HTC – Do Anything?
I really like these HTC adverts as I think they demonstrate how smartphones have become completely integrated into people’s lives. If you worry about your smartphone becoming too integrated in your life then check out:
What are you working on?
Seth GodinIf someone asks you that, are you excited to tell them the answer? I hope so. If not, you're wasting away. No matter what your job is, no matter where you work, there's a way to create a project (on your own, on weekends if necessary), where the excitement is palpable, where something that might make a difference is right around the corner. Hurry, go do that.
Time for another Changing Horizon…
I have spent today completely re-designing this website. When I say re-designing I actually mean finding a decent template and then modifying it. It is something I have been meaning to do for a long time as I had become unhappy with the dark theme that I had installed previously. Most of the blogs that I enjoy reading have ‘light’ colour schemes and I decided that it was time my blog was themed in a similar way.
I have decided to re-focus this blog as a way of refecting on literacy, technology and life. I plan on having a Tumblr/Posterous like philosophy with a mix of short and long posts. One of the reasons I haven’t posted anything over the past couple of months is that I have found it very hard to fit writing into my (very) busy schedule. I hope that not expecting myself to write deeply academic posts all of the time will spur me on to write more and add more enjoyment to the process.
Thank you for all the messages and encouragement to get blogging again. Hopefully this blog refresh will help me to get back into the routine and enjoyment of writing.
Friend/Inbox/Tweet Me – Perceived challenges and implications of Social Media
“Friend me on Facebook and I’ll totally confirm” (Dialogue from ‘Sorority Row’ – Hendler, 2009: [00:27:50])
The above dialogue demonstrates how online practices with social networks have become embedded in popular culture and media and how the boundaries of offline and online ties have become blurred (Ellison et al, 2007). As the result of their popularity, new social networks continue to be developed and used by different communities.
The rise of social networking systems such as Facebook and Bebo has attracted increased scrutiny from the press and privacy advocates, primarily focused on the safety of school-aged users (boyd and Ellison, 2008; Rose, 2010). As Davies and Merchant (2009) suggest:
Much of the moral panic around new media focuses on the idea that they distract the attention of children and young people from engaging with print literacy practices and are a causal factor in falling standards in literacy in schools (Davies and Merchant, 2009: 111)
However, there is little evidence to suggest that children’s reading of print has actually declined when using digital technologies (Buckingham, 2002: 8). Boyd (2007) also suggests that a large proportion of adults are panicking and simply do not understand the shifts in terms of the changing communication landscape. Furthermore parents are sometimes anxious about the networks they believe their children are participating within online as well as insecurities about a ‘digital divide’ in knowledge and understanding. They may also have a different ‘mindset’ to how their children view the internet and digital technologies (Lankshear and Knobel, 2006). What is clear is that just like the offline world there are dangers and risks that cannot be completely eliminated (Bryon, 2008). Boyd (2007) also suggests that if a teen is engaged in risky behaviour online then it is typically a sign that they are engaged in risky behaviour offline. She argues that the technology is too often blamed for what it reveals and suggests destroying the technology will not solve the underlying problems that are made visible through mediated spaces like SNS (boyd, 2007: pg5). In contrast Rose (2010) highlights that a common problem with social media such as SNS is that there is the tendency to ‘over-share’ too much information such as their exact location. He suggests that:
Sharing location-based information just means there is another layer of personal information exposed which, in most cases, is not really necessary (Rose, 2010: 810)
Despite this location-based social networks such as Foursquare have seen membership rise significantly in recent months (Beaumont, 2010). Such services allow users to ‘check-in’ at certain locations and gain experience points and badges as well as the title of ‘Mayor’ if they check-in most frequently at a particular venue. This location-based news stream is posted onto the Foursquare website for any user of the SNS to read. This essentially creates an online digital footprint of a user’s offline activities and as Rose (2010) suggests is seen by many as unnecessary. Furthermore there are privacy and indeed offline security concerns since the website can be used to show users current location.
