The Educator issue 1.02

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EDITORIAL www.educatoronline.com.au SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015 EDITORIAL

SALES & MARKETING

Editor Iain Hopkins

Marketing & Communications Manager Lisa Narroway

Journalists Brett Henebery Ben Abbott Production Editors Roslyn Meredith Carolin Wun

ART & PRODUCTION Design Manager Daniel Williams Designers Loiza Caguiat Traffic Coordinator Lou Gonzales

Business Development Manager Gareth Scott

CORPORATE Chief Executive Officer Mike Shipley Chief Operating Officer George Walmsley Managing Director Justin Kennedy Chief Information Officer Colin Chan Human Resources Manager Julia Bookallil

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FINDING THE SPARK CORPORATE LEADERS often lament the lack of creative spark and the dearth of innovation in the business world. Without those two, businesses will not reach their full potential – they’ll coast along but won’t fly ahead of the pack.

Of course, innovation can come from anyone, anywhere – that’s because all human beings are creative. We lose sight of that fact as we progress from childhood to adulthood, and it gets buried, especially when we hit the workforce.

So what do those who innovate do particularly well? Most importantly, they acknowledge the close, interconnected realms of creativity and innovation. You cannot have innovation without creativity. Innovation is simply when you say, ‘Let’s take those ideas and turn them into things which will deliver outcomes or progress or whatever else we need to assess ourselves on’. Innovation is the application of creativity.

It stands to reason – if creativity thrives in children – that schools must be a hotbed of great ideas. Is it such a leap to think some of those great ideas could be practically applied? The schools featured in our inaugural Innovative Schools list have done just that. Whether they are ideas from the students, from teaching staff, from the principal or from the wider community, these schools have taken the germ of an idea, looked at it from multiple angles, pulled it apart and put it back together again, and have

It stands to reason – if creativity thrives in children – that schools must be a hotbed of great ideas

Key Media Regional head office, Level 10, 1–9 Chandos St, St Leonards, NSW 2065, Australia tel: +61 2 8437 4700 • fax: +61 2 9439 4599 www.keymedia.com

pooled their resources to turn that idea into reality. Once implemented, you’ll likely also find that these schools have shared their ideas with others.

Even in a competitive playing field, great ideas shouldn’t be kept secret.

We hope this issue of The Educator provides some useful tips and perhaps even the creative spark to try something outside the square in your school.

Iain Hopkins, editor

Offices in Sydney, Auckland, Denver, Toronto, Manila

The Educator is part of an international family of B2B publications and websites for professionals in the HR, mortgage, insurance and legal industries

Copyright is reserved throughout. No part of this publication can be reproduced in whole or part without the express permission of the editor. Contributions are invited, but copies of work should be kept, as The Educator magazine can accept no responsibility for loss

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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015

CONNECT WITH US

CONTENTS 10

Got a story, suggestion, or just want to find out some more information? twitter.com/TheEducatorAU www.facebook.com/TheEducatorAU

UPFRONT 01 Editorial

The link between creativity and innovation is well established, so why aren’t all schools hotbeds of innovation?

04 The data FEATURES

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ELEVATING RECOGNITION

Can a simple ‘thanks’ elevate your school’s performance?

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COVER STORY

INNOVATIVE SCHOOLS 2015

The future of education is here. In this inaugural Innovative Schools list, The Educator profiles the schools that already know it

PEOPLE

NAVIGATING A BORDERLESS WORLD

What began as an initiative to introduce meaningful technology into his school soon transformed its curriculum and culture, making Ormiston College a true leader in innovation. Brett Henebery chats to principal Brett Webster

The OECD Global Education Rankings have been released. How did Australia stack up?

06 News analysis

Brett Henebery reports on the growing issue of student radicalisation – and what, if anything, can be done about it

FEATURES 36 How to negotiate to get your way Contrary to what many people think, negotiation is not about ‘winning at all costs’. Josh Masters explains how to get what you want, without treading on toes

48 Going global FEATURES

MANIFESTING THE FUTURE

Financial strength is just one benefit of an international student program working wonders for Wellington Secondary College, writes Ben Abbott

Principals are the proven linchpins of school ICT infrastructure progress, and it is an effective ICT plan that can help them guide schools into a brave new era

40 TECHNOLOGY

GET CONNECTED How can educators tap into the latest blended learning technology to deliver exceptional results?

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FEATURE THE DATA / BROKER EDUCATION

OECD GLOBAL EDUCATION RANKINGS

ON THE GLOBAL STAGE The 2015 OECD global education ranking results provide a snapshot of the strength of education around the world – but where did Australia rank?

THE ORGANISATION for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), released its global education rankings in May, which were based on test scores from 15-yearolds around the world.

The new rankings differ from the more wellknown PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) scores, which traditionally focuses on affluent nations. The latest version, based on tests taken in different regions worldwide, includes the 76 countries, which are of varying economic status.

It was the first time a truly global scale of the quality of education had been compiled, providing a glimpse into how different education systems’ testing methods had been paying off (or not).

Australia ranked 14th while Singapore and Hong Kong came first and second, respectively.

The OECD’s education director, Andreas Schleicher, told the BBC that the rationale behind the ranking system was to “give more countries – rich and poor – access to comparing themselves against the world’s education leaders”.

This way, said Schleicher, countries could use the data “to discover their relative strengths and weaknesses, and to see what the long-term economic gains from improved quality in schooling could be for them”.

ABOUT PISA PISA assesses the extent to which 15-year-old students have acquired key knowledge and skills for full participation in modern societies.

The assessment, which focuses on reading, mathematics, science and problem-solving, does not just ascertain whether students can reproduce what they have learned; it also examines how well they can extrapolate from what they have learned and apply that knowledge in unfamiliar settings.

TOP 10 GLOBAL MATHS AND SCIENCE RANKINGS #6 #7

#9

#10

Finland

#2

Hong Kong

Estonia

#3

South Korea Japan

#4

Netherlands

#8

Canada

#4

Switzerland #1

Taiwan

Singapore #14

Australia Source: OECD

THE STORY SO FAR The last time the OECD released PISA results was 2012. The next report is due in December 2016 (using the 2015 results). Here’s how we ranked in 2012:

MATHEMATICS

SCIENCE

WORLD RANKING

READING

WORLD RANKING

WORLD RANKING

1 Shanghai – China

1

Shanghai – China

1

Shanghai – China

2 Singapore

2

Hong Kong – China

2

Hong Kong – China

3 Hong Kong – China

3

Singapore

3

Singapore

4 Chinese Tapei

4

Japan

4

Japan

5 Korea

5

Finland

5

Korea

6 Macau - China

6

Estonia

6

Finland

7 Japan

7

Korea

7

Ireland

19 Australia

16 Australia

13 Australia Source: PISA 2012 report

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FEATURE / BROKER EDUCATION UPFRONT

STUDENT RADICALISATION

THROWING FUEL ON THE FIRE? Student extremism reached a new peak in July, alarming the wider community in the process. Brett Henebery reports on the growing issue of student radicalisation – and what, if anything, can be done about it

WHEN ALLEGATIONS surfaced in July of an Epping Boys High School student preaching extremist views, the NSW Government was quick to act, launching an investigation and assuring that the matter would be taken seriously. That sense of urgency was underpinned by broader efforts by the Federal Government to stamp out radicalisation in the nation’s schools.

This is also an issue that concerns the broader community. Reports of violent extremist groups such as Islamic State and Al-Qaeda recruiting disillusioned teenagers have found their way from the front pages into the national conscience, demanding a strong response from communities, law enforcement and government. But what should that response be?

Putting the issue in context Dr Clarke Jones is a specialist in criminology, radicalisation and counterterrorism at the Australian National University in Canberra.

Jones says the language being used by the Abbott Government is only throwing fuel onto an already raging fire.

While acknowledging that the government needs to enforce a strong national security posture, Jones rejects the idea that Islamic State poses an immediate threat to Australia’s national security. Rather, he believes the exaggeration of the threat by the government, as well as some in the media, is actually doing more harm than good.

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“I think we’ve gone overboard. Whether it be the Prime Minister visiting ASIO and having the maps of at-risk communities up on the board, or his language about Islamic State being a multiheaded hydra in our bedrooms, there’s a lot of things the prime minister has done that have oversecuritised terrorism and made the threat sound a lot worse than it actually is,” Jones tells The Educator.

“Muslim communities already feel alien­ ated and that the counterterrorism postural arrangements are purely focused on them,” Jones says.

“It compounds the reasons for them wanting to join groups like Islamic State.”

Echoing this sentiment, the Federal Communications Minister, Malcolm Turnbull,

that has received less attention,” the report stated.

“CVE has been a core element of the global response to foreign fighters, and has played a role in Australia’s counter-terrorism approach for several years. However, many past CVE measures are not directly suitable for the current situation.

“Australia can learn valuable lessons from European countries, which have more experience in CVE and are already using such measures to address the current foreign fighter threat.”

Less than a month later, the Federal Government announced plans to implement a ‘Jihadi Watch Strategy’ as part of a broad initiative aimed at educating schools and communities about how to recognise the

“The prime minister has oversecuritised terrorism and made the threat sound a lot worse than it actually is” Dr Clarke Jones, ANU called for cooler heads to prevail, telling the Sydney Institute in July that Islamic State was not “Hitler’s Germany, Tojo’s Japan or Stalin’s Russia”.

“Its leaders dream that they, like the Arab armies of the seventh and eighth century, will sweep across the Middle East into Europe itself,” Turnbull said in his speech.

Solving the problem or fanning the flames?

In a detailed analysis, titled Australian foreign fighters: Risks and responses and published in April, the Lowy Institute for International Policy stated that the government’s troubled relations with Australia’s Muslim communities meant its efforts to counter violent extremism were “not off to the strongest of starts”.

The analysis suggested the government should give further credence to the Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) measures currently being used by European countries.

“The Government’s response has mainly focused on increased resources and powers for police and intelligence agencies, but also includes an important non-coercive element termed Countering Violent Extremism [CVE]

early warning signs of extremism. The government says the strategy will provide better resources to teachers and students in order to help curb antisocial behaviours which may escalate to violent extremism in the future.

Adding to the sense of community panic, in July the NSW Government announced a state-wide audit of schools’ religious prayer groups following allegations of a student preaching extremist sermons.

“There are all sorts of trigger events that cause people to support terrorism. We can’t do much about conflicts overseas and kids going over to support either side; however, we do need to make Australia a nicer place to be and make family and community environments better,” Jones says, adding that Australia’s diversity has to be embraced to foster a more positive atmosphere among communities.

View from the front line The Australian Principals’ Federation (APF) Victorian executive, John Handley, tells The Educator that while the APF was established to support and advise its members on issues

RACISM IN AUSTRALIA Dr Clarke Jones says students’ feelings of marginalisation and discrimination can be a precursor to violence or radicalisation, prompting them to lash out or driving them into the arms of extremist groups promising mutual respect and brotherhood. Here’s how widespread racism is in Australia: Australia is one of the most multicultural countries on Earth Over 1 in 4 Australians are born overseas There are 5.3 million first-generation Australians Australians speak over 200 languages (50 of these are Indigenous), making Australia one of the most diverse countries on Earth Yet surveys show 10% of Australians hold racist attitudes

10%

Who experiences racism?

3 in 4 Indigenous Australians experience racism regularly 7 in 10 teenagers experience racism Complaints of racism increased

60% from last year

How do Australians feel about cultural diversity?

50% are positive

40% are ambivalent

10% are negative Source: alltogethernow.org.au

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FEATURE / BROKER EDUCATION UPFRONT

STUDENT RADICALISATION “In some cases these youngsters do resort to drug abuse, anger, violence and even radicalisation as they search for some meaning in their lives. These are real issues we are exposed to and have a responsibility to confront”

impacting on their capacity to do their jobs, it also has a responsibility to influence government and departmental policies. Among them are the same ones that concern Jones.

Like Jones, Handley agrees that “emotive and divisive language” is the last thing that youth heading towards disengagement and radicalisation need, but he rejects any correlation in Australian schools between these issues and acts of terrorism.

John Handley, Australian Principals’ Federation “We live in a challenging world with increasing numbers of people feeling disengaged and disconnected from family, Training Manual, which is designed for school and community,” Handley says.

