Pedagogic+Change

=1 Introduction= [|The Learning Hubs Project] in combination with Scotland’s [|A Curriculum For Excellence] presents an exciting opportunity to alter the way our children are taught and the way they learn.

Many leading educationalists today agree that what happens within our schools must adapt to the realities of the early 21st century, where children are what Mark Prensky describes as Digital Natives, completely at home with the internet, Play Stations and iPods. It has also been argued since before computers were common place that individualised learning was best for each individual, but the means to make this happen in an affordable and do-able way did not exist. But we are now in a position where the technology has reached a level of sophistication and affordability that it is at last possible to contemplate moving towards a pedagogical system that is not dictated by four walls, 50 minute periods, and the whole class of 30 all doing exactly the same work. Pedagogic change is a paramount prerequisite to ensure the success of providing a relevant 21st Century education and this lies at the heart of the Learning Hubs project. Many of the past one-to-one learning projects have not achieved their full potential because this crucial factor has been ignored. Simply placing technology into the classroom will by itself neither improve learning nor raise attainment.

Learning Hubs is looking to create a committee of thecountry’s most knowledgeable individuals to address this issue. The committee will be headed up by Tony van der Kuyl, Director of Scottish Interactive Technology Centre at The University of Edinburgh and Andrew Watt former Teacher and current Development Officer from The Cityof Edinburgh Council’s eTeam. The final committee may also include members from; Learning and Teaching Scotland, Continuing Professional Development(Training), //__[|Glow]__//, and it will also include Teachers, parents and even school children.

This wiki is intended to provide a way for the committee and other invited parties to collaboratively document their thoughts and directions regarding pedagogic change.

=2 Goals of the Project= > > __//**What other goals do you think there should be, please contribute....???**//__
 * 1) To empower all learners
 * 1) //To develop an appropriate pedagogical model for schools in the 21st century which will be enabled by integrating technology into learning and teaching thus creating an environment that encourages anytime anywhere learning.//
 * 1) //To develop 21st century Skills and the principles defined in "A Curriculum for Excellence"//
 * 2) To expand learning opportunities and address the shortage of 6th year subjects in schools. //[Learning Hubs by itself will not do this, but Learninng Hubs will make it easier to achieve.]//
 * 3) To increase educational engagement and make a measurable reduction in the number of school leavers who would otherwise be categorised as NEET (ScottishEnterprise defines 'NEET 'as young people aged 16-19 not in education, employment or training)
 * 4) To close the chasm between the use of technology in school and in their 'real world' in order to make school more relevant to today's children.
 * 5) To close the digital divide by providing learning hubs and broadband connectivity to every child's home regardless of their economic status or social standing.

2.1 21st Century Skills
A good reference and definition of 21st Century Skills can befoundinthe document Report on Learning For the 21st Century, whichcanbefound from the Partnership for 21st Century Skills at http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/downloads/P21_Report.pdf
 * Information and communications skills
 * Thinking, proactive learning and problem-solving skills
 * Interpersonal and self-directional skills

2.2 Curriculum for Excellence
A document on the synergy between Learning Hubs and A Curriculum for Excellence which can be found on the Learning Hubs website at http://www.learninghubs.co.uk/LH_Curriculum_for_Excellence2.pdf

2.3 Proactive Learners
There is a distinct difference between //Proactive Learners// and //Problem Solvers//. A problem solver or critical thinker can solve a problem whereas the proactive thinker can identify the problem and solve it. An emphasis should be put on Proactive Learning.

2.4 Other buzz words/phrases:

 * To make learning and teaching more **enjoyable**.
 * Increase **engagement**
 * Increase **motivation** to learn.
 * Encourage group tasks and improve **collaboration, communication, negotiation**
 * Assist **self-directional learning**
 * Improve **critical thinking skills**

=2.5 Questions to ask=
 * **What do we want to achieve with Learning Hubs?**
 * **How are we going to achieve it?**
 * **How are we going to measure it?**
 * **How do we roll this out?**

=3 Pedagogic Change= //To be completed...// We need to build something in the context of the Scottish education in address this.

=**4 Project Structure**=

4.1 Pilot Projects
Several pilotprojects (subject to funding) will be implemented acrossapproximatelyfive or six different schools in 2007/2008. It isenvisaged that eachpilot will consist of the following:
 * · One academic year in primary school or one class in secondary will be selected within the chosen pilot school
 * · Each pupil (and possibly teacher) within that section will be provided with a Learning hub.
 * · Adequate technical and pedagogical support will be provided
 * · Children will have home broadband access
 * · Each pilot will be assessed and measured against the goals as determined by this committee.
 * ·The actual device may vary across the different pilot projects,enablingus to assess the benefits and downsides to each type of devicebothtechnically and pedagogically. Further information on theselection ofpilot schools is shown below.

4.2 The Committees
4.2.1 Learning Hubs Project Board This committee is made up of representatives from the five authorities involved in the project. It has the strategic oversight of all aspects of the project and is informed by the project Committee. Its members are .....
 * Gordon Ford, (Chair), Director of Education, West Lothian
 * Nigel Lawson, Project Manager
 * David Fenton (Head of Infrastructure and Development, Children and Families, City of Edinburgh Council)
 * Ruth Johnstone, ICT Manager, Children and Families Department, City of Edinburgh Council
 * Tom Lawson, Midlothian Council
 * Duncan Nisbet, Scottish Borders Council
 * Karen Robertson, East Lothian Council
 * John Low, West Lothian Council

4.2.2 Learning Hubs Learning and Teaching Committee Committee members will be expected to actively (and not passively) contribute at all times. Each meeting will result in every member being allocated specific tasks, actions or a section to complete on behalf of the project. All members must be dedicated, proactive, forward thinking individuals who are willing to make a positive impact on education in Scotland.

