Busting the digital natives myth
Digital leadership and digital competencies, AI tools directory, AI and Ofsted, pick of the podcasts and much more ...
What’s been happening
With the approach of July and the end of the summer term getting ever nearer, several issues are on our minds this week as we work alongside teachers and school leaders to plan CPD programmes and projects for next academic year.
Digital leadership
To what extent are schools following guidance from DfE on digital leadership and governance and ensuring that each school has a digital strategy and a school digital lead? We think the guidance is helpful as it provides common language and explicit expectations for curriculum, technical, administrative, data protection and safeguarding teams to work together on a joint strategy covering all aspects of digital from social media, AI and information literacy to asset management and cyber security plans.
Digital competencies
Digital competency/literacy has also been a focus for us this week. In last week’s newsletter we referenced the work of Finnish academic Pekka Mertala on the dangers of the persistent ‘digital natives’ myth. His research echoes the views of many of the teachers we speak to who highlight a decline in young people's basic digital skills and a concern to find time in a crowded curriculum to plan for progression of skills.
Sarah joined a group of schools that are part of a STEM Learning Enthuse Partnership and are mapping progression in digital skills and competencies across phases and subjects with a focus on transition from primary to secondary school. A key issue is that primary and secondary schools struggle to allocate the recommended amount of time to computing, and secondary heads of computer science have noticed a decline in the level of digital skills of students entering year 7.
Most children arrive at secondary with experience of programming but often lack familiarity with computers, basic keyboard skills and experience of creating using multimedia tools.
It's encouraging to see these primary and secondary teachers working together to find solutions to these curriculum challenges, collaborating to address gaps and preparing children for the transition from primary to secondary. They are building on the strengths of the National Centre for Computing Education Teach Computing Curriculum and taking a detailed approach to curriculum and skills progression mapping across computing, English, PSHE, maths, science and geography from KS1 to KS3.
AI and assessment
In higher education, the mood music is changing fairly rapidly now around AI and assessment, from the blanket bans of the early days of ChatGPT to more root and branch examination of the robustness and authenticity of assessments in universities, as this HEPI blogpost sets out. Of particular interest is the work the University of Belfast is doing on AI-augmented feedback, which students in the study have declared to be “much nicer” and “more encouraging” than the original feedback from academic staff.
AI roundup
AI tools directory
Canopy Education has produced a handy directory of AI tools to help teachers and schools find everything from personalised learning platforms to AI-powered assessment tools. Users can ‘upvote’ the tools they find most useful (with MagicSchool.ai currently top of the pops).
Are your students ready for AI?
This framework focuses on helping students define problems, understand AI's potential and limitations, develop critical thinking skills and effectively communicate with AI tools.
Ofsted and AI webinar
Ofsted and Ofqual recently released documents detailing their approach to the use and monitoring of AI in education. To guide teachers and school leaders through it, EDUCATE is holding a breakfast briefing webinar on AI and Safeguarding and how to prepare for Ofsted on 27 June at 8am. Sign up here
Holocaust survivors use AI to futureproof their stories
The Holocaust Education Trust has developed a programme for UK schools using AI and virtual reality to allow pupils to have lifelike, face-to-face conversations with Holocaust survivors. The Guardian reports that:
Manfred Goldberg, who survived the Stutthof concentration camp and a death march, is the first survivor to have had his story preserved using this technology for UK students. For the programme, Goldberg answered more than 1,000 potential questions and filmed for more than 20 hours across five days. Through AI, the survivor is able to answer a variety of questions ranging from his own experiences of the Holocaust, moving to the UK and even his favourite football club. [He] described the technology as a “form of magic”.
Quick links
Resources from the Be Internet Legends curriculum are designed to teach online safety, digital wellbeing and media literacy to children aged 7-11 in the UK. This is a handy breakdown of what you'll find.
A London state school, All Saints Catholic College, has piloted a radical 12-hour school day for its youngest students (Years 7 and 8). One of the programme's goals was to reduce students' phone use, with phones having to be switched off and remain in bags for the entire 12 hours. How did it go?
The National Centre for Computing Education (NCCE) is looking for young people in England, aged 11-18, to learn about their experiences with computing education. In collaboration with the University of Edinburgh, the NCCE is launching a Computer Science Young Person Advisory Group. Find out more
This digital skills training opportunity is specifically for Black and minority ethnic young people in South London aged 18-30, and includes three modules on web development, data science, and artificial intelligence/natural language processing.
We’re reading, listening to…
A couple of BBC radio programmes caught our ear this week. Firstly, The Artificial Human with Aleks Krotoski looks at the environmental impact of AI (a hot topic at the moment…), noting that a search done through an AI like ChatGPT can use up to 40 times more energy than using a traditional search engine, while a single hi-res image created by an AI could use the equivalent of half a smart phone charge.
Secondly, Living Without My Smartphone follows a group of teenagers who have agreed to give up their smartphones for five school days. Can they cope? What do they miss?
And in Trending in Ed, Jennifer Wells, the Director of Writing at New College of Florida, discusses writing and teaching writing in the age of AI. She concludes that, while AI writing tools can be useful in certain contexts, such as brainstorming and drafting, they cannot replace the human element of writing, which involves personal expression, nuanced thought processes, and the ability to connect with readers.
Give it a try
Conker
Conker focuses on doing one thing well: using AI to create multiple choice questions. For example, it can create multiple choice questions which use common misconceptions as the incorrect answers. It also integrates with Google Forms and Canvas LMS.
Connected Learning is by Sarah Horrocks and Michelle Pauli