Game-based learning

Computer game based learning is being used and developed in Scottish classrooms because, according to Scottish Education, research is beginning to suggest that computer games can help motivate learners and produce a successful learning environment.

"Game based learning resonates with today`s learners because games are a key aspect of their digital culture. " Yes, that may be true for many learners but is it a justification for introducing computer games into schools as part of their learning?  

 

Anthony Salcito, Global Vice-President for Education at Microsoft, (in the video above) definitely thinks so, but he would, wouldn`t he?

According to Mark Prensky (founder and CEO of Games2Train) today`s young people become native in understanding ICT-based consumables. Worryingly, Mark Prensky believes that amongst other things, learners develop a preference for graphics before text. In a curriculum like Curriculum for Excellence which purports to encourage literacy across all areas, that seems to be a bit self defeating and could be an argument against game based learning.

Other potential problems include the fact that students who play games thrive on instant gratification and frequent rewards; and are less interested in `serious` work. They can also be highly addictive. So there would have to be some very good reasons for introducing games into the classroom.
PDF file: Marc Prensky Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants (2001)

Here`s Education Scotland:

"The huge global trends in learning, away from one size fits all towards personalisation, away from age phases towards ‘no age limits’, away from simple notational assessments towards new media-based e-portfolios, and away from individual towards collaborative, opens up a wide embrace to cerebral learning games. Education and games are literally starting to speak the same language." http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/usingglowandict/gamesbasedlearning

Now what kind of language would that be ?

Returning to Anthony Salcito:  The fundamental role of a teacher is no longer to deliver information. .. the teacher fundamentally is now changing the way in which the students are learning...learning skills redefine how we assess learners ....from a content-based subject based world - to assess the learning process. (And to assess the personalised learner, of course !)

The language being used is progressive:

self directed
active learning
personalised
problem solving
critical thinking
collaborative
motivating
creative learning experience
social constructivism. (The learner creates their own meaning)

Toby Young, author of `Prisoners of the Blob: why most education experts are wrong about nearly everything` makes a good case against progressive education.

Progressive education sounds modern but it is a belief system with a 200 year old history dating back to the Romantics: "After three decades of research, cognitive scientists have concluded that abilities like critical thinking and problem solving cannot be taught to children as stand-alone, abstract `skills`. They can only be taught alongside subject knowledge." The reason for that is the very limited capacity of working memory.

"A child who knows a lot about video games can think critically about video games, but not another subject that he or she knows little about. To imagine that children can learn the ‘skill’ of critical thinking in one subject and then apply it to another, regardless of how scant their knowledge is of that subject – or to believe that it can be taught as a stand-alone abstract discipline – is simply wrong. Broad comprehension – being able to think critically about a wide range of subjects, ... requires a broad base of knowledge." 
http://www.civitas.org.uk/pdf/PrisonersofTheBlob.pdf

The cynical view is that these modern ideas, which are not modern at all, are about getting rid of that knowledge base. When the aim is to control the global population it is best that they are unable to figure out what their intended global leaders are about.

Neglect: the perennial issue for social workers

Here comes the moral panic:

Neglect is a perennial issue for social workers, but the recent serious case review of Abigail, a three year old girl with severe developmental delay, has reinforced just how difficult it is for social workers to deal with.

Abigail was never put onto a child protection plan. She was admitted to hospital in November 2012 with malnutrition, anaemia and weak bones, as well as severe nappy rash and head lice. At nearly three years old she was unable to walk. Both her parents were convicted of criminal neglect earlier this year.

Gary Walker, a solicitor specialising in child abuse claims points out Abigail’s case was characterised by an incident-led approach. Because each incident alone wasn’t severe enough to reach child protection thresholds, this created "systemic paralysis, not allowing social workers to go any further in seeking help from other professionals." 

http://www.communitycare.co.uk/2014/11/18/tackling-neglect-longer-job-social-workers/

In the same CommunityCare article, here comes the solution:

"Social workers are not the only people in communities who can help families- it has to come from schools and education and welfare officers."

Children’s teams are now having to rely on agencies like schools, which have contact with the child no matter what, to hold the ring on neglect...

