expected standards are spelt out. Students will be able to access this part of the feedback as a “refresher” in their own time, in addition to the part of the feedback that is tailored to them and hence only visible by them. The VLE could allow the teacher to easily make and edit recordings which have public, accessible by all, sections and personal sections. The system could also allow other teachers to add their recommendations and make suggestions to encourage cross-curricular learning and assessment. Ms L can track whether the students have acted on the recommendations. She and the head teacher are thinking of expanding the program to the whole school, and they are planning to use the permanent audio records to showcase the school’s good work during future school inspections.
TRENDS (cycles 2 and 3)
Formative assessment has come of age Most educators nowadays agree about the effectiveness of formative assessment, that is, assessment used on a daily basis for diagnostic purposes and to dynamically adapt teaching, rather than for grading.
POSSIBLE APPROACHES TO TEACHING AND ASSESSMENT
The broad framework of this scenario draws on self-regulated learning and formative assessment; both aim to develop self-assessment (reflection) in learning by helping students identify standards/criteria that will apply to their work.
- Formative assessment
- Summative assessment
- Self-assessment (students self-assess against the feedback given on their draft piece of work as they complete their final piece of work)
ENVIRONMENT
- Classrooms
- VLE
- Home
PEOPLE & ROLES
Teacher – gives clear and constructive audio/video feedback, student response allows further support to be given where necessary. Student response system also allows teacher to monitor whether his/her feedback is clear and comprehensible. Can give whole class feedback as well.
Student – is supported in developing their piece of work but also given responsibility for their learning in terms of accessing and responding to feedback. Can add feedback to their student portfolio. Can access feedback more than once – could be useful when undertaking similar piece of work in future.
ACTIVITIES
- Recording of audio and/or video feedback by teacher.
- Ideally video with audio so that student might receive a file that shows the piece of work in question being marked by the teacher with an audio commentary by the teacher that adds detail
- Audio feedback would be particularly useful in the context of language teaching, for example a teacher could give pronunciation tips which is clearly far better than a written feedback.
RESOURCES (INCL TECHNOLOGIES)
- VLE
- IWB recording widgets
- Free software suggestions: One Note (MS), Voice Thread (free online tool), Speak Pipe (free online tool)
- Wiki
- Document camera – to record marking of text
- TeamUp (for recording feedback)
Create a model
CORE PURPOSE – Using models and visualisations to support an argument or to solve a problem
NARRATIVE OVERVIEW – Design technology teacher Mr P, Geography teacher Ms D, physics teacher Mrs M and Math teacher Mr W create an annual cross-curricular design challenge for students which will develop their subject related skills as well as involving them in a ‘real-world’ challenge that is related to their local area.
Each year they draw on topical themes or events that are affecting the school and ask their students to respond to that challenge by re-designing the buildings of an area. Examples of the sorts of challenge:
- Contributing to the school re-design process
- Responding to recent pollution figures released for the local area to redesign the town to make it more eco-friendly
- Responding to a scenario that involves rising sea-levels affecting the local area in the next 10 years
- Designing an Olympic village
- Designing outdoor spaces for young people that promote wellbeing and lead to a decrease in the incidences of bullying
Students initially undertake some research into how they might respond to the brief – for example when undertaking the wellbeing challenge above their teachers help them to find relevant reports on the links between outdoor spaces and wellbeing. Students then use their geography skills to survey the area in question, taking pictures in different locations and uploading them to a central online map. They use a combination of online and offline maps and develop their maths skills by to working out the heights of building/measuring distances etc. Their teachers and remote experts (e.g. architects who are contactable by email/come in class to support) support the students to plan renovations to existing buildings or to design new ones which respond to the initial brief.
The students use 3D software such as Google SketchUp to develop their ideas. The 3D models created are uploaded to Google Earth and shared on the central interactive whiteboard during the planning phase. Once all the buildings are complete the Google Earth file is shared on the school website. Local people, parents/carers, architects and town planners are invited to view the students’ designs and to give their response to them. The school is also lucky enough to have a 3D printer and so students are able to print out their buildings.