Instead of being hauled off to prison and communities and law enforcement agencies He points to an increasing number of labelled a terrorist, Jones says teenagers who to identify certain warning signs associated young people who are resentful of their have been charged with planning attacks with antisocial behaviour. circumstances, adding that whether it is should be rehabilitated in a social setting Jones supports the work that Dellal is homelessness, family violence, loneliness, or where adequate support is accessible, adding doing but says the referral depression and anxiety, the this has been shown to be a far more effective DID YOU KNOW? process must be even-handed. rehabilitation method than prison. flow-on effect is often “a sense Rather than at-risk students of hopelessness”.

“If they’re under the age of 21 or particularly being referred directly to “In some cases these under the age of 18 where they’re undergoing police, Jones advocates a youngsters do resort to drug all sorts of mental and physical developmental “social response”, arguing that abuse, anger, violence and changes, the worst thing we can do is put them a serious effort must be made even radicalisation as they in prison,” Jones says, suggesting instead by counsellors, psychologists search for some meaning in programs in which youth have access to and positive role models to their lives. These are real positive role models, mentoring programs, In 2014, Attorney-General turn these kids around. issues we are exposed to psychological and religious support, and George Brandis said there This way, says Jones, and have a responsibility to home-based education. were 71 Australians fighting students can be encouraged confront,” Handley says. in Northern Iraq and Syria. and rehabilitated instead of He adds that schools can In addition, 100–250 foreign targeted and alienated – and must continue to play a WHERE TO NEXT? fighters are estimated to have something Jones says might key role in creating cultures departed from Australia to join even prompt them to reoffend in their communities that are extremist groups Possible steps for schools and society down the line. inclusive and allow students “Programs like the one to explore and debate the Community awareness of the issue’s Hass Dellal is rolling out certainly need to be complex range of issues impacting on causes should be increased expanded in schools around Australia and their lives. also in universities; however, my concern is “We start with highly explicit, contextual Counterproductive rhetoric and stereotypes about the systems where children can be values for our communities, and use these should be avoided reported to police. If we identify kids who are values as critical in shaping the parameters at risk in schools or communities, any referral of this exploration and debate. This includes The government should work closely with program has to go to counsellors, not to providing opportunities for our students to all community groups, including schools police,” Jones says. access forums within our schools; opportunities Free and open debate on the issue should “We’re talking about a more social to lead and shape their school culture and be respected approach. We need to be helping kids and learning environment,” Handley says. understanding why they have their views, and Radicalised students should be Taking action to listen to what they have to say without fear rehabilitated through supportive programs The Australian Multicultural Foundation’s of prosecution or arrest. That’s an important Hass Dellal has set up a Community Awareness part of any school program.”

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FEATURE / BROKER EDUCATION FEATURES

HUMAN RESOURCES

ELEVATING RECOGNITION Teacher reward and recognition still challenges the best principals, but as Ben Abbott discovers, a simple ‘thanks’ could be enough to elevate your school’s results to a new level

IT WAS the Productivity Commission that effectively put an end to the former federal government’s plan for a national teacher financial bonus scheme.

Following an unpopular pilot in Victoria – which schools were very reluctant to join – the commission recommended in 2012 that the plan be shelved.

“Early results from these trials, together with the long history of mixed results from the US and elsewhere, suggest that an effective and widely applicable bonus system is unlikely to emerge in the foreseeable future,” the Commission said.

The aim of the scheme was well understood: to attract, incentivise and reward talent, and to improve results across Australian schools as a whole.

However, the method – financial reward – was resoundingly rejected, with educators themselves arguing against bonuses that risked turning teachers against each other and creating a culture of expectation and entitlement.

The episode left principals with a question: if a national reward scheme was off the table, how could they better motivate their own teachers?

Does money work?

Within limited budgets, principals themselves could theoretically build their own incentive schemes to financially reward

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their best teaching talent.

The private and public sectors have both explored the use of financial rewards, from outright performance-based cash bonuses, to appreciation-driven financial benefits like shopping vouchers and movie tickets.

But educators may already have this right.

It took the leaner times of the GFC to teach reward and recognition experts that it was

“Reward and recognition gets bundled together as one thing, but it’s a genre made up of a whole host of different practices and elements” David Jackson, Solterbeck not monetary incentive or the size of a bonus that motivated employees the most.

“Encouraging and facilitating recognition – saying ‘thank you’ for a job well done, celebrating employee performance – turned out to be just as important, if not more important,” says David Jackson, executive director of the reward and recognition experts, Solterbeck.

Grattan Institute’s school education program director, Pete Goss, says paying employees to do something they already expect to do – in any field, including in education – can actually end up resulting in worse outcomes.

“There is a risk a teacher’s mindset may change from focusing on the things that make the most difference to students, to focusing on the things they get specifically paid to do,” Goss says.

He adds that teacher incentive schemes overseas have sometimes resulted in “perverse” results, by inadvertently encouraging undesired behaviours that trigger incentive payments but don’t help the real goal of maximising learning.

While promotion and enhanced career pathways remain a goal of the sector as a whole, financial incentives alone may do more harm than good.

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The value of ‘thanks’ Recognition – rather than reward – remains the key opportunity available to progressive principals. But it’s an area where, as a group, they are failing.

In assuming teacher motivation should be intrinsic – that the job itself should be its own reward – principals are missing out on a chance to use the tool of recognition to enhance job satisfaction and overall school performance. With much of the discussion still focused on ‘feedback’ and ‘development’ of teachers, the vast benefits of a simple ‘thank you’ are being forgotten.

Jackson says the sector’s philosophy and culture play a role in this poor scorecard.

Leading educators – to their detriment – often reflexively reject the whole package of reward and recognition tools available to them.

Schools aren’t alone. Many private sector companies still have poor recognition programs and practices, which Jackson says is usually due to the entrenched beliefs of

5 STEPS TO RECOGNITION SUCCESS 1

Be specific and meaningful

2 Be timely and frequent

3 Be sincere and personal

4 Be consistent and set an example

5 Make recognition a social and public celebration

Include details to let them know exactly what they have done well

70% of employees say they would work harder with ongoing recognition – Gallup

The sooner and more often recognition is received the bigger the impact

The #1 reason people leave their jobs is lack of appreciation – US Department of Labor

Tailor your message to the person, and state how your team member made a positive impact

Only 13% of employees are actively engaged – Gallup

Great principals recognise often and recognise everyone’s contributions equally

Organisations with a strong employee recognition approach are 12x more likely to have strong business results – Bersin & Associates

Social technologies greatly amplify the impact and visibility of the great work being done every day

Organisations with effective recognition programs had 31% lower voluntary turnover – Bersin & Associates Source: Kudos

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FEATURE / BROKER EDUCATION FEATURES

HUMAN RESOURCES DEMONSTRATING THE DATA Teachers can get frustrated when they work hard to boost learning but are unable to see the impact they are having on students. But what if they could see it in the data?

Grattan Institute’s Pete Goss says anecdotal experience indicates that motivation improves if teachers have a structured, detailed and regular way to track the progress students are making against clear learning criteria.

He cites a program run in NSW to improve early literacy and numeracy in low SES schools. Teachers in the Early Action for Success program were given the time, tools and training to target their teaching to individual student needs, and track student progress.

“What was great to hear was young teachers and older teachers alike saying that their jobs are better now. They feel busier, they feel much more accountable, yet, more importantly, they can see that the things they are pouring their heart and soul into are working.”

Goss says teachers enter the profession to make a difference. “Data can help teachers understand when they are being successful; it helps them to know they are making a difference.”

Recognition – rather than reward – remains the key opportunity available to progressive principals their leaders, who are not convinced of their efficacy.

“What you usually find is these practices are often inconsistent with leaders’ own experience, or they don’t value them and believe others don’t either.”

However, experts say schools and principals can turn teacher recognition – if done the right way – into success. Employee recognition data regularly shows it can play a key role in satisfaction, retention and performance (see box p.11).

“Rather than just saying it is too difficult, too political or too inappropriate, schools have to think very carefully about how they can do it rather than just excluding it out of hand,” Jackson says.

‘Thanks’ as a culture Building effective recognition into the fabric of a school’s culture may seem like a daunting task, when time, resources, vague benefits and stakeholders are all taken into account.

However, there are lessons schools can learn from other sectors, which have seen positive results with minimal investment.

Start with what you have The place to start building a recognition program from the ground up is with whatever forms of recognition are already happening, argues Jackson.

“Teachers would be doing this anyway – spotting each other doing something above and beyond, making a difference in a student’s life – and would be saying thank you. The question is: How can you elevate that thank-you naturally; how can it be better communicated and made more visible?”

By defining what is already happening and elevating it, schools can avoid introducing something new right away, and begin changing the ‘behavioural normal’, starting a ‘virtuous spiral’ towards the desired culture.

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Keep it simple Rather than an unnecessarily burdensome, top-down plan imposed on teachers from above – which is likely to result in resistance – schools are advised instead to start a program with something simple.

“Simplicity works. Whatever you are doing you will need to evolve, so when you are formalising a strategy or approach, think about it over a timescale. What should you do now, and in six months? How might this evolve over three years? Start something that doesn’t feel too foreign, new or scary, and that doesn’t involve too much of an investment of time and money.”

Be frequent, not formal Best practice recognition programs are now moving away from larger, more formal and infrequent practices towards regular, realtime recognition. Rather than the ‘old school’ approach epitomised by employee of the month programs – where small numbers of people are recognised relatively infrequently with major awards, often in front of colleagues – best practice now means celebrating more people for smaller wins more regularly. This requires buy-in and cultural change across a school, and is best built over time.

Empower the customer The vast power of positive customer feedback and thanks to motivate staff has been demonstrated in other sectors, but schools are poor at facilitating a culture that encourages genuine thanks from parents and students.

“How do we give parents and students a greater voice in providing positive feedback and thanks? So many people in education are in it because of the love of teaching, and gain satisfaction from seeing students grow, learn and develop. There is a lot of power in facilitating more feedback,” Jackson says.

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THE BIG INTERVIEW

BRETT WEBSTER

NAVIGATING A BORDERLESS WORLD What began as an initiative to introduce meaningful technology into his school soon transformed its curriculum and culture, making Ormiston College a true leader in innovation. Brett Henebery chats to principal Brett Webster

A RECENT tour of Brisbane’s Ormiston College provided The Educator with some key insights into how it has become one of Queensland’s most innovative and forwardthinking schools. The independent, nondenominational Christian college prides itself on its supportive leadership team, which has recognised the shifting educational landscape – including dramatic technology change – and created a culture designed to address the challenges associated with it.

At the school’s helm is Brett Webster, who has served as Ormiston College’s principal since January 2006. His vision to fully integrate ICT into every area of the school’s curriculum has transformed both the culture and the physical landscape of the campus, providing technology specific to the needs of staff and students.

Before joining Ormiston, Webster worked as an Education Queensland secondary school principal and chair of an ICT reference group responsible for building capacity of teachers across 40 district schools.

Webster says using technology meaning­ fully to achieve better outcomes was at the core of Ormiston’s integration initiative, which continues to drive collaboration between students and the school’s various faculties. He shares what he’s discovered on the journey so far.

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THE EDUCATOR: What insights from your role as chair of the ICT capacitybuilding group helped formulate your vision for Ormiston College?

BRETT WEBSTER: What I learned during my time in Education Queensland as part of that committee was that the opportunity for teachers to showcase what they’re doing with technology in the classroom to other teachers

At Ormiston College, being a K-12 school with an early learning centre as well, we have very young children, young adults and various faculties across the secondary school.

So, in those various areas of the school and those various teams, we’re looking for all staff to take some steps to consider what parts of the curriculum might lend themselves to a technology solution to improve learning and

“We’re mindful of students having a borderless world, and the college is very committed to maintaining pace with that” is a powerful lever to advance the integration of ICT in schools.

What we used to do within that reference group was facilitate conferences within the district and look for all schools to be involved in sharing their practice and telling their story of what they’ve tried and what worked for them. In different ways we’ve done the same things here at Ormiston College.

One of the things we’ve done over time is to develop a shared belief that this is the right thing to do for young people in schools at this time. We have a commitment to move on that agenda and share our experience.

to trial those ideas and initiatives and share what they’ve found with their peers.

TE: Of the key leadership strategies you and your team have implemented at Ormiston, which have driven Ormiston’s vision and academic outcomes the most?

