So Much to Learn...So Little Time

Pr(o)of of the Pudding...

I was going to call this post "A Negative View of the Web by Academia", but then I read on and around my subject and this is what I found. This is how an article from Mashable starts:

University Of Brighton Professor Places Ban On Google And Wikipedia

January 13, 2008 — 08:06 AM PST — by Paul Glazowski — Share This

So I read on and find out that a university professor at the University of Brighton has banned her students from using these tools for their research because " professor Tara Brabazon claims that students have grown too accustomed to taking

“the easy option when asked to do research.” "

And that is it with regard to direct quotes from the original source of the article. This Mashable piece goes on to decry academics, particularly in the fields of history, literature, science etc as almost Luddite in their fear of new technology. Apparently these educators fear the Chaos and will revert back to the "officially approved" doctrine.

Now, because this article interested me it almost prompted me to write a rant, but I thought ,"No, I'd better get more info," so I clicked the hyperlink shown in the picture below.

Uploaded with plasq's Skitch!

This took me to this headline from The Argus: Lecturer bans students from using Google and Wikipedia.
This article starts off in a similar vein until we get to the quotes from Professor Tara Brabazon:

"Too many students don't use their own brains enough. We need to bring back the important values of research and analysis."

She said young people were finishing education with shallow ideas and
needed to learn interpretative skills before starting to use technology.

The article goes on to explain that Professor Brabazon is giving a lecture locally entitled, Google is White Bread for the Masses.

Now it is obvious that Prof. Brabazon does not particularly like her students using these tools for their research but I feel that her main bugbear is that students are using them, and them alone as their research. To my mind she trying to encourage a sense of academic rigour into her students, who seem to believe the first Google find or Wikipedia page they see. She is trying to get her students to go beyond those original sources.

I then went on to (ironically) google Prof Brabazon. Very interesting to say the least what she lectures on:

Tara Brabazon is Professor of Media at the University of Brighton, United Kingdom.

Not only is she no Luddite she lectures on subjects such as "Thinking Pop and Creative Industries". She also holds a Graduate Diploma in Internet Studies and has written 10 books, including The University of Google:  Education in a (post) information age.

Google is a
brand name that has transformed into a verb for web searching.  The
word has also entered popular culture.  But an absence in this
narrative of commercial success is the impact of Google on education.
Googling signals simple and intuitive surfing, rather than planned
researching, and quick answers to difficult questions.  The costs and
consequences of students entering this digital shopping mall for
research, scholarship and interpretation require attention.

Interesting eh? Obviously this professor knows a heck of a lot more about this than you would have believed from the first article.

This is what I had to do to write this post. And this is what Prof Brabazon is trying to get her students to do(ish). If I'd have simply written a commentary on the mashable article I would only have seen half the story, whereas by finding the original article and looking up the person concerned I got the whole story.
And I'm rather pleased with myself about that.

Did you like the title???

Technorati Tags: tarabrabazon, adamsutcliffe, google, mashable, wikipedia, research, universityofbrighton

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Internet Safety Tips from Sean The Bass Player

A great post from Sean The Bass Player.

He starts with having a wee go at the Panorama programme last week (which I didn't see so can't comment on, but most of the post is a series of 7 valid, well thought out tips about how to stay safe online.
This is not some aloof educator from the blogosphere or some random teacher (like myself) sounding off but a student who has decided to pass on his advice to others from his own experience of using the web.
I particularly like his advice on why it can be a good idea to use voice and video chat:

...if someone is cool with you seeing what they look like on webcam, or
are cool with having a chat on skype with them when they have the
required gear then they are most likely going to be who they say they
are.

I would like to recommend to any teacher reading this that they pass on Sean's blog address to their students and allow them to read the advice for themselves. I will be cross posting this to my other blogs and passing it on to colleagues.

Technorati Tags: seanthebassplayer, adamsutcliffe, internetsafety, panorama

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The Importance of Learning Another Language...or not, if league tables are invovlved

I caught this from Education Guardian in my Google Alerts for "languages" today and although I'm not directly affected being an MFL teacher in Scotland it got my goat.

