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Make way for the computer – Maths Curriculum research

The JMC (Joint Mathematical Council of the UK) has published their research entitled ‘Digital technologies and mathematics education’, September 2011. Find the executive summary here and the full report here.

For me, the main finding in this research is, with my highlights:

6.7 With respect to the content of the new mathematics curriculum, it should include: • the specification of the knowledge and skills required to use digital technologies within mathematical modelling and problem solving activities across a range of subject areas; • student-led mathematical modelling and problem solving, which make use of the powerful mathematical digital technologies that are widely used in society and the workplace; • a component of computer programming, interpreted in the widest sense of creating and communicating a set of instructions to a computer for a clear purpose.

I discussed here how Maths might be the only way to quickly advance the experience of computing in UK schools. These recommendations mean it might, just might, become some sort of reality. At least it is being acknowledged on a national level by those who help shape the Maths curriculum. Maths already has over 10% of the timetable in our school.

Fingers crossed!

Maths and Nature explained

Have your pupils ever asked you to explain how Maths is relevant to real life? There are many responses to this but this one was so compelling I felt I had to share it here.

Maths explained by Nature – or vice versa

The explanation of all this mesmerising content is mathematically explained here.

Enjoy!

Repairing gadgets

My stepson turns 17 this week.

The economic climate dictates it might not be his best haul of presents. To his credit, he has asked for things to be repaired. My experience of sourcing the cheapest way to get these repairs done is why I am writing.

Items:

Sony PS3

iPod Touch 2nd Generation

iPod Classic 5th Generation

The PS3 repair filled me with dread. When he bought it we had to get a total of three new ones under warranty because the blue-ray player did not work. This was the same. The disk could not be read.

I used http://gumtree.com to locate a local repair man. I rang Danny on a mobile number (FYI: 07508 698 845, he does all gaming consoles). It all seemed a bit dodgy but I ended up travelling three miles (Harrow) and having a cup of coffee in a greasy-spoon whilst I waited for Danny to repair the machine in his bedsit. He did an excellent job. £40.00.

My partner handled the iPod Touch. She phoned a company found online. It had two faults (cracked screen and only one ear working on headphones) and they quoted £51.00 + p&p. iPod was sent away in good faith. Received an email three days later to say the repair would be £170.00 because the logic board needed replacing as well. I spoke to the company and they claimed the device would not turn on even with a new battery in it. The device worked before it was posted. I felt like I was being conned because one of the options was for the company to dispose of the device on our behalf. I paid for it to be returned to us. I plugged it in and it worked, showing the battery as fully charged and the iPod worked fine. When I removed the cable it turned off. I cannot say for certain what has happened. Only it did work before it went and it didn’t when it arrived home. The company is called The iPod Clinic (http://www.theipodclinic.co.uk/FixMyiPod.aspx). This device is yet to be repaired.

iPod 5th Gen was repaired by a local company called Gizmo Repairs based in Acton, London W3 (they do online repairs too). They wanted £35.00 to replace the LCD screen which had lines across it. The repair was done the same day, but not without hitches. They phoned me to say the logic board was broken on this one as well. However, I actually showed him the device working before I handed it over. He replaced the logic board for free. This will be my stepsons new music device because my partner no longer needs it.

Repairs are better than buying new kit. The repair services on the Internet are many and, as I experienced, once the device is out of your hands, you are at the mercy of the good faith of an Internet business and you don’t know how good they are (always a good idea to search for company reviews before sending away – which we had not done). I spoke to one company who apologised for their website being out of date. It was one of 75 websites they kept. I assume this is an online service business tactic. Customers are not likely to click on any one website so make several different sites that all connect to the same service at the back-end. Then get your SEO right and Google will help make sure one of your sites is the chosen online service.

It also suggests that the world of technology consumption might slow down. Once everyone has a device that does what you need – create, store and consume digital media – people may think twice before buying new kit. My iPad 1 is fine and I do not feel the need to upgrade yet (although I would like to) and equally, the iPhone 4S is not a big enough reason to shell out the cash and upgrade from my iPhone 4. A colleague loves his Kindle but is not upgrading to Kindle Fire; however, he thinks an iPad might suit his family better.

