The Importance of Staying Connected

First off queue a link to my previous post on being personal...Being personal

I wanted to dive back in as it has become more important. 

We are week 8 of lockdown. It is important to establish that remote working has been the 'norm' for 8 weeks. I got a panicked text from a friend of my parents asking for help getting into a team meeting of theirs. After an hour of multiple emails and texts we finally connected on a Google Meet. She could see me and at this point she told me that I was the first person apart from her family that she had seen for 8 weeks. I asked what was the problem in getting into her team meetings and she said that it was this part the Google Meet. So for 8 weeks her team hadn't heard from her. For 8 weeks no one at work had seen her face. Yes emails and texts had come from her but no one from work had seen her.

When sharing the Staying Connected ebook on Twitter Ebook linkwe came across a parent who asked if they could send it to their child's school. For 8 weeks their child had been dutifully submitting work but they hadn't heard from any of their teachers other than a Google Classroom post. I have a problem with both these examples on a very basic human level. How can it be that for 8 weeks no one has checked in? How can an under 16 be uncontacted for 8 weeks? If we were in an traditional school environment if we hadn't heard from a child in 8 days possibly even 8 hours we would be beginning safeguarding procedures. Why is it ok to forget these now? Is it harder to check in on students virtually? 

My parents friend was fortunate to have family that had checked in on her. This situation could have been a whole lot worse. I think there is a legitimate concern about an impending mental health crisis as we emerge from lockdown as people will have been totally isolated for so long. We know loneliness is an awful thing, yet we don't seem to be taking it seriously. Yes there are other priorities but we need to be pushing this further. Imagine had my parents friend not had any family and I was literally the first person she saw in 8 weeks? Imagine what could have happened in those 8 weeks and no one would have known, it doesn't bear thinking about.

The student who hasn't seen or heard from a teacher in 8 weeks probably isn't alone in their experience. Staff are probably trying their best pushing out work as is required and are busy ranking year 11s and year 13s. Yet I cannot forgive a lack of contact for 8 weeks. I cannot think about what could have happened in those 8 weeks. But on a different level what effort has their been from the teacher to increase motivation and engagement for 8 weeks. I am amazed this child is still handing in work. I'm not sure after 8 weeks I would be. I may have lost interest.

There are 2 parts to staying connected at this time. One is the importance of safeguarding and checking in. The other is staying connected to motivate and engage. The safeguarding part is obviously important and as we connect with learners virtually we need to still be observing surroundings. If we are now present in the learners home we need to be aware that people we weren't concerned for previously might display issues now we are in their homes. The students that leave everything at their front door and put a brave face on for college don't have that separation now and we need to be mindful more than ever of observing surroundings and cues.

Aside from all of this we need to stay connected as human beings. If a virtual classroom is a no go with your group why not do a virtual check in? Create a flipgrid asking everyone how they are? Flipgrid is great at making it easy for everyone to contribute short videos. If you're not in education or don't have flipgrid a Slides presentation can do something similar. Create a slides presentation with a slide for everyone to add their own video. A black slide with each team member or students name at the top. Ask them a question and ask them to video their reply. Each person inserts their video on their slide and then everyone is staying connected.

Staying connected to motivate and engage is important too. For 8 weeks sitting at the kitchen table doing work independently means that enthusiasm may have waned. Firstly are the tasks that are being sent engaging in their own right? Are they paper based? Could they be done via video? Do we need a written reflection on the text they have read or could they narrate their thoughts? Paper is not the virtual learners friend. Printers are no longer in every home. Shops are not easily accessible, paper may be hard to find for some. Yet video, voice and colourful Slides presentations are more enjoyable to create anyway, so who would choose paper over these activities? Lack of technology may still be a barrier but the government has vowed to step in. Likewise video and audio files can be made on a mobile phone so huge kit isn't needed. 

