Is it time to assess for collaboration?

I have never been a big fan of exams for lots of reasons. The main reason used to be that they seemed nothing more than a memory test and a really poor way to actually demonstrate a person's 'real' knowledge and understanding of a given topic - requiring you to answer a set of questions, usually in writing, under time pressure, usually in an unfamiliar(or at least unrelaxed)environment seemed to me to scream on every psychological level that this was a bad idea. The whole ritual of taking an exam also felt rather alien and unconnected to real life. It is this last point about unconnected to real life has trouble me in recent years as I have become more concerned about the general direction education (particularly schooling but it's right across the board) continues to take 17 years into the 21st century. My gripe apart from questioning the validity of using examinations in their current format to assess individual student knowledge is whether assessing individual students knowledge is actually what we should be doing anymore? Yes, measuring individual student progress is a good idea to ensure they are learning and to identify any additional learning that might need to take place but surely we should be shifting our focus to how well individual students can use the knowledge they have gained to support others in the pursuit of a join enterprise? As in the real world that's what people do. They use their knowledge collaboratively to work on projects, solve problems and to innovate. Working with others, problem solving and being creative and innovative are some of the essential skills needed to survive in today's workplace yet when we formally assess learning we generally do it by isolating an individual and subject them to a memory test. Things are changing but very slowly and not in a way that is truly responsive for the direction of travel of both in terms of work and those people that are or will be the majority of the workforce in the next few years -the Y and Z generation. By 2020, 50% of the workforce will be Generation Y and Z members — who have grown up connected, collaborative and mobile. Given these three aspects are now the norm, surely, it is time to radically re-think our approach to summative assessment and assessment in general to focus on how well students can work together to better equip them to solve the challenges they will face in the future - given the exponential growth and impact of digital technologies and automation in every aspect of our lives, concerns over global warming and the depletion of natural resources, continuing population growth and the continued impact of globalisation?

ThingLink

This is my first attempt at using ThingLink and I clearly need to play with it a little more to fully appreciate what it can do and how I can use it.

Brian Eno's John Peel Lecture

Slightly different from my usual post topics but last week's Annual John Peel Lecture by Brian Eno is well worth a watch / listen to and has definite links to some of the things Sir Ken Robinson speaks about in terms of the importance of expressing individual imagination and creativity. Eno is someone I've been influenced by since I was a child, and probably contributed in no small part to me falling into teaching - but that's another story. Anyway,the subject for his talk was a call for a rethink of the meaning and value of culture (partly informed in reaction to the Government's obsession with the STEM subjects - which he expressed a very serious interest in - at the expense of the Arts & Humanities, which are currently being represented as being less useful in terms of jobs, GDP and general usefulness to society etc.) Eno touched on a number of interesting aspects - Education, examples of altruistic social engineering, the dramatic pace of social change, the development of Open Source movement and the politics of scarcity/abundance (referencing a number of author's that are worth following up - not least Paul Mason's latest book PostCapitalism - A guide to our Future...which I just happen to be currently reading, and is definitely worth reading if you're interested in the politics of austerity.

Professional Standards for Teachers - 'How to use the Standards videos'

I realise this is not a particularly new subject to comment on now, as they were developed in 2014, but the Professional Standards for Post-Compulsory Teachers and Trainers (developed by the Education and Training Foundation) are now integral to much of the work undertaken on Initial Teacher Training programmes. Last year I was involved, as a member of the University of Huddersfield's Education and Training Consortium, in an Education and Training Foundation (ETF) funded project to produce a 'How to...' guide in the form of both a document and set of videos which I thought might be helpful to share on my blog. There are 15 videos in all covering different aspects and usage of the Standards.

The Value of FE Colleges to UK PLC

Interesting to read some recent research into the economic impact of FE colleges which suggests that the current Government should be looking to increase funding for the sector rather than inflicting further death by a thousand cuts. The report produced by the Economic Modelling Specialists International(EMSI)and commission by the 157 Group (which is a consortium of influential further education colleges) that shows for every £1 invested in further education it produces a return in benefits to learners and taxpayers of around £6.

Making use of free apps in my teaching

Been meaning to post for a while but I've been REALLY struggling with time this year. However, the summer holidays are now upon us and I'm hoping to get a bit of time to experiment with the range of free applications that are knocking around on the internet, some of which I've been aware of for sometime, but haven't done anything about them...until now ! My plan is to really play around over the next couple of months and explore their potential to add a little more interest/fun/creativity into my work. The first app I've had a play with is Go Animate which enables you to create short animated videos. I can already see it has lots of potential for both tutors and students. Here's my first attempt at making a short video.... first test by nick.haigh on GoAnimate

Using Video in Education

Following on from my last post, and a timely project at work, I will be using my next few blog entries to explore the use of video in education (as this is a useful respository for links etc.) Ok, first off is a rather interesting YouTube video by Salman Khan on the use of video to 'flip' the classroom. Edudemic is a useful starting point identifying possible ways to use video, with their 6 simple ways to use video in education or Video AKITV (and their handbook, which is not only a practical guide but provides some theoretical explanation for the use of digital video in education. The BBC Active guidelines for using video is also worth bearing in mind. Another academic source worth a read is journal article 'Rethinking the use of video in teacher education: A holistic approach' in Teaching and Teacher Education Volume 27, Issue 7, October 2011, Pages 1151–1162. On the practical side, to support teacher training, I'm rather taken with the training videos/tutorials by Russell Stannard from Warwick University. Particularly interested in the 'Present Me' tutorial on providing a voice over for Powerpoint presentation, given the idea of flipping the classroom, and getting learners to do the powerpoint stuff prior to coming to class. Hmm...that's enough for now I think !