August 15th, 2011

The Land of Me at Port Ellen PS: Parental Involvement 4/5

Derek Robertson

Comments: none Tags: Tags: cfe, curriculum for excellence, game based learning, Land of Me, parental involvement
 : Categories Argyll & Bute, Curriculum for Excellence, Parents, writing

When I first chatted with Janice McRae about her plans for using The Land of Me one of the first things she made reference to was her desire to encourage parental involvement in the project. Having a strong belief that parents should be as good a partner as possible in helping children learn she was very keen to create ways in which this could happen. A letter of information was sent out to all parents asking for help with building some of the class scenes as well as telling them about the opportunity to come and in to the classroom to support some learning activities.. This desire is very much in concert with that of Scottish Government’s views on parental involvement:

Parents who take on a supportive role in their child’s learning make a difference in improving achievement and behaviour. The active involvement of parents in the life of the school can help promote a learning community in which pupils can engage positively with school staff and their peers.

I was keen to get an overview from some parents about what their perception of this project had been and what impact, if any, they felt that it had had on their children. One mother I spoke to talked of her delight at being asked in to the classroom to help in the first place but also of her sense of amazement at the spread and range of
curricular activity that was happening. She also commented on the information letter that went home from the school being something that immediately captivated her attention and at her delight of how the project helped make relevant learning about her daughters own community and environment.

On the day that I visited the class a writing activity had been planned that involved parents coming in to help the children with a story about the characters in The Land of Me. There were quite a number of parents in the room that day and the atmosphere was focused and industrious. Following on from the stories that can be read when the player/learner visits Granny Olive in The Land of Me the guidance given to the children and the teacher was
that their story would be in three parts, would contain one of the main characters from The Land of Me and that it would have either a happy, sad or funny ending. The parents acted as scribes where appropriate and worked with their child to encourage the telling, drawing and writing of their own Land of Me story.

I also took time to interview some of the parents that took part in this writing session. The parents were hugely impressed with the open and visual nature of the learning environment and they were delighted to be playing such an active part in their children’s learning in school as well as out of school.

Parent Interview 1

Some of the points of made by this parent about this experience included:

“This approach to learning is completely different, it really leaves it open to their imagination.”

“The reading, the writing and the arithmetic is all in here..the kids are making it all themselves.”

“It’s been great getting in here and seeing them working…the classroom is so vibrant and busy!”

Parent Interview 2

Some of the points of made by this parent about this experience included:

“This is fantastic, lovely…I like that we’re involved in it all.”

“It’s fantastic because they can get so involved in it. It’s not like just picking up a book and putting it away-they are part of it every day.”

“My husband and I coming to help has been significant for us…we know what she is talking about when she comes home because we have been involved.”

Port Ellen PS clearly view the parents of their children as a valuable resource and as allies in helping to take children forward. It was clear from my discussions with the parents that such willing encouragement for them to be part of the life of learning really made them feel god about being a partner in their child’s development. What I saw in my time there is testament to this approach-happy children and happy parents working together with thoughtful and committed teachers in a vibrant and inquisitive learning space.

August 11th, 2011

The Land of Me at Port Ellen PS: Gleeful children lost in the learning space 3/5

Derek Robertson

Comments: none Tags: Tags: curriculum for excellence, game based learning, games based learning, GBL, learning spaces
 : Categories Argyll & Bute

There has been much discussion over the past few years about the nature of learning spaces and how these should be designed in order to effect the best conditions for learning. This was something that I reflected on during and after my visit to P.1/2 at Port Ellen PS having seen a traditional rectangular classroom being transformed in to a magical place where adventure and learning happened.

Working with parents the class teacher at Port Ellen PS designed and made a number of areas that matched those in the The Land of Me. Each area had many references to the characters and themes running through the chapters in the software but also to a range of other contexts for learning and development. What was clearly evident though in my visit was the way in which the children had completely immersed themselves in the learning space that was their traditionally shaped classroom - and in so doing they had lost themselves in learning.

