Category: Journal

EduTech Europe 2023

Its been a while since I have had to fly out to present at a conference, with the last time being almost 10 years ago flying to Kuwait from the UAE to present, but recently I found myself in Amsterdam presenting a cyber session at the EduTech Europe event.    I suppose this means I can claim to be an international speaker for all that might be worth!   In terms of the event itself I found it to be very useful indeed so I thought I would, as I have for other events, share my thoughts.

Education and Disruption

There was a fair contingent of UK EdTech experts and gurus at the event and it was great to catch up with many of them and to watch their various sessions.   This continues to be one of the big reasons for events like this, in the networking and opportunity to share thoughts and ideas, however I think EduTechEurope did particularly well at this as there seemed to be more time to allow for discussion.

Of particular note was some discussion with Gemma Gwilliam and Emma Darcy in relation to the education system as it currently exists.   Emma referred to “brave leadership” in her session, in response to a question from the floor relating to how the current curriculum doesn’t prepare students for the digital world which exists and which lies ahead.   This struck me as highlighting that those schools seeking to do the right thing for their students are often having to break away from the established education system.   In Emma’s case one aspect of this was re-imaging the school day and timetable to make time available for digital and the things that matter even when these are not within the curriculum or something the current education system seeks to develop or assess.   Over lunch on day two, Emma, Gemma and myself had a really interesting discussion as to how we as a group, along with some others, might seek to support the “breaking” of education through constructive disruption.    I left the event feeling energised and excited from the discussions and look forward to sharing the progress we as a group make over the coming months, and possibly ahead of EduTechEurope 2024.

Digital Strategy

Digital strategy in schools has been discussed often over the last 5 or 10 years so isnt something new.   The pandemic also brought the importance of digital solutions to the forefront further stimulating the discussion however it was refreshing to hear discussion of an often forgotten aspect in relation to wellbeing.   Technology allows us to do more and to be more efficient and quicker, but does this “doing more” have a negative impact on wellbeing and on staff workload?   The wellbeing aspect of digital strategy is something we need to explore much more, as is the challenge regarding the “additive” approach to education which has seen us forever seeking to get better, which is fair and enviable, but at the expense of increasing workload and challenges around wellbeing and mental health.

AI in education

Laura Knight delivered her usual high quality and thought provoking session, this time on AI in education.   She explored the benefits and challenges in relation to AI which is something I myself have explored in some of my recent presentations.   The most interesting part of her presentation for me though was her discussion on agility and education.    This is something I see as a key challenge given education has changed little over the last few centuries, albeit the whiteboard has been replaced by a projector or panel.   This is against a backdrop of rapid technological development.    We have therefore needed to re-evaluate our current education system for some time, including how we assess students, and how students progress through formal education.   It may be that AI will now prove as a potential catalyst to make this change happen.   It is also likely that in the first instance we will need the “brave leadership” and the positive disruption from a small number of schools to lead the way for schools and colleges in general.

Cyber Resilience

The panel session I was involved in looked at “cyber-proofing your school” and it was great to be on such a diverse panel chaired by Abid Patel.Some really good discussion with two particular notable points for me. One being the fact that schools dont and will not ever have the finances and other resources to cyber “proof” our schools so we can only focus on doing the basics and preparing for an incident. The second take away for me was the fact the session was the last session of day 1, with this often being the case for cyber security awareness sessions, given limited time and placed at the end of an inset day; We need to realise that the potential impact of a cyber incident means we need to move cyber up the pecking and priority order, treating it not as an IT issue but as an organisation wide issue.

Travel issues

Any event I attend cannot be without its travel issues and this event was no different.   Firstly, it was the short stay carpark, a nice 2 or 3 mins walk from the departure terminal, being closed leading to a longer and unplanned 15 to 20 mins walk to be met with a snaking long queue for security.  Panic ensued however thankfully the Bristol security team were efficient and quickly saw us all through.   Once in Amsterdam I couldn’t check into the hotel when I arrived leading to having to attend the conference a little dishevelled from travel and rushing around.

And on the homeward bound leg it was plane delays and an amusing moment at the gate as shown on my app, looking at a plane at the gate but unable to get to that plane, as the plane slowly backed away from the gate;  Myself and another passenger wondered if that was our plane and we had missed it but thankfully it wasn’t our plane, and our plane was still 1 hour from arriving.   And once back in the UK, exiting airport parking, my ticket wouldn’t work to open the barrier so I pressed for help.  The helpful voice took some details and then went quiet.  After about 10 minutes sat waiting I pressed for help once more and got the same helpful voice who for reasons unknown had forgotten about me;  The barrier then promptly raised and I exited the carpark, promptly turning down the wrong exit from a roundabout and nearly going back into the same carpark.   A little three point turn and I finally was heading in the correct direction.

Conclusion

It was a very worthwhile trip, catching up with so many great people and also watching and listening to a number of really useful and informative sessions.  It was also nice to listen to a broader range of speakers from across Europe rather than just UK only as is common in UK based events.   This made for a richer discussion including discussion of education within a variety of different national and regional, and stage, related contexts.   As always the network side of things was a key benefit of the event and I look forward to some follow up from some of the really interesting and exciting discussions and plans that were created.

