The music is in the musician

Unless you've been hiding in a cave for the last decade, you'll know that Sir Ken Robinson has a lot to say about education and technology. Any one of the 100 million plus viewers of his various TED talks will tell you that his perspective on schools and learning is decidedly progressive. On the occasion of his keynote speech at the 2015 BETT Show, this was abundantly clear.

Many of those crammed into the BETT main arena to hear the great man speak were willing to endure the crush, and also the discomfort of standing or perching for over an hour as he held forth on learning, creativity, the role of technology, and the future of education. There were several memorable soundbites, and subsequently a small Twitter storm, as his audience attempted to capture and share the one liners. One of his most memorable one liners was about teachers using technology, where he said: 'The music is in the musician, not the instrument.', and he was also caught channeling Marshall McLuhan with his remark that 'we amplify our tools and then our tools amplify us.'

If you can stick around, I would like to spend just a little time deconstructing these sound bites, because I believe they hold a significant message that all teachers should hear. Firstly, the statement that the music is in the musician is profound, because it places all of the emphasis of creativity and all of the responsibility for proper application onto the user. Those who have argued that technology has nuances have a point. The argument is that each technology has affordances - design features that enable the user to perceive their possible applications. However, it is difficult to use this argument to explain the many ways that technology can be used that are not expected by the designers. As Sir Ken reminded us during his BETT keynote, 'people use technology in ways we cannot anticipate.' The design is simply the start of the journey. Thereafter, we can use the tools in any way we see fit.

We need to understand that as we shape our tools, our tools do tend to shape our use of them, but in entering this relationship, we are capable of discovering new and wholly unexpected ways of using them. We discover new tasks and problems that can be undertaken or solved that were previously tedious, mundane or impossible to achieve. This is the beauty of technology. It gives us options. It provides us with alternative approaches and offers us the space to try out new ideas.

When the pianist sits at her instrument, it is used by her to channel her creativity. The music is in her head, and emerges through the dexterity of her hands. The piano becomes an extension of her capabilities, and amplifies her ideas to her audience. Likewise, when the teacher uses his interactive whiteboard, or opens his laptop computer, the prime consideration must be for him to share his knowledge, competence and passion to his students. The key similarity between the musician and the teacher however, is that the musician has her audience, and the teacher has a community of co-learners - all of whom if invited, can join in with the chorus.

Image by Adam Fowler on Flickr


The music is in the musician by Steve Wheeler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Fade away

I firmly believe that if we are to reform education we need the help of technology. Although technology in itself is not enough to solve all of the problems inherent in education, in concert with new pedagogies, visionary educators, and strong leadership, change can, and does happen.

Teachers have always had an interesting association with technology. Often that relationship can be uneasy, as each educator comes to terms with how the new tools that are regularly introduced into classrooms can be used, and what each technology means to their professional practice. Teachers respond in a variety of ways, along a spectrum from gleeful acceptance to fearful rejection. What is important for all those educators who wish to successfully embed any technology into the classroom is that it should be perceived as just another tool. Students aren't likely to be impressed with new technology. They are more interested in whether their teacher is passionate and knowledgeable about their subject. They want to know how their teacher can support them as they learn, and whether their teacher is approachable and cares about their learning.

I wrote a post last year that argued for pedagogy to remain uppermost in our minds. Technology, just like any other set of tools, is there to help us all to do the job better, smarter, more effectively. It will never replace good teachers, but if it can amplify our ideas, strengthen our minds, or extend our abilities, then it is incredibly useful. Just don't ever make it appear to be special - the most effective educational technologies fade into the background as learning, and the student, take centre stage.  

Here's an excerpt from my new book, Learning with 'e's:

"Teaching has always been a challenging profession, but in a time where technology is proliferating and has penetrated just about every aspect of our lives, teachers now have unprecedented opportunities to reform education and create previously inconceivable possibilities for learners. But they need to get past the idea that technology is special. It is not. Technology, just like any other set of tools, is there to help the user perform. In the case of learning technology, it fulfils the function of supporting learning. As such we should make it mundane. Technology that is transparent is more effective than technology that is so prominent that it demands our attention. Technology that frames learning so we can see ‘through it’ to engage and explore, is more effective than technology that is the centre of attention. Introducing technology into schools is not difficult. Ensuring that it is used appropriately is another matter entirely."

By all means, integrate technology into learning, but do make sure that it's there to support learners, and becomes transparent, so that students can see past it to find their learning.

