Month: December 2020

AI and Bias

I recently saw an article in the guardian regarding a call from an Artificial Intelligence expert to cease using AI in the UK due to concerns that they were “infected with biases” and couldn’t be trusted (McDonald, 2019).

I too have concerns in relation to bias in AI, particularly in relation to AIs as black box systems where we are unable to ascertain how an AI might have arrived at a specific decision.    For example, the guardian article references immigration related applications of AI, so an AI might decide to approve or reject an immigration application based on the data it has available to it.    The danger here, in my view, is the potential lack of transparency in relation to the AIs decision making process.  

Despite my concerns, I however do not advocate banning AI use, as the alternative to using AI is to use human decision making.    Human decision making is far from lacking in bias.   In Sway (2020), by P. Agarwal, the author states “we are all biased – to a certain degree” going on to discuss in detail human bias and particularly unconscious bias.   Agarwal also states that “we cannot erase our biases completely” plus in relation to technology use, suggests that technology solutions, which therefore includes AI, “incorporate the biases from the designers and data engineers” who design them.   As such it doesn’t seem fair to hold AIs up to a standard, that of being absent of bias, when the human designers, users, etc of such systems are themselves unable to achieve this standard.

For me the critical issue is being aware of the bias which may exist and seeking to mitigate and manage the resultant risks.   We have to accept that bias is unavoidable, it is unavoidable in we humans, and also unavoidable in the systems and AIs we may create.    It is due to this need for awareness that my concern regarding the potential lack of transparency arises.

References:

Mcdonald, H. 2019. AI expert calls for end to UK use of ‘racially biased’ algorithms. [Online]. [27 December 2020]. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/dec/12/ai-end-uk-use-racially-biased-algorithms-noel-sharkey

Agarwal, P (2020). Sway: Unravelling Unconscious Bias. United Kingdom: Bloomsbury Publishing.

2020, the year with the pandemic

It’s been a year that I don’t think anyone will be forgetting in a hurry.   In my 26 years working in education, including my 4 years training, I have never experienced anything like it.  As such am hoping my review of 2020 might be something I find myself looking back on at some point in the future.   2020, the year with the pandemic.

The year started of normally with January including the usual BETT event that I briefly attended, plus an EdTech conversations event which I had the privilege to speak at.   I must admit I enjoyed the EdTech conversations event in particular, with my visit to BETT a little bit rushed plus, to be honest, I now find BETT to be similar year to year and lacking in any new ideas.   Obviously, my journey to London had its usual missteps and calamities as seem to regularly befall me when I travel by train.  This almost goes without saying.

In March I found myself in Birmingham speaking at the Digifest event.  This was an excellent event with the signs of the pandemic just starting to show in hand sanitising stations and the lack of the usual handshake welcomes at the conference.   Will admit my presentation was far from my best however overall, I found the event to be both useful and interesting.This is definitely an event I would like to revisit.

As we approached the half term, in school, we had to accelerate our training and support for staff in relation to using Microsoft Teams as it became likely that schools would be forced to close.   Teams had been identified as the key tool in continuing to support learning during lockdown, allowing resources to be shared but also supporting synchronous lessons.    Thankfully we had already started using Teams mainly in an administrative capacity for teaching and support departments, so we already had some training resources plus understanding as to how to use Teams.    For me personally, it made me glad that I had been pushing for moving to the cloud and to Office 365, as it put us in a position to quickly move to online teaching when the lockdown kicked in.   It does make me believe, in education, we need to be braver about our decision making and pursuing what we believe to be the right direction.   Too often decisions are overthought and overanalysed to the point that no action, and therefore no progress is made.   Yes, education is important, yes we want to avoid making the wrong decisions, but if 2020 has proven anything it has proven we cannot predict the future, so we therefore need to braver and avoid being paralysed or slow to progress, and focussing too much on predicting and planning in minute detail in an unpredictable world.   Only then can we provide students with the skills, the knowledge and the character traits needed for the future.

And in late March the lockdown did just that, kicking in, and forcing a move to online teaching and to remote working.   It was strange finding myself at home day in day out, working from my PC with the only social contact outside of the family being via Teams video calls.   This period highlighted that working from home was possible and even beneficial in some situations, however also highlighted that equally face to face interactions are beneficial and even required in other situations.   From a teaching point of view, I still believe face to face is the best way to deliver teaching and learning, however that this can be augmented and supported through the use of technology, online teaching and online learning.  Its about finding a balance.

