The Digital Foundations of Teaching & Learning

Recently we presented an in-service to the Board of Education on The Digital Foundations of Teaching and Learning: Preparing for a Future that is Here Today.  An abbreviated slideshare is included below. We also showed some fabulous video clips but we will save those for another post. The presentation was anchored in a metaphor and image of fire.

“Technology IS just a tool, like a stick. Many new technological developments made sticks more effective as a weapon (barbs, bows, attachments, etc. but as long as the stick was still being used to harm other people, I would argue that there was nothing truly transformational about the technology. But when sticks became a way to create fire, THAT was innovative and progressive. I would argue that the same could be said of modern technology.” Gord Holden

In Surrey, we are using technology to TRANSFORM teaching and learning. We are creating fire.Digital Foundations Presentation

1. Mobile learning: Students are carrying powerful and easy to use computers in their pocket. Creating  any device, anytime, anywhere learning opportunities for students to engage and construct deeper knowledge. As a district, we are encouraging Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) opportunities by making our networks easier to connect with wirelessly.
2. The New Electricity: This is the new wireless. We think about it as the new electricity. We take it for granted, just like turning on a light switch in our homes. Our students have and want instant internet access 24/7.  The number and types of wirelessly capable devices is exploding, provisioning a wireless network that can support this growth is both strategic and vital to supporting expanded flexibility in every learning space.
3. Web 2.0:  Students are no longer passive recipients of knowledge transmitted via the internet but are co-constructing that knowledge with others in a variety of easy to access and use online software tools.
4. 21^st Century Learning:  Sometimes referred to as personalized learning, it often focuses on the four C’s: Collaboration, Creativity, Communication, and Critical Thinking.
5. Teacher as Co-learner: The teacher is no longer the sage on the stage but the guide on the side. Their role as facilitator is key and increasingly they learn together with students.
6. Social Media:  Social media now provides instant connection to others. It is driving increased student engagement and a  new participatory and synergistic culture where everyone can have a say and contribute.

These trends are shaping the transformation of how we teach and how students learn. To fully equip our students for their future, we need to keep these shifts in mind.

The BC Ministry of Education describes it as “Learning Empowered by Technology.” Note that it is the learning that comes first, not the technology. The mandate is to encourage the smart use of technology, provide improved access to digital tools and resources

The wise use of technology for learning was endorsed in a research paper that examined high performing districts across Canada. Technology played a crucial role in moving these districts forward. As Dr. John Morton expressed, “We have lots of good school districts in the country, we have just a few great school districts, getting from good to great is a quantum leap, technology plays such a key role in that.” We are good but if we want to take that quantum leap from good to great, we need to embrace and leverage technology for learning. We are on the journey of embracing technology in our district.

So how are we doing that as a district? One of the goals has been to ignite a fire among teachers, administrators and schools for learning using technology. Our guiding principle has been that no one receives new hardware without having a staff development component linked to it. We have read many studies on the implementation of technology in schools. Successful deployment of hardware to schools requires an accompanying staff development component for teachers. Schools that are involved in any of our projects have staff development opportunities included. During job action, this has was difficult to accomplish, however, we have clung to this as fundamentally important.

Here are some of the fire starters we have initiated in the district:

• Innovative Learning Designs
• Social Studies 11 e-text
• Inquiry into Fine Arts & Technology
• Making Thinking Visible
• Cadres of Digital Champions
• Integration into Special Education
•  Aboriginal Learners Writing Project
• Digital Coaches

We provided many learning opportunities to help feed their fire for learning. Highlights included the

• Engaging the Digital Learner Dinner Series,
• The Digital Discovery Series for Administrators,
• Information Media Literacty (IML)  Bootcamp,
• Teacher Librarian (TL) Bootcamp,
• Administrator Digital Coaches Bootcamp,
• many school specific Bootcamps,
• Surrey Ed Camp, and
• study groups across the district exploring digital learning.

We also consciously encouraged the use of Social Media to promote and encourage best practice across the district. Our hashtag #sd36learn is a conduit for rich conversations about student learning.

When we talk about The Digital Foundations for Teaching and Learning, it is important to mention the new role that Teacher–Librarians are playing in this digital landscape. Teacher-Librarians are the new digital guides, helping both teachers and students navigate the digital highway. We have also begun to make the move from print to digital resources.

All of the work we do is grounded with staff development. Staff are learning, not just how to use the hardware itself, but how to ensure the tools are in service to learning. The key is not just using the tools to duplicate the same learning activities that you might have done without the technology but to use the tools to transform the learning experience so students are engaged in learning that extend their thinking in new ways.

To light a fire across the district and transform teacher pedagogy and student learning requires oxygen. As a department, Ed Services cannot light learning without this fundamental and basic element. When we look at The Digital Foundations for Teaching and Learning, none of this can happen without the life-giving oxygen that our IMS department provides. Just as oxygen is invisible, so is the work of IMS. Do I understand bandwidth? No, but I know that it is absolutely essential to the Discovery Education video-streaming pilot. Do I know why ADSL lines in schools are archaic and what the new wireless is all about? No, but I know that when we tried to observe a demonstration lesson with gizmos for a class of 30 grade 7s, we met the spinning wheel of death and were unable to use these digital learning simulations. The students could do them at home, but not at school. If teachers experience barriers to technology, they give up. We need to ensure we have the necessary infrastructure so that the use of technology is seamless for both students and teachers. Oxygen is a mystery to me but essential for moving the work of the district forward. The more we expect of technology, and the easier it gets for us as educators, the more complicated it gets at the invisible, molecular level. We take that for granted. Our focus is on teaching and learning but without the oxygen as infrastructure, we cannot move from good to great. Investments in the oxygen, or infrastructure of technology, are necessary and allow for us to embrace technology and move the district forward from good to great.

At the start, we compared technology to a tool, like a stick. A stick can be used like a weapon or to build a structure but it was not in itself transformative in nature. It is only when we use technology, like a stick, to create fire, that it can truly become transformational for learning. There are hot spots in this district where matches have been struck. We are taking all these sticks, the pieces of technology, and using them to transform teaching, personalize learning and accelerate achievement. We are creating a fire for learning in Surrey.

The in-service to the Board of Education was a collaborative presentation by Dan Turner, Director of Information Management Services and Elisa Carlson, Director of Education Services.