Raspberry Pi Projects

This year I was successful in obtaining a bid for a set of Raspberry Pi computers for our Foundation Degree students to make use of.  Today they delivered their end of year presentations about what they had done with their Pis.

We started the year with a bit of programming.  This included a few sessions to introduce them to Python, and then half a dozen sessions on using Scratch to create some simple games and interactive programs.

There was a clear divide within the class - those who felt comfortable dabbling with programming, and those who didn't.  The students were put into groups to work on the Pi - these were based on friendship rather than ability - possibly something I would avoid next time, as those who were comfortable with programming often took the lion's share of the work leaving the less confident students floundering and eventually backing off from the project.

Today each group delivered a short presentation on their project and what they had achieved.  Several of the groups had achieved some or all of their intended project, others had got stuck along the way and did not have a finished product.

Of the successful projects we had a covert surveillance system, by way of a Pi placed inside an air freshener container with an HD camera to stream video to a remote monitor if the motion or door sensors were triggered.  Another group created a server running Apache for a custom built website.  Other projects started but not completed included a morse code LED lamp, a remote controlled car controlled by a wii remote, a flashing LED cube and another video surveillance system.

Although not all the groups achieved their goals, it was very clear from the presentations that almost everyone had taken something away from their projects.  Here are some of the things that the students have learnt about - often without even realising it:

• A first introduction to Linux
• GPIO (General Purpose Input Outputs)
• Some basic electronics - capacitors, resistors, breadboards and other connecting devices
• Downloading and installing operating system distributions
• Basic connectivity - attaching monitors, keyboards and other peripherals
• Basic programming skills
• Shell programming
• Project planning skills

In addition, all the students learned that sometimes the smallest hitch in building a fully functioning programme can have a huge impact on progress, and I think we all learned that a step by step approach, tackling each tiny element one at a time is the only way to build up to a successful outcome.

I asked the students at the end if they would like to continue working on the Pis next year.  Some said no, but on the whole, the project seems to have piqued their interest in programming and I have absolutely no doubt that what they have done this year will stand them in good stead for the programming, scripting and IT security challenges that they will take on next year.

Embedding Digital Literacy

I'm currently involved in a project on Embedding Digital Literacy in a Community Education setting.

As part of this, I have been asked to create resources on things I do with my learners, and this in turn has prompted me to be a little more organised in how I go about things.

I've created a few resources as a result:

1. How learners can use Evernote in the classroom
2. Using Screencast-o-matic (screen recording software) to create quick tutorials on skills learnt in the classroom.

Here's my Prezi on Evernote

And here's an example video I've created using Screencast-o-matic:

Both ideas have been very well received by the learners, particular the screencast videos, as it means learners can review what was covered in class at their own leisure.

Any comments?

Screencasting

A learner who missed a session recently said that he'd had a bit of trouble adding text to a curve - something we talked about in the class that he missed, but that was only covered briefly in the handouts.

Rather than try to explain in an email / screen shots how to carry out the task, I thought it would be much easier to do a quick Screencast.  I remember a colleague showing me Screencast-O-Matic some time ago, and I recalled how easy it seemed to be to create a simple screencast, so I decided to have a go at creating one myself.

After resolving the missing Java plug-in on my Firefox browser, I was shown a screen which simply said "Start Recording".  I didn't do any prep (other than to have a quick practice at the task myself in Photoshop to ensure I made the steps as clear as possible).  I clicked Start Recording, adjusted the screencasting window size and hit the record button.

After completing the required steps to create my curved text, I pressed the stop button, and was then given an option to upload to YouTube or Screencast-O-Matic.  I chose the latter, though I think I will definitely explore the YouTube option in the future.

I was amazed at how simple it was.  In fact, I was so impressed that I registered an account (free), set up a Photoshop channel, and even had a go at adding captions (which I then removed).

Things I learned:

• Screencast-O-Matic is extremely simple and quick to use
• The automatic highlighting of key actions (eg mouse clicks) is excellent
• The sharing options are very straightforward
• Whilst a mouse click shows, click and drag doesn't - something to remember when doing the commentary 
• I need a better microphone!

I will definitely start using this more in the future, as I think it will be an excellent tool for all my learners. You can see the results of my first attempt below or on the link:  Adding text to a curve - apologies for the poor audio, this is something I'll improve on in the future!

Evernote (again!)

Yesterday I had a session with my Photoshop learners.  They are a group of adult learners, and the course is community based (though still part of Coleg Gwent).