Dancing with otters at the riverside
I spoke with one young pupil about the area that had been set up as the riverbank. I was introduced to Dodo the Scottish Otter who I was told liked to dance. Dodo had a number of dance moves that the children had been
learning and putting together in sequences and they had been making their own too. I also saw that the children had been learning all about creatures that might live in or near the riverside and that they had been outside adventuring and learning about creatures that lived on their island. I will go in to further detail about curricular activity and CfE references in a later post but at this stage the gleeful look on this learners face in this accompanying video says a lot about how learning can be positively influenced by such a motivating and exciting learning space in which one can learn!

Reading in the cave
Classrooms sometimes have very comfortable spaces that are designated for reading. Spaces where children can relax on comfortable cushions or a nice carpet and take time to read. The take on this reading space during this project was structured around Granny Olive’s cave. This is the storytelling place in The Land of Me and it is a
calm and peaceful place where stories are brought to life by a very old giant tortoise. This video shows a young learner being interrupted by me when he was quietly reading The Stick Man. Listen to what he says and then watch how he engages with his book as I move away with the camera. Yet again, we see a thoughtful learning space situated in a meaningful context that appears to be having a positive impact on encouraging good learning; in this case independently-chosen reading time.

Classrooms, particularly those in Primary schools, are often transformed to mirror or ‘become’ the context in which learning is situated at particular times. When they are done well they can impact in a positive fashion on teaching and learning. As we can see from the work at Port Ellen PS the effort can be very worthwhile indeed.

August 10th, 2011

The Land of Me at Port Ellen PS: A visit from the King of The Land of Me 2/5

Derek Robertson

Comments: none Tags: Tags: cfe, Consolarium, game based learning, games based learning, The Land of Me
 : Categories Argyll & Bute, Early Years

The team at the Consolarium first saw The Land of Me when it was being presented at a game based learning conference in London. We were quite enchanted by the resource and felt that it could be something that, if used appropriately, could work well to support and enhance learning with younger children. We managed to meet up with James Huggins who is the CEO of Made in Me, the company that make the software and let them know that we would be interested in running pilots when the resource was ready to go…

Discussions continued with James and his team and eventually we managed to get things on the move. However, this was not where things stopped in terms of partnership with Made in Me. Very keen to see for himself how things had been going on in Scotland he asked if he could accompany us on out visit to Port Ellen PS to see for himself how his resource was being used in a teaching and learning context.

Once Janice McRae heard that James Huggins was coming to visit she began to think how she could best exploit this event to have further impact on the chidren’s learning…and in so doing she came up with an idea!

The King of the Land of Me comes to Port Ellen PS.

Janice’s idea was to ask James Huggins to act as the KIng of The Land of Me when he came to visit. That meant that the children could write letters to the King telling him what they know about his fabled land. James was in agreement and soon enough a batch of hand-written letters found their way to the King of The Land of Me’s postbox. James took time to to respond to all the children’s letters and duly sent them back with a promise that he would come to see them in the classroom.

This was the catalyst for great excitement and following on from the Royal Wedding this year plans were put in to place to ensure that things would be ready for the Royal visit.

On arrival at the school James was asked to wear a crown and a cloak so that his persona as the King of The Land of Me could be as true as possible for the excited children. He readily went along with this and was somewhat at ease in his Royal role! As he entered the class he was given a guard of honour by the children who were acting as animals from his Kingdom. A red carpet then led to his classroom throne where he was then met by his loyal and admiring subjects.

I spoke with James later that day about what he had seen and what he thought of the way that his resource was being used. His first reaction was to say that he was ‘speechless’ and that “we could not have created a better example of why it is we made The Land of Me or how we’d like it to influence learning!”

You can hear our conversation below:

The craft of the teaching and the way in which contexts can be created to help learners suspend their disbelief is clearly in evidence here. Yet again we see how young learners can respond in such a positive fashion to this methodology and how the thoughtful and imaginative teacher can create the environment in which rich learning can happen and thrive.