Will you be replacing old kit with new unless there is a hardware reason for doing so?

I will be recommending the good services to all in my community, on twitter and in school.

[Image by me, in case you hadn't guessed ]

Teacher Intangibles – you can’t touch this!

The things a teacher does that you cannot count.

Each summer, NFL teams draft players from colleges around America. Losing teams get first pick of the best players. There was much debate about how high in the draft Tim Tebow would come. My stepson showed me a video of Tebow’s intangibles (will link when I find it); the things (leadership?) Tebow does that adds value to the performance of his team that cannot be measured in metres and points.

The smile. The right word at the right time. The energy you muster in the pupils before you. The belief you breathe into young spirit. How to strike the balance between firm boundaries that instill self-discipline and inspiration to fuel the drive to succeed. Poigniantly, I was discussing this with my partner and she flipped it at me citing moments when our blissful union had collapsed and I would defend my position with a list of tangibles and she could say nothing that would quantify her discipline and dedication being mother to our three (all teenagers now) – nothing to do with household chores – how she carries their lives and hearts in her mind, steering (masterfully, I must emphasise) the ship of our family.

Back to being a teacher and the contributions you make that no-one can touch. Do you plan it? Do you resource it? Thinking time? Reflecting on learning? Push them? Work them harder still? Formal or informal? Google 20% time? Mountains of work or less is more? Carefully prepared activities or spontaneity? Collaboration or solo pursuit? It is rare that the very activities you do in a classroom will make the difference. A teacher must inspire a pupil to pursue success when they are not in the classroom. A colleague of mine argues the case for drilling the pupils with exams. Everything must be exam content. I favour wider exploration.

I watched an awful film last week called Forever Strong. Larry Gelwix coached rugby in America – not an easy thing to do. 1976-2010 he oversaw 404 wins and 10 losses. He said, “I don’t build championship teams, I build championship boys.” He is talking about the individual person, not the rugby player.

I do not want to churn out pupils who get top grades on my production line. I want to inspire people to be more than what they believe to be their best.

Programming the Maths Curriculum

This was written as a response to Pete Bell’s blogpost ICT and Computing in Schools – Harness a new dawn

Show me the money (image by me)

AQA have attempted (2009)to take this issue seriously and consulted IBM, British Aerospace and other big corps to identify what they want from graduates. The answer, according to Barbara Wilson – chief examiner at the time – was business-savvy young people who understand how technology can add value to an organisation and the complicated process of implementing tech successfully. The new ICT A Level spec attempts to do this. I quite like it. Paper projects are still a problem. I hope to see the end of these shortly, but it is not easy to nurture the real-life project process without interaction (research, deliverables, testing) with users and clients. A controlled assessment approach might otherwise be a good idea. Fixed time frame. A range of problems set by the board. Effectively a practical exam.

The BIO takes this format but it is quite raw and difficult programming and I think there in lies part of the problem no-one seems to talk about. Programming is hard. [The one student I enter for the BIO - he got distinction last year - is the best mathematician the school has seen in 20 years.] I guess that’s why these conversations inevitably encourage everyone to start learning code young. I might, maybe after a pint, argue that all the visual programming simulators (Scratch et al) are doing a diservice to the cause. In Bob Noyce‘s final interview (in the 1990′s) he said that, if he were in charge of it all, he would like to “make sure we are preparing our next generation to flourish in a high-tech age. And that means education of the lowest and the poorest, as well as at the graduate school level.” I’m not sure these immediate gratification software applications are the answer. Love them as I do. The joy of programming is writing lines of code to achieve a solution to a problem – not make a game or an animation. Who would be interested in programming to visually uninteresting outcomes after the rich loveliness and quick win play of KODU.

My cigarette packet solution is the Maths curriculum. Maths is already embedded in the heart of every school and connected to programming via algorithms and logical sequencing etc. I feel that the most effective and efficient way we can impregnate coding into UK schools is via the same route as algebra and geometry. Who should we be talking to? Those in charge of Maths. What’s the probability of them saying yes? One or zero.