At the start, I got a learner to sit at the front PC which is attached to the White Board, and we did a recap of the previous session.  This rapidly digressed and we covered some really useful, though unplanned, extras.  I was conscious of the fact that the learner at the front was unable to take notes as she was controlling the PC which everyone was watching, but then I noticed her taking a quick snap of the screen on her mobile phone.

I asked if she wished to return to her seat, but she said that she was fine because she was taking photos of all the stages and sending them to Evernote.

This then lead to a discussion about the usefulness of Evernote (and similar online resources).  I showed my Evernote account to the group - most of which is work related although the first thing that popped up was a recipe for Toad in the Hole which I'd sent from my phone, which caused a chuckle.  The students were suitably impressed.

Many of the group were really interested in what such a package could offer them, and it was great to share something which I really think is very useful.  Digression is not always a bad thing in lessons!

Online collaboration

As you may have read here before, I'm currently in the process of data gathering for my dissertation in online collaboration and critical thinking.

I've managed to engage some of the students online, including a wikispaces page with a 'flipped classroom' activity on web scripting languages which was reasonably successful, and I've had all the group at least get onto the VLE and post a message.

A few weeks ago I set up a forum page on our VLE to discuss 'cookies' on websites.  One student engaged with the activity well, and made a couple of posts which demonstrated criticial thinking, but no-one else posted at all, which was disappointing.  I reminded the group of the activity on their next Monday morning lesson and commented on the lack of posts, at which point two other students told me (rather indignantly!) that they had made a post on Sunday evening.  Excellent news.

On visiting the forum later that day, I must admit that I got rather exciting at the fact that three more of the students had made some really good posts which were great examples of how they had extended their classroom discussions and developed their thoughts on the topic.  I think I may have even exhaled a quiet 'whoop' to myself - not because I have now got some 'meat' for my dissertation, but more because I had actually managed to get the learners thinking beyond the classroom and trying to find out things for themselves.

Funny how activities which we persue in order to develop ourselves further have such a great impact on our learners.  Would I have put this activity in if I wasn't doing a dissertation?  Possibly, but probably unlikely.  Now I know how I felt when I read their posts, I feel encouraged to continue to put such discussion forums on for my learners.

Evernote

Over the past few weeks I've been playing with Evernote.  I've been hearing good things about it for a while, but I was prompted by a colleague in another college to have a look at it.  As I was currently in the process of applying for an increase in my teaching grade, and needed to compile a portfolio of evidence, I wondered if Evernote might be the format I was looking for.

I wasn't disappointed.  I started by creating a few short notes, just to test the water.  I added an attachment or two, and asked our campus Director (who would be reviewing the portfolio) to check that he could see the files.  Once he confirmed that he could, it was full speed ahead.

One of the most useful things I've found about Evernote is the ability to use my smartphone to take photos of all my training certificates.  Having installed Evernote on my phone, I can then upload the certificates with one click.  Now, instead of having certificates all over the place - some one one campus, some on another, some at home - I will take a snap of them as soon as I receive them, upload it to Evernote, and then I'll have a copy of it ready to access whenever I need it.

The other thing I really like is the ease with which I can create links between notes.  This means that my index can point to relevant evidence by simply right-clicking the destination note and then pasting in the hyperlink.

Criticisms are few - currently my notebook seems to take a long time to load up for a visitor - I think this is because there are so many certificates (bragging not intended!) and snaps of my classroom obs and so on - perhaps there's a need for me to optimise the images prior to uploading them (I only did a quick resize).  I also ended up paying for a premium account (£4) - but this was because I had a lot to upload within a short space of time and there are monthly limits.  This is something I plan to avoid in the future as I will upload things as I receive them.

All in all, Evernote is an excellent tool, and one I will definitely be sharing with my students and colleagues.

Getting back in the Swing

It's been a while since I last posted, but term is back in full swing now, so here's a run down of what's going on.

Teaching wise, I'm doing several Photoshop courses, a Web scripting course and my Foundation Degree in IT Security again.  Actually, it's a rather nice timetable, unlike this time last year when I was bombarded with new things to keep me busy.

Work is starting on my dissertation research, and I'm in the process of enlisting all my learners in order to gather data on whether their use of online collaborative tools can improve critical thinking skills.  One group are already on board, and I'm working hard now to build the foundations for successful online working by getting them logging into our VLE and wikispaces site, just to post a few lines and say hello.