Headteachers today blamed school league tables for a dramatic decline in the number of children taking languages.

I'm am in no way a supporter of league tables, but it is blatant rubbish that it is the fault of league tables that fewer kids are studying languages. I am willing to be corrected if wrong but is it not the choice of individual schools whether or not languages are compulsory post 14.

As the government published the latest tables for GCSE and A-level in England, John Dunford, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said they created perverse incentives for schools to skew the curriculum for 14- and 15-year-olds towards easier subjects.

So is Mr Dunford saying that the sole incentive for dropping the obligation for language study is the incentive to make a school look better in a league table? Hardly the most educational rationale is it?

I always thought we were in the business of producing well rounded young men and women with a drive for lifelong learning and an ambition to to their best in whatever they attempt. Yes it is important to kids and mums and dads what grades appear on their certificate but it also important...no vital, that students come out of their time in school as confident, responsible ,world aware citizens. The study of a foreign language goes a long way to doing this.

I think more H/T's need to be stronger to resist the temptation to make their school look good through tables. A good school with good teachers and a strong ethos of achievement in the broadest sense will always shine through...except to those who are so blinkered as to believe that a league table in something  like education actually means something (politicians for example.)

But Dunford said the target had contributed to a dramatic fall in the numbers taking modern foreign languages now that pupils were no longer required to a take a foreign language after the age of 14. "This is widely regarded as a hard GCSE, a view that is supported by reliable research evidence, so, instead of taking French or German, students have taken subjects in which it is easier to reach grade C.

Oh dear, so languages is seen as a hard subject...SO WHAT?. What is wrong with a little academic rigour? Nothing for those that respond to that. But learning a language doesn't always have to be so difficult. Surely in England there are lower level courses students can take where students don't dwell so much on the hard grammatical stuff, but learn more about the culture of the countries where those languages are spoken, whilst still covering the basics. Any language teacher will tell you that parents at parents' evenings constantly bemoan the fact that though they didn't like languages at school they wished they had paid more attention because they go to France every year on holiday...

It's easy to blame league tables...they can't exactly respond via a blog can they.It just seems to me that everyone is taking the easy option: H/T's because they get to skew their stats a bit and pupils because they don't want to do something thats a bit difficult.

There have been so many articles written worrying about our lanck of linguistic prowess and what it means for future generations. This is just one I picked up on. (The Language of Ignorance?)

The rest of the world is becoming more multilingual - and monolingual English speakers are being left behind. Those that have learned English as a foreign language have every right to compete for jobs in the English speaking market, and if they are more qualified than those that speak English as a primary language, this could leave a huge chunk of the UK population without jobs.
Many think of languages as a non-vocational option of study, but in reality learning a foreign language can open up a vast array of career opportunities, ranging from work with well-known multinational companies to international organisations or charities, with the added benefit of travel abroad.

  

Without a language skill more and more of our kids will be at the back of a queue for all the good jobs. Come on give them a chance. Yes its hard, yes it can be a pain in the arse sometimes but it is encumbent on  us as educators to give our students every chance to succeed in a world which is changing everyday...it's then up to the students to grasp the opportunity given.

And yes I know H/Ts have lots to think about when making their decisions about the curriculum but simply blaming the league tables is to my mind down right daft.

Technorati Tags: languagelearning, language, johnduford, educationguardian, adamsutcliffe, gcse,

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What Kind of Teacher are You?

Are you this kind of teacher?

Or are you this kind?

Images courtesy of Alec Couros from his Doctoral Thesis, Examining The Open Movement: Possiblities and Implications for Education, and were originally uploaded to Flickr by Alec. 
Thanks to Mr W. for bringing them to my attention.

