Month: August 2024

Thoughts on a new academic year

As a new academic year begins, this being my 26th academic year (has it been that long??) I just thought I would share some thoughts and maybe predictions.

Artificial intelligence

I don’t see the discussion of artificial intelligence in education going away as there is such potential.  The use of AI to support students, to help teachers and rebalance workload and much more.    It also makes for a good talking point for conferences or for developments.    I have two problems though.   One being that I think there will be a lot of talk, especially from vendors, without the reliable evidence supporting the impact and benefit of their tools.    As such I feel there will be a lot of misdirection of effort and resources when looking across schools in general.    Two is that artificial intelligence is all well and good, but it needs the relevant access to devices, to infrastructure, to support and to trained and confident teachers.    These digital divides need to be addressed before schools in general can then seek to use AI and leverage its potential benefits.

Online Exams

The issue of online or digital exams feels partly related to the sudden growth in AI and the resulting potential for AI marking of student work and therefore for AI based marking of student exams.    Again, I see this as another talking point for the year ahead but again am not sure we will see much real progress, possibly seeing less progress in this area than in AI.     The issue is that exam boards are taking things very tentatively so there first step will be “paper under glass” style exams which simply take the paper version of an exam and digitise it rather than seeking to modify the exam or examination process to benefit from the new digital medium.    For me the key benefit of online exams will be realised when they are adaptive in nature so can be taken anywhere and at any time.   This then means that schools wouldn’t need access to hundreds of computers for their students to sit an English GCSE exam as the students could sit the exam in batches over the day or over a number of days.    This would help towards the digital divides issue as it impacts online exams as schools wouldn’t need as many devices, but they would still need the infrastructure and the support to make digital exams work.

Mobile Phones and Social Media

Oh yes, and then there’s this old chestnut!   I suspect the phones and social media discussion will trundle on.   Students are being given phones without any parental controls and then schools are having to deal with this.   And some schools are taking the prohibition approach which is unlikely to succeed and may just deplete patience and resources.   I continue to believe we should be seeking to manage student mobile phones in school, so might restrict use in some areas and at some times but embrace and use them at other times.   We need to spend time with students talking about social media and its risks and benefits helping to shape the digital citizens which the world needs.

I also note here that social media is being blamed for the lack of focus and ease of distraction in students, and through association it is the fault of smart phones.    The world isn’t that simple, and having recently finished reading Stolen Focus by Johann Hari I am not more aware that other factors such as increasing levels of societal pressure to succeed, increased consumption of processed foods and our on-demand culture are all having an impact on our children.    Yes, social media, and by extension smart phones are playing their part but they are not the root and sole cause of the issues in relation to attention which we are seeing in schools and more broadly with children.

Fake news and deepfakes

This links to AI and also to mobile phones and social media, in the increasing ease with which fake news content can be convincingly developed including the use of images and video, and then shared online.    As fake news becomes an increasing issue, which I suspect the US elections will draw some focus on, there will be an increasing need for schools to consider how they discuss and address this challenge with their students.   More locally within education and within schools will be where we start to see increasing use of AI tools to create “deepfakes” by students and involving other fellow students, either “just having a laugh” or for the purposes of bullying.     This will be very challenging as the sharing of such content will quickly stretch beyond the perimeter of schools, spread through social media, messaging apps and the like, but where the victim and likely the perpetrators will be within the school.   

Wellbeing

This one came to me last, but if I was re-writing this I would likely put it first.   We talk about wellbeing very much but every year we look to see if the exam grades have gone up and are faced with increasingly compliance requirements around safeguarding or attendance or many other areas.    Improvements in results, or even the efforts to improve results mean more work, which means more effort and more stress.    More compliance hoops equally mean more effort and more work.    So how can we address wellbeing if educators are constantly being asked to do more than they did previously.   And exam results and compliance are just two possible examples of the “do more” culture which pervades society possibly driven by the need for economic and other growth as something to aim for.    Although growth and improvement is something laudable to seek, it cannot be continuous over time, not without deploying additional resources both in terms of money and human resources.    As such there needs to be a logical conclusion to the “do more” culture and my preference would be for us to decide and manage this rather than for it to happen to us.    AI can help with workload for example giving more time for wellbeing however my concern here is that this frees up some time to simply do more stuff, albeit stuff which might have an impact, but not positively on wellbeing.

Conclusion

The above are just five areas I see being cornerstones of educational discussion in the academic year ahead.   I suspect other things will arise such as equity of opportunity, although I note this links to pretty much all of the above.   There will also be other themes which arise but it will be interesting to see how these particular five themes develop during the course of 2024/25.