Once the work has been submitted giving feedback is crucial but it is also crucial that it is understood. How often have you read a text and thought there was a tone or an agenda? Giving feedback digitally can have the same effect. We need to make sure our comments are taken on board. So why are we typing them and running the risk of them being misinterpreted? Why are we not videoing our feedback to give it a more personal touch? Ok I don't like videoing myself either but it is an option! Why don't we leave a voice not on a file rather than a track changes comment? Surely that makes it more personal and means it is more likely to be understood? You are you, the way you communicate is your way. Whoever you are trying to connect with is seeking out that part of you. In using your own words and making it personal you will be staying connected. SJ

Home Schooling Part 2

Home schooling wasn't something I ever planned on. I think my kids benefit from being around other kids, they benefit from their teachers rich experiences, I like them being away and at school 9am-3pm! I don't think this has changed as I don't believe I am home schooling now. I am educating them at home as I do normally on a weekend through our experiences as a family and we are topping up with a bit of structured reading, writing and numeracy tasks on top. I didn't consciously choose to home school, I didn't agree to deliver a full curriculum at home. I am merely helping out whilst school is closed. My kids are missing their friends and luckily we all live locally so often we socially distantly accidentally bump into kids on our daily walk. We have a group whatsapp and can share with his classmates and their parents there. His and my close mum pals can video call. It isn't the same but it is the best I can do and they are staying connected.

The bit I cannot fulfill is that relationship with their teachers. That connection, that understanding that belief that they can do anything their teacher asks them to do. I am mum, I am boring, I am a nagger who feeds them. I do not have that yellow aura glowy halo that they see when they look at their teachers. I am someone who is stopping them from playing in asking them to do boring work. I know I am not alone, it is a common source of discussion with my pals. As the one who is an educator though, everyone looks to me to help, I have little to give!

One thing that has helped me is a structure, something simple like maths one day, English the next, enrichment or science project followed by a maths day and an English day. We do school work straight after breakfast. That way they haven't wandered far by this point and I can sometimes even keep them in their seats after breakfast to get them to do their work straight away! Luckily our school is a faith school so we have daily prayers and updates from the school to share, this also helps them stay connected. It also helps me in the pretense that any misbehaviour will be reported back as I clearly have a direct line to school! 

Another thing that has helped is to hold the belief that I am not home schooling. I don't have to cover the entire curriculum. I had a call from a pal in tears as war had broken out with her son who refused to do any work for her and she was terrified that he was going to fall behind when they return to school as he was already at risk. I explained my view to her that we are not home schooling and everyone will be in the same position when we return. She hadn't seen my point of view before, she was putting herself under too much pressure, instantly causing friction before she began.

Parents are teachers, we know what is best for our child, but we teach through rich family experiences that a teacher cannot generate. Teachers are not parents and they teach through their own expertise of the curriculum and knowing what is best for your child. Lockdown hasn't changed this. Parents trying to become teachers isn't the answer. We are helping and supporting our children in their education but we are adding in some more structured work to help this support as we are away from our kid's teachers longer than the usual 2 day weekend. Parents need to give themselves a break, it is a tough enough job without taking on a new teaching career too. SJ

Why don't we celebrate success more?

I was sat reading a new publication and I saw the writers name and thought 'oh I know someone called that'. A quick Google later and I see yes it is the same person. Now this person has worked with me for years. We talked all the time when we were in the building but yet I had no idea they were passionate about this topic. Nor that they were so much of an expert that they would write for a magazine. I was shocked and very proud. I quickly messaged the author and they replied with, "oh that? Yeah I write for X and that is the new smaller version" I was even more shocked. This person was so blaise about their efforts. They were very modest. I said to them "if I was as brilliant as you I would be shouting from the rooftops" we laughed. Now as soon as the words left my mouth I thought 'hang on a minute, would I though?' 

Recently I have been asked to participate in a discussion as an expert for an event. Have I told anyone? No! I'm not an expert in anything so why would I tell anyone I was about to make a fool of myself, right? I'm not talking about my own imposter syndrome, I'm talking about the need that we feel to be modest. We can't be seen to be the ones celebrating our own success, what will everyone else think? We can't be the one making a song and dance, everyone will think we are tools! Why do we think like this?

Another colleague is the exact opposite. They shout about everything. They shout so loud and so often that when something actually brilliant happened everyone missed it. It's a boy who cried wolf scenario! Why have we stopped listening to them? Maybe because we think that they are completely the opposite of us, and they should have some modesty. But how dare we force our views onto this person, let them shout I say!

A great inspiration of mine is the queen of being modest and shouting loud. She is very softly spoken and gentile. Yet when someone does something brilliant she is the one shouting from the rooftops. She has the balance right, for me. Yet some have told me that she shouts too loud and should be more modest so for them she doesn't have the balance right.

