Friday Reflection!

I've seen this before!

Twitter and the real world!

+Philip Spalding  

also on holc.co.uk and twitter: @HOLC1

Half-term week in Suffolk and Essex.  Little call on my time from Cambridgeshire so have been working on the Haverhill Online Learning Community.  Have been confident enough in the content and where we are going to start to use the twitter account!  

Twitter does require a bit of effort as I have found over the years that I have had personal twitter accounts.  Finding people to follow is not a problem.  Getting people to follow and continue to follow is the challenge.  Choosing who you follow back when they have followed you is also a judgement call.  Have had this on Google+ Communities recently where obviously some people passionate in their interests  have invited me to some potentially dubious groups that at best conflict a little with the web presence I am trying to maintain.  Once it's out on the web, it's out or exposed so to speak!  Some of the invites are enough to scare the horses (old English saying)!

Gathering pace this week then, HOLC has tweeted a bit,  but not a lot?  In the #fridayreflection for HOLC I have described the meeting I attended yesterday organised by +Elaine Carr of Best of Haverhill at a local hotels' conference venue.  The value of meeting people such as the local mayor and other stakeholder groups will often only reveal themselves on these stages.  You cannot do it all online in a local community you have to meet face to face!  It also provides that personal connection that builds lasting local networks!  

MOOCs this week have seen Coursera become the largest online campus.  The numbers at 2.8 million are still relatively small compared to total populations of students in universities globally but it is massive grow than in just a year!  I struggle at the moment to find the time and inclination to enage with the MOOCs I have signed up for at present.  Work commitments and other interests such as HOLC are taking precedence.  The fact that I already have a Masters and I am not depending on future advancement  upon completing the course are other factors.  It will be interesting to see the measure of drop outs at the end of the first year from the people like myself who have joined out of curiosity to see how they work.  

Genuine figures of engagement of students who are using the MOOC to further their career as opposed to attending a full time residential campus course will be difficult at the measure in my opinion at the moment.  the question will be are they sustainable from a financial point of view?  Should they be sustainable from a financial point of view as a direct replacement for campus based instruction (or do I mean learning)?  Should they be considered as part of the role of providing access to universal education that Universities/Colleges have to satisfy in order to be allowed to grant degrees?

So my reflection for this week is can the MOOC stand on it's own or is it part of the blend of learning offered by Universities and Colleges for the benefit of society?

Next week getting back with the plan for spending more time on the OLC Google + Community that +Jeannie Crowley facilitates and trying to do some Python Programming on the Raspberry Pi! 

 

  

Friday Reflection!

UK Education changes!

+Philip Spalding

A major week for educational announcements!  The Ebacc that was is not to be (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21363396).   The much needed re-establishment of confidence UK education qualifications took another twist as stakeholder groups had their input taken on board.  As usual there were claims of U-turns on policy.  This negative phrase goes back to the Mrs. Thatcher declaration the "Lady is not for turning".  Since this time reversals of thinking have become even more associated with failure rather than compromise.  We try to teach children in school is tolerance, considering the other persons point of view, weighing up evidence and making decisions based on a balanced view.

Parliament and politicians reinforce the idea that one individuals opinions are either wholly right or wholly wrong.  In a complex issue such as educational qualifications we have a lot of vested interests from subject experts to exam boards who publish their own textbooks to go with courses that wish to preserve the present system.  Understandable as they have been allowed to create the status quo.  The idea of market forces and demand moulding educational choices has faltered in the educational sphere under the influence  of league tables.  Innovative curricular are often shunned in schools as they take the safe route of following the materials that have all the information produced by a limited number of publishers and exam boards.  Selection of exam boards qualifications are often based on the perceived difficulty of the exam board.

A new curriculum was launched for State Schools.  Again the reporting on this issue shows the combative point scoring nature of British politics.  Academies can choose to write their own curriculum but with Ofsted judging against a fixed set criteria it would take a very brave new academy to risk being out of step. The system appears broken and needs fixing.  All parties should be working to a solution that will not be used just for one parliament. It needs to be allowed to run long enough to be effective in bringing about confidence in young people's skills.  The educational establishment needs to step back and be objective rather than protecting it's own position.  Pupils have an 11 year training period (two and a bit parliaments life times).  The effect of changes at year 5 will therefore not be seen for another 11 years by employers interested in recruiting a skilled workforce.  At the moment the pace of revision means that 16 year old pupils over a five year period can be sitting very different exams.  The GCSE is therefore not a very easy way to compare candidates for jobs and college places who span a range of interests. We have a conveyor belt of school, college jobs that rely on the same age group

The question has to be asked who are the GCSEs actually for, the schools or the pupils who have to enter the stage of their life.  Are they fit passports for a modern society?  Should basic qualifications in English, Maths and Sciences be sat at 16?  Why not 14? We used to test at this age.  The system was scrapped not so much because it did not give a good judgement of skills but because the system collapsed due to a marking fiasco.  With the growth of University Technical Colleges and apprenticeships the need for large Secondary schools delivering academic qualifications to the age of 16 is disappearing.  With the raising of the formal school leaving age to 17 this summer and 18 the following year makes the qualification sat at 16 as a test at school leaving age irrelevant.

The impact of e-learning has not been considered in the new curriculum other than introducing computing as a subject instead of ICT (Information Communication Technology).  As a former head of ICT (and Science first) I have always considered ICT to be a tool and not a subject.  To be simplistic presentation and communication tools such as PowerPoint and  Word should be taught and USED in English.  Spreadsheets taught and USED in Maths and Science.  Use of YouTube and social media taught and USED in Languages which to my thinking does include English (or Communication as it is now titled in some schools), for that matter we should use languages in other subjects as science as well.  Design and CAD packages used in Resistant Materials (this used to be woodwork and metal work) and design subjects.  Where computing will fit has not been stated.  In the EBacc it was to be the fourth science.   Should it be part of Maths?  Do we have the science teachers (who generally biologists in the UK) who can deliver coding in two languages, one of which is text based?  Are we going to have a Scratch and Python literate (Python is available for the Raspberry Pi) school population?   Are we going to have e-texts and BYOD (bring your own devices) for the classroom?  Can school networks cope with 950 or more Wi-Fi connected devices?  Does education have to involve all pupils being in a building at once if e-learning is embraced?

