Laurie O’Donnell

It seems like only yesterday that I blogged about my decison to leave LTS to work for myself. It felt like a big step on the 25th March announcing to the world that I was moving on after 8 years. I really liked being able to blog and tweet my departure (what did we do before web 2.0?) and have been delighted with the number of friends and colleagues who have been in touch to either wish me well or check out my mental health (’leaving a public sector job with a pension during a recession – are you crazy!’)

Still got far too much to do before I leave on 30 June but last week I got a big boost when my colleague Marie Dougan, LTS Glow Programme Director, was appointed as Interim Director of Learning and Technology. Marie will be great in this role and I wish her all the best in taking forward the major work of the directorate I have led: Glow; the LTS Online Service; and our work in new technologies including games based learning.

These are challenging times for schools, local authorities and the public sector economy in general. LTS has made a major contribution to the learning and technology agenda which will be increasingly important to education in the years ahead.  I have been hugely privileged to have the opportunity to lead and manage some of this work over the last 8 years. More than that I have been incredibly lucky to work with some fantastic colleagues who have pushed the boundaries of Scottish education a little bit further forward. Colleagues who have remained positive and optimistic about the future, despite the many challenges, and never lost sight of the importance of making a positive difference to the work of our teachers and to the life chances of Scotland’s young people.

Lovely tribute from Merlin John on his great website MJO.

Being described as ‘Scotland’s ICT leader’ made me smile and I am sure will raise a few eyebrows (including my own!).

After eight great years with LTS I have decided it is time for a change.

I am going to leave my post as Director of Learning and Technology in the summer to start up my own business.

The plan is to develop a portfolio career picking up bits and pieces of work here and there and helping out where maybe I can make a difference. I want to continue working in the learning and technology space – where I have been for the last 10 years full time and to some extent throughout my career as teacher, school manager and local authority officer.  However, I am also interested in trying my hand at some new things and keeping my options open.

It all feels a bit risky giving up a brilliant job in the public sector during a recession but it just seems like the right time for me. I need a new challenge and I think there are opportunities out there to build on my experience at LTS. Lets hope so!

I will really miss the great people I have been lucky to work with at LTS and across the country and recognise how privileged I have been to hold this post and be involved in all the major developments in education at a national level.

One thing I won’t miss is the 170+ miles round trip, commuting between Broughty Ferry and the centre of Glasgow three or four days a week. It’s not just the distance it’s the 4 hours of travel that eventually starts to impact on quality of life. Hopefully the 0652 train will disappear from my daily routine.

Anyway this is much more about seeking new challenges to develop, grow and continue to make a contribution. I feel optimistic, and at 48 believe I still have a lot to offer.

My leaving date has been confirmed as 30 June and over the next 98 days I hope to be able to find some time to reflect on my time at LTS and the challenges that lie ahead. Watch this space …

I just picked up the very sad news of Tom Conlon’s death today.

Tom was one of my lecturers when I was training to be a teacher at Moray House (along with Tony van der Kuyl who died last year at this time). He was a brilliant lecturer and the high standards he set for me as a trainee were great preparation for life as a new teacher.

Tom was one of the most articulate people I have ever met and it was great to see him in full flight – although not very comfortable when you were on the receiving end of his invective.

I will miss the challenge he provided and just wish I could have persuaded him that Glow was more good than bad.

I am in our Dundee office today trying to catch-up on a few tasks before the Scottish Learning Festival. It’s a beautiful clear day here with blue skies and the River Tay shimmering to a warm gentle breeze as my only distraction… well apart from email, the phone and a to do list that keeps getting longer as the day progresses.

Tomorrow afternoon, in the LTS Glasgow office, I am going to be saying a few words at a presentation for Ewan McIntosh. [Ooops - just checked my diary and it has been postponed.]  Ewan recently left LTS to take up a very exciting post with Channel 4 4ip as Digital Commissioner for Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Over the last couple of years Ewan worked as one of LTS’ national advisers with a remit to explore new technologies for learning. The extent of this work has been incredibly well documented through Ewan’s edu.blog.com. Ewan’s blog reflects the energy, enthusiasm and passion that he brings to everything he does. Before taking up the post of national adviser Ewan was seconded from East Lothian Council to work initially on the development of our award winning  Modern Foreign Language Environment (proof of concept project for Glow) and then on the development of educational blogs. My first contact with Ewan was more than 5 years ago when he applied for a John Dickie Award grant to explore blogs in education. It won’t surprise you that his application was successful.

What makes Ewan and his edu.blogcom so interesting is not just his prolific output – it is often hard to believe the scope and scale of what he is able to do, write and sustain on a daily basis. Nor is it the remarkable global network that he is able to maintain with consumate ease. What makes Ewan’s blog such a great success, to my mind at least, is the fact that he is a fantastic communicator.