The period from March to August was hard, as we ran with a reduced IT Services department, supporting teachers delivering online teaching largely from their own homes.    It was made harder by the lack of the social interaction which would normally occur in our office, where members of the team would support and encourage each other, and occasionally have a laugh.    Remote working didn’t quite provide for this and it made everything feel that much more difficult and draining.   Additionally, working at home without driving too and from work led to the distinction between being at home or at work, being eroded.   This led to work bleeding into home time, and also a difficulty for me in turning off in the evenings and on taking time for myself and for family. Will be honest and say I previously have always struggled with turning it off, however the pandemic and working from home only amplified this issue.

August was meant to see our long-awaited family trip to the US, something we had wanted to do for a large number of years and something we had finally booked to prevent us once again missing out.   Sadly, despite booking and making the plan concrete, Covid19 had other ideas and the trip never happened.   This was a big disappointment.

September saw the launch of the new academic year and getting students back on site but where there would be occasions where some students would be attending lessons online.   This was the birth of the “hybrid” lesson.     For me this was also a return to more regular teaching as I took on a couple of year 9 classes in addition to my lower 6 sessions.   September as the start of new academic year is often a very busy period but this year it was significantly busier and more challenging.  

During September I would receive an unexpected offer in relation to a new job role.   It would be weeks and weeks of exploring the options, of stress, of will we or wont we as the opportunity would have once again taken me and my family abroad.   The idea of a return to expat life was definitely appealing however the context of a global pandemic was far from ideal.   This was one of the most difficult decisions I feel I have had to make in recent years however having considered my family I eventually decided the option in hand was a great option however sadly presented itself at the wrong time.  It is interesting, when looking back to my pledges at the start of 2020, I mentioned seeking a new challenge and this would certainly have been it;  Sadly this therefore was the right opportunity but clearly at the wrong time.

September also saw me undertake a challenge to complete 100km of running within the month as part of an online group.   Must admit am really happy with myself for managing to complete this challenge as it meant running 5 or 6 days within each week.   This was way more in terms of health and fitness than I had achieved before so I am very proud to have been able to stick at and complete the target.  Sadly, I then let things slip in October and November however I again started to run in December and hope to build up once again into 2021. 

October saw me come down with a cough and temperature which instantly got me worried re: covid19.  Thankfully the NHS testing service was excellent and I quickly got a test and my results back, indicating a negative;   It was a common cold rather than the corona virus.   It still took it out of me and led to a couple of days off ill.   I suspect the stress of the job offer and the cold/wet mornings running throughout September all played their part in me coming down with a cold and my resultant lack of energy.

As we progressed into November and December I was involved in an esports project to try and launch an interschools competition among independent schools like ours.   Its all in its infancy at this point, with a small number of schools planning to partake in the initial pilot however am hoping that after a successful pilot in the spring term it may be possible to grow this project.   Esports is something I am passionate about as there are many opportunities out there for our students, plus this area is only going to grow in the coming years.

November also saw the introduction of a puppy to the family. This was another things which had been discussed for many years but for which I was reluctant. With everything that has happened I relented and Ziva joined the family initially a shy puppy before becoming the devil dog she now is.If it can be ripped to shreds, scratched, eaten, chewed, etc, then it has been, and all while maintain a cute, butter would melt in my mouth outward appearance. Am not sure if we are training the dog or she is training us.

Christmas has now came and went and as I am my son have often reflected, it didn’t feel very Christmasy this year.   I suspect this is due to the year as a whole lacking some of the normal markers of a year such as a holiday away or the clear distinction between working and being on holiday;   Its not very different when your working day involves being at home all day, in the same way as your holidays, with little options available for activities due to lockdown.

2020 for me was meant to be about balance or at least that what I decided when I wrote my pledges back in January.    Looking back 2020 has been anything but balanced.   Its been crazy, its been frantic and ever changing.  Its been some year, a year which looking back seems to have disappeared in a blur, its been the year with a pandemic in it.    I suspect things will be different as we move into 2021, with some changes for the better however others less so.    This is a year I don’t think I will be forgetting anytime soon.

2020, the one with the pandemic!

