Three more pieces of video footage to help illustrate to you the ways we have been using the SMART Table in my classroom. In this post I also explore some of the topics arising from what is displayed.
Victorian Jigsaw – Media Application – SMART Table from Tom Barrett on Vimeo.
This is a simple little activity I created based upon our Street Child, Victorians unit. I used SMART Notebook and the line tool to lay a square grid over an image. I then copied parts using Notebook screen capture and the guidelines to help. I then pasted these into the Media application. Simple jigsaw. Unfortunately the default setting in the Media application is to have magnification or zoom and ideally for the jigsaw idea I wanted none. This is not currently possible, however I set it to the lowest I could.
It was amazing to watch this pair of children take such care over the placement and size/rotation of each part. They showed great skill and engagement with the activity, all the more interesting as there were no instructions nor have they had any sort of training in manipulating the images.
Musical Instruments – SMART Table from Tom Barrett on Vimeo.
In this video a small group of children are using the Hot Spots application to identify the names of different musical instruments. The application allows the user to move word labels (you see in the first part for the video) and also pictures. Once one set of hot spots have been completed it moves onto the next set if available – once finished it returns to the main screen.
In my experience four children is the maximum for junior children to work together. Ideally it would be less because you have to divide the space, the screen real estate and the number of questions by your users. Too many people around it and engagement dwindles.
These are simple activities but they take a long time to create – unfortunately the time the learners are engaged is reduced because of the multi user scenario. Four children working on a task takes less time to complete then just one child. The payoff for the teacher in this example is small. I have to generate lots of activities and examples to engage all of the learners for a significant amount of time. Currently the SMART Table Toolkit does not allow me to quickly create high quality content in Hot Spots.
Perhaps this is another unforeseen situation arising from multi user learning activities, that it is not sufficient to generate the same amount of content for a single user and then just expect it to be divided up by the children at the table. Content creation needs to be streamlined so that you can quickly make a large range, with depth, that will engage each learner adequately.
Addition Application – SMART Table from Tom Barrett on Vimeo.
I like how this application encourages children to work together. Even though the maths is simple, they have to rely on each other to be successful.
Interestingly what tends to happen is one person from the group takes the lead and directs others. Not something they are told to do, but some just take charge and solve the question quickly and instruct others what to do.
Such a group dynamic makes users passive or active, so it is possible that children don’t engage with the maths directly but engage with the person who tells them what to do. I have seen this application being used by lots of groups of different children from my class (ages 9 or 10) and a leader always emerges. In those instances when the group does not have a leader then two scenarios tend to play out:
- Children look at the problem, solve it themselves and each take the lead to solve it, this conflict then leads to confusion with the input of the answer. Individuals place their fingers on the table at the same time and then without really saying much expect others to adapt to what they have inputted.
- The group talk about the solution and then between them they each contribute something towards the answer. I believe that this scenario is clearly the best to engage all learners and comes with experience from using the application. Those who have used the activity before tend to add one or two fingers when the answer may well be small enough to answer on their own – thus drawing in other members of the group to complete the solution.
- Group dynamics when using the table need to be carefully considered, not just as the activity takes place but when generating content as well. Are all the learners engaged?
- There seems to be no learning curve to some applications of multi touch. There is a powerful intuitive element that allows children to engage with the learning without any barriers. The technology has transparency.
- The novelty wears off quickly. It is what you do with the medium that counts. Content generation will be a crucial aspect over the next year or so. A catalyst to the maturity and sustainability of multi touch devices in the classroom will be how quickly teachers can make high quality content.
Hi Tom
Impressive videos – have you tried video jigsaws on the smart boards? I’ve put one online (draft version) at http://www.cleo.net.uk/resource/j
Roger
I think your comments about the group dynamics are very interesting. It seems to me that although there are limitations with the activities at present there is a real opportuntity to begin the process of children reflecting on how they worked together! This after all is one of the most important and difficult skills to teach in school. I wonder if filming them and watching their interactions would help further the children’s own emotional and learning intelligence?
[riffly_video]8802F69E452911DEBD1B56AE9338EE5B[/riffly_video]
Thanks for the thoughtful reply, Tom. Glad to see that you’re staying critical about the new toys, as well as willing to experiment with them to see what they could accomplish. I look forward to your upcoming reports on using this device to do something that really could not be conveniently done without it, which also has a pedagogically meaningful role in the learning environment you’re building.
