Course Introduction

 

Module 1: Getting started with tablets at school

 

Module 2: Using tablets for content creation

 

Module 3: Using tablets for collaborative learning

 

Module 4: Using tablets for personalising learning & flipping the classroom

Welcome to Module 4

Welcome to the final module of the course! This is a big module so make sure to reserve some time this week for it. And crucially, you have your first hard deadline in this module. However, please note that WE HAVE EXTENDED THIS FIRST DEADLINE TO WEDNESDAY, 13TH MAY 23:59H BRUSSELS TIME. By this date and time you need to have submitted your completed Learning Diary. We have extended the deadline because we have seen so many great Learning Diaries in the past weeks and did not want you to feel rushed in this last week of completing the diary. You then have another 4 days to complete the 2nd step of this module's activity, the peer review. Make sure to read closely the instructions that can be found in section 4.8.  

But before delving further into this, start with Katja's review of last week's module and her outlook of the topics that are the focus of this module: personalisation and flipping the classroom with tablets.

 

You can access the script of the video in pdf format here and in Word format here. Participants' work mentioned in the video can be found here: 

 

At the end of this module you should have achieved the following Learning Objectives:

  1. Developed a clear understanding of the concepts of personalized learning and the flipped classroom
  2. Understood how to use a number of apps to personalize or flip the classroom
  3. Reflected on an example of how teaching is personalized
  4. Reflected on your own teaching practices as regards personalized and flipped learning and flipped learning
  5. Designed a lesson plan that incorporates ideas, strategies, tools introduced on the course
  6. Reflected on the effectiveness of other people's lesson plans
  7. Developed an understanding of how tablets can support children with special educational needs

4.1 Introduction to personalised learning

Personalised learning is in many ways the holy grail of innvovation in education. Imagine education where anything we learn is tailored precisely to our learning styles, our interests, our emotional state and our environment. Of course, for now, this is unrealistic and some might argue even undesirable, but if we see how far modern technology has come in using "big data" to customize services according to our needs, it might just be less far away than we think. 

Either way, personalised learning is something we need to engage in and many of us will already personalise learning in some form or way for our students. But what is personalisation and how can we move closer to it with the help of tablets? Take a look at Katja's introduction to the topic to get you started on this module's other videos and activities. Then watch the final video of our little friends from Portugal to see how they prefer to learn.

Finally, in the Padlet below, reflect on how you gather information about the learning styles of your students. How do you know what types of learners there are? What are good strategies to identify this? Is it enough to simply ask the students as is done in the video above? Are the students, are we, always fully aware of how we learn best? 

 

 

Created with Padlet
 

Download document: script Module 4_section 4.1.pdf

4.2 Personalising learning with tablets

That technology and in particular tablets can be a valuable tool to personalise learning becomes evident from the experience of the UK schools involved in the CCL project. The first video below provides you with an overview of the experience of The Skinners' Kent Academy and their attempt at personalising learning using tablets. It addresses many of the areas highlighted by Katja in section 4.1 such as the role of the students and teachers. 

The second video was produced by one of the UK teachers themselves, Lisa Cowell. The video is an excellent example of how the CCL Learning Scenario process that we explored in Module 2 was put into practice and how the tablets provided a facility to personalise the learning of her students.

In both videos there are some concrete examples how the tablets have been used to personalise the learning and make the students more independent such as through using Aurasma for instructional videos and Edmodo for independently accessing information. What other ways can you think of how tablets can be used to personalise the learning experience of your students? Share any thoughts in the Padlet below.

 

 

Created with Padlet
 

Download document: script Module 4_Section 4.2 (2).pdf
Download document: script Module 4_Section 4.2 (1).pdf

4.3 Live webinar: tablets and special needs

 

Webinar 3: Tablets and Special Needs

THE WEBINAR RECORDING IS NOW AVAILABLE FURTHER BELOW. THE PRESENTATIONS OF THE SPEAKERS CAN BE DOWNLOADED BELOW THE VIDEO.

Date and time: Thursday, 7th May 2015, 18:30h Brussels time (CEST)

How to access the webinar: Click HERE. The webinar is run via the webex platform. For a short introduction to the webex platform see the video below. The webinar will be recorded and made available here afterwards.

Topic of the webinar: Katja Engelhardt from European Schoolnet will give an introduction to the topic based on main conclusions from the literature review “Tablet computers and learners with special educational needs”. 

