Ubiquitous and Equity Opportunities

 Over the course of the DFI we have been able to appreciate the empowering potential of a ubiquitous learning pedagogy and how this addresses issues of inequity.   As educators we have been able to access  the analytics from Woolf Fisher and see clearly the positive impact of  Learn Create Share.  The challenge we experience, from my perspective,  is being able to communicate and establish a partnership with parents, caregivers and whanau to gain the greatest outcomes for our students.    In my school we have yet to establish that partnership.   There is a slow trickle of families making the  important decision to purchase a chrome book for their children however the onus remains with school to provide the majority of the devices.   We have committed everything possible over the past three years to provide devices, both school owned and leased.   We haven't yet been able to resource the Year 1-3 students with iPads.  This, perhaps, is where we need to focus our efforts.   If we can engage with parents of our junior children more effectively, then we may be able create a greater incentive for children in Year 4 to own their own devices. 

Perhaps part of the challenge is supporting parents to understand the process, and nature of learning in the 21 century.   In both internal and external surveys of our remote learning programmes,  it was evident that for some  parents  the  perception of learning it is teacher driven.   That it  involves completing tasks that are "marked" and that a list of suitable tasks ensure students will learn.    

Careers NZ lists the seven essential skills that employers look for: 

• positive attitude
• communication
• team work
• self management
• willingness to learn
• thinking skills
• resilience

It often comes as a surprise to parents that knowledge and skills about the specific features of work don't appear in this list.  If we consider the outcomes of Learn Create Share each of these seven essential skills feature in the learning process.  Using digital technology as a tool creates opportunities for developing all of these skills.  Maybe this is the message we need to engage in with our parents / whanau, along with showing how student decision making around learning is empowering .  The critical thinking developed as part of the Cyber smart curriculum, the ability to negotiate the sources of information on the web and be critical of their origins is strongly empowering.   For the generation of parents who were the last to learn in a more traditional way, the challenges of understanding these outcomes is something we need to find ways to address.  

Sadly, equity issues remain when we are unable to give all students access to a device that can support ubiquitous learning.   As well as educators, many principals are needing to become fund raisers, applying for grants, seeking sponsorship, trying to extract revenue from groups, organisations and the Ministry.  This isn't just a problem just for lower decile schools and communities.    As a decile 7 school we have been rejected by local organisations for funding because of a perception that as a higher decile school we don't have a need.   In a diverse community, where household income varies markedly, we  have very limited locally raised funds to supplement our operations funding.  We have the huge advantage of being part of Manaiakalani Outreach  however we have unrealised potential in both our staff and students, as we search for ways to address the financial issues that prevent us from providing equitable access to online learning.