Teaching fish to climb a tree

Historically, education could be viewed as a river, sweeping every student – in this analogy, they would be fish – along in its current. But there is much more to the world than rivers, ponds or oceans. And not all of us are fish.

While most students readily adapt to the curriculum, there are some who struggle. While they might be labelled “difficult” or “challenged” what if these students – much like a cat or a chimpanzee, neither of whom would be at home in a raging river but could climb a tree with ease – are simply more at ease with other non-traditional paths of learning?

As technology continues to revolutionise our lives in new and exciting ways, education is experiencing seismic changes that are opening entirely new ways of teaching and learning in our schools.

Along with opening students up to topics they might not otherwise be exposed to, technology allows teachers to deliver material in creative ways so that each student can learn in their own unique way and at their own pace, whether those students are a horse, owl, leopard or trout.

Two of these teachers are Michael Turner and Kerry Wallace-Massone.

Michael Turner

Winner of the 2019 NSW Premier's Teacher Scholarship for New and Emerging Technologies, Michael Turner has been a teacher at Mitchell High School (Blacktown) for 19 years. Early 2018, he moved into the role of Technology Advisor, a position that was created when his principal recognised the importance of technology in education.

Turner used his scholarship to travel throughout America seeking answers to his questions about using Extended Reality (XR) in an education context. After a conference in Los Angeles, he travelled to Orange County to meet with another teacher who uses Virtual Reality in the classroom, then on to Boston, New York City, Atlanta and finally San Francisco where he visited Google head office. Turner claims his trip was the best personal development experience he’s had, grateful for the chance to meet other inspiring teachers in his field, giving him the chance to freely share insights and inspiration as their global community pushes the boundaries of the technology in education.

Read more about Michael's trip

Turner believes Virtual Reality has huge potential in classes such as chemistry, physics or engineering. He is excited to imagine how VR can open up the world for his students, allowing them to visit different countries or even experience how people lived in Elizabethan England or explore the depths of the universe.

His students have been extremely receptive, and Turner is convinced this will only increase as VR becomes more common. While he doesn’t believe Virtual Reality will replace teachers, he does see the role of a teacher changing to become more of a facilitator, guiding students as they learn in their own unique way.

Instead of seeing VR being about consumption, Turner is excited about content creation, with students using such tools as Google Expeditions to create their own immersive 3D tours. However, he does concede that we might still be a few years and a few generations of technology away before this potential can be realised.

When it comes to introducing creative teaching techniques in the classroom, Turner encourages others to just have a go by starting out small and using what’s readily at hand. He explains that there are many free Apps on the market, and by using technology at hand – phones, tablets, etc – any initial investment can be quite small. “Being early days” he says, “it’s possible to establish yourself as an expert in the field.”

Kerry Wallace-Masson

Kerry Wallace-Massone is a technology teacher at Heathcote High School, a comprehensive co-educational Government high school in Southern Sydney.

In her current role teaching digital literacy, Wallace-Massone manages her school’s library web interface and helps students use it efficiently. She also runs a coding club to give her students hands-on learning experiences, and works with Distance Education students to support the use of technology in their studies.

With the support of her local Rotary Club and school P&C, Wallace-Massone has been able to run the “She Flies/She Maps” program for younger girls, flying drones to help solve real world problems. This aligned with her goal of introducing girls to technology as young as possible. She also recently engaged Power of Engineering to run a day for 150 girls from local high schools to inspire them with positive female role models who have exciting engineering careers, hands on engineering workshops and a site visit to see engineering in action. Wallace-Massone encourages other teachers to reach out to Power of Engineering if they want to run these totally funded days.

As a technology teacher, Wallace-Massone expects change. Heathcote High is currently taking part in the Catalyst Lab Innovation Program, which is part of the NSW Department of Education’s “Education for a Changing World” project. The lab examines the potential impact of emerging developments – such as artificial intelligence (AI) – on life and work, and the implications this raises for education.

Wallace-Massone has seen an obvious change in the girls she’s been working with in regard to the subjects they choose, how proficient they are at using a range of technologies and what they are considering as future careers paths.

She recognises that students have a much more collaborative approach these days, which encourages the idea of communities sharing resources, ideas and causes to give students a different perspective to traditional teaching. Because of this, Wallace-Massone believes it is of uttermost importance that teachers prepare their students through digital literacy and educate them on the ethical use of technologies.

When it comes to using technology in the classroom, Wallace-Massone encourages other teachers to take advantage of what is being offered, often free, by industry and various organisations. She suggests involving your community – such as Rotary and the P&C – and even partner with other schools to share costs. Look for technologies that have online learning videos to supplement your teaching, as students enjoy learning this way. From the beginning, have a conversation with students about using technology efficiently, appropriately and safely. She recommends engaging students with an understanding of how and why technology works, and promote not just being a consumer of technology but also a designer and problem-solver who uses it for better outcomes.

This quote could be referring to an education system that assumes all students learn the same way and at the same pace, penalising those who don’t fit into the neat boxes we have created. But as more and more teachers embrace innovative teaching strategies through the use of technology, the wider community can only benefit as generations of students graduate feeling that they are heard, ready to make a valuable contribution to society.

Teachers Mutual Bank recognises the importance of supporting technology in education.

Do you have stories about innovative teaching strategies in the classroom? Share them with us.