Sue Cranmer, Lecturer at Lancaster University will present findings from an on-going pilot small-scale study about how young people with visual impairments in mainstream schools use digital technologies for learning. Last year, she published, together with Fiona Curtis, a paper on “Laptops are better.” Medical students' perceptions of laptops versus tablets and smartphones to support their learning”.  

Marco Iannacone, EdiTouch, Italy will talk about the use of tablets for dyslexic students. He developed a tablet whose interface and main programs have been designed with the support of speech therapists and specialists in learning disabilities.  2012-2014, he conducted an 18 months trial on the use of this tablet in school with 400 students in 8 schools in Rome, 219 having been certified for specific learning difficulties.

The webinar is linked to the SENNET project which also produced a range of valuable resources on this topic. In preparation of the webinar take a look at some of the following videos and links:

 

4.4 Introduction to the flipped classroom

The Flipped Classroom has been one of the big educational trends over the last few years so some of you might have already heard about it. It's a very simple but very effective idea that is definitely worth exploring for every teachers and links directly with our previous topic, personalisation. However, effective implementation of it in the classroom is not so straight-forward and does require quite a bit of adaptation to how we approach our lesson planning and preparation. Take a look at the two videos below to get a feel of what this approach actually means and how it will impact you and your students. 

Have you tried out the flipped classroom model already? If so, share your experiences in the Padlet below. You've never heard of the model before but are curious to try it out? How would you start to implement it in your school and classroom context?

 

 

Created with Padlet
 

Download document: script Module 4_section 4.4.pdf

4.5 Flipping the classroom with tablets

Flipping the classroom does require quite a new approach to lesson planning and preparation from us and can therefore be quite daunting. But while the first steps might seem steep, once you have a good setup, it actually becomes increasingly straight-forward. Take a look at how one of your colleagues on this course, Monica Storgard, set herself up so that she can prepare her own instructional videos for the students. Monica shared the video on the course Facebook group and we thought it was so great that we decided to integrate it into the course. In the video below she provides a step-by-step explanation of her preparation for the flipped classroom.

The second video features (from 2:00 minutes into the video) descriptions of CCL teachers about their experience of flipping the classroom and how they overcame their initial scepticism.

After watching how Monica set herself up for the flipped classroom and hearing about other CCL teacher's experiences, what do you think are the key challenges to implementing the model with tablets in classrooms? Share your answers in the Padlet below.

 

 

Created with Padlet
 

4.6 Apps for personalized learning and flipping the classroom

Below you can find video introductions to a range of apps and tools that feature in the previous sections' videos and that can help you personalise learning and flip your classroom.

Showbie was mentioned and used by Lisa in her video in section 4.2 and by Monica in her video in section 4.5 and it is a nice tool to share resources with students so that they can access them in their own time and in preparation for the lessons.

The Khan Academy was not mentioned in any of the previous videos but it is an excellent resource to find educational videos that you can use with your students. This safes you from preparing new content yourself. While most videos are still in English there is an increasing amount of content available in other languages so make sure to check them out. They also provide a lot of supporting materials for teachers to use Khan Academy in the classroom. The script for the video is available below.

Socrative is a great tool to personalise the learning for your students by gaining valuable information about the understanding of each of your students.

And finally, Aurasma was mentioned in the Skinners' Kent Academy video in section 4.2 as a tool to use for augmented reality instructional videos to personalise the learning.

There are many more out there so share any other apps and tools that you know about in the Padlet below the videos.

 

 

 

 

Created with Padlet
 

Download document: script Module 4_section 4.6.pdf

4.7 Additional resources

Additional videos:

 

Course library

4.8.1 Module 4 Activity: 1. Preparing a lesson plan

 

For the final activity you have to create a lesson plan. The idea is for you to reflect on everything you have learned over the past weeks and integrate this into a final course product that you add to your learning diary and that is directly useful for your work in the classroom.

To design the lesson plan we use a very nice tool called the Learning Designer which was developed by the London Institute of Education. You can see an example of a lesson plan created in the Learning Designer further below. Make sure to scroll around the lesson plan because not all elements will be shown inside the window. 

For an introduction on how to use the Learning Designer watch the video below. Then follow the following steps:

  1. Register for the Learning Designer tool here, click the activation link in the email you receive (check your Spam folder if you don't receive an email), and then log-in using your credentials.

  2. Prepare your lesson plan using the Learning Designer taking into account the following points:

    1. ​The lesson plan should focus on one of the scenarios introduced in the course

      1. content creation, collaboration, personalisation, flipped classroom.