First day of term: A Director of ITs view.

So, Monday this week marked the first day of the Autumn term and the new 2023/24 academic year and it was the usual very busy start to the year for myself and my team.   I suspect IT teams working in schools, colleges and universities across the world will find it the same when staff and students return.   Forgotten passwords, new devices, new requirements and services, the fog of the summer holiday period meaning people cant remember how to do or find things on the schools intranet or learning platform.   All of these issues suddenly appear on day 1 and the first week, meaning from an IT point of view it is probably the busiest period of the year.    As such I thought I would share some of myself and my teams day.

Lots of issues continue to be reported via email as email is a fire and forgot medium.   As such a fair part of my day was spent reviewing and responding to emails.   Despite my best efforts, by the end of the day my inbox contained around 300 emails yet to be reviewed or requiring action;  I try to only keep the emails in my inbox where they are unread or where they require action.    I hate to think how many emails would be in my inbox if I hadn’t allocated small amounts of time throughout the day to review and action.

Part of the schools programme at the start of the year involves a school service at a local cathedral.  This is always an amazing event and a great way to start the year.  This was due to happen on the Tuesday however over the weekend the actual programme for the service had yet to be finalised.   As such I popped down to our reprographics office to provide some support to our reprographics manager who would be responsible for trying to turn around thousands of printed programmes within the day.   As it was the finalised programme arrived just after 9am with the whole run completed by mid-afternoon thanks to the hard work of the reprographics manager.    Meanwhile my creative technologies team were in the cathedral itself getting all the audio visual equipment in place to allow for screens to help attendees see clearly what was happening even if sat at the back, to allow for recording of the whole event and to provide the necessary audio setup.    The whole event is quite a logistical endeavour however is brilliant in marking the start of a new academic year.

Back in the office and the team are hard at work supporting users including both staff and students.   A quick look at the IT ticketing system at the end of the day shows almost twice as many tickets being logged as is usual and this doesn’t include a record of the many students and staff who simply physically came to the IT office for help.   Issues ranged from new students not knowing how to log in to the Wi-Fi, students having forgotten passwords, staff and students with new devices where their old device was the one setup for MFA, and many other issues.    If variety is the spice of life, there was certainly plenty of variety in the issues, albeit there were also a fair few of the usual issues common for IT teams at the start of a new academic year.

As part of a new project this year we had a photographer in doing photos for a number of our year groups rather than my team being involved in this.    Just after lunch I popped across to see how they were getting on given they had around 700 to 800 photos to do within the day.    As it was the company confidently worked their way through the students, largely due to their experience in doing the same with other schools, and the new photos were uploaded to our school management system before the end of the first day.

I had also put aside some time on day 1 for a couple of more significant projects.    I find if I don’t allocate time to significant projects, other less pressing issues seem to deplete my available time.    One of these projects is in relation to some data analysis using PowerBi.    I continue to see PowerBi as such a powerful tool and can only see this growing over time as we gather more and more data, but need to find value in the data, where BI can help us visualise and explore the data and therefore hopefully find the value we seek.     The second project I was working on was in relation to a conference I will be speaking at later in the month where I will be discussing AI in education.   I had some rough thoughts on the content of the presentation but had put some time aside to flesh these out noting that the organiser is asking for a presentation to be provided in the next week.    I will admit I have a tendency to be working on conference presentations until minutes before I present, and I suspect this may be no different.

The day finished with a meeting discussing data and data analysis, setting things up for a meeting the following day to further explore the data and analysis requirements.

It was a long and busy day but also a productive one in many ways.   And this is all after a busy summer of IT infrastructure upgrades, client device changes and upgrades, systems development and other IT works.    The rest of the week will be similarly busy before things settle down a bit in week 2 and 3 as staff and students get into routines and as everything returns to the usual habits, ebbs and flows of a busy school.     

I hope all staff in IT roles in schools, colleges and universities survive their first days back and come out of it with minimal issues.    You all do a great job, often invisible to most users in the school, except when things go wrong.   This is the way of IT, if done correctly it is nearly transparent to the users, simply being there and adding new possibilities to teaching, learning, school administration, etc.   Without you this wouldn’t happen, so keep up the great work!

Review of 2022/23 in photos

As another academic year begins I thought I would have a quick look back over the photos I have taken throughout 2022/23 to see what highlights I might be able to pick out.    The below image is some of the highlights:

August 2022 saw me having a family holiday abroad which was a pleasant way to relax and prepare for the year to come.     Following the usual busy first half of the autumn term I found myself visiting Meta’s London offices for an online safety event, the first time I had ever visited their offices, before then travelling up to Birmingham for the Schools and Academies show where Abid Patel presented me with an Irn Bru Xtra just at a point where my supplies of the Bru were running low.    Timing is everything! It was a busy couple of days and a lot of travelling but worthwhile in the end.  Later that month I then led the South West ANME meeting;  I think this was the first ANME meeting I had led.   It was enjoyable to contribute to discussion and to share with other schools from across the Southwest.  It would be nice to see more school involved however the geography of the Southwest makes this challenging.

