Unprecedented Opportunities for Real World Learning

Not Beamish Museum

I was recently asked to write an article for a national UAE publication, answering some questions on technology use and digital learning in our schools. Here's an edited version of the full draft (so it may not flow perfectly!)

What strikes me most about our schools are the incredible opportunities our children have. When I was at school, we made plastic picture frames and I remember how exciting it was to be allowed to bend the plastic - normally a serious offence! I guess that was the 1980s version of the Maker Space...

But it's the real world focus and opportunities outside of school that really blow me away. Again, a field trip for me was Beamish Museum 10 miles down the road to 'learn' about coal mining. Hmm...

Now, our students go on scientific expeditions to Antarctica and undertake astronaut training in the US. Times have changed...

Digital Literacy Skills sessions

1.      Why do you think it’s so important to teach children digital literacy skills?

The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs study (2016) predicted that “5 million jobs will be lost before 2020 as artificial intelligence, robotics, nanotechnology and other socio-economic factors replace the need for human workers.”

A 2014 report produced by the UK Digital Skills Taskforce suggests that well over half the workforce requires digital skills that extend beyond the basic skills of digital citizenship and that over 90% of jobs now require at least those basic digital literacies.

It is clear not only that many of the jobs of the future will require mastery of digital skills, but also that our children today must learn to be the masters and creators of new technologies. It is the creators who will flourish and the consumers who are left behind. It’s not all about technology, of course. Numerous recent studies have predicted the need for students to develop their so called ‘soft skills’ including empathy, teamwork, influencing, emotional intelligence and even mindfulness. These skills are all an inherent part of the curriculum in GEMS schools.

2.      Would you agree that digital skills should be regarded as equally important as lessons in numeracy and literacy?

Digital skills are really now being seen as a literacy.  Rather than pitting traditional subjects against digital skills, we aim to provide our students with the wide range of skills they will need to succeed in the future. The 3 R’s (Reading, Writing and Arithmetic) have traditionally been the building blocks needed to succeed, but it is important to recognise that it has always been necessary to be able to do something with these skills in order to make a valuable contribution to society. The real value of being literate and numerate in the traditional sense has always been the ability to apply these basic skills. There is no conflict between the 3 R’s and what educators now call the 4 C’s: Creativity, Critical reflection, Collaboration, and Communication. All that has really changed is that the digital revolution is re-defining what it means to be literate.

3.      What is your digital agenda? Are Digital Literacy Skills sessions compulsory?

With the assistance of the central Innovation, Research and Development team, all GEMS schools have developed their own Innovation Strategies, and digital learning is a key element of these plans. We are also fortunate in the UAE that the National Inspection Framework now prioritises the need for digital and innovation skills, so our schools are judged in these important areas. Together with the requirements of the comprehensive range of curriculum options on offer in GEMS schools, there really is now no question that digital skills are a compulsory element of our provision. Moreover, digital learning skills are embedded in all areas of the curriculum, in line with the view of digital mastery as a new literacy.

GEMS’ digital technology

1.      What digital technology have you integrated into the classroom?

Digital technologies are transforming the way in which our students learn and it is important to realise that it is not just about what happens in the classroom. The introduction of the GEMS Fusion platform in all our schools is empowering teachers, students and parents to interact in ways that were inconceivable when we were at school. The very concept of the classroom as the main place of learning is rapidly becoming an anachronism, as online, blended and active flipped learning become the norm, transforming the way we organise and personalise learning for every student.

2.      What are the pros of this technology?

Within the secure Fusion environment, GEMS students are able to connect with their teachers and each other in real time, acquiring important digital learning skills as they cover curriculum content through a dynamic and challenging process. Students come to class with greatly enhanced knowledge of the content and their teachers are aware of any misconceptions, having interacted with the students online, often making timely interventions to aid the learners – all before the ‘lesson’ has started. This frees up our teachers to engage the students in more creative and challenging activities during their valuable face-to-face time, whilst teaching the students important time and project management skills and making them more accountable for their own learning. The students love this way of working, as evidenced by their feedback:

“If I didn’t know something I’d ask a question on there and someone, a friend or a teacher, would answer.” Jordi, Year 8 – GEMS Wellington Academy – Silicon Oasis

 ‘It helps us think out of the box and learn independently.’ – Pritika, Grade 8 – GEMS Modern Academy

Parent engagement in children’s learning has always been a high priority in GEMS schools and the Fusion platform is taking this to new levels, with parents having a real time window into their children’s work, progress and achievements.  They are true partners in the learning process.

“I found the presentation really emotional, as my son had put his heart and soul into the work.” – GEMS parent commenting on the culmination of a blended course delivered through the Fusion platform.

3.      What are the cons?

With the 24/7/365 nature of the digital world, there is always a risk that students (and teachers and parents!) may be unable to switch off and manage their time effectively. This is why all GEMS schools offer a comprehensive, fully assessed Digital Citizenship curriculum in partnership with Common Sense Media (https://www.commonsensemedia.org/). Not only does this programme ensure that our students are becoming competent, safe and responsible users of technology, it also engages parents in this key area, empowering them to reinforce and model responsible technology use. We have had all of the Common Sense Media parent resources translated into Arabic, a sign of our commitment to community learning and inclusion.

4.      What’s your rule about cellphones in class?

Smartphones, like any other internet-ready device, are very much a part of everyday life and provide us all with an important tool for learning, communication and collaboration.  It is essential that students do not see these devices as being ‘forbidden.’  Rather, they are integrated into the learning process, and teachers, students and parents work together to ensure the appropriate and responsible use of these tools. As a rule of thumb, we have found that tablets are the most effective devices for young learners, who are encouraged to add laptops to their armoury at around the age of 7 and smartphones from 11 onwards – but this is a rough guideline rather a strict rule.  The guiding principle is digitally normal use and, if a particular type of device provides the vehicle for optimal learning in any given situation, then we must empower our students to use those devices effectively and safely.

