Author Archives: Kathryn Williams

Why BYOD? Challenges and Differentiation

For my interview, I chose to interview a colleague who has been in education for 25 years. He is a teacher at my school in Manchester and he was Head of Department before he was appointed to the Senior Leadership Team of the secondary school attached to the Junior School that I work in. He has been in this role for 4 years and he is responsible for the academic management of the school, ensuring that the teaching and learning component of the school is delivered to the highest possible standard. For the past two years, a focus of his has been to drive the school’s ‘Bring Your Own Device’ scheme, which was implemented this past September. This scheme was the main focus of the interview. The interview took place in my colleague’s office, from 7:30-8:00am on Thursday 18th January 2018. Below is an analysis of the interview, focusing in on three key sections.

Why BYOD?

I asked my colleague why he chose to drive and implement the ‘Bring Your Own Device’ scheme at our school and he discussed a wide variety of reasons why, despite the many challenges he faced, this is so important. First, he noted that we are helping the students to develop skills that are necessary in the modern world and that are needed to be successful in life after they leave school. Second, he reviewed the collaboration opportunities for students and believes them to much greater than when they are using traditional pen and paper methods. Further, these collaboration opportunities are beneficial for both students and teachers. He also believes that by having their own devices at school, students’ access to large resources full of information creates more individualized learning paths by allowing them to access a greater range of information; the teacher is no longer the sole possessor of knowledge. He also mentioned that everyone having a device enables communication between students, parents and teachers to be smoother and more immediate.

Challenges  

The scheme itself created several challenges including cost, which devices were acceptable and having appropriate IT support. However, the number one challenge that my colleague noted was persuading teachers that there is a better way to do things than the method they are currently using. The school that we work at is quite unique. It is an academically selective independent school. The girls are required to take an exam to get in, meaning all the girls are what might be labelled at another school as more able. Therefore, the school achieves excellent exam results and prides itself not only on academic success, but also developing well rounded students. He discussed how teachers can demonstrate reluctance to try new methods by citing the ‘if it’s not broke don’t fix it’ mentality. The students thrive academically, the girls are happy and there is a very good atmosphere around the school…so why change anything? He further explained that teachers can think the learning curve is too steep and ever changing, it creates extra work and takes too much time.

Further, due to our school being quite niche and small, my colleague said that there is lack of data from similar schools to demonstrate success, which he said would help to get teachers on board.

To mitigate these challenges we discussed how all devices must be compatible with a stylus, as all teachers are able to use resources that have already been developed as a start. Further, there is ongoing professional development to support teachers in this scheme.

Differentiation

When I asked my colleague where he sees technology in education going in the future, he responded that proper differentiation will be more accessible without creating a great deal of extra work for the teachers. He hopes that teachers will be able to facilitate individualized learning paths for students, where they can investigate their own interests in their own way. He hopes that this will help learning to ‘stop being restricted to boxes’ and students will be able to pursue their passions in a learning style that fits best with them.

“We don’t have time!” – Video 5 and Video 8

This week I choose to explore case 5 and case 8, as they both focused on upper elementary grades and this is the grade level I have spent the most time in.

I found it very interesting, and relatable, that in case 5, many teachers from the same school could have such differing opinions and experiences with technology. In my post to Lesson 2 Activity 1: Unpacking Assumptions, I wrote that good use of technology enhances and doesn’t just replace something else. One teacher at the school in case 5 was using laptops to create podcasts and soundscapes – in doing so this enhanced the experience for the students. Further, I loved how this teacher didn’t think of herself as the leader but instead a “guide on the side.” One mistake I that often think teachers make is not introducing a new technology to their class unless they are completely confident with it. This does not demonstrate risk taking or promote the mentality that we are all make mistakes and we can all learn from each other. The teacher in this clip focused on all the benefits that she has witnessed technology fostering – language use, promoting engagement and increasing understanding.

At that very same school there were two clips of teachers who were overwhelmed when using technology and didn’t feel confident using it in their classrooms. Interestingly, these clips came from a retired teacher and the other from a newly qualified teacher. They both cited time and support as obstacles to technology use.