And so with that let me wish everyone a successful academic year.    Let the fun begin!

A world of cameras

We now live in a world where, if there is a car accident or a fight or something similar everyone reaches for their phone to film it.    No-one, or very few, rush in to help and support, instead the majority whip out their mobile phone, video the event before publishing it online for the world to see, in the hope of going viral.   

A positive spin

This can be helpful in getting news out quickly plus can be useful in terms of evidence of actually what happened, hopefully removing subjective memories from the equation, although as I will mention later things are not quite that simple.    I remember watching a movie which centred upon the use of video footage and a bloke with a handy-cam to unpick the events leading to a terrorist attack.   We now live in a world where everyone pretty much has a camera with them, in their mobile phone, and therefore the chances of doing something criminal and not being recorded are slim, albeit that has just led to a growth in face coverings and hoodies to obscure the identity of those seeking to do ill.   But maybe the common access to phone cameras might discourage some from committing crime in which case that can be seen as another positive.   

But privacy I hear you say

What privacy do we have where we might get caught on the camera of someone we don’t know, and where they might then publish this online for all to see, all without either our knowledge or our permission?   In a world of social media where we publish our own content this happens all the time and we may find ourselves laughing at the person who falls over however how do they feel with our own mistakes captured for eternity online and for the world to watch and laugh at?    Also, what about the videos of what happened where only an excerpt is shared online such that the content shared does not convey the context of the event and instead is purposefully picked to suit a particular narrative?  

At the edges

There is also the issue at the extreme edges of this balance, where individuals post their arguments  with security staff or police online regarding their rights to film in public, or in relation to their right to privacy and not being filmed when involved in a march or demonstration.   To the person stating their rights to film in public, I wonder as to what their aim is in filming where security or police feel the need to challenge, and to someone stating their right to privacy, if they are not doing anything wrong and the footage is only for the purpose of policing and identifying those corrupting free speech, etc. again what is their concern?   Now I know, again, things are not that simple.

Balance and pragmatism

I often cite balance and will do so here, that having mobile phones and the ease of filming and photographing events presents a benefit but it also presents a risk.  The technology is a tool and some will seek to use it constructively whereas others will seek to use it for their own negative ends.    Am not sure what the answer is to this, although my personal feeling is we need to be a bit more pragmatic in terms of what is acceptable and unacceptable, and maybe rather than the law leading the way, it is our national culture which should lead the way in terms of what we consider acceptable and unacceptable.  

I think the key issue is that the video capture isn’t going away, and in fact it is getting better, higher resolution and also easier to edit with AI tools so the challenges are only likely to grow.   And the editing or creation of fake, or synthetic, imagery or footage is a clear and growing concern.It is for this reason that I think this is something we need to talk to students about as part of discussing digital citizenship.   What do they think is acceptable or unacceptable and why and how do we build a world where we, in the vast majority, stay on the acceptable side of the fence?

Social media and extremism

The recent issue with riots in the UK and the link to posts being made on social media got me once again thinking about fake news and about fundamentalism and how technology amplifies what I feel is a societal issue, plus how there is no perfect solution to this problem.

Is societal cohesion breaking down?

In recent years, societal cohesion appears to be fraying, with the rise of “us vs. them” thinking, amplified by both social and mainstream media. Social media platforms often promote binary arguments, encouraging people to view those outside their group—whether divided by race, religion, or ideology—as the enemy, with the short form nature of social media only adding to this.   Even attempts to address the issue, such as highlighting how a particular group might be marginalised or be targets of abuse often only serves to strengthen the polarisation and the view of “us and them”.     I also note, that this “in group”, “us”, vs, “out group”, “them” thinking is partly hardwired into us as humans in our unconscious bias with those like us stimulating a different reaction at a brain chemistry level than those who are not like us.

All of this polarization fosters echo chambers, where in-group members are conditioned to see the “other” as a threat. In such an environment, it hardly matters who the “them” is; the division itself becomes the focus. This breakdown in unity provides fertile ground for extremists and anarchists, who exploit the growing divide to further their agendas, often using civil unrest as a smokescreen for crime and violence.    The recent riots being just one example of this.

Preventing hate speech

So, we recognise there is an issue, and that extremists and anarchists are seeking to exploit this to their own gain often using social media.   The issue is that preventing hate speech in the vast sea of online content presents a significant challenge. With millions of posts generated daily, identifying harmful speech is like finding a needle in a haystack, often requiring sophisticated algorithms alongside human oversight. Yet, the question of who defines “hate speech” is also complex. While clear instances of racial, religious, or gender-based abuse are widely condemned, the grey areas are more contentious. Cultural norms, political contexts, and free speech concerns mean that definitions of hate speech can vary, raising questions about who gets to draw the line—and whether some voices may be unfairly silenced in the process.    Consider the issue in Gaza currently where I would suggest that there are two very different perspectives on the Israeli and Palestinian sides as to what might be hate speech, and anyone viewing from outside is likely to come down more towards one side or the other, but are either wrong or right?