BW: Our school has always been about quality and academic excellence. When you’ve got good people who care about the students they’re teaching, they will seize new opportunities to improve the learning experience. It comes back to the technology agenda for us. It’s not just using technology for

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“We looked at our HR structure, what finances we had available to us, the time we had, and our professional development focus”

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THE BIG INTERVIEW

BRETT WEBSTER

ORMISTON STATS

Ormiston was founded in 1988, making the school just 27 years old

Ormiston has approximately 1,500 students in total, spanning Prep to Year 12

Ormiston has an Early Learning Centre for children aged 15 months to five years

Ormiston is one of six Microsoft Showcase Schools in Australia (there are only 150 globally)

Ormiston is ranked seventh in Queensland for its NAPLAN scores

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the sake of it or because people are saying it’s the thing to do these days; it’s using the technology meaningfully. That’s been part of our mantra from the outset. If we use the technology astutely and integrate it into the learning program meaningfully, then we would hopefully get better outcomes. That commitment to getting good outcomes was here prior to me.

The leadership actions that I have taken have been about developing a strategic plan for the college. It was a very collaborative process that considered the things that were driving the world, and technology kept coming up during that process as something we should be giving more focus to. We made it a key goal for us strategically and then translated that into all of the operational plans our team leaders across the campus put together.

Then it’s been about directing the resources we’ve got to move this agenda along. We looked at our HR structure, what finances we had available to us, the time we had, and our professional development focus. I remember taking people away for weekends to upskill

and develop units of work.

We have a very supportive board. They were keen for me as principal to be aware of what was happening both locally and globally in terms of innovation in education, and also keen to make sure that Ormiston College was somewhere near the forefront of what was happening.

For the last four years I’ve made a point of travelling to see what other schools are doing, and it was during one of those trips that I found myself at the New Line Learning Academy in Kent, England. There, I met Chris Geary who put me on the Microsoft network, and it wasn’t long after that when we formed the Learning Innovation Leadership Committee [LILC]. We formed that group a couple of years ago as another means of moving a little quicker and setting the pace for our school. The LILC are involved in innovative thinking and what we call our Big Ideas project.

For a couple of years now we’ve also been running our Innovation Grant program. This was something we started to encourage staff to think about what’s possible and have

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discussions within their teams about what better teaching could look like if they had some money to invest in hardware, software or training to improve learning. This year we’re making $200,000 available that our teams can apply for by proposing how they would use that money, or part thereof, for an innovative project in their department.

more. I’d like to see some different or bold suggestions or ideas as to how we can create the future here.

TE: Ormiston College entered into an Associate Showcase Mentor arrangement with Hermit Park primary school in March this year. Knowledge sharing is a core concept in the arrangement. Why TECHNOLOGY AND should more schools be INNOVATION getting on board with this practice?

The successful applicants/projects BW: With the tools that are from 2014’s innovation grants gave available these days, as well the college:

TE: What are some of the things the successful applicants from last year’s innovation grants brought to the campus?

BW: As a result of 2014’s innovation grants we now have the hi-tech and flexible $60,000 learning spaces that make up Hi-tech and flexible learning spaces our Centre for Innovation. (within the library, now called the We also now have Arduino Centre for Innovation and Learning) robotics and 3D printers as part of our Technology $12,555 Faculty. There are also other Year 7 Around the World in 80 Days projects that were made literacy/blogging project possible, such as our Year 7 Around the World in 80 as the level of connection Days literacy project and $2,500 that is possible between our Junior School Flipped Year 5 Music Immersion, using a schools now, we’re going to Classroom project. virtual tutor see a lot more professional We’re mindful of students sharing and knowledge having a borderless world, $1,500 sharing in the years ahead. and the college is very Investigating platforms of social Being a part of the Microsoft committed to maintaining media for business (within the network is fantastic. Our pace with that. If we continue business faculty) dean of e-learning, Tamara to develop successful Sullivan, and our LILC team innovation projects around have enjoyed being able to the campus, then that’s likely $8,000 connect and follow some of to inspire further creative Junior School Flipped Classroom the leading educators with thought. It’s part of building project regard to the power of a culture of innovation. We technology in classrooms started off years ago talking $10,000 around the world. We’re about integrating ICT, but it’s Auduino robotics and 3D printers now having dialogue on a moved on since then. (within the technology faculty) daily basis with capable The first time we ran the people from around the grant we made $100,000 world who’ve got great experiences that we available. I got a bit more creative with my can all learn from. business manager this year and set aside twice We’re very transparent. Many of the the original amount. I’m looking for more resources that we’ve developed are put on our buy-in and a little more excitement across the site with Hermit Park primary school but also campus. When the figure is larger, it on the site. The world has access to it. It’s great sometimes prompts people to think a bit

to receive their feedback and suggestions, and it’s very affirming for our staff to see their ideas well received and praised. So I think there’s going to be a lot more knowledge sharing as time goes on.

TE: What hurdles do you see for other schools attempting a knowledge-share arrangement?

BW: For some schools, even though we’ve been talking about these changes that have been coming into education for a long time, knowledge sharing might be a bit daunting. It might just be about being comfortable about working within those online spaces with those

“It’s not just using technology for the sake of it or because people are saying it’s the thing to do these days; it’s using the technology meaningfully” collaborative tools that are emerging. For others it might be that there is a sense of competition. There’s no doubt that schooling, while a great and noble cause, is also a very competitive space. Since the GFC, it’s become a little more so in the independent sector. The more that schools share, the less it will become an issue.

The idea is not so much to say, ‘This is how it’s done and you should do it our way’ but ‘In exciting and wondrous times, here’s what we’re trying’. Here at Ormiston everyone has their own classroom or staffroom-based experience to talk about. The more they do this through various conferences, professional associations or online forums, the stronger we are as a school. I just find us growing stronger, and I find that the momentum behind e-learning at Ormiston College just grows the more we have people that have their own experience to talk about.

There’s a confidence that people develop in seeing their experiences are valued. What they’re doing is in line with what the thought leaders of today say we should be doing.

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COVER STORY

INNOVATIVE SCHOOLS 2015

FAST-FORWARD TO THE FUTURE The future of education is here. In this inaugural Innovative Schools list, The Educator profiles the schools that already know it

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Sponsored by

SCHOOL INDEX NAME

WELCOME TO The Educator’s inaugural Innovative Schools list.

In recent months, we went to the market asking for submissions from Australia’s most innovative schools – those that are truly pushing the boundaries of education.

With over 177 submissions received, we are able to bring you an inspiring shortlist of

the schools truly at the cutting edge, in everything from pedagogy to technology.

Forty schools (listed alphabetically over the following pages) have been identified as going ‘above and beyond’. Twelve of these 40 have been ‘spotlighted’ in more detail.

Want to know where the future of education lies? Read on.

A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR Schoolbox and Digistorm Education are delighted to have the opportunity to support the Innovative Schools report for 2015.

The Educator Innovative Schools 2015 showcases those schools at the forefront of change and innovation. From new learning spaces to curriculum design, use of technology and more, these schools are trying new approaches to teaching and learning that are shaping the educational landscape of the future.

We are proud that many of the schools showcased are both Digistorm and Schoolbox customers, and on behalf of both organisations we congratulate those that made this year’s Innovative Schools list – well done!

Technology is only one component of what is required for schools to innovate in today’s competitive environment. From our experience working with many of those listed, true innovation within these schools is driven through their culture, investment in the right human resources, respect for ongoing professional development, appropriate accountability right up the chain of command, and, of course, the right technology.

We encourage all schools to learn from the success of this year’s showcased schools and to continue to implement new initiatives, especially in support of teaching and learning through technology.

Our thanks are also extended to The Educator for pushing the education industry forward. We are delighted to be a part of this initiative.

Sean Richards, co-founder, Schoolbox Tim Oswald, managing director, Digistorm Education

PAGE STATE TYPE

Aspect Hunter School

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Australian Science & Mathematics School Billanook College Braemar College Callaghan College

NSW

P

20

SA

P

21

VIC

I

20

VIC

I

22

NSW

I

Camberwell South Primary School

21

VIC

P

Canberra Grammar

22

ACT

I

Catholic Regional College, North Keilor

21

VIC

C

Deception Bay State High School

21

QLD

P

East Hills Girls Technology High School

24

NSW

P

Glenroy Public School

24

NSW

P

Haileybury College

26

VIC

I

Hillvue Public School

21

NSW

P

International Football School

23

NSW

I

Ipswich Grammar School

23

QLD

I

John Monash Science School

28

VIC

P

Kambala

25

NSW

I

Mark Oliphant College B-12

25

SA

I

Matthew Flinders Girls Secondary College

30

VIC

I

Melbourne Girls Grammar

25

VIC

I

Merrylands East Public School

31

NSW

P

Milton State School

25

QLD

P

Montrose Bay High

25

TAS

P

Mount Ousley Public School

25

NSW

P

Northern Beaches Christian School

25

NSW

I

Nossal High School

30

VIC

P

Oatley West Public School

25

NSW

P

Ormiston College

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QLD

I

Peakhurst South Public School

26

NSW

P

Ravenswood School for Girls

28

NSW

I

Santa Maria College

33

WA

I

South Oakleigh Secondary College

33

VIC

P

St Michael's Catholic Primary School

32

NSW

C

St Michael's Grammar School

33

VIC

I

St Vincent's College

33

NSW

I

Templestowe College

32

VIC

P

Trinity Grammar School

33

NSW

I

Turramurra High School

33

NSW

P

Winters Flat Primary School

33

VIC

P

33

NSW

P

Yass High School TYPE

P - Public

I - Independent

C - Catholic

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COVER STORY

INNOVATIVE SCHOOLS 2015

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ASPECT HUNTER SCHOOL

AUSTRALIAN SCIENCE & MATHEMATICS SCHOOL

THORNTON, NSW

BEDFORD PARK, SA

Part of Autism Spectrum Australia, the passionate staff at Aspect have created a renowned model for iPad use at school, employing forward-thinking approaches to supporting children with autism in achieving maximum educational engagement.

This STEM-focused school is pushing the boundaries of senior secondary STEM education with open learning environments, interdisciplinary learning programs and prioritised professional learning, including for external educators.

BRAEMAR COLLEGE WOODEND, VIC Sphero robotic balls, Lego Mindstorm technology, 3D printing. These are just a few of the tools being used by students at Braemar College as part of the school’s hands-on approach to the exploration of science, technology and maths.

“By providing hands-on learning experiences that are both engaging and challenging, we aim to develop critical thinking skills and a love of innovation,” explains Braemar College principal Russell Deer.

Aiming to bring theoretical learning to life, the school has introduced a new subject called ‘Making’, which helps students understand the logical processes involved in solving problems.

It then expands this into a making experience.

“The necessary skills are explicitly taught initially, enabling young people to apply their learning to the processes of design and development,” Deer says.

Year 5 and 6 students, for example, have been working with Sphero robotic balls, writing and testing their own computer programs. At the same time, a Space Challenge pack allows students to create space travel craft, while the recent acquisition of a 3D printer enables seniors to create 3D computer models and print their creations, which are soon to be complemented with brand-new 3D pens.

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Sponsored by

BILLANOOK COLLEGE MOOROOLBARK, VIC The ‘shapers’ and ‘makers’ of the future may just come from Billanook.

A new strategic plan is paving a new way for K-12 students to approach learning through distinct learning experiences called ‘mastery’, ‘discovery’ and ‘journey’.

CAMBERWELL SOUTH PRIMARY SCHOOL GLEN IRIS, VIC ‘Personalisation’ is a core purpose at Camberwell South, which embraces cutting-edge pedagogical practice through means as diverse as the creative use of 1:1 BYOD, a ‘maker’ culture, exposure to coding, and entrepreneurialism.

CATHOLIC REGIONAL COLLEGE, NORTH KEILOR KEILOR LODGE, VIC This co-educational school’s ‘quietly revolutionary’ Nitor program turns disengaged Year 10 boys via manhood-focused training into ‘motivated’ and ‘empathic’ learners. It includes an ‘Amazing Race’ in Sydney and Melbourne.

DECEPTION BAY STATE HIGH SCHOOL DECEPTION BAY, QLD Creating opportunities in a low-SES community, Deception Bay has programs called FUTURES (for disengaged students) and ASPIRE (for teenage mothers), and delivers its own Cert III courses as part of its standard offering.

HILLVUE PUBLIC SCHOOL TAMWORTH, NSW One of 15 Connected Communities schools in NSW, Hillvue is a ‘community hub’. It is boosting literacy and numeracy data among students – 78% of which are Aboriginal – with an ongoing push towards open and shared learning.