The teachers also recognise that this could be a useful opportunity to link with other schools in the local area and extend their challenge across the region so that students in different schools work together to create designs to respond to local challenges/events.
Trends (from cycle 1 and 2)
Schools have specially built studios or classrooms away from the school site (or virtual spaces – as in the virtual design “studio” enabled by Google Sketchup). Activities now take place in a variety of locations: in the local park, out in the community or in places of industry
Learning goes outside, does the teacher follow? Education has always been associated with schools. However, this relationship is now under stress as new technologies move learning outside of the school walls.
POSSIBLE APPROACHES TO TEACHING AND ASSESSMENT
- The scenario will require the development of an evaluation dimension which is up to individual teachers.
- The creation of an assessment rubric could be considered.
- Specific skills to develop/assess include: searching + finding information and generally information literacy, and presentation skills.
ENVIRONMENT
- Classroom
- VLE
- Other classrooms in other countries via skype
- Specific “sites” depending on the topic being covered
PEOPLE & ROLES
Teachers will need access to a network of support to carry this out, as well as access to expertise in different subject areas and to a wide range of skills. A whole-school approach would be particularly helpful for this scenario, one that brings together teachers, students, school leadership and the local community (e.g. parents)
ACTIVITIES
A flexible approach (as in most scenarios) is needed. Teachers will have to adapt/change/simply the scenario depending on their subject areas and skills level – for example, some activities could be carried out at home by students. Such homework could be based on tutorials, for example on how to use Google Sketchup.
A key activity will be presenting in different ways – using videos or other means.
RESOURCES (INCL TECHNOLOGIES)
- Integration between Google sketchup, Google earth and some kind of presentation/visualisation software like Prezi.
- Photo editing software tools available within both SMART and Promethean
- Use widgets with Google maps/earth and Google Sketchup – could either be embedded as widget in environment or just use a link to the website.
- Could create one document with applications and photos for the whole process (eg compose the process in advance) This would take a lot of work and support for teachers
- Collaboration: small groups could be linked and share their work on their laptops so the IWB becomes a central planning tool. Can link individual laptops to central board so teacher can see what everyone doing.
- Use of mobile technology good here
- 3D software could be linked to 3D printer so that models of buildings could be made
- Links: Google earth: http://www.google.com/earth/index.html Google SketchUp: http://sketchup.google.com/
Digital Producers
CORE PURPOSE – Using digital media to create “broadcasts” of curricular work: presentations, classroom discussions and other school activities are captured and recorded through various means, they are then edited and uploaded to the web or to the VLE.
NARRATIVE OVERVIEW – Mrs Clay and Mr Hague are science teachers. They have heard about the iTEC ‘Broadcasting STEM Learning’ initiative and competition (the initiative is a new idea, yet to be established). They think this is a way of deepening their students’ subject knowledge through digital production. Through this initiative the iTEC project aims to engage pupils from 1000 classrooms across Europe in producing podcasts or short movies/animations about an aspect of the STEM curriculum. These learning broadcasts will be collated on the iTEC platform and tagged (for age group and subject etc), eventually providing a multi-lingual, searchable database of STEM learning broadcasts for students around the world to use for learning and revision purposes. Students and teachers can comment on and rate the uploaded broadcasts according to a set of criteria which are defined by students with the help of their teachers at the start of the initiative and reviewed at the stage of each round of the competition. The creators of the highest rated broadcasts in each age group will be showcased on the iTEC website.
Mrs Clay and Mr Hague want to involve their students in making broadcasts about their current topics in Science as they know that in order to make a learning broadcast for others, the students will need to have a deep conceptual understanding of the material themselves. At the start of their new topics of learning, the teachers make the students aware that they will be making broadcasts aimed at their peers (and themselves for exam revision purposes later in the year). In groups, students will choose the area of the curriculum they wish to cover, research the subject and decide whether to make a choice of making a podcast or a short film/animation. For this reason, the teachers use both podcasts and videos during their teaching – to inspire the students – and ask the students to discuss the potential of each method of communication, thus developing their digital media literacy at the same time as their science understanding. Students work with their teachers to develop criteria/rubrics through which to peer-assess the outputs and feed these through to the ‘Broadcasting STEM Learning’ initiative organisers to help develop selection criteria.
