Reflection on a digital media project

This course was called ‘Digital Design: Foundations of Web Design‘. The title is borrowed from Adobe’s year long curriculum of the same name. Adobe’s curriculum is comprehensive to say the least, so for my quarter course with these Grade 9 students I cherry picked parts of it to create a suitable and relevant format.

Course Overview

As a quarter course we meet 5 x 45 mins a week. The course begins in the PC lab using Notepad++ and then moves to the Mac Lab to work in Photoshop, Illustrator and Dreamweaver.

Rationale

I once had a sub comment on my lesson plan and say ‘Why are you teaching them HTML in Notepad, I did web design in college and we didn’t need to know any of that’.

Maybe so.

1) As an experiential learner myself I know how much a working knowledge of HTML/CSS coding has helped in my web endeavors. Many analogies can be made, the bricks that build the house, the parts that make up the machine…to me, it makes no sense to learn a piece of software without knowing what the code it is writing means. Often, we need to edit that code to tweak what we want. How can we do that if it is a foreign language to us?

2) I LIKE pure HTML/CSS design

3) These days there are many easy ways to start a website, with WordPress, Google Sites, Blogger and the like. However, they are all built on templates that use HTML/CSS, so having a working knowledge is great for understanding how to edit your templates even if you do use CMS.

Course Structure

Weeks 1-4 (Web Design Basics)

• Use notepad to create basic HTML pages
• Use notepad to add images to a webpage, create multiple pages and link them together
• Use notepad to create a CSS file
• Layout a page using the <div> element
• Use a page wrapper to center the page
• Create a navigation bar using a list

Assessment

• HTML/CSS quiz after week three (electronic)
• 1 website designed in week 1/2 using HTML and CSS
• 1 website designed using <div> tags and with a list used as a navigation bar with appropriate styling in CSS.

Weeks 5-7 (Graphic Design/Intro to Dreamweaver)

• Research and write about the basic elements and principals of graphic design
• Use Photoshop/Illustrator to create a nameplate (simply a way to have students begin to use the basic tools in a graphic design package)
• Have students create a logo (based on a fictional company or one that represents themselves)
• Have students create a page banner for a website that incorporates the aforementioned logo.
• Set up a root folder for a site in Dreamweaver, begin to explore the software by adding images, text, CSS rules etc.

Assessment:

• Written assignment on ‘What I understand about the basic elements and principles of graphic design’
• A nameplate (png)
• A logo storyboard outlining plans for design and how it incorporates basic elements and principals of graphic design
• A logo (png/jpg)
• A page banner storyboard outlining plans for design and how it incorporates basic elements and principals of graphic design.
• A page banner (png/jpg)

Weeks 7-9 (Final Project)

The final project is to create a website from scratch using Dreamweaver. Students are expected to be web designers, graphic designers and copywriters. The website is based on a fictional NGO company called Aid for Children. I give them a site map but all page content is created by students.

During the project students will:

• Follow a tutorial in how to set up their homepage using the <div> element in Dreamweaver.
• (Some) will design a ‘wireframe’ outlining their preferred layout and implement it in Dreamweaver.
• Use the CSS panel in Dreamweaver to style their sites.
• Create a logo and page banner for the NGO (including a storyboard)
• Use Creative Commons search sites or free stock photography to populate their site
• Learn how to create a template with editable regions that can be applied to other pages in the site
• Write all content for the site.

Assessment

• Project Diary (completed at the end of each class, shared with teacher via Google Docs)
• Website hand in (assessment based on Rubric)

Friday is hand in day!

5 good points

Some great things have come out of the course

1) The obvious eye for graphic design that many of these kids have

2) A good proportion of the kids just ‘got’ the HTML/CSS thing and made some really great looking sites with drop-down menus (pure CSS!)

3) This project is easy to differentiate. Students who struggle with the coding can be provided templates, given a code to edit. Others who are advanced can be given additional coding task to complete like drop down CSS menus, advanced layout, embedding widgets, forms, etc.

4) Design transcends the language barrier. I have one student who speaks and understands very little English. However, in her 1:1 ESL sessions the instructor worked on producing the ‘copy’ for the site, which she saved in a Google Doc and then simply copied and pasted into her site once the pages were ready. For the web design, I was there to guide her through the layout and CSS design, and she was able to visually follow tutorials in the graphic design packages to produce in the end a very nice looking site!

5) Students have been introduced to web design and graphic design fundamentals and a range of new software.