January saw myself and Ian Stockbridge begin our In Our Humble Opinion (IOHO) podcast after over a year of discussion without getting anything off the ground.   Having started the podcast the Microsoft event in Reading proved an ideal opportunity for Ian to sport his IOHO branded T-Shirt.     March saw me in London for the BETT event, however also using the opportunity for a day off to spend in London, including a quick visit to Madame Tussauds for my selfie with a Stormtrooper.   May saw a trip up to Leeds to present at an Elementary Technology event alongside Kalam from British esports, discussing esports and schools.   A great event albeit my journey up to Leeds wasnt short of my usual challenges with significant train delays. I was then involved in a similar esports session, this time with Tom from British esports, along with a cyber resiliency session at the ISC digital event in June.   It was great to present, but also to be involved in the organising of an ISC digital conference especially given the extended delay between the previous ISC event and this one.   Here’s hoping that the ISC event once again returns as an annual event.

The end of the academic year finished with the 2nd LGfL event in London and a good opportunity to catch up with some of the ANME team, among many others.   I then, as the holiday period began, took a trip with my wife to London for a few days relaxing and exploring London, including engaging in a bit of Morph hunting.   I will admit to finding wandering around London with a limited plan other than to amble around and have a few drinks, very relaxing. The weather was also surprisingly nice which makes all the difference.

To be honest, the photos above are only a small number of highlights representing a busy academic year.   Here’s to 2023/24, new challenges, new opportunities and another positive academic year.  I wander what photos I will have to look back on a year from now?

A [broad] review of 2022/23

And so, the 2022/23 academic year draws to a close so I thought I would share some brief thoughts and reflections on the completion of yet another year.   This is the first of two posts I will share in terms of reflection, this one focussing on broad reflections where the future post will focus much more on some of my more personal reflections.   

So what are my main takeaways from the last academic year?

Technology

This year I managed to get around and visit a couple of different subjects and see how others were using technology in their lessons.   It was great to see how technology was embedded and almost transparent in its use, but also heartening to see where teachers were deciding to use non-tech solutions in their lessons where this better met the needs of the students and the lesson content.   Technology is a brilliant tool but equally we need to reach a balance in its use and be willing to use or not use technology as appropriate.   My sense post pandemic was that there was a real danger of a rubber band effect on technology use, seeing technology usage quickly regress to pre-pandemic levels however this does not quite seem to be the case.    That being said, looking outside of schools to exam boards and other centralised education functions, they have moved very little and I suspect this will be the most significant challenge for education;   Schools themselves are able to move forward and progress in the use of technology however for education to move as a whole will require bodies such as exam boards, government education departments, inspections regimes, etc to move forward with their adoption of technology.   It will also require them to ensure that their staff, including those who visit schools to carry out moderation, to carry out inspection or to provide support or consultancy, all have a reasonable level of technology skills.  My experience to date suggests both the technology adoption and the technology skills are currently lacking.

Cyber

Linked to the above I have seen exam bodies providing software for use in educational establishments where the software required local admin privileges.   I have also seen hardware sold where the operating software provided only supported an outdated version of a networking protocol, rather than the newer more security version.  No update was available with the only solution the vendor could suggest being to purchase their newer, more advanced and unsurprisingly more expensive hardware option.   In order for schools to be better protected against the increasing cyber threats of the world we live in, we need to ensure we do the basics which includes limiting the permissions provided and using “least privilege” as a standard, as well as ensuring updates are available and that the newest protocols and standards are used.   Those organisations and companies providing software and hardware to schools need to ensure that cyber security is baked into their solutions by design and where it is not these solutions should simply be prevented from use in our schools and colleges.   Until we address the issue of EdTech software and hardware being designed with security in mind, both in terms of the current issues but also in terms of future risks and issues through the anticipated lifespan of the solution, education will continue to be an easy target.

Generative AI

Generative AI has really hit the news particularly in the last 6 months.  I have already written a fair amount on Generative AI however my main takeaway from the year is that generative AI is here and will only get better.  As has been said a few times, the current AI solutions available are the worst they will ever be.    We therefore need to shape its use by experimenting and identifying how it can help teachers, students and the wider school community.  Equally we must ensure that those using AI understand the risks and implications of its use.    This can be done in a pragmatic way focussed on the present, however we must also look to the future and how AI might significantly change the world of education.   Will teaching and learning look the same as it does in 5 or 10 years time?   What about assessment and exams?   Will changes finally allow greater time to work with students on digital citizenship along with health and wellbeing in a digital world?    There are lots of questions we can now seek to ask as we seek to explore the art of the possible in a world where Generative AI is now available.    These are interesting times.