His move from LTS is education’s loss and the media’s gain. His ability to take complex ideas around social media and translate them into meaningful contexts will stand him in good stead for another successful career. I extend LTS’ thanks to Ewan for his hard work and commitment over the last 4 years and wish him all the best for the future in the sure knowledge that our paths will continue to cross.

PS Ewan will be in action again on Wednesday night in the SECC as the facilitator of TeachMeet2008 at The Scottish Learning Festival.

Another book I picked up on holiday was Andrew Carnegie’s autobiography ‘My Own Story’. What a remarkable story of the man born in Dunfermline in 1835 of ‘poor but honest parents, of good kith and kin’ who becomes one of the richest people in history (a good story in itself) and then gives it all away.

After his father’s home based steam weaving business collapsed the family emigrated to the USA in 1848. Andrew started off working as a bobbin boy in  factory then delivered telegraphs before building investments in a range of industries including the railways, bridge building, oil, iron and most significantly steel.

In 1901 he sold his steel mills and ‘resolved to stop accumulating’ and start ‘the infinitely more serious and difficult task of wise distribution’. By the time of his death 18 years later he had endowed 3,000 libraries, 30,000 church organs, provided funds for scholarships and pensions, created the Temple of Peace in The Hague and famously bought Pittencrieff Park for the people of his home town and much more.

I am  mindful that autobiography does not always provide the best source of historical record and his Wikipedia entry covers a number of controversies from his life. Some may say that all he did was give back what he gained from the labour of others. A remarkable man and a remarkable life nonetheless.

Started yesterday morning by running to catch the 0636 train from Broughty Ferry to Glasgow and ended it back at Broughty Ferry station on the 1730 train from Edinburgh. Rather then feeling tired at the end of a busy day I felt full of energy and even more enthusiastic about the future of education than usual. It had been a pretty good day with lots of progress across a number of fronts – finances, documenting systems, project milestones, recruitment etc (important to get this stuff right if you want to deliver anything). I had also had a good 30 minute leadership coaching session with Martyn Sakol of ER Consulting just before lunch but the main source of my optimism was from spending time with one of my favourite thinkers on education – Stephen Heppell.

Stephen Heppell has worked with LTS for many years and was once a non-executive director of our predecessor body SCET (The Scottish Council for Educational Technology). He been doing some work for LTS over the last couple of years. We have been exploring a slightly different kind of consultancy with him and I think it has been working really well. Yesterday Stephen was a keynote speaker at a Scottish Government conference on Schools of Ambition in Edinburgh. Last week he spoke at an event on Urban Learning Spaces at The Lighthouse in Glasgow. He was a keynote speaker at SLF07 and worked for LTS over full the two days and he will be back at SLF08. He has visited schools in Dundee, East Renfrewshire and East Lothian (amongst others). He held workshops for the LTS Glow and Curriculum for Excellence teams; provided an input to LTS senior management meetings; he has drawn our leading technology for learning innovators (including Ewan McIntosh and Derek Robertson) into UK wide events to help promote the work we are doing in Scotland … and much more.

We get three main things from from this consultancy. First of all we get another external view on how we are doing from someone who has a great overview – Stephen works with more than 20 countries and is an adviser to government ministers across the world. Secondly, we get the opportunity to influence developments and educational innovation beyond the usual reach of LTS. Thirdly we are seen to be associated with a leading thinker who wants to be associated with and involved in developments in Scotland.

Yesterday I had a couple of hours with Stephen to discuss progress and to look ahead over the next few months. We talked about how to make the most of the time he has left on his contract and what we might do to draw together his findings and insights from his work in Scotland. Probably the best way would be through his blog.

My favourite quote from Stephen is that ‘education inoculates children against poverty’. Inspirational stuff and an important reminder of the crucial role of education in improving the life chances of all of our children and young people.

As part of the award I was asked to answer a few question for ‘Edutopia’ the front-end of the George Lucas Educational Foundation.

Starts:

O’Donnell describes the ups and downs of the Glow roll-out in his blog but his main lesson learned is about the importance of patience and good-faith collaboration: “The time it takes to take people with you is an investment for the future.”

How do you use the Web, or other technology, in your work?

At LTS, we use the Web for everything from publishing resources to providing advice, sharing insights, and developing communities of practice. The LTS Online Service is the first port of call for Scottish teachers looking for support.

Our latest development draws together some of the Web to support Scottish education, and I think it points to the future as a space to enhance professionalism and deepen peer support.

I have been trying to keep an online learning log as a way of recording what I have done and where I am going. I also use Bloglines.com to keep up with what my colleagues and friends are up to.

Which resources have inspired you and informed your work?

Everything I have seen, heard or done — good, bad or indifferent — has informed my work. I have learned many things the hard way — and in my view, the best way — through experience.

I love reading the classics of literature, I am inspired by great movies, beautiful art, and wonderful web sites. Difficult to list my top ten — give me a week with nothing else to do and I might just about manage to draw up a list, maybe a top fifty.