A fundamental question of education's future has been the overriding theme in the news.  My own little project of the Haverhill Online Learning Community (HOLC) has been gathering viewers locally this week with the Local History Week.  I have had a lot views of the timeline and some expression of interest, converting this into active members is again the challenge.  I have had a good meeting with the local MP, who is also Minister of Skills and can be seen pictured sitting next to Michael Gove in this article,  for advice and publicity.  Watch this space for further developments.  Next week  HOLC  is engaged in a little Urban Gardening  which will feature in the Blog   and on the Website.

I will also have to find some time to re-engage with all the Google+ Communities.  Full time teaching in Harlow for the past four weeks has been instructive on some levels for gathering pupil's opinions on use of Tablets and how they see the education they are receiving preparing them for later life.  However, there are not enough hours in the day looking forward to finishing this assignment next Thursday and working a bit closer to home! Have also to buy new devices this week, HP netbook and Kindle have all died!  Looking to go as much Linnux, Chrome and Android as possible, but will still need one windows based Laptop unfortunately.  Expensive times!

Friday reflection!

That Wow factor!

+Philip Spalding 

February has arrived!  The end of the month and how has 2013 been so far? Busy!  

The online learning experiences are coming thick and fast at the moment!  Almost too much as also trying to the day job!  Finding the right routine and the enthusiasm  to do the travelling is the essence and the key to succeeding in trying to leap those even minor buildings!

The Science Wow factor for the week from the net has been this from a maker site, the $5 projector .  Really simple idea great for teaching optics far more impact than traditional practicals for majority of children.  How great for awe and wonder in the phone culture!

A week of great changes for education announced in the UK with  the Ebacc causing most controversy.   In my opinion the sticking point with all this is the pre-occupation of using the word academic and non-academic to describe the educational outcomes of the different qualifications path.  The general view point is academic good, vocational bad (borrowing from George Orwell).  This may be due to the make up of the UK parliament being predominantly "middle class", although you probably cannot get more middle class in England than ex-army officers.  We do need to break the cultural link between the traditional stereotypes of "academic" and "non-academic" students being related to socio-economic groupings.  This has been more than a bit of millstone around the neck of the English education system ever since the first education act (and before) in 1870.  Universal education as opposed to mass education is still the debating point.  More recently who is paying for the education is also an issue.

Haverhill Online Learning Community (HOLC), OLC, Coursera Course and  other projects have been a little slow this week owing to the daily commitments of a drive to Harlow.  HOLC  has drawn the interest of the local MP (Member of Parliament) who is also a minister in the Department of Work.  Will have a chat with him next week one to one and see how it goes!

Have started the Cousera MOOC from Edinburgh University e-learning and digital cultures.  Have some videos to watch this morning and a hangout later today.  Will compare this to the edX  course which ton be honest was extremely time consuming as it is a full undergraduate module as if you were attending lectures etc!  Some good links to learning platforms which I will at some point share some if not all.

Full day of working own projects today including being trained online on the Blackboard LMS.  School I am working at the moment having a conference day.  All staff attending have been asked to have a twitter account up and running for collaborative interaction (how social this becomes when account "open" all the time and you can be expected to respond "out of hours" will be interesting to watch in the first few weeks) .  

Next week move onto local history with HOLC.  Have not proceeded as far as wanted to with the Telework Week but will revisit. 

So Cat at least will be happy to have me around all day at least!

 

Friday Reflection!

A British Way M-way on
a warm and sunny day!

Social Media use in the classroom!

A change of scene this week!  We had a snow day on Monday in East Anglia.  My normal haunt north of Cambridge during the week was shut down due to the icy conditions.  Instead I was asked if I would go to a new venue 40 odd (and if you have driven down a British M-way first thing in the morning very odd in most cases) miles down the M11 for the rest of the week. "Essex boy and girl" country, not really  since the stereo-type was invented by DJs and newscasters in closed little boxes called studios IMO!

The Essex school child is no different from the Cambridgeshire or Suffolk school child.   Only they have a little more brashness and over confidence from being close to London.  I did my teacher training in Clacton and Harwich, and taught at the school on the next junction up the motorway so have had experience of the Essex dialect before.

I walked into  the school and attended a briefing.  I was intrigued to hear they were promoting the use of twitter within lessons for "brainstorming" sessions.  Wordpress was also being promoted as a way of generating student participation and engagement.  Surprisingly given the age range Facebook Pages were also included.  Good idea to use social media as  a tool not sure about using unmoderated pages.  This might be an aspect fraught with pitfalls.  Google Apps for education is a better solution since a gated community is set up!

Pleased to hear that the use of QR codes for PE instruction was being tried.  The QR code via smartphone is linked to a "how to video" for gymnastics so pupils can self-teach or peer teach the movements.  This can also be accessed at home so meaningful PE homework can be set. Here is the sticking point with this, the access at home bit!  Not every pupil has access to the internet at home or the devices to view the content.  Peer pressure may result in either access to this or create a digital divide.    

Finally this week the National School Results Data has been published.  The floor target for all schools was to reach 40% of pupils achieving 5 good GCSEs at A-C grades (or equivalent eg BTEC) including Maths and English .  Below this floor target and an Inspector Calls, unlike the play you do know they have been and they do record what was said and they set targets. The overall achievement of pupils was 59% reaching the benchmark.  So more good results than bad!  The more important measure of Value Added, the progress they make since Key Stage 2, again glossed over by the media.  If the school has a score less than 1000 it means the pupils on average are making less than expected progress from the age of 11 to 16.  This is a better indication of fitness for purpose than first past the post measures. Take up of entry to the English Bacca and the success rates always a bit of a puzzle.  not sure what to make of it, or  that I have  a considered opinion for a blog.

Haverhill Online Learning Community is near the end of it's Hacktivate Nursery Rhyme week.  I could spend a lot of time on this and not go out to earn money on the day job.  However, the idea is to try to get the community to produce the projects.  Will keep trying to put as much as possible into the site.  Worked Monday on the content to include self-publishing.  Will work Saturday to add more content and start the Telework Week next week.  Will continue with the cyclical calendar programme so we revisit each project every eight to ten weeks.  Time Management becomes a factor especially after a hour commute down the M11 and a hour back.  The M11 must be one of the busiest routes into London!  