Above: A Screen Capture of a Foursquare Profile showing badges, mayorships and current location
Regardless of privacy concerns from some commentators it is clear that such networks are here to say since other social networks such as Facebook are now integrating location-based services (Richmond, 2010). Davies and Merchant do suggest that real-experiences of Web 2.0 technology within the education system are likely to be more effective than applying blocks, filters and other controls (Davies and Merchant, 2009: 112). Embedding a Web 2.0 system into the everyday practices would allow pupils the opportunity to learn safe practices within online mediated spaces within a real and meaningful context. This was my aim when I introduced @ClassroomTweets as a way of allowing children to learn safe practice within a real online social networks.
EDIT: Foursquare now hides your current location by default – a welcome move.
Growing Greener Futures
Friday 22nd October 2010 – I slept in, my bag strap broke, my MacBook wouldn’t work, I misplaced my iPad four times, Google Maps wouldn’t work (when I was running a session on it) and I forgot to print out the information sheet for speakers. In terms of conference day problems that isn’t too bad disaster wise.
Since July 2010 I have been organising the Growing Greener Futures Conference (#ggfc) as part of my new role as Creative Learning Coordinator at Holy Trinity Rosehill Primary School. After confirming some fantastic speakers, I started the process of organising and completing the administration for the conference, which was very hard work… very hard work. I was shocked when Friday 22nd October actually arrived.
The day started with an exceptionally engaging session by Juliet Robertson of Creative STAR Learning Company. I found the whole keynote completely fascinating. Especially facts such as classroom environments not being legally suitable to house two primates!
Juliet Robertson involving delegates in her keynote presentation
Most of my day was spent running around making sure things were ticking over properly (which they were) but I did get to attend some of Jen Deyenberg’s session on Geocaching and David Hunt’s workshop on Bushcraft Basics. Both were excellent. I also managed to sample some of the delicious Tandoori Chicken with pitta bread, fresh salad and mint raita made by delegates during the cooking session lead by local chef Matthew Brown. I heard fantastic things about Jo Liversidge and her session about Forest Schools – so much so that some of our staff want to go on the training! I also caught glimpses of Bill Lord’s session about ‘Book Soup’ and the workshop lead by Steve Bunce about Video Games and Outdoor Learning. Of course there were sessions I just didn’t have the time to visit – Rich Hurst talking about Biodiversity, Juliet Robertson talking about Roots into Nature, David Sims on photography Andy Black on Mapsticks, Tees Valley Wildlife Trust and Gaynor Ayres (our resident environmental educator) talking about gardening in schools. I know all of the workshops were stimulating and worthwhile – I feel very lucky that we had such quality speakers at our school.
‘From Field to Family’ Cooking Workshop with Matthew Brown
The day ended with a brilliant keynote from Ollie Bray, whom I was very excited to have confirmed as a speaker. I’ve followed Ollie’s work on Twitter and his blog and think what he does is outstanding. The keynote was so good that I looked at my watch and couldn’t believe it was 4pm!
Ollie Bray ended the conference talking about Outdoor Learning and Digital Technologies
Also a very important thanks to Creative Partnerships for funding the event – it’s a real shame that such a fantastic organisation has been axed by the new government. There has been talk of #ggfc2 next year on Twitter – my reply to that is ask me in a couple of months when I’ve recovered from organising #ggfc!
Thank you for all those who attended and made the day what it was! 
Also, thanks to simfin for the photographs included in this post!
Why ‘Growing Greener Futures’ is important
I recently took up a new role in my school as creative learning coordinator, which includes coordinating our School of Creativity programme with Creative Partnerships. Over the past three years we have been engaged in work based on outdoor learning, living with the land and digital technologies. This has included redeveloping areas of our school grounds into new learning spaces and using a new blogging platform to begin to support writing, evaluation and reflection.
