Defining Innovation: Normalising the New

An innovation may be defined as an original idea or approach that improves practice, creating or adding value to the realisation of desired outcomes.

Two levels of innovation are proposed for any organization seeking to remain viable: internal and external:

Internal Innovation is a new approach or practice that adds demonstrable value and which, whilst it may have already been seen elsewhere, has not yet been visible or scaled within the organisation. As it is new to the organisation, or not yet normal practice, then it may still be classified as innovation.

External Innovation is an original practice, which has demonstrable impact, or the potential to deliver such impact, and is truly unique to the organisation.

It is essential that we distinguish these types of innovation to ensure we are clear as to where we are really innovating and developing Unique Selling Points on the one hand or merely keeping up on the other.

This is not to say that internal innovations do not have value. Indeed, they are essential to ensure the future viability of the organisation. They should, however, be seen for what they are – playing catch up or keeping pace rather than truly leading. There is an essential role to be played here by any R&D function, in ensuring employees are aware of effective global practice, both in education and business processes, and also by those charged with facilitating the sharing and scaling of the most effective existing and emerging internal innovations.

Measuring Innovation

Whether an innovation is internal or external, its true value lies in its potential to be scaled to the point of normality.

Everyone has an iPad (or tablet).

Everyone has a TV.

Everyone has a mobile phone – kids don’t even call them mobiles; they’re just phones.

These pure, technological innovations have been successful.

Question: What makes them successful innovations?

Answer: Once they were new and now they are normal.

In fact, objective measurement of their impact may be irrelevant – the customers have decided that the innovations add value and they have flocked. Competitors have ‘built on’ the innovations, e.g. Samsung’s phones and tablets all look like Apple products (not without a fair amount of litigation along the way, of course).

So a good measure of effective innovation may be imitation – i.e. viral, global reproduction at scale by competitors (or internally across the group). It should be noted that viral scaling is the opposite of forced scaling, which includes misguided, top-down decisions by policy-makers.  What identifies viral scaling is willing, active and independently-driven adoption by end users, e.g. teachers, students and parents.  Flipped Classroom methodology may be seen as an example of a successful, viral innovation, while Interactive (or ‘Inactive’) Whiteboards an example of misguided policy across districts / authorities.

It is also worth making two points about the Flipped Classroom, which should be kept in mind as we move forward.

Firstly, the concept is far from new. Public schools in the UK and universities globally have set pre-reading for centuries – for as long as they have existed, in fact. This empowered students and teachers to spend their face-to-face time more effectively, engaging in creative, reflective activities and discussions higher up Bloom’s. The only real innovation in the modern Flipped Classroom movement is that technology has been brought to bear in both the format and platform of content delivery - so this is a new iteration of an existing effective practice, rather than an entirely new concept (those are extremely rare).      

Secondly, as Mal Lee and Roger Broadie (2015) have noted, the research that proves the impact comes after the innovation, not before.  In the digital age, it is the end users driving the change, not the researchers. This necessitates an acceptance by all that risks must be taken and encouraged as part of the culture of the organisation. The world is now moving too quickly and the once safe option of waiting for researchers and policy-makers to inform effective practice is no longer a viable approach for schools and organisations looking to remain competitive and provide the best for their students and stakeholders.

Is being replaced by:

See http://schoolevolutionarystages.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/2015-Taxonomy-of-School-Evolutionary-Stages.pdf for more on this.

This, of course, makes it essential that we build the capacity and culture for sustained innovation, rather than simply looking at quick fixes/wins/stories. It is this culture that will put organisations ahead and keep them viable. By definition, a cultural transformation impacts and includes everyone and will be partly organic. We can, however, genetically engineer this organic change, by implementing a clearly communicated vision and strategy, visibly and continuously reinforced by all business and HR processes.

Viral adoption is a good indicator of effective innovation, so we must empower the end users to drive the process. This empowerment must be an aim of all systems and working practices going forward if schools and organisations are to ensure their future competitiveness and effectiveness.