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COVER STORY

INNOVATIVE SCHOOLS 2015 CALLAGHAN COLLEGE NEWCASTLE, NSW It’s a very select group of schools that can claim they are among the world’s top 21st Century Learning schools, but Callaghan College is one of them.

An initial 18-month commitment to improve teachers’ knowledge and skills at the school in 2011 soon morphed into a fully-fledged 21st Century Learning Project, involving a cross-campus team driving ongoing professional learning.

The result? Callaghan was recognised by Pearson Education International as one of 2013’s top three 21st Century Learning schools worldwide when it was shortlisted as a finalist for its School of the Year award.

“This competition recognises exceptional schools that have processes in place to ensure diffusion of good practices as well as providing the opportunity, resources and support for innovation and experimentation,”

says principal Graham Eather.

The project builds confidence, competence and capabilities of teaching staff with technologies so they can more effectively use them as tools to build student skills in communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity.

Callaghan reports a 100% increase in classroom opportunities for students to access interactive technologies to support teaching and learning. It is now working to integrate flipped learning with cloud-based systems.

CANBERRA GRAMMAR RED HILL, ACT It’s a small world at Canberra Grammar.

While other schools are looking inward as they innovate, Canberra Grammar is focusing outward, with a vision for intercultural understanding through engagement with Asia. Through classroom upgrades and greater access to communications technology, the school is building a broader concept of contemporary learning and an enhanced capacity to engage with the world.

The culmination of its efforts? The creation of a brand-new flagship building, proudly named the ‘Snow Centre for Education in the Asian Century’.

“The Snow Centre is designed to transform learning and teaching at the school,” head of school Justin Garrick says. “It not only places global literacy at the heart of the curriculum but facilitates the kind of open, collaborative and self-directed learning skills that students need to flourish in the modern world.”

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The Snow Centre has 12 dedicated learning spaces for teaching Asian languages, geography, history, economics and culture. Its facilities enable students to more easily engage with Asia; for example, using virtual conference technology to host shared learning with the international classrooms of Asian sister schools.

The centre now plays a key role in fostering Asian engagement. It has hosted speakers on Asia and the ACT Department of Education’s Building Asian Capabilities conference. It opens its facilities to the ACT Chinese Cultural School, and hosts Asian teaching delegations to share skills and build engagement.

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Sponsored by

INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL SCHOOL KARIONG, NSW A specialised school for elite young sportsmen and women, this school is helping ensure that students who are already highly self-motivated achieve a proper mix of personal, academic and athletic development through project-based learning.

IPSWICH GRAMMAR SCHOOL IPSWICH, QLD Educating the next batch of ‘modern gentlemen’, Ipswich Grammar engenders strength of character through identification and development of unique character strengths.

These include ‘Super Hero’ and ‘Real Men Read’ programs.

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COVER STORY

INNOVATIVE SCHOOLS 2015 EAST HILLS GIRLS TECHNOLOGY HIGH SCHOOL PANANIA, NSW In a quest to “educate girls for a technological future”, the only designated technology high school for girls in NSW is embracing all things digital.

And not least the iPad. East Hills Girls Technology High School has put in place a comprehensive 1:1 iPad program, with Years 7, 8, 9 and 10 all benefiting from iPad access.

Treating it not just as a device, the school has built resources around it to enhance learning.

For example, staff are provided with an iPad, planning time and professional learning. Each faculty has a teacher representative on the iPad team, allowing units of work to be created collaboratively and shared, while head teachers lead integration into the school’s everyday teaching and learning.

“Technology is helping students to learn.

Our school creates a rich multimedia learning environment in and out of school so that students can access information in a way that makes learning more worthwhile,” says deputy principal Annette Brunt.

So far, the school has used the iPad to introduce Minecraft and Into Science, while Smart Science gaming activities were used as part of a University of NSW research project exploring space and global issues in Years 9 and 10. Interactive textbooks and iTunes U are also part of the mix, while teachers use Showbie alongside Moodle and Edmodo for online assessments and feedback.

GLENROY PUBLIC SCHOOL GLENROY, NSW They might be young, but the students of Glenroy Public School are all leaders.

With four ‘class communities’, each with a cross section of Years 3, 4, 5 and 6, older students at Glenroy are encouraged to mentor and support younger peers, role modelling appropriate behaviour, learning habits and citizenship skills.

Likened to ‘family’, the class communities are inspiring the development of core values across all age groups, at the same time as developing the maturity of younger students and allowing older students to practise leadership skills.

Since 2012, Glenroy has seen a significant shift in the student leadership and peer support taking place across the whole school – so much so that, during the school’s Student Council Representative election last year, every Year 6 student except two

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nominated themselves, because ‘they knew they could’ lead.

With the experiences they had gained in their class communities, each student developed the confidence to become a ‘successful, purposeful’ leader.

This makes Glenroy – and its budding 200 students – leading innovators among larger schools in NSW when it comes to structuring classes.

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Sponsored by

KAMBALA

MONTROSE BAY HIGH

ROSE BAY, NSW

MONTROSE BAY, TAS

Kambala puts wellbeing and connectedness first. A new Wellness Week is encouraging cross-campus interaction and peer support, while increasing awareness of psychological wellbeing and raising money for Lifeline.

Individualised learning is in the hands of students themselves at Montrose Bay, where willing Year 9 and 10 students construct projects around curriculum requirements, following their passions with the help of a ‘learning coach’.

MARK OLIPHANT COLLEGE B-12

MOUNT OUSLEY PUBLIC SCHOOL

MUNNO PARA, SA

FAIRY MEADOW, NSW

‘The future is now’ at this ICT-focused school, which has become a model for ‘viral’ 1:1 digital device rollouts since launching in 2010. It embraces all things ICT, from fiveyear-old student bloggers to an open ‘curated curriculum’.

There are many facets to Mount Ousley’s innovation, from individualised ‘Genius Time’, student interest-focused ‘enrichment groups’, and the ‘action research’ approach of teachers, to amateur radio conversations with astronauts in space.

MELBOURNE GIRLS GRAMMAR

NORTHERN BEACHES CHRISTIAN SCHOOL

SOUTH YARRA, VIC

TERREY HILLS, NSW

Melbourne Girls Grammar is embracing all

Names – not numbers – mark the way around this school renowned for spatial and management creativity. Under the central, canopied ‘Manhattan and the City’, teachers play a role in management, or teach using modern pedagogies.

facets of change, including creating the Centre for Educational Enterprise, a likeminded community of global educators contemplating innovative issues like technology and reform.

MILTON STATE SCHOOL MILTON, QLD

OATLEY WEST PUBLIC SCHOOL OATLEY, NSW

Positioning technology as an ‘object to think with’ rather than a ‘tool’, Milton State is integrating coding, robotics and 3D printing into flipped classroom and blended learning environments to ‘reimagine’ what teaching looks like.

Students prioritise values at Oatley West.

Placing a premium on student wellbeing and mental health through its related charity work, the school fosters positive self-image, character, resilience, social skills, and gratitude.

FEBRUARY 2015 | 25 www.educatoronline.com.au

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COVER STORY

INNOVATIVE SCHOOLS 2015

Sponsored by

HAILEYBURY COLLEGE

ORMISTON COLLEGE

BRIGHTON, VIC

ORMISTON, QLD

Haileybury College sets the bar high with a number of records, including being the largest independent school in Australia, with 3,650 students.

However, the school showed its innovation 13 years ago when it decided to deliver the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) in China. The result? It is now also the largest provider of Australian secondary education in China.

Haileybury has eight partner schools in China, with 200 graduates finishing every

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year, and in 2013 it opened the first Australian school for Chinese students in Wuqing, in partnership with Hong Kong-listed developer Beijing Capital Land. The new school boards 1,200 Chinese students, delivering the Chinese curriculum to Year 9 and then the VCE in Years 10–12.

“Haileybury Melbourne students have the opportunity to visit and study at the school,” says principal Derek Scott.

Recognising the changing demographics of Melbourne, the school is also jumping ahead of the curve by purchasing a 13,000sqm building in the city’s CBD, which will house an Early Learning Centre. When the school has the building ready in 2017, it will be Melbourne’s first ELC-12 city campus.

A commitment to innovation is seeing this school push for new 21st Century Teaching and Learning approaches through the ‘big ideas’ projects of its dedicated committee, while being an exemplar for educators on ICT integration.

PEAKHURST SOUTH PUBLIC SCHOOL PEAKHURST HEIGHTS, NSW Peakhurst South is a KidsMatter school that meets social and emotional – as well as educational – needs. Developing the ‘whole person’, it builds relationships and empathy through measures like its emotion-focused Kimochi program.

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COVER STORY

INNOVATIVE SCHOOLS 2015 JOHN MONASH SCIENCE SCHOOL MONASH UNIVERSITY CLAYTON CAMPUS, VIC

Sponsored by

RAVENSWOOD SCHOOL FOR GIRLS GORDON, NSW

The real world is not far away for the students at John Monash Science School (JMSS).

The first specialist science school of its kind in Victoria and one of only three in Australia, JMSS has taken this pioneering spirit to heart by designing innovative approaches to teaching and bringing science into the modern classroom.

All teaching and learning at JMSS is done in teams. “The school believes all student and teacher work should model and reflect the world of work our young graduates will face,” says principal Peter Corkill. Regular classes are made up of 50 students and two teachers, following structured, phased lesson plans and using high-end technology on laptops, iPads and iPhones.

The curriculum also reflects life outside of school. “The curriculum is challenging and stimulating and allows students to explore the leading issues pervading current scientific research and understanding, while still building solid foundational expertise,” Corkill explains.

“It is designed to allow students to integrate knowledge across arbitrary subject boundaries and explore new ideas in much the same way as science researchers do from day to day.”

Students can expect to study anything from nanotechnology and bioinformatics (Enrichment Science) to manipulating big data and robotics (Emerging Technologies), in addition to regular subjects like English.

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The school also pushes boundaries with new subjects like biochemistry and computational physics, and 25% of students complete a university subject in their final year.

JMSS doesn’t keep its expertise to itself.

Curriculum options in science are shared with schools in remote parts of Victoria through regional exchange.

Making musical instruments from recycled materials, designing computer programs with code, and programming robots are all part of the problem-solving, creative journey for the ‘making’-focused primary girls at Ravenswood.

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COVER STORY

INNOVATIVE SCHOOLS 2015 MATTHEW FLINDERS GIRLS SECONDARY COLLEGE GEELONG, VIC Whether it’s in the school’s ‘living garden’ or in the possibilities of technology for improving the world around them, Matthew Flinders Girls students aren’t afraid to put creativity first and foremost – or to get their hands dirty.

The school’s ‘Earth care, people care, fair share’ philosophy has seen it create a model community garden that is used for learning in classes from maths to food technology, and grows everything from vegies to native flowers.

The girls share the space with community schools like the Bay City Learning Centre, and via iniatives like Dial a Lunch share organic produce with people in the City of Greater Geelong who would benefit from the food. In future, the living garden is expected to be a place to engage the school and the wider community in important activities that increase

awareness of permaculture, sustainable living practices, caring for the environment, healthy eating, and reuse and recycling practices, including food swap events and farmers’ markets.

Creativity has also seen the invention of a brand-new ‘digital technologies’ curriculum, with an ‘invent to learn’ core that has already spawned a student-led Maker Fair for 120 primary schools. Its focus on ‘understanding through inventing and tinkering’ is grooming students to be ‘creators, not consumers’.

NOSSAL HIGH SCHOOL BERWICK, VIC Most students wait until university to engage with the latest in online learning technology, but the students of Nossal High School are a digital step ahead.

Beginning in 2014, the school embarked on an ambitious e-learning program, dedicating a number of school days exclusively to online learning, when students stay home and engage in lessons remotely.

Utilising webinars, discussion boards, chat rooms, teacher-designed online video and digital formative assessment tools, students work through their normal timetable ‘live’ with their teachers and peers, including subjects such as physical education and music, as well as science and maths.

Through this Digital Delivery Day program, Nossal hopes students will learn the valuable skill of interacting effectively with their teachers and peers through online tools, while teachers provide them with valuable feedback.

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“In discussion with our university partners, academics have outlined their increasing reliance on online delivery, and noted a combination of reluctance and skill deficit of students to effectively engage with the learning environment,” says Nossal physics teacher Stuart Fankhauser.

Nossal has expanded the program this year and will work with other interested secondary schools in the organisation of their own Digital Delivery Days.

