WEBLOG

Playing with Prezi

Sun, 3 May 2009 18:49:03 +0800

I am often called upon to speak to large groups of people and I am constantly looking for ways of making my presentations more exciting. We have all sat through hours and hours of ‘powerpointlessness’ where a presenter simply reads slide after slide of dot points directly from the screen.

There has to be a better way.

So few people present really well. Individuals like Steve Jobs have turned slide presentations into an art form. I think every would-be presenter should be required watch at least one of the inspirational speeches from TED before being handed a microphone. Indeed, whole books have been written about how to use slides effectively.

However, even with these refinements we are still stuck in the tyranny of the dot point. Programs like Powerpoint are fundamentally based upon a piece of 1950s technology --- the slide projector. Slides are displayed one after the other in sequence. There is no sense of how the information is linked and trying to change the order of slides mid-presentation is a truly horrible experience.

This is where Prezi comes in. Prezi is a presentation tool, but it is not slide-based. Instead, it is based around the concept of a mind-map. The user can zoom in and out, shifting the audience’s focus between the ‘big picture’ and the details.

Prezi is a good example of a ‘cloud-based’ application. To use the service, you do not have to download any software. You simply visit www.prezi.com and create your presentation using your web browser. Once finished, you can access your presentation from any computer in the world. Alternatively, you can save your presentation to disk so that it can be accessed offline.

I created my own prezi for the recent Innovative Technology in Schools Conference. It took a while to get the hang of the unusual interface (It took a full day to prepare a forty minute presentation). However, the results were worth it! The presentation certainly had a ‘wow’ factor and the participants indicated that they appreciated having a very clear picture of where the talk was heading.

The Prezi service does have a few limitations at present. It is not possible to customise fonts or colours, and uploading video is a painfully slow process (Hurry up Mr Rudd!). However, it is exciting to catch a glimpse of the types of online tools we are going to be using every day in the future.

(first posted at www.paulfuller.com.au)

Everything I Know About Education I Learned from Guitar Hero

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 19:59:58 +0900

My name is Paul Fuller. I am 33 years old. And I love playing Guitar Hero.

I admit it. I am hooked. So are all of my friends and millions of others around the world. We play Guitar Hero for hours, desperately trying to make our fingers move fast enough to unlock the next song or move up to a new level of rock godliness.

I am aware that this is somewhat pathetic. As far as I know, the ability to play Guitar Hero has no practical application in the real world. No matter how skilful I may become at this game, it remains highly unlikely that hordes of adoring fans will flock to admire my guitar-slinging.

Yet I remain incredibly motivated to learn how to play.

Why is this? And, perhaps more importantly, how can we assist students to feel this same level of motivation for the truly important learning that we seek to promote in our schools?

I believe that schools can learn some valuable lessons from games like Guitar Hero. (Here, I must admit my debt to Marc Prensky whose writings on game-based learning have influenced much of my thinking in this area).

So, here are the five things that I think our schools can learn from Guitar Hero.