May I be so bold as to suggest that if you are reading this you are probably a networked teacher, or on the way to becoming one. I find myself more and more a networked type and I have to say it suits me down to the ground. I have never thought so much about my job (vocation?) ever, and have never had so much contact with fellows world wide; at this particular point in my life when due to my ruptured discs I am not in my "Typical Teacher Network" it is really quite comforting and stopping me wallowing in too much of my own pity.
For example I was ironing a few clothes on Sunday ( I can still do a bit of work) with Twitteriffic chirruping in the background and Ewan wanted some contributions for a piece he was in the course of writing. I had a few thoughts and so did a few of our mutual followers. You never know I might vaguely recognise something he writes in The Economist.
Yesterday I caught a tweet from Lucy Gray asking for examples of presentations showing good practice in Global Ed. I sent her a link to one I did for our Welwitschia Partnership...lo and behold I discovered she has set up a whole network dedicated to Global Education.Fantastic.
One BUT though. I put out a tweet for any GLOW monitors to ask about their role. Nary a tickle. Glass half full version, non of them are online tonight. Glass half empty version...they don't know about Twitter...oh dear, better not utter my true thoughts.

All hail the network.

Technorati Tags: Aleccouros, networkedteacher, network, adamsutcliffe,

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Serendipity...unaware

It appears me and Roald Dahl have had similar thoughts. Check this quote:

We have so much time and so little to do. Strike that, reverse it.

Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
British juvenile author (1916 - 1990)

Courtesy of quotations page.

Technorati Tags: roalsdahl, quotataions

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Stinkin'Thinkin'

I know this  article on bbc has already been blogged about by Ewan and Doug Dickinson, but just felt the need to add my 2 penn'orth.

Children often bring the fascinating gadgets they were
bought as Christmas presents into class, but these can cause disruption
and hamper learning.

I wonder if Kevin Brennan has been into a classroom where this disruptive technology has been harnessed to fantastic  educational effect. Let me think off hand who do I know from the blogosphere in MFL teaching has successfully disturbed a lesson with great educational output. Lynne Horn, Sharon Tonner, Me, Ewan, etc.
Yes these "toys" can be disruptive IF the purpose of using them is not explained and the penalties for misuse calmly pointed out. My classes erupt with joy when I say get out you phones and turn on Bluetooth, but this is always accompanied with a proviso that if a student uses their phone in class for something other than waht they have been tasked to do it will be confiscated...thus far no probs. Don't worry I have heard all the arguments about losing things and damaging things as well and these are real arguments, but they should not be excuses for trying.

When oh when oh when are politicians going to shut up about education and leave it to those who really care or alternatively see what can happen in classrooms before reacting to

Technorati Tags: education, teaching, web2.0, technology, "kevin brennan", gadgets, mp3, ipod

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A 2oh student's plea.

Sean The Bass Player has come up with some interesting thoughts in his latest Students 2.0 blog post. In short he would like not only to be taught to pass exams but to ensure that students are kept up to speed with technology. His thoughts were piqued by the Queen going all 2.0 by posting her latest Message to the Commonwealth on YouTube, along with a variety of historical films.

Uploaded with Skitch!

He asks that if an institution as old as the monarchy can move with the times, why can't education?

I think this question is very valid. Why indeed does the education establishment not move and evolve more quickly. Well we all know the stock answer boils down to funding, or lack thereof; but unfortunately there also tends to be quite a lot of inertia in classrooms. If a certain way of doing things has got kids past their exams for the last10 years ago then it will jolly well do so now...if it ain't broke don't fix it.

The inertia thing is quite a difficult problem to deal with as it involves trying to persuade folk to do things they have no desire to do, and I don't wish to go in depth about that here.
But what about the other issue that crops up...funding. Many schools operate on networks that are long past their sell by dates. (My place has only just replaced the Windows '98 machines we were operating.) Now obviously updating these costs a heap of cash, but many of the very usable applications available on the net are free, especially to educators. I'm thinking of applications such as YouTube (or any video hosting site), Flickr, Animoto, Voicethread, Skype etc., etc. All these and more are free and are outstanding resources for educators and their students, BUT how many of us can actually access these sites in schools? Many are banned in the name of child protection, for (a very real) fear that kids will access inappropriate content.