August 10th, 2011

Land of Me at Port Ellen PS: Planning for good learning 1/5

Derek Robertson

Comments: 2 Comments » Tags: Tags: game based learning, games based learning, GBL, The Land of Me
 : Categories Argyll & Bute, Parents, cross-curricular

This year we worked with the people at The Land of Me to pilot their software in schools in Dundee, West Lothian and Argyll & Bute. We have already seen some great work in the use of this software to support and enhance learning in Pre-5 and P.1 & P2 classes in Dundee and West Lothian and were also made aware of work ongoing in some of the Argyll and Bute schools via a class blog and a Made in Me’s Facebook page.

Janice McRae from Port Ellen PS on Islay was one of the teachers who came along to the Land of Me introductory session in Inveraray earlier in the year. As a result of her experience on the day and following on from subsequent discussions with colleagues and her own thinking about the needs of her learners she has put together the most inspiring learning experience set in The Land of Me, one that has encouraged parental involvement in so many ways and that has created a space in which her pupils can suspend their disbelief and embark on a learning adventure!

“We had three weeks of learning before we even looked at the software!”

I managed to get out to visit Janice and her class just before the summer break to see just what had been happening. You can listen to my chat with her about how she planned to use the Land of Me and how things progress from then on…

Planning for learning

What was interesting about how Janice McRae planned to use the Land of Me resource was that in the first instance she did not share it with her children for three whole weeks. During this time so much was done in terms of asking questions and initiating discussions in order to create the context for enquiry and curiosity that could then be further developed when the resource was introduced. Some of the questions that were discussed included: Who lives in the Land of Me?; What is a map?; How would we get to the Land of Me? As a result of these discussions some of the children suggested that they make the Land of Me in the classroom!

“Let’s turn the classroom into The Land of Me!”

The Land of Me is made up of a number of chapters that are set in different geographical scenarios. We meet the main characters Buddy Boo, Eric and Willow in the desert, on clifftops, by the riverside, in the arctic and other places too. With the help of her partner and many of the parents Janice went about transforming the classroom into The Land of Me with all the scenes represented in the software physically incorporated into the classroom. Parents helped make camels for the desert, brought in trees for Bramble Wood, built the cave where Granny Olive reads her stories and even made wooden cutouts of the main characters from the story.

With things in place both contextually and physically it was now time to go on a learning adventure…

August 8th, 2011

GBL in schools: A slow and steady approach or REVOLUTION? What say you?

Derek Robertson

Comments: 1 Comment Tags: Tags: compas, Consolarium, David Shaffer, epistemic games, futur en seine, game based learning, games based learning, GBL
 : Categories Consolarium

When we first began the Consolarium initiative way back in 2006 its main aim was to explore and share ways in which the use of computer games and game design could have a positive impact on teaching and learning and support Curriculum for Excellence in Scottish schools. Over the years this aim has remained the same and our reach across the country has been quite a success. Many of the ideas, approaches and methodologies we employed as well as many of the challenges that we faced in growing this practice became of interest to educational colleagues in England and further afield and this led to a number of invitations to speak at many conferences and other professional development settings. This wider recognition from colleagues outwith Scotland has played some part in affirming Learning and Teaching Scotland’s (now Education Scotland) ambitious and somewhat prescient decision to invest in and commit to such a venture back in 2006.

One of the invites that we were able to accept and honour recently was from the Digital City events (part of the Futur en Seine Festival) in Paris. As part of a three part seminar programme organized by Le Group Compas, Cap-Digital and Microsoft we were asked to deliver a keynote talk about our work in leading game based learning in Scotland and also about what we have seen in terms of impact on learning.