We've migrated to Moodle 2.0 - I quite like the interface so far, but the wiki still looks hit and miss - which is why I've opted to stick with wikispaces for now.  It means the learners have an additional log in to worry about which is a pity, but I think it's an easier place to work in once they've logged in.

My main gripe so far is that in the Centres the paperwork is almost overwhelming.  With ILPs, Induction packs, Centre log ins, different Moodle log ins, and also the addition of research consent forms to add to the mix, the first few sessions can easily get rather tedious and paperbased.

Interactive White Board

I've recently beeing working through our in-college Interactive White Board training programme.

I've found this to be of great benefit to me.  Whilst I have had training on the IWB, and had practiced using a variety of the tools that the IWB had to offer, I had not made extensive use of it in the classroom.  In fact, I thought I was doing quite well because I often get the students to come up and write on the board themselves and I've saved the odd file to put on Moodle afterwards.

However, doing the training reminded me to play with some of the more advanced features - recording the screen for example, or using the magic pen, changing the background and saving a series of pages as a PowerPoint presentation.  Having to evidence use of these tools in a real lesson made me think about how they might be useful, and I have definitely found this to be beneficial.  For example, I recently got a student to demonstrate how to add an icon to the desktop, and I recorded their actions.  I then saved this file and uploaded it to YouTube so that I could embed it into their Moodle pages.  Now they can remind themselves how to add an icon to the desktop, even when I'm not there.

This ability to extend the classroom time is something I will endeavour to do much more in the future, as it also means that those who miss the lesson, or found it particularly difficult, can revisit what was covered in their own time, and as often as they need to.

Dissertation Planning - Blended Learning

In the next few weeks I need to submit a protocol for my dissertation, which, all being well, I should be starting in September.

However, I'm struggling to decide what angle to take.  I know I want to do online learning / blended learning, but the focus is difficult to pin down.  I could work with a diverse group of students - ranging from my youngest (school leavers) in an FE setting through to mature learners in a community education setting, and look at the different levels of engagement in online learning from the different groups.  Alternatively, I could focus on a single cohort of students, and dig deeper into the individual experiences they have with online learning, and whether these are successful or not, and why.

I have started a literature review, but I think I've got some way to go with this.  So far, I have identified that Gilly Salmon's Five Stage Model forms an excellent starting point, but that less research has been done on student engagement with a specific task and that there is more focus on social engagement.

Perhaps starting with a well structured task (using the Five Stage Model) and rolling that out to all cohorts (in a relevant format) is the way to go.  This will then form a comparison of different cohorts and levels of engagement, and perhaps suggestions as to how to promote the benefits of online learning to different groups of students.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be gratefully received.  Is there a gap somewhere that needs investigating?  Feel free to comment!

QR codes

Well I've thoroughly enjoyed preparing my next web design lesson.  We'll be reviewing good & bad web design, which I think will be interesting and offers a great opportunity for collaborative working, and then I'm going to do a session on QR codes, which I think will be great fun.

I've generated a couple of codes of my own to get the class started, but I can see great potential for this with my teenage students, who I think could be very easily engaged in a variety of ways using QR codes.  Definitely one of the more interactive aspects of ICT at the moment!!

Collaborative Documents

Today I experimented with using a collaborative spreadsheet with my Extended Diploma students.  They were given the task of detailing software on a shared spreadsheet, set up using Google Docs.

I made the same mistake initially that I did with Wallwisher when I used that, which was forgetting to log in first, so that I was able to quickly delete any unwanted comments.  I did, however, remember to give out some posting rules before we started (no swearing, nothing inappropriate, blah blah blah).

After an initial flurry of inappropriate comments, mainly along the lines of song lyrics, I gave a warning, and then locked all the students out.  I said that instead, as they hadn't followed the rules, they would have to discuss their comments in groups instead.  They weren't happy with that, so we agreed that we'd have another go.  This was more successful, and almost all of the students took part and seemed to enjoy it.

I repeated the same task with a second group later today.  We came across similar issues with posting at first, and with this group I had the opportunity to discuss whether they enjoyed the activity.  The feedback was interesting - they felt that there was not enough focus (this could have been easily rectified with clearer guidance from myself and perhaps a more challenging task for this group), and that they found it annoying that other students could delete or modify their entries, which I agree was an annoying feature.

I think I'll use this again, but it needs to be more than just filling in a spreadsheet to make it a worthwhile learning experience.