Was going to visit the BETT show in London next week but do not think I will have time as will still be going down M11 until at least Tuesday!  Busy week as starting a Coursera Course on Digital Education supplied by Edinburgh University.  Will see how this compares to the edX course I have been registered on supplied by Harvard University. I say registered as I have not touched the materials since beginning of December.  And that is the point with MOOCs, it is touching the materials. Not convinced yet that  it is always a  useful learning experience since tutorials and hangouts are asynchronous if you are in a different time zone!

Friday Reflection!

Somebody left their Freezer door open!

Well we have had an icy blast from the north or was it Siberia?  the snow came down on Monday which was not too bad. I have been travelling to Ely about 30 miles away everyday (and will do today as well) since Tuesday.  Luckily knowing the area I have avoided the 2 to 3 hours queues on the A14 and A11 roads when accidents have happened.  More snow predicted for later today but hopefully I will be on my way home before that starts.  

The temperatures have been on average about -5 C.  Might not seem a big deal to other countries but it is in the UK.  The get of jail free card played by the local authorities is that we rarely have these conditions.  If rarely (but frequently have them in winter) have them then the contingencies should be in place rapidly.  This is potentially where Teleworking should kick in, relieving the roads, the emergency services and the cost of heating buildings above frost protection.  It is not usually the first day when it snows that there are staffing problems since most will attempt the first day.  The subsequent days when people develop colds or are more stressed owing to the journey to work is an added problem.  All those commuters sitting on iced up and delayed trains are not being productive!  

Anyway the Friday Reflection.  It was good to get into the classroom this week and see how ideas of online learning could be matched as an aid to traditional class room learning.  The blended learning scenario.  We always assume a lot of prior knowledge when we walk into a classroom whether we are a regular teacher of that class or a substitute or supply teacher.  There is more worth in several "I get it" exclamations than an hour of  child minding and hoping that what you have imparted has the building blocks to support it in the first place.  In science (my subject) one dispelling of a misconception which can last a lifetime (ie the mass/weight conundrum for many pupil) and can often being the difference between the light coming on for the rest of the curriculum, not just science.  That little bit of success and understanding can be the brick that causes the dam preventing  further learning AND understanding.

Assumption is a problem with MOOCs when they are too big.  Overcoming the group inertia against against admitting you do not understand.  The hierarchy that is being set precludes as in traditional settings questioning of the instructor whether they are Professors of Oxford, Cambridge or the local Community College and school.  Challenges such as this are best addressed in a peer to peer online learning community or tutorial setting.  Moves away from tutorials by British Universities has been a feature with some arts courses having only 6 hours taught time a week.  You have to question are people being given a fair deal when this happens?   

Will update the Haverhill Online Learning Community Computer week later in the day.  To quote  the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland, if don't stop now I am going to be "late for a very" important date in Ely! 

Friday Reflection!

Week 2 of 2013 and Still going!

We are approaching the end of the second week of 2013.  This week I have started to take a little bit of a perspective of the size of the task I have taken on and the work needed so far for Haverhill Online Learning Community (HOLC).  I have used my new Google profile picture (pictured left) to illustrate the effect the effort has had on some days.  The cat appreciates a comfortable sleeping place and the fact that I am not in front of a screen!  A bit of quality purring going on!  That said there is starting to be a bit of satisfaction in the fact content is starting to be added to the website.  Recognition of the idea by others (thanks +Gail Poulin and +Rob Perhamus for your Google Plus comments) and it's potential value for a Learning Community.

HOLC itself is a relatively small community at present.  We are in the establishment phase at the moment.  The lag phase (to borrow a term for biology and bacteriology) so to speak of establishing a new community. this is the stage of adaptation to the needs of the community by interaction.  Once a critical mass of participants the log or exponential growth phase should be steady.  Reaching a stationery phase of growth is the difficult stage to recognise.  Four scenarios may exist once a stationary phase is reached.  Firstly the community remains the same and is limited by the "space" of the interactions and activities   Secondly a  death phase of the community starts to take over as interest and engagement is lost.  Thirdly a community interaction puts the community back into the lag phase or growth phase.  The fourth scenario is the formation of a new colony or community separate or in addition to the original community.  There are precedents in Ancient Greek society for this which resulted in the formation of new colonies such Marseille (Massalia), Syracuse (in Sicily) and Emporium (Spain).  These examples still survive today but do not necessarily (or have to speak) Greek because they now have their own identity.    

Measuring the success of the community and being able to recognise the different phases is a  skill of the moderator or facilitator of the community.  The last thing that needs to be done  when a community appears to be going into the death phase is to throw the baby out with the bath water!  Do we judge objectively success of a community by numbers of members?  Do we judge it by the number of active members?  There are a lot of Google+ Communities with 2000+ (in some some cases 30000+) that have been set up.  I have joined some of these larger communities and it is quite apparent rapidly that there are only a relatively few core active members.  There are a lot of "lurkers".  But as we have discussed in the #oflc set up +Jeannie Crowley these may become active when there is something they feel they have an opinion on.  A index of Active or lurker/size of community (AL/C) within  a time frame could be a measure of the success of the communities aims and the ownership of that community by it's members.

Is the success criteria  of AL/C  a measure of the quality of engagement?  I suppose it all depends on which stage of the lifecycle of the community you are in.  Subjectively as a facilitator you may have the success criteria that establishment shows that you have a successful community.  Objectively the participants may say the quality of the interactions and the scope of the material might be their success criteria and why they joined.  Pictures of cats might not be everybody's cup of tea, for which other communities might be a more appropriate forum (honest only use the four legged assistant for illustration purposes).

Meeting diverse success criteria are some of the  challenges that the online community community and facilitators must face in the evolution of the online learning community.  MOOCs which are the longest established are undergoing a possible  entry into a stationery phase.  I say stationery phase as it has been identified by some that their  free model of engagement might not be sustainable  against the other demands that their constituent universities might have to satisfy.  

