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).