9 minute read
From pandemic to progress in IT
From Pandemic to Progress in IT Integration
By Robert Harrison, Lyndsey Stuttard and Matt Buck
Around the world, access to educational technology has been one of the most important factors in the quality of learning available to students throughout the extended school closures related to the coronavirus pandemic. It’s no surprise that venture capital is flowing fast into EdTech. An already-crowded collection of hardware, software and cloud-based applications is expanding by the day. Here, two expert practitioners share their experience and ideas about how to bring what we’ve learned about educational technology during distance learning back into the classroom (and on to the playing field) with integrity. They were interviewed by Dr Robert Harrison, Education Strategy Director for ACS International Schools (London and Doha).
What opportunities has teaching remotely opened up for you and your students? Describe some of the work you’ve been doing with Augmented Reality and Artificial Intelligence while teachers and students were working from home.
Lyndsey: During distance learning I have explored more ways of ensuring that we are maintaining connections to our students to offer experiences that support their learning at home. A good example is the Augmented Reality Escape Room, which is a way of providing an immersive experience through which students can ‘step into’ a virtual world and explore the curriculum in an engaging manner. I’ve been helping teachers learn how to capitalise on this new approach that empowers them to become creators rather than consumers of educational technologies. They’re taking an active role as advocates and designers of student learning. We started on this path before the distance learning became such a big part of our educational reality,
but our increasing dependence on technology really accelerated progress and focused attention on how technology can increase engagement. I think we’ll see that continuing in school learning environments as teachers become more confi dent and fl uent in new technologies.
Matt: It’s really true that having had strong investment in educational technology was a big step up when we were forced into distance learning. As far back as 2011, we’d been using technology like Silicone Coach that allowed students to record live action and then analyse their recorded performance, so that they could celebrate what they’d achieved and plan how to improve next time. Tools like CollabraCam and hudltechnique were already part of our curriculum, so students were primed to accept technology as an integral part of learning in Physical Education (PE). We have had a 1:1 iPad programme for lower and middle school students for several years, good support, and strong expectations for integrating educational technology.
How are your most innovative and technology-eager teachers changing their approach?
Lyndsey: With ongoing support and ongoing support and delving deeper into the delving deeper into the purpose of the units purpose of the units they teach, I am seeing they teach, I am seeing that technology-eager that technology-eager teachers are more teachers are more willing to take on willing to take on new approaches that new approaches that not only engage their learners, but not only engage their learners, but also help them to better meet the objectives of their learning. Providing the training and mentoring to teachers has ensured that they are being moved in the right direction, to help them see the purposeful use of the technology. With the consistent approach to support and encouragement, enthusiastic teachers are engaged with new ideas and conversations for changes in the future.
Matt: I think that our students are key drivers of change. In terms of interest and motivation, we’ve all had to adapt quickly and fi nd new ways of working. We found that things get boring fast when students are learning on their own, so teachers found themselves looking for new platforms and ways to use them. HomeCourt has been the latest fi nd on our Virtual PE journey. An app originally designed exclusively for basketball, it soon became clear that it has multiple applications for Physical Education at home. It’s an online, personalised training assistant with game-specifi c developmental drills that can track movement, angle of release, effi ciency and percentages, to name just a few. The developers
soon added a similar feature for football training to give the app wider appeal.
The app contains a host of physical conditioning drills and exercises to sharpen mind and body that can be completed in a very compact space making it ideal for Lockdown training in PE classes. Each activity is recorded and scored for you, so your focus remains 100% on the task at hand. We have then used the results to create motivational leader boards and teacher targets that helped inspire everyone to keep moving. Students have loved this approach because it’s simple, fun and has a lot of variety.
What conditions, foundational skills, personal histories and professional dispositions frame teachers’ successful adoption of new instructional technologies?
