This year I am starting my Masters in Education. Despite specialising in Information Technologies, I have also decided to commit time to studying Education Leadership. It was my talents with technology that threw me into my current leadership role. Over the last few years, I have had to work hard to grow into the leadership side of my position. While I exhibit some characteristics, I am not the classic type A personality that so many leaders are and I recognise that it is a skill I want to develop further.

As I commence my first subjects this week, I found myself reflecting on my understandings of leadership in education. To be a successful leader, you need a deeply thought-through philosophy about leadership. You also need to constantly interrogate and re-evaluate your leadership practices and beliefs. 

I believe that leadership is a process and not a necessarily a position. While leadership positions exist in educational institutions, individuals can be leaders without any formal authority. Leaders are people who initiate change and growth. They are people that can see possibilities and develop a vision. It is for this reason, I feel that creativity can be a valuable skill in leadership. Leaders build culture, inspiring engagement and collaboration, and they maximise the potential of the talented individuals around them.

​I do think there is some difference between being a leader and being a manager, although admit that many educational leadership roles require skills in both. ​Leadership is about producing change and growth by envisioning and designing strategies to move forward. Management is more about enacting these strategies, ensuring order and consistency. Management is more tactical and hands on while leadership is strategic and visionary.

Educational organisations have obligations to society, the needs of their learners and the requirements of other key stakeholders. Leadership in Education is somewhat responsive to these needs and obligations and responsible for driving them. People in these positions need to develop strategies and point their schools in the right direction after analysing industry trends in relation to their context. 

It is fairly difficult to ignore the importance of technology in education these days. As well as enhancing the learning experience, the development of technology related skills and knowledge is now essential for learners. In Australia, the importance placed on developing these skills resulted in the Digital Technologies subject being added to our national curriculum. 

​But how do schools deliver technology enriched learning to students? Trolleys of shared devices can only get the quality of the experience so far and are a nightmare to manage. A fully immersive experience ideally requires students to work with their own device. 1:1 student to device ratios are the dream but hard to achieve for many schools.

​Enter the BYOD solution....Bring Your Own Device! Seems ideal....right? And it does have the potential to be - but there is a reason I jokingly refer to it as Bring Your Own Disaster.....

​2018 is my fourth year in a technology leadership role at my school. In that time I have overseen the expansion of the BYOD program from Year 6 down to Year 3. ​Up until this year, iPads were the required device in our BYOD classrooms. In 2018, as the program expanded down into Year 3, the decision was made to switch to a full Windows device with the aim of eventually phasing out our student iPads. There were several reasons behind the switch and this is certainly not a blog comparing the pros and cons of different devices. Despite the migration to Windows devices for student use, iPads will continue to have a presence on the Primary Campus and in our Maker Space. 

So, having just this year launched BYOD in Year 3 and after my experiences with it over the last few years, what are my thoughts?

The BYOD solution to school 1:1 technology implementation is a totally viable option, but it comes with a cost to all involved. Families have to shoulder the cost. This can be a very big ask, especially for families with more than 1 student at a school. Schools need to amp up their training and tech support to keep it afloat. It takes a lot of time and manpower (or in my case, womanpower) to get everything running smoothly. Teachers also have the added pressures of troubleshooting technology and integrating it effectively into their practice. 

​Can it be done? Yes, it can. I don't think I have it perfect by a long shot, but compared to a couple years ago, I am actually pretty proud of our progress. For those thinking of taking steps towards BYOD:

• Plan ahead. I cannot stress this enough. Get stakeholders involved. Consult with the parent community. Give LOTS of notice. Develop user agreements and policy documents. Really think about the specifications you want. 
• Work on infrastructure now. It's no good getting devices into schools and not having the network capable of supporting them.
• Build your champion network of teachers. Provide opportunities for professional development and support them as much as you can. They will determine if the program sinks or swims at the end of the day.
• ​Understand that this is going to take some time to work...be patient and persistent.
• Share the success and promote what BYOD and 1:1 programs can help students to achieve. Build a positive culture around technology.

In a larger class, there are certainly more roles that could be assigned, but this seemed to work once we go rolling. Also, extremely useful where printed signs to back up communication within the classroom and over the Skype call. Just a simple Yes, No and Please Wait, were very useful as we researched and responded to questions.