The negative world

Reflecting back on the academic year and on the wider world there has been a lot of press in relation to the things which aren’t working as we wish they would, some of which having incalculable impact on those involved including leading to loss of life.    The cost of living crisis,  war in Ukraine, fuel cost crisis and many other negative events have flooded our TV news and our social media.   My concern here is that these negative events might blot out any of the good that may have been achieved.   The availability bias might come into play as all that comes easily to mind is negative, leading to increasing issues with mental health.    I worry that the news, including TV, social media, etc, not only reports event but also shapes future events and if this is the case, and the current news is more often negative than positive, what might the net result be for the future?    How do we achieve the balance in the world, in our countries, our towns, families and in our own lives where the prevailing message is that things are getting worse?   It was however heartening to hear Ty Goddard speaking at the LGfL conference talk of the need for hope, faith and leadership.    How do we lead people, including staff and students through this period where things feel so bleak, and how do we seek to cultivate the hope and faith that may be so important going forward?

Conclusion

The summer period is an opportunity for many to reset and recharge.  For myself and my team, it is an opportunity to get lots of the technology related upgrades, updates and other development work done while things are a little quieter;  I note we have summer holiday courses here throughout summer so things are never fully quiet.    It is also a key milestone and opportunity to reflect and also to look forwards and plan for the next academic year.     As I think about the implications of AI, I think the end of the academic year also represents an opportunity for us to look inwards;   Looking back and looking forwards in time is useful, but sometimes we need to be introspective and look at ourselves as humans, as individuals, considering health, wellbeing, resilience, etc.    We are more than a list of achievements, struggles or a list of plans and targets.

For me the year has had its ongoing challenges such as cyber risk and the generally negative context of the world, with these being an ongoing grind.  It has also had its positives in seeing the work of my team, in supporting technology use, being realised in classrooms with teachers confidently using technology and with the technology being almost transparent in its use.    And the year has also seen AI gain prominence, providing such potential or opportunities for the future.    It has been another busy, challenging but also rewarding year.  

So 2022/23 has ended.  Now we wait and prepare for 2023/24!

If… The ISA/ISC Conference

I was involved in the ISA/ISC Digital Conference a couple of weeks back and thought I would share some of my headline thoughts following the event.    I note it was a busy day, including actually being involved in leading a couple of the sessions, so the below represent the standout points for me based on the sessions I managed to see.

For me there were three main themes which stuck out for me:

  1. Challenge the status quo and overly simplistic language and imagery
  2. Awareness of reductive reasoning and binary arguments
  3. A focus on humanity and wellbeing in a world of increasing technology use.

Challenge the status quo.

There is a clear need to challenge the status quo and particularly some of the language and visuals used when discussing technology.     Laura Knight did a good job of drawing attention to this, and I will admit I have been as guilty as many others of using some of the loose, simplistic language and visuals to which she referred.   The picture of the smiling student wearing a VR headset, the use of The Matrix style graphics in relation to AI ( Note: definitely guilty of this! ) and the discussion of the printing press as an analogy of the change now presented by AI, among others. All simplistic and not really representative of the situation we now find ourselves in due to AI.    These simplistic images and equally simplistic language only go to strengthen false perceptions about technology.   One of my favourites is the use of the dark hooded, and normally male, figure when discussing cyber crime;  Not exactly representative of the organised cyber crime we see today. We need to do better.

Reductive reasoning and binary arguments       

I have long argued about binary arguments and how the world is seldom simple enough to be modelled with a black and white, good and bad, right and wrong argument.  The world is inherently messy and operates in many shares of grey, existing between the black and white of any two extreme positions.  The issue here is that extreme positions are suited to the world of social media where the content has to be short and anything which stimulates a response is a good thing.    The message and medium are entangled.   This is something we need to be aware of especially as it continues to encourage echo chambers and division rather than the critical discussion and reasoning we really need. 

As to reductive reasoning, I get that we often want to simplify things for people.   This might be through presenting a simple model or presenting a “50 ways” or “5 ways”, such as 50 prompts for use of AI or 5 basic cyber security basics.   And again, I am guilty of this, creating a framework of basics in relation to cyber security.   But again the world is seldom that simple, and although the model or list of ways, makes things easier for the reader or audience, it all too often over simplifies the issue being discussed.   Cyber security is more nuanced than 5 basic mitigation measures and AI prompt craft is way more nuanced than 50 prompts.   The challenge here is the balance between convenience and ease of use, and mirroring the complexity of the world we live in.   Too basic makes things seem too easy and therefore not representative of our world, where trying to model the real world will likely result in a model too complex for people to understand or to be useful.   The balance lies somewhere in between these points.

