Al Upton and the miniLegends

The following article appeared in RAMpage, CEGSA’s quarterly journal, Term 4 2005, CEGSA = Computers in Education Group South Australia

please note that all links to our 2005 blog wont work because schoolblogs was taken away from us without any warning and we are reinventing ourselves

*******************

Creating a Collaborative Classroom – miniLegends and Emerging Technologies
 

The Physical Learning Environment. I asked my Year 3 class what I should put in this article. “Our record for calling the roll is 9 seconds” was something you obviously need to know. Other responses included our … computers, blog, classroom design, Game Maker, LanSchool, space, doorbell, cushions, cameras, creativity and collaboration. OK the repeated letter C isn’t unique – in fact I’m sure there’s a school out there with the vision ‘Care, Courtesy and Clean Teeth’. What perhaps is a bit different is how we’ve approached our challenges and the consequent outcomes. It isn’t going to suit everyone. It isn’t meant to. 

Getting Kids and Computers Together in the Classroom. I was welcomed to Adelaide and Glenelg School last year by supportive leadership and a staff with a notable depth of expertise. The classrooms were still traditional ‘cells’ and with 30 kids, the curriculum wasn’t the only thing crowded. Money and time always have to be factored in and I wanted to interact with the kids (and, more importantly, them with each other) beyond the common limitations most of us share. [Timetabled access to a computer suite or pod benefits but also limits us. The ratio 1 computer to 4.7 kids needs to be continuous access.] I didn’t want to be confined by one or two class computers – with or without accessories like a bigger monitor, screen or data projector. I value these technologies; they help us as we seek solutions. Anything that gets teachers and students using not ignoring ICT integration in the classroom has merit. Remembering that nothing is really new (and is already out of date) I guess I just wanted all my kids to be able to access a computer as their learning dictated and to share it conveniently. 

One Answer.  We added five more computers and 3 more desks. I found some ‘unwanted’ computers from a previous computer suite upgrade. I placed them along one side of the room, cluttering up the place because we didn’t use them all that much. Next we added the desks to create six groups of five students. Each group was given a networked computer linked to my ‘teacher workstation’. The groups were placed around the outside of the room and given a colour. It was simple to set up, extremely cheap and is easily maintained. Importantly the room is a product of considerable collaboration with my miniLegends class. It also reflects R-7 input into “What makes a good classroom?” Most visitors’ first comment is about the huge amount of space we have.

Tying it all together. We are predominately a hands on class (it would be a shame to waste all that space) and regularly use the computers as ‘electronic whiteboards.’ We use LanSchool – low cost teacher and student friendly computer management software. With a simple right-click I can broadcast what is on my screen to any or all of the other computers. Better still, I can broadcast any of the student computers to the rest of the class. Best of all, the students can take control (using the teacher workstation) and share their learning. This approach has proven to be a highly interactive and inclusive methodology. It is considerate of preferred learning styles and students with special needs. I invite you to consider the pedagogical implications especially in your own context. For more (and there’s plenty) click  http://tinyurl.com/8c3o3 It’s full of pictures, tips and notes so give it a moment longer to download then perhaps save it – instructions are included on the page. 

Connectedness, Convenience and Contact.  Theory meets Practice. The students connect with each other and a broader collective of learning and knowledge. They prefer convenient technologies that are simple and consistent in design. Relevance and contact (of the human kind, particularly their peers) is important when forming interactive social networks. My class is helping me develop an understanding that these 3 Cs play at least an equally important role as ‘content’ and ‘constructivism.’ They drive, allow ownership and personalised meaning to the kids in my class and possibly all learners. I believe it’s important to be aware of the changing perspectives concerning education and the emerging technologies. Never to try to understand it all, I encourage everyone to ‘dip their toes in’ and explore something of the new technologies. ‘Make it personal’ should equally apply to the teachers as the students. Perhaps your first question to your new class should be “What sort of mobile phone do you have?”