This is where we the educators and students such as Sean ( and his 2.0 colleagues) need to step in by dealing with digital literacy on a daily basis; by educating and encouraging thoughtful, sensible use of the resources on the web. Then maybe, those who hold the keys to the filters may unlock them when they see that these tools are being used wisely and how useful they are to education. And then Sean et al  will feel that they are getting an education that goes some way to preparing them for a future that we cannot yet know.

Photo credit:  Dia 48 - School's Out, originally uploaded on April 18, 2007
by MëL

The state of welfare

How ill does someone have to be to find out exactly what is wrong and how bad it is?

I apologise for this post but I need it to be some kind of catharsis. I am puzzled, dissappointed and quite despairing of what has become of the NHS and how it functions (not the people who work in it because they are as put upon as educators but the system)
Background.
At the beginning of October I had 2 weeks off work, I was diagnosed with a ruptured lumbar disc (slipped disc). In November I went back to work still sore but capable of doing the job. After 2 weeks I caught a bad cold and coughing fits put my back out again even worse than before. As a consequence I have had another 3 weeks off and will not be back until 2008.
All this while both my GP and physio both explained that although I had a cut an dried case the hospital would not accept a referral until I had been ill for at least 6 weeks. So GP finally referred me 2 weeks ago. YESTERDAY I got a letter from Neurological outpatients kindly telling me that yes they had received my GP's letter and that they would write to me 6 weeks before they had a date available in the clinic. Not even the vaguest idea of when this might be.
In the mean time with all this waiting, I am still not physically capable of standing (or sitting) in my class to deliver lessons. Mentally no problem but I can't stand for much more than 30 mins without starting to feel pain. This means that my employers are paying me full salary whilst being off work (not complaining obviously), but they also have to pay a supply teacher to be in my stead at around £200 a day (you do the sums 5 weeks, £200 a day.) My colleagues are having to set my classes up, so taking time out from their own classes and my own students are not benefitting from having a trained MFL teacher in front of them. The costs to my employers and my students are big.
BUT I will still have no idea about where exactly I have this problem and what needs to be one to sort it out (surgery / rest etc.)
Why can a GP referral not be seen asap? Why are waiting lists so long?  How much is all this costing. On a personal level I am hoping that I  will improve on my own and be able to return to work before I start to pay (i.e. when my entitlement to full pay stops and goes down to half pay.)

I will leave you with this thought. When I caught malaria in Cameroon i went to the hospital. Within an hour I had a blood test and was told to get the results  3 hours later.  My results showed a high level of infection, I was prescribed the right drugs had 2 weeks off work and went back fine. This is in a supposed developing nation. Ok so I had to pay up front whereas we have free at the point of delivery.
But I am just so annoyed at being left so long in limbo.

As an aside: I've been trying to think of ways to still invilve myself in my classes via the web and stuff. I've posted useful listenings to my int 2 class blog (thus far non of 'em have bothered themselves to download them.) I was also due to give a presentation to all S4's about the LAFTAS ( we are challenging them to produce films to promote the study of languages.) I did the presentation in keynote, then imported to quicktime. Unfortunately a couple of short films I had embeded in the presentation didn't work so I then imported the quicktime movie to iMovie cut out the offending films and reimpoted the originals in their place. I then sent it to iDVD, made the DVD and sent it to school (3 hours work in total). They are going to use it this week I think.
So I am still capable of doing some things.

Click To Play

A Society of double standards

Why do public service bosses operate in a different world to those they command?

So the call is out to sack incompetent teachers...fine but what is the definition of an incompetent teacher? Just heard a very worrying story from a friend teaching down south who told me that a colleague had his salary docked because his exam results weren't good enough. My initial thoughts were what comparators were used to make this decision...something called the Fischer Family Index was used to assess the results. However the statistics used were fatally flawed as the students who failed to turn up to the exam were included in the equation.

This now begs the question is a good teacher one who teaches kids to pass exams and therefore an incompetent one someone who tries to ensure kids achieve their best whilst encouraging transferable skills they can use in later life? If so then I am incompetent.