A great tip I also learnt from Jonathon was to get the children thinking of questions that halved the search area. This really gets them using directional language, scale and landmarks. Students should always start large and work their way down to localised, more specific questions based on the responses on their opponent. For example:

• Start gloabaly - Are you in the Southern Hemisphere?
• Work into regions - Are you in the Asia/ Pacific region?
• Locate the nation - Is your country South of Indonesia? Are you in Australia?
• Work in halves - Are you on the east coast of Australia?
• Look for capital cities - Are you in a 20km radius of Brisbane?
• Use landmarks - Are you south of the Brisbane River?

.....and so on

Depending on how the local population is distributed, students acting as researchers may need to be finding out about states, suburbs, boroughs or councils. It's such a fun and authentic way for students to engage with Geography. 

To learn more about Mystery Skype and get started, visit the Microsoft Educator Community. As well as online courses to introduce you to who it all works, you can set your availability ​times and connect with other educators or experts from around the world to Skype with. You are not limited to setting up Mystery Skype calls, but can also arrange virtual field trips and Skype calls with subject experts. 

Keep your eyes peeled for the next Skype-a-thon event in 2018. It is sure to be a lot of fun!

We want to always think the best of our students and trust them to be carrying on with their assigned task on the class iPads. The reality is that they are often flicking between apps and browsing the internet the moment our backs are turned. As our students become more skilled with their devices, parents and teachers need to stay a step ahead....or at least keep up.

I was walking past a classroom this year. The class was spread out around the room working on devices from the school trolley. Three students were sitting with their backs to the window. I slowed to have a look at what the class was doing and I noticed that as the teacher approached, the students quickly flicked apps and continued to do the work they were supposed to do. The teacher looked at the screens and continued on. The second she was out of earshot, the students had flicked back and were continuing their off task behaviour. 

A often underappreciated tool with parents and educators is the Guided Access feature that is built into iPad. Often used by retailers and vendors, this mode prevents users from leaving the selected app. 

To enable Guided Access head to your device settings. Go to the Accessibility options and then select Guided Access. Slide the button to enable the feature. You will note that in the explanation underneath you will then have to triple click the home button to switch it on and off once you are in the app you want students to remain in. 

Guided Access requires a passcode to disable it. In the passcode settings, you can also enable touch ID. Alternatively you can also set the time limit options so that Guided Access will automatically disable by the end of the lesson. Enable the Accessibility Shortcut so that you have greater control of the features. 

Once you are in the app, triple tap the home button. Guided access is now enabled. Triple tap again to view the options. You will be prompted for the passcode. From the options menu (pictured below), you can set the timer, decide which buttons can be used and even disable certain parts of the screen. To do this you can draw a circle around the sections of the screen you want to be dead. This can be handy for stopping students leaving set activities or the app in other ways. From this screen you can also end Guided Access.

While Guided Access is handy, it isn't the only way teachers should be ensuring students are on task.  It can be timely to manage on a class set of devices. Establishing clear expectations and monitoring the students as they work is essential. Having students work in pairs or teams can deter poor choices if the groups are selected mindfully. Positioning yourself in a location that allows you to see student screens or not allowing students to sit against walls can also be helpful. While there are also screen monitoring software applications available, the danger in using them is that it can lock a teacher to their desk and prevents them from moving about the class and conferencing with the students. 

What are some of the strategies you use to monitor student device use and keep students on task in the classroom? Share in the comments below.

Thanks for reading!

Simon Doble, CEO of Solar Buddy, visited the college and spoke with the students, describing the design features of the product and explaining the positive impact of a single solar light on the lives of children and families living in energy poverty. This event prompted teachers to encourage students to consider ways in which solar energy might be harnessed to address other needs and purposes. The unit then took a new direction: students stepped into the role of investigators, designers, engineers and entrepreneurs. Students formed teams, tasked with the design and development of a solar powered product that addressed a particular need or purpose. ​

Over the course of the term, integrating lessons across subjects played a part in the learning journey. For example, Science investigations explored electrical energy, simple circuits and energy sources. This learning formed a basis for student inquiry tasks into the impact of non-renewable energy sources and energy poverty. Geography lessons explored energy consumption and production in Australia and Asia. Students soon became experts on renewable energy and their individual inquiry topics. Technology lessons allowed teams time to work on their product designs. Students sketched design ideas, experimented with resources, and then created a prototype using littleBits and solar panels. Teams maintained a website of their design journey and documented their progress. ​