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Sponsored by

MERRYLANDS EAST PUBLIC SCHOOL MERRYLANDS, NSW Principals and educators from all around the world visit this school in Southwestern Sydney to watch and learn from teachers who collaboratively implement learning programs, address the individual needs of students, and help the 370 K-6 students through their ‘transformative’ first experience of school.

When they visit, they’ll hear no bells and see no class timetables. They’ll see students walking freely through ‘agile learning spaces’ to collaborate both indoors and outdoors.

They’ll also notice the environmentally sustainable features like water tanks and solar panels around the grounds, and the principal working from a mobile phone, tablet or laptop rather than an office.

That’s because Merrylands East Public School is a school that has attempted to fundamentally change the traditional method of schooling to one that reflects how K-6 students actually learn, using educational

technologies. This includes innovations like students themselves ‘self-regulating’ the curriculum and helping each other learn; having minimalist alternative furnishings rather than a table and chair for every child; and teachers teamteaching on a daily basis.

Want to see students using YouTube in ‘Genius Hour’ to learn music, or watch 11-year-olds building websites and apps?

This is the school to visit.

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COVER STORY

INNOVATIVE SCHOOLS 2015 ST MICHAEL’S CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL LANE COVE, NSW Year 5 and Year 6 students at St Michael’s were the first explorers to immerse themselves in the musical traditions of Java and Indonesia via iPad, thanks to their involvement in a pilot program run by Musica Viva In Schools.

In 2014 and 2015, the school was instrumental in partnering with Musica Viva to trial a student-led digital resource for the iPad – Lir Ilir – which is the first in a series of interactive books in the organisation’s Musicadventures series.

The Lir Ilir interactive book resource explores over a number of weeks the musical traditions of Java with Indonesian ensemble Makukuhan, and presents interactive information about Indonesian culture.

The musical partnership also involved a range of activities at the school in 2015, including a parent information session,

professional development opportunities for teachers, and two assisted lessons for Years 5 and 6 using iPad resources. There were also three live performances with Makukuhan.

Thanks to the involvement of St Michael’s, Musica Viva says it ultimately has a better understanding of how students engage and learn with technology, and how to develop a program that engages more children in music education.

“Technology is changing the way we teach and learn. The experience has been invaluable,” says Musica Viva’s Colette Vella.

TEMPLESTOWE COLLEGE LOWER TEMPLESTOWE, VIC Even progressive principals might baulk at surrendering school management control to individual students – but that’s the situation at Templestowe College, where the students make the rules, to which management has a ‘yes’ rule.

“We acknowledge it’s the student’s learning – not their parents or ours as educators – and as such it is they who must take full responsibility,” says principal Peter Hutton.

With input from parents, each student develops an Individualised Learning Plan with a five-year time horizon, which they can then adapt flexibly themselves. If they have established the necessary literacy and numeracy skills, they are able to select 100% of their study load from more than 130 options. Something not on the list? No problem. It can be designed as a ‘Personalised Learning Project’.

The school’s approach doesn’t stop there.

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There are no year levels, so students can study at their own ability level – and only what interests them. They can choose when they start, and when they finish. Students help run the school, having positions on the leadership group and the curriculum team, and performing many basic jobs. Students have a say in who teaches and mentors them, and even sit on selection panels for new teachers.

“Our community has grown from 350 to 700 in five years,” says Hutton. “We have learnt a lot about what works and what doesn’t when redefining what ‘school’ can be, and are keen to share ideas,” he says.

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Sponsored by

SANTA MARIA COLLEGE ATTADALE, WA

TRINITY GRAMMAR SCHOOL SUMMER HILL, NSW

A suite of ‘enhanced learning’ programs sit above the regular Australian Curriculum at Santa Maria, helping girls of three different ability streams challenge and extend their skills while preparing for life after school.

The Arthur Holt Library at Trinity Grammar has been transformed into a collaborative learning environment, incorporating new digital technology and real-world learning spaces to foster community and knowledge creation.

SOUTH OAKLEIGH SECONDARY COLLEGE

TURRAMURRA HIGH SCHOOL

OAKLEIGH SOUTH, VIC

SOUTH TURRAMURRA, NSW

A $100,000 grant helped upgrade a TV studio at South Oakleigh, which is now being used as a cross-curricular tool for classes.

Students are preparing to launch their own YouTube channel, which includes an interview with KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick.

Turramurra High has brought the ‘inside out’ with a new outdoor learning space, is working as part of the NS5 group of schools on collaborative learning projects, and is establishing project-based learning programs, including one with UTS.

ST MICHAEL’S GRAMMAR SCHOOL

WINTERS FLAT PRIMARY SCHOOL

ST KILDA, VIC

CASTLEMAINE, VIC

St Michael’s Grammar will soon launch a $20m state-of-the-art teaching and learning facility called ‘The Commons’. Collaboration and reflection will merge in this mixed-use development that includes sci-tech and knowledge facilities.

Students cheer while doing maths at Winters Flat Primary. The school is focused on improving maths delivery based on the NZ Maths Framework via small-group learning, games, problem-solving, and articulating mathematical thinking.

ST VINCENT’S COLLEGE

YASS HIGH SCHOOL

POTTS POINT, NSW

YASS, NSW

‘Transliteracy’ is being explored by St Vincent’s College in depth, as the school applies early experimentation via student projects into the development of a framework for the deployment of these transferable skills in the classroom.

An ‘integrated learning’ subject has been developed in-house at Yass High School for Year 9 students, providing a rich, crosscurriculum experience drawing on all subjects and delivered in a new state-of-theart, open-plan facility.

FEBRUARY 2015 | 33 www.educatoronline.com.au

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FEATURE / BROKER EDUCATION FEATURES

BYOD

GETTING PERSONAL There’s one question that springs to mind when planning for BYOD, but as any tech expert knows, it’s actually the last question you should ask

WHAT’S THE right device to use for your school’s BYOD program?

It’s a question Graham Blackstock has heard before. As national sales manager at JB Hi-Fi Education Solutions, he has spent the last 12 months talking to schools about BYOD – or as he prefers, personal device programs.

Naturally, which device is right is often the first question that comes to mind. The problem is, it’s also the last question schools should be asking.

“We can’t get to the device question until we really understand how schools are using the technology in their classrooms,” Blackstock explains.

Focusing on how a device will be used and the desired learning outcomes – rather than the tool itself – is an area where schools could do a lot better.

And getting this first step right could just make getting personal pay off.

Diagnosing a device There are questions that schools need to ask before considering a specific device.

“First, we need to drill down into things like how forward-thinking a school is about technology, how familiar teachers are with it, whether teachers themselves have access to a device, and whether there’s a professional learning program in place,” Blackstock says.

But that’s just the beginning. Will the device be used for ‘consumption’, or creativity?

Will it be used for apps, or applications? How long is the personal device program designed to run for – and how long do batteries need to last? And what age are the students who will be using the device day-to-day?

A RELATIONSHIP OF CHOICE JB Hi-Fi is well known for its 172 retail stores Australiawide, where many aspirational parents have gone in the past to purchase student computers.

However, JB Hi-Fi Education Solutions is now just as well-known in education for its provision of tailored BYOD advice, product and service to K-12 schools.

With a dedicated team focused solely on education – including 20 account managers, some of whom are former teachers – JB Hi-Fi Solutions assists a range of government, Catholic and independent schools nationwide.

Indeed, the business is trusted by the Victorian Government’s Department of Education as part of its TSSP (Technical Support to Schools Program).

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National education sales manager Graham Blackstock says the group’s retail presence enables it to leverage strong relationships with vendors to deliver specialised education products and comprehensive advice to schools.

“We are absolutely focused on the education market,” Blackstock says.

“The education team focuses on providing educational products and services that can benefit the sector, from early learning centres right through to TAFE colleges and universities. But our main area is K-12 education.”

Blackstock says the education team’s access to specially designed student products not available in retail stores is a key differentiator, given students can sometimes be “quite brutal” with devices on a day-to-day basis.

“If it’s going to be used by a Year 7 student, for example, you need to consider the size; you wouldn’t want a 15-inch laptop handed to a girl in Year 7. Also, a boy in Year 7 is probably less inclined to take special care of that wonderful piece of new technology than are students in later years.”

This raises the question of protection and mitigating risks, like the high probably of broken devices or having a device lost or stolen. “Students are six times more likely to break a computer than I am in my office, and when parents see that it could cost them $300 or $400 to replace a broken screen, accidental damage cover looks like a sensible thing to seriously consider.”

Service expectations are also critical. “How long can your students happily exist without a device? Is an acceptable period half-a-day or two school days, or if it’s a week, how would that impact a child’s learning?”

Learning from experience There is also advice for schools on what not to do. Many schools have embraced BYOD and made avoidable mistakes.

Though getting parents involved is considered best practice, Blackstock says settling on a set price ahead of time could end up becoming a problem.

“One of the big issues is with the parent community and committees about who is actually making the decision within the school, and do they have the information they need to have to make that decision,” Blackstock says.

“A lot of schools look specifically at price, and will make a broad statement about their parent community only being able to afford $X for a device.”

Another avoidable problem is a failure to give advice to parents on the devices to get.

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Brought to you by

“We can’t get to the device question until we really understand how schools are using the technology in the classroom” Graham Blackstock, JB Hi-Fi Education Solutions “If a school doesn’t provide any advice to parents on device specifications, and simply says to them: ‘Can you make sure your child brings in a device next year please?’, that would be a mistake,” Blackstock says.

Like a traditional book list, schools should be providing structured advice and a delivery model based on required specifications, to ensure success in the classroom. JB Hi-Fi Solutions often provides schools with a ‘good, better, best’ model.

A personal future In the end, the success of a personal device program really depends on the school.

Blackstock says he has seen many successful schools design BYOD around pedagogical approaches, such as differentiated and collaborative learning.

But what does the future hold? For that, Blackstock says schools need only look at kids in early learning centres to see just how intuitive ‘touch devices’ really are.

“You don’t need to teach a 5-year-old how a touch device works; they intuitively understand it, and I know that in three or more years’ time that whatever that device might be, whether it’s a large phablet [a smartphone with an intermediate screen, sized between that of a typical smartphone

and a tablet computer], a tablet, or a notebook that turns into a tablet, touch is going to be absolutely critical.”

As a result, Blackstock says teachers will also need a much greater awareness of how to use touch in the classroom to get the best learning outcomes.

Another area expected to develop is wireless collaboration. With so many devices coming into the classroom, teachers and schools are often asking how students can better share content among their peers and teachers.

Classroom management tools will also grow. “That’s about providing tools that provide teachers with visibility. They might have 20 students in a classroom, and they will need to be able to see what all those kids are doing at one time without having to walk around to look,” Blackstock says.

JB Hi-Fi Education Solutions provides best in class products, services and advice to schools. Contact us today: 1300 730 548 | education@jbhifi.com.au | jbhifisolutions.com.au

FEBRUARY 2015 | 35 www.educatoronline.com.au

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FEATURE / BROKER EDUCATION FEATURES

NEGOTIATION

HOW TO NEGOTIATE TO GET YOUR OWN WAY Contrary to what many people think, negotiation is not about ‘winning at all costs’. Josh Masters explains that if you take the approach that negotiation is a process in which all parties achieve the best outcome, you may well find that you start achieving more success in your dealings with others, and don’t tread on as many toes along the way ...

THE ART of negotiation is one that is truly underestimated in all business sectors, with many professionals fixated on playing either good cop or bad cop when it comes to sealing a deal. This turns what is actually a science into a gambling game in which the high stakes don’t always pay.

The basic premise of negotiation is to work together with another party to achieve an outcome that works for you both, and, rather than come from a traditional stance where there’s a winner and a loser, it’s best to think flexibly.

However, in closing hundreds of deals throughout my career as a professional property buyer on behalf of my clients, I’ve learnt a number of techniques for mastering negotiation that will have you getting what you need without damaging any relationships along the way.

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Create a third position It’s important to remember that a negotiation is an exchange of energy. Place two people face-to-face and they will feel confronted.

Pride, stubbornness and ego can get in the way because each person feels they’re being threatened personally.

Creating a third position, where both people turn to face the problem, diverts the intense energy of each person away from confrontation and focuses their attention on solving the issue. Separating the problem from the person avoids any personality clashes and reduces the chance of offending the other person. Rather than reacting harshly to the other party not wanting to budge from their original offer because they’re ‘stubborn and unreasonable’, you can instead focus attention on the problem. Take personality out of the equation and focus on

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finding a solution rather than becoming defensive and equally unreasonable.