It comes back round to, you can't please all of the people all of the time. We know this, but yet we are constantly trying to please everyone! That's why we don't shout from the rooftops about our success. So we need an advocate, someone to shout for us. We need to collectively be the one watching each others back. When we see someone do something brilliant we should shout from the rooftops. We have to, otherwise some voices will be lost and some will be ignored. We can't please all of the people all of the time but we can please ourselves. It is ok to be brilliant, even if it is a short burst before we return to normality, it is important that we celebrate our success. We need to be the ones to shout for others, and karma will lead someone to shout for us. SJ

Metaskills

I can't recall someone asking me how do you learn? And if they did it is so uncommon I've filed it away in my brain to not be relevant.  The art of teaching yourself is called autodidacticism:

noun

the process or practice of learning a subject without a teacher or formal education; self-education:

What I find most interesting about this is, it requires you to create your own theory of learning and produce an internal framework of how you might learn a new subject or practice. For example, i’ve recently been doing some basic wood work in the garden, just to smarten up my bedding plant borders. Pinterest is great for garden projects, so i start looking at what else i can do. Now I've mastered some of the basic skills, my next project is to build a log store. I am building on the next level of my basic skills to take my work to the next level.  In this day and age we have the ability to access so much information to teach ourselves new skills the possibilities are endless.          

Personally, I'm a do’er. I like to have a go, I find this works best for me. This is called learning by doing. If you have ever completed an online course you may find that you have struggled with discipline or motivation to do the work. The eagerness to click next to see the green tick on a completed section often overrides the purpose of the learning. I am guilty of this also, but this has led me to the question: did I really have an eagerness to learn the content?

Online learning requires a large volume of doing, much the same as the conventional classroom space. Online learning allows you to find something that interests you, something you believe is worthy of learning much easier than ever before. Watching videos on youtube of how to build a log store has provided me with multiple designs and methods, feeding my own internal framework to complete the project. Unfortunately, much of the education we provide learners today they may deem as not worthy, or be unmotivated to engage with it as they are not interested.  This presents a real problem or does it provide an opportunity?

I see my role as a teacher now in a different way to when I first began in the profession years ago. I see myself as the person to open learners eyes to the possible. It's about stretching boundaries, focusing on goals and seeing the bigger picture. Education should light the fire for people to want to learn more, not just teach them what's in the prospectus. Sadly, a lack of learner motivation or just not knowing what to do leads to low engagement and a lack of drive. 

Metaskills in the digital age are more vital than ever. Skills such as critical thinking, emotional intelligence and imagination need to be harnessed and developed to provide today's young people with the skills needed for work in the future. We need to work with students on how they learn best, they might not know but it gets them thinking about their own internal learning theory and framework. Lifelong learning is here to stay, the opportunity to learn new skills is now so accessible, people can change careers with relative ease if they can be a champion of self education. 

It's sad that on many occasions we get bogged down with teaching content, in the same old ways year after year. This is not helped by how we assess learning, for example a GCSE exam in maths does not allow for a creative project to be used to showcase learning. This means of assessment is not realistic to the future workplace and is not inspiring or motivating for the majority of people who sit this exam every year. 

Learning needs to feed our desires, it needs to light the fire for a love of gaining new skills and knowledge for the long term and not just to pass a test. Technology can support us in helping learners find their path and their passions. Most importantly we need to support them in developing their own learning theory, the internal framework for success. We need to celebrate it and not forget learning is a marathon and not a sprint - there is no end to the possibilities, it just needs the motivation to start and the discipline to finish.

Make Mistakes, Thats How we Learn

When was the last time you praised a mistake? Perhaps you never have? The way we learn is through making mistakes and reflecting on them to support our next steps in learning. 

The current COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the volume of scrutiny for mistakes. In this scenario lives are at risk, it is safe to say the stakes are extremely high. But to expect an approach without mistakes is unrealistic. We see many countries learning from each other's experiences and sharing the knowledge to support one another through this crisis. Perhaps now more than ever before in the history of the world, education establishments through the use of technology and a common goal are connected. Perhaps this is an opportunity for schools in England to speak with schools in Italy or Spain about lock down education. Perhaps an american college might share their experiences with a school in West Yorkshire. Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps. 

We have seen many examples of teachers trying to use technology to support learning of their students. We have also seen schools sending home packs of printed paper worksheets for children to continue to try to learn. Two very different approaches but one common goal, learning must try to continue. Technology certainly has its benefits on sending home stacks of paper. It doesn't take a red brick university education to understand that. So why are we still sending packs of paper home for children to work through with limited guidance and interaction with others bar their family?