Photo by Steve Wheeler


Fade away by Steve Wheeler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Teaching and learning through dialogue

A few months ago, I wrote a blog post entitled 'Learning as dialogue' which was essentially about how students can learn through conversation and by discussing their ideas with each other. This theme is echoed in my new book Learning with 'e's which was published in January. An extract from the book relates one of my own student experiences:

"The teachers who have inspired me most are those who have been accessible rather than remote, personable instead of stand-offish, and knowledgeable without being arrogant. Most importantly, they conversed with me rather than lectured. One of the lecturers in the first year of my undergraduate degree inspired me to learn more and to push myself to my limits to become more knowledgeable in my subject area.

"Dr Ken Gale did this using nothing more than a whiteboard and pen, along with constant discussion and questioning. Ken has since become one of my valued colleagues. This kind of simple Socratic discourse was deceptively powerful, did wonders for my self esteem and piqued my appetite for more knowledge. There was no need for him to use any other visual aids or learning resources. Ken simply pointed us in the direction of relevant reading, and strategically slipped the names of key theorists into his discussions with us.

"For me this was a skillful, but relaxed and unobtrusive kind of pedagogy, involving every student in the room, debating, deliberating and generally exploring together the nuances and intricacies of our subject. There was no lecturing, and there were no absolutes. Just the inspiration of the discussion and the joy of knowing that you were going to leave the classroom with more questions than when you came in.

"It seems clear to me that to encourage open and frank dialogue in a formal learning environment, the power differential between teacher and student must be removed. When teachers wish to promote democratic learning, students are given license to challenge and encouraged to discuss, debate, argue. Passive consumption of delivered knowledge is then replaced by full engagement with the subject matter through conversation. The conversation around the topic becomes the new curriculum, enabling each student to act as an open minded, independent thinker who can defend his or her position without resorting to dogmatic assertions based on partial understanding or incomplete knowledge.

"The best teachers encourage all students to participate and value all contributions, incorporating as many as possible into an extended conversation around the topic."

Learning with 'e's: Educational Theory and Practice in the Digital Age is published by Crown House Publishing, ISBN 13 978-1845909390

Photo by Steve Wheeler



Teaching and learning through dialogue by Steve Wheeler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Joining the dots

What happens when you remove restraints from learning, and allow students to discover for themselves? What happens when students are given problems to solve rather than solutions to apply? What happens when students are given blank canvases, digital cameras, an open space? Often, the result is some form of creativity. Time and again I have heard stories from teachers of extraordinary things students have created because they have been given freedom to do so. Give children a camera, and they will show creativity. They will learn to 'see at a higher level'. Ask them to tell their own stories, and they will use their imagination. Give them the chance, and children will astound you with their inventiveness.

I read a wonderful story this morning of a school that created a makerspace in a corridor. A broken computer was placed, in pieces, on a table near to the student lockers. A sign was placed next to it challenging students to put it back together and make it work, and a prize was offered to the successful student. Within a very short time, one of the boys presented the computer, fully operational, to his teachers. He was so thrilled that he had been able to fix it, he almost forgot to claim his prize. Several other students asked if there could be other challenges set, so they could also test their abilities. Some of the girls requested a chance to do the same challenge again, because they wanted to show the boys they were just as capable. There was general excitement in the school, because the students had been offered the chance to show off their skills, and demonstrate their knowledge.

The cartoon at the top of this post says it all. Life is about joining up the dots, connecting things together, making sense of the world. Some environments encourage the transmission and acquisition of knowledge, while others demand that you apply your experience. But there is another level we can all aspire to, where we have freedom to join the dots in any way we wish, ways that are unique to us, in a manner that suits our personal style or personality. To reach that creative level, there needs to be freedom. There might be a challenge of some kind, to demonstrate how well you can do, an opportunity to imagine, to create. The bottom line is that creativity of any kind is best assessed by the individual themselves. If you have painted a picture, or written a song, it will often mean more to you than it will to others. The sense of achievement you can feel once you have created something you can be proud of, is usually reward enough.

So here's hoping that more schools decide to invest in this approach and provide makerspaces for their students, creative opportunities for them to show what they can do, and environments in which they can try out new ideas without risk of penalty.

Image from Deviant Art
Original idea and artwork by Hugh MacLeod



Joining the dots by Steve Wheeler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Future educators

What will educators do in the future? How will they work with students in the coming years? Will the role of the classroom teacher change? Certainly, people's perceptions of education seem to be changing. Some experts are predicting that the time of the traditional classroom is coming to an end. They suggest that the future of education will see learning located in any place, with technology mediating all forms of communication. Others argue that schools will always be needed, especially to maintain the social context of education. Many are undecided and hope that life will continue much as it has in the past. Change is often unwelcome, and disruption is feared by many teachers.