Having some empathy for the other person will often ease the pressure in a negotiation – enough to get them across the line on the other things that are important to you

Look for the ‘why?’

Most people will make a decision based on reason. Finding out what that reason is can be an invaluable strategy as it gives you the opportunity to create a solution, often in return for what you want. For example, if a colleague has asked for a three-month extended vacation during the business’s busiest time, you can negotiate on whether they can work remotely via email during some of this period.

Avoid getting personal No one likes to be attacked personally. Even when you’re negotiating through a third party, you have to assume that this third party may communicate your every word to the person you are trying to settle a deal with. So keep it polite and remember that you’re trying to get them to cooperate.

Playing the blame game or reacting negatively will work against your goals. Even when something doesn’t go your way, stay calm and be respectful and remember you may lose in the short term, but as long as your eye is on the prize, your long-term goals should come to fruition.

You also need to avoid thinking the worst of the other party. For example, just because they request that you make an upfront payment before receiving the goods does not mean that they’re going to steal your money.

This can be difficult as you don’t necessarily know the background of the person you’re dealing with in a negotiation. However, assuming the worst of the other person will rarely be productive – and remember, they may actually be thinking the same about you!

Be flexible The more flexible you can be towards the other party, the more likely they will be willing to give you what you want.

If you can decide what you want before you go into the negotiation, such as your best offer and what terms you can and can’t waver on, you can often give the other party what they want without having to sacrifice your position.

FEBRUARY 2015 | 37 www.educatoronline.com.au

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FEATURE / BROKER EDUCATION FEATURES

NEGOTIATION Think of the other person

Two minutes with your head up, shoulders back and hands on hips can really provide the confidence you need to stand your ground

At the end of the day, a negotiation, however brief, is a relationship.

If they are resolute about particular terms of the negotiation, it can be beneficial to withhold your judgment and put yourself in their shoes. Is there a reason why they’re being so firm? Is there something important to them that you haven’t considered? After all, you might very well do the same thing if you were in their position.

Having some empathy for the other person will often ease the pressure in a negotiation – enough to get them across the line on the other things that are important to you.

Using ‘if’ One of the secrets to a successful negotiation is to never give anything up without asking for something in return, even if it’s small.

Using ‘if ’ in your negotiation is a good way to handle this: If I give you … then I would like …

I’m happy to give you … if …

If you can … then I’d be more than happy to ...

If you can … then I’d be more than happy to …

Use silence One of the most effective ways to negotiate is to stay quiet. This may not be appropriate in situations where there are five other parties all trying to win a slice of the budget pie, but it can be invaluable when the other party is poised for a favourable outcome.

When you remain silent, you automatically get the ‘ball in your court’, so to speak, which leaves you with the power to make the next call. In the meantime, the other party waits in anticipation, hoping that they may achieve their outcome. This can create the impression for the other party that the negotiation process may soon end with a good result and they can walk away happy. When you do come back to the table with a counter offer, their anticipation of closing the deal immediately will make the seller more willing to sacrifice items that they may have fought hard to get earlier, all because they’ve seen the light at the end of the tunnel.

Silence can be useful in difficult negotiations as it can give the time needed for both parties

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to ‘cool off ’. Sitting back can give you the perspective you need to get a better understanding of the situation, and provide you with the long-term view that you need.

Avoid any confusion Sometimes it can be difficult to draw the line between offering help and asking for business, especially with people with whom you have developed a relationship in a casual setting.

If you feel that you’re approaching a level of information that you think you should be charging for, it can be handy to say things like ‘Call me if you would like to work together on something’. That way you’re being clear on your expectations for the future, without severing the lines of communication altogether.

Strike a pose While most of us have come across an overbearing tyrant trying to win power by force, it can be an equally destructive force to approach a negotiation lacking confidence and presence.

Harvard’s Amy Cuddy has a wonderful presentation on conveying ‘presence’ in front of peers, which shows that it can be as simple as the way you hold your posture before you enter the room. Two minutes with your head up, shoulders back and hands on hips can really provide the confidence you need to stand your ground and muster the courage to ask for what you want.

The biggest misunderstanding surrounding the art of negotiation is in its actual definition.

It’s important to remember that negotiation is not used to get the best deal possible or get the most out of someone for the least amount of budget; it’s about coming to the most positive outcome for all parties involved. The origin of the word ‘negotiation’ comes from the Latin term ‘negotiates’, meaning ‘to carry on business’, and with the right techniques you will carry on closing deals, securing clients and building relationships.

With more than 15 years’ experience in the real estate industry and hundreds of property purchases under his belt, Josh Masters is one of Australia’s most respected buyers’ agents. He is author of the new investment guide, Why Property Why Now. Learn more at www.joshmasters.com.au.

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FEATURELEARNING / BROKER EDUCATION BLENDED

VIDEO TECHNOLOGY

GET CONNECTED: OPTIMISING VIDEO TECHNOLOGY In today’s ‘always on, always connected’ world, it’s no surprise that students now expect to be using more technology as part of their learning experience.

How can educators tap into the latest blended learning technology to deliver exceptional results?

IMAGINE BEING able to call up a marine biologist to provide insightful, on the ground commentary to a group of Year 5 kids.

Alternatively, imagine being able to successfully deliver the course essentials to students who are not necessarily sitting in front of the teacher in the classroom. Or perhaps a teacher would like to pick and choose the means and format in which they deliver their class to students.

Thanks to big leaps in video conferencing technology, the classroom no longer has four walls, but rather exists anywhere educators and students want it to.

With the click of a button, a teacher in rural Australia can access cutting-edge teaching practices being performed in another classroom thousands of miles away – all in real time.

Thinking even more broadly, the ongoing debate about how schools can offer more ‘personalised learning’ could also be resolved by video conferencing technology.

More schools are getting creative with how they use this technology to create blended learning opportunities for students. This phenomenon lets students learn as they go, ensuring less ‘chalk & talk’ and more control over what they want to learn and when they want to learn it.

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This has far-reaching applications across the entire education landscape.

Distance no barrier Many schools, particularly those in low socioeconomic and rural areas, are unable to

provide access to the same level of learning and resources to their students as metropolitan schools do.

To help close this equity gap, some schools are turning to video conferencing technology to level the playing field so that students

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TOP USES FOR VIDEO CONFERENCING Connect with remote experts Inviting expert scholars or industry professionals to speak to your class is a great way to further the education of your students. Not only can students communicate face-to-face with renowned scholars, they can also share important documents.

Take virtual field trips Want to take your students on a tour of Taronga Zoo or even further afield – the Smithsonian perhaps – but don’t have the budget to travel? With video conferencing, it’s possible to visit the attraction without ever having to leave the classroom.

don’t have to miss out on a quality education.

Swivl is a technology company that specialises in video conferencing and blended learning.

Katrina Jovak from Swivl Australia says this technology has not only allowed schools to streamline their communications, but also use it to break down barriers between communities when it comes to access to quality learning.

“When looking for a solution to connect Australia’s remote locales with the schools in metropolitan areas, video conferencing technology is the tool for the job,” Jovak says.

“Remote students have the same opportunity to ask questions to their teachers, receive immediate feedback on projects and presentations, and ultimately they feel a greater connection with the material they are learning,” she adds.

Encourage staff collaboration Staff members stand to benefit as well as students. Teachers often have to collaborate with one another to keep up to date with new plans and procedures. Instead of having educators travel long distances for conferences and the like, consider holding the meeting via video conferencing.

teaching and engaging in professional learning through video.”

The greatest opportunities Cohen sees for other school leaders to achieve their school’s strategic objectives lie in using this technology to “raise the AITSL professional standards” of their teaching staff and improving “the trickier elements of differentiation and effective questioning”.

“The final goal has to be the improvement of student outcomes. This must be the driving force behind the use of technology in any form,” Cohen says.

“Helping staff realise that this is not about them, but is for the benefit of their students will help ease the pain and fear of filming classroom practice. Ultimately, this technology can help deprivatise the classroom and this is good for our profession as a whole.”

Crafting better classroom practice Other schools are using the technology in different ways.

Green Point Christian College, located on the NSW Central Coast, has used this technology to its advantage by filming teachers as they put their learning plans in action in the classroom, allowing them to reflect and improve on their teaching.

The school’s head of professional learning K-12, Matthew Cohen, explains: “We’ve been using the videoing of classrooms as an effective tool to help teachers focus on the crafting of their classroom practice,” Cohen tells The Educator.

“This follows the research done by Tonya Tripp and Peter Rich in 2011 [‘Using video to analyze one’s own teaching’, British Journal of Educational Technology] that directs educators to best practice in reflecting on

Experts on hand Jovak explains how other schools stand to benefit from using this technology across various disciplines to improve the way students engage with their learning and achieve results.

“Imagine a science teacher wants her students to better understand real-world and professional applications of chemistry,” Jovak says. “By using Swivl or other video conferencing technologies, this teacher can bring in a laboratory manager to explain how they use chemistry on a daily basis to treat and improve our drinking water.”

She says this technology also allows educators to connect with peers at other campuses to exchange knowledge and best practices. “Instructional specialists who might be great distances away are able to connect for

the purposes of teaching training and professional development. This also means educators are better equipped to connect with sick and homebound students to ensure that they remain on-track and continue learning while away from the classroom,” says Jovak.

Video conferencing technology is also being used by teachers to flip the classroom, enhance peer evaluation, collaborate, selfreflect and capture valuable content that they create on a daily basis. This content can then be shared, reviewed and reused. When time is precious, this in itself is a huge boon for teachers.

The role of principals Jovak goes on to say that principals must recognise opportunities to further improve their school’s performance through the use of this technology.

“Principals must be the champions and enablers of growth at their institutions – improving training, advancing educational standards and increasing both efficiency and effectiveness amongst all,” Jovak says.

“This is where video conferencing, peer evaluation and teacher review comes in. It is an exceptional communication tool.”

Jovak says that, just like the teachers of a principal’s school who participate in continuous learning via development workshops, principals too must continue working towards becoming great administrators and leaders.

“In the same way that great coaches and mentors can be brought to a campus remotely using video conferencing technology, principals too can work with their peers and coaches to continue developing as leaders,” Jovak says.

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FEATURE / BROKER EDUCATION FEATURES

ICT INFRASTRUCTURE

MANIFESTING THE FUTURE Principals are the proven linchpins of school ICT infrastructure progress, and it is an effective ICT plan that can help guide their schools into a brave new era

IT MAY not be what principals want to hear.

After 13 years of research in the sector, IBRS consultant Joe Sweeney says there is one factor above all others that will determine the fate of new technology in a school. There is one person that will largely be responsible for its success or failure. One linchpin: the principal.

“It’s a really strong correlation,” Sweeney says. “That’s not because of some magical mathematical formula. It’s because human beings – in this highly complex and fragmented culture that is education – really need a strong leader at a local community level, and that role is the principal,” he says.

Given the complexity of ICT options available – a seemingly ever-expanding universe – principals may be overwhelmed by the challenge of ICT planning. However, it’s where their leadership is needed, to engineer a focus on student learning outcomes amid the competing interests of different stakeholders.

Without strong leadership, schools risk wasting money on technology that will “rot on the vine” – something Sweeney has, unfortunately, seen “time after time”.

Room for improvement The state of ICT planning in some segments of the education market leaves a lot to be desired. Anittel WA state manager Sam Meegahage says he is still amazed by the number of schools he visits that have no

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current ICT plan at all.

“They might have a plan they are working on, or they pull out a plan from 2009, back when the Rudd government was giving out funding to schools on the basis of having a strategic plan – a lot still have that plan and still refer to it.”

Computelec solution architect Dallas Hindle says while schools may have a plan, there is a difference between having one and actually using it effectively.

“There might be a five- or eight-year-old ICT plan sitting on the shelf that’s been printed out, but no one actually has an electronic copy; it’s just been a box that’s been ticked for an audit because someone asked for it,” he says.

Meegahage says sometimes schools latch on to ideas – like BYOD or adopting other forms of new technology – without really understanding the drivers for them.

“Often, it’s something they’ve heard about, or they want to follow another school but without an understanding of what they want to achieve. Unless that has been identified, and how they are going to get there, schools will really struggle.”