In case 8 the student teachers were making stop frame videos to explain a Science topic to elementary students. The professor of this class explained that he wanted his in service teachers to have technological tools that they could actually use on practicum. I believe this to be so important. This makes me think back to my Bachelor of Education degree, which was only 7 years ago. Although I found the program very useful, I can probably count on one hand how many practical, usable technological ideas I came away with. This was partly due to the content of the courses, coupled with the fact that my mentor teacher was very hesitant to use technology. The teaching practicum could be an incredibly valuable time to get student teachers excited about educational technology but what happens if they have obstacles like reluctant mentor teachers? A lot of responsibility then falls on a nervous, first time teacher, which seems not quite right. What can universities do to help student teachers overcome these challenges?

The last point I want to make is that in case 8, many of the student teachers claimed that they may not use stop frame animation in their classrooms because of the time it took – despite claiming the educational benefits for EAL learners, different ability levels and how this kind of project allows students to take ownership over their work. I think this issue of ‘we don’t have time’ comes up over and over again, and I sometimes find myself thinking this. What is important to remember is that a task of making a stop frame animation video about curriculum content is not an add on – it’s enhancing and enriching the curriculum and who doesn’t have time for that?! Technology has to be really fully seamless and integrated into everyday use to believe this view. But the question is, how do we get to this point?

 

 

Good Practice Using Technology

 

In my opinion, effective use of digital technology in math and science classrooms is where technology is enhancing the students’ learning experience, rather than just replacing something that was previously available in another format. It is also where teachers have balanced knowledge about content, pedagogy and technology to ensure that students are engaged, hands on and more self-reliant learners. Good practice isn’t including technology for the sake of it and it should be thought of in a long-term mind frame: it is helping students to learn skills that will enable them to be part of a global community whilst simultaneously encouraging them to engage with the subject.

There are many methods through which learning experiences with technology can address a conceptual challenge and I’m looking forward to reading the post of others; it is always exciting to learn new ideas! Different apps can be very useful in this sense. I mentioned the app Explain Everything in my previous post. This allows the creator of the video to express their knowledge on a topic to the audience. This can be a helpful way of becoming aware of misconceptions before starting a unit. Further, allowing children access to the internet gives them a wealth of information and resources. It is no longer a case of the teacher being the bearer of all knowledge; rather, it is more a case of ‘what can we learn together?’

I have found that digital technology enables more effective facilitation of differentiation. For example, this year I have been setting math homework using the website www.mymaths.co.uk, for which, fortunately, my school pays the membership fee. I am able to set online homework – either tasks on the same concept for different ability levels or tasks on different concepts if reinforcement or extension on certain topics is appropriate. Students log in and complete the work at home. Additionally, the children often find it fun to complete their homework on a computer and, as an added bonus, the program also marks the work! This instant feedback is another huge benefit of using digital technology in the classroom. Of course, this wouldn’t be appropriate in an area where children don’t have access to a computer or the internet at home.

Digital technology use in the classroom can often be difficult to implement for a variety of reasons, including the following: insufficient or inadequate technology; lack of professional development for teachers; inconsistency in implementation within a school. When other teachers in my school are using a certain application or website, I find myself more likely to have a go with it and because of this, I think collaboration amongst teachers when using digital technology is particularly important. There are excellent examples available of teachers using digital technology in meaningful ways and I believe that this is truly just the beginning.

 

 

Misconceptions with Decimals

After watching the Private Universe video and completing a few readings off the list it became clear that a learner’s conceptions about a topic are vitally important in order for their knowledge to expand. What stuck with me from the video was that the teacher was not aware of the different conceptions students came to the lesson with. It reminded me that, as educators, taking time to explore students’ existing knowledge and beliefs before the lesson occurs always helps to guide teaching plans and practice. Further, I found it very interesting that Heather thought the Earth’s orbit was in a figure eight because of a diagram of something different she saw in her textbook. This reiterated the point that some images stick with kids and, unless they have another image or hands-on experience to counteract the initial conceptions, they will find this difficult.

Having taught upper elementary grades for the past six years I often find the concept of decimals to be difficult for children to understand. To have a sound understanding of decimals they must have strong foundations with place value, whole number and fractions. Further, there are several common misconceptions relating to decimals that, in my personal experience, can prove difficult to shake. For example, some students believe decimals to be like fractions – for example, 4/5 = 0.45. Students can also develop the misconception that longer numbers are larger. In their work on understanding decimals, Kevin Moloney and Kaye Stacey argue that even students in high school are completing decimal calculations without understanding the comparative sizes of the numbers involved (Moloney & Stacey, 2016, p. 46). In her work on tracking decimal misconceptions, Linda Griffin discusses the powerful learning opportunities that come from incomplete understanding but also cautions how they can impede future learning if not explored and discussed (Griffen, 2016, p. 489).