Assessing whether ‘the new will become normal’, when driven by the end user, may be the key to identifying future successful innovations.   

A story of transformation in a GEMS school

This reflection from Rebecca Dickinson, Head of ELL at GEMS Royal Dubai School, is a great example of how we have to step back and change our whole approach to teaching and learning - rather than just adding rockets to a tractor!

Innovating for Excellence

A Story of Innovation, Improvement and Excellence: GEMS Royal Dubai School English Language Learners

GEMS Royal Dubai School is an English National Curriculum school of over 1000 students, ages 3-11, many of whom are bilingual learners.  When I became Head of English Language Learning in 2012, I was keen to make sure the children received the very best education possible, so I began looking at how we could improve provision for all our English Language Learners (ELLs).

Journey

Through my own curiosity, coaching and personal research, I saw the potential of using mobile digital technology for students who have very little English, specifically through the use of iPads. I presented my classroom research and was allocated 8 iPads for the new department. Over the next few years, through the natural growth in numbers of English Language Learners, more staff members were added to the team and they brought with them their expertise and confidence in using other digital tools.

The structure of support came from Mark Stone, our Digital Learning Coach, and I ensured that each member of the team had time to receive weekly coaching. This level of 1:1 support was, and remains, both uplifting and powerful. It allowed for individual creativity and time to discuss ways of making our teaching – and the children’s learning - more exciting. Underpinning this was the intrinsic motivation of each team member and the confidence in their own abilities to use their newfound skills, sharing them through whole team planning meetings. As each member became more confident, our passion to share our work grew ever stronger and out of this grew our ELL blogs, which have been a great success.

Very soon, multiple sessions were being taught simultaneously, student numbers were up, resources were spread thinly and we realised that the only way forward would be for the students to bring their own iPads into school (Bring Your Own iPad or BYOI). I arranged a workshop for the parents to explain the benefits. Initially, I only invited students from Years 1 to 6 to take part, however, I soon extended it to Foundation Stage (FS) as well.  Parents saw the blog posts about the initiative, or had older children taking part, and I received many emails from FS parents wanting to participate. We found that the students were excited to share their favourite apps with their friends, providing opportunities for speaking and listening that were not anticipated. We quickly found that, because the children had their iPads both at school and home, the parents became much more aware of, and ‘in tune’ with, their children’s learning.

Previously, we informed parents of their child’s learning by writing in a learning diary, one for every child for every ELL session, and, as our numbers grew, this task became more difficult to complete and to maintain consistency. Once we started blogging, it became a quick and seamless cycle of teaching, learning and reflecting. Sharing the blogs with parents and showing them how to use them to access their own child’s learning had an immediate impact on a daily basis, allowing parents to share the photographs of their children to extended family across the globe.

Parents are now given lists of recommended apps and digital tools for their children’s year group topic, or to support their child with a particular area of learning. For the older students, it allows them to make informed choices about which apps and websites they wish to use, helping them to becoming effective thinkers and more able to support their own learning. Our ELL parents now very rarely attend teacher parent conferences because they are frequently and consistently updated about their child’s learning.

Curriculum and Assessment Re-design

From Year 2 upwards the team encourages the students to share what they have learned on any platform they prefer. They choose different tools to complete their ‘Mini – Missions’, including Powtoon, Prezi, iMovie trailer, Comic Life, Google docs, Voki and, in Key Stage 2, their own individual blogs. Using Google has proved to be a powerful tool for collaboration and students have built meaningful and effective relationships with their peers by working together online.

Topics are planned using a rubric that provides interest and variety, with scaffolded support to allow for learning without walls. In Upper Key stage 2, the planning is shared with the students and parents together in learning workshops. They both have access to the planning at all times through Google Docs and they are actively encouraged to add their own ideas by adding comments. Within the structure of the learning rubrics, the students are given continuous support and formative feedback to allow them to make their own decisions about their learning. Through a project- based approach, they are learning new skills and gaining confidence through collaboration, giving them the tools to transfer their learning into the classroom.