What an amazing opportunity this crisis has presented us with, the opportunity to try something new and face our fears. Things we may regularly say to our students but do we say these things to our colleagues? More importantly do we allow them the space and time to get it wrong? Is your school or college leader pushing you to make the leap?

We must allow mistakes to occur or innovation never will. 

We are all learners, has always been my personal belief. My teacher trainers' words of advice to me were always "never stop being a student". These words have always stuck with me. I've noticed as I become older I now know what's best for me in my learning and how I learn best. For example, the lock-down has given me time to ponder some home improvements and this led to an IKEA home delivery (no meatballs!). Flat pack furniture has always been a nemesis of mine. The guides that come with them might as well be written in Russian i just can't get my head round them. Luckily i have a partner who can and the power of internet videos to get me through. The most noticeable change i have realised is i'm more willing to try and take my time to get it right. Yes bolts and screws get put in the wrong places, but it's fine i reflect, i look back and i make the changes required. 

We must have a similar methodology in education. We can see the end product but we may take different routes to get there, and more than likely we will need help along the way. Through the lock down I have been working with a variety of teachers to support learning through digital platforms. It's been at times frustrating but also rewarding to see some who may have never used tools such as Google Classroom give it a go. Enforced change isn't always welcome, but my hope through this crisis is that teachers have seen it is possible, i can overcome my fears and I can give it a go. 

This leads nicely onto leaders within schools and colleges across the country. A shift in mindset here is key to future success. I engage with twitter most days and the general consensus is positive however as expected negativity shows its ugly head too often. We must allow our teachers the opportunity to grow into using digital technology in education, giving them the space to fail, but praising them when they do. The 'new normal' needs to become a habit for this volume of technology use is to continue. Whether you are for the use of technology or against its use in education there is no argument, it has a part to play. Snow days - no issues accessing learning at home. Can't get into school or college due to rail strikes - no issues accessing learning at home. Learning is everywhere and accessible if we break free of the chains of the normal. 

In conclusion, I really hope that many peoples eyes have been open to the possibilities technology presents us with. Many teachers are focused on the traditional which I have no problem with, but we live in a world which seems to be moving away from the traditional and shifting the sands of time. Learners need to be equipped in different ways, they don't just need to know the answers they need to create the questions. I will leave you with one final question.... What's the worst that could happen? 

Working From Home

We are on week 6 of working from home now. I'm not sure we thought we would be working from home for this long, I'm not sure we knew what we were thinking at the start. As educators we have been told it is business as usual for us and our learners. So whilst the commute is a lot shorter not a lot else should  have changed. But a lot has changed. 

Yes we can see each other virtually and check in and hold meetings but you can't pop to Kerry's office to ask her a quick question, you have to wait until she has fed the kids, walked the dog and checked her emails to book in a video call for tomorrow by which time you have forgotten what it is you needed to ask her. So that has made us work smarter surely, surely we are becoming more independent and working a lot more things out on our own? Or are we just moving on because we don't know the answer and we will see if we need to come back to it later? I think it is a bit of both. I fear that there will be a series of small pockets of mess that need tidying up scattered all over the place in a much vaster workplace as staff will have achieved more through their new independence.

I'm lucky in that I have always had autonomy from my manager to undertake my role and I am encouraged to be risky and creative. Lockdown hasn't changed this. He likes it when I bring a new crazy project idea and we see massive staff engagement with it. He measures impact not hours. But this causes another problem. I can achieve impact in a short amount of time, not being big headed it is a combination of my role and our measures of impact. Yet I sit religiously a my desk for my 8 hours a day breaking for homeschooling lessons with my kids and skipping lunch. Why? 

There are 2 things at play. Number 1 I like my job, I like my kids but I like my job too. So when I am being paid to be at work, I like to be  at work. I like the buzz of achieving things, solving problems and working with my Driving Digital buddy. Number 2 I am fearful of losing my job. Now this is an almost irrational fear, I say almost as anyone can be furloughed at the moment but thankfully no one in my team is as yet. I know it is unlikely to lose my job. Not impossible though. 

