Recently I enjoyed a wonderful day at PedagooSW where I heard +Nick Dennis talking about the Multiplier Effect* and its role in shaping the way people lead. The question is are you a genius or are you a genius maker? I was inspired by his talk and the points he had to make and I am looking forward to reading the book and exploring how I can enable my team to develop and lead more effectively.
One week later and I have had further cause to reflect on last week's talk. Interestingly my reflections are based on a classroom experience as opposed to any departmental or whole school issue. I found myself with a small year 8 class who are bright and incredibly keen to learn. We had spent time over the year learning how to talk about our past and now I wanted them to create something with their knowledge and I wanted them to be able to go beyond writing something on paper. I had one iPad at my disposal. So not a 1:1 experience at all.... more like 1: 20.
They decided to talk about the differences between now and then (when they were so much younger!) and then they would create some kind of film. Using images they found on google images and PhotoCollage they then imported into Yakit Kids where they had fun choosing the mouth and eyes for the picture. Once the picture was just as they wanted it, they then recorded their message and went through the process again with their next picture. With all the recording organised students then imported the whole thing into iMovie where they cut and edited their work and chose some background music and titles. Here's the first attempt:
For all of us, the process was a new one; we were all app smashing novices. In the absence of a class set of iPads and a way to mirror my iPad I demonstrated to my first pupil what to do. Here's where, even though it was unwittingly, the Multiplier Effect came into play. With the rest of the class to deal with, I left the first student to demonstrate to the next student how to create their video. Here's the second video:
This next student then reciprocated for the third student and so on. The process worked remarkably well and they learnt a bit more French as well as some digital skills. It was a successful experience for us all and one that I would definitely repeat. Undoubtedly the videos are excellent evidence of what can be achieved by students given the right tools. However, most of all, for me, the main lesson was realising how exciting it is to enable others to become a "genius". To help anyone to move out of their comfort zone and tackle something new and feel in control of this new skill is incredibly rewarding. There was a successful educational outcome here and I am looking forward to empowering others to do the same with their classes and their teams.
For all of us, the process was a new one; we were all app smashing novices. In the absence of a class set of iPads and a way to mirror my iPad I demonstrated to my first pupil what to do. Here's where, even though it was unwittingly, the Multiplier Effect came into play. With the rest of the class to deal with, I left the first student to demonstrate to the next student how to create their video. Here's the second video:
This next student then reciprocated for the third student and so on. The process worked remarkably well and they learnt a bit more French as well as some digital skills. It was a successful experience for us all and one that I would definitely repeat. Undoubtedly the videos are excellent evidence of what can be achieved by students given the right tools. However, most of all, for me, the main lesson was realising how exciting it is to enable others to become a "genius". To help anyone to move out of their comfort zone and tackle something new and feel in control of this new skill is incredibly rewarding. There was a successful educational outcome here and I am looking forward to empowering others to do the same with their classes and their teams.
*The Multiplier Effect: Tapping the Genius Inside Our Schools by Wiseman, Allen & Foster
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