Technology plays a significant role in the lives of our students but technology alone is not enough. Today's students must learn differently. They must be granted an education that fosters their innate motivation to learn, that encourages academic rigour through relevant application, and that connects them with the world they will enter. This approach is often called ' anytime anywhere learning.
Sparking the natural curiosity of young people and enabling them to be successful both at school and in their future work environment remains an essential mission for most educational institutions. But as the world moves into the second decade of the twenty-first century, there is an urgent need to realign, rethink, and reinvent educational practices to meet the needs of modern learners. The challenge is to find an approach that is agile, adaptable, and in tune with young peoples lives outside the classroom.
Microsoft Educator Network partnered with the Anytime Anywhere Learning Foundation (AALF) to develop this design and deployment guide for regional/district leaders and school principals who are considering or are ready to begin deploying technology to improve student outcomes.
This theme was the motive behind the workshop conducted by Mr. Bruce Dixon, founder of Anytime Anywhere Learning Organisation. The workshop held at Hotel Taj Mansingh, on 10th February 2016, was attended by Dr. Anu Singh ( Vice Principal) and Ms. Minoo Sethi.
The Design, Deploy and Transform framework is divided into five phases that begin with a high-level perspective focused on vision and strategy. Phase I deals with The Compelling Case for Change . Explaining this, Mr. Dixon stressed the need to shift to a 1:1 learning and teaching, thus opening new opportunities for students.
Phase II focuses on rethinking and redesigning all aspects of teaching practices and the learning experience, based on the information garnered in phase I. Here, the primary concern is that learning and teaching practices must guide all thinking throughout the planning, preparation and implementation of a 1:1 initiative.
Phase III, the middle connecting phase or the transition phase speaks of changing the vision into reality by initiating strategies in four key areas - changing management, communication, finance and professional development.
Phase IV focuses on a number of steps that together cover the diverse range of tasks that underpin the fidelity of implementation. It emphasises creating an effective 21st century learning environment which is not limited to the traditional teacher-centered model but supports 1:1 anywhere, anytime learning.
Phase V deals with reviewing the adopted strategies for successful implementation of the 1:1 initiative.
During the workshop, Mr. Dixon asked participants to think about their expectations regarding technology in learning. After some discussion, educators were challenged to think about what students who have grown up in a technology-rich world, expect when using technology in the classroom. It was clear that it is time to re-examine every aspect of learning based upon this new world requirement. Later, Mr. Dixon moved onto the strategies required for bringing these ideas into reality. He said that, without effective strategies for creating a change of culture, communicating, financing, supporting educators, the well-conceived vision and new view of learning will remain just that ideas and not actions. In terms of more tactical issues covered by the framework, an activity Difficult Parents was presented. This activity generated discussion around developing school policies on the use of laptops or devices in school, charging batteries, storage concerns, insurance policies etc. Thus, the Design, Deploy and Transform workshop intended to help school leaders envision, plan, implement, evaluate, and expand 1:1 learning in their schools.
Ms. Minoo Sethi.
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