Maintaining freedom of speech

While preventing hate speech is crucial, it’s equally important to safeguard freedom of speech. There’s a growing concern that governments could misuse their powers under the guise of regulation to suppress dissent or unpopular opinions, leading to oppression. In such scenarios, controlling the narrative becomes a powerful tool, with authorities shaping public discourse to suit their agenda. We have already seen some governments around the world actually seeking to turn off the internet at a national level in order to control the flow of information and we also know that targeting communications systems is a key initial phase of military operations.     This manipulation or control of information can easily blur the lines between truth and propaganda.   So how do we find a balance between preventing hate speech while maintaining freedom of speech and who makes the decisions as to where this balance lies?

Hate speech, fake news and the truth

And its even more complex than finding a balance;   Hate speech, fake news, and truth may seem like clear and distinct concepts, but identifying them in practice is far more complex. What one person considers hate speech could be seen as free expression by another, and fake news might be interpreted differently depending on one’s beliefs or sources of information. The truth, often thought to be absolute, can be clouded by bias, context, and perception, making it subjective and open to interpretation. In this highly polarized and fast-moving digital world, the line between these terms becomes increasingly blurred, as individuals and institutions apply their own definitions based on personal, political, or cultural lenses.

Conclusion

In an age of rapid information sharing and deepening societal divides, navigating the complexities of hate speech, fake news, and truth requires careful balance. While it’s vital to combat harmful rhetoric and misinformation, we must also safeguard freedom of speech and avoid allowing subjective interpretations to silence genuine expression. As technology evolves, so too must our approaches to maintaining societal cohesion, fostering open dialogue, and ensuring that efforts to regulate speech don’t become tools for oppression. Ultimately, finding common ground in an increasingly fragmented world will depend on our collective ability to engage with diverse perspectives and uphold democratic values.   My feeling is that we are heading one way, and it is the wrong way, towards a breakdown of societal cohesion, but I feel social media is just amplifying and contributing to the issue rather than being the root cause.    I wonder, are we more insular as a society when compared with 20 or 30 years ago?    Are our groups or local communities less diverse but in a more diverse world?     Are we more inclined to discussion and disagreement in terms of binary positions?   

The news tends to point towards simple answers such as preventing or policing hate speech as a solution, but the issue is that things are seldom that simple.   I also think it is worth considering that all of the press around the riots in the UK are referring to maybe a few 1000 people involved in criminal activity, but that’s out of a population of over 69million.    Are we ever going to be able to stop such a minority bent on chaos, damage and mayhem, and therefore does the very act of discussing them simply feed their aims?

Exam Results 2024

It’s the start of the exam results period this week with the release of the Cambridge International results ahead of the A-Level exam results on Thursday and GCSE results the following week.   The pressure on teenagers to perform well in exams such as GCSEs and A-Levels is immense. Schools, parents, and society place great emphasis on achieving high grades, often portraying these results as the ultimate determinant of a young person’s future success. However, while exam results are undeniably important, they are not the be-all and end-all of a teenager’s life. There are numerous other factors that contribute to personal development, mental well-being, and long-term success that deserve equal, if not more, attention.

The Limitations of Exam Results

Firstly, it’s crucial to recognize the limitations of exam results. Exams typically measure a specific type of intelligence which revolves around memorization, understanding of theoretical concepts, and the ability to perform under exam pressure within a limited time frame. However, intelligence is multifaceted. Skills such as creativity, emotional intelligence, problem-solving, leadership, and the ability to work well in teams are not measured by traditional exams but are equally vital in both personal and professional contexts.   I also note that school and college exams, being sat in a hall with hundreds of other students, is far from ideal for many students, plus is not really representative of the kind of experiences students will encounter in life beyond formal education, and there is the research which points to the environmental conditions in exam halls in relation to heat, CO2, etc simply not be conducive of maximum performance.    

Mental Health and Well-Being

This intense focus on exam results can have detrimental effects on a teenager’s mental health. The pressure to achieve high grades can lead to anxiety, depression, and burnout where mental well-being is a critical component of a teenager’s overall development.    Teens need time to relax, explore their interests, and build relationships. These aspects of life help develop a balanced and healthy individual.   I note that I put too much pressure on myself in relation to exams when I was younger, which led me to difficulties with mental health mainly related to results below that which I expected in my Higher grade exams in Scotland.    These results were not the end of me, as I felt they were at the time, but actually spurred me on and taught me a valuable lesson regarding the unpredictable nature of the future, and how so-called life defining moments, such as exam results day, are simply just a stop on a much longer life journey.