Do I worry that the clock watching police will come and take my job away if I don't do my 8 hours a day? No it's not that. It's because we don't know what is coming next. Will my furloughed husband return to work leaving me with my kids and a job to manage from home? If so I will need a few hours in the bank to cover me as I won't be able to do my 8 hours a day then. Will my kids return to school and nursery on 2 weekly timetables? If so I will need a few hours in the bank to cover me as I won't be able to do my 8 hours a day then. Yet I look at my colleagues who are currently working, like me, in the same place of work, with kids at home and I see they can't attend our meeting because their son needs to do a video call with his dance teacher. No one queries it, no one asks them to work their hours back up. Everyone is flexible, which is great. But I don't need that flexibility at the minute, my worry is will I be able to access it when I do need it? 

The joys of working from home cannot be ignored. The little interruptions by my kids on a video call when they bring me some slime to pretend to eat really does enhance my working day. The remaining on my knee through the video call and randomly pressing buttons on the keyboard doesn't enhance my day but it does make me smile! The joy of looking out on my garden and my neighbours and giving a friendly wave as people go for their once a day walk enhances my working day. The ability to work remotely via video meetings and see my colleagues faces enhances my day.

I am known for struggling normally in meetings. I engage, I contribute, I do all the right things. But I really struggle when people go off topic, when people take too long, when meetings overrun or when the agenda isn't followed. Yet working from home has meant people are more focussed in meetings, they stay on topic, they watch their timings more and meetings end when they should. I think this is the best change in working practice to come out of lockdown that i have seen. The challenge now is to capture those new skills teams have acquired and embed them into the new normal. Thankfully we won't be physically returning to work for some time so these new skills may become habits by the time we return. SJ

Home Schooling Part 1

I have been an educator for almost 10 years now. I like to think that I am OK at my job. I know what a good lesson looks like, I know how to check for progress, I can give feedback and next steps etc. Yet home schooling in lockdown has caused me challenges that I wasn't expecting. I expected some challenges in terms of managing content, it's not my age range specialty, obviously the relationship with my kids and them wanting to engage would be my main challenge. The last day at school I was given a huge pack of fun educational things to do at home. This wasn't useful. I knew how to make play doh in the microwave already. Now this wasn't school's fault, they didn't know what to do either, it was all very quick and sudden. 

So I dutifully created a login for the age appropriate teacher resource site and began planning some lessons. Whoa did I struggle! There was so much content. Sentence prompts, they look easy enough, I will begin with those. Cue 1587 resources on sentence prompts. How do I know which is a good task? How do I know my kids will be able to do it? How do I change it from portrait to landscape in this website? This made me think, how are other parents, non educators managing? It was very overwhelming.

I think that there is a wider problem in that we haven't learnt the skill of curation yet or it certainly isn't embedded yet in our ways. We teach the 6C's in education settings but as adults, leaders, educators of a different generation of when the internet first arrived, we haven't been taught this skill. Part of my job is to help educators create LMS content, Google Classrooms for example. All too often I see reams and reams of information in a stream, no topics, no structure. The educator has posted articles that they like, assessment tasks, slides from class, wellbeing updates, contact details for pastoral care...all good stuff but how does a learner access it easily, how do they find what they need?

In a social media world we are used to pinging a link, sharing something funny, it's easy. But as educators and leaders we need to adapt to a different skill set when sharing with people. We need to be explicit about what we want them to access. Google Classroom (disclaimer I am a Google Certified Trainer) has some great tools for this. Material posts are when you want learners to read something. Assignments are when you want them to do something etc. However educators need to use the topics tools too. A good place to start is always, admin tasks, pastoral information, exam information and then subject specific tasks. Learners can then navigate easier by clicking into the topics they need and then searching in a smaller area for the information they are looking for. 

Even with these tools staff still need to curate the content, it's not a case of sharing every article that you see. There's a saying, think before you click. We should extend this to think before you click the share button. Is it the best example of what you are trying to share? Does it add value to your discussion? Will the experience be enhanced by you sharing this content? Tools like Wakelet help with this. Wakelet lets you pop all your bits in to one place, all your websites, articles, infographics from the web and then you can trim your content down and curate it on Wakelet. Why not share your Wakelet board and your number 1 example? Let people view your collection of resources and ideas and then promote your best example. Surely that is a more positive experience than asking people to scroll through streams of posts?

So home schooling got off to a slow start, I struggled to plan and access the content, spoiler alert, there are further challenges ahead in my home schooling journey...SJ