It is the students’ responsibility to track their own progress, selecting which level they want to start from and modifying the success criteria based on what they achieve for each Mini-Mission (learning outcome). The students are learning to be more self-regulated and are intrinsically motivated to learn. Ultimately, they are more aware of their accomplishments. As the ELL team only sees the students for a few hours a week, they inform us of the different stages of their learning through Google Classroom, email or posting on their blogs. Students come voluntarily to the department at break times and often stop me in the corridors to tell me about their learning.

Students are invited to try out websites, apps and games that are new to the support staff, giving valuable feedback. On one occasion, a child in Year 6 shared what she had been doing at home with her sister on Minecraft. She explained how it had supported her with her learning, so together we added it to the learning rubric as a Mini - Mission and the students began to teach me how to use Minecraft so that I could understand the skills involved in the revised success criteria that she had written by herself. Out of this sparked a passion that I had never witnessed in school before and the spoken language that I observed during this task far exceeded what I expected or planned for; it inspired me to blog about the power of Minecraft in the classroom and led onto a different path for the topic.

Impact

Since using this new approach to teaching and learning, the data that we have generated from vocabulary assessments indicates that, on average, the ELL children were able to double their previous rates of progress. One child’s vocabulary (in Year 5) increased by 5 years and 4 months in one year - far exceeding our expectations.  A year later, she now has the vocabulary age of a 14 year old and no longer needs additional support. Most noticeably, we have seen huge improvements in spoken language. Students who were previously apprehensive are now more willing to discuss their ideas and talk about their achievements and are more active in their home learning. I believe that if a child can’t say it then they shouldn’t be asked to write it, so this is a valuable part of the learning process.

We have now built such a reputation within the community that parents with ELL children apply for school places here because they have heard about our language support. English speakers, siblings and friends of students receiving our support beg me to let them come to ELL!

“ELL helps you to learn about different things that you’ve never heard of”. Sama Year 5.

Using a combination of modern pedagogy, innovative curriculum design, effective assessment and technology, has provided us with the stepping stones to fulfilled, happy students, who enjoy and understand what they are learning. The children have told us that they believe the key to their success is that they are allowed to learn rather than being taught!

Being able to innovate educational experiences for our students has taken me on an inspirational learning journey. I have been able to take a step back and look at what skills the students really need. In doing so, I stopped doing what was expected and what wasn’t working. My students are living and breathing in the 21st Century. In a world where advances in technology are rapidly accelerating, the human brain is evolving. As facilitators of learning, we need to catch up.

I believe we all need to do things differently to make a difference. Innovation and improvement don’t happen without change.

Rebecca Dickinson, Head of English Language Learning, GEMS Royal Dubai School

Beat Summer Learning Loss!

This is the main article for the Digitz Section of GEMS Family Magazine Issue 5. I have attempted to provide some guidance to parents on ways to use digital effectively over the summer and avoid the extremes of banning it altogether at one end and kids doing nothing else at the other!

Summer’s here, so let’s keep learning!

We shouldn’t allow digital devices to dominate the summer months, but we can help our children to embrace the unprecedented opportunities that now exist to maintain and extend their learning in the digital world.

‘Summer Learning Loss’ is a well-recognised phenomenon and it is important that we keep our children’s minds and bodies active over the long holiday.  Research shows that students can lose up to two months’ learning each year and that the rate of weight gain can increase by two or three times! Also, half the achievement gap in reading can be attributed to summer learning loss, so it is vital that students keep on reading throughout the break.

With an active, learning mindset, the summer holiday can provide an opportunity for our young people to not only consolidate and extend their school-based learning, but also further personalise their learning journeys by pursuing interests that may not be covered in the curriculum. There is a great opportunity to read new books and more texts by favourite and similar authors, or explore new genres not yet discovered. An early trip to a bookshop to stock up can work wonders! Family outings to museums, art galleries, exhibitions, events and other attractions can all extend learning, whilst enriching current interests and sowing the seeds of new ones. Summer camps, clubs and programmes can also help to keep children engaged, as well as maintaining a learning focus and familiar routine.  

