Creativity for learner voice

Creativity - a keyword coming out from last weeks’ FutureLab Conference (Seen & Heard – Young people creating digital media) on how different kinds of digital media can be used in to get learners’ voice heard. 

If we are to truly hear what our learners are experiencing and thinking, different speakers pointed out the essential steps for success: Enagagement.  Our learners are more likely to be engaged, if they find what they’re doing interesting and relevant.  Technology, without any doubts, has a key role to play here.  E.g. colleagues from imitating the dog have demostrated how simple video making and editing techniques can facilitate students’ expression of their ideas and emotions.  They even invited all participants to give it a go, so to see how “accessible” these creative technological tools can be in a school setting.

So what role does creativity play in other context?  Every so often we try to collect students’ “feedback” by methods such as survey and focus group, there is also a question of “why should I bother?” in the air!  While these methods are valid and very useful, a more communicative and ”cross-discipline” approach would be needed if we would like to shed light on what our learners really want to share with us.  By combining “consultation” with other activities (such as curriculum-based tasks), not only can learners be more naturally “engaged” in the process, they are also more likely to relate to the topic.  A good idea from Oaklands College demostrates it well - Combining learner voice activities with citizenship education. 

So is there a room to borrow this idea for ICT policy consultation?  Safety and well-being in the online environment are so crucial in our daily lives, but often learners are not well-equipped with the knowledge, or supported in reflecting their own habits and behaviours.  So why can’t we have some learning activities around these issues, so that students can acquire new skills on one hand, and we can listen to their voice on the other?  At the moment, it is not very common for currculum development, ICT professionals and student support services to work together.  Gathering effort and expertise up from all parties is definitely the way forward.  Are you ready?

To block or not to block?

Talking about blocking again?  Yes, this is one of the dilemmas facing educational institutions.  How should we juggle between educational, social and safeguarding needs?  Today I’d like to extract some discussion from a mailing group on YouTube in this regard.

A colleague on the Curriculum Champions mailing list invited others to share their colleges’ practice of YouTube usage.  While we might expect YouTube being banned in many institutions, it doesn’t necessary be the case.  Some colleagues did point out the rich media resources one can get from streaming videos such as YouTube and TeacherTV.  Quite a number of colleagus saying their colleges have unblocked these sites for a while and it worked out fine.  Some colleges also adopt flexible AUP to cater the educational needs, which can be a good reference for us:

• Youtube is available in the classroom and open learning areas; access monitored by the teaching staff and open learning staff.
• Student can access these websites by using their own devices, connecting to the open wireless internet connection in most non-teaching areas of the college (e.g. reception areas and refectories), and via college PCs in learning centres before 9.00am, between 12.00-14.00 and after 17.00 (i.e. before teaching starts, lunch time, and at the end of the core teaching day).

Technical issue might still be a concern for some colleges, e.g. bandwidth to support multi-media files.  However, it shouldn’t be a problem which can’t be tackled.  In last week FutureLab Conference, a staff member from a local authoriy mentioned that the stipulated network policy allowed some flexibilities, so individual institutions could enable access to streaming videos site if necessary.  I assume the same should apply to JANET, who support the network for colleges and universities.

To block or not to block – the choice is yours!

Note: Curriculum Champions mailing list is a mailing list managed by Becta and supported by JISC.  It gives a platform for e-learning professionals to discuss emerging technology and various issues on ICT in education.

Engage learners in ICT Policy Development

“Why do students from another college can access to YouTube on campus, but we can’t?”
“Have college staff members ever used Facebook?  Have they tried to understand what it is about?  They shouldn’t ban it when they don’t know what it really is.”

I’m sure you’ve heard that from your students.  ICT policy, especially the Acceptable Use Policy (AUP), is a hot potato for many.  As John Sewell from JISC TechDis explained:
“It is apparent that a lot of colleges are finding it difficult to implement an effective policy in this area; in some colleges filtering is so aggressive as to prevent staff from doing their job, whilst some college managements are unfamiliar with the issues and seek to play safe by relying on the default ‘lockdown’ state of network filtering.” (Quoted from: Excellence Gateway)

We had a good conversation about that with students attending the Becta and NUS training and consultation events a while ago.   From the discussion, it is apparent that students are well aware of the complex association of college ICT polocy with safety, security and college network capacity.  However, they would like to see a fairer, more flexible and transparent policy which enables the best use of college IT facilities.  Now the question is – how can our sector achieve that, at the same time to ensure students are properly safeguarded?

