Why Don’t You…? Supporting innovative approaches in education
Day 1: 30 October
Keynote 1
Innovations³
Dan Sutch, Learning Researcher, Futurelab
This opening session takes a different approach to discussing some of the common barriers to educational change and new approaches to innovation in education. Dan takes a ‘narrative approach’ to highlight some key problems in education and explore some of the resistances and barriers to change. He highlights some innovative new tools and strategies that might help address some of these challenges and barriers, offering potential solutions that could support greater voice and choice in a personalised educational future.
Keynote 2
NEW theories and OLD practice
Donald Clark, Board member of UfI, Director of Strategy LINE Communications, Director of Caspian Learning
The gap between contemporary learning theory and old practices has never been wider. Schools cannot deal with technology in learning because, as institutions, they have solitary, inward-looking cultures. However, web culture is flooding in, and there's no sign of the flood receding. Teachers must embrace technology or increasingly isolate themselves from the real world of learning and work.
National Teaching Award Winners (lunchtime showcase)
This lunchtime session showcases the winners of the Teaching Award for Enterprise, which is won by outstanding teachers who have led, inspired and engaged others in developing an enterprising spirit and enterprising activities within the school and/or the school community. The Teaching Awards are an annual celebration of excellence in teaching and learning. They were established by Lord Puttnam of Queensgate in 1998 and are managed by an independent charity, the Teaching Awards Trust. Anyone – parents, pupils, colleagues, governors – can make a nomination online at www.teachingawards.com.
Keynote 3
Why invent?
Trevor Baylis OBE, Chairman, Trevor Baylis Brands plc
This session discusses Trevor’s early career and the various paths that led him to becoming an inventor. He highlights the difficulties he had in getting his Clockwork Radio taken seriously as a product and the obstacles in taking it to market, sharing the problems many inventors have in bringing their ideas to the attention of others and their attempts at commercial success. The session highlights the importance of education in the process of invention and the belief that invention should be taught in schools; the benefits to business of nurturing an environment where innovation and invention are encouraged; and also the role inspiration and imagination play in the process. This session will encourage and inspire others to think creatively.
Conference social event
This year’s conference dinner (sponsored by Chew TV - www.chewtv.com) will be held at the Royal Statistical Society - a ten-minute walk from the conference venue. Reception drinks will be served at 18:30 with dinner 19:30, followed by after-dinner entertainment.
Day 2: 31 October
Keynote 4
Inventive play: technology-enhanced learning and gaming tools that enable community engagement and communication
Professor Lizbeth Goodman, Founder and Director of SMARTlab
As tools for both learning and gaming are increasingly personalised, it is easy to believe that the playing field is levelling out too, yet the fact is, the playing field is a lot less even than it seems. SMARTlab specialises in creating bespoke tools that connect real people from under-served communities, and that not only teach but also inspire, motivate and create. This talk introduces a range of key tools and ideas for making both learning and gaming fun, whilst utilising the best of existing technologies, and all that we know about people, to bridge the digital divide and share new tools with the elderly, people with disabilities, and non-standard learners and gamers worldwide.
Summary and overview of workshop sessions from Day 1
Dan Sutch, Learning Researcher, Futurelab
This session provides an overview of the previous day’s workshops, sharing the key discussions and questions raised within them. The aim is to share the emerging themes with the whole conference and to introduce and inform the following workshops.
All change for innovation
Tim Rudd, Senior Researcher, Futurelab
This interactive session seeks to draw on the opinions and views of the audience to develop a ‘manifesto’ for change to support more innovative practice and pedagogy in UK classrooms. Attendees will be asked to highlight the barriers and obstacles to change and innovation that would lead to better learning. These views will then be collated and presented back to the audience to inform a discussion, and used to form the basis of a ‘manifesto’ for change.
Workshops
Workshop sessions will be run on Day 1 and Day 2 of the conference, with the same options available on both days. Choices will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.
1. Radiowaves Voice It! Podcasting student voice
Tim Riches, Founding Director, SynergyTV
Voice It! is an innovative new project, supported by the Ministry of Justice. It challenges young people to create websites, blogs and podcasts to investigate, report or campaign on issues that matter to them, and get their voices heard by the people who can really make a difference. In this hands-on workshop you can set up a website, publish media, create a blog and learn how these tools can be used to engage effectively with learner voice.
2. Alternative futures – a practical guide to using visual scenario planning techniques in education
Mark Pearce, Director, theWorkshop
Scenario planning techniques are powerful tools that enable organisations and teams to explore future outcomes. Using online tools developed for the NCSL NPQH programme, this workshop uses scenario planning techniques to develop visions of innovation in teaching and learning in 2015.
3. Enquiring Minds: enquiring schools?
John Morgan, Senior Researcher, Futurelab
Growing up in the 21st century demands different types of schools and different approaches to learning. This workshop explains the philosophy and approach behind Futurelab's Enquiring Minds project, funded by Microsoft's Partners in Learning programme, which has been working with schools, teachers and students to see how these changes might be realised. It has explored the idea of students as enquirers, using their own experiences and ideas to build knowledge.
4. Playful programming with Scratch
Eric Rosenbaum, Graduate Student, MIT Media Lab (via video-conference)
Facilitated by Hans Daanen, Technology Research Manager, Futurelab
Scratch is a new programming language from MIT that makes it easy for people aged 8 and over to create their own interactive stories, animations, games, music and art, and share their creations on the web. The session includes an interactive demo of this free software.
5. Can students build a space station, in 4,677 easy steps?
Natalie Jeremijenko, Director, Environmental Health Clinic, New York University
The answer to this is 'yes'; this workshop explains the roles of diverse participants in structured learning communities that address challenging environmental and technical issues. Participants are taken through the student experience of taking part in these projects.
6. BLOG OFF: these Web 2.0 tools will never make it into the learner experience
Andy Black, Becta
Much has been made of learners being so deeply embroiled in technology that they see it as commonplace, neutral and invisible. We call it ‘Web 2.0’, they use it without thinking. Teachers are failing to keep pace with awareness of this technology, never mind incorporating it into their practice. This workshop involves a rapid tour of some Web 2.0 tools that are already used by learners, and examines issues such as the barriers to teaching staff deploying these tools to support learning. The session also gives participants a chance to create artefacts.
This session is sponsored by Toshiba: www.toshiba.co.uk