Assessment: The Dawn of a New Age (and the death of almost everything teachers hate)

It may seem difficult to believe right now, but I think we will look back one day and laugh at the ‘workload crisis’ that seems to fill every other education story coming out of the UK at the moment. It’s not that teachers aren’t overworked and overburdened by bureaucracy, inspection demands, endless government initiatives and a whole host of other unnecessary tasks that don’t demonstrably contribute to improved outcomes. Many are. And it’s criminal. Not just because it is ruining teachers’ lives, but because it is damaging children’s learning and life chances.

The reason I think we will get through this in the years to come is quite simply because exponential technologies are driving a revolution in the availability of hyper-personalized learning opportunities and methodologies. And when students learn differently, teachers have to teach differently. More importantly, teachers are able to teach in a far more efficient and targeted way, empowered by transformational models of planning, teaching, learning and assessment. We have been witnessing the seeds of this paradigm shift taking root for a number of years, albeit agonizingly slowly. The necessary disruption, as noted in a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation report back in 2010, remains “fragmented and sub-scale.”

But I am always optimistic… The School of One in New York, referenced in that report, was a bold disruption, even if the jury is still out on the impact (see http://izonenyc.org/initiatives/school-of-one/). Now that exponential technologies are becoming available to help support such approaches, I believe we will see a resurgence of these methodologies, with an accompanying improved understanding of the wider models and support structures necessary to make them successful. For example, the Rahhal initiative in Dubai seeks to revolutionize education provision, truly personalizing the learning journey for students, and bringing together multiple partners from across the city. Again, this is a bold move, which will require completely re-thinking the physical logistics of where, how and with whom students learn, as well as an unprecedented technological ecosystem to support that learning and track personal progress and achievements.

I have previously written at length on the topics of leadership, professional learning, parent engagement, environments, curriculum and pedagogical transformation, and developed holistic educational models to ensure that digital tools are embedded as a necessary element of the learning process, rather than as the inevitably fatal and wasteful ‘add-on’.  Recognizing that we should always be mindful of focusing on one area of this process in isolation (each element is critical and part of the whole), I will now look at the future of assessment (including tracking), and the related areas of reporting and portfolio-building. These are habitual offenders in the workload stakes, so it is worth taking some time to explore how the work of schools in these areas is being disrupted. 

There are two enormous, and related, gains to be made in disrupting the assessment process:

1.       Assessment re-imagined as an essential mechanism to deliver hyper-personalized learning; and

2.       Freeing teachers from the administrative data burden, enabling them to maximize their efficiency, spending their time almost exclusively doing what they love - working with students.

The dream, then, is that technology can be leveraged to not only facilitate more effective, personalized workflows, but also to ensure that the pain points of data entry and reporting are transformed into rewarding, embedded and natural actions that sit close to the learning and the learner, improving outcomes and reducing teacher workload. This speaks to the very origins of the word ‘assessment’, being derived from the Latin ‘assider’ – literally, ‘to sit beside’. When we keep this in mind at all times, and leverage the right technologies, it is easier to grasp the rationale of what is coming – and accept and celebrate what will be lost.

In GEMS schools, and building on work done previously at Royal Dubai School and Wellington Academy Silicon Oasis, we have just completed phase 1 of a Proof of Concept, looking at optimizing blended and online workflows to incorporate every element of the teaching and learning cycle. This included Kinteract, a social media style portfolio builder, assessment and tracking tool and recommendation engine that I have written about previously. Combined with simple multimedia forums, learning management system tools and the Office 365 productivity suite, we have been able to demonstrate a highly effective workflow, in which the teacher interacts in real time and asynchronously with every student, delivering personalized support and timely interventions. Moreover, all data and portfolio entries, grading and reporting are built into the process and, with the teacher being assisted in her future planning by Kinteract’s recommendation engine, there is no need for any further administrative work to be carried out. All data is available live to parents, school leaders, teachers and students.