"Teaching assistants are just doing this and getting on with it, but it needs to be shared and recorded."

Hollows says a clear and agreed communication strategy between all agencies would help, but the reality is the responsibility for recognising signs of neglect cannot fall to social workers alone.

Now, if social workers have a problem identifying sustained physical neglect of children, why would the Westminster government introduce the Cinderella Law to make emotional neglect a criminal offence - unless, of course, it is the sharing and recording of information, and the communication strategy which is the important factor? Think about how much more intimate the questioning and recording will be once the integrated services start looking for emotional neglect.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-27693587

Meanwhile social services are in a shambles due to the recession.

It’s all good in theory, and hard to object to when it is being presented so persuasively, but the reality is that we have been working collaboratively in a multi-disciplinary team for years, and the ‘new ways of working’ don’t feel new at all. It’s more about rebranding, than a fundamentally new approach.

The new targets being set are so excessively high that it seems people have confused collaborative working with magic!

http://www.communitycare.co.uk/2014/11/12/social-work-diary-call-service-transformation-like-decimation/ 

See also `Undercover social worker`
 http://nationaldeathservice.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/childs-death-would-not-matter-social.html

Cumbria County Council tried to suppress information about death of Poppi Worthington

"Facts about the death of a 13-month-old girl should be kept a secret because of the risk of embarrassment to social workers or police officers, a council demanded in court."

"Lawyers for Cumbria County Council tried to suppress all information about the death of Poppi Worthington on the grounds it would be unfair to reveal shortcomings of public agencies, it was revealed yesterday."

"Details of how the local authority pressed for the death to be hushed up to protect its own staff were made public as High Court judge Mr Justice Peter Jackson ruled that the facts must still remain secret, nearly two years after Poppi died."

"The judge said this was to prevent interference with any future criminal trial and to avoid identification of Poppi’s five siblings. However, the information blackout demanded by lawyers for Cumbria went much further and was aimed at protecting its own staff from criticism, according to the papers highlighted by the judge yesterday."

"In its call for secrecy in July, the council wanted to keep all facts about the death and the name of the child from public knowledge for 15 years..."

"Cumbria County Council said it was ‘unable to comment at this time’."

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2810262/How-council-tried-baby-s-death-secret-protect-social-workers.html#ixzz3JHZNMEvI

Mother imprisoned after obtaining treatment abroad for her ill daughter

"When British mother Mary Kidson took her seriously ill daughter to a world-renowned doctor in Belgium in the hope of finding a cure, she could never have imagined the extraordinary events that were to follow."

"When she returned to the UK, Ms Kidson, an expert in the field of special educational needs, was astounded to find herself imprisoned and prosecuted – accused of trying to poison her daughter."

"Then, to her horror, the child was taken from her and was subsequently placed in psychiatric care. Now Ms Kidson is free again, following the collapse of the case against her at Worcester Crown Court last week, and is relieved to have her name cleared."

"But, speaking for the first time about her ordeal, the 55-year-old says she is furious that charges were brought in the first place, and devastated she has yet to be reunited with her 16-year-old daughter.
In particular she blames the NHS for operating rigid rules about treatment that allowed the prosecution to take place – but also her former husband, Michael Guilding, who she believes needlessly reported her to the police."

"‘It’s unbelievable what I’ve been through,’ she says of a case that has echoes of Ashya King, whose parents fled abroad to seek proton treatment for his cancer and ended up in prison in Spain...."

"‘I’m very angry with the way the Crown Prosecution Service, social services and the police all dealt with this. They formed an opinion of me without even meeting me."

"‘The whole case raises the question of a parent’s right to find treatment outside the NHS for their child. Adults have total freedom to go wherever we want in the world for our health care but if you’re a child it seems only the NHS can treat you.’"

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2817084/Poison-daughter-No-trying-CURE-Mother-jailed-child-cruelty-rejecting-NHS-care-seek-treatment-foreign-clinic-teenager-s-hormone-therapy.html#ixzz3JEkeQF8H

Elm guest house abuse and possible murder

Scotland Yard investigate claims of widespread paedophile ring. Getty

"Scotland Yard detectives investigating claims of a historic Westminster paedophile ring with links all the way to Number 10 have uncovered new evidence of a possible murder."