The success of an  educational model is a trade of the finite price of what the market is prepared to pay for and a floor price at which providers are unable to go below.  This is possibly where the Open Learning Community has it's place.  The initiator of awe and wonder in Life Long Learning.  Where certification is required the MOOCS take over.  A community that keeps a core perspective of why it was set up will probably be adaptable to it's members needs.  Also there has to be a realistic view that a community  can be considered to be a living organism as well.  The health of an Online Learning Community is not  necessarily judged as to does it meet the success criteria of the initiators.  The quality of the social interactions might overwhelm the learning aspects.  For instance the idea of visiting a garden together in a group to learn the  names of flowers might have been the original intention for forming a Garden Group.  The social aspect of having a day out might be goal of the people participating.

A fairly wordy discussion of the life cycle of an Online Learning Community.  The phase that Haverhilll Online Learning Community and ukonlinelearningcommunities.org are in definitely the lag phase.  The task for this week is to try to publicise the community to grow size of the community.  I have a number of meetings coming up including attendance of the Best of Haverhill event organised by +Elaine Carr which providea a great opportunity for local networking of the "traditional" face to face variety.  Will have to remember to take some business cards along!     

ESOL on Haverhill Online Learning Community

English Week at Haverhill Online Learning Community.

+Philip Spalding 

English as second Language (ESOL) is often as native speakers overlooked.   People that work and live in Haverhill may not necessarily always be proficient in languages.  HOLC have now started to provide some resources for people to improve their language.  

A page detailing information of where to learn languages in the local area is being developed.  At present it includes a link to the local provider West Suffolk College and their course which start on 17th April 2013 in Menta Centre in Haverhill.  As we find more relevant links these will be added in time.  On the main page for ESOL there is a link to Haverhill Library.  The Library is a great place to find books in different languages at both children's and adult level.  By joining the library you have access to the county's resources for free!

The main ESOL Page contains a number of links to sub pages for Beginners, Elementary, Intermediate and Advanced level.  Within each sub-page are details of vocabulary and you might expect to know at the various levels.  Online resources and lessons in English only will appear on these pages.  If you are going to learn English you may as well be immersed in the language from the start.  As the year progresses we will revisit the pages and add more content in relation to the Calendar of Events . 

Join in in the community by contributing resources and experiences of your own.  There are opportunities to blog, learn how to make online resources lessons and become peer mentors for other learners.  To join click on the Link (https://plus.google.com/communities/109558443415099915114).  

The Digital Divide: Challenge for 2013!

Web Link!

Accessing the digital village!

+Philip Spalding 

On the face of it the UK is a developed country.  We have generally enough food, we have freedom of expression, we are generally well housed , we have free state provided healthcare and basic education.  These are some of the hallmarks we traditionally associate with a developed or first world country!

The  criteria to assess how developed a country may be is rapidly changing.  With the advent of the digital economy and the global village, we are now seeing the world becoming increasingly connected.  Barriers to information exchange and trade provided by traditional political boundaries of countries and local governments are not in general of great influence.  Technology giants such as Apple, Google, Huawei and Microsoft have been the generally drivers of the new hallmark of digital connectivity.   

Applying the hallmark of digital connectivity to measuring the UK's fitness for purpose in the global village is a relative measure.  We are doing better than most but there is a still parts of the community that are experiencing a digital desert.  The UK has approximately 750,000 school age children without access to a computer linked to the internet at home (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-20899109).  With the average size of household taken as 4 (for instance) that is 3 million people who are missing out on the digital revolution.

The estimate of 3 million does not include the elderly and other adults without access to the internet.  This is a problem as increasingly we see services like Jobcentre Plus, Taxes, Benefits and interactions with service providers such as councils and banks go online.  Seeing a "local face" behind a counter is increasingly rare.

Addressing this problem has been the "job" (more like Herculean task) of Martha Lane Fox (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10575266).  There is now a digital advisory board ( http://digital.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/2012/04/25/introducing-the-digital-advisory-board/ )  to coordinate the plan.  This has taken nearly two years to set up judging by the time stamps on the news stories and announcements.  Digital in the title  therefore does not necessarily mean it will be rapid. 

How to get the 3/4 million children online?  Problems identified include access to computers and access to  an internet connection at home.  The premise of the survey is a need for a computer (probably desktop) for access sites for homework and learning.  Up to Christmas of 2012 saw a massive leap in the sales of Tablets in the UK with 2012 been described  as the year of the Tablet (http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9781000/9781351.stm).  For the majority of the use needed for after school tasks a tablet is all that is required for most pre-Key Stage 3 tasks.  An Android seven inch tablet operating on the 4.0 release can now be found on sale for £60 pounds, less than the cost of a pay as you go mobile phone.  The internet connection is the tricky problem.  How to provide cheap cost effective connection to reduce the digital desert! More thoughts on this will appear in a related blog at (http://ukonlinelearningcommunities.blogspot.co.uk/).

2013 is going to be an exciting year.  The year we become connected.  One experiment of mine in digital connectivity is the Haverhill Online Learning Community.  Visit and join the groups or community and help us make a better digital experience!      

The Friday Reflection!

The March of the Wind Mills!
Gunfleet Sands off Clacton on a warm January Day!

First Week of Online Community Projects for 2013!

By +Philip Spalding 

Have spent the last week running the Haverhill Online Learning Community's Maths for Parents Week.   The materials have been shared through Facebook groups such as the local residents associations, the Selling and Free Page, Haverhill Business Group.  A search for Google + users has also taken place and all have been invited to join and contribute. 

After all this effort was only when I emailed one of the Advanced Skills Maths Teachers in Ipswich to aquaint him with the site that I discovered a flaw in the cunning plan.  Fully supportive as he was, he had one question "How do I join?".    Feeling a little puzzled  I wondered what  Don Quoxite moment I had been guilty of, had I been tilting at windmills in my desire to build the community (slight reference to the Wind Turbines in the photograph).  