The session was to be shared with Professor David Shaffer from Wisconsin University. Prof. Shaffer is the author of How Computer Games Help Children Learn and he is the person behind the Epistemic Games website. It was a delight to share the session with such an eminent GBL leader and as it turned out although we shared the same belief that games can help children learn, how we should go about this was slightly different…

Our main thrust in relation to games in schools has been to use commercially available games (COTS) that have been built for entertainment and not for education. Our reasoning behind this is embedded in James Paul Gee’s take on Semiotic Domains and the fact that so many computer games present challenging, demanding, complex and culturally appealing contexts for learning that schools can undoubtedly employ to great effect. Some examples include using these games in schools:

• Guitar Hero
• Nintendogs
• Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training
• Eyepet

We have also worked closely and carefully with our Local Authority Education partners and schools in Scotland to ensure that our endeavours are always wholly based in sound pedagogic principles that would fit in with the established practices and workings of a classroom to some degree but that would also begin to challenge established mindsets regarding the nature of technology in learning, valuing and exploiting what children value in their own cultural domains and how effective learners can be independent of adult intervention.

Prof. Shaffer’s work with Epistemic Games focuses more on making bespoke games that would enable players to be professional people. This definition of Epistemic Games is offered on his website:

Epistemic games are computer games that can help players learn to think like engineers, urban planners, journalists, lawyers, and other innovative professionals, giving them the tools they need for a changing world.

In epistemic games, players see what it is like to live in the world of adults. They learn ways of thinking that matter in the digital age, and have a chance to imagine the kind of person they might someday become.

In essence Epistemic games such as Nephrotex, Urban Science, Digital Zoo and Sodaconstructor are designed in such a way that to play successfully the player has to situate themselves within the real life context of the job of being an engineer, urban planner or animator thus learning about AND applying the skills directly related to these positions.

Prof. Shaffer established a thread through his presentation that questioned the effectiveness of schooling in respect of learning being detached from the context of application of newly found and developing skills, knowledge and understanding. School needed to change to help learners reach their full potential and the application of Epistemic Games should be central to that change.

Both our presentations plus an introduction to the session from Julien Llanas, who chaired the session, can be viewed here.

The discussion session at the end of our presentations was particularly lively with an emphasis on some of what we had touched on in relation to metacognition, development of self-esteem and enhanced attitudes to being a learner and learning. Professor Daniel Andler from the University of Paris-Sorbonne was tasked with summing up the seminar session. As part of this summing up Professor Andler chose to focus on the different approaches that Prof. Shaffer and his team have taken. He compared us to the Mensheviks and the Bolsheviks with the Consolarium being observed to be the more moderate of the two in relation to trying to effect change from within established structures and attitudes but with Dr Shaffer looking for educational revolution on a much quicker scale!

Yet again it was a great delight to be able to share the vision and the innovative practice coming from of Scottish schools with colleagues in another country. We look forward to hearing how people such as Julien Llanas and other interested parties that we met in Paris make progress in the domain of game based learning In French schools as well as learning more about the work of the team at Epistemic Games.

August 5th, 2011

1st Class Kidz Digital: News, Weather & Sport reporters 5/5

Derek Robertson

Comments: none Tags: Tags: cfe, curriculum for excellence
 : Categories Aberdeenshire, Curriculum for Excellence

This is the fifth of a series of 5 blog posts about the 1st Class Kidz Digital radio project that took place in Hatton Cruden PS. Introductory post can be viewed here.

1st Class KIdz Digital not only bring you the best in modern day music, quick-witted DJs delivering comedy sketches and the best of local industries featured in high quality advertising. Oh no, as with any radio station they also bring you the news, the weather and sports bulletins in every show. I managed to interrupt the team who cover all these areas and got the lowdown on how they gather their material for broadcast on 1st Class Kidz Digital.

News Reporters
How do we manage to mix up serious and not so serious news so that it appeals to our listeners. Also, where should we source our news stories - BBC or Sky?

Sports Reporter
Exploring local sport stories, exploring minority sports and discussing controversial issues in sport such as that rugby punch!

Weather Reporter
How we go about gathering the weather report for out area and what it means to be the person giving the bad news about rain for the weekend!

Thank you once again to all at Hatton Cruden PS for allowing us to share this excellent project with everyone.

