Lessonvu from ONVU Learning – evidence-informed EdTech
From concept to operational in schools, action-based research and evidence-informed practice has been, and always will be, at the heart of the Lessonvu 360-degree video recording and sharing system, DNA and developments. It’s a cliché but Lessonvu in all aspects is truly, “from teachers, with teachers and for teachers”. But that headline is the only thing about Lessonvu that is a cliché, everything in the technology, workflow and use of the Lessonvu system for teacher professional development has been well considered using first hand insight from partner school teachers and other published experts. Andrew Goff, Founding Director of ONVU Learning explains more… EdTech built on teacher user experience The ONVU Learning team behind Lessonvu are constantly haunted by me bringing up the phrase PRISME which stands for Problem, Research, Ideas, Solution, Make and Evaluate: The design cycle. At the bedrock of any good product is this design cycle and we are constantly running through this with Lessonvu looking to enhance and refine all aspects built first hand on teacher user experience. When I was a Design and Technology teacher I used to drum PRISME into my DT students over their project portfolios, and especially the Evaluation section where they used to potentially lose the most marks, and this is how we are now at ONVU Learning; constantly evaluating and considering every aspect so that it supports teachers to achieve their objectives. We won’t get everything right but as our school customers will already witness, we listen, innovate, evaluate and improve Lessonvu to fit teacher and schools needs as fast as possible; exactly what our teacher users are trying to do with their own teaching, in using the Lessonvu system for lesson review, reflection and professional development. Also, we don’t just talk the walk and design and develop Lessonvu, we actually use it ourselves to coach real teachers in real classrooms remotely. Dr. Sean Warren is our own well experienced teacher coach and he uses the Lessonvu system on a daily basis to remotely coach teachers in the UK and now also in India. His work in coaching teachers is based on his and other published academic research and therefore the Lessonvu technology is always under review from him and developments feed back into the development cycle; from niggles that we smooth out to “how abouts” that we look at building into our development sprints. Applying EdTech at the right time Referring to Martin George’s recent article (tes.com) there is one thing about EdTech that I’d like to clear up from the off; “EdTech is not a golden bullet and is only as good as the teachers that apply it as a part of their teaching arsenal at the right time and aligned to students learning needs in front of them.” EdTech can get a bad name and reputation because of misplaced high expectations. I’m a big enthusiast for EdTech I know that over my career as a teacher and as a businessman leading EdTech businesses I’ve maybe got too enthusiastic at times and got carried away with what can be achieved with EdTech. But even with some of the more outlandish aspects that I’ve been involved in have had research layers. Referring back to when I lead PlayStation’s Education Strategy into schools we carried out projects with PlayStation 4s and a software title called Little Big Planet which involved ‘Sack Boy’ navigating gaming levels that the students themselves had created. Research was carried out by Don Passey from Lancaster University and his team and a research paper of the findings published for teachers to build upon. I can understand Sir Kevan Collins’s comments about “wonder and snake oil”. When I was a teacher striving to do the best for my students daily, it was easy to be taken in by marketing headlines that promised help in achieving your aspirations for them. But in defence of the EdTech sector I don’t think that there are many snake oil merchants left – and if there are then I would hope that now-discerning teachers would spot them and quickly rule them outas we would all want. Back to the crux of this debate about the evidence-informed development of EdTech: Lessonvu has been continuously developed with academic research in mind. For example, the Hawthorn Effect; in the context of schools this is when either other teachers or technology is noticeably present in the classroom and changes the environment. The students act differently as there are potentially two or three adults in the room and the teacher leading the lesson does a teaching performance on what they think that the observers want to see in order to “check their boxes,” as opposed to responding and interacting with their class and their learning needs as they normally would. “At the beginning of the Lessonvu journey I remember observing a young maths teacher in Wolverhampton. Normally he would have had some banter with the students about football results as they entered his classroom and through that engaged and checked the students in for learning. However, when being physically observed by senior leaders in the back of the classroom they acted as they thought a “model teacher should” and which resulted in the students quizzically looking at the teacher and wondering where their normal Maths teacher that they loved had gone. What a waste of everyone’s time! Out of the above experience and many others, Lessonvu is as discreet as possible. Students and teachers forget that the cameras are in the ceiling within a day or so and therefore normal teaching and interactions are recorded meaning that teachers can reflect on real teaching and be curious on real moments that if developed could have positive outcomes on teaching and learning. A powerful tool in more ways than one Recently it hit home to me very personally how powerful the Lessonvu system is for teachers and EdTech or other resource manufacturers when I was testing them out in one of our new school customers classrooms. I logged into an anonymous room numbered Lessonvu system to discover that it was a DT lab: To me a fond place with lots of great teaching memories. As a DT teacher you immediately remember the noises that mean one of the students is not holding a piece of material low enough in a vice, or the smells of plastic that has maybe been overheated before it is formed. But for me this was a very