I think that there is huge potential in networking devices and then getting groups to work together towards a common goal. This is very much what Durham university have been exploring, not just one device in isolation but a whole environment of multi touch/user.
As a software developer explained to me recently unless they have first hand experience of using a table, or have an alternative method to replicate multi touch behaviour away from a table, then it is difficult to create content making the most of the features.
Hi Tarmo,
thanks for your comment – there is huge limitations on what can actually be created at the moment as a go through the motions of using the SMART Table Toolkit. There is little to do with gestures or a suite of movements for certain instructional or group led actions. The activities do provide the children with immediate feedback on their choices, whether through a label snapping into place or if complete then a simple congratulations being flagged up.
The key is that they are working on one device simultaneously – but you are right to point out the “what would be the point?” question. The true power of the device is apparent when manipulating video and images in the Media application.
http://www.vimeo.com/4374988
The children could not do this in any other way, but that question still rings in my ears when I think about the effectiveness of the device. If there is not true depth to what is being done, then the novelty of that style of learning will also wane.
Other then the Media application I am still looking for the truly transformed learning experience and not just the replacement learning activity. Early days though.
This may be a silly question, but what exactly is the benefit of using an expensive SMART table? Of the videos shown, tasks 1 and 2 would actually be easier to do using physical paper cutouts. And students could actually design their own assignments using printed images from the net, then have other groups attempt to solve them, providing a completely different pedagogical experience.
Even task 3 could be recreated using physical objects, eg. different size areas or boxes, and stacking them together. Right now the assignments seem quite contrived and done using the limitations of the new device.
As you said youself, the novelty effect wears off quite quickly. So what would be the point? Do the students actually get to do activities that would be impossible or difficult to do without this device?
What is interesting, of course, is the group dynamic – the activities are “cleaner” than in the physical world i.e. the equivalent with bits of card cannot be dropped on the floor etc etc.
But imagine this as a model for interactive working away from the table i.e. the table can be used to scaffold those dynamics when similar co-operative, co-creative or collaborative learning takes place in the physical world with different resources.
Video documentation of this process is fascinating and it’d be interesting to set up similar physical world activities and see if the dynamic can be transposed?
So as the novelty wears off what interventions and facilitation is needed – perhaps a way forward would be software content that encourages co-construction of resources by the pupils themselves around content outlining differentiation of collaborative making but differentiated tasks. Or collaboration at distance with learners on other tables elsewhere in the world?
Do you know of any school counselors or psychologists who are using the SmartTable for small-group activities?
The SIDES project (Shared Interfaces to Develop Effective Social Skills) project used Diamond Touch multi-touch, multi-user table used for social skills activities with middle-school youngsters with Asperger’s Syndrome.
In the past, I led counseling groups for elementary school children who had difficulty with social and cooperative skills. Everything was done around the table. It would be interesting to transform some of my activities to the SmartTable for this purpose.
I found that cooperative learning techniques were good for some of my group activities, especially when I worked with young children who also struggled with literacy. It would be interesting to see how the SMART Table might support this instructional method.
Hi David thanks for your comment – the area of content development is really crucial. Currently the content visible in the videos is made through the SMART Table Toolkit – a content generator for teachers.
Currently the table is very much a standalone device, 3rd party apps negate the multitouch capacity of the table. A wifi card would be ideal for it to be networked.
I have installed Google Earth and run the internet on ours and if I have some time I will explore your suggestions but the essential multi-touch has gone remember. There is still much to explore with 3rd party apps and what they might be like on the SMART Table.
Thanks Simon, the sense of managing the dynamic and being aware of it before letting the children begin the activity is key. As you suggest deciding upon types of group members will help.
Hi Tom,
Very interesting. We haven’t yet seen how our maths games work on the SMART table. That is, do they work (they are Flash)and if so, what reaction do they get in that context.
If you can pull up the Playground samples from our website on it, I’d be most interested in your feedback. if you need another format then let me know.
Thanks
David
Good set of vids, well done Tom.
I am sure the group dynamics are a massive factor in the learning that occurs in these situations. The tables look great tools, I’m guessing that with time the applications will definately appear. It reminds me of when MyWorld first appeared there was so much scope and many a weekend was devoted to making more resources for it.
I wonder if all passive children were placed at the table how a leader would become apparant and how this situation would make them feel? A real confidence builder?
Thanks for sharing.