The committee will also be made of up Virtual Committee Members from all around Scotland and beyond. We welcome individuals who are keen to particiapte and share their knowledge and experience with us.Please feel free to contribute and add sections where relevant.

4.2.2.1 Committee Goals
Define and document the ultimate goals of the project
 * 1) Define and document the pedagogical change required in order to reach our set out goals including best practice methods to integrate technology and new media into the classroom.
 * 2) Define which devices should be trialled in the pilot projects in terms of their potential contribution to education.
 * 3) Define how the project should be assessed.
 * 4) Develop and roll out a Continuing Professional Development plan that will allow the pedagogic changes to be embedded in the Scottish education system.

4.2.2.2 Current Members
Nigel Douglas - Commercial Project Manager Learning Hubs Andrew Watt - CEC eTeam Tony van der Kuyl - Scottish Interactive Technology Centre at The University of Edinburgh

4.2.2.3 Future Committee Members
//What other members should be involved in this committee?//
 * Teachers (from pilot schools)
 * CPD
 * Glow
 * Learning and Teaching Scotland
 * Parents
 * Pupils
 * Individual experts on certain topics such as
 * Blogs
 * Podcasts
 * Wikis
 * Educational gaming
 * Online delivery and systems approach
 * An experton the Curriculum who is able to understand the benefits defined by the individual experts above and determine the real advantages in terms of the curriculum.

=5 Integrating New Media and Technology=

5.1 Blogs
Uses of blogs Leading expert [|Ewan McIntosh] has been asked to contribute to this section.

5.2 Podcasts
Uses of Podcasts Leading expert Ewan McIntosh has been asked to contribute to this section.

5.3 Wikis
Uses of Wikis Leading expert Ewan McIntosh has been asked to contribute to this section.

5.4 Educational Gaming
Uses of Educational Games in education. Incorporate and encourage modern educational mediums to help close the gap between school and how a pupil engages with technology at home for example. Leading experts Chris van der Kuyl and [|Derek Robertson] have been asked to contribute to this section.

5.5 Available Software
Software currently available that will enable Learning Hubs to reach its goals, include, features advantages and benefits of these.

5.6 The Global Classroom
Stewart Hay (Dept Head Anderson High School, Shetland) has been leading the way in this field see [|http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/ictineducation/connected/connected10/ictinpractice/learnface2face.asp] http://www.schoolofambition.org/exchange/

=6 Devices to Trial= //To be completed....Pease refer to and add to page entitled Laptops or Hand Held devices//
 * Laptops
 * PDAs
 * Mobile Phones (please see http://mobiles.wikispaces.com/ for a project by Kate Farrell)
 * Other

=7 Continuing Professional Development= //To be completed..please add your thoughts.//

CPD must be
 * Personalised
 * Customisable
 * Accessible
 * Just in Time

7.1 Training Plan
From the lessons learned from projects such as the iPodagogy,itisexpected that the traning and development will be incremental to the extent that teachers will learn and develop organically as the projects progress. There will of course have to be some form of formal training before commencement.

7.3 Timelines
How long do we need to train teachers, when will this be done. This will have an effect on project start date.

=8 Project Assessment= //To be completed...// How do we assess the project? Assessment will be done by an independent third-party and should be related to the assessment of [|MIICE]

=9 Pilot Projects= The schools selected for piloting the project will have to meet specific requirements in order to be selected. A more comprehensive document has been created by Nigel Douglas on this but these are likely to include: Also see Pilot Project for more...
 * One-to-one computer/laptop access for teachers for at least one year prior to project go-live.
 * The teachers must have received the Continued Professional Development programme as defined by this committee.
 * School must have in inspirational Head Teacher and/or ICT teacher
 * School must have enthusiastic teachers with an openness to new ideas and are willing to go the 'extra mile'.
 * Teachers must be willing to collaborate closely with others.

9.1 Other Considerations

 * It is suggested that pilots should involve two mainagesofchildren namely P6 and S1 for the reasons that they are more flexible than more senior years and also that this will leave more room to continue pilots for a second year.
 * P6 should be a minimum of two streams and could (finance dependant) consist of an entire year.
 * S1 should select one class within a year and focus on specific focus groups such as those defined in the project goals.
 * Wireless broadband within the school would be an advantage
 * An open plan school and a willingness for teachers to collaborate and share classes is preferable. One school where this is already happeningis the[|New Technology High School]inNapaValley, California. Here, it is the pedagogical aims that drive what happens and how the school was constructed. Other articles about the school are the following.
 * [|Bob Pearlman's website]. [|Bob Pearlman]has a very wide and varied experience. Formerly the President of the Autodesk Foundation, he is currently the Director of StrategicPlanningfor theNapa Valley project
 * [|Article in en Guage] en Guage is the online magazine of the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory
 * [|Article and summary results] from research into how well NTHS has performed.
 * **//Examples of Nappa Valley USA and Tasmania should be referenced here...//**

=10 Committee 'Homework'=

ND - Update Wiki from meeting 30th August 06 - **COMPLETED** ND - Speak to Blogging expert - **COMPLETED** AW - Update Wiki AW - Speak to Curriculum Expert - **COMPLETED** TvdK - Prepare pack on essential learning - **COMPLETED** TvdK - Speak to individuals re Gaming, Online systems Delivery