Of course, we all know our young ones love their TVs, gaming consoles, tablets, phones and computers, and there is a risk that screen time may increase significantly over the course of a long school break. We must be careful not to let these devices become babysitters, dominating our children’s activities and being their main or only learning tool or means of social interaction. So balance is, as always, key and, as a rule of thumb, three hours a day screen time should be seen as an upper limit, with a gap of at least an hour before bed.   

With all this in mind, how can we ensure that time spent on devices is productive and contributes to our children’s learning and positive development?     

From academic revision and extension, to life skills and new interests, here are ten ways to help our children keep on learning and hit the ground running in September, coming back stronger than ever!

1.         Learn to Code

It has been said that coding is the new Rock’n’Roll! Just as great musicians constantly work hard, create and strive to improve, coders and programmers must display these important qualities if they are to be successful.

We recommend:

http://www.codecademy.com/  - Codeacademy

http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/sites-to-learn-coding-online/ - list of other great coding sites

2.         Learn to Cook

In the age of fast food, take-aways and eating out, cooking is often an under-rated life skill. And yet, we know how highly rated this skill can be in social circles, as well as helping us to understood the relationship between food and our health. We are what we eat! Cooking together as a family also promotes quality interactions and develops mathematical and literacy skills - with no small amount of creativity and innovation thrown in for good measure. You don’t have to follow the recipe!

We recommend:

http://www.greatbritishchefs.com/apps/great-british-chefs-kids - Cooking With Kids

3.         Take a ‘MOOC’

MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) are now widely available for K-12 students as well as adult learners. Why not take a MOOC yourself and compare progress with your kids? It’s a great way to learn independent, collaborative and online study skills, as well as the course content itself. By definition, most MOOCS are free, although there may be a charge for a certificate. We are living in competitive times, when universities, colleges and employers are faced with a huge supply of candidates, all with similar qualifications. So, a student having a range of MOOCs under their belt has a great way to differentiate their applications.

Learn more about MOOCs:

http://www.kars4kids.org/blog/why-kids-should-mooc/ - Why kids should MOOC

We recommend:

http://www.moocs.co/K-12_MOOCs.html - for a comprehensive list of course providers.

4.         eBooks

Whilst there may be nothing quite so relaxing as sitting down with a real book on holiday, there are also real benefits to students stocking up their tablets or phones with their own holiday libraries. eBooks are readily available anytime, anywhere, are often free, and they are easy to carry around (on one device) if you are travelling over the summer. The only real drawback is that they shouldn’t be read at bedtime, as there is a lot of evidence to suggest that screen time in the hour before sleep can have a serious impact on health.

There are many online book stores in addition to the well-known Apple, Google and Amazon stores.

Also recommended:

http://www.ebooks.com/ - general site, so parents should monitor downloads

  

http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-childrens-ebooks-online.htm - list of sites providing free books for children – legally!

5.         Visit a museum – virtually!

Almost all of the most famous museums around the world have fantastic websites and many have virtual tours available online. If you can’t get there in real life, exploring these sites is a great way to consolidate, revise and extend learning from school or explore new interests. It can also be a fun family activity, especially if your children are lucky enough to be visiting the museum in real life later as part of their summer itinerary. Inspiration taken from these tours could lead to creations of models and other art work at home.

We recommend:

  

http://www.si.edu/ - The Smithsonian Institute, Washington DC. The tagline is ‘Simply Amazing’ – and it is!

http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/ - The J. Paul Getty Museum, including a great video playlist!

https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/online_tours.aspx - The British Museum

http://www.louvre.fr/en/visites-en-ligne - The Louvre, Paris

6.         Social Media

As we know, many GEMS students will be travelling the world this summer, perhaps exploring new shores or visiting relatives in their home countries. In the past, this often meant losing touch with friends for up to two whole months. Mobile video chat tools, such as Skype, and a whole range of social media tools mean that students can stay connected with friends, sharing their global experiences in real time.