As a teacher I enjoy exploring the misconceptions relating to decimals by using hands-on tools like Cuisenaire rods and number lines. However, just like Heather couldn’t leave her own conceptions in the video, children often will go back to saying something like, “This number is larger because it has more numbers after the point,” which can be very frustrating!

In her work analyzing children’s understanding of light, Bonnie Shapiro notes that many children held the same ideas about the nature of light before the lesson was taught and that only some changed their ideas after the lesson (Shapiro, 1988, p. 100). This was a common theme in the readings this week and really made me think – how do we change conceptions?

Could meaningful use of educational technology help my upper elementary students to gain greater insight into, and understanding of, decimal numbers? One app that I’ve used on the iPads before is Explain Everything. The app allows the children to make a video using different effects explaining a topic. I’ve used it when teaching about the Tudors in History but not thought to use it when teaching Math. This week’s readings about misconceptions and misunderstandings in STEM subjects has made me revisit this idea. For example, the children could produce a video about decimals that would allow them to demonstrate and explain their existing understanding and conceptions for me to watch before we start our work; this could help me improve my planning for the unit and to more effectively tailor the lesson plans, discussion and the challenges set.

 

References

Griffin, L. B., (2016). Tracking Decimal Misconceptions: Strategic Instructional Choices. Teaching Children Mathematics, 22(8), 488-494.

Moloney, K. & Kaye, S. (2016). Understanding decimals. Australian Mathematics Teacher, 72(3). 46-49.

Shapiro, B. L., (1988). What children bring to light: Towards understanding what the primary school science learner is trying to do. In P. Fensham (Ed.), Development and dilemmas in science education. London: The Falmer Press.

 

Missing!

In grade 7 I remember our school getting a new computer lab full of  these brand new green and grey mac computers – it was all very exciting! We seemed to be doing a lot of All the Right Type and using the Paint program. One additional program we used really had an impact on me.

We had discussions about internet safety and giving personal details out online. Then, we played this game called Missing. I had to Google the game to retrieve all the details but, it seems you follow the story of a boy named Zack who meets a man, Fantasma, online. Fantasma and Zack meet up and Fantasma ends up taking Zach. Then, the student plays the game and works with a detective to rescue Zach. What really stands out in my memory is that I failed the mission and didn’t save Zack! It was very scary for me to think about! And then, as we often do in schools, we moved on and I never felt like it was discussed further or I didn’t have the opportunity to have another go.

This story makes me think about the issues around internet safety and how they are still present today. However, in addition to being safe online, there are so many other things we must think about as educators – for example, teaching our students to be good digital citizens and the impact of social media on them. Do you think that one of these issues is more important than the other? What should we be discussing with young children and what should we be saving for later?  These are just a couple of the current questions I’m thinking about.

Hello from Manchester!

Hello everyone! 

I’m Kathryn and I grew up in Vernon BC. I completed my Bachelor of Education in Vancouver at UBC. I currently live in in Manchester, England and I work at an all girls independent school; I absolutely love my job! This is my sixth-year teaching and I’ve taught grades 4-6; I’m currently teaching grade 6. 

This is my third course in the MET program and I’ve learned so much already! I’m really enjoying engaging with others from around the world and using elements from each course back into my teaching practice. So far I’ve taken ETEC 511 and ETEC 521. 

My experience has been that schools in the UK are very well equipped with the latest technology. I have also noticed that these resources are not always being used in the most effective way possible to facilitate excellent teaching and learning. I am hoping that throughout the MET program I am able to feedback to teachers at my school to help us to get the most out of the tools we have. The high school attached to my elementary school has just this year adopted a scheme where each pupil must come to every lesson with their own portable device. It will be interesting to see how both students and teachers react to this…watch this space! I’m really looking forward to this course to help improve my use of technology in the math and science classroom. 

When I’m not teaching I can be found planning my next adventure with my husband, partaking in some kind of physical activity or cooking (and the best part eating!) delicious food. I’m looking forward to learning together with all of you on this course.

-Kathryn