Hindle says poor planning can come down to a lack of experience, with many schools employing early-career IT professionals or putting teachers in charge. Or in some cases it could be time. “IT staff at schools are flat out,” he says.

“Often it’s something they’ve heard about, or they want to follow another school, but without an understanding of what they want to achieve” Dallas Hindle, Computelec

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THE MOVE TO THE CLOUD What are the benefits of using cloud-based ICT infrastructure services?

Reducing risk, by having offsite systems ready in case of disaster and/or cloud back-up or restore 60%

Accessing Software as a Service (SaaS) instead of implementing/hosting it ourselves 55%

Reducing the costs of ICT service delivery to our school community 51%

The flexibility to deploy processor/storage resources when required, fast 45%

Having our ICT infrastructure managed by remote, skilled resources armed with specialist tools 36%

We don’t see any benefits of cloud computing for our school 13%

Don’t know 2%

Source: ICT Trends in Australian Non-Government Schools 2014, Computelec

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FEATURE / BROKER EDUCATION FEATURES

ICT INFRASTRUCTURE ‘WE’VE GOT YOUR BACK END’ SAYS WA Most teachers would be thrilled if they could spend less time at the ‘back end’ of a computer, and more time in front of one doing their job: teaching students.

Glenn Veen, infrastructure and telecommunications director at WA’s Department of Education, says many teachers – particularly in smaller or regional schools – often complain they spend more time “fixing the damn things” than using them.

This is the philosophy driving the state’s approach to ICT: support schools with the back-end infrastructure they need, so they can get on with the job.

For a number of years, the state has been developing a standard operating environment – or SOE. Currently taken up by 220 WA secondary schools, it provides schools with a single virtual server, wireless and network management, and other infrastructure, such as the state-wide teacher collaboration tool, Connect.

With the back-end infrastructure taken care of, schools can seamlessly plug in their own

student-facing technologies in line with their own unique approaches.

“The SOE goes to the port in the wall, and that’s where each school’s innovation in learning starts,” Veen says. “We provide the utility base, but schools can then develop a strategic plan of their own to use technology to deliver learning.

“I think that is a very big focus, especially for a state like WA where you have 2.5 million square kilometres of dirt to look after. If we can take the complexity away, it gives more scope to deliver the core business, which is learning.”

With the back-end infrastructure taken care of, schools can seamlessly plug in their own studentfacing technologies

This is all the more reason to get serious about ICT planning. “When I go to schools and do IT strategy consulting, the reason it works is people have to stop and actually do these consulting engagements with me, and that pulls them out of the day-to-day and gives them time to stop and think,” Hindle says.

Three things before you start When the time comes to think about an ICT plan, what should you consider? Before beginning an ICT plan, education technology experts say there are a few things they would recommend principals keep firmly front of mind.

Subsidiarity Some technology is delivered more effectively at a higher level than in an individual school – and principals need to be ready to delegate. Whether it’s a Catholic diocese, a region or district, or a state, IBRS’s Sweeney says some schools need to realise they are a “franchise at best”, and that technology – like student records or payroll, for example – could be better designed and utilised by embracing the concept of ‘subsidiarity’, in which groups of schools tap into common infrastructure and benefit from scale. Sweeney recommends principals agitate for this change, rather than investing in expensive technology.

Vision No plan will make the grade without a strong vision. Datacom’s Anita L’Enfant says schools need to be clear on what learning outcomes they are trying to achieve. “Not what devices, not what accessibility. It’s about what behaviours are they trying to achieve, and how is that different in the various areas of a school, and what technology and infrastructure is necessary to make that happen?”

Computelec’s Rowena Ulbrick says it takes work to establish an educational vision.

“It’s not necessarily known or an integral part of a school culture. What the key educational outcomes will be can be quite varied

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The edu

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FEATURE / BROKER EDUCATION FEATURES

ICT INFRASTRUCTURE THE ‘TECHSPERTS’

IT support can be a challenge for underresourced schools, but a growing number are finding a tech-savvy resource right under their noses: their students.

With computers and other technology, like projectors, regularly causing in-class downtime, schools are finding that students – trained to deal with common IT problems in keeping with their own learning outcomes – can form the first line of support.

“Like chess clubs, many schools have put in place digital leaders – kids who meet regularly to learn the top things that have gone wrong with machines and the top teacher questions, and are putting together things like instructional podcasts,” says Datacom education solutions learning manager Anita L’Enfant. “Groups of students are providing the first level of support when something goes wrong.”

IBRS consultant Joseph Sweeney says the Catholic diocese of Parramatta looked at that very issue of IT support and asked how they could make the problem into a learning opportunity that delivered on learning outcomes.

The solution? Engage a vendor – Cisco Systems – to provide training to high school students, resulting in a real-world certification that allowed them to have a learning experience they valued, while also helping in the classroom. On a regional basis, over 2,000 students have undertaken the program.

“What they have done is balance the subsidiarity, by planning this across a whole group of schools – because this is the best place to plan this – giving principals a way to turn this into a learning opportunity at the same time as solving a fundamental problem at schools, which was the lack of people available.”

depending on where the school is, whether it’s a large private school or a small government school.”

Professional learning It’s one of the biggest mistakes schools make with new ICT plans – at their own cost.

Planning for professional learning is what will take your plan from static words on paper to living success in a school environment. “Sometimes schools leave it out and expect teachers to catch up, and then nothing happens, or they are not budgeting for it and when they realise they need it they can’t have it,” L’Enfant explains.

To avoid classrooms full of laptops not being used because teachers have not been trained, schools need to look at what professional learning is needed, how it should be made available to them, and ensure they have budgeted for it.

Five things to remember There are a number of other things schools need to remember when getting their ICT plans in place, which can make the difference between failure and success.

A diagnostic assessment: Creating an ICT plan is a learning journey and should start with some form of diagnostic survey designed to facilitate discussions with staff, students and parents. Involvement at this early stage will also help get stakeholders like parents on board.

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Research: Your school might be unique, but you can still learn from what other good schools are doing. Research can help schools understand how technology is already being used effectively, and help them establish some of the effective strategies that may suit their school.

2

Time horizon: Set a time horizon of two or a maximum of three years.

Experts say plans that stretch to five years will likely be outpaced by technology changes, so a shorter time horizon gives flexibility to schools.

3

Measurable goals: Schools should set measurable goals to determine the effectiveness of their strategies. Experts say these need to be tied closely to learning outcomes for students, rather than just clocking the adoption of technology or platforms for the sake of it.

4

Share it: When ICT plans are used as a shared planning tool for staff, and even shared with parents, the vision and strategy that has been created becomes more open and visible, encouraging buy-in and success.

Plans should be shared and adapted with constant feedback from stakeholders.

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A time of tension Any principal told they need to stay up to date with new developments in education technology – to understand the potential operational, educational and financial impacts on a school – may say they’ve been doing that for years.

But what if they are told they need to be better at ICT strategy than the very people they’ve hired to manage ICT – their own ICT teams? It’s a very tall ask. But it’s something that principals are being called on to achieve.

“From an infrastructure perspective, it’s a time of change,” says L’Enfant.

Referring to the cloud – now reshaping ICT planning – L’Enfant says schools are deep into rethinking what they need, and are trying to come to grips with issues like data sovereignty and protection while utilising the likes of Google Classroom, Office 365, or other collaboration and storage platforms. At the same time, teachers – galvanised by new ideas picked up from tech conferences – are becoming agents of change who want to do new things with their students.

“Principals need to be encouraging this innovation, but it’s difficult to maintain a balance between the freedom to do new things and the right thing to be doing, which may be more relevant and sensible for students,” L’Enfant says.

This is especially the case when your IT team itself may have it wrong.

“Sometimes schools with long-standing

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IT teams – there might be two or three people involved – will come to principals saying we need to do whatever it is. It might be virtual desktops, or ‘we have to have iPads’,” says Sweeney. “The problem is that often this can be résumé-driven IT for a school, rather than

them $400,000.

Principals should live by the maxim ‘Trust, but verify’, Sweeney says. “You need to be taking advice from your IT group, but also talking to other people about the decisions you are making, or whether you should be looking

“Human beings – in this highly complex and fragmented culture that is education – really need a strong leader” Joe Sweeney what is necessarily best for the learning outcomes of students. You end up with money being spent on IT infrastructure, which may work, it may even work well, but it also may not have even been required in the first place,” Sweeney says.

He gives the example of a school that wanted virtual desktops so students could work from home, and was planning to invest in a physical server to make it a reality.

Sweeney says in this case they hadn’t considered the option of renting the service from a cloud provider, which ended up saving

at a larger ecosystem, for example. You do need to challenge them when your IT team says they want to do something, not just to build a business case but to give you two other alternatives. You need to ask, ‘How else could we do this?’”

In the end, the principal is the one that has to step back and ask how a school as a whole can deliver on educational outcomes through technology and planning. “They have to take the curriculum and meet government requirements to have technology embedded in it, at the same time as figuring

out how to keep the computers running, etc.

This creates a real tension for principals.”

A principal’s role There are different styles of principal leadership in the market, and each one will need to utilise their own skills for successful ICT infrastructure planning and change.

However, IBRS’s Sweeney says there is one style that works well: those principals who are willing to become actively engaged in creating teams and technology initiatives through which students can learn more about the world.

Rather than being about the technology per se, in the constructivism approach championed by leading pedagogy pioneer Seymour Papert, technology becomes the tool through which students learn, and principals can be the example.

“When you look at it that way, the PC, the laptop, is no more important than a crayon or building blocks; it’s just one more tool of many,” Sweeney says. “Principals who get in and roll up their sleeves and demonstrate these things become the way the school is,” he says.

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FEATURE / BROKER EDUCATION SCHOOL SPOTLIGHT

WELLINGTON SECONDARY COLLEGE

GOING GLOBAL Financial strength is just one benefit of an international student program that is working wonders for Wellington Secondary College, writes Ben Abbott

IN MAY this year, a 2014 Victorian Certificate of Education graduate named Essie Ma travelled to Victoria’s Parliament House to accept recognition for excellence at the state’s annual International School Student Awards.

Honoured as International Student of the Year in the Student Leadership category, it was a special moment for Essie (Xiaoman), who came to Australia as a young international student from China to gain the benefits of study abroad.

The moment was just as important for Wellington Secondary College. Located in the Melbourne suburb of Mulgrave, the school has spent almost two decades building an international student program and is widely recognised as a leader in this area.

Essie’s accolade, following her election as Wellington’s international student captain last year, was a welcome public symbol of the program’s progress.

“As principal, I am incredibly proud of the program,” says Wellington’s Hugh Blaikie, who first joined the school in 1998 as a teacher and has for many years been instrumental in the growth of the international program.

“We are acknowledged among Victorian government schools as a best practice program. We’re an exemplar of how to organise a program, how to manage kids, and how to satisfy them in terms of both education and wellbeing.”

The school has turned the program into a core element of its broader success, with

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Essie (Xiaoman) Ma, 2014 Wellington Secondary College international student captain and 2014 Victorian international school student award winner

“There was a moment of enormous risk. We had to decide if we were going to go into this program boots and all and support it the way it should be supported” Hugh Blaikie, Wellington Secondary College benefits for school culture, community engagement, and financial strength.

With the pressures principals face, does Wellington light the way forward?

Testing the market Wellington Secondary College was first exposed to international students during

the mid-’90s push for schools to host international study tours.

“We started off in ’94 and ’95 hosting a couple of schools from Japan,” Blaikie says.

“We loved that. We had some great kids out here, and they spent some time at the school mixing with our kids and having an Australian experience.”

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SCHOOL SNAPSHOT

Wellington Secondary College has 1,600 students

This is set to grow to 1,800 within two years

There are 91 international students, including

33 from China 28 from Vietnam 11 from Cambodia The remaining students come from Hugh Blaikie with Wellington Secondary College international students

However, there was a downside. “It was incredibly labour-intensive. Because we were providing a meaningful parallel program, we had kids shadowing our Japanese visitors, and teachers taken off their allotments to provide classes.”

When the Department of Education launched its international program, the school decided to build on its experience in education internationalisation. “We got involved from the ground floor. We got accredited and started off with five or six kids from Hong Kong and Indonesia and built it from there.”

With limited resources, Wellington was able to build the program to 15 students a year, who usually enrolled in Years 8 to 10 and continued on to their VCE.

Growing the program Wellington then reached a crossroads. Would it invest and grow the program?