Our children have undoubtedly benefited from taking part in the Growing Greener programme, which has included a greater understanding of issues linked to conservation, healthy living and economic well-being. In addition the children have developed critical thinking skills in relation to nature and wildlife in our school grounds and the wider community. The approach has been topic-driven with work seeping into various curriculum areas in a relevant and meaningful way. Children are becoming more engaged with the writing process through the blogging platform, parents are reporting that children want to make healthy and wholesome meals at home and understanding of the world in which we live has improved dramatically.
Gareth Malone’s Extraordinary School of Boys, recently aired on BBC2, portrayed teachers as beings who refused to leave the classroom or think outside the box. This is not the case. Many teachers and educationalists are doing outstanding things liked to outdoor and creative learning. The Growing Greener Futures Conference aims to prove this. It is events like this that prove teachers can think ‘beyond the box’ and explore the curriculum in engaging and meaningful ways with the children whom they teach.
Growing Greener Futures is hosted at Holy Trinity Rosehill Primary School and part-funded by Creative Partnerships. It aims to explore outdoor learning and living with the land through the themes of gardening, conservation, cooking, sustainability and digital technologies. We have secured outstanding and inspirational speakers for the event including Juliet Robertson of Creative STAR Learning Company and the internationally renowned Ollie Bray, National Advisor for Learning and Technology Futures. In addition Andy Black, Bill Lord, Steve Bunce and Jo Liversidge, among many others, will be presenting hands-on and thought provoking workshops based on a creative and outdoor curriculum of excellence.
It promises to be a very exciting and engaging event. Where else can you take part in workshops based on cooking (with a real chef), bushcraft (with a real explorer), gardening (with a real garden expert) and digital technologies (with real technology experts) all at the same conference? Growing Greener Futures is the answer to opening a dialogue for real curriculum change in relation to outdoor and meaningful creative learning.
Places are still available, for more information visit:
Productivity: The Notification Culture
The (very) long summer holidays have allowed me to reflect on what has been a very busy and productive year. However, when I think about productivity I feel that my actually productivity has taken a stumble over the past couple of years. While I appear to have had a high output in terms of work completed this year including developing projects at school, completing the first year of my MA and writing my first published article, I do not feel like I have had total control over my time. Here’s why…
Yes it’s the homescreen on my beloved HTC Hero Android smartphone. How can a device that allows me to instantly access emails, Twitter feeds, Facebook messages, RSS feeds, my task list and calendar hinder productivity you may ask? Well, there you have your answer. All of the aforementioned channels are now constantly connected to me. That’s fine BUT they also choose to notify me when I receive an email, when an article is ready to view and when I should be completing a task. In short, they are in control of my life. All of the applications notify me by beeping and leaving a quaint icon in my notification bar. I therefore know how many unread emails I have, now many deadlines are approaching and how many apps need updating. Great? Initially yes, but in the long run they take my mind off the task in hand and add to a increasing unconscious pressure to clear the notification bar. This isn’t just confined to my phone – Google Chrome on my MacBook Pro instantly notifies me too. It’s getting to the point where each of my devices are competing with each other to be the first to notify me when I have email. This sort of thing really disrupts my flow (especially when writing). I realised how this was hindering my productivity after reading Mark Allen’s recent blog post where he talked about taking control of such technology and not letting them control us.
I’ve really been inspired by Doug Belshaw’s blog posts recently and the general work ethic he discusses in this ongoing #uppingyourgame publication. His work has also spurred to read more about gaining back my productivity ethic in the midst of the notification culture. As well as reading Doug’s blog I’ve been looking at advice in Upgrade your Life by Lifehacker as well as Getting Things Done by David Allen.