"Investigators looking into claims raised by MP Tom Watson of a sex abuse gang with links to government that operated 30 years ago have also been made aware of alleged non-sexual abuse as well as a possible murder."

"The Metropolitan Police Service said in a statement: "Over the past month, detectives working on Operation Fairbank within the Met's Specialist Crime and Operations unit have been made aware of allegations concerning serious non recent sexual abuse, said to have occurred over 30 years ago."

"Our inquiries into this, over subsequent weeks, have revealed further information regarding possible homicide. "Based on our current knowledge, this is the first time that this specific information has been passed to the Met."

"The reputed homicide emerged after Watson used parliamentary privilege to allege that evidence used to convict child protection expert Peter Righton of importing child pornography in 1992 contained "clear intelligence" of a paedophile ring."

"In an interview with the BBC, one of the alleged victims, now in his forties, claimed that "senior military and political figures" had been involved in the abuse of youngsters in the 1970s and 1980s homed at the Elm Guest House in Barnes, south west London."

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/westminster-murder-police-investigating-sex-abuse-gang-linked-no-10-uncover-possible-murder-1474892

See also http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/i-watched-tory-mp-murder-4636497

 

British parents speak out against forced adoptions

"Britain’s social services are "unique" in the European Union for "threatening and bullying" parents who speak out against the forced adoption or "snatching" of their children, MEPs have said."

"The comments were made after a group of British parents who lost their children to social workers or forced adoption took their plight to the European Parliament’s petition committee on Tuesday, which makes representations to the European Commission. "

"One man from south east England, who cannot be named due to court injunctions, told The Telegraph that he was threatened with arrest if he complained to the Brussels assembly’s about his son being forcibly put into care. "

"These authorities are like the modern Nazis," he said. "I was told I could be arrested for protesting over my son being forcibly placed in care."

"The parliament’s committee condemned "unacceptable" moves to pressure people from giving evidence to MEPs at a time when most complaints about forced adoption or the unjust loss of children to social services are coming from Britain."

"In my experience, the UK is unique in Europe for the secrecy of its family courts and for the threats and bullying by authorities of parents who want to speak out about their treatment," said Tatjana Zdanoka, a Latvian MEP."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/eu/11225026/Parents-fight-British-social-services-gag-to-petition-European-Parliament.html

Challenge to state guardian legislation

"A legal fight in Scotland’s highest civil court starts today to block an SNP plan to assign every child a state guardian over claims it rides roughshod over parents’ rights to raise their children how they see fit. "

"Judge Lord Pentland is to examine the lawfulness of the measure, contained in the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act, which assigns a "named" person such as a teacher or health visitor to anyone aged under 18."

"The No To Named Persons (NO2NP) campaign group has brought the action, arguing that SNP ministers exceeded their powers and breached both data protection laws and the European Convention on Human Rights. "

"Aidan O'Neill, a senior human rights lawyer, is expected to argue during the four-day judicial review at the Court of Session that the legislation represents an "unjustified interference" into private and family life. "

"The campaign warned last night that the standard of proof for intervention had been reduced to the extent that the state could gain "unbridled access to every living room in the land" and warned parents’ role could be reduced to that of "assistant" to the state."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/11221902/Legal-fight-starts-over-SNP-state-guardian-for-every-child.html

A lot of upset people making comments !

Observing behaviour in school

Mr Russell, Scottish Education Secretary, is on the record as saying that he wants to drive forward a culture change in Scottish education to ensure new technologies can be embedded into learning. He was particularly interested in ipads and androids at the time.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-18081005

A more recent article in the Huffington Post by Sarah Wike Loyola pours scorn on traditional methods of teaching. "Historically, the teacher has been the omniscient presence in just about every classroom in the world. They were the only ones who possessed the all-mighty knowledge which was passed on to their yearning students." She goes over the oft repeated criticism that pupils cram facts into their short term memories to pass the exam and then quickly forget.