Zoom video platform improves communication in education
Jane Ross, head of public sector at the Zoom video platform, discusses how it’s helping schools both in meetings and in the classroom… Could you explain what the Zoom video platform is, and how it helps teachers? Zoom is a unified video-first communications platform that provides remote communications services using cloud computing. It offers software for video, voice, chat, and content sharing. Zoom was named a Leader in the 2018 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Meeting Solutions. The Zoom solutions also have the benefit of being available for procurement through the UK government’s official G-Cloud Digital Marketplace framework. This accreditation provides full access to Zoom’s range of solutions, including its Zoom Rooms, which implements its high-quality video, audio and content sharing in rooms of all sizes. Zoom services are available in cloud or hybrid deployments, and the solutions are available on the G-Cloud version 10 of the framework, in the Cloud Software category. Zoom also benefits the ease of sharing critical information, with the one-click activation, the school board can hold meetings, students can join classes, teachers can bring in remote guest lecturers or host office hours online, and so forth. We are living in a digital age, and more and more schools are looking for ways to adapt to this transformation while being conscious of their budget restrictions. Zoom can bolster any eLearning initiatives, by providing a secure platform for online tutoring, online parent teacher meetings, teacher conferences etc. The possibilities for Zoom to positively impact and transform the way a school works is only limited to what they can imagine doing with it! What is the effect on pupils’ attainment when Zoom is used? Zoom can be the next step in introducing synchronous activities into school’s existing or future eLearning programs, it can work to build stronger relationships and better learning experiences for students and teachers alike. For example, webinars and online teaching sessions hosted via Zoom can bolster the engagement of pupils whether at home or at school, providing alternative outlets for those students who are hungry to learn. This will not only build their academic confidence, but also give them a chance to hone this confidence in situations outside the comfort of a classroom, by giving them vital experience of a technology and a way of communicating that they will most likely be using when they come to enter the working world. How does Zoom save the school money? With unique but straightforward pricing structure, Zoom offers affordable and attainable solutions for organisations with even the strictest of budgets. That is why over 17,000 educational institutions are using Zoom for virtual and hybrid classrooms, office hours, administrative meetings, and more. Does Zoom help students prepare for higher education and the world of work? Zoom can play a huge part in helping students understand the tools available to keep up with the modern world of work, and the often-remote experience of attending a University far away from home. Zoom can teach students how to work effectively from anywhere, a skill that will be vital in the world of work as more and more companies offer a flexible working structure. Not to mention, that most companies, even if based in the office 5 days a week, will need to use some form of conferencing software to communicate with other parts of their business, customers, or clients. Using Zoom at school gives students this exposure to collaborative working from a remote environment. What do you see in the future of video technology: what will students be using next year, for example? Today’s students are mobile first. We are talking all the time about the benefits and pitfalls of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), and so we are now seeing schools and universities addressing the need to integrate this into a learning environment in a productive way. Teachers are now realising they need to meet the students where they are, with synchronous engagement that goes straight to their mobile devices with real-time video, audio, and content sharing. The future of video technology is bright and totally mobile, and is sure to become something that students, teachers and school boards see as a seamless and entirely essential part of learning in the modern era. Could you give an example where the Zoom video platform has really made an impact on a school? The University of San Francisco was looking for a solution to support its growing online programs, and it decided that the answer was Zoom. The impact that Zoom has had at the organisation is real and palpable; not only does Zoom create an easy and accessible way for teachers and students to connect no matter where they are, it has also expanded the University’s ability to share knowledge globally. This is demonstrated by its collaboration with remote hospitals in Vietnam, with whom the University’s faculty and researchers share healthcare knowledge and best practice to ensure patients are receiving the right treatment – all through Zoom. The University has credited the ease of clicking to connect, and simplicity of deployment and usability as some of the reasons why Zoom has made such an impact. See www.zoom.us for more details on the Zoom video platform.