Teachers were impressed with the unit outcomes. The unit combined curriculum objectives in a way that solicited a high level of student engagement and motivation. Students developed skills articulated in the general capabilities. Students engaged in content covering Science, Mathematics, Design Technologies, Geography, English and The Arts, while making connections with cross-curricula priorities of the Australian Curriculum, including concepts of Sustainability and Australia’s Engagement with Asia.  ​

As a result of the Solar Buddy initiative, students considered ideas such as global citizenship as well as ethical and intercultural understanding. Students became critical and creative thinkers and developed their personal and social capabilities as they designed their own products to help others. They also felt they had ownership over their learning, the result being that students pushed the learning deeper and the objectives of the unit further. ​

The video below was shown at the Energy Expo:

​This was apparent to me only last week as I was teaching a Year 4 Technology Class. A central idea of their STEAM unit this term was that "not all fun is high tech". The students are looking at engineering low tech cures for boredom. As part of the hook for the unit, I (being the mindful educator that I am) thought I should address screen time with the class. The children were gobsmakingly knowledgeable on the topic. They were....SUPER aware. Which was great. Cut my lesson in half pretty much. Did it mean they had it perfect? No, they are still kids and moderation is not something they necessarily have nailed yet. Many admitted that they played on their iPads for extended periods in the evening at home on top of the time used in the classroom. 

​There's no doubt that parents are busier than they have ever been, often both working. Many adults seek their own down time on their devices and often also let their children do the same. Anyone walking around the local shopping centre can see the children in strollers watching devices. They are handed to children in restaurants and when they are in the car to keep them entertained. They are the babysitters of the 21st century. To be clear, I am not criticising this - just making the observation. 

Now here is the bigger concern for me and for schools in general:

The question I would ask is.....what is the most valuable screen time? I would argue it is when it is used for learning...but of course I would....but I am not the only person that gets a say in this.

How can teachers help? While there is a crazy push to continue to use technology in bigger, better ways, it is also important to remember that is isn't the ONLY way. Teachers should always be focusing on pedagogy first and be mindful of the amount of time their students are spending on their devices in the classroom. Break it up, add in movement and make students focus on things across the room to help give their eyes a rest. Additionally, consider any digital tasks being set for homework. 

Anthony Salcito, got the party started by introducing Microsoft Translator, which includes an add in for PowerPoint that enables, live captioning, cross language understanding and multi-lingual casual conversation support. This type of assistive technology is powerful in diverse classrooms, language learning classrooms and even in school administration. 

You can download the add in for PowerPoint here. Visit the official Microsoft Translator page to learn more.

The super inspiring Alan November, shared student created tutorial videos (from www.mathtrain.tv) and suggested that students can make the best teachers. He cited research by Harvard university explaining that teachers can have the "curse of knowledge" meaning they have too much content knowledge to connect with a first time learner on a subject. It is suggested than another first time learner, having just experienced a subject themselves, can make the best teacher at the introductory level. 

Purpose is a great motivator. They joy of creating content to teach a peer can often more inspiring than working for a grade. Alan suggested that connecting with a global audience can make students feel that their wok is valued and making a difference. Using ClusterMaps, Alan was able to show students the people who were accessing their content from around the world. Suddenly the children were scrambling to create more content to "help others around the world". 

Twitter was also highlighted as a powerful tool to connect classrooms and teachers around the world. A final example shared by Alan November was a tweet posted by a maths teacher (Jessica Caviness) where she asks her students to design their own problem, prompted by a picture and the requirement to "involve" volume. The outcomes were wide and varied. It represented a breakthrough in creative thinking in a Mathematics classroom, with student questions pushing their peers to work beyond the standard. ​

If I could go back to school, I would want Tammy Dunbar as my teacher! She was such an animated and passionate professional. ​Tammy shared her top five ways to spark creativity and cultivate curiosity in her 5th grade classroom:

1. Minecraft - Tap into what students love and craft experinces that get students creating
2. OneNote - Students share content any way they want on the unlimited canvas and work together in the collaboration space
3. PowerPoint - Collaborate on projects and make videos 
4. Kahoot - Ghost mode lets you challenge classes in different timezones
5. Skype - Mystery Skype Sparks curiosity, connects you with classrooms and experts from around the world

Lego Mindstorms now integrates into Windows 10 with a new EV3 app. Connecting via bluetooth makes the experience even better. You can download the app here.
A new courses for Lego EV3 is also now available via the Microsoft Educator Community here. Upon completion, you receive badges and points on your Educator Profile. 