Whilst teachers ensuring that the students have a secure understanding of the area of science they have chosen, they support their students to plan the content of their broadcasts – possibly drawing on the expertise of media studies staff and students – including what key content to include and considering how to communicate it to their audience. Students create their broadcasts using cameras/digital recorders and free web-based software.
Once the broadcasts have been created students watch/listen to each other’s broadcasts and provide feedback to each other using the same criteria/rubrics provided by the ‘iTEC Broadcasting STEM Learning’ initiative. The teachers also provide feedback on accuracy of content. The students address the feedback and are then submitted to the ‘iTEC Broadcasting STEM Learning’ competition as well as being uploaded to the school website/VLE as a means of sharing with the wider school community and parents/carers. Students also spend some time, with their teachers, rating other broadcasts uploaded to the ‘iTEC Broadcasting STEM Learning’ initiative as part of the competition. Throughout the year the teachers and students refer to the database of learning broadcasts and use the films and podcasts available to support learning discussions in class and revision.
Trends (cycles 1, 2 and 3):
- Ability to capture the moment. Focus on new literacies for a new media age. Modern devices are “mobile media production studios”.
- young people are always connected and make heavy use of digital media, this is posing challenges to teachers and education systems
- the challenges of supporting SMT subjects in the classroom
POSSIBLE APPROACHES TO TEACHING AND ASSESSMENT
- Project/enquiry-based learning
- Thematic (if subjects could be linked across the curriculum)
- Peer-based learning
- Peer-assessment through development of criteria/rubrics (i.e. Content, quality of production, ability to communicate the subject clearly)
- Teacher assessment (i.e. subject knowledge)
ENVIRONMENT
- Available space to be divided into areas of production (possibly within the classroom):
- knowledge creation space
- film studio/production space/possibly outside
- document corner
- assessment area
PEOPLE & ROLES
Teachers-direct instruction to set up the activities; to facilitate and guide the students through the project; direct teaching of/support with online and off-line research skills and digital production skills.
Students-deepen their understanding of scientific concepts; peer-assessment; support with the development of digital production skills; take different roles in production (i.e. performer, scriptwriter, director, camera person)
ACTIVITIES
- Develop assessment criteria at outset
- Working in groups to research a subject area
- Digital production of podcasts or short movies/animations, uploading
- Social media to upload and distribute the films (YouTube, communicate the outputs: Facebook, Edmodo, Twitter, etc
- Peer and teacher assessment of outputs
- Entry into iTEC broadcasting STEM learning competition
RESOURCES (INCL TECHNOLOGIES)
- Podcasting: http://audioboo.fm/; http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
- Film editing software: Windows movie maker http://windows.microsoft.com/en-GB/windows/downloads/get-movie-maker
- iMovie http://www.apple.com/ilife/imovie/
- Go animate http://goanimate.com/
- Cameras (e.g. FlipCams) also come with editing software.
- Other resources/references:
- Films for Learning – online collection of films made by students and teachers to support UK curriculum-linked learning
- http://filmsforlearning.org/
- E-Scapes project http://www.bris.ac.uk/education/news/2012/68.html
GPS Enabled Learning Games
CORE PURPOSE – To use GPS devices in geo-located treasure-hunts and to develop location-based/alternate reality games
NARRATIVE OVERVIEW – As part of their professional development teachers at Windywood School have been researching the benefits of both outdoor learning and games-based learning. They are keen to engage their students in a learning programme that uses both of these approaches as well as developing subject learning.
They devise a two part project involving two classes of students, the second part of which runs 3 times throughout the school year using an action research type model.