Give them immediate feedback  In our schools, feedback generally works like this. The student spends a week writing a report. The teacher spends a week marking it. Feedback is provided in the form of a grade and perhaps a short comment. By the time the student receives the feedback, it is far too late for it to have any meaningful impact on the learning process.  Guitar Hero, on the other hand, provides immediate feedback (no pun intended). When you miss a note, the guitar makes a horrible clanging sound. Miss enough notes and the crowd boos you off stage. Strangely enough, all of the educational research indicates that the Guitar Hero system of instantaneous feedback provides the superior framework for learning.   To be fair, it is difficult to provide immediate feedback in a classroom situation with one teacher and thirty students. However, creative teachers have always got around this problem using teachers aides, parent helpers and peer tutors.   Nowadays, classroom technology provides yet another way of providing students with instant feedback. For example, computer spell-checkers are no longer the ‘tool of the devil’ that many teachers once considered them to be. Rather, by highlighting incorrectly-spelled words in real-time, they provide exactly the sort of immediate feedback that Guitar Hero recommends.  
Everyone wants to be a hero.  Everyone wants to succeed. Guitar Hero knows this. When you complete a song, the words ‘Rock God!’ flash up on the screen and the crowd cheers you on. You earn cash that can be used to unlock new and more challenging songs.   Where in our schools can students feel this sort of success? For some, the sporting field provides this opportunity. But for most, our systems of reporting simply make a point of highlighting just how many people out there are better than you.  Don’t get me wrong. This does not mean our school system should make the mistake of issuing large helpings of false praise. Remember, you can still get booed off stage in Guitar Hero! However, what Guitar Hero teaches us is that success comes from challenging yourself and learning something new ---- not from being better than others. 
Make it difficult  Guitar Hero is not easy. To succeed on the advanced levels requires many hundreds of hours of practice. Any adult who questions the attention span or persistence of today’s youth should spend a few hours watching them play this game.  We need to make our curriculum challenging, full of rich tasks that will extend the minds of our young charges. A child’s ability to learn is phenomenal, just so long as his or her natural love of learning can remain intact. 
.... but not too difficult  Guitar Hero guides the player to find a level that is challenging yet achievable. Success is always within reach but never without effort. Sound familiar? This is what developmental psychologist Lev Vygotsky calls the ‘zone of proximal development’, the place where effective learning can take place.  Unfortunately, many schools seem to assume that, simply because a child is a certain age, a particular textbook must be right for them. This is increasingly the case in Western Australia where ‘outcomes-based education’ seems to now be a dirty word. The problem is that regular textbooks don’t provide immediate feedback and can’t adjust the difficulty level. A system such as Mathletics, on the other hand, can do this. I know which approach my students enjoy more. 
Make it fun  A newborn child makes no distinction between work and play. All play is learning. All learning is play.   Somewhere along the line, however, we start telling children that learning isn’t fun. It’s work. And work is something that you do because you have to, not because you want to. This is the point where so many of our children fall out of love with learning.  Guitar Hero, on the other hand, is a game. It’s fun. You play it. Grown-ups will tell you that it’s a waste of time which, of course, simply makes it more enjoyable.  Mitch Resnick from MIT has written at length about the idea of ‘lifelong kindergarten’. He believes that truly successful people somehow manage to retain a childlike sense of curiosity and wonder about the world. They love to learn and constantly ‘play’ with ideas to come up with creative solutions to problems.   Resnick believes that the greatest learning occurs when students engage in activities that could be classed as ‘hard fun’. Perhaps not surprisingly, Guitar Hero falls squarely into this category. Other ‘hard fun’ activities with more traditional educational outcomes could include editing the school newspaper, building robots with Lego Mindstorms or designing a computer game using MIT’s own Scratch program.

Have I uncovered anything revolutionary here? Not at all. These are timeless principles that have underpinned good educational practice for many years.

But here’s the thing. Video game designers apply these principles far more effectively than teachers do. They engage and motivate students in a way that most teachers could never dream of.

So perhaps we teachers can learn something from the video game designers. Instead of complaining that ‘kids these days only want to play Nintendo’, maybe we should get out there and play right along with them. We just might learn something about good educational practice along the way.

Are you ready? Rock on!

(first posted at www.paulfuller.com.au)

“Santa Gave Me a Fake Laptop for Christmas”

Fri, 2 Jan 2009 12:44:14 +0900

From mid-November, Miss Six had Santa Claus in her sights. She knew what she wanted and she missed no opportunity to let the big fella know what she was after. She wrote letters to the North Pole. She sat on the great man’s knee and batted her eyelids. She even let me know what she wanted, just in case the man in red didn’t deliver. She wanted one thing and one thing only..... a laptop.

From my perspective, Santa delivered in spades. Miss Six is crazy about Hannah Montana. She dresses up like Hannah, sings like Hannah, dances like Hannah. So, a Hannah Montana laptop must be the perfect present, right?

Wrong.

Upon opening this most-anticipated present, Miss Six simply sighed.

“What’s wrong?”, I asked. This machine had games. It had songs. It had more computing power than the Apollo 11 spacecraft that took Neil Armstrong to the moon. It could even speak French for crying out loud!

“It’s a fake laptop Daddy”, she said. “I wanted a real laptop”.

This really got me thinking. My six year old understands the difference between toys and tools. She knows that her Hannah Montana device is a toy --- a simulation of the real world that she can use to play games and role play. The laptop is fun, but she has plenty of toys already.

Miss Six knows that a real laptop is not a toy. It allows her to communicate with real people. To do serious work. To create. To learn. This is what she wants.

Back in the 19th century, children had access to exactly the same tools as the greatest intellectuals of the age. Somewhere along the line, however, our education system decided that students would remain permanently frozen in the 19th century while only the adults got to move with the times.

Why was this? Is it because technology is expensive and children might break it? If so, what does this say about the value that we place on our children’s education.

Is it because we do not believe that children of this age are not developmentally ready to use computers? Perhaps, but then I also hear educators comment on the ease with which children seem to become magically competent with technology (This is generally expressed as “Crikey, these kids know more than I do”).

Is it because there are risks associated with using real computers? (Note: From hereon in, “a real computer” will be defined as ‘one that connects to the Internet’). Well, yes there are risks. But how will she learn how to deal with these risks unless she encounters them with a trusted adult standing by her side? Surely, you don’t teach a child to swim by keeping them away from water and then throwing them in the deep end when they turn sixteen!

At my school, we have decided that nine years of age is the right age for students to have access to their own laptop computer. So, where does this leave Miss Six?

Well, right now she’s sitting at the kitchen table playing mathsbrain on Mum’s real laptop. And loving it.