Wellbeing and Humanity

As technology plays an increasing part in our lives then it is likely that wellbeing will become more important.   Being human and the traits of being human will become more important.   We will need to consider how we support wellbeing in the face of the tsunami of digital content, both positive and negative;   how we will manage the uncertainty of cyber risk, how we will best use the AI solutions which could provide support and counselling however might also be designed to influence, manipulate and deceive.   The question of what it means to be human and how human intelligences differ from synthetic intelligences will become all the more important.    We need to make use of AI to do the tasks which it is good at, while identifying what it is that human intelligence is better at and is suited for.   Ethical use of AI also plays a part here as will we want to know when we are dealing with an AI rather than a human, and are we happy for AI to play a part in key life decisions such as those related to health and finance.   In the face of upsetting online content, are we happy with AI making the decisions to filter content on the grounds of wellbeing, where we know this might lead to bias in the content which we are provided, or where such a solution might be controlled by an outside agency to their own ends?

Conclusion

The conferences title was “if” and this is rather apt as I feel we find ourselves at a junction.   We had the catalyst which was the pandemic that propelled us forward in relation to technology use in schools, plus we are now presented with AI, potentially an even more significant catalyst.   What might the future hold?     The key in my view is that we need to consider this, we need to consider how the next 5 or more years might look, and how we might shape this future to be the positive outcome we would like, or even need, it to be.    How things might look in future will be directly influenced by the decisions we take now.   If we do X then this may lead to Y.    We need to grab hold of technology and seek to shape its use and through doing so shape our futures.

Good enough?

In the world of education, it is easy to become obsessed with the pursuit of perfection. Teachers and students alike strive for excellence, academic, pastoral, and otherwise, pushing themselves to achieve the best results possible and constantly seeking to improve processes, knowledge and skills.  I look back on over 20 years of working in schools and see all the things that have been added for teachers, school leaders and support staff to do.   All of the various things that have been added have been added for good reason, to improve education or to address risks or dangers, but they largely have all been additions;  additional systems, additional processes, additional statutory requirements, additional school requirements, inspection requirements, compliance requirements, etc.   We cannot infinitely continue to add.    Also, in this relentless pursuit of perfection, it is all too easy to overlook the value of “good enough” and the negative effects that perfectionism can have.

The concept of “perfect” is a subjective one, and what one person considers to be perfect may not necessarily be the same for another. The problem with striving for perfection in education is that it can lead to unrealistic expectations, which in turn can lead to feelings of failure, anxiety, and stress.  It can lead to increasing workload where workload is a considerable issue impacting on educators the world over.    We can become so fixated on getting everything right that we lose sight of the bigger picture, and what really matters and is most important.     And what is most important is equally subjective;  is it academic achievement, developing character, soft skills, sportsmanship, preparing students for future life, supporting student wellbeing, or the many other things which schools are involved in.

I believe the culture of constant addition is doomed to fail us, it is simply unsustainable.   We do not have the resources and this is already clear given ongoing discussions regarding workload in schools. As such we need to look towards what is most important and prioritising.  We need to look towards “doing less” which is one of the principles I have shared with my team in looking to identify the tasks and activities we do that add little value or provide little impact, seeking to cease these or spend less time on them.   Now this is a difficult process as anything which has been added has been added for a reason however not all reasons are equal and the impact and value of all tasks and activities are also not equal.   And this is what is hard in comparing tasks and identifying which are worthwhile to continue and which can be ceased or reduced, while acknowledging that ceasing any tasks will result in a negative impact; Remember we started a task for a positive reason, so ceasing or reducing time on it can only reverse this; a negative impact.   But we need to start to reverse the culture of addition before we reach a tipping point, before the workload crisis goes beyond where it already is.

In terms of the difficult task of prioritisation I always come back to values;   A schools values should help guide on identifying that which is important and which adds value, therefore helping in identifying the things it might be possible to cease doing.    And if not ceasing doing things it should help in identifying priorities and allocation of resources so rather than stopping something, we may simply do less of it. These are the difficult discussions which need to happen, identifying how to divide up the limited resources available, and what areas or tasks cannot be done, should not be done, or will see less resources to make way for other things.

In schools and colleges we want to do the best for our students but maybe in seeking to do so we need to recognise that best does not mean perfect as this simply isnt possible;   the resources, the staff, the time, etc will never be sufficient to be perfect.   Therefore do we need to become comfortable with “good enough”?    I feel as a manager of an IT support function that this is the right thing to do although equally as an educator I am uncomfortable with it from a student and a learning point of view, where I would want to deliver the best possible learning experience.    But maybe the discomfort is unavoidable, and better to work with good enough than to try to be perfect across too many areas of education, the pastoral, academic, wellbeing, health, fitness, etc, such that we fall significantly short of even good across all of them.  

The above is a bit of a rambling chain of thoughts but in terms of sharing my thoughts, concerns and ideas, hopefully it is Good Enough!

Some wellbeing thoughts

Following on from my post from a week or so ago, when I was sharing feeling a little bit low, I thought I would share some thoughts on wellbeing.  I note I am currently in a slightly better place than I was having re-established some positive habits such as reading and running plus being a bit more conscious of and seeking to better manage my mood.