Taking a little step back, I went to the home page of the page of the website!  What was I missing?  Looking at the so called obvious links of Contact Us, Visit the Google + Community, Facebook and Google Group pages I scratched by head for a few seconds.  They were obviously not doing their job!  Looking again at the question "How do I join?" a slight ray of  light seemed to be there.  Now on the front page of the website (https://sites.google.com/a/kritirecharge2012.co.uk/haverhill-online-learning-community/home) are the words JOIN BY Clicking Here with an embedded web link.  The sidebar also has new a web link to the Google + Community preceded by the word "join", which will take people to the community page where they can join! 

A few SlideSpeech demos, or a You Tube Video may also be needed since the sidebar has started to become a little full!  So hopefully four little words are the solution. Time will tell!  

Will need to get out there and also talk to community groups as well.  The community may have access to the internet but there is not necessarily an awareness of it's full potential.  Facebook for instance may not be the best medium to promote a community based group such as the Haverhill Online Learning Community!  Social media has it's limitations for conversion of contacts to participants!  Recently noticed that a lot of the people offering locally their services as Twitter media consultants have now changed their business activity descriptions to Marketing again!  Difficult to make a living when everybody can do itself, or as usual with local markets word of mouth does your twitter function as it has always done so!

Still it is the end of the Christmas and New Year holiday period.  The Haverhill Online Learning Community is out there!  The field has been built, (Kevin Costner reference) will they come?  Not going to stop making links and contacts, a community of 30 or so active members by mid-February is the first goal!  If you would like to participate, JOIN BY Clicking Here.  Upcoming events are listed in our Calendar (https://sites.google.com/a/kritirecharge2012.co.uk/haverhill-online-learning-community/calendar).  Look forward to speaking to you in the community page!     

Maths Week at HOLC

Website Link 

Making Maths Accessible

Maths is one of those skills that is essential to success in life.  Many of us are very good at maths because it is something that we do everyday of our lives.  Addition and subtraction is used by everybody that handles money.  This is ideally done mentally and rapidly.  In the UK the average Britain is not as skilled in maths as you would expect for a developed country, (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-20712312).  Getting a good grounding in maths is vital!

Haverhill Online Learning Community has been running a week of Maths for Parents activities.  While children are still on the holidays we have been supplying a number of resources for use.  The webpage link has some some general information.  Sub pages include Number Square and Primary Maths.  

The page Number Square has a little explanation of the resources and crucially free downloads.  Parents can download the PDF files for use with their children as they develop their Maths skills.  There are two versions of the Number Square, a Number Square with working area and a larger version.  A sample exercise has been included focussing on place value!  A word document will soon appear where parents can make their own place value grids.  SlideSpeech presentations will be added  in due course explaining more of the resources and how to use them.

The Primary Maths page is developing as the launch page for a series of sub-pages   We are covering in Primary Maths, the Early years as well as  Key Stages 1 and 2.  The pages are still being continually added to  as Haverhill Online Learning Community is a dynamic community. A "complete" website will never exist since learning is ever evolving.  One page with content that is already useful (ie has some content) is General Resources across the Primary Maths Key Stages!.  A sub-page of this Vocabulary for Maths!, seeks to inform parents of the vocabulary that their children use in conversations about maths.  Making your own resources from Magnetic A4 sheets for use on the fridge is also touched upon on the page Magnetic Resources.  On the page Useful Website for Maths Help we are starting to gather together a series of links that can be accessed for interested parents to explore further.

Maths for Parents is the first week of 2013.  We are planning another week closer to Key Stage 2 SATS week the page of which also contains some links to useful revision sites!  Maths is also being visited during Adult Learning Week (the date of which can be found looking on the Calendar of Events page).

Next week we will start to focus on Languages.  Haverhill is now a multilingual community.  English, Chinese, Polish, Urdu, Portuguese and Lithuanian are just some of the languages being spoken.  A key aspect of this is the richness languages bring to our local culture.  The Language project can be found at the page A little Good Language!

This is just a small flavour of what will be developing over the next year aimed at the needs and interests of Haverhill Online Learning Community.   Come and join us over the coming months and contribute to Life Long Learning in the Haverhill Area.  

  

The first day of 2013!

https://sites.google.com/a/
ukonlinelearningcommunities.org/
ukonlinelearningcommunities/

New Year, New Horizons!

By +Philip Spalding 

First day of new calendar year!  The intention this year is to hit the ground running with establishing online learning communities!  By the end of the year the target is to have at least two functioning learning communities operating in the UK.  One that I have run myself and one that I have inspired somebody else to set up!


The initial community we have set up is the Haverhill Online Learning Community!  The mission of the Learning Community for 2013 is to set up a peer to peer community where people are mentors and learners in rotation. The aspirational targets we have set ourselves appear in the blog post from the community http://haverhillonlinelearningcommunity.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/welcome-to-haverhill-online-learning.html.  This is a "for the people, by the people" learning community.  The blog post forms the basis for our mission charter which will be developed through the year!

In 2013 we have a number of topics we are focussing on a week or fortnight at time.  There is a sense of casting the net wide with suggested topics (that can be found at https://sites.google.com/a/kritirecharge2012.co.uk/haverhill-online-learning-community/calendar).  In the first year of any community we need to gauge the interest of  topics to that community.  We need to find  topics and projects that are relevant to people's interests in Life Long Learning! We also need to make sure that there are a range of mediums and tools to access that Life Long Learning to suit peoples needs.  While we are doing this we also need to appreciate the safety of users since we are appealing to a wide spectrum of the community!

Establishing a blog solely for the Community is one aspect of allowing many forms of particpation!  As the community develops the by line for the posts will hopefully change from +Philip Spalding to other people's views and comments!  We have no problem with people posting opinions that are controversial and may contradict other members but as long as they are done in the best possible way respecting others as individuals.  A healthy learning community whether online or offline,  is one that as the question why!   That is essentially the essence of what we are trying to establish.  The forum to ask Why? Where? What? and involve the local community collaboratively solving the questions or finding new ones.  This is the journey of Life Long Learning.