Points to improve

• Including HTML5 !
• iMacs required an admin password for some of the Dreamweaver extensions for widgets (image gallery etc) that students wanted to use, which slowed down their design process
• The two week final project is explicitly independent work. Some students lingered too long on the graphic design (which they were comfortable with) I think in fear of approaching Dreamweaver. Perhaps a little more structure and internal deadlines to help the progress of the project.
• Small groups make this project infinitely more viable from a teaching perspective.

Barriers to effective Ed Tech

Ed-tech is a joyful undertaking done by the luckiest and most talented teachers, working at the best schools in the world, who have all the time and resources they wish to have in order to complete their mission.

That’s what it feels like sometimes, browsing the Twittersphere.

Allow me to bring some perspective to the overall picture. Lots of us little schools out there may strive to reach lofty ideals, but to get there can be a frustrating battle.

In many schools, I’m sure there are a number of barriers to effective Ed-Tech.
1) Top down
Involvement of technology in the curriculum and school-wide philosophy needs to come from the top down. We are disenfranchised if the school focus is elsewhere, and also if administrators ‘do not get it’. It is not entirely hopeless, but you will end up working with only the willing, rather than as part of a school-wide push to improve in this area. That leads to fractured and ineffective use of technology. Without a top down drive into technology, there is little hope of providing off timetabled time for that purposes, as other priorities are in place.
2) HR
Many of the best schools in regards to ED Tech actively hire teachers who already have an ed-tech background. For many schools, that is a luxury that is not afforded. And yes, those teachers who DO have proven ed-tech backgrounds deserve the best jobs, they are pushing the boundaries in their chosen subjects and are inherently creative and motivated.
3) Established
Schools with advanced and effective Ed-Tech have often chosen technology to be at the forefront of everything they do. They have also already established successful how departments work together effectively, and have other major focuses successfully completed like curriculum development and accreditation.
4) Resources
Obviously
5) Misson/Vision
This kind of dovetails in with all of those above. The school needs to have 21st century learning in its mission, at its forefront, as an integral part of teaching and learning, and that expectation needs to hammered home to teachers.
6) Delivery
Co-planning for technology integration should not seem like ‘extra work’, rather an adaptation of what you are already doing, improving your classroom efficiency. Hence the delivery of PD and changes to practice needs kid gloves. Here again is a link to the importance of the support and vision of admin, where off-timetable meetings may help facilitate the process, rather than hanging back after school or during lunchtimes.

Poll post

I’m heading up a middle school BYOD program which we are rolling out this year. High school already have been ‘Bringing their own’ but that in a sense was easy. Most were already coming to school with laptops and are much more capable of looking after their devices. Middle school I see as having many more issues.

Your thoughts will be most welcome!

Video post

A while ago I participated on an ‘E-Learning and Digitial Cultures’ MOOC through Coursera, on which there were 40,000 participants.

We started by being asked to look at and consider the implications and messages in short films regarding technology, humanity and their either dystopian or utopian outlooks. We are being asked to think of other examples. 1984 and Brave New World immediately spring to mind, as does the Herbert Marcuse essay entitled ‘Some Social Implications of Modern Technology“.

For now, here are those videos to spark your own thoughts on the topic:

NEWMEDIA from MOLI on Vimeo.

Audio blog post

This is the ‘Ed Tech Crew’ podcast which I have recently discovered after browsing some of the choices online. This is a podcast well worth subscribing to to keep up with the latest developments in the field!

 

Blog Image Entry

Students of mine previously completed a digital design course.

This resources, the Instagram Filters as Photoshop actions, is a great way of illustrating the steps that go into creating different effects.

Here are a few of my favorites from this high school class.

Response Entry

This week in EDTECH 537 we were asked to look at readings based around generational differences and what impact they have on use of technology. The following question was posed:

As an educational technologist, what did you take away from these generational differences readings? 

When I first entered the field of EdTech I was left scratching my head on numerous occasions. This was due to the nature of content produced by some of the key figures in the field, some with popular blogs and often leading conferences, delivering keynotes and the like. I immediately felt like I was already entering a cult! As the article by McKenzie explained, there is a great deal of trumpeting from the tower when a new tool becomes available, or we can write a flashy post about how we used tech to have our students do A, B and C. But where is the substance? This paragraph really resonated with me:

The field of educational technology has suffered a surfeit of fools and poseurs claiming to be futurists and visionaries. They are often quick to criticize those who fail to heed their piping or buy their quicksilver. For several decades now they have heralded the arrival of various toys and technologies as if they signal the advent of a Brave New World.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love tech. And I particularly love the difference it can make to our classrooms. However I do not agree with the concept of a digital native and a digital immigrant. I’ve met exceptional educators in their 70s who are fully capable of grasping the intricacies of managing an institution with Google Drive, and I have met young teachers in their 20s, who should be fully native, who struggle with basic computer functionality. Growing up with an iPad does not make one tech savvy. It’s simply a shiny screen that you turn on and tap what you need to open. Other students may be savvy on how to navigate devices but again that doesn’t make them a programmer or a software designer or even a competent ‘real world’ user.