So what is wellbeing?    I think this is key to establish what it is as it is multifaceted involving taking care of your physical, emotional, and mental health.  I found a diagram which talked of deep health including physical, emotional, mental, environmental, relational and existential elements which might be a useful model.  But the key, no matter the model used is that the elements are all inter-related.   I remember reading about an experiment where researchers asked their subjects to hold a pencil in their mouth with some asked to have the pencil length wise, thereby forcing a smile, or endwise, so forcing a kind of frown.   When they asked how the individuals felt those who had the pencil length wise, which forced their mouth to assume the shape of a smile, provided more positive responses than those who held the pencil endwise.   Also when I think about my running, if I am not in a good place mentally or emotionally, I struggle and tend to run slower, while when I have a good run I generally feel better.   So basically physical events can impact on emotions rather than always being the other way around, and vice versa; e.g. you feel good so you are more inclined to smile, or you smile/laugh and feel better.   Physical, emotional and mental are inter-related.   And here in lies the challenge in wellbeing, it involves a number of inter-related facets so managing your own wellbeing isn’t easy.  

My recent challenges highlight this.   If your mood isn’t in a good place you are likely to feel less happy and emotionally drained which means you are less inclined to smile, which reinforces feeling emotionally drained.  Being drained you are then less likely to engage in physical exercise, so become less active and healthy, with this in turn likely to result in more emotional negativity.  Basically its a negative spiral.

A positive spiral is also possible where you get into a habit of physical exercise, which makes you feel more emotionally positive and balanced, leading to more smiles and laughs, which in turn make you feel better.   You are also more likely to engage with other people and social contact with this again leading to more emotional positivity.

The above positive and negative examples are however extreme and the reality is we spend a lot of our time in a delicate balance.   We might have the physical exercise bit sorted with regular runs which makes you feel good and healthy but due to limited time you are not challenging yourself mentally through reading for example, which therefore has a negative emotional toll as you are aware of the lack of reading.   So you allocate more time to reading but then find you are spending less time with family or on exercise, so feel better for the intellectual challenge but feel worse of for the reduction in social contact and in exercise.    We want our wellbeing to be rather stable albeit positive but the reality is it is a constant rollercoaster in need of monitoring and management.  

Ideally you hope to have positive wellbeing but the reality is that your wellbeing will fluctuate with your efforts, successes/failures, with interactions with others and with local and even national events, among other factors. You will have occasional negative spirals and positive one. The reality is far less even than we would like as I have tried to indicate in the below diagram:

So what are some of the things we might consider in seeking to manage our own wellbeing:

  • Exercise regularly: Exercise is one of the best ways to improve your physical and mental health. Regular exercise can help reduce stress, boost your mood, and improve your overall health.
  • Eat a balanced and healthy diet: Eating a balanced and nutritious diet can help you maintain a healthy weight, reduce your risk of chronic diseases, and improve your energy levels.  Note: Balance includes some enjoyable food and drink where I count my Irn Bru as part of this equation.
  • Get enough sleep: Getting enough sleep is essential for your mental and physical health. Aim for at least seven to eight hours of sleep each night.
  • Manage stress: Stress can have a negative impact on your physical and mental health. We also need to note that challenge, or good stress exists and is an important part of our wellbeing in the need to feel successfully.    We therefore need to seek out challenge and things which push us to achieve while finding healthy ways to manage negative stress, such as through meditation, yoga, or deep breathing, or whatever you find works for you personally.  
  • Connect with others: Social support is crucial for maintaining good mental health. Spend time with family and friends, join a club or group, or volunteer in your community.
  • Practice self-care: Self-care involves doing things that make you feel good, such as taking a warm bath, reading a book, or going for a walk. Make time for self-care activities each day.
  • Seek help when needed: If you’re struggling with your mental health, don’t hesitate to seek professional help. Talk to your doctor, a mental health professional, or a trusted friend or family member.

Remember, managing personal wellbeing is a process that requires consistent effort and self-awareness. By taking care of your physical, emotional, and mental health, you can lead a happier and more fulfilling life but I think we also need to accept that things are not always positive and that we therefore need to manage the negative when it arises.

Wellbeing, like so many things in life, is messy and cant be distilled into a simple list.

A difficult month

It’s been a bit of a difficult last month or so, so thought I would share some brief thoughts in the hope that writing things down and sharing may help.     First of all there was BETT-lag.   The end of March included the BETT conference which for me was a very busy series of days, of attending panel discussions, visiting stands, meetings and catching up with many EdTech friends.   So, it was useful and enjoyable but also very tiring especially when you factor in the long travel times from Somerset to the Excel in London.   Thankfully the end of BETT coincided with the end of term so I had high hopes for being able to recover over the Easter break.

Around the same time my fitness efforts and running had hit a bit of a roadblock with limited distance covered in both March and April.   The fact I couldn’t get into a routine and regular running habit was depressing and with each opportunity for running missed it made me feel all the more negative.     Additionally, my reading habit had also taken a nosedive partially through a lack of motivation, similar to my running, but also through a lack of interest in the book I am currently reading but combined with a reluctance to just put the book down, to give up, and move on to another book.