The false narrative

The focus on exam results, as will be evident in the press over the coming week or so, perpetuates a false narrative of winners and losers, where students are unfairly categorized based on their results. This binary perspective suggests that those who achieve high grades are destined for success, and are “successful”, while those who do not make these grades are not. Such a narrative overlooks the diverse range of talents, skills, and potentials that exist beyond the confines of standardized testing.  It also overlooks the multitude of factors which might impact a students exam performance.   Success, or failure, in my view, is determined by the longer picture of your life, your contributions, your memories and efforts, and exam results are a small part of that in the longer term.

Conclusion

Life is a journey rich with diverse experiences, and exams are just one of many milestones along the way. Whether a pass or a fail, exams do not define a person’s entire future; they are simply a moment in time, a stepping stone on a much larger path.  For those getting their results this week and next, know that they are a small part of your life.   If you do well, celebrate, and then move onto the next stage in your life.    If you don’t do well as defined by your own expectations rather than the press or others, learn from this.   It may be that exams weren’t for you, that your performance was impacted by external issues, that the courses didn’t fit your interests, that you didn’t put in enough effort or many other factors;  That’s fine, so pick your next steps and move forward.   I know I did and with that I will leave but one last thought:  I learned from my disappointing Scottish S5 Higher results and worked harder to get to University in S6 but it was many years later before I learned about the need for balance in relation to study or work, and our wider lives.    How do you balance out work/study with the wider need for fun, enjoyment and need for experiences and human flourishing?   As your exam results come and go, I would suggest this is something well worth considering.

An AI PC

I was recently provided with a nice new laptop to use where this laptop is billed as an AI PC.   Now the reason for the AI PC moniker is that the chipset included in the PC includes the usual central processing unit (CPU), graphics processing unit (GPU) but also a new neural processing unit (NPU).   The new NPU is basically designed to take on AI based tasks but what difference does this make to a conventional laptop?

Making a charge go further

The key difference is the NPU is designed to take on common AI tasks but to do so at lower power levels than the CPU or GPU can do, where previously they would have needed to take this work on.   The theory therefore is that in a laptop, where battery power is important, by using this new NPU the battery life of the laptop can be increased meaning it will work for longer periods on a single charge.    So, if for example we are using Microsoft Teams and making calls where the background is being blurred or a fake background added, which is an AI task, a laptop with an NPU should be able to outlast a laptop without one, before needing to be recharged.   And looking more long term, I would hope that this might also mean that the overall battery life and therefore lifespan for the device as a whole should be extended, which in schools is an important factor to consider.   Now I note that it’s a little early to tell whether this is actually what happens and I doubt my time with the device and my usage of the device will be definitive in this area but I am looking forward to seeing if there are even signs that this might be the case.

And why would a single key matter?

Now the other key thing which struck me with the AI PC, and I note that this will seem such a minor thing, but in effect is quite notable, is the keyboard.     The laptop I have been given comes with a Microsoft copilot key.   It might not seem that this is that important, coming with a different keyboard, but from my initial few hours playing with the new device it has turned out to be quite important.   Basically, the copilot key allows me to fire up copilot; now I am using the free version in edge rather than the paid for version.    I quickly found myself tapping the copilot key and then speaking my prompts whereas previously I always typed them.   I also found myself using copilot more frequently as it was now simply the tap of a key away.  I note previously I kept ChatGPT and Gemini as default tabs which automatically open in my browser as I was aware that although I understand the power of AI and of Large Language Models (LLMs) I have also built up effective working practices and habits, which don’t involve AI.   I was therefore conscious that I needed to find a way to make the use of an LLM convenient and easy so that I could more easily build the habit of introducing them into my normal workflows, so by having them open automatically I made sure a LLM was never that far away.   That said, the single key on the keyboard seemed to make a difference in my tendency to use generative AI.    It just seemed easier and more convenient when the thought occurred that an LLM would be of use, to tap the key with copilot instantly being fired up, ready for me to type, or better still, and more conveniently, speak my prompt.  

Conclusion

Its rather early in my playing with this new AI PC although I can see some potential related to battery life, although I haven’t seen the evidence to back this up, however the more minor change, of having a copilot key has already had an impact on my workflows.

Sometimes it is the little things that make all the difference, and in this case the little thing happens to be a single key, the copilot key.