VLE and Social Learning

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VLE and Social Learning

• John Howells
• Principal
• Leasowes Community College

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Michael Fullanin his bookThe Six Secrets of
Change

• Give me a good theory over a strategic plan any
  day of the week

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He quotes David Sloan

• a theory is merely a way of organizing ideas
  that seems to make sense of the of the world

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Theories

• Must make sense of the real world and can be
  tested against it
  
• Must avoid being abstracted and out of context

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The Last 11 years

• Have seen many strategies
• Many plans
• No theories in education

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Now we are starting to talk theory in education
again

• From NCSL
• SSAT
• Principles and theory are starting to return to
  education

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Please no new theories now

• We need-
• to make sense of the world as we we see it
• And there are ways of understanding it which make
  sense
  
• To explain what is going on
• To provide answers to the way forward

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My Theories

• Vygotsky
• Bernstein
• Labov

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Vygotsky

• Learning takes place in a social context
• He emphasises the crucial relationship between
  language and concept development
  

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Social Context

• To include prior experiences of students
• The context in which in the work is set
• The arrangement to deliver the learning
• The experiences built into the learning event
• The method of assessment of the learning

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Bernstein

• Teachers make judgements about children using
  criteria which are not necessarily fundamental to
  the learning process.
  

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Labov

• Many pupils who were diagnosed as poor
  linguistically were in fact not involved verbally
  in schools. However, he noticed that they were
  active outside school and that in their own
  environment they argued and had verbal fluency
  and that unless their language was accepted they
  would be assessed unfavourably

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Todays Curriculum should be based on

• Skills, technologies, knowledge of today
• Can not guarantee the future

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Students Social Context

• Ipod
• Utube
• My space
• Easy communication
• Quick downloads and cheap
• Music free
• Record and view when you want
• Learning Free- students attend college where they
  have obtained virtual learning resources
  

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In the students world

• They process their information through-
• Video
• Audio
• Mixtures of both
• Electronic chat
• Familiarity with technology breeds expertise
• New cognitive functions

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So today

• Vygotsky
• Bernstein
• Labov
• Are just as relevent as ever

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Good learning resources

• Need to be-
• Engaging
• Collaborative
• Interactive

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The model needs

• More project based work
• Reconstructive or contextualized situations to
  create product
  
• Networking with experts, peers, additional
  sources of information
  
• Make the learning interesting and authentic
• Make the learning legitimate
• Collaboration meaning active engagement not
  passive cooperation
  

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Leasowes Curriculum now has

• 1 hour lessons
• 5 hour blocks of time every Friday
• And 3 longer blocks of time during the year
• The longest block being 6 days in one subject
  area
  
• We are looking to contextualize into authentic or
  realistic situations

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Big Blocks allow

• Trips, visits
• Use of the community
• Use of local resources
• Business involvement in school and outside
  school
  
• Use of artists etc

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Assessment for Learning

• Blacks model wants-
• Comments as the basis of improvement through
  ongoing assessment
  
• Students peer assessment to form part of this

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Assessment for Learning

• OU research gives faster the feedback, more
  likely the improvement in quality with the piece
  of work
  
• On- line work can be shared with collaborative
  student group
  
• On- line work can be shared with other adults as
  well as students

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Collaborative approaches

• We want to use groups of 4 as model way of
  working
  
• Some development in Mediaonics
• Seen as supportive
• Industrial way of working
• Looked at Strathclyde University Engineering
  approach
  
• Even peer assessment by group of 4

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An assumption

• All our students will carry their own devices
  within the very near future
  
• They will access internet easily
• Access from different devices will be seamless

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We want to build a model

• Where students are not exposed to the dangers of
  the web
  
• Where some of the learning can be very
  specifically tailored to students needs
  
• Where students work is reviewed, assessed and
  recorded easily

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For diplomas

• Started with distributing learning not the
  learner
  
• So video conferencing plus synchronized
• presentation
• VLE holds all materials or contexts created
• Company involvement in delivery and assessment
• Longer term we want communication technologies to
  allow more companies to interact with students
  and connect schools
  

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I want to create

• A virtual campus
• Virtual teacher
• Virtual tutor/coach
• Virtual learning spaces
• Can be added to by other organizations
• Create best teaching strategies from across the
  world
  
• Share them with others across the world
• Blur distinction between virtual and real

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I want to create

• Resource based learning spaces
• Classrooms, labs, workshops
• Seminar rooms
• Offices
• Registration on entry for students and adults
• Presentational resources to show others
• Social areas
• Ability to book time, space
• Opportunity to ask questions, offer help