Obsession with league tables does no good for students, teachers or parents alike and it has lead to endless form filling and box ticking which have very little effect on the quality of teaching.
At the same time the demand to sack incompetent teachers is around we hear that incompetent public service bosses who fail miserably and very publicly get huge pay offs. WHY? WHY? WHY?
Why do taxpayers have to pay these failures more money. If I fail and get sacked I am out. No one is going to pay me huge wadge and neither am I likely to get further highly paid employment by another public service.
Why can Adam Crozier get an equivalent 26% pay rise whilst he criticises his employees for striking over proposed changes to their pay and conditions (they eventually got 2.9%). Scottish Enterprise (currently £34million in the red) awarded Lena Wilson a 27% rise. Here is a quote from The Scotsman:

But a spokesman for Scottish Enterprise said: "It is important to strike a balance between being able to attract and retain high-calibre individuals - many of whom have come from the private sector - and ensuring value for the public purse.

"We also aim to encourage a culture of reward for strong performance at all levels."

Surely this criterion should apply across the board in the public sector. The public need the best people to teach their children and look after them when sick. To do this their needs to be equality. If the bosses get 26% so should the grunts...this is obviously unrealistic so if the grunts get 2.5% strung out over 2 years so should the bosses...yeah I know I need to wake up but utopia is a great concept.

 

2 Big Questions

Over the recent 2 week October holidays we have here in Scotland I spent an inordinate amount of time watching and listening to various presentations from the K12 Online 2007 Conference.

The last day of the conference was devoted to a marathon 24hr live online discussion via elluminate which I was lucky enough to visit on 2 occasions; quite early on when I "met" Joe had a first verbal contact with Paul Harrington. I was enjoyable but there were too few participants to ensure a wide ranging discussion. I also joined later with about and hour to go and it was fascinating. There were educators from all over the world, all kinds of time zones, all talking about the wonderful world of the web.
This was great and I feel happy about my contributions...and shhhh maybe I'll get a few more readers.
However it really brought to mind a couple of big questions that have been turning around my head for a while. Questions to which I have my own ideas for answers but questions which I feel we should all be asking of ourselves and others.

1.    I love web 2.0 stuff and can see the advantages it can bring to education but how can I persuade the 30 year career teacher that it might be worthwhile (for the kids sake) to take a step out of the worksheet comfort zone  and take on the risk on potential failure in the classroom by trying something new?
The thing that just kept leaping into my mind whilst enjoying K12 was that whilst it is great to find same-minded people across the globe, where were the doubters, those that would force us to counter their arguments to help us prove our point. I think that the answer to this conundrum lies in Derek Wenmoth's presentation Holding a Mirror to Professional Practice. The persuasion will come I am sure when more and more of us seriously evaluate the work we are doing and prove to the doubters that this is not just another passing educational fad...like non-competitive sport.

2. When you look at the cluster maps posted on blogs you see swathes of red dots over North America, Europe, Australia/NZ and parts of Asia. The world is often still green across Africa, South America and large parts of Asia...Hmmmm I wonder why? Could this be the developing world? Not only do these parts of the world often miss out on even basic educational (and health) needs how far behind us are they going to be in the wonderful world of the web. (I have often thought about trying to help my brother-in-law in Cameroon set up a cyber cafe, but as he says there's no point, they only get electricity every other day...30km away from the capital city.)
How can our use of web 2.0 technologies help my little nephews and nieces "au village"?
Yes you all cry there's the One Laptop Per Child Initiative, which is a fantastic idea, but they are relying on governments, who struggle to ensure a simple basic level of education for all children, to purchase a huge number of units. If there is intermittent electricity there is hardly likely to be the capacity to create large bandwidth.
The thing I find most frustrating is that at the moment I don't think there is all that much we can do to help. Our governments and big multi-national corporations need to get serious...more serious. STOP ENFORCING ALL DEBT REPAYMENTS, STOP STEALING MINERAL RESOURCES, STOP BRIBING EASILY ENCOURAGED OFFICIALS. Then maybe individuals like myself and many of you out there in blogger world can kick in.

This article from the BBC shows people are starting to think abpout how to address this issue. But where will we be in comparison by 2012?

Let me know what you think.