It is likely that teacher roles will need to change because the context of learning is changing. Exactly what those new roles might be is still unclear. Much change is happening. However, there are elements of education that remain constant. Educators discover time and again that the most powerful kinds of learning occur when students are interested in the subject, and the teacher is passionate about it. Everything else appears to be secondary, whether it is the aims and outcomes, methods of assessment, the resources or even the location of the learning. Whatever the future brings, educators will remain important in the learning process, but their roles may change significantly to accommodate new modes of learning and new educational environments. The graphic on this page is very useful as a depiction of the progression of learning over the last few years, and the implicit technology influences. It shows that the community will have a significant role to play in the future of education, but that relationship will likely change. Your comments on these ideas, as ever, are most welcome.

Image source Shuichiro
Graphic source John Moravec




Future educators by Steve Wheeler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

My top 5 posts of 2014

I started blogging back in 2007 to capture my thoughts and make them more concrete. When I began to share them publicly, I opened up my ideas for others to consider and comment on. I have learnt a lot from doing so, and I encourage all my students to do the same now. It's a case of 'now go and blog about this', to encourage them to reflect on what they have learnt before they articulate it. My own blogging is regular, about 3 times each week, and in the last year I have managed to publish 130 posts.

I'm grateful to all those who read my blog posts during 2014, especially to those who have amplified them through social media platforms such as Twitter and Google+, and for those who have taken the time to comment. Below is a quick analysis of my top five blog posts from 2014, based on the number of views and comments.

No. 5: Vygotsky, Piaget and YouTube                  20 comments, 5586 views
No. 4: Watch and learn                                          00 comments, 5688 views
No. 3: Education, schooling and the digital age    07 comments, 5872 views
No. 2: Flipping the teacher                                    16 comments, 6082 views
No. 1: Learning first, technology second              22 comments, 8602 views

During 2014, my blog attracted almost 1 million views, with a mean average of around 77,000 views each month. If you missed any of the above blog posts, do take a look and feel free to add any comments to the discussion.

Here's to 2015!

Photo by Justin Russell on Flickr



Top 5 posts of 2014 by Steve Wheeler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Something old, something new...

Commonly, the New Year is a time when we think of renewal, look forward to the future and anticipate what might be on the horizon. It's often 'out with the old and in with the new.' What might we expect in the world of education this new year? Globally, there is the potential for a great deal of change. There is also a lot of inertia. The two are incompatible. Somewhere in the middle of this tension sits the student, who is there to learn, despite sometimes being a political pawn in the game.

There are signs that a new learning ecology is emerging. As you will see, it arises largely from the interface between humans and their technology, and is mediated through their need to connect with each other. It is propagated within the digital habitus and amplified through the free sharing and repurposing of content. It rides on the back of the willingness of some maverick teachers to practise new forms of pedagogy where learning takes precedence over teaching, and where being a content expert is less important than being a co-learner with one's students.

'I don't believe education is about centralising instruction any more.... it's the process of establishing oneself as a node in a broad network of distributed creativity.' said MIT Media Lab's Joi Ito. In so doing, he described a juncture in educational history where some teachers have transgressed the age old boundaries laid down by traditional, realist educational philosophy.  These visionaries and mavericks have begun to establish new curricula where conversation becomes the conveyance and community becomes the subject as well as the recipient. Such teachers are considered radical, because they fly in the face of what many consider to be tried and tested methods.

One of the most important facets of the new ecology is the act of supporting personalised learning. There is a movement toward teaching and assessment that focuses on the needs of individuals. There is clearly tension between this stance and the constraints imposed upon state funded schools where massified education is conducted through the delivery of homogeneous content, teaching children by age group and standardised testing. Alternatively, personalised learning approaches are generally student centred, and where teachers take a supporting role in the process. Some personal learning approaches also enable learners to determine their own routes through education, and where assessment is process rather than product based. Personalised Learning Environments (or PLEs) are generally, but not exclusively, based upon each student's personal selection of personal devices, web tools and learning communities.

Another important component of the new ecology is the choice of progressive pedagogy. Teachers who elect to facilitate forms of pedagogy that involve learning by making will discover that less content is required, and that learning outcomes are generally much more open and unpredictable than those resulting for more formal, traditional lessons. Students tend to collaborate together more, and conduct more personal research than those who are engaged in traditional forms of education. Learning by inquiry and the solving of problems are major elements of this kind of education, and the learning tends to be deeper and more meaningful than didactic approaches. Students have a purpose for making and as they make, and as Phil Shapiro has pointed out: 'Teachers who incorporate making into their teaching are not at all interested in what their students are not able to do. They focus on what their students are able to do. They look for hidden talents and help uncover those talents.' 

Both of these approaches are heavily dependent on digital media and personal technologies. I intend to write more on the concept of new learning ecologies in future posts.

Photo by Ian on Flickr



Something old, something new... by Steve Wheeler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.