Over the coming weeks I will be covering some of the technical bits of how to use the Community Resources.  We have a great resource Study Room available for members of the community.  A presentaion will shortly be appearing on the page https://sites.google.com/a/kritirecharge2012.co.uk/haverhill-online-learning-community/the-study-room  .  This is just one of the means of collaborating we have chosen to include.  We have a Google Plus Community which can be found at https://plus.google.com/communities/109558443415099915114, by joining you can chat, hangout via video, and exchange ideas with other members of the community.  The Google Groups section is available for use, as well to keep up to date various projects and exchange information https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups&hl=en#!forum/haverhill-online-learning-community .  A Facebook Group Page exists for those comfortable with communicating through Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/HaverhillOnlineLearningCommunity).  The nature of some of these resources means that we are moderating membership along safeguarding principles.  The use of Google sites and Facebook Resources does assume that in order to join the community you must be over 13.   This is the only age or group stipulation put in place.


So by the end of 2013 we aim to have established an inclusive community for Life Long Learning.  Please, feel free to visit any of the pages.  If you feel you can contribute to the Life Long Learning of Haverhill or are just curious come and join us.  You can email us on Haverhilolc@gmail.com.

The Friday Reflection

Cat thinking it's in Charge!  You
probably realise it's an old photo!

Last thoughts for 2012?

Well we all survived the Mayan End of the world, didn't we?  I hope the festive period lived up to all expectations.  Now we are in that period of reflection for most who are not returning to work until at least the 2nd of January 2013. The end of the year review not quite ready for today but then we still have 3 days left of this one to go! 

The week has certainly been busy.  I have taken the view that if I am to grow the Haverhill Online Learning Community I would need to try and interest people in the time that they might be bored with festive TV.   The time on their hands might be pushing them towards career or lifestyle choices for 2013.  Their New Years Resolution list of good intentions is being written. With this in mind I have been avoiding the pub and the once a year drinkers and committing as much to possible to the websites, blogs and Google Plus communities.

I have picked up a few members before Christmas for the Learning Community whom I am very pleased to have on board.  I have set out a calendar of events to give a bit of focus to HOLC (Haverhill Online Learning Community).  The use of Google+ Hangouts, SlideSpeech (many thanks to +John Graves for this resource) and Google + Communities within the context of the interactions between the community I hope will prove enlightening.  The Circles feature is also being used (I will have to review some of them for relevance) to not so much as fine targeting tool but a  broadcast medium.  I have noticed there are many Google Plussers in the same circles.  It would be interesting to find out how many active Google Plussers there are actually out there!

The first resources for HOLC projects have been uploaded, a "100 Grid" for Keys stage 1 and 2 Maths for parents to download for their children to use or use with them.  A SlideSpeech presentation is needed to illustrate it's use but that should be be a mere trifle, hopefully.  This fits in with the first project on the Calendar Maths for Parents Week and the Number Square page.  Later topics range from Lifestyle and Leisure topics such as Local History, Hactivate Nursey Rhymes.  The work-life balance topic focussing on a degree of cross over in wellbeing is the Introduction to Telework Week Project.  This is one of my interests as a former director of the Telework Association. I will be building up a bank of materials and using the Google+ Hangouts and Communities Group to explore this topic in the context of Haverhill, a rural area.  A follow up week is planned to coincide with one of the local trade exhibitions.

Revisiting the Online Learning Collective is a priority.  I have not yet in the busy time of the last few weeks written the Python code for the Google Course Builder Project:  Project Scratch.  I have invested in a Kindle Textbook Core Python Programmng  and am busily ploughing my way through this, along with a few diversions into Sicily with Inspector Montalbano.  After all it is supposed to be the holidays! 

    

  

2013 the Year of the Teleworker!

The "office" at Dejavu Cafe,
Queen Street, Haverhill

Any time, any place, anywhere

Scenario: Imagine if you walked into local cafe for an espresso.  Your phablet rings, your boss is on the phone.  He/She is looking for the updated work file.  You open your docs on your phone and click the share file button and your work from earlier in the day reaches his desktop.  A few minutes later the file arrives back with comments and updates.  The proposal is approved.  You digitally sign the document and forward it to the clients.  A few moments later you have confirmation it has been received.  At that point your espresso arrives.  A few minutes later and your phablet informs you have a signed document from your client returned.  You then are able to finish your coffee.  An email to the suppliers and another day's work has been done.      

Walking back to the supermarket you spot the newly opened greengrocer.  If you had been driving you would not have had the time to stop and browse.  In your browsing of the shop, the local seasonal produce is explained and examined.  The freshness is checked.  A neighbour walks in you, discuss the parking problem associated with the commuters who park their cars in your road as they catch the bus to Cambridge.  Suitably satisfied that you both find it an imposition, especially on the rare occasions you have to have a hire car for work and cannot park it outside your house, you smile and part company.  Assuring each other that you will monitor the situation you have discussed.  You prepare to walk home. On the way you pick up the youngster from the playgroup.  They spend some minutes tiring themselves out in the local playground.  You spend your time watching, assured in the knowledge that as usual it is a safe place.  Safe because you live in your own community, as opposed to sleep there at night before you travel to another town over an hour away.

A modern fable?  Hopefully, a reality as 2013 progresses.  The cost effectiveness and effect on work-life balance of travelling to a central location to work with colleagues will be one of the major dilemmas most individuals and businesses will contemplate in 2013.  It is already happening!

The Olympics probably produced the biggest Telework story of the year, with a contribution from the Telework Association.  The UK government aware that the infrastructure of London may not be able to cope with both workers and visitors suggested people work from home.  A necessity not a choice.  The success of the advice has yet to be officially quantified but the retail industry did complain of  down turn during the Olympics which suggests people either took holidays or worked from home. Either way there were suggestions of a reduced footfall in London.

Councils have already started to look at  BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) solutions http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-20539715.  Soon they may be advocating workers also Telework for part of the week.  

Will be adding more to the Telework Resources page on Haverhill Online Learning Community .  May your work life balance be suitably adjusted in 2013! 

New Year, New Challenges!

The IT Assistant asleep on the job
again!

Jobs for today's learner have not been thought of … yet!

Christmas over and done with, New Year fast approaching!  What will be new year resolutions?  Hopefully, somewhere in this seeming unattainable wish list will be something to do with career development,  Life Long Learning and work-life balance.  End of year holiday always  a good time to review and revisit career or income aspirations in this austerity governed period of history!