One essential step is to engage students in the ICT policy development, so as to ensure the policy in place truly meet their needs.  As suggested by the “Becta PIES model” for limiting e-safety risks, “policies and practices” is the backbone of effective safeguarding strategy:

Students, being on the cutting edge of technological development, can contribute to a more transparent and flexible policy.  However, many students said that their colleges had not consulted them during the process.  This clearly has room for improvement.

Does your College/Organisation engage your learners in your ICT policy development, let it be AUP, new equipment purchase or new physical space usage?  If yes, do let us know.  If not, please also let us know why not. Your experience will help us form the best practices of engaging learners!

Some useful references on e-safety:
Ofcom- Get Safe Online
Excellence Gateway – E-safety

Facebook

“Facebook! Absolutely!”

That was the answer we had most often when asking what students’ favourite technological was at the moment. The JISC’s research on Learner experiences of e-learning has shown that students often attach emotional significance to technologies. This dominant response from students does echo the finding.

From student executives point of view, social networking sites such as Facebook provide powerful tools for them to connect fellow college students – those who want to keep abreast of students activities/campaigns, those who study part-time, those who are in apprenticeship and only come to the campus once a week. With its simple yet multi-functional features, they can update students their news and activities, show videos, blog and invite students to join their events without additional cost. Through the word of mouth, they can connect 70% (unofficial figures suggested by some of the student officers) of the student population who have Facebook accounts.

We also had a discussion on what made Facebook their choice over other websites.  Popularity, simplity and user-friendliness were the keys.  Student officers choose the tool(s) which help them reach the largest number of members; Facebook is an obvious choice for them, compared to other social networking sites such as Bebo, which is for younger population in their eyes. It is also believed that students might find it inconvenient to log-in to different websites; the “mashable” nature of  Facebook thus provides a pltaform for communication and sharing, where everyone can access easily.

However, students do face problems brought about by the college AUP. Many delegates pointed out that access to social networking sites is denied in their colleges. This is due to various issues, such as safeguarding, cyber-bullying, inappropriate content, as well as common concern of students browsing these websites during class time. When we asked the delegates how they felt about the situation, most of them did not see limiting access as a good solution. Although they understand the concern of protecting students who are under 18, they would like to see their colleges providing more guidance and support for safe internet usage, instead of banning access altogether.

From what we have heard throughout the last Becta/NUS events, it is pertinent to call for colleges’ reconsideration of their ICT policy. A more open and supportive approach will not only enable students to build a stronger community with sense of belonging, but also help colleges maximise the benefits which existing technology can offer.

Safer Internet Day

Do you know tomorrow is the Safer Internet Day?

Safer Internet Day is an annual international event aiming to raise awareness about safe and responsible use of new technologies, especially among young people. It is organised by Insafe, the European internet safety network. One of the key themes for this year is social networking.

So what does it have to do with our everyday life?

Technology can be our friend or foe, both inside and outside the educational settings. While social networking and instant communcation tools have brought us valuable opportunities for sharing, collaboration and get our voice heard, we also need to beware of the possible implications of our online actions.  We might put ourselves at risk, for example, if we:

• post inappropriate, offensive or illegal comments or materials (photos, video, sound clips, etc.)
• disclose personal information which reveals our identity
• use technological tools as a means to attacking or harassing others (i.e. cyber-bullying)

Once an item is posted online, it can be copied, manipulated and circulated, and likely to exist forever. It is therefore crucial for us as individual learners, as well as part of the wider community, to be aware of the impact of our actions and use social networking sites and other tools sensibly. Any abuse or malpractice should be reported immediately. Only in this way can we can truly enjoy the benefits. Some tips for keeping yourself safe in an online environment can be found here.