Geocaching - GPS treasure hunts

Sun, 28 Dec 2008 20:58:50 +0900

When I was young, my grandparents used to take my family on picnics to Kings Park in Perth. These were magical days filled with delicious food, infallibly fine weather and exciting activities direct from Grandpa’s prodigious imagination.

One of Grandpa’s favourite games was to hide coins in the sand and draw ‘treasure maps’ that would guide us to the hidden treasure trove. We would play this game over and over, our pockets quickly filling up with five cent pieces and the number of participants steadily growing as curious children from other families asked if they could play too.

These memories came flooding back today as I went out geocaching with my own children. Geocaching is much like Grandpa’s treasure hunt but with the a few modern twists.

One difference is that the ‘map’ for a geocaching hunt is provided in the form of GPS coordinates. All that is needed to find hidden treasure is a device (such as a mobile phone) with a GPS receiver built in. These were once quite rare but are rapidly becoming standard. Some phones even include special apps specifically designed for geocaching (I am quite fond of Geopher Lite for iPhone).

Here’s the other remarkable thing about geocaching. There are over 700,000 treasure troves (or ‘caches’) hidden around the world. These are absolutely everywhere! Without realising it, I had been walking past dozens of hidden treasure chests every day. I used to be such a muggle :)

Geocaching operates on a strict code of ethics. If you take something from a cache, you must deposit something of equal or greater value in return. Geocachers must protect the environment and are encouraged to collect rubbish as they explore. Finally, geocachers should record their finds --- both in a physical logbook and online so that others can benefit from their experiences.

Geocaching offers great opportunities for families and educators alike. First and foremost, it’s loads of fun! There is also considerable learning involved --- map reading, geography, literacy, environmental awareness ---- as well as the physical exercise involved in getting to the caches.

Many of the caches involve puzzles that must be solved before you can find the treasure. These can take a bit longer to solve, but do provide a great sense of satisfaction when completed. Adults and children alike must work together, thereby building a sense of community and purpose.

So my family and I headed off treasure-hunting today in a spirit of adventure, learning and fun. We collected a brand new geocoin and discovered a secluded park near our house that we never even knew existed. Grandpa would be ever so pleased.

Wordle - Beautiful Word Clouds

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 10:49:20 +0900

I just discovered an awesome new tool for use in the classroom --- Wordle. This free site converts any text (e.g. a web page or a student’s own writing) into a beautiful word cloud that could almost be considered an artwork in its own right.

However, the power of Wordle goes far beyond this. It allows you to analyse, in a visual way, the vocabulary that a writer uses. Words that are used most frequently appear larger than the others, revealing a great deal about a writer’s style and intentions.

For example, it can reveal to a student that he repeatedly uses “and then” in his narratives. Alternatively, it can show at a glance the key ideas in a text. For example, the wordle on the right was created from a letter to parents about our one-to-one laptop program. However, you didn’t really need me to tell you that, did you?

Wordle also includes a web gallery where users can share the word pictures that they have created. The gallery allows users to embed wordles into their pages, provided that they link back to www.wordle.net.

On that topic, I would like to wish you all a very safe and happy Christmas. Here’s a wordle that’s just right for this Christmas season!

The Power of 1:1

Wed, 2 Apr 2008 20:16:11 +0800

Orange Grove Primary is a tiny public school in the foothills of Perth. With only 120 students, eight teaching staff and a miniscule budget, it might seem an unlikely place to find the beginnings of the ‘education revolution’. However, what is happening in this tiny school is transforming the way that its students, staff and community members think about about education.

Over several years, Orange Grove Primary has developed a reputation for the innovative use of technology. Every teacher contributes to the school blog, students publish their work in podcast form and it is common to find students working on collaborative international projects.

However, the school is now taking its biggest step forward to date. From the start of 2008, every student from Year 4 - 7 has been equipped with their own Apple MacBook computer. These machines are taken home by the students and provide a seamless transition between the learning that occurs inside the classroom and the learning that occurs outside of school hours.

Community Involvement
The key to the success of this program has been the engagement of the school community. Over the past six months, there has been a whole-school conversation about how best to prepare students for a 21st century future. Out of this, the school developed a clear vision which combined ‘good old-fashioned teaching’ with the best that new technology has to offer.

Parents strongly supported this vision, and were willing to contribute financially to make it a reality. Hence, the vast majority of laptops are parent-funded, either through a lease arrangement or an outright purchase.

As a public school, it was essential that the program remain accessible to every family in the school community. Families in financial hardship (approximately 20% of enrolments) are provided with a laptop for use during school hours only. Many of these families are already seeing the value of a take-home laptop and are trying to find the funds if they can.

Significantly, this program has been implemented with no additional government funding.

