iPads in the Wilderness

I am writing this from camp - our current unit of inquiry is about 'Sharing the Planet', and we have four days here at Seewinkel National Park to take a closer look and learn about wetlands wildlife, as well as the local approach to sustainability. It's an excellent camp - we cycle, observe how the stork population lives in the wetlands and nests on the chimney tops in local towns, meet with a local organic farmer to discuss sustainable farming practices, peer at insects and water plants through microscopes and go for night walks in the forest.

It really is a great way for these city kids (and their teachers!) to have the opportunity to connect with nature and to get to know another part of Austria. So you can imagine that there was some concern when I suggested we bring our iPads along with us. Questions, comments and concerns included: 'It's not fair for the other kids who don't have iPads', 'Won't they just stay up all night playing Minecraft?', 'It's completely against the philosophy of the camp - it's supposed to be about unplugging' and 'Why?'.

The first two comments were management issues and easily dealt with: children would work in teams and share the tablets with team members; and the iPads would stay with a teacher at night time, and any other time not designated for learning time. These rules were made very clear to children, and reflect the rules we already have in place for class. The answers to the remaining two issues are much more interesting.

My first argument for bringing the iPads with us on camp was this: I believe that students benefit most from the use of 1:1 technology when it breaches the walls of the classroom. During the 'regular' class week, the children take their iPads home with them to continue their inquiries outside of school hours, with good results. In addition, I'm in the midst of an action research project, and bringing the iPads with us is providing us with more data. Basically, how would the benefits of iPad use in class and at home transfer to iPad use on camp?

Second, I'm not sure that I agree that this camp actually is about unplugging. It's about sustainability and developing a sense of wonder for our amazing world. My belief is that sustainability is not about abstention so much as it is about balance and building sustainable systems. My vision for iPads on camp was that the children would carry their iPads with them throughout the day, recording their observations on film, in photos and in notes for reflection later in class. With a wifi connection in the evenings, they could do research and find answers to questions developed in the field. Just another tool, along with binoculars and microscopes, to explore the national park.

One thing that has been important to me throughout this trial is that the children come to understand that the iPads are one of many tools that they may choose to use for their learning. Of course, there are some times when we are learning about a new app or skill and all children will be asked to get their iPads out. But as they become more and more proficient at using the iPads for a range of tasks, my expectation is that they are the ones who decide when the iPad is the best tool to use. Of course, it's a popular tool, but more and more, children are thinking carefully about what they're doing and will choose the tool according to its appropriateness, rather than for the coolness factor.

So on camp the message to students has been 'Your iPad is here. If you would like to take it out in the field today, pop it in your rucksack. If you'd prefer to leave it behind and use the camp booklet, go for it.' On the first day in the field, about half the children took their iPads with them. On the second, all the iPads stayed locked away in our guesthouse. And the third.

This is really fascinating to me. I'm really not sure why the children have been ditching their iPads - I'll have to interview them when we get back to Vienna. Here are a couple of guesses:

1. The responsibility of carrying the iPads around in an unfamiliar place weighs too heavily on the children. I know that many kids are worried they'll lose their iPad out in the national park and the weather has been rainy as well. Nobody wants a soggy tablet.
2. There are too many other things to do - the children are playing games, running around, exploring, working with experts in the field and socialising. There's just no time for iPads as well.
3. The children weren't sure how to use their iPads in the field, and needed more scaffolding and/or modelling. Hindsight being 20/20, we ought to have had a few practice runs using tablets in some 'camp-like' contexts. This is definitely one to talk through with the Digital Learning Integrator.

Let's see what the children have to say about it next week...

If I was Queen of the Universe...

In my last post, I wrote about the need for culture of creativity throughout a school's community, not just within classrooms. It was bothering me, and I hoped that writing about it would get it out of my system. It didn't - I'm stuck on the idea of developing schools as creative communities, as opposed to institutions that inspire kids to be creative. I want an action plan.

A quick definition to explain what I mean by 'schools as creative communities' and 'schools as institutions'. A creative community is composed of students, teachers, non-teaching staff, parents and other stakeholders who are inspired and inspiring. The institution is an hierarchical organisation with the purpose of spitting out creative kids.

My big question: How can we develop schools that are creative communities in which all members inspire and are inspired? More practically - what can I do?

To inspire kids to think outside of the box, I need to be an out of the box thinker myself. I need to be inspired.
So what inspires me?
My list:
An inspirational environment - aesthetics, culture, people, resources. Collaboration. Playfulness. Flexibility. Energy. Connection. Communication. Empowerment. Feedback. Risk Taking. Boldness. Openness. Encouragement and Opportunities to lead. Reflection.

And what kills my inspiration?
Rigidity. Canned curricula. Timidity. Hidden agendas and resource-hoarding. Fear of failure. Bullying.

What do I already do about all this? What more can I do?
Concerning my own day-to-day practice, I have a fair amount of freedom. So in that sphere, it's pretty straightforward.

• share things that inspire me with my students, colleagues and their families, and inspire them to share with others
• be bold
• use a variety of technologies for learning, teaching, connecting
• collaborate - within my school's community and beyond
• invite community members in, in a variety of formal and informal contexts
• engage in open dialogue with students, colleagues, parents, other community members
• create inspirational spaces, and space for inspiration
• be positive, encouraging, give things a go
• invite a variety of outcomes when trying something new 
• persevere!

Ok, so now for the Queen of the Universe part.
Somewhere in my travels around the internet, I found this sentence and wrote it down to think about.
'The School provides the freedom for our teachers to be creative and bold in their practice, to collaborate with colleagues and to challenge themselves to try new methodologies.'
I really like it. Really. Especially 'bold'. We definitely need to be bold.
But.
Is it enough just to 'provide the freedom'?

I think that, to be inspirational, 'providing freedom' is the bare minimum any organisation can do. Here are a few ideas for scaffolding inspiration.

• redesign spaces for learning and community activities
• provide a variety of opportunities and media for community participation
• develop an inclusive and inspirational culture
• de-institutionalise - is it necessary for children to always walk in straight lines, call their teacher 'Mr' or 'Ms', have regular meeting times, do it because that's how it's always been done?
• designate time and space for community members (not just teachers and students!) to share things they've been doing, things that have inspired them
• designate time and space for collaboration with community members
• develop a culture of participation for all community members - everyone is responsible for creating an inspiring and inspirational community