March had also seen me take on a number of projects including creating some webinar content and recording a regular weekly podcast among other things.   It was good to be busy and led me to feeling a sense of achievement, however it meant that by the end of the month, and the BETT conference, I was already tired and the event, plus the post-event BETT-Lag were still to come.   And then there was the void left once the activities had been concluded and no longer occupied my time.

And next was the kicker, when initially I started feeling a bit of a cold part way through the Easter break, the time I planned to use to try and relax and recover.  Getting hold of a covid test, I decided to test and low and behold it came back positive.    What followed wasn’t that much worse than a cold however I found myself lacking in any real energy which led me to achieving very little in terms of the long list of things I wanted to get done.     The tiredness, lack of achievement, lack of running or reading, all left me feeling negative and downright depressed at times.

Mental health isn’t a simple thing.   It isn’t something which can be solved by a simple “wellbeing activity”.   It is about physical fitness and activity, about mental activity, about feeling a sense of achievement, feeling well, feeling suitably challenged but not feeling stressed or over worked or overly tired.   It’s a delicate balance and one which I don’t think I have sufficiently managed over the last few months.    My hope is I can use the new term as a new start and better address the need for balance.  But for now am just going to relax and enjoy the weekend before the new term begins.

Originality

Producing original content is a fundamental aspect of creating meaningful and valuable information for audiences across various mediums. In terms of assessment within schools, colleges and universities, students are expected to produce “original” work to evidence their learning.

So, what does it mean to produce original content? At its core, originality means creating something that is entirely your own. This could be a new idea, a fresh perspective on a familiar topic, or a unique approach to storytelling. Whatever the case may be, originality is about bringing something new and valuable to the table that hasn’t been seen before.

But lets flip that premise;  There are a limited number of words available and these words are shared with all writers for all time, so as people continue to write the probability of two people writing the same thing can only increase.   It’s a bit like buying a lottery ticket.   The more tickets you buy and the longer period over which you buy them, the more likely you will hit the winning numbers.   And that analogy may fit in other ways in that the probabilities of a winning lottery ticket and an exact match of wording and phraseology may be similarly unlikely.    And the longer the piece of writing the less likely whereas for shorter pieces of text, the probability is greater.   But either way it isn’t impossible!   

Let’s step back for a moment and look at an academic concern, that of plagiarism. Plagiarism is the act of taking someone else’s work, ideas, or words and presenting them as your own. It’s a form of intellectual theft and can have serious consequences, including invalidating qualifications or exam results for students who are caught.   “Taking someone else’s work” and “presenting as your own”;  But if I read something, agree with it, and then present it as my viewpoint haven’t I just taken someone else’s work and presented as my own?    Does writing it in my own words make it original and my own contribution and at what point?    How many words do you need to change before it becomes my original contribution as opposed to plagiarism?   I note that the plagiarism detection services I have used in the past present a plagiarism score which tries to quantify how similar a piece of work is to other pieces of student work on file.  And if I combine with readings from other sources is this better or just plagiarising from a number of sources?     And what if I get AI to write the first draft of the content, then I refine it?    Is this plagiarising from the multiple sources the AI used as training data or simply plagiarising from the AI, or maybe it isn’t plagiarism at all? Considering art work rather than writing, if I get an AI to produce a self portrait of Van Gogh but painted in the style of Monet, who have I plagiarised?

I don’t believe the concept of originality and of plagiarism, beyond plagiarism of a paragraph of cut and paste text, was ever an easy issue in schools albeit we have treated it as easy in the past.   With AI this issue becomes that bit more complex and difficult to traverse.    We may present our students with the assessment and with a marks scheme, but do we need to start providing more discussion in relation to originality, and what acceptable use of AI platforms might look like?    I suppose the challenge here is do we know what this might look like.    

But a bigger question may be why we ask for these written assessments to be completed in the first place;   Is the written work a proxy for evidence of learning and understanding, where this is easier, and possibly more reliable, than actually having a discussion with each and every student to check their understanding?   And if we can no longer rely to the same extent on the piece of extended written work do we need to move to more student/teacher discussions, but if so, how will we address bias and other factors impacting on individual teacher assessment of students?

Conclusion?

Am not sure the above has presented any answers beyond presenting some of my musings and more questions.    But for now that maybe enough, to try and add to the discussion in relation to education and how it may look in the future given effective AI solutions are already available to our students.

References

Written with the help of ChatGPT (OpenAI)

BETT 2023: Some reflections

BETT 2023 has been and gone so thought I would write my usual reflections piece.   I think this was my sixth BETT conference since returning back to the UK, a figure that pales into insignificance when compared to some of my friends and colleagues, however now exceeds my visits to the UAE GESS/GEF event.     It was a busy few days with lots of walking, lots of talking and a fair amount of listening too.  So what did I learn and how did it go?