August 3rd, 2011

1st Class Kidz Digital: The Advertising Team 4/5

Derek Robertson

Comments: none Tags:  : Categories Aberdeenshire, Curriculum for Excellence, Enterprise

This is the fourth of a series of 5 blog posts about the 1st Class Kidz Digital radio project that took place in Hatton Cruden PS. Introductory post can be viewed here.

In relation to Enterprise in education the Curriculum for Excellence website argues that good enterprising teaching and learning should:

• provide opportunities for learners to think and act in enterprising ways
• provide a clear focus on core and employability skills, and the ability to transfer these to different contexts, in particular the world of work
• provide opportunities for work-related experiences, both in and outwith the classroom
• adopt an enterprising approach to learning and teaching
• promote positive attitudes
• provide opportunities for learners to develop skills such as problem solving, decision making and evaluating risks
• provide entrepreneurial experiences.

The Advertising team at 1st Class Kidz Digital in Hatton Cruden PS had most certainly shown how they were addressing many of these aspirations (particularly the last three) with their efforts to attract local businesses to advertise on their school radio show. The local market and bakery both agreed to a deal that involved them supplying fruit and cakes in exchange for a well-scripted and well-crafted advert to feature on 1st Class Kidz Digital. I had a chance to speak with the Emily and Haley, who were the Advertising executives in the team, about their work:

Some good evidence here of a range of skills being applied in this task. Technical competence most certainly being developed as the children have been using Cool Edit to record and manipulate their adverts as well as writing poems/lyrics and negotiating business deals with local shops! Yet another effective team with the wider machine of 1st Class Kidz Digital.

August 3rd, 2011

1st Class Kidz Digital: Meet the DJs 3/5

Derek Robertson

Comments: none Tags: Tags: cfe, curriculum for excellence
 : Categories Aberdeenshire, Curriculum for Excellence, Literacy

This is the third of a series of 5 blog posts about the 1st Class Kidz Digital radio project that took place in Hatton Cruden PS. Introductory post can be viewed here.

One of the most important ingredients in ant radio show id the presenter, or in the case of a music station, the DJs. I met with two sest of DJs at 1st Class Kidz Digital and chatted to both. First up are DJ Groove and DJ Tic-Tac. Have a listen to our chat:

These boys said a number of things during our chat that really chimed with me in terms of how this experience had impacted on them as learners. These phrases included,

“Mr Mier has given us the independence to work on this project”

“This radio project has made me look forward to coming to school, it’s not just textbooks now!”

“Everyone is focused on their jobs and we are all responsible…well most of us anyway!”

We learn from our mistakes…it’s a good experience to learn from your mistakes.”

I then met DJ DBoy and DJ Fluff Hop and chatted with them about what the inspiration for their comedy interludes were. To help me understand this they run through a rehearsal of their forthcoming show with me. Have a listen:

It is clear from that short chat with these boys just how involved and serious about this fun yet demanding learning experience they are. Watch out for these up and coming DJs on a local radio station near you in the future!

August 3rd, 2011

1st Class Kidz Digital: Meet the Station Manager 2/5

Derek Robertson

Comments: none Tags: Tags: cfe
 : Categories Aberdeenshire, Curriculum for Excellence, cross-curricular

This is the second of a series of 5 blog posts about the 1st Class Kidz Digital radio project that took place in Hatton Cruden PS. Introductory post can be viewed here.

One of the most important jobs at 1st Class Kidz Digital was that of the Station Manager. Efficient performance in this role was integral to any broadcasts being on time and of the appropriate quality so it was with great delight that I managed to spend some time speaking to Niamh who was a very effective StationManager. Niamh had been walking round the classroom speaking to the children and was taking time to ensure that all was well and that all tasks were well under way and that the show would be ready in time for broadcast. She then called a team whole meeting which she chaired. You can see a brief part of this meeting in this video.