Copy, transform and combine. These are the elements of creativity. Taking existing media, transforming it and combining it with new materials for a new purpose underpin the process explored at Renton Prep. The students are using the new video features in the Photo App to creatively share their learning, combining digital ink on top of photos and videos. This has potential across subject areas and could be used in a variety of ways. I cannot wait to have a go!

You can download the Microsoft Photos app here.

I am very excited to have a piece of writing published on the Microsoft Education Blog. In this post I discuss some of the ways teachers can assess in OneNote Class Notebooks. 

​I am very appreciative of the opportunities Microsoft have granted me and am continually impressed with the professional development content they have available on the Microsoft Educator Community for free. I encourage all teachers to check out this space. 

Please also check out my article on the Microsoft Education Blog here and share. Thanks for the support!

Students born during or after the digital age are considered a "Digital Native". This title seems to carry certain assumptions:

• They are natural users of technology and feel comfortable with it
• They just know how to use things - they can pick it up and go
• Technology is more appealing to them and is the best way for them to learn
• Their brains are wired differently and old approaches in education will not work

Rather than being simply a new generation of learners, we consider them a whole new species. 

​The frustration arrives in the classroom when the teacher decides to integrate a new technology tool and simply throws it at the children. It is a disastrous failure. The objective of the lesson is not achieved and the teacher is completely stressed out by the end of the lesson. Even a substitutional use of technology requires a little more preparation than some teachers think it does.

In a recent article on EdSurge, students pushed back on some of the assumptions about digital natives, stating that they are not as tech savvy as educators assume. In my experience, I would completely agree. Children do not just pick up a device or open a piece of software and just know how to use it. Children are more fearless in their exploration and willingness to try new things in general, but this doesn't mean they are savvy by default. I would argue that using technology, like a great many other things in life, doesn't come naturally to anyone. We all have to learn how to use it...and as technology evolves, continue to work at it! 

The old saying goes "you have to spend money to make money". A similar principle applies with the use of technology. You need to spend some time educating the children to use it before you can reap the benefits of its application in the classroom. Technology is a tool and like any tool, a little "how to" can go a long way.

An example might be as simple as a teacher wanting to get students to word process a narrative they have written. You could consider:

• Can the children turn on the devices and find the software?
• Will they open a blank document or use a template? (Have they even heard these words before?)
• What are their typing skills like? Do they know how to capitalise letters, add full stops, commas or other punctuation? Can they start a new paragraph?
• Can they use spell check tools to assist them?
• Can they format the text? (size, colour, font)
• Can they add other formatting features?
• Can they add pictures?
• Can they save their work to a certain location, print or submit in another way?
• Can they shut down the software and device properly?

One of the common arguments I hear, is that there simply isn't time to teach all that to students while trying to also cover an increasingly demanding curriculum. I find that easy to understand, but will argue that an investment in these few lessons can continue to pay off for the remainder of the school year. Consider also the options of modelling during teaching, setting up older buddies or teaching a couple of student champions, who can the tutor their peers.

Another argument is that there is no point teaching devices and software that will be obsolete in a few years time. While technology is evolving rapidly, learning the ropes within a certain interface or on a certain device is not a waste of time. Many concepts are transferrable between interfaces. Icons and symbols, even simple processes remain consistent - even in augmented reality platforms! These experiences gradually build digital literacy, understanding about computational processes and develop knowledge of digital symbolism. 

Integrating technology into learning is something I encourage all teachers to be doing, but I must stress that teachers need to be mindful of how it is being implemented and if they are setting students up to succeed. Technology can bring the "wow" factor into lessons and can be the key to engaging our 21st Century learners. It can also be incredibly time consuming and cause a lot of teacher distress.

​Keep the following questions in mind when thinking about introducing a new technology tool in the classroom:

• What skills/ knowledge will I have to familiarise the students with before they start using this tool?
• How will I manage the tool within the classroom? Does this tool need any special rules?
• Will the use of this tool achieve and/or enhance my learning objective?
• Will the use of this tool exclude anyone?

 
To avoid some of the most common pitfalls when using new technology tools:

• Ensure devices are charged before the lesson
• Test the devices and app before the lesson
• Check Wifi and settings
• Be prepared with student logins and passwords, if required. Log in as a student to familiarise yourself with the user experience. 
• Have a spare device or charger (if possible)
• Always have a Plan B!

 

Technology is not always easy to implement in the classroom, but it is worth the effort. Things don’t always go to plan and that's okay. Reflect, adjust and persist. It's part of the journey and it's an exciting one to be on.