Part one: The teachers design a treasure hunt for the students around the school grounds (or could be local town/playing field). The students work together in small groups, using GPS devices to locate certain waypoints at which are located either a physical object containing a curriculum related puzzle that needs to be solved or a QR code that, with the use of a QR reader, directs students to a webpage with a curriculum related puzzle to solve. The solving of the puzzle leads the students to the next waypoint on the treasure hunt. Students record their progress, uploading specified photographs at certain waypoints to a shared file on Google Maps/Google Earth.
Part two: The teachers then ask the students to use their experiences of taking part in the treasure hunt to create their own GPS, outdoor-based, live game (based loosely on the notion of Location Based Games and Alternate Reality Games). Each of the two classes of students works together to create a game for the other class. Native language teachers work with the students to identify a text which can be used as the basis for quest type/adventure game, so that the game has a narrative and use students’ experiences of digital games as a starting point for identifying what makes a good quest game. The students work to devise a game that takes place over a set period of time and involves their peers in a quest either around the school grounds or local area. As with the treasure hunt the students use GPS devices to locate waypoints and record their progress. The problems to solve are either delivered hidden in physical objects or presented and solved using digital technology (e.g. clues in the form of diary entries, websites, online games, blogs, message boards, photos etc. linked to from the waypoint using links from the map or QR codes).
The students feedback to each other on the games and use that feedback and their experiences to feed into their next cycle of game production. The games gradually get more complex and progress to involving real-time gaming in as in Alternate Reality Games with some students acting as ‘puppeteers’ responding to participants actions to change the game as it progresses.
TRENDS (cycles 1 and 2):
- Mobile activities become part of everyday life
- The role of play as a tool for enjoying teaching will be more important in the future.
POSSIBLE APPROACHES TO TEACHING AND ASSESSMENT
- Games-based pedagogies, peer assessment, collaborative learning, self-assessment, constructivism.
- Subjects: Flexible e.g. geography, technology, languages (could create game in another language), maths (puzzles could be mathematical), history.
- Connections between ‘real-life’ and the curriculum.
ENVIRONMENT
- Treasure hunt/games carried out outdoors (GPS better outdoors) e.g school grounds, on a field/school trip. Potential for collaboration between school and another organisation e..g museum with outdoor space.
- Classroom – for games design
- Home – homework, collaboration via VLE/Blog etc.
PEOPLE & ROLES
Students: Actively involved in solving puzzles in the treasure hunt and building the activities/devising the games. Develop skills such as decision making, communication skills, critical thinking, creativity (creating something for their peers)
Teachers: Moderators and facilitators, observations for evaluation/assessment.
Parents/whole school community: Potential for involving parents and whole school community. Parents could participate in the games created by students.
ACTIVITIES
- Teachers working together to create the treasure hunts
- Groups – created by teachers or students or using Team Up forming teams based on skills and interests and recording teams’ progress
- Students working collaboratively to solve problems, create games and devise problems/puzzles
- Discussing and sharing of what worked and what didn’t in order to improve
- Using and building on students knowledge of games and gaming principles to create own games
- In part two, students who created the game (or who are acting as puppeteers) could keep track of the game participants in real-time using Google maps/google earth on the interactive whiteboard.
- Avoid any issues related to child protection (uploading photos to web sites etc) by ensuring pics do not include children/people.
RESOURCES (INCL TECHNOLOGIES)
- IWB & software and associated Widgets (e.g. Google Earth)
- Mobile devices (GPS & cameras)
- Web pages – generate QR codes, Google Maps/Earth
- iTEC WP8 are working on widget that uploads data from GPS to share with other people via Google maps. Way to create and share GPS data – eg create and share geocaching.
- TeamUp for groupings/recording progress
- Geocaching website: http://www.geocaching.com/
- Alternate reality gaming and learning in education: http://www.argle.net/
- Dragontree Home Education video, how to use GPS devices and upload tracks to Google
- Earth and link with a Promethean interactive whiteboard:
- http://thedragontree.wordpress.com/
- 2011/04/07/itec-were-helping-out-in-researching-the-role-of-technology-in-education-in-europe/
- QR codes easily generated using free online software
Mind mapping the soil
CORE PURPOSE – To use mind-maps and related approaches as a powerful tool for learning, in particular to promote deep understanding while at the same time encouraging a cross-curricular approach.