This year has seen a lot of changes in Technology.  This in my opinion will go down as the year of the phablet and tablet.  Increasingly work and learning is moving to the flexible media of the digital economy.  The cost of joining this rapidly expanding knowledge economy is becoming so cheap that it is starting to become commonplace in all walks of life.  Large businesses are no longer building the must have technology on an empty playing field.  There is legitimate competition.  The promise of the  Silicon Age has definitiely arrived in the developed economies.  The catch up needs to place with developing world.  

The developing world will I believe have a greater input as they do have to contend with pre-existing infrastructure such as copper telephone networks.  The temptation to use pre-exiting technologies rather than starting from new because of the need to recoup previous investment has probably slowed the roll out of Superfast Broadband in the UK.  Only now are we seeing places like Suffolk in England obtaining the services they deserve for growth to happen or rather the contracts being signed.  Businesses and individuals in rural Suffolk still have a wait as the scheme will not be fully completed until 2015.

New years resolutions written with digital economy in mind how might you go about in a rural area to join the  change (yet to say revolution) in work-life balance choices.  I say rural area because this equally applies to   The training choice is between traditional classroom based approaches, a blended approach (combining one to one or group tutoring with online teaching) or a fully online experience.  There are many colleges and universities offering courses that come along with certification.  FutureLearn   the UK offering comparable to edX  and Coursera has been agreed and will happen in 2013.    

Non-formal free learning is a one of my personal likes.  A model for which can be found at Haverhill Online Learning Community .  Get in contact with +Philip Spalding and help expand the network of local Online Learning Communities (ukonlinelearningcommunties.org).  

While I have a bit of time from the "day job" I will also be adding articles linked to my other interest of Teleworking!  Hope this gives at least one person the interest explore the digital economy!  

        

12 Online Learning Experiences

21st Century Education

Christmas morning up and awake a bit of time before the house erupts with bouncy spaniels and excited children (some in their first childhood others in their second).  A good time to start to list some of the educational tools and VLEs I have used or become aware of over the years.  These are the most prominent, the ones that immediately spring to mind and are in no particular order.  If I miss one that is your favourite please add a comment or Google+ article or +Philip Spalding.   This links in with the ukonlinelearningcommunities project (medium term plan).  So twelve applications for Christmas!  I make no apologies for including so many Google offerings!

1. Google Plus Hangouts

Really like this application for allowing online real time collaboration.  A normal Google Plus account allows 10 users to interact.  A Google Apps for Education or a Google Apps for Business Account allows up to 15 people to interact.  That interaction can be then be streamed to a greater audience using your YouTube Channel where they can watch and listen but not join in!  Also allows the recording of the experience for future reference! 

2. SlideSpeech

A great way of converting your presentation to a learning experience that narrates the presentation.  An example I have constructed can be found at (http://slidespeech.com/s/kaTJthHeen/#slide0-slide).  More information on applications of SlideSpeech can be found by contacting +John Graves.  

3. StudyRoom

This is the study room facility used by Coursera and edX.  Our own Online Learning Community (Haverhill Online Learning Community) has secured a study room which we will be using extensively in the year as we grow our learning community.  Thanks to +Amadeus Malca for making this happen.

4. Blackboard

This is the traditional "biggy" in Virtual Learning Environments.  I have recently become an online tutor for Apricot Learning Online  who use this platform and after the training I have to say impressed with the scope of Blackboard.  Real advantages are the ability to structure personalised learning through Session Planner, speed of use and it's flexibilty.  The underlying technology is also very suitable for Safe Guarding vulnerable individuals!      

5. Moodle

This could be billed as the alternative Blackboard.  It is an opensource platform used by a few in the UK such as Oxford University for some of it's online CPD courses but has a greater following in the US.  Is best set up as a server based application, requiring downloads such as MySQL and PHP.  Personally have tried to load this to a single machine but had difficulties setting up the database first time.  Runs best on Linnux based systems, and as OpenSource is free.  Can see a lot of mileage in this one but will need to set up database properly if I am to use it in some of my commercial based activities (ie the not profit exceptions) through KritiRecharge2012.co.uk , the site is currently under construction and revision.

6. Hot Potatoes

A real old favourite of mine.  I have been using using this as long as it has been available, which must be at least 7 years.  Great for making small exercises quickly and saving as a HTML file that can either be added to a website or loaded from a machine locally.  First real application that allowed quick solutions to making child friendly exercises to support individual pupils in the classroom.  

7. Google Plus communities

What can I say? This is a staggering simple concept of the village green or local pub or coffee shop.  Really like the fact that technology behind the social interaction retreats into the background!  I have waxed a little lyrically  in the Blog post http://ukonlinelearningcommunities.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/google-plus-comunities.html .

8. Scratch

The new methodology that is going to save British Computer Programming in schools?  Remains to be seen  but great programming interface.  Even features as the introduction to edX's CS50x Introduction to Computer Science 1, which I am currently working my way through.

I have also run successfully an online summer school based on Scratch.  However, that was before I discovered all the cool tools of Google Plus (but then a lot of them were not available then).

9. Google Course Builder

The potential to be the Rolls Royce solution in a moderately tech literate teacher's hands.  Have dabbled a bit in the mechanics while particpating in +Jeannie Crowley OFLC at the Bank Street College of Education in  New York's, which has now become the Online Learning Collective.  Have great ambitions to be using Google Course Builder regularly throughout 2013.

10.  Blogger

Probably my most used and useful social media platform to track my transition from traditional teaching to entering the realms of 21st Century Learning practitioner.  Have been blogging now for 2 years.  Very surprising how things have changed even in that short space of time!

11. Google Docs

The key technology for collaborative learning and sharing.  So much of a cornerstone easy to forget how important it is the development of the Google experience when other innovations such as Google Plus have come appeared. 

12. Google Apps for Business/Education

The nemesis of the web developer who has thrived on £100+ per page fees for designing static websites? Maybe! Hopefully!  The same applies for Education (Google Apps for Education).  Great tools for reducing the hammer from a platinum plated tool an insignificant pound shop (99 cent shop) variety.  This is where the threshold to true digital working and learning starts as the entrance costs have become minimal.  Looking forward to a more educated world in the next two decades!  One where everybody has access to free basic education!