Technical Details

Students have been provided with 2.0 GHz MacBooks with 80GB hard drives, 1GB of memory and a combined CD burner / DVD player. The laptops have been pre-installed with the Apple iLife and iWork suites plus a variety of open-source educational programs.

Students connect to the Internet via the school’s secure wireless network or through the students’ home Internet connections. Parental controls and website logging have been activated to minimise the risk of students accessing inappropriate content.

Lease Arrangements

While parents do have the option of purchasing laptops outright, most families have chosen to lease their machines. The lease arrangement is designed as a package deal, which includes:
the MacBook;
extended warranty;
insurance; and
all software.

It is likely that parents will be able to claim a rebate of up to $375 per annum as part of the Commonwealth Government’s new Education Tax Rebate scheme.

Changing Teaching and Learning

The students at Orange Grove now have instant access to an incredibly powerful piece of technology whenever they need it. This significantly changes the way that teaching and learning takes place.

In place of the paper-based (worksheet!) structure which governs most classrooms, students at Orange Grove increasingly produce their work in digital form. This can be easily stored in a digital portfolio (using the iWeb program) and, if desired, published for an authentic world-wide audience.

Students use their laptops in all learning areas from music to maths, literacy to languages. However, to ensure a balanced curriculum, the community has decided that laptops should not be used for more than 50% on instruction time on any given day.

Possibilities

The excitement is growing steadily in Orange Grove as it dawns on the community just how much power these children now hold in their hands. These laptops give students their own library, their own printing press, their own movie studio and their own recording label. At a time when so many students feel disconnected at school, Orange Grove students are connecting with the world in authentic and powerful ways.

The machines are now in the children’s hands. I can’t wait to see what amazing things they produce.

Music, Intellectual Property and Radiohead

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 10:06:15 +0800

For over fifty years, record companies had a complete monopoly over the music that was recorded, played and sold throughout the world. In recent years, pretty much anyone with a computer has had the ability to produce, promote and distribute their own music. This situation has divided the world into two distinct camps: Those aligned with the record companies, with a desire to protect their existing investments and markets, and a new and emerging community who view music as a free commodity to be created, remixed and shared without payment.

In the 21st century, it seems to me that neither of these extremes are ideal. Certainly, musicians deserve to be paid for their efforts and their creative talents. However, the huge economies of scale provided by the Internet means that the prices charged by record companies are no longer reasonable. Most of the $30 that we pay for a CD goes on the costs of producing the physical CD, distribution, promotion and record company profits. Very little goes to the artist. Even the successful online stores, such as iTunes, have a pricing structure that is only slightly cheaper than CD prices, so as not to cannibalize record companies’ existing revenues.

On the other hand, stealing music (whether from a shop or via peer-to-peer downloads) is illegal and just plain wrong. Teachers have a role to play in teaching students about the ethical dimensions of their online behaviour.

Slowly, a third way seems to be emerging. British band Radiohead is embarking on a social experiment that is forcing consumers to confront the moral choices associated with online music. Rather than paying the record company (overpriced) or the free version (illegal), Radiohead is telling its fans to decide for themselves what they think that their new album, In Rainbows, is worth. Fans can even pay nothing if they choose to.  
While this model is not going to be practical for many artists (Radiohead is one of the few bands with a large fan base that are not contracted to a major record label), it will provide a fascinating insight into what consumers really believe music is worth. Millions of people are currently stealing music --- If Radiohead can convince these people to pay something, even a few dollars, for their music, they will make an absolute fortune. When this happens, lets hope that the record companies wake up and realise that their fifty-year old business model needs to change.

(Picture of Radiohead is in the public domain, sourced from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Thomed.jpg

New Tools, New Schools: Starting the Conversation about Web 2.0

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 21:26:42 +0800

This was a panel discussion at the 2007 NECC Conference in Atlanta. The panel was amazing: Will Richardson, David Warlick, Gwen Solomon, Timothy Magner and Lynne Schrum.
We all know that schools need to change. The world is changing at a remarkable rate and schools are not keeping pace. This panel talked about how to start a dialogue with teachers, administrators, policy-makers and community members about how to achieve this change.
Tim showed a great poster (available at school2-0.org) which paints a visual picture of what schools of the future should look like. This is a great discussion starter for conversations about if, how and why schools should change. I particularly liked the idea that web 2.0 tools can break down the artificial distinction between home learning and school learning.
They then opened up the floor for educators to share examples of how web 2.0 was transforming education in their schools and communities.
Gary Brown from the Catholic Education Office in Paramatta got the biggest cheer of the day when he announced that his system had made a decision that they would not block any websites whatsoever. His team understands that educating staff and students about web 2.0 sites is essential for a 21st century education. For this reason, all senior administrators are required to blog as part of their professional development.
Gwen and Lynne specifically asked for case studies and examples of how technology can improve student outcomes. If you have examples: contact Gwen_and_lynne_book_2@yahoo.com