Wallwisher

This week, I got one of my classes to complete an activity using Wallwisher. It worked really well, but I learned a few things in the process!

The activity was to 'brainstorm' how our college uses the internet.  I got the students to start their discussions in small groups and jot notes down on paper.  I then showed them the wall I had created, and gave them the address.  I showed them how to post a message, and then asked them to add sticky notes for all the ideas they had jotted down.  The wall was displayed using our IWB so I could monitor the posts.

My mistakes

I forgot to mention the 'rules' before they started.  These were that they mustn't post messages about other students, all posts needed to have the right focus, and language used should be appropriate. As a result, we had a couple of dodgy (though not too serious) posts.  This highlighted error number two on my part - that I hadn't logged in to my Wallwisher account before we started.  I therefore needed to log in sharpish in order to delete the offending messages.

The outcome

After these initial teething problems, the students seemed to really enjoy being able to post their messages, and see other messages being posted by their peers.  I turned a blind eye to some of the slightly tenuous posts, because overall, the result was a good one - some really good ideas were posted up, and because everyone wanted to 'have a go', they all made a good effort to think of something original.

The limitations are currently that I cannot now 'lock down' the page to avoid the students posting again (which I'd like to do in case they get any ideas about posting something inappropriate when I'm not checking it), but other than that I thought it was a really good tool, and I'll definitely be using it again.

Online collaboration v research

For the past few months, I've wholly believed in the power of networking and the benefits that collaborative working can bring.  For example, being able to connect to other educators via the internet - and in particular Twitter - has meant that I'm frequently exposed to, or directed to, tools which may enhance the learning experience for my students.  On an almost daily basic, I'm clicking on links to educators' websites or blog posts which help me think about how I teach and what I could do differently.  This is highly valuable to me, and I don't doubt will continue to influence my teaching and own learning for some time.

However, starting back on my MA course this month, and being involved in a course delivered under the UHOVI project has reminded me how essential it is for me to read reports and publications from key bodies within the industry - such as BECTA (abolished earlier this year), JISC and so on.  Whilst my online colleagues can provide me with instant examples and ideas, as well as workable solutions to problems and an insight into what has worked for them, there is no substitute for the critical, in depth reading that is available from bigger organisations with a wider remit.

Today I have read (and thoroughly enjoyed) "Emerging Technologies for Learning" published by Becta in 2006.  It hasn't given me immediate ideas for the classroom, but it has given me a broad overview of some of the key areas of growth.  As it is some years old now, I can see how Becta had a thorough view of what was to come and how many of their suggestions (such as the BBC's then non-existent iPlayer) are already mainstream now.  It's provided me with much food for thought, and taken me away from the immediate question of 'how can I make this interesting' to thinking more broadly about teaching strategies and how education is changing in today's world.

So, note to self:  "continue to read beyond what might seem necessary, and search out those interesting articles to broaden my own understanding of changing pedagogy in a digital world".

e-Portfolios

I thought it would be useful to review my experiences of using e-Portfolios for the first time, as last week they successfully went through moderation.

After a Level 1 web design course, where there was a considerable volume of work produced, I decided that it would be more suitable to produce the work as an e-Portfolio.  This would more effectively demonstrate the skills the students had learned, as well as vastly reducing the amount of paperwork to submit.

Moodle

The course was already set up on Moodle, so for each session I added an area to upload the work that had been done.  I also set up all the course criteria so that I could add outcomes to each of the assignments as appropriate.  This took a while as I incorrectly set up one criteria initially and it took me a while to work out how to remove it and replace it with the correct one.

Building content

Early on, I discussed with the class how I wanted the portfolios to work.  I wanted them to create an over-arching website, which would include, in some format, a list of all the criteria which should be covered during the course.  This site would then contain subsites of all the websites they had created during the course, and the criteria list would have links to corresponding evidence throughout the subsites. I suggested that the students add to their over-arching site whenever possible, to avoid having a huge amount of compiling to do at the end of the course.

Completing the Portfolios

In the final few sessions of the course, I got the learners to upload working versions of their final portfolios, and I made suggestions for improvements where necessary.  Some of the portfolios were excellent, and the students had done exactly as asked.  A variety of cross-referencing methods were used.  Several students downloaded the criteria checklist as a Word document (as provided by me), and then made clickable links into the relevant area of their portfolio.  Another student practiced creating drop down menus using CSS, and used the menus as links to all the criteria.  Several others created a new web page at the front of the portfolio, and linked to all the criteria from this.