Ms Loyola continues: "Okay class, let's review. For thousands of years, there have generally only been two sources of knowledge in a classroom: 1) the teacher; and 2) the text book."  She suggests these sources of knowledge are going to decline in a few years because a more powerful tool for learning has arrived: the internet. Teachers will soon become facilitators -  `guides on the side`. "The hard truth is that the tech-savvy students of today do not want to be lectured to about facts they can instantly find with the click of a button on their smart phones."

All of this is supposed to lead to students who can address the big global questions like: "What is the greatest challenge facing our planet and how can we solve it?" They do this by researching the internet, thinking critically and using their creativity - which does seem a bit of a stretch.

Ms Loyola finishes off by saying: "For teachers, the hardest part is letting go of control in their classrooms."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sarah-wike-loyola/the-most-powerful-tool-in_b_6012136.html

The Sutton Trust has recently produced a report: `What Makes Great Teaching` which casts some doubt on the views expressed by Ms Loyola. The Trust reviewed over 200 pieces of research to identify the elements of teaching with the strongest evidence of improving attainment.

The two factors with the strongest evidence of improving pupil attainment were

"teachers` content knowledge, including their ability to understand how students think about a subject and identify common misconceptions."

"quality of instruction, which includes using strategies like effective questioning and the use of assessment."

Common practices which were not supported by evidence include:

"allowing learners to discover key ideas by themselves."

http://www.suttontrust.com/researcharchive/great-teaching/

Ms Loyola is also confused about the role of memory in learning. According to cognitive scientist, Daniel T Willingham, `memory is the residue of thought` and we actually can remember more than we realise. Implying that acquiring knowledge is a waste of time and pupils have no inner life worth enriching, is highly suspect.

http://www.aft.org//sites/default/files/periodicals/willingham_0.pdf

There is an even darker side to the imposition of technology into the classroom and that is that pupil activity can be monitored and recorded like never before. I believe it is that aspect of technology which Mr Russell and his like are really excited about. See an example below:

　
http://images.pearsonclinical.com/images/Assets/BOSS/BOSS-Webinar-Handout-10-2013.pdf

Wanless & Whittam HASC 11th November 2014

The 114 missing files have not been found and the Wanless and Whittam report could not reach any conclusions about a possible Home Office cover-up.

Prime Minister David Cameron has said: "It is important that it says that there wasn't a cover-up. Some of the people who've been looking for conspiracy theories will have to look elsewhere..."

But that is not what the Wanless and Whittam report says.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4, Mr Wanless has said that Cameron was wrong to dismiss a cover-up based on the limited investigation that took place...

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/will-black/child-abuse-wanless-review_b_6143070.html

　

See also https://twitter.com/ciabaudo

Global citizenship

http://www.weforum.org/

 

From the World Economic Forum:

"Launched in November 2014, the Think Tank Leaders Forum is a community comprising 25 of the leading policy and research institutes from across the globe. It features thought leaders with expertise in issues that include geopolitics, global governance, economics, science & technology, the environment, and society & human development."

"The aim of the community is to facilitate analysis and discussion of important global issues by thought-leaders from the policy/research community. It also aims to give these leaders and institutions access to leading policy-makers, and help them to shape policy on issues that are critical to peace and growth."

"In 2011, the World Economic Forum started a global network of people between the ages of 20 and 30 who have shown great potential for future leadership roles in society ..."

"As of 21 October 2014 there are 358 Hubs with more than 4,300 Shapers."

From Wikipedia:

"Professor Emeritus at MIT Noam Chomsky, an American linguist and outspoken intellectual, has characterized the term "globalization" as propaganda when used in connection with trade policies advanced by the World Economic Forum:"
"Take the World Social Forum, called 'anti-globalization' in the propaganda system—. The WSF is a paradigm example of globalization. It is a gathering of huge numbers of people from all over the world, from just about every corner of life one can think of, apart from the extremely narrow highly privileged elites who meet at the competing World Economic Forum, and are called 'pro-globalization' by the propaganda system. An observer watching this farce from Mars would collapse in hysterical laughter at the antics of the educated classes."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Economic_Forum  Let us hope that those who push global citizenship in Curriculum for Excellence are paying attention.