NARRATIVE OVERVIEW – Mr K wants students to engage with a complex topic (soil science) using mind-maps. Mind mapping is a simple methodology that allows collaborative and deep exploration of difficult and multi-faceted topics.
Over a class period, a lively brainstorming session takes place. Brainstorming is a critical component of creating a mind map, so the groups are instructed to brainstorm as their first step. Mr K presents contents and resources about soil science, using them as prompts for the class discussion. Small post-it notes are used at this stage because the groups can write ideas on the post-it notes and then shuffle them as many times as necessary to create effective categorizations.
After the brainstorm, students create digital version of their mind-maps using free web-based software like Popplet. This digital version will stay online throughout the project and will be updated as work progresses.
A trip to a site is arranged and students are divided into groups. They take samples, pictures, and videos; some make drawings. Once back in the classroom, students work individually or in pairs over two lesson periods on tasks pre-designed by the teacher. In each subgroup, two or more students will analyse the soil using a microscope, two or more will gather additional geographical or geo-chemical information about the site; two or more will digitally edit the pictures or the videos overlaying their research notes and make a structured taxonomy of all the potentially relevant things that they observed.
Over another class period, a discussion supported by presentations takes place; the aim is to share findings and activities so that students complement each other’s findings without missing out. For example, in each subgroup those who used a microscope are asked to explain to the others what they did, how they did it and what they found, and so forth. All the findings, the pictures, the videos and the additional information are finally uploaded to Popplet to update the mind maps, which keep growing and now include video and audio elements as well. New associations are found and this supports even further understanding and the retention of the scientific terminology.
The whole exercise also allows a dyslexic student in the classroom to fully engage, as the approach helps him structure ideas concretely, while the graphical associations of the mind map make it easier for him to process the written text. The creation of mind maps in small groups instead of by individual students facilitates a deeper analysis of the topic through dialogue rather than instruction. Developing associations between terms and notions also helps students understand and memorise words and concepts.
Trends (from cycles 1, 2 and 3)
- Learning goes outside, does the teacher follow? Education has always been associated with schools. However, this relationship is now under stress as new technologies move learning outside of the school walls.
- The challenges of fostering MST (Mathematics, Science and Technology)
- increasing frustration of young people with typical classroom activities
- Educational applications do not run on desktop computers anymore but increasingly onto servers accessible through the Internet (e.g. popplet)
POSSIBLE APPROACHES TO TEACHING AND ASSESSMENT
The scenario relies on collaborative knowledge building and on the classroom discussions facilitated by the teacher. There is also a strong element of inquiry-based learning. Assessment could be performed by checking students’ understanding and scientific vocabulary before and after the project. This data can be used to plan further or remedial instruction or homework/reading (formative assessment).
ENVIRONMENT
- The classroom and the school lab
- School grounds
- Field excursions
PEOPLE & ROLES
The teacher is acting as facilitator of a complex group dynamic. The Mindmapping activity is not just a tool to aid student thinking, but also to structure and clarify the process for the teacher.
Students act as peers and need to be clear about their responsibilities and tasks.
ACTIVITIES
- Students research
- Videos, pictures, dataloggers, microscopes
- Research process
- Observing
- Collecting data
- Analysing data
- Synthesis
- Presentations
RESOURCES (INCL TECHNOLOGIES)
- Video cameras, data loggers, lab equipment
- Mindmap software (eg http://popplet.com/)
- The Italian school where an interesting approach to MindMapping was used http://1gdigiacomoitec.blogspot.it/
- Standard features of IWB software when used with either physical student handsets or IWB software applications.
- Video on Promethean’s collaborative brainstorm application works: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/20497347/Noteboard.m4v?dl=1
- SMART Ideas allows students to discuss and generate ideas directly writing in the IWB. (tutorial http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSO0sygM0Yo)