“We as a school had to make a decision. Did we want this program to grow, or did we want it to stabilise at that toe-in-the-door sort of level. And we took a strategic risk to commit to building the program,” Blaikie says.

In some ways, the risk was what Blaikie calls a ‘no brainer’.

“We are an incredibly multicultural school,” he explains. “We have very strong connections with the local Asian community.

Springvale has a strong Vietnamese community, the Chinese community is well represented in Melbourne, and – as we are finding out now – the Cambodian community

Hong Kong Thailand India Bangladesh Malaysia South Africa

International students account for 6% of Wellington’s student body, with strict guidelines ensuring this will never exceed a maximum of 10%

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FEATURE / BROKER EDUCATION SCHOOL SPOTLIGHT

WELLINGTON SECONDARY COLLEGE as well. So we really had an environment conducive to building on our connection with Southeast Asia.”

Today, Wellington has 91 students enrolled in its international program, the majority of whom come from China, Vietnam or Cambodia. Though they make up under 6% of the school’s overall 1,600-strong student body, they have an impact that extends well beyond their small numbers.

“They are very good role models for everyone else. They are usually very driven academically; they are ambitious and they want to do well,” Blaikie says.

The school employs a full-time director of international studies, Connie Tzelepis, who manages the entire program, from

WELLINGTON SECONDARY COLLEGE: OPERATING REVENUE, 2014 REVENUE

ACTUAL

Student resource package

$12,027,589

Government-provided DE&T grants

$1,986,682

Government grants (Commonwealth)

$19,718

Government grants (State)

$36,683

Revenue (Other)

$97,378

A financial boost

Locally raised funds

$1,610,664

Total operating revenue

$15,778,715 Source: Wellington Secondary College public financial performance and operating statement summary for the year ending 31 December 2014

VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS: STANDARD INTERNATIONAL STUDENT TUITION FEES Primary

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recruitment to managing homestays.

It has also invested in enhancing its student experience and facilities. With students required to undergo 20 weeks of intensive English language tuition, the school decided to build its own on-site capacity five years ago.

“We recognised that, rather than sending the kids off for 20 weeks of English tuition off-site to one of the local language schools – which was really a bit tough on the kids – we could have accreditation to have it on-site.”

In 2013, the school also opened a purposebuilt international centre, with dedicated offices for the director; two language assistants; social rooms for staff and students, as well as an intensive language classroom for English tuition.

The results of the investment have shown.

“I look at my data sets, and my community are very, very positive about the program the school runs,” Blaikie says.

“In terms of the learning environment, the program contributes to the ‘feel goodness’ at our school, and we are a very high performing school that is well known in the educational community for the program we run.”

Prep–Grade 6

$10,168

Junior secondary

Years 7–10

$13,489

Senior secondary

Years 11–12

$15,088

The Victorian Government collects funds from full fee paying international students, working out at just over $15,000 a year in Years 11 and 12.

“They take some of that for administration and we get a proportion of that for each kid, depending on if they are in 7–10 or a VCE kid,” Blaikie says. “It’s fair to say there is a financial benefit for the school and you multiply that by the number of kids you have got and it gives you a discretionary budget.”

Blaikie says the “significant” injection of funds allows investment in school infrastructure, with the international centre alone costing $150,000. However, more significant is the investment in extra staff, with somewhere between seven and nine extra teachers employed across the school.

And because all classes are integrated as part of one stream, all students are able to benefit.

“For example, in accounting in Year 11

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we might have three accounting classes of 15 kids per class. If we didn’t have the international kids we might only have two.

The kids are integrated across the whole school curriculum.”

However, the school made a strong commitment at the outset not to let international students impact on the needs of the school’s local community.

meeting the costs of running a school – so it is a massive risk.

“But once you take that risk and succeed, then the benefits in terms of your student profile, your results, your enhancement of the community and the financial benefits are just second to none.”

Some principals active in the market are choosing not to get themselves involved

“We were obviously concerned when enrolments are tight and budgets are tight not to exclude any local students – we were very clear on that” Hugh Blaikie, Wellington Secondary College “We were obviously concerned when enrolments are tight and budgets are tight not to exclude any local students – we were very clear on that,” Blaikie says.

“The council decided that 10% of our local cohort was to be the maximum number of international students. That was a meaningful amount giving us flexibility to build, but in no way, shape or form have we ever reached that. We then made sure that we invested whatever financial benefit we got from the program back into the school, first and foremost in terms of staffing.”

Something for everybody?

While international students have been a success for Wellington, experts at the school say it takes a significant commitment – and with that comes risk.

“We had to decide if we were going to go into this program boots and all and support it the way it should be supported,” Blaikie says.

Wellington’s approach has been to invest in success.

“A lot of principals who aren’t as lucky as I am in terms of having some discretionary income from the program would baulk at that risk,” Blaikie says.

“They might have a staffing deficit or they have got bills they have got to pay – they are literally going from term to term in terms of

in the program; they are not committing themselves to it emotionally or providing the resources required for their coordinators.

Blaikie says this is a mistake.

“My most humble advice to any principal wanting to get involved would be to weigh up if they are prepared to take the risk and support the program; if you do that and you break through, the program will support itself with interest.”

Building a balance Essie Ma achieved a VCE in the high ’90s and is now studying engineering at Monash University. While she has moved on, the program itself will only grow, with Cambodia in particular being a market targeted for growth in the state.

But there are limits. “The issue for me is maintaining a balance between international and local students. This school is incredibly popular in the community, and I am projected to be at about 1,800 students in two years,” Blaikie says. “At some point there’s going to be an infrastructure bursting in terms of canteens and toilets and rooms; that’s an issue I have to consider.

“I’m certainly looking for a middle ground between maintaining the program and providing the opportunity for our local families to enrol here with ease.”

INTERNATIONAL MARKETING SUCCESS Personal service sets Wellington Secondary College apart from many of its local competitors, with annual in-country travel in Asia a part of its commitment.

Director of international studies Connie Tzelepis travels to China every April, and visits Cambodia and Vietnam in August, accompanied by principal Hugh Blaikie.

“That is one of the most powerful experiences you as a principal can have – meeting a parent of one of our students in Ho Chi Minh City, for example, and seeing a normal mum wanting to know how their kid is going,” Blaikie says.

Well known by agents in these international markets, the school’s in-country parent-teacher interview involves packing reports, photos and example work.

The school also administers its own homestay program, rather than outsourcing to a third party, choosing to shoulder this responsibility as part of its offering.

“Connie knows every homestay family in our community, and given we have 91 kids with us, that’s quite a big community,” Blaikie says.

“We really push hard on personalised service, and that is absolute gold in terms of marketing.”

As principal, Blaikie believes it is important to provide leadership himself, as he says the Asian community views the role of principal as very important.

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PEOPLE

CAUGHT ON CAMERA

#WESPEAK CODE YouthSpark, the local arm of Microsoft’s youthcentred program that encourages children to venture towards a future in computer programming, launched #WeSpeakCode at the University of Technology, Sydney in May. Research by the company revealed that 32% of all Australian children have taken coding lessons at school, which the company found is the lowest percentage in all countries surveyed.

EDUTECH 2015

Education thought leader Dan Haesler takes the stage at Edutech 2015

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More than 8,000 educators, thought leaders and technology suppliers gathered in Brisbane for the annual EduTECH event in June. EduTECH is the largest education event in the southern hemisphere, showcasing the latest educational technology and strategies. Over 250 exhibits were featured at this year’s event.

NAO robots on display

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P-TECH LAUNCH Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced Newcomb College in Victoria as Australia’s first Pathways in Technology school. The PM said the advanced manufacturing centre would provide career opportunities for students interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education.

PM Tony Abbott meets Newcomb College students

Prime Minister Tony Abbott assesses the latest technology at Newcomb College (Fairfax News)

NAPLAN 2015 The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) released the 2015 NAPLAN results in August. The national tests showed improvements in reading, writing and grammar for students in Year 3 and numeracy for students in Year 5. NSW, Victoria and the ACT had the highest average NAPLAN scores this year, while the states showing significant improvement were Queensland and Western Australia.

Students sit the NAPLAN exam (MVA College)

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FEATURE INSIGHT / BROKER EDUCATION WORKLIFE

DAY IN THE LIFE OF… Dr Susan Stevens, principal, Loreto Mandeville Hall, Toorak

6.30am: Usually I’m awake just before the alarm at 6.30 – time to rise and don exercise clothes for the gym. It’s Tuesday morning, and I look forward to the two times a week that I dedicate to getting an hour of exercise before going to the office. Last night, Monday, was School Council meeting, so a 10.30pm finish to the day makes it just that bit harder to get started.

7.30am: A quick shower and change, feeling invigorated anew for the day ahead. It is now time to head in to the office. My wonderful PA organises a cup of decaf coffee, and on gym mornings a piece of toast and Vegemite for breakfast. Checking emails, glancing at the paper, having listened already to the news in the car, and checking texts ensures connection with what might be the important matters arising for the day.

8.10am: Time to walk out to … ‘the Gate’. This is the main point of entrance to the school for students of Years 7–12. Whilst younger students are greeted every single day by the head of Rathfarnham Junior School, whenever possible I stand at the gate for 20 minutes to say good morning to the girls as they arrive.

8.30am: Chapel Assembly – every morning a year level gathers in the Chapel of Christ the King for a liturgy, led by the students, incorporating prayer and singing. Today it is Year 10s, and I participate with the girls at Chapel.

of annual performance reviews for senior teaching staff and some non-timetabled staff.

Mandeville Centre. This will be opened in the next few weeks.

10.30am: Morning recess. This incorporates

3.30pm: Staff meeting. This afternoon the

a briefing for staff as they gather for coffee and morning tea. I address them informally regarding any matters of importance that need special mention. Morning briefings are often characterised by good news, and are the opportunity for me to thank staff for something extraordinary that they have done.

In schools, the extraordinary is achieved every day, in some way.

staff meeting – run by the deputy principal – is about the process of peer coaching, and how this works in an educational environment.

The entire academic staff is in attendance.

11.00am: Today visits to classrooms are scheduled, and with joy I call in to Years Prep, 1 and 2, and a number of classes in the Senior Science Centre. This allows for important connection with students, and the chance to see the teachers in action.

and this morning I’m conducting a series

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Council residential in-service workshop. We will be discussing the priorities that fit within the framework of our 2020 Vision. I’m looking forward to this opportunity to explore the key issues moving forward and to hearing our keynote speaker, Brian Croke.

6.00pm: A Rowing Club meeting. Rowing is an extremely important sport at Loreto Toorak, and the goodwill of the Rowing Committee

“In schools, the extraordinary is achieved every day, in some way” 12.30pm: Lunchtime, and today is my regular meeting with my two Captains of School. This meeting is always a highlight in my week, and my Captains arrive with news from the councillors’ meeting, reporting on what directions the senior students would like to take in the leadership of the school. It is a joy to meet with them to hear, and action, their ideas.

2.00pm: A strategic planning meeting with

8.45am: Term 3 is the time for staff reviews,

5.00pm: Prepare for the forthcoming School

the School’s Property Committee to discuss the completion of our new building, the

permeates the whole. I attend the first 30 minutes of the meeting to show support and thank committee members.

7.30pm The Oak Parlour Recital commences at 7.30pm in the historic mansion that is Mandeville Hall. Wild horses could not keep me from attending this concert, held once each month in the Oak Parlour, a stunning oak room housing a Steinway, two harps and a period harpsichord. What a perfect end to a busy day. How blessed are principals to work with young people.

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LIFESTYLE

FAVOURITES

FAVOURITE THINGS Dennis Yarrington, president of the Australian Primary Principals Association (APPA) Weekend relaxation: Visiting a market and selecting fresh and delicious foods for a picnic.

Hobby: I also enjoy the chance to swing dance to big band favourites like ‘In the Mood’.

Pasttime: The opportunity to escape the hectic work world to the world of the vegie garden. The mind can wander and I can experience the awe of growing something from a seed to harvest, and then to the table.

Holiday destination: How does a busy principal relax? Go on a cruise and sit on a Pacific island!

Sport: Having played AFL in my past, I enjoy watching and supporting my team, the Swans. One of the special things I like to do is attend the Boxing Day cricket test at the MCG. It's a full day of experiences and entertainment.

Food: I enjoy the chance to cook and after trips overseas, develop a skill in cooking a speciality for family and friends. My favourites are gyoza, okonomiyaki, pasta and a slow cooked meal (French stew or osso bucco).

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