Most of the above tools are free.  The time to master them is also becoming less and a lot of the operations of the tools within the applications are similar across learning platforms.

So here's to the next two decades of freely available education! Merry Christmas! 

The Friday Reflection

At the turning of the Year

Winter solstice today.  The turning point of the year when the days get longer and the new age mystics visit Stonehenge (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-20797129).  The promise of more daylight in the Northern Hemisphere is always an invigorating time.

I taught my last school day for the year on Wednesday and resume again on the 7th January 2013. So  17 days to catch up with all the professional development courses (edX and ALISON), development of Haverhill Online Learning Community  and  UK Online Learning Communities and become proficient with the  tools for my new role as an Online Tutor for a company in Gloucestershire   A busy festive time coming up. A lot of good activity to look forward to in 2013!

A short reflection this week as will be probably blogging and Google plussing a lot over the next 17 days.  The tasks for last week are ongoing with community expansion and development the goal. Finding an efficient way to manage all the threads is the trick that will need to be pulled off!   

Establishing a Learning Community!

The Potential of Online Learning Communities

Online communities have arrived.  We can say that because there is book now out Online Community Management for Dummies.  When the Dummies book series produces a tome on a subject we can usually guarantee it has reached reached a large enough critical mass to perpetuate sales.  If not the activity!  It is a long way from buying a Dummies series book and creating the dream.  I have a long standing book on my shelf  Hobby Farming for Dummies, it will be awhile before it ever becomes a reality!

So there is a critical mass, of potential participants in Online Communities.  Online Communities have been adopted by many large corporations.  One blog that I have been  following recently is Feverbee.com.  Richard Millington the author has produced a number of posts that I have read with interest.  I am primarily an agricultural research scientist by training, who teaches Science and ICT in school for an income. I am not a professionally trained marketeer.  Insights such as Segmenting And Contacting Members Of Your Community  which seeks to explain how to invite, integrate and establish members of community a useful.  The application of psychology to create the community engagement rather than the Kevin Costnerism "build the field and they will come!" is a better use of time and resources.  As I have commented before in A Google plus post and blog the edX and Coursera brands have been reported as having approximately 20% retention of students to the end of the course.

The social engagement aspect of the community is the difficult step.  In a community of like minded people who are already converts to online communities building a lasting community is relatively easy as there is participation that is based upon mutual gain.  The "evangelical" phase of building a community is what Haverhill Online Learning Community and UK Online Learning Communities  have entered   There are a lot of visitors and expressions of interest.  "Converting" the interests expressed into adopters of the users of  community is the next hurdle.  Conversion rates of interest to join to fully fledged users using the Coursera and Edx example  may be between 3 and 20%.  This does pose an interesting question of how good a conversion rate do we get and what are the key factors in establishment.   Essentially what makes the people want to join to the "gang"?

A few points to ponder there as I go off to consider my "rap" lyrics to make the community go past the "evangelical" phase and into the "consolidation" phase!

        

The Friday Reflection

Cold Wind of Change

Online unis and courses have finally hit the headlines in the UK.   This is obviously a reaction to the "success" of Coursera and edX going by comments made in the article about brand presence.  Success was put in quotation marks because apparently retention of students is at most 20% , have seen the quote somewhere on a site will need to find the link.  Is it a case of the shiny new toy that everybody has to have to be cool but then puts it away after a few plays?  Is it the Furby syndrome? This is the Friday reflection!

As I look further into the technologies behind the Klondike experience happening now, I am starting to think of classifying the gadgets mainly on ease of use.  High powered programming can sometimes obscure the actual time spent in preparation compared to actual learner engagement.  If it takes longer to produce than the collective time spent viewing by a learning community is it a worthwhile activity for the instructor?  Can whiteboard and marker be just as effective?

One new development that I am really pleased about is Google+ Communities.   This as I blogged about last week could end up being the major game changer for removing technology into the background and allowing the participants to take the centre stage.  I look forward to developing the experience.

Generally a week of career development and direction review.  I have worked all week in Ely about 35 miles 50 minute drive.  At the same time I have been trying to maintain the momentum of growth for Haverhill Online Learning Community and ukonlinelearningcommunities.org.   Having been offered the opportunity to teach Science in a school in Harlow I had to make a decision of whether to pursue the guaranteed money and not carry on with online teaching interests for 3 months.  Harlow vs new Horizons?  New Horizons won since UK schooling terms of work and conditions are not worth the relatively meagre rewards for the 50+ hour weeks that  teaching has become in the UK.  Easier to use my experience for odd day here and there, be the online teacher from home, write those learning activities that inspire that a National Curriculum does not allow.   Having run a Science and ICT department in a school in Suffolk for a number of years through special measures (entered 3 months after I joined and experienced this for two years) it is easier to say have the T-shirt but don't particularly want to wear it!   The length of time in special measures was exceptional  even though Science went from 42% of pupils reaching level 4 (expected achievement ) prior to tenure to 74% within 18 months.  Pity maths was hitting 29% and English equally disappointing compared to national expectations.  This is without consultant input or massive resources.  English and Maths had the cake but the pupils didn't particularly want it!

A slight diversion into the vagaries of UK improvement there! So Blue Sky Horizons are there! However, with any learning familiarity can breed complacency.  The adoption of technology does not mean that we use the same experience all the time.  Selecting the right tool for the job is paramount especially when considering the intended outcome.

Looking back at last weeks blog  the main task was to maintain momentum for Online Learning Communities.  It has been a testing week finding the enthusiasm to go forward.  But we have got there!

Schools break up in the UK next week. Have not much booked which allows me do the training for my new role as an Online Tutor for Apricot Online Learning , a relatively new concept in UK education.  Also a time to review the yearly goals.  See how how much progress we have made in the work-life balance stakes, nda assess the Wellbeing or "happiness index".  Christmas break in the UK gives people a lot of spare time on their hands to become curious.  This curiosity I hope to hitch to the plough horse (we are famous in Suffolk for our breed of heavy horse the Suffolk Punch) and create a new furrow to plant the seeds of innovative teaching.   Will continue to develop a link with my old school where I was educated and which is now the Academy of the Year.  Look forward to a productive time before the end of the year change!