So what have I done? Firstly I implemented Henry Theile’s Inb0x Zer0 approach, which involved me archiving my GoogleMail inbox (where I found MySpace notifications from an account I had with them from 2004). I now have an empty inbox… it feels good. I’ve also disabled email notifications on my HTC Hero as well as uninstalling the GMail plug-in for Google Chrome. I will be checking emails on my terms in the future and limiting this to limited periods throughout my working day. I’ve also reorganised my approach to storing research as well as the way I plan at school (now mainly through Google Docs). It’s going to be tricky to undo some of the ‘habits’ I’ve got into over the past couple of years, but I’m sure I can do it and be happier and more productive in the process.
Social Media and other Web 2.0 jazz…
I’m currently in the process of researching various types of Social Media and Networks for my MA research. I hope to build on some of the work I have written up recently in relation to New Literacy Studies and @ClassroomTweets.
It’s apparent from my classroom experience and reading that the simplicity of creating and updating content with Web 2.0 systems empowers readers to write – @ClassroomTweets has really made me realise this. But what the literature also tells us is that audience is key and that Web 2.0 allows users to create imagined audiences as well as real networks through social networking systems (SNS). Web 2.0 clearly allows users to create the web and collaborate. However, large proportions of schools (including my own) now use virtual learning environments (VLEs), where communication tools such as discussion forums, blogs and wikis usually serve single class instances – not a larger network. Furthermore, although content creators within a VLE can easily link to the outside Web, the reverse is not true, because inbound links are often blocked (Alexander, 2008). This really asks the question – how do you maintain conversations on either side of a password barrier?
I don’t have the answers, but I hope my current research helps to inform the debate. I’m currently in the process of looking at social networking systems such as Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare and the potential education and privacy issues that arise from them. Over the coming weeks I plan on writing a series of blog posts that explore different social media as well as reporting my overall findings at the end of the project. For now I’m going to leave you with the excellent ‘A Vision of Students Today’ video which really highlights the need to rethink education in the light of the impact of Web 2.0:
No fate but what we make…
In recent months there has been a lot of concern and ambiguity over the current educational context, particularly in England. The introduction of free schools, academies and abolishment of BECTA have caused debate within the educational sector. We no longer have a new primary curriculum and the Primary National Strategies are practically no longer acknowledged. We are currently in a state of flux in education, of which I have had moments of concern and apprehension.
From a different perspective the current situation could be seen as a stage of excitement and innovation. While there are many inspiring teachers across the globe really pushing the boundaries on how they organise learning in (and out) of their classrooms it is now easier than ever for every teacher to do so. We are no longer tied to the national strategies and are being told to follow the guidance in the National Curriculum. While the statutory curriculum does have many flaws, the objectives can be interpreted in a very liberal way and allow for the development of many cross-curricular and projects that promote creative learning, collaboration and innovation. Set units of work are no more and the freedom to develop open-ended cross-curricular learning opportunities are now easier (and justifiable) as ever. That is, if we choose to. Over recent years I have felt that I have had to justify such projects and their educational worth – although this is always evident throughout the projects. Hopefully, this will no longer be the case.
Of course, researchers such as Crawford (2004) have highlighed that some teachers can become highly reliant on packaged curricular and that the technical control encoded within such curricula can de-skill teachers and result in changes in the way they interpret, plan and ‘deliver’ lessons. I hope that as educators, we embrace the current educational context with a renewed focus on classroom innovation. After all, it’s the choices that we make in the classroom which affects the futures of the children that we teach. There are no longer suggested pre-defined ways that requires us to teach in a certain way or indeed interpret curricula. We cannot change the past, but we can make a difference for the future with the decisions and choices that we make today. Hence, there is no fate, but what we make.
Using Twitter in the Primary Classroom
My article about the use of Twitter in Orange Class (@ClassroomTweets) was recently published in English 4-11. I have changed some of the ways in which we use Twitter even within the short time between writing and publication of the article. I plan on writing another more up-to-date reflection on how we have been using Twitter soon but in the meantime hopefully this will provide you with the context in which our work is based. As this is the first article I have ever had published I would value any comments or feedback as to what you think about it.