Who are your role models?

There are lots of people I admire and love, but I don’t really have any role models. My day-to-day inspiration comes from my family, my friends, and my colleagues, to whom I owe everything, including Tony van der Kuyl, director of the Scottish Interactive Technology Centre from 1989 to 2008, who passed away in January of this year. I would like to dedicate my selection to the 2008 Global Six to Tony.

I am also inspired by all the people I have met or read about who have dealt with adversity and pick themselves up and get on with living their lives as best they can.

What advice would you give those who consider you a role model?

Plow your own furrow, learn to be comfortable in your own skin, never stop learning, never stop doubting that you can do even better, make sure you enjoy the good times, and celebrate success whenever you can. Smile, and the world smiles back.

What fundamental beliefs have guided your work?

People really matter, and the right people in the right place at the right time can really make a difference. And for evil (or even just mediocrity) to prevail, all it takes is for good people to do nothing.

What is your mantra in the face of adversity?

Keep things in perspective. Keep doing the right things for the right reasons. Draw on the expertise and support of those around you. To misquote Jim Collins (author of Good to Great), never lose faith that in the end you will prevail, but in the meantime face up to the brutal facts of your current reality and start to deal with them.

When you were a teacher, how did you become excited about technology?

What excited me over twenty years ago, when I started teaching, are the same things that excite me now about technology in education. It was seeing learners and teachers doing things that are just not possible by any other means. It was seeing the motivation that well-designed technology in the hands of great teachers can generate, and, of course, the potential that this unleashes into better learning and improved educational outcomes.

What’s your favorite piece of technology or Web site in your personal life?

Right now, my favorite technology is the Nintendo Wii. I just love the way this device has transformed gaming. I also like using Google Maps with the GPS function on my phone — great technology for someone like me with a hopeless sense of direction.

What advice do you have for new teachers?

Teaching is a tough job, but the rewards when you get it right are priceless. Teachers change lives, and they should make sure they are always a positive force for every young person in their care. Treat every young person as if they were your own children, and you will not go far wrong.

For veteran teachers, I would say this: Never stop learning from your learners; it will make it easier for them to learn from you.

If U.S. educators visited schools in your country, what would be most striking to them?
The extent to which our teachers are trusted and treated as autonomous professionals able to make judgments about what to teach, how to teach, and when to assess. In Scotland, the curriculum in grades 3-14 is based on broad guidelines rather than prescriptive regulations.

If educators from your country visited the United States, what would be most remarkable or different for them about U.S. schools?
The biggest difference would be the assessment regime that I have seen in most of the U.S. schools I visited — ‘leave no child untested for more than five minutes!’ Having said that, most of what they would see would be very familiar and viewed very positively. There is lots of great stuff going on in U.S. classrooms.

Ends

I was shocked and devastated and to hear that Tony van der Kuyl died on Thursday afternoon. Although he had been ill for a few short months he was really positive and up for a fight to win back his good health – exactly as anyone who knew him would expect. Last time I saw him was just before the Christmas holidays and he was in great form.
I have lost a great friend, the world has lost a real character and education has lost a tireless campaigner. The biggest loss is to the family he loved so much.

John Connell has blogged a great tribute to Tony. Tony was quite simply an inspiration.

I spend much last week at the BETT Show in London. It’s hard to believe that it is more than a year since I posted prior to my visit to BETT 2007.

This year I managed to have good old trawl through the exhibition. I am always on the lookout for something that I have not seen before and as usual I was completely disappointed. Not much changes in a year and most of what is presented as new often represents little more than incremental change to existing products if not old products repackaged in the hope that nobody will notice. I suppose I shouldn’t be disappointed because it means I am on top of my job and it is only just over 3 months since I last worked my round an exhibition of educational suppliers at The Scottish Learning Festival.

Having said that if you take a longer term view 3, 5 or even 10 years you really can see some changes. The shift from floppy disk to CD-ROM to DVD and of course the web as the platform of choice. The massive change in the processing power of the desktop computer and as a result the significant change to the quality of graphics and interactivity. Peripheral devices used to be limited to printer, scanners and a limited range of switches etc for special educational needs learners. Now the array of digital input and output devices means that professional standard tools are available to all teachers and learners to use in the classroom. Only a few years ago early education was very poorly served at BETT now the offerings are considerable. All good progress I suppose but really nothing that has really set the educational heather alight – although as you would expect there are many who would want you to believe that it does or at least will soon. What will set the educational heather alight is not the technology but the practice and you just can’t capture that in a product suppliers exhibition.
Having said all of that the best of BETT is in the opportunity to meet people. I met with staff from: Scottish and English local authorities; Becta and QCA; BBC; the commercial educational ICT sector; policy makers from across the globe; and many old friends and aquaintances.

So overall was it worth spending 12 hours on trains and three nights in a hotel? On balance probably yes but I may just give BETT 2009 a miss … so that I get more out of BETT 2010.