Education: School


Collaborative Education: opening the classroom door


When blackboards gave way to interactive whiteboards their purpose was clear, they allowed content from computers, mobile devices and the internet into the classroom, and provided a large digital canvas for writing, drawing and other forms of an- notation. When interactive touch screens came on the scene, en- hanced file sharing, video com- munication and collaboration were among the reasons for mak- ing the change. While the cor- porate sector has been quick to embrace the potential, education has proved reluctant … but not entirely.


Those of us who use interac- tive touchscreen technology for their work wouldn’t readily be without it. It is no exaggeration to say that the ability to screen share, video and audio confer- ence with colleagues and cus- tomers has changed business life for ever.


At the outset of the education boom in iFPD sales, amid all the conversations about avoid- ing projector blindness and sunlight issues with projec- tors, some progressive thinkers were suggesting that the ROI form an interactive touch pan- el could be much improved by sharing teaching resources be- tween institutions. At the very least, the education experience could be made truly engaging by enabling students to see re- mote sights or talk to kids in different countries.


The point about an inter- active touch screen is that it brings new capabilities into the classroom. Most solutions have a camera and audio, and all link to the internet either directly or through an external device. Pairing a touchscreen with a cloud-based video or collaboration service is usually free or, at least, cheap.


Take-up


While education has engaged with interactive touchscreens to further the adoption of the ‘flipped’ education model, where content is both shared and


personalised, there has


been much less enthusiasm for opening the doors of the class- room (metaphorically rather than physically) to the outside world,


sharing expertise and


Simon Hunt and his class at Tot- tington Primary share a lesson over Skype and their Promethe- an ActivPanel.


resources. It’s a truism of technology that solutions are rarely used to their fill potential, and so why would education be any different? Fortunately, there are some pioneers out there: Those of you who visited the Promethean stand at BETT in January might have seen a presentation by teacher Simon Hunt


of Tottington Primary


School, in Bury, and one of his pupils, 9 year old Jamie Berry. After emerging as winners in the Promethean Grant 2017, Mr Hunt’s school now benefits from access to a state-of-the-art ActivPanel. Stars of the compe- tition entry, Mr Hunt and Jamie are no strangers to the use of edtech and joined Promethean on-stand at BETT earlier this year to share their approach to gamification and camouflaged learning. This so impressed us that some GoPro footage from BETT was used as part of Promethean’s Award-winning presentation at the AV News Awards in February,


Geography without walls


For Simon, a passionate prima- ry school teacher with a love for expanding learning oppor- tunities for his pupils, having access to the ActivPanel will enable him to build on using Skype to break down geograph- ical boundaries and bring even more exciting lesson content in to the classroom.


“At my last school we started to use Skype as a collaboration tool with the outside world – connecting us with inspiration- al figures which just wouldn’t have been accessible other- wise. With Skype we were able to run a writing competition with Peter Jay Black, an author who writes his books in Califor- nia, hosting a briefing session with pupils where he asked them to write their own work of fiction based on his Urban Out- law series (which he then sub- sequently read and judged),” explains Simon.


Simon made the initial con- tact with Peter Jay Black via a simple tweet, which result- ed in a prompt response and a Skype session being arranged quite quickly: “The speed at which he responded was great, it meant that we could get go- ing with the collaboration right away – showing that technology is playing a prominent role in helping learning to progress at a lively pace. Our original plan was simply to give the children an opportunity to ask ques- tions, but it was the author who threw down the writing chal- lenge. The class was so excited by the fact an important writer would be reading their work, it created a real buzz around the activity.”


Shared expertise


Based on the high levels of pupil engagement which were achieved, Simon replicated the collaborative approach when he joined Tottington Primary – this time bringing Australian writer, Marc Martin into the classroom. “We shouldn’t underestimate the power of bringing experts in the classroom. It really inspires the children which ultimately motivates them in their learn-


ing. With tools like Skype and the ActivPanel, collaboration is no longer defined by geo- graphical boundaries. Instead, we have the technology which literally opens up a world of opportunity and gives pupils a much broader perspective on


from the school and its sister schools. As well as regular con- tact, a student, and teacher ex- change program for the senior years students provides the op- portunity to meet the children that they have built a relation- ship with.


an ActivPanel is such an excit- ing development for the future of our Bali Buddies programme as we strongly believe in learn- ing language through relation- ships.


"The ActivPanel has assisted the development of our joint


The Bali Buddies programme as we strongly believe in learning language through relationships with other schools in the region.


curriculum topics.” Simon’s creative collabora- tion techniques are not just confined to literacy. He has also leveraged Skype and the ActivPanel to interview arctic explorers and scientists live from the North Pole as part of geography lessons: “We always look for ways to make learning more real for the children. With the technology available these days, we need to make teach- ing less about the text book and more about experiences. And importantly, schools will gener- ally already have the kit needed to do this – it’s just a case of thinking how and who you want to collaborate with and asking the question!”


Warner climes


While collaboration between Tottington and the North Pole is impressive, it is by no means the only transcontinental learn- ing experience we have to re- port. Coffs Harbour Christian Community Junior School is a centre with students from ages five to eleven, based in sunny New South Wales, Australia. As part of a wider kindergarten to year 12 school, its middle and senior schools are situated in Bonville, approximately 15 km south.


Since 1999 it has pioneered an exciting and unique lan- guage learning programme in partnership


with five schools


in Bali, Indonesia. The scheme promotes authentic commu- nication between students


There is total of approxi- mately 1200 students actively involved in the Bali Buddies programme across the two campuses, which positions Coffs Harbour as a centre of excellence for the Indonesian language.


Realising the potential Coffs


Harbour contacts its


'buddy classes' via conference call up to twice a term and also tries to connect as a whole at an assembly or presentation once a term. The sessions are planned to enable maximum learning opportunities. Histor- ically, the schools have com- municated by writing letters or creating drawings, artworks, crafts and cards, but recently the school is realising the po- tential of interactive technology to collaborate in real time. In 2017, Coffs Harbour sub- mitted a video to the ANZ Pro- methean Grant competition, with


students presenting the


reasons why its Android-based, interactive display ActivPanel would be perfect for the unique programme. The successful video communicated how the technology


had potential to


provide clearer interaction with their friends and Coffs Harbour became one of only 11 schools in ANZ to be awarded a Pro- methean Grant.


Speaking about the success of the Bali Buddies sessions, programme co-ordinator and Coffs Harbour teacher, Andrew Pratley said: "Having access to


learning both here in Australia and in Indonesia, as aside from the endless collaborative oppor- tunities that this now provides us with, the biggest benefit is having direct access to native speakers of Indonesian (and Balinese), while our partners in Bali get direct access to native English speakers. The benefits work in both directions. "Students are able to put a face to their buddy's name, which means they are more motivated to communicate and learn Indonesian, Balinese or English. We have even found that new enrolments tend to pick up the language quickly through their exposure in a 'live context'.


Whole class activities


The ActivPanel has enabled spontaneity in learning and communication with teachers and students alike having im- mediate access to maps, the ability to search topics or ques- tions as they arise meaning that the children are much more engaged in their learning. Ac- tivity is planned and varied ac- cording to the age group, with the younger students enjoying whole class games. Andrew explained: "Games are great as the kids don't realise they are using a different language and they learn through osmosis. We have played games like 'Inter- national Twister' and Bingo, all on different topics or themes, with great success."


Part of the collaboration has P12 AV News September 2017 AV News April 2018 P15


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