Matt: Collaboration skills are key. We’ve found that technology is a great way to bring people together, especially at times when forces beyond our control seem to pull us apart. In the fi rst lockdown, we held a six-hour schoolwide, livestreamed virtual sports day. It’s important to have a mindset that’s open to new ideas and trying new things, and seeing technology as a way to connect people with each other and the physical world. [We’ve organised] ‘Beat the Teacher Challenges’ each week, creating team competitions. Our classes have climbed Everest together, walked from Land’s End to John O’Groats and cycled to Istanbul! We’ve been able to create school groups and clubs for students, teachers and parents—all of which build community.
Lyndsey: More often than not, the main message I hear from teachers is that they just need more time and more support. When those two elements are provided without restraint, teachers are openminded to new possibilities. They are no longer stranded on individual islands; someone is there to give them the access they need to thrive. Sometimes we have the mindset that teachers will ‘just adapt’ like the students do, but that is not always the case. Teachers that are encouraged, supported, and listened to are more likely to engage in innovative practices than those that are left to themselves. Matt: Right! Time to think and work together is critical. We were able to have two weeks lead-in time to prepare as a full department for this transition in March 2020, giving us plenty of collaboration meetings to design our approach using the apps we were familiar with. The big leap for our team was the addition of YouTube and how we were going to utilise live video-streaming and recorded uploads to help with lesson content and assignments. We worked it out together.
As an integration specialist, how do you help teachers move toward adopting new technologies, especially if they’re reticent?
Lyndsey: I fi nd that the best way to approach teachers that are more reluctant to these ‘big ideas’ of innovation is to fi nd common ground, to appeal to the areas of education and technology they have already found comfort in, and to offer new methodologies in small amounts, but consistently. When I can share something new with someone and it includes content they are already connected to, especially on an emotional level, connected to, especially on an emotional level, they become more invested in wanting to they become more invested in wanting to explore deeper. Making myself available for explore deeper. Making myself available for 1:1 support for guidance, training, mentoring, 1:1 support for guidance, training, mentoring, and planning means that there is someone and planning means that there is someone in the teachers’ corner, an advocate for that in the teachers’ corner, an advocate for that purposeful change that they know has true purposeful change that they know has true meaning behind it. meaning behind it.
That’s all pretty rosy. Are there things you worry about in this latest push for more educational technology?
Matt: In PE, you have to be cautious not to sacrifi ce valuable movement time within
lessons by overusing the tech. A balance is essential when selecting what apps to invest in. They need to be fun to use, engaging, simple, and produce results that enhance performance by giving instant feedback to the students. The practical learning outcome must always be the end goal of each class. It’s important to keep the big picture in mind, and to ask, ‘Will this tech help to inspire a lifelong love of activity that leads to a lifelong healthy lifestyle?’ Technology used for its own sake can be a distraction. Less can be more, and expensive doesn’t necessarily mean better. Technology can go hand in hand with PE—but only if it’s used to complement physical performance and understanding.
We’re also conscious of managing the risk involved in using technology that’s available on public platforms and uses commercial applications. Before we take advantage of the amazing new platforms that have fl ooded the market, we make sure that we’re aware of safeguarding and privacy concerns. It’s absolutely crucial that students’ identities, locations and personal medical data are always secure.
Conclusion
It’s pretty clear that the recipe for effective technology integration—even in a pandemic— remains a mix of long-term investment, carefullyselected tools, teachers with a growth mindset and time to collaborate, administrative support, and a hefty dose of educational vision that keeps student-centred learning at its heart. I’m sure those ingredients will remain vital as schools emerge from closures into a more complex reality. ◆
Dr Robert Harrison is Education Strategy Director for ACS International Schools. ✉ rharrison@acs-schools.com Lyndsey Stuttard is the Technology Integrationist at ACS Cobham International School (UK), where Matt Buck was K-12 Head of Physical Education from 2004-2021; he is now Director of Sport at Rugby School, Thailand.
An example of an immersive/augmented reality lesson may be found at youtube/ b5g7MMvmCVM
