MIT 2020 - Reality checks are invaluable!

Reality Check #1: The last day 'in' school for our kids was yesterday, our lessons switched to distance learning mode as of this morning and we will enter COVID19 Lockdown Level 4 as of midnight tomorrow night.
Time is of the essence to get a prototype up and running. The mantra FAIL FAST, FAIL FORWARD is foremost in my mind. I was more than ready to make mistakes, find the learning, reset, and keep moving on!

Freshly inspired, I caught up with Matt earlier today and pitched him my new idea - I wanted to build either an app or site that will connect students during lockdown and bring together the Key Competency of Managing Self, the taha components of Te Whare Tapa Wha with blogging.

Reality Check #2: An app would be super appealing to Year 7 & 8 students however developing one would require a skill level and an investment of time well beyond the scope of our MIT project

This realisation was a blessing -  I would devote my time to building a site (not an app) as the digital tool to anchor by design project.

Reality Check #3: One of the core aims was to increase connectedness between students so the plan was to have as much of the site content made by and featuring students. How to make this happen given we had started 4 weeks of physical distancing?

I figured since I still had 3 days teaching before the school term ends, the best way forward was to invite a handful of students who I already knew from my Literacy or Maths classes to join my 'as yet unnamed' project team. 

MIT 2020 - Revisiting our Project

Dorothy encouraged us to revisit our MIT projects in light of pending lock down due to COVID19 framing it as a time of opportunity rather than a setback to the work we had already done.There was an acceptance/acknowledgement in the group that yes, things may need to change as the ideas that had been swirling and starting to take form during/since our weekend at Kuaotunu were more than likely no longer workable or relevant. 

My initial concern was centred around getting access to former Year 8 students. I hadn't really factored in that they were 'no longer my kids' and even with 'inside' help at one of the local colleges it was always going to be tricky to negotiate parental permission as well.

So gifted with time out from the main session, I literally had a meeting with myself to thrash out what direction I wanted to take my project - do I stick with figuring out a way to help Year 8s make confident transitions to secondary school/Year 9 OR do I find another path?

I went back to basics, trawled through notes and readings. The Key Competency of managing self still made sense. So too did the section on connectedness and inclusion in the ERO publication, Transition from Primary to Secondary
    

One of the most influential aspects of school environments is the extent to which students feel connected while they are at school (Jose and Pryor, 2010). Connectedness was defined in terms of students feeling that they: belonged, felt included (regardless of their ethnicity, ability, gender or sexual orientation), had a contribution to make to the school, were cared for by their teachers, were accepted by their friends, were physically and emotionally safe and were learning (Adolescent Health Research Group, 2009).


BING! BING! My epiphany:

1) Why not focus on my current cohort of students (both Year 7 & 8)?

2) What would they need to manage themselves/stay connected during an extended period of home lockdown and a switch to distance learning online?

3) How could I help keep the kids engaged with and connected to each other through this time?

What did I land on? I decided that my new project challenge will be to design:

an app/site page that provides a 'one stop' shop for students, teachers and whanau to access a toolkit for self-management and staying connected that is
based on Te Whare Tapa Wha*.

OK! Well, now to embrace the mantra: Fail Fast, Fail Forward! - time to get a prototype up and running!
*Te Whare Tapa Wha is a Māori model of health developed by Dr. Mason Drurie in 1982 that the students are familiar with.

MIT 2020 - Distance Learning 101

Hard to believe that in the space of a 2-3 days, plans for our first MIT 2020 gathering since Kuaotunu changed as many times, such was the fast changing impact of COVID19 as logistics fell into line with measures introduced by the government to stem the spread of this disease.

Plan A - carpooling and jumping on a train and heading into downtown Auckland to KPMG Offices
Plan B - relocate to Sommerville School in Glen Innes with one person self-isolating
Plan C - everyone at home joining the meeting via GOOGLE Meet

So, armed with a headset, laptop and decent internet connection I was ready to sign in and catchup with the rest of the MIT 2020 crew. It was great to 'see' everyone again after a break of 3 weeks or so and as Dorothy pointed out we were lucky we had already met in person so no awkwardness to overcome.

A GOOGLE Sheet was shared amongst us with an agenda to guide our session for the day and space to record reflections for WWW - What's working? What's not? (Barriers/Road Bumps) and What opportunities do you sense? We each took turns to unmute our mics and in 3 minutes (or less!) update our fellow MITers as to how our projects were going. 

This was a golden opportunity for Dorothy and Matt to hear directly from each of us about our projects and for all of us to pitch in with suggestions and advice to steer us in the right direction. We were encouraged to rethink our projects in light of changes brought about by COVID19. The seriousness of the pandemic did not dampen our enthusiasm. Indeed, there was a lot of positive energy, excitement, solutions on the fly, clarity and a strong sense of purpose throughout our virtual meeting room - from each other, and towards each other!

I was impressed with how easily we adapted to this style of gathering. Being physically apart did not seem to be a disadvantage. We could still interact with each other in a group setting and also had plenty of opportunities throughout the day to take time out by ourselves or with other MITers to focus on our projects. Connecting online was certainly not an obstacle to robust discussion - if anything it made us more focussed, wanting to make the most of the time we had together away from our regular teaching commitments.

As I write this post, I am still processing what 'school' will now look like as as we enter a period of now certain shutdown due to COVID19. What started as a necessary work around to comply with new government health policies, is now set to be the 'new normal' as a shutdown of schools looms large.

The challenge for both teachers and students, switches to how quickly we can all figure out how best to deliver and participate in effective distance learning programmes using digital technology.

A FEW POINTS TO PONDER (for teachers and students)

• What is your WIFI/Internet connection like - broadband? fibre? unlimited? data cap in place?
• How many number/what type of devices do you have available to use - laptop? phone? second laptop? desktop screen?
• What platform will you use for video conferencing between staff and/or students - GOOGLE Meet? Zoom? Skype? 
• How proficient are you in using the chosen video conferencing platform? Protocols for interacting online
• What is your distance learning/home learning set-up going to look like - background - distracting or nondescript? dress code? 

HOLD ON TO YOUR HAT - Exciting times ahead!