Moderation site

I then created a moderation website which included a few details about the course, along with a page for each student.  Within each student's page, there was then a link to their portfolio, which was packaged into my moderation site. 

Problems

There were just a couple of students who ran out of time to create their e-portfolio.  One student collated their work into a website, but didn't have any cross-referencing, another two failed to compile their work at all.  However, as all the work was on Moodle anyway, I was able to draw this together into a single folder, and incorporate it into my moderation site. Where evidence referencing was absent, I created the links from a standardised criteria page - and clearly marked this up in red so that any internal verifiers / moderators would be able to see what work was the students, and what I had added.  Even in some of the best portfolios, there may have been the odd cross-reference that was not linked correctly, so I used the same technique here, adding the link but marking it clearly in red.

Conclusion

The final moderation website passed internal verification and moderation without any problems, and the internal verifier commented that the evidence had been very easy to find.  There was a fair bit of work to do on my part in collating the portfolios into one site, but in many ways it was easier than ordering what would have been close to 100 sheets of paper for each student and adding page numbers and cross referencing manually.  Now the site is set up, it should be easier still to repeat the method. I will definitely use e-portfolios again.

Mobile phones in secondary schools

Yesterday I went to a new intake meeting for my daughter's soon to be secondary school.

During the presentation, the Head of Year said that the school had made a decision to ban the use of mobile phones during school hours from September.  This would be actioned by automatic confiscation of any phone seen out of a school bag / pocket once inside the school gates.

The reasons given included that students were increasingly using phones to video school activities and then post them on social networking sites, which I agree is inappropriate. Another reason is that students text each other from one end of the dinner queue to the other, which the head felt was completely pointless.  I can see his point, but I am learning that just because I wouldn't do it, doesn't mean I should expect my children not to.  They live in a different technological bubble to us oldies (well, almost oldies!).

The final reason, which gave me the greatest cause for concern, is that the school have had instances where students have been 'bullied' via social networking sites or through a series of text messages, and that the school are then having to deal with the repercussions of this in school hours.  This is where our views clearly differ:

A school wouldn't dream of trying to brush playground bullying under the carpet.  Most schools in the UK have very clear and firm policies for dealing with bullying, and certainly in both the schools my children have attended, bullying is not tolerated in any circumstances.  Yet banning mobile phones seems very much to me as though the school are trying to turn a blind eye to an increasingly common problem.  By telling the kids to put their phones away, we are not helping them to deal with difficult and inappropriate activities, we are instead giving them the message that we are not interested.

I really believe that we need to equip our children to deal with all aspects of social networking and technology - whether good or bad.  I have taught my children not to reveal their identities online just as I have told them never to get in a car with a stranger.  I've also explained to them that 'cyber bullying' is just as unacceptable, and I have supported them on the odd occasion when they have felt undermined by an unkind text or post from a 'friend'.  I want the school to be teaching them safe networking habits, praising good use of technology and explaining the consequences of bad.  Those 'anti-social networks' that the Head talked about are a fully integrated part of our children's lives, and we, as parents and teachers, have a responsibility to help our children learn how to manage them. To imagine that we can prevent them from using such tools by simply confiscating their phones would be madness.

Social Networking Taster Session

Over the last few days I have been busy preparing for our taster session on Social Networking, as part of Adult Learners Week.  I will be covering Facebook, Twitter and Blogging.  I think it'll be a great session, as I'm going to encourage all the learners to Tweet during the session using a hash tag.  Hopefully there will be lots of interactivity.

LAN School

Had training this week on LAN School.  Seems like a useful tool - I've already used it just to check on student progress in class (without the student's knowledge).  This may seem a bit sneaky, but actually it enabled me to observe where the individual students were struggling, and then offer directed help without them actually having to ask - I suppose it's a way of giving support without the student having to alert the rest of the class to the fact they are struggling.

I'm not sure how useful it will be in a mixed workshop setting - interrupting adults when the are all working on different things may be more detrimental than beneficial.

I did use it a little in my web design class though, and can see that if students produce a good example it will be great to show to the rest of the class, or to get students to demonstrate a skill to the others.

Another thing that I found particularly interesting was the tutor himself who delivered the LAN session.  He is so clearly in tune with Estyn requirements, that he managed to weave Welsh / ESDGC / H&S etc etc into the session with apparent ease, and he directed us to where we might also be able to do this.