Networking

The key reason I continue to attend BETT is the networking side of things, to meet up with friends and colleagues and share thoughts and ideas in relation to the use of technology in education.    Am not going to try and list those I met up with this year through fear of missing people out.   This year didn’t fail to deliver on this front although, as has been the case in the past, there were many people at the event who I failed to meet or catch up with.   I suspect this will always be the case given the importance of planning your trip ahead of time, meaning that there is only so much time available for those impromptu and unplanned meetups or for reaching out via social media to try and locate and meet up.    I will note that my selfie collection this year is once again a poor comparison to others often due to being too engaged in discussion to even think about getting the phone out for a quick selfie.  Maybe a note-to-self for next year is needed here.     On a more positive note it was great to hear from a few people who had read some of my previous blog posts or had listened to the “In our humble opinion” podcast which myself and Ian Stockbridge have been producing recently. It always great to hear that there is an audience although, as I have noted in the past, I find the process of blogging and podcasting useful in itself even if no-one reads or listens.

Presentations

I attended a number of the presentations during the course of BETT with those I attended mainly taking the form of panel style discussions.    I think this worked very well when compared with the “sage on the stage” style presentations which were more common in the past.   It allowed for a number of panellists to put across their views and approaches in relation to the given topic while highlighting that there is seldom a single solution and the important need to consider school context.     It also highlighted for me the importance of discussions, including discussions like those of the panellists, to help us share practice and improved collectively as educational professionals.

It was nice to hear panellists present thoughts which agreed with my own such as the importance of considering context when looking at data, the importance of culture and the need to accept technology advancement, and then identify how best to make use of it and best manage any risks.    One particular session which touched on Artificial Intelligence provided some of the standout comments in relation to technology being neither good or bad, but simply being “here” and also the risk associated with AI in regarding its potential for “automating inequalities”.  I also particularly enjoyed the esports discussion I attended which once again highlighted for me the potential which esports has within the education space.

Stands

As I pointed out last year I no longer go to BETT to visit the various stands although I will note I did visit a number of stands for quick discussions and to touch base with companies which I am either using or likely to be using in the near future.   I therefore avoided my usual frustrations with the number of interactive panels, floor and wall solutions as are normally on show, although my sense is they were, as always, dominant at the event despite representing a technology which must now be approaching 30yr old.   It was Dave Leonard who pointed out the BETT futures area as a specific area of the BETT conference to visit focussed on the new startups and the new solutions, and I will admit it was here that I had the most interesting and useful stand based discussions.    Data analytics and the use of the block chain to store certificates or identification documents being two of the more interesting topic discussions I engaged in.

Themes

Across the BETT event I believe there were a couple of themes which stood out for me.    These were:

  • Artificial Intelligence: this has the potential be a significant catalyst for change in the world of education representing many potentials and also a number of risks and challenges, and it is here, now!   We need to seek to adapt to this new normal and to use this new tool in the best, most effective and safest way possible to support our learners.
  • Digital Citizenship:  I use the term very loosely to including cyber security, data protection, online safety and digital safety, however in an increasingly digital world this continues to be increasingly more and more importance yet the resources to address the challenges, principally time to discuss and educate students, teachers and parents, isn’t currently there.
  • Culture: The often used quote of “culture beats [or eats] strategy” is true in the importance of culture, but what does this actually mean?   It makes for a nice one-liner when asked what the solution to the EdTech, or any other, challenge is, or what we need to focus on, but how do we seek to action “culture” and develop it across the board, in all our schools?   This was a question well raised by Al Kingsley in a session he chaired and a question I think we all need to consider.

The mishap

OK so I have shared my reflections but as always BETT had to come with a mishap and it would be wrong of me not to share.   This years mishap was a wardrobe issue in deciding to wear my new suit to the event.  It hadn’t been out of its suit carrier since purchase and I thought a nice new suit was perfect for BETT;  Remember I am rarely seen out of a suit when on school business even if it means a trip to Blackpool zoo with students or on a history field trip.     So as I headed out of the hotel room in the morning for BETT and just as I went for the door my wife noticed the back of the suit jacket still had a security tag on it, and it wasn’t for budging.    So no suit jacket for the duration of BETT. Doh!

And possibly more importantly I only brought a couple of cans of Irn-Bru so found myself having to drink Fanta instead;  The BETT organisers had failed to ensure that there were vendors selling Irn-Bru on site. The horror of it!!   Such a failure in their consideration of equality and diversity!

Conclusion

BETT 2023 was another useful event.   Lots of walking, listening and talking.   I do as always wonder if it delivers on the time and expense of attending especially given 3 or 4 hours on a train in each direction, plus hotel accommodation, but then this might be me just having unrealistic expectations of what the event can deliver.   I know others that are far more positive of the event than I am so wonder if maybe I am doing something wrong or not making the most of the event?   Flipping it on its head, if I didn’t go, would I achieve similar value, and save money, in just attending school over the days of the conference?    I suspect the answer to this flipped question is clearly no and therefore BETT continues to be the place to be.    And maybe its as simple as that, that if you are involved in Technology in Education then for the duration of the BETT conference you simply have to be there, at least for some of it.   As such I suspect 2024 will once again see me at BETT with a detailed plan in hand, still failing to adhere to the advice re: comfy footwear and clothes, but with more Irn-Bru to hand this time!