5.      How do you deal with high tech ‘doodling’ and communication during class?

The Digital Citizenship programme, along with signed ‘Empowered Digital Use’ agreements ensure that misuse of technology is very rare in our schools. This is proactively managed and constantly monitored. A key part of the Digital Citizenship programme is that children understand and can debunk the myth of ‘multi-tasking’ and learn to stay focused on the task at hand. Of course, the best way to avoid digital distraction is to ensure that students are so engaged in their learning that this is not an issue!

6.      A study from Princeton University shows that we process information better when taking notes by hand because writing is slower than typing (an argument often spun in favour of laptops), which helps students learn and retain the material – what are your thoughts on this?

It is not surprising that we process new information more effectively when we write by hand rather than simply typing a transcript verbatim. Writing in shorthand, paraphrasing, making diagrammatic and visual connections, mind-mapping, and annotating notes with our emerging thoughts and ideas as we absorb new data, are all powerful ways of making instant sense of what we are seeing and hearing. We are also retaining more information at the time, and are more able to make sense of that information and develop our initial thoughts and ideas at a later stage. We remember what we ‘thought’ rather than just what we heard or saw. Physically brainstorming in groups on walls, glass and traditional whiteboards is also known to be highly effective.

I would point out that the Princeton research looked at University students in formal, lengthy, large scale lecture situations. In my ten years with GEMS, I cannot think of an example of students in any of our schools learning in this way from their teachers. Accordingly, it is not a real concern in schools - at least not in good schools!

When students do take notes, from books, websites, presentations, performances, demonstrations, debates, etc., they use a variety of methods. As always, the golden rule is fitness for purpose – we should never be using technology for the sake of it.

It is also worth noting that universities themselves are moving away from a reliance on the lecture, a form of mass exposition and knowledge transfer, as they introduce collaborative, problem-based learning, transform their learning spaces, and begin to offer online courses such as MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses). 

There is also, of course, a raft of both established and emerging technologies, such as the digital stylus, Livescribe pens and digital paper, and digital annotation, collaboration and ‘backchannel’ tools that are incrementally improving the digital learning experience. Just because students are using technology doesn’t have to mean they are merely word processing as seen in the Princeton research. A good example of how technology can be used in an arguably more effective way than handwritten notes is the blending of Twitter and Storify. Using Twitter, students can share what they feel are the key points in a lecture or other learning situation, in real time. They are forced to actively and critically think in real time, while creating a ‘backchannel’ that sees the whole group, plus their entire, combined personal learning networks, sharing, commenting, reasoning, thinking and arguing on the fly. Once the session is over, users can ‘Storify’ the whole experience, which in effect provides the group’s (not just the individual’s) notes. These are visible to the teacher and can be used as the basis for deeper learning in subsequent face to face and online sessions. This is similar to the process already described in the GEMS Fusion platform, where the forums provide the valuable backchannel, record of the learning journey and basis for deeper learning in later sessions.

Computer clubs and coding classes

Although all our schools do still offer the more traditional style ‘after school clubs’, we are now seeing a shift towards more sustained, productive and ‘real world’ curriculum enrichment programmes. It is incredibly exciting to see the range and quality of opportunities available to our students, from NASA Astronaut Training in the USA to scientific expeditions to Antarctica.

The focus now is on Real World Learning, as students learn to use and create technology to solve the most pressing issues facing our global society. For example, GEMS Maker Day has evolved, in association with Singularity University, to become the Global Innovation Challenge, which this year engaged 45,000 GEMS students in identifying and solving real problems facing humanity and our planet. Twelve winning teams in categories such as Disaster Resilience, Learning, Environment, Health, Energy and Governance, have been awarded seed funding and been invited to join the GEMS Accelerator Programme. This initiative provides the students with access to mentors from Singularity University, as well as local industry, empowering them to become entrepreneurs, ensuring that their ideas come to fruition and have real impact.  It is pleasing to note that the balance between male and female students participating and succeeding in this, and other technology-based initiatives, is very even.

As part of the Make School programme, students at Bradenton Prep Academy – Dubai Sports City have been given the opportunity to study app development and entrepreneurship as part of their AP programme, under the mentorship of a fully trained teacher, who attended a summer course at the Make School headquarters in San Francisco. This programme is noted for its successful track record in helping students to gain internships and employment with high profile companies in Silicon Valley, such as Apple, Google and Tesla.

Opened in September 2016, GEMS Nations Academy has been purpose built to lead the way in preparing its students to succeed in the digital age, with facilities, expert educators, small class sizes, personalised programmes and an innovative curriculum that are combining to take learning beyond outstanding.  As Principal, Tom Farquhar, says, “We speak three languages here at GEMS Nations Academy: English, Arabic and Coding.”

It is no surprise, then, to see GEMS Nations Academy selected as the perfect venue for an exciting first in the UAE – the iD Tech Summer Programme. 

With this rapid and seismic shift in curriculum provision, we recognise the need for our teachers to gain new skills and stay ahead of the curve. To this end, GEMS has engaged with a number of high level partners and accelerators to ensure that our teachers are world leaders in the field of exponential digital technologies and entrepreneurship. Our partners include Singularity University, Make School, DTEC, Rochester Institute of Technology, ID Tech and Harvard Graduate School of Education.

All in all, there is no better time or place to be a student, with a wealth of unprecedented opportunities to learn to succeed in life and to make our world a better place.