For the older ones, they will do this naturally and already have their ‘go to’ tools. We should encourage this connectedness, whilst continuing the family dialogue of appropriate use and balance. For the younger ones, keeping in touch through Skype (speaking and listening) and email (reading and writing) is also valuable. For a review of safe social networks for younger children, see:

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/lists/safe-chat-rooms-and-social-sites-for-kids# - Review of social media sites for younger children

7.         Gaming

Children and teens playing computer games often gets a bad press, largely due to the fear of addiction or simply the view that it is not a productive use of time.  Of course, we should be wary of too much time spent gaming and some games are more appropriate and beneficial than others, but we should also be careful not to send the message to our children that we disapprove of the activity. Indeed, there are significant benefits to be realised from gaming.

When NASA astronaut and Space Shuttle Commander Barry Wilmore visited GEMS schools in the UAE, a young student asked him: “What should I do to become an astronaut?”

His reply? “Study hard, take a science or engineering degree and play video games – lots of video games!”

Computer games and gaming apps have been shown to improve key skills, such as resilience, critical thinking, problem-solving, decision-making, global awareness, collaboration, communication and creativity. Tests are currently being developed to assess such skills via online games and these could form part of formal school assessments in the not too distant future.

One of the most popular games around is Minecraft, a creative, ‘open-world’ game, and parents whose children are into this should be very pleased! The opportunities provided by Minecraft to learn the skills mentioned above are impressive – and kids love it! There is a cost attached to the full version but most people who have played the game would agree it represents great value for money. Parents of younger students should get involved in the activity and monitor their children, as not all content is suitable and online interactions may be involved. Used appropriately, though, it is fantastic!

For more, see:

https://minecraft.net/

8.         Keep fit with ‘Exergaming’

Gaming consoles such as Kinect for X-Box, PlaystationMove and WiiFit can keep kids fit even if they are stuck in the house. It is estimated that some of the games available, such as tennis, dancing and boxing, provide equivalent cardio results to the same time spent on a treadmill and with the added benefit of improving coordination. Even less energetic games, such as bowling and golf, have been seen to have a positive impact on fitness. Apps such as ‘Pop Flux’ for younger children can run on phones and tablets, using the camera on the device as a sensor, and even be mirrored to a large screen through an Apple TV, without the need for a console. My own boys (4 and 2) love this!           

9.         School subscriptions and digital content

Students will have been using a range of digital learning content provided by their school, throughout the academic year. Much of this content will continue to be accessible online throughout the summer so that students can continue to explore and learn at their own pace. The children will know what they have been using and should be encouraged, but not forced, to keep using these resources. For younger children, it is recommended that parents contact the school to ensure they know what is available. For GEMS schools that now have access to the ‘MyLearning’ Virtual Environment, the students will be to continue accessing great learning throughout the summer, via the Content Library.

10.       Explore new apps, sites and media to keep on learning

There are literally thousands of great mobile apps and websites for children to hone their skills in reading, writing, mathematics and other traditional subjects. Choosing the most effective ones, however, can be a challenge. Fortunately, help is at hand, with trustworthy review sites such as Common Sense Media providing comprehensive lists of apps, websites and other media, along with ratings for learning effectiveness and age recommendations.

Explore further here:

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/ - reviews of apps, sites and other media

They even have their own summer learning guide – enjoy!

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/guide/summer-learning-guide

Footnote: space prevented inclusion of many more suggestions, such as learning a new language or how to write music and play an instrument as part of a global orchestra! I would welcome suggestions from students, parents and teachers if I have omitted your favourite site, app or area of learning!

How have we got education so wrong?

This article from The Telegraph is somewhat depressing and doesn't say anything new, but it says it very well. It should help galvanize all teachers and school leaders to stand up against their policy making overlords. 

Like Ken Robinson says, governments didn't invent rock 'n' roll and revolutions don't start at the top. 

What's happening just isn't right and it simply can't go on.

It's in our hands. 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationopinion/11568329/How-have-we-got-education-so-disastrously-wrong.html