At JESS in Arabian Ranches, Dubai, Principal Mark Steed is looking to make Power BI, with the data flowing from iSAMS, available live to parents in an easy to read format – a bold move that has the potential to finally kill the dreaded (and largely useless, instantly out of date) school report. Mark uses the powerful analogy of the paper bank statement being replaced by live mobile banking to make the case for live, 24/7 reporting. In my own experience with Kinteract, I often reference Facebook. Of course, Facebook does offer a summary of the year in the form of an automated video, which is a ‘nice to have’ – but the point is that we don’t need this to keep up to date with, and act on, events throughout the year. Similarly, Kinteract can generate summative reports, but I anticipate these will only be required for transfer purposes, with parents gradually accepting and embracing live reporting in the same way they use Facebook and mobile banking.

This technology is smart, but is only the beginning of things to come. It will not be long before such tools begin to incorporate personal assistants such as Cortana, Siri, Alexa and Microsoft Cognitive Services, and combine with physical interfaces like Woogie and then holograms like the rather scary new Barbie. We only need to look at the latest hologram technology out of China to realize this is not science fiction. It is only a matter of time before the EdTech, AI and toy industries merge to create powerful new learning tools. This may start as AI-driven apps on student devices, but will soon evolve into physical assistants, holograms projected from wearables and, ultimately, earpieces and even implants and nanobots floating around the bloodstream! We’ve come a long way since the old ‘Speak&Spell’!

'We've come a long way since the old 'Speak&Spell'

I envisage students within the next few years starting to bring their personal learning assistants to school, thereby opening a whole new Pandora’s box that will make the mobile phone issue look rather quaint. Bring Your Own Device Policies will begin to incorporate ‘Bring Your Own Assistant’ clauses and teachers will need to learn to work in partnership with these assistants. This may sound crazy, but it is the natural evolution of what we are already seeing in our work with Kinteract, and with other AI-driven platforms such as Cerego and Century,  where teachers are beginning to work with the systems’ recommendation engines to ensure children are following and achieving the correct next steps. (Also see https://www.osmosis.org/, which is aimed at medical students, but could easily be adapted to work for K-12, and Volley, which is particularly exciting as it was founded by a GEMS graduate - wow!). It is easy to see students suddenly starting to use tools such as Volley in class, and this creating conflict with the teacher in the short term... those who adapt and embrace such technologies, rather than shutting them down out of fear, will thrive - and see their students do the same.

Indeed, I also envisage a core element of the curriculum for students being devoted to interacting with AI systems, moving way beyond keyboard skills. Just as we have seen the emergence of being able to find, filter and evaluate sources and information on the Internet as a key skill, we will soon be requiring children to learn how to interact effectively with AI, how to interpret recommendations and, crucially, when to override advice. And that’s before we teach them how to actually build the AI themselves!

This now leads us to the really exciting new technology that is likely to transform assessment, progress tracking, portfolio building and certification – Blockchain. I first realized the potential of Blockchain technology a couple of years ago when I saw the musician Imogen Heap present at the BETT show in London. Since then, I have become more aware of the edtech startups (see http://quze.co/ for a local example just getting off the ground) and more established companies (e.g. https://www.learningmachine.com/) scrambling to be the first to make inroads in the education sphere. In effect, Blockchain technology is being utilized to create immutable personalized portfolios of achievements and certifications. These are now being commonly referred to as ‘learning wallets,’ paying homage to the origins of the technology in Bitcoin. Combined with other technologies connecting students with courses, teachers, peers, content and industry, this development promises to accelerate the hyper-personalization of learning revolution.

So what will we see dying in our schools? Once these new, streamlined and hyper-personalized methodologies and technologies begin to take hold in our schools, I anticipate that the traditional (and even some of the newer) student tracking tools and certain MIS/SIS modules will be under threat. There will be no more data entry removed from the learning in time and place. There will simply be no need to enter data again into a tracking or grading system, as this has already been recorded at the point of learning. There will be no need for teachers to write reports at the end of the term or year – why would they need to, when the data is not only available live to parents 24/7, but also being contributed to, by the parents and students themselves, as is possible with Kinteract?

In the not-too-distant future, learning will be hyper-personalised and teachers will be working very differently. And, if they embrace the new age, they will have the opportunity to love every moment of their work. The best way to predict the future is to create it. And it’s happening anyway, so we need to get on the bus – and (probably) on the Blockchain.