    2. The lesson plan should incorporate use of tablets in the classroom

      1. if you don't have tablets yet in your classroom, imagine you do and see this as preparation for when you will have tablets available

    3. In the lesson plan the tablets should be used in direct connection to the scenariothat is the focus of the lesson plan

      1. ​For example if you focus on content creation, the tablets should be used for creating content, or if you focus on personalisation the tablets should be used to provide different learning approaches to the students or for you to gather information about the learning styles of your students

    4. Activities and assessments should be clearly linked to the "Aims" identified at the top of the Learning Designer.

    5. The lesson plan should be balanced with a good mix of activities and none of the different types of activities taking up more than 35% of the time (see the Learning Designer pie chart for this).

  3. Once you have completed your lesson plan, click the share button on the Learning Designer and copy the short URL which is created into your Learning Diary. Clearly identify on your Learning Diary that this is your lesson plan. 

 

4.8.2 Module 4 Activity 2: Submitting and Reviewing Learning Diaries

PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU READ THE TEXT BELOW CLOSELY, so that you understand exactly how to complete this final activity. If you want to receive the course certificate, it is essential that you complete all the steps indicated below.

1. Read the Criteria for a Good Learning Diary below

CRITERIA FOR A GOOD LEARNING DIARY

Here is a list of criteria you should consider before submitting your Learning Diary and to use for your peer review of the Learning Diaries of two other people on the course:

  1. The Learning Diary includes answers to the questions raised in each module
  2. The Learning Diary shows that the author has reflected about the questions and topics raised on the course in the context of her/his own situation: for example, when identifying challenges to using tablets (Module 1) the author explains that at her school the internet connection is not reliable which limits the use of the tablets.
  3. The Learning Diary includes a lesson plan that follows all the criteria identified in section 4.8.1 
  4. The Learning Diary includes resources, posts, ideas, etc. directly from the course, from other course participants or from anywhere on the web that are relevant to the topics discussed.

 

2. Submit your Learning Diary by posting the link in the textbox below and clicking the "Hand-in task" button. Make sure you submit the correct link as once you have submitted it, there is no way to subsequently change it. The final deadline to submit your Learning Diary is the 13th May at 23:59h Brussels time (CEST). However, feel free to submit your Diary before then as the earlier you submit your own Diary the more time you have for the next step. [15.05.15: PLEASE SEE THE ANNOUNCEMENTS PAGE FOR AN UPDATE ON THE DEADLINES.]

3. Review two Learning Designs. Wait until you have received an email confirming that you have been allocated 2 tasks of your peers to review. You will then be able to post comments on each of the 2 Learning Diaries of your peers in the text box that will be available below each of the tasks. Use the criteria above to provide feedback and take a look at this document for an example of the kind of feedback that should be provided. Make sure that after having posted your comments in the text box, you click the "Assess" button. The final deadline to submit your reviews is the 17th May 2015 at 23:59h Brussels time (CEST). [15.05.15: PLEASE SEE THE ANNOUNCEMENTS PAGE FOR AN UPDATE ON THE DEADLINES.]

4. Read the feedback for your own Learning Diary. You will receive an email as soon as you can look at the feedback that has been provided for your Learning Diary. Once its ready you will be able to see the feedback on this page.

Now this whole activity relies on your integrity and professionalism. Please take it seriously, don't plagiarise and provide valuable and friendly feedback. There is nothing more frustrating than having put a lot of work into a great Learning Diary and then not being provided the professional courtesy by someone who does not take the review process seriously.

The review process is NOT anonymous so you will see the name of the person who has reviewed your Learning Design. But please note that if you are not happy with the review you have been provided, we are not in a position to check this. 

Please also remember that the process of reviewing someone's work is a great learning exercise so participating in this exercise should be valuable in itself, even if you feel the feedback you have received has not been that helpful.

1. Hand in your task >  2. Review your colleagues >  3. Reviews received

The time for handing in the P2P task has finished

The task should have been handed in before 16-05-2015 23:59:00

4.9 Module 4 Quiz

To pass this test, you must correctly answer at least 60% of the questions.

Where did the students in the second video in section 4.2 show their work?

According to Katja in the video in the section 4.1, what is the goal of personalised learning?

According to Katja in the video in section 4.4, when flipping the classroom what tasks can you prepare for the classroom?
According to the UK teacher in the first video in section 4.2, what is the idea of ‘Liberating Learners’?
Which two options of personalised learning approaches does Katja mention in the video in section 4.1?
According to the UK teacher in the first video in section 4.2, the biggest change he has seen is that