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Merlin John

Stumbling, like most new users, through the online 3D world Second Life, I was having difficulty finding the promised videos of the keynote presentations from the previous week's Scottish Learning Festival in Glasgow when I ran into a male avatar walking purposefully into the ‘pavilion’. I explained my problem and he replied that he worked for Learning and Teaching Scotland and he was on his way to check that the facilities were working properly.

There was something familiar about this character so I asked him, "You wouldn't happen to be Ewan McIntosh, would you?" "Yes, who are you?" "Merlin." "LOL. You look a lot younger in Second Life." The sheer coincidence of the encounter was lost against the sad realisation that I had unconsciously committed the virtual equivalent of a hair rinse with Grecian 2000 (now I have to age my avatar).

Coming across Learning and Teaching Scotland's new technologies research practitioner with his sleeves rolled up in cyberspace to extend the debates and insights of what is now a world-class learning festival underlines the commitment and innovation underpinning the event. Within days, Ewan Macintosh was using space in Second Life to share experiences from the event with groups of teachers as far away as New Zealand. And of course he shared this on his blog with Scotland's community of 1,000 teacher bloggers and anyone else interested: "I had a ball this afternoon, October 10th, sitting as a Scottish educator in New Zealand debating with teachers working in 'yesterday', October 9th, about tomorrow's opportunities. If only the time difference really did allow us to gaze into the crystal ball..."

The organisers of the Scottish Learning Festival, the two-day event run by Learning and Teaching Scotland and Emap Education annually at Glasgow’s SECC centre on the banks of the river Clyde, have learned to "talk the talk and walk the walk" so that they are on the same learning journey with their teachers. And the ICT now supports and extends the learning and teaching which is clearly in the driving seat. In fact the technology extends the festival to the internet and Second Life to make it a 24/7 year-long global event.

This year, keynote speaker Pasi Sahlberg, from Finland, closed the show by congratulating the organisers, and everyone else involved with “this wonderful event”. As someone who has attended similar events worldwide he was clearly impressed: “If there is a good example of a professional occasion for teachers and educators in the knowledge society, this is it. I hope that it will spread.”

It’s a view shared by many, so what is so special about the Scottish Learning Festival? Well it’s a two-day event that shares national policy and strategy with its teachers and the wider education community, in an environment that takes teachers seriously and treats them to top-line keynote presenters – this year Michael Fullan, Stephen Heppell, Pasi Sahlberg and Mick Waters – and 180 seminars (17% up on 2006). To sit with an audience of around 1,100 people, most of them teachers, and listen to the world’s leading education thinkers is certainly something that stays with you.

There is even a fringe event under development. The high-tech Glasgow Science Centre across the river was the scene for Channel 4’s ‘In The Wild’ half-day conference exploring issues concerning the internet and young people through lively debate. And it was followed by the excellent TeachMeet2007 event, hosted by Ewan McIntosh. It’s a ‘by-teachers-for-teachers’ celebration of learning where everyone gets a seven-minute slot to share what excites them about their teaching and learning. It’s entertaining and enlightening and is probably the most innovative CPD currently on offer.

The Scottish Learning Festival is where the Scottish Government is able to share its vision with a substantial section of its education community. At this year’s event visitor attendance was 7,000 (50% of them teachers), up 3% on 2006; 7,128 delegates were pre-registered, and 2,281 of these were first-time attendees, which gives an indication of the growth still being enjoyed.

The festival started life in 2006 as SETT (Scotttish Education and Teaching with Technology) with a strong focus on ICT and new media for teaching and learning, gradually broadening out into the Scottish Learning Festival in 2006. Visitor feedback was carefully monitored from day one to give the organisers clear data about what worked and what didn’t, and this has been a strong element in its consistent growth. Local authorities were well represented in the exhibition (31 out of a possible 32) and there were 131 international visitors from countries including Egypt, New Zealand, Nigeria, Zambia, and Trinidad and Tobago.

“Since we started as SETT, an NGfL Scotland event, we have developed our strategy to focus more on improving learning and teaching,” explains Laurie O’Donnell, Director of Learning and Technology with Learning and Teaching Scotland. “ICT remains important in that wider context, as a powerful set of tools and environments to support learning and teaching. The heart of the event is the seminar programme, which is largely practitioner-led, with a small number of keynotes and spotlights from national and international speakers. The second most important aspect of the event is the space we provide for local authorities and others to share effective practice. Finally, there is a significant space for exhibitors offering a wide range of educational products and services.

“The event continues to go from strength to strength and has developed an international reputation for the quality of the seminars and the opportunities afforded for networking and professional development. LTS is currently working with the Scottish Government to explore the future shape of the event to ensure that we continue to improve and better meet the needs of our stakeholders.”

Martin Jack has worked consistently to build the festival since its inception, both for Learning and Teaching Scotland and now independently with Think Different Events: “Why has the Scottish Learning Festival been so successful? From the outset, the Scottish Executive, now the Scottish Government, has supported the event financially to ensure that it remains free to all who attend. It has also taken a greater interest in the development of the conference programme, providing suggestions to the key themes being developed.

“Learning and Teaching Scotland, Emap Education and a number of sponsors have all contributed to support the changing objectives and themes of the event, and a comprehensive conference programme and supporting activities have been established to make it unique in world education. It is an event for practitioners, with many of the conference sessions delivered by practitioners who have developed their own strategies and use of resources in the classroom to support their teaching practice. Combined with creative and strategic thinkers at all levels, the Scottish Learning Festival provides a unique opportunity to find out what is going on in education under the one rooftop.

“The event feedback has been good,” says Emap’s Group Head of Events, Briony Mansell-Lewis. “On the exhibition side we saw an increase in a wider range of educational resources on display, reflecting the variety of sessions available in the main seminar programme. Where possible we wanted the key festival themes, which include Curriculum for Excellence, Excellence and Ambition and providing support for teachers and learners, to be embedded in the exhibition hall as well as the seminars. The Scottish Education Village and the Scottish Government stands helped achieve this.

“This year exhibitors particularly noticed how teachers were coming to the exhibition to see how resources could really be used to raise standards in teaching and learning. Exhibitors welcomed this approach and felt that the level of conversations taking place within the exhibition were really focused on how to achieve educational best practice. This positive experience was reflected in the results, with a record number of exhibitors reserving space for next year.

“2008 will see the exhibition move into a larger hall to accommodate the increasing interest from the industry in the Scottish Learning Festival. New areas will include a Healthy Schools Zone, a dedicated Early Years area and a Leadership Lounge.”

The lasting impression taken away by visitors is likely to include the warmth of the welcome, the high-level ideas of the keynotes and seminars, the sharing of practice by teachers themselves and the quality support, products and services on show at the exhibition. “The Scottish Learning Festival is a meeting place,” concludes Martin Jack. “A meeting of minds to discuss and debate educational issues. A meeting of resources, both commercial within the exhibition area, and home-grown within the classroom and local authority. A meeting place to find out what's happening where and how. It is not a uniquely Scottish event but one which, given central government support both financially and creatively, could be replicated across the globe.”

The ability to replicate will ultimately depend on coherent strategies that can be mapped to an event, along with an appreciation of partnership and openness. A colleague was on a visit to the Scottish Learning Festival's Second Life outlet when he started a conversation with another visitor. During the on-screen engagement he asked the stranger. “Who do work for?" "For Becta," came the reply. "What's your name?" "I can't tell you that," was the conversation killer.

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Merlin John is an editor who created and ran The TES’ Online magazine. He is now freelance and works for publications including The Guardian, and runs his own web service at www.merlinjohnonline.net .

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