So, overall, I’m with McKenzie on the dangers of being caught up in what sometimes feels like an evangelical edtech movement preaching the benefits of learning with technology. And I’m against the idea of digital natives and digital immigrants for the reasons outline above.

 

Guest Blog: Internationalism

This guest blog post was written by Mr Madine, the head of Primary at our private international school in Saigon, Vietnam. It was adapted from an article he wrote for the school magazine earlier this year. 

Having been an international educator for over 24 years, there have been many aspects of international education that have been positive and some not so positive. The least favorable aspect for all of us is how transient the international school population is. I have made many great friends over the years but only to say goodbye after 2 or 3 years and expecting never to see these people again. Thankfully through the social media such as Facebook, I am now able to catch up with friends and rekindle old friendships. I even managed to meet colleagues that I worked with 20 years ago in Thailand (yes, we are still working and very much alive).

On that recent reunion it made me think how small the world has become. I remember my father telling me about his cousin who left Ireland to live in Boston in 1942 but never returned and no one managed the trip to Boston to visit. How different it would be today with the ease of travel as well as my old friend Facebook. I wonder how many of our children will keep in touch when it is time to move on.

Other positive aspects of living overseas are the opportunity to learn about other cultures and gain some understanding about different ways of life. My family and I certainly benefited from our time in the Middle East and living in a completely different culture to our home country.

In our international Primary School, opportunities to share experiences between students, parents and teachers are a critical element in developing a sense of international mindedness. This begins with each student’s ability to develop a better sense of identity. We encourage all members of our community to share their personal histories as well as their cultural identities. In gaining an appreciation of themselves, the students are then exposed to other cultures, making use of our diverse student population. With this in mind, cross-cultural celebrations are encouraged throughout the Primary School. We invite students, their families and friends to lead these events. If you would like to be involved in ‘celebrating cultures’ please let us know. This year we had great fun experiencing our host country of Vietnam by celebrating Moon Festival and the TET Fair. We also learned a lot about Australia when we celebrated Australia Day. One of my favourites was listening to children sing Ireland’s Call on Saint Patrick’s Day (go raibh maith agat) and made an old Irishman very happy.

We hold International Day once a year, in which parents participate heavily. This is always a great opportunity to share the beauties of world cultures with all of us.

Commentary blog post: ICT in schools is boring

The Guardian newspaper previously offered to try and improve digital literacy in the UK, after a series of news articles stating that the quality of ICT lessons in UK schools is not good enough. I argue it is not the quality of the lessons, but the quality of the material taught, and the total inflexibility of the British curriculum, particularly in secondary schools, that is not good enough.

The thrust of  previous articles has seen a chubby finger pointed accusingly at the fact that we need to teach more programming skills (see Programming should take pride of place in our schools).

I don’t agree. Saying we need to teach 11 year olds programming skills is like saying we need to teach 11 year old English students how to write a novel, or 11 year old scientists about Higgs-Bosom. We don’t. We give them the building blocks of that potential for future use. We teach them about sentence and paragraph structure, about rules of physics and life cycles, and computer fluency.

Programming, in its raw form, should be available for those with the aptitude and interest at 16 to study further, and in my opinion, is for the realms of the university student to become an ace coder. In the most part, those who excel at programming in secondary schools would be teaching their teachers, its something 14 years ‘get in to’ in their bedrooms using the Internet as their resource and playground, not through tapping out a few lines in the classroom next to twenty-four others who really don’t care.

The UK national curriculum for ICT is so archaic, so mind-numbingly boring (and easy) that its no wonder there are complaints about the subject. Here are five points to improve digital literacy in UK schools.

1) Improve the curriculum at Key Stage Three

The current curriculum at Key Stage three takes students in 6 week topic blocks through the tedious humdrum of the Microsoft Office package. Sure, some  schools may allow teachers to use things like Prezi and Scratch, but all must plough through Word, Powerpoint, Excel, Access and Publisher. Powerpoint is a useful tool throughout a child’s educational career (or one of its alternatives).