Roundtable event

Yesterday I had the pleasure of being involved in a little virtual roundtable event titled “The Future of Education is here, Take learning and teaching to the next level” sponsored by Logitech.

The event focused on education, the changes brought about by Covid19 and the future of using digital tools within education.   I found the discussion quite interesting particularly given I was representing an independent school while others involved represented universities, business schools and also Logitech, thereby providing a reasonable diverse range of participants.

My main takeaways from the event were:

Culture

Culture was mentioned on a number of occasions including by myself.    The culture in educational institutions, particularly in relation to technology, changed over the lockdown period and into the new academic year.   There was more sharing and collaboration both within schools, colleges, etc but also between them as we all sought to find solutions to the myriad of challenges presented to us through lockdown and then in a hybrid teaching environment.   There was more positivity and agility, with greater willingness to try new things where maybe previously some minor issues would have been identified as justification for not trying something new.

It is important as things progress, and maybe as things move towards a greater degree of normality, whatever that may be, that we try to retain this culture of positivity, of agility, of trying new things, being brave and of sharing what works and what doesn’t.

Web cam culture

This is related to the wider organisational culture issue above and was something I hadn’t given much thought to however something we very much need to consider.   What is the culture in the digital space?   Do our students turn their cameras on or leave them off?    Do staff meet face to face or, even now where things are largely back on-site, are meetings more or less carried out from offices, with interactions online only, even where offices may only be a short distance apart?    What are the implications of this growth in web conferencing and the corresponding reduction in face to face meetings, or even in the occasional corridor interaction enroute to meetings?    There are lots of human issues which have or may arise as the result of covid19 and the sudden growth in work or learn from home.  

Digital Divides

Discussion regarding digital divides initially focussed on device access with universities in particular referencing the difficulties with students accessing from different devices ranging from laptops or tablets to students simply using their phones.   Those students with limited or no access to a device which could be used for accessing learning content were also discussed.   From here though, the discussion broadened to other divides such as access to Wi-Fi or available bandwidth, other users wishing to use devices, confidence and skill in using digital platforms, teacher pedagogy in relation to digital tool use, etc.    It was clear that digital divides are a significant problem, one with many different interrelated layers.

Privacy and Security

Unintended consequences were mentioned early on in discussions.  Covid19 had educators rushing to find the best solutions to continue the learning of their students outside the classroom with IT teams rushing to support educators as best they could.   As such it is likely some decisions reached in the interests of continuing learning may not have given sufficient consideration to security and/or privacy.  We now need to start unpicking these decisions and the potential implications.   We need to consider the platforms we are using, how they are be used, how they are configured and how this all relates to privacy and security of student and staff data.

Conclusion

One thing was clear in the discussion, that it isn’t just a case of returning back to the way schools, colleges and universities were in Jan 2020.   Equally its not a case of all change.   The reality is that the way things were had its advantages and disadvantages the same as the new normal which was adopted during lockdown.   It isn’t a case of either or.   It is a case of finding a “new balance”; a phrase one of the attendees at the roundtable event used which I think sums up the situation. Each organisation needs to revisit its aims and establish the new balance which it feels is most appropriate for its own students, staff and community.

Technology in schools

Let me first start by explaining I have purposely avoid the term, EdTech or educational technology in the title for this post.   I thought that would muddy the waters before I even started, so instead I will refer to and discuss technology in schools.  

The challenge here is that the subject in hand is complex and pretty broad in its impact on education.   As such I think it therefore is important to state this thought piece is unlikely to capture the true complexities of the situation.  It can offer nothing more than a simplified viewpoint.   But in offering that simplified viewpoint maybe, just maybe, I will offer something which others find useful.

So where to start?

I think the place to start is by trying to break down technology in education into a number of interrelated parts.    I note here, that the purpose of breaking down the technology in education concept is to aid with understanding and for clarity reasons, not because the distinctions I propose exist in any hard real terms.  I also need to stress the interrelationship and interdependence which exists among these parts.

So how might technology in education be broken down?

I would suggest the below areas:

  • Learning about technology
  • Teaching with technology
  • Learning through technology / Technology enabled learning
  • Assessment through technology

Lets have a look at the first two items which I think are the most critical, starting with the top one and most likely the easiest one.