Technology Addiction

I was recently asked to provide some background and advice on technology addiction for an article in the UAE national media. As ever, it always seems to come down to a combination of education, good parenting and a balanced lifestyle...

A 2017study by Oxford University found when they compared teenagers’ wellbeing to screen time, gadgets actually had a positive impact, provided they did not interfere with their schoolwork or other activities.  The researchers found that wellbeing peaked at four hours and 17 minutes for 15-year-olds, before starting to dip again.

Dr Pete Etchells, Senior Lecturer in Biological Psychology at Bath Spa University, commented on the research: "The study shows that certain levels of technology use may actually be beneficial to children. Where negative effects do exist, these are in fact quite weak, compared to other factors such as getting a decent night's sleep which have previously been shown to have an influence on well-being.”

Sir Anthony Seldon, Vice-Chancellor, University of Buckingham, has stated that, “Intelligent use of computers can enhance the life of teenagers but overall they are spending vastly too much time online. Real people, real exercise, real environments and above all real relationships in the flesh, are what young people need to develop into healthy adults.”  

The inescapable conclusion from this, and other research, is that a certain amount, and the right type, of technology use, at the right time, is beneficial, and indeed vital, for children’s development and prospects in a connected world. The key is balance and educating our children, both in school and at home, and modelling the behaviours necessary to leverage the benefits of technology within a healthy, active and balanced lifestyle. At GEMS, all our schools provide thorough Digital Citizenship education across the K-12 age range, and the Common Sense Media programme ensures that parents are active partners in their children’s development.

Even in the age of an ever-evolving, technology-based school curriculum, it is a myth that students are spending a lot of their time in schools glued to screens. In the early years, most time is spent on play-based, practical and physical activities, and tools such as Beebots and Cubetto are used extensively to teach basic coding skills without the need for screen technology. For older students, we are seeing more focus on practical ‘making’ rather than just working on screens. Furthermore, a well-designed curriculum ensures a healthy balance between technology use and the important areas of practical investigation, outdoor activities, physical education and the creative arts. By instilling the notion of balance in school, and working in partnership with parents to ensure this is modelled consistently in the home, the overwhelming majority of students are learning to live healthy and balanced lives, being very aware of effective technology use and the dangers of, and routes to, addiction.

In the home, children should not have access to any screen-based technology in the hour before bedtime, as we know this has a serious impact on their sleep patterns. We encourage our families to ensure their children are physically active after school and that reading a book, light exercise, or playing traditional board or card games are still the best pre-sleep activities. It is also recommended that older students do not study right up to bedtime, rather they should also ensure sufficient tech-free ‘wind-down’ time. If they are reading, it should always be for pleasure! In my own family, we have established a routine of walking our dogs before heading to bed with a good book. This also provides a valuable opportunity to talk to our children, something which can often be difficult at the dinner table! It will be different for every family, of course, but the sooner a healthy and tech-free, bedtime routine can be established, the better.

It is important that parents set a good example for their children and demonstrate that they themselves are not addicted to their technology. No technology at the dinner table is an essential rule, and children should not have screens, gadgets or a TV in their bedrooms. Parents are busy and may not always be able to interact with their children, but if children see their parents glued to their own phones rather than interacting with the family, this can be extremely damaging.  Parents hearing the phrase “Mummy/Daddy, put your phone down!” should recognise that they need to change their own behaviour for the benefit of their children. Establishing and modelling positive behaviours and routines is critical to prevent technology addiction.

Where addiction does occur, the key warning signs for teachers are students appearing tired, withdrawn and irritable, most likely leading to a decline in performance in their schoolwork. Similarly, parents may notice their children finding it more difficult to get to sleep or get up in the morning, or becoming more withdrawn or anxious (over and above that naturally expected of a teenager). There may also be a very obvious shift over time in how a child is choosing to spend his or her time outside of school. This can be prevented by establishing healthy routines. Where parents suspects a child is suffering from technology addiction, they should seek support from the school, where trained counsellors are available to help. In very serious cases, the school can help to bring in expert medical assistance. Again, however, the focus must be on prevention, through comprehensive digital citizenship education, a close partnership between school and home, a well-balanced curriculum and all adults modelling the balanced lifestyle we wish our children to lead. 