Excel and Access however – they can wait. We should be using KS3 to engage children with technology through ICT and all their other subjects. Video production and editing, audio production and editing, using smartphones and tablets (like they do in real life outside the classroom), digital storytelling, blogging and connecting with classes around the country and the world, digital photography and editing, graphic design, web design, flash and digital citizenship.

2) A Foundation course in essential skills

At the start of secondary school all students can start with a term long foundation course in essential computer skills for learning. That would include a proficiency check in Word and Powerpoint, a study skills course. In doing this, all other Year 7 teachers will know that by the end of term one, all their students should be able to create, save and edit documents and presentations. They should be able to use email to send and receive, download and upload files. They should be able to format a document with name, title, date.

2)  Improve GCSE ICT 

Current GCSE ICT is a very poor course. And I’ve seen kids, even in my short stint teaching it in the UK, struggle with it. And its not because they can’t do it. It’s because their minds are closed after years of the same boring rubbish in their ICT classrooms. All they see when they enter that room full of computers is a long, dull lesson looking at a page of word processing. Revamp the GCSEs. Bring in alternative methods of publishing work. Take out all the MS Office nonsense from KS3 and bring it in here. With an interesting, engaging Key Stage three period, students are more likely to show an interest when undertaking their GCSE studies in ICT, and slightly older students are more likely to be engaged in less interesting things like spreadsheets and databases.

In my experience, the outcomes of an entire KS3 scheme of work taught to Year 7 can be learnt in a couple of lessons by older students. Learning formulas in Excel for example.

3) Involve everyone else 

And by this I mean cross-curricular use of technology. Again, KS3 three is the place to sow the seeds for this. English teachers need to have a class blog. Not just because blogs are great, but because students also indirectly learn technical skills…how to navigate a CMS like WordPress, start new posts, reply to posts, add comments. Of course, digital citizenship. The possibilities are endless across all subjects, and it comes down to training and the willingness of the staff to improve their lessons.

4) Improve Resources

How many schools are using Google Apps for Education? How many schools have a CMS like Moodle or Frog and are getting the best out of them? How many schools see educational technology as key? To change perspectives a fundamental shift in what ICT is all about needs to occur.

5) Improve teacher training

Paradoxically, when I started my PGCE with around 10 other ICT trainees I was concerned that I didn’t have enough technical knowledge. I was expecting a more computer science orientated course. However, the calibre of the trainees really shocked me. Some of them struggled with Internet browsers. Only a couple had heard of RSS, no one blogged. The concept of integration across the curriculum was a novel one. The end result was a course that produced robots trained to teach those units of work and exam courses, but not much else. I’m not convinced many would have the ability to take an opportunity outside of this bleak existence of the British ICT teacher in order to push the boundaries of what is needed for true ‘digital literacy’.  So the quality of teacher training needs to improve too.

Discussion Post

Whilst PD in its traditional format is great and provides opportunity for getting into the guts of the issue, I also recommend what I call ‘Power PD‘. Not exactly a revolutionary concept, but one that was encouraged by a former head of Primary I once worked for. He enthused over short sessions (usually relating to Google Apps). And he was right. This is something I decided to build on and encourage, whether the ‘victims’ are aware or not.

As a tech mentor (whether unofficially or officially) one should be aware of the areas that can be improved in a colleague’s daily practice. This is particularly true for administrators who are getting to grips with a new system. Google Docs is a massive topic for a newbie which can’t be covered in one PD session, and we can’t rely on teachers/admins having time to revisit any online resources that have been provided.

As the weeks go by, it becomes apparent how colleagues are (or are not) using the tools you have in place – particularly those who are regularly communicating with the faculty. It is then we can make a mental notes of how we can help to improve this. The right approach is essential so as not to offend or seem pushy. A positive and proactive colleague will welcome your advances. Some others may need more gentle persuasion.

For example, one day I spotted a particularly busy inbox in Gmail (over a shoulder) with a large volume of mails everyday but nothing at all to organize mail. So the following day I asked if they would like any help in organizing their mails and whether they could free up 15 mins. They agreed and in that time we covered starring emails, showing unread emails first and how to apply labels and filters to mails. We also looked at how to search the inbox properly.

Someone once compared PD to Chinese water torture. A little at a time, drip drip drip. Relentless. It could even be as little as a passing comment in the canteen – “Hey, I saw you did XXXX the other day, did you know you could do XXXX instead?”. Little do they know it is all part of your elaborate PD strategy

In summary:

• Keep an open eye on the way colleagues use the tools you have in place.
• Suggest a short 15 minute session focused on one particular thing.
• Repeat ad nauseam

How do you feel about this model of PD?