Learning about Technology

This is in relation to how we teach students about technology.    In the past this might have been the Key Stage 3 IT curriculum, or in more recent times Computing, or it might be teaching students about the benefits and dangers of social media via Digital Literacy lessons.    This is where the learning outcomes are clearly related to technology related skills, knowledge and understanding.

The issue with our current setup, in my view, is that the Computing offering is far to specialist for most students, and the reduction in student numbers taking GCSE Computing or IT seems to be indicative of this.  When IT was removed the students didn’t move over to take Computing but instead went to other subject areas.      Additionally the IT qualification, which was removed at KS3, provided students a lot of the basic IT skills plus also provided an opportunity for Digital Literacy to be covered;   Without IT it is down to schools themselves to choose and to find time to cover these areas, with not all schools doing so in any real meaningful way.

In terms of my suggestion for this area I think Ian Yorston put forward a good suggestion via Twitter  with Computing becoming Computer Science and joining the other sciences as part of the core offering.   This therefore retains an element of computational thinking within the curriculum including in Primary education.  Computing would still then, like the other sciences, be offered as a separate specialist subject at GCSE/A-Level.   This would obviously require the science curriculum to be looked at as the time available would be split 4 ways rather than the current 3-way split.

In addition to the above there is a need to deal with the basics of technology.   Given previous perceptions of the old IT current I don’t think IT or ICT would be appropriate names.   I would go for Digital Literacy.   This would cover some of the basic of technology use, must in the same way that English lessons start with the basics of the written and spoken word.   It would then develop as students progressed through school to cover more complex issues such a the impact of big data, ethics and AI, and how social media can influence the general public, much again in the same way as English develops to eventually cover an appreciation of poetry and more complexity literary theory.

Teaching with technology

This area is most likely the one which most might refer to as using Educational Technology.    Here the learning outcomes can be related to maths, geography, history or any other subject you can think of.   The technology learning isnt the endpoint, but technology is a tool used by the teacher and students to get to their endpoint.

The key current challenges as I see then are investment and professional development.   Schools cannot make use of educational technology if they simply don’t have access to it and access to educational technology continues to be highly variable across schools.   It is also important to acknowledge that the technology in question needs to be reliable and also come with adequate technical support for when things invariably don’t quite work as they should.

Professional development is also key as having the tools available is not enough if staff don’t know how to use it.   Now my belief is that the professional development question goes much further than simply having access to it as I have seen many professional development courses which have had limited long-term impact.   The professional development available needs to be of high quality but additionally, and more importantly in my view, it needs to be underpinned by a school culture of continual improvement, of sharing or openness.    If the culture is right then internal self-fulfilling professional development, occasionally supplemented with outside visits or training, can be achieved.

Another related issue to be considered here has to be Initial Teacher Training (ITT).    Developing the knowledge, understanding and skills of new teachers in relation to how they can effectively use technology will be key in the longer term, as these new teachers join schools and eventually become the backbone and leadership teams of schools of the future.

The Challenge

The challenge in all of the above is the scale of the problem.   Changes to the curriculum, time to adapt to a new curriculum, professional development, infrastructure investment, etc are easy to write about on Twitter or in a blog like this however to make it happen is so much more difficult.   There will be those who oppose curriculum changes due to it being a departure from “traditional” education.   There will be those who see investment as diverting funds from other government priorities.   There will be those who are concerned that yet more educational changes would be disruptive.   There will be the issue of the actual timeline as changes would take time.

Change is never easy.

It also needs to be acknowledged that this change needs to be backed at the highest levels of government, of the educational authorities such as Ofqual and ner I say it, Ofsted.   This potentially makes the proposed changes political, meaning the good of education may be sacrificed in the interests of gaining or retaining political office.

So what are we to do?  

We could continue our current approach doing the best we can in our own schools, while coming together in groups wherever possible to proclaim the need for change.   I see this as the default position.   It may not quickly get us where I believe we need to go but as we share our thoughts and views I hope that momentum will build with regards the need for change.

We could decide to focus on one particular area, such as teaching about technology or teaching with technology, thereby allowing efforts to be more focussed.   The issue here is that this may lead to a lack of big picture planning and eventual inefficiencies or even issues resulting from overlaps in concepts or differing viewpoints over time.   That said, could we consider any progress made to be progress, irrespective of any issues which may, and I highlight, may, occur in the future.

I am not sure what the answer is.   I am not even sure there is an answer however I am sure there is a need for change.