How We Dipped Our Toes in – Our Class Blog http://www.schoolblogs.com/minilegends/  OK, perhaps we dived in head first. In a virtual sense this web space refects our open door policy. Here students can post messages and add comments to others. They can also create pages to further share their learning in a multitude of ways. Our blog has gained some state, national and international attention hence “We’re famous, aren’t we Al?” and “Yes”. It has been described as “the biggest single class blog ever seen.” There is now an alphabetic index plus a tour to demonstrate the ways we have used this form of online collaboration and extended it beyond the ‘traditional’ blog. Some of our explorations include; publishing our work, group and individual pages, communication with other online communities/schools, participation in e-projects such as Kidsday (students from different countries share their journals for the same day), uploading graphics – animations, scanned work and photos (with permission – the kids love it – important for identity and interpersonal skills), collaborating with home (calendar, timetable, updates),  school foci, competitions, discussions, PD pages (with self-created resources to download), curriculum specific pages, fun pages … Get a life? Almost but not quite. I acknowledge the extra work but also the near tangible pride of my class. They’ve played an integral role in the construction of their own learning. They’ve had some impact R-12 (and even some pre-service), all sectors, city and country, interstate and overseas. And that’s important to them.  The 2006 miniLegends will further explore emerging technologies and establishing a collaborative social-learning network. This could take the form of individual, secure, multimedia web spaces connected in an easy to use and flexible online environment - Connectedness, Convenience and Contact.  It’s important to note technology generally isn’t created for education, we adopt and modify it. Despite rapid advances we still need to “See a need, fill a need” – Big Weld in Robots. That’s part of our job – we do it daily and are good at it. Developing awareness is a start, seeking to understand a new technology (make it personal) and experiencing it is dipping our toes in. One of my favourite blogs is one page long displaying random pictures of a reception class’ work.

Computer Games in Education. Often quoted, the games industry is bigger than the movie industry. Learning with computer games is visibly researched and accepted overseas. Australia is beginning to recognise the educational importance that computer game design, making and playing has. I’m fortunate to belong to a national ASISTM project ‘Computer Game Design, Programming, Multimedia and Mathematics.’ We raise the profile, resource and provide professional development in this area. Please contact me if interested.
Most importantly, all our students play computer games. They find them engaging and motivating. It is also an area that is readily accessible to us as educators. Try it out, start integrating – choose any writing genre and apply it to your students and computer games. If you don’t know much about the games – ask the kids and have a go yourself. Whether one lesson, a unit of work, student initiated learning, game design, game creation, the importance of play in the Early Years, Secondary curriculum studies … it is never ending, the students will thank you and you will thank them. Then, please consider sharing your discoveries.
 
Game Maker  http://tinyurl.com/ds2cy  This blog page reflects the largest single student collaboration project I’ve been and am involved in. I have often witnessed social, academic and behaviour improvements and interactions that I otherwise would not have expected. I have also laughed and learnt a lot. The page links to examples (with resources) demonstrating how the miniLegends and I have used games as part of our learning. Game Maker is free software that students can use to design, make and play their own games. With comprehensive R-7 input (What makes a good game?), I originated the concept of Game Maker learning templates. These are the shell or scaffolding of a game that closely resemble the gaming experience of the students. Using a drag and drop technique students can create their own games based on the template, modify other games, ‘start from scratch’, play for fun and/or play for learning. At a recent assembly my Year 3s and our buddies (reception) demonstrated a game they had made together. It is an r-12 ICT integration opportunity. Our latest 3D maze game (Splatter!) can also be played without the Game Maker software. Following student ideas, it includes a general knowledge multiple choice game. Are you up to the challenge? http://tinyurl.com/8xfu9   

An article such as this can only introduce the ongoing miniLegends story. Feel free to contact me about any of it.

So how do we manage to do the roll so quickly?
All I do is put a magnet under one of their names on the whiteboard and dots under those who are away – they do the rest. And they’re proud of it … we’re proud of it.

Al Upton
Teacher of a Year 3 class
Glenelg School
LTI Coach
al.upton@glenelgsr7.sa.edu.au