The 39 Steps to Digital Transformation

In Hitchcock’s original 1935 thriller, the 39 Steps was an organisation of spies, collecting information on behalf of the Foreign Office. In a later version, as I remember, it was the number of steps Robert Powell needed to climb in his last ascent to reach Big Ben in the Elizabeth Tower.

A quick Google search of the number 39 also reveals it to be:

• The sum of consecutive primes (3 + 5 + 7 + 11 + 13) and also is the product of the first and the last of those consecutive primes
• The thirteenth Perrin number is 39, which comes after 17, 22, 29 (it is the sum of the first two mentioned)
• The number of books in the Old Testament according to Protestant canon
• The number of statements on Anglican Church doctrine, Thirty-Nine Articles
• The age American comedian Jack Benny claimed to be for more than 40 years (of course, many of us wish and may claim to be 39 again on our birthday!)
• The number of days contestants compete in the CBS reality show Survivor
• The number of signers to the United States Constitution, out of 55 members of the Philadelphia Convention delegates
• The traditional number of times citizens of Ancient Rome hit their slaves when beating them, referred to as "Forty save one"
• The duration, in nanoseconds, of the nuclear reaction in the largest nuclear explosion ever performed (Tsar bomb)

And, my favourite, from a mystic site, it is reassuring to know that:

“Angel Number 39 is a message regarding your divine life purpose and soul mission. You are being fully supported by your angels and the Ascended Masters as you pursue your spiritual interests and career choices.”

The list goes on and, whatever the real mathematical, religious or spiritual meaning, if any, it seems this number has an almost mystical significance throughout history.

Angels or not, in my work on digital transformation, the number 39 does seem to rather strangely keep rearing its head. Over the years, when producing strategy reports for schools, and in consultation with principals, it has been interesting to note the frequency with which we have agreed ’39 steps to digital transformation’ – so much so, that this seems to be quite a thing, leading me to wonder if there is a mathematical link to the scale of the process, if not a spiritual one!  This is possibly worthy of investigation as a wider academic exercise but, for now, and due to sensitivities around IP protection, I am setting out the 10 key elements of digital transformation, which seem so frequently to be broken down into 39 key action points. Apologies for not being able to break these down further!

Also, and conscious that this may be explained by my own influence and methodology in conducting reviews, I am also outlining the key areas I look at when assessing ROI on EdTech. When broken down into a practical rubric, we see 78 indicators… wait for it… double 39!

How much this is down to my own influence, I can’t answer, but it does seem that ‘The 39 Steps’ does provide a guideline to the level of complexity when implementing digital transformation action plans and reviewing EdTech...

So here are the categories – I can only invite the reader to break these down further and see what number emerges!

The 10 Essential Elements of School Digital Transformation:

1. Visionary Leadership
2. Professional Knowledge and Learning
3. Learning Environment
4. Digital Normalisation
5. Future-fluent Curriculum
6. SAIL 360 – Social Assessment for Individual Learning
7. Real World Accomplishment
8. Personalised Learning and Freedom to Learn
9. Innovative Connected Educators
10. Parental and Community Engagement

GEMS Digital Innovation Evaluator:

Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment

·         Clarity and quality of intended outcomes

·         Quality of pedagogy and relationship between teacher and learner (and parents)

·         Quality of assessment platform

System Change:

·         Implementation support

·         Value for Money and long-term impact / ROI

·         Whole system change potential

Technology:

·         Ease of adaptation

·         Comprehensiveness and integration

·         Quality of user experience and model design

OK, so some of this may seem forced and this post is delivered somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but the point is that there does seem to be a broadly consistent level of complexity in educational transformation and making good EdTech decisions. And that’s without noting that our 'School Chief Digital Officer Role Description and Person Specification' is running at 35 criteria – I could easily make it 39 to please my angels…

The takeaway is that digital transformation is complex, non-linear, needs to very well-planned, and is not to be embarked upon lightly or by the faint of heart!

Good luck if you are in this business – and may the angels be with you…

(Acknowledgement: Fullan, M. and Donnelly, K., ‘Alive in the Swamp: Assessing Digital Innovations in Education’ (NESTA, July 2013) provided guidance on structure for the EdTech evaluation criteria).