After this I took some time to talk to Niamh about her role and what she felt she had learned from it. She said that she was delighted to get the role as Station manager after interview and that that process in irself was a great learning experience. She also said that she felt she had developed a great deal of confidence because she had to speak to the team all the time to ensure all was going to plan and that she had learned to listen more because she had to resolve difficulties and problems when they arose- all to the satisfaction, where possible, of everyone!

You can hear my chat with Niamh here:

I was really struck by what I saw at the team meeting. Not only was there a very confident and effective Station Manager but her team were also working in a similar way AS were the rest of the pupils when giving their updates. The children in this class have really embraced the responsibilities given to them and clearly shown how they can react in such a positive manner to learning experiences that have purpose, cohesion and relevance.

August 3rd, 2011

1st Class Kidz Digital: The Radio station in the teacher’s cupboard 1/5

Derek Robertson

Comments: 2 Comments » Tags: Tags: Aberdeenshire, cfe, cross-curricular
 : Categories Aberdeenshire, Curriculum for Excellence, Glow, Parents

One of the most exciting and rewarding aspects of teaching is being able to bring your own talents and interests to the fore to help drive learning. Chris Mier from Hatton Cruden PS in Aberdeesnhire has done just that this year when he decided to bring the skills and experience he had honed in working in radio and DJing on the internet to the life and learning of his P.7 class. This interest of his was the catalyst for a project that crossed all curricular boundaries and made so many connections across learning. This series of 5 posts will hopefully give you a flavour of this exciting project and yet another illustration of the standards that children can achieve when the bar of aspiration and expectation is raised.

In the teacher’s cupboard in Mr Mier’s room is a cupboard. You know the type - the ones where books, paints, resources etc are kept. However, this cupboard is a little bit different from most. Have a look to see what is inside this one:

This range of resources that includes the cutting edge DJ equipment Tracktor was the resource that enabled Mr Mier to establish a whole class enterprise project based on a radio broadcasting business. 1st Class Kidz Digital radio company became a real enterprise over the course of the second half of last year in this P.7 class. My discussion with Mr Mier about this project can be heard here:

Getting started

Mr Mier created 25 jobs in 1st Class Kidz Digital that needed to filled. This meant that the perfect opportunity to teach the children about letter writing, CVs, interview techniques within a purposeful and relevant context was established. The children then had to apply for the jobs and were then interviewed for these jobs by some of the parents of the children. Their decisions were then fed back to Mr Mier who posted the newly filled positions on the class Glow site. Once the elation and disappointment of success or other wise had settled it was down to work and to start getting the radio shows produced!

The range of jobs

A radio station needs DJs of course but what else does it require? Well, a station manager was appointed and she was in essence the boss. She held weekly whole class meetings where she was given updates on progress from the DJs, scriptwriters, jingle creators, news reporters, weather reporters, sport reporters, advertising team, art & design team and the class blogger. Each ‘employee’ had to ensure that they were on task and that all necessary work was completed by an agreed due date.

Impact on learning

Mr Mier talked about the success that this enterprising approach to learning had had on his pupils and in particular he talked about his perceptions of:

• how the confidence levels had grown in the children over the course of the project. He attributed this to the ownership and responsibility that was afforded to the children and the way in which they embraced this. He also talked of the reality of the learning experience and how it was relevant, purposeful and important to the children
• how his pupils had engaged with and completed tasks to a very high standard and at times way beyond what was expected of them. This was particularly evident in areas such as writing and music making.
• how the social dynamic of the class was enhanced as a result of the project and the way in which the children took responsibility for their individual and collective tasks. The programme and the business was run with minimal input by Mr Mier with the children really owning 1st Class Kidz Digital.

Having spent an afternoon with the team at 1st Class Kidz Digital I have to say how impressed I was with their industry, creativity and maturity. I think that this shows how Curriculum for Excellence can work so well when a teacher uses specific skills that they have to create purposeful learning experiences for children; experiences that make them want to come to school, to learn, to achieve and to show us just what they can do.

Thank you to all at Hatton Cruden PS and 1st Class Kidz Digital for making me so welcome.