WEB3M: the NFT which got me into crypto

Listening and reading a lot into the crypto currency and NFT space I finally decided to take the plunge and get involved. My starting point was with WEB3M it was important for me to get involved with a project early and get involved with its community. Many projects are often difficult to get involved with both as a novice and a late comer but WEB3M had something different.

An NFT which seeks to deliver something for its holders in the metaverse and in the physical world. Although an increasing virtual landscape may take off a disconnect from the physical would be a barrier to an inclusive space. If people then adopt late this causes a tier system within this open landscape.

Now WEB3M offers a service not provided for marketeers and businesses which allows access and control of content produced as well as advertising spends. Getting an intelligent platform which suggests your best audience as well as maximising your investment across all manners of markets. Getting in early ensures that I not only get the benefit of edging my bets in the next generation of marketing but also benefit from being able to have a say in its development. When companies do make the transition to this change in advertising the WEB3M platform will be ready and waiting with benefit to its NFT holders.

So in short I got involved because of the want to be involved in the next generation of marketing, benefit from this investment and to be able to get involved early with the community.

I’m staying because it allows me a perspective of what a new NFT community wants from their investment and links to my works on identity. The community itself is vibrant and engaging sharing insights freely helping others to share and grow within this exciting opportunity. The founders have been able to answer important questions that members of the group have had and provided confidence in their growth. The engagement has been a lot of fun with all in the community and with everyone sharing daily, the community is learning and growing each day.

Blended Learning and Attendance in Schools

Over the recent summer period we saw a number of algorithmically based moderations by the UK Government which lead to learners being graded based on a calculated aptitude for their subject rather than on teachers appraisals. Whilst teachers are often those that know their students best it can be useful to include some measurements of performance based on figures such as those from attendance. Following a summer of pitfalls and disputed gradings the UK governments has decided not to use algorithms to assess learner performance. 

One of the foremost issues being encountered in the new term with the introduction of blended or distance learning (that is incorporating both face to face and distance learning components) which has become acutely clear to me is the importance of attendance and its link to attainment. I am a firm believer in the power and flexibility of home working and learning but it can be seen that there are flaws with this new system including a lack of preparedness for the new method of learning. At the start of the new term it is clear to me and many colleagues which of the new crop of learners engage regularly with the content we are providing for them and which ones have changed their habits or developed a more diverse way of working. Speck (2020) observes that many learners who were provided a clear structure and guidance over lockdown were more engaged and focused on their studies when re-entering traditional teaching. There is a great diversity across learners from different socioeconomic backgrounds which have not engaged with recommended learning but otherwise have positive home environments which were not adversely affected. However many who have had or have negative home environments are often those facing the greatest challenge when returning to the school. With many learners engaged in some form of blended learning assessing their engagement with lessons is essential to assess their performance. Doing this when the learners are at a distance is a challenge for teachers, Speck (2020) based on 3000 teachers’ opinions of the attainment gap following Covid lockdown disruption argues that this problem would increase if the learners are engaged in sessions but not actively learning. 

What is the problem with attendance and attainment in schools and colleges?. When a learner is physically in a classroom, the teacher can record them both being present and regularly assess their engagement with direct questioning. One area that can be enhanced in distance learning is regularly asking the learner questions and checking for responses. This allows for both assessing engagement and attainment of their progress. This is essential when constructing a blended lesson where some learners are physically present and others are not. The learner needs to be engaged - not simply listening. Concerns around safeguarding and GDPR must be reconciled with the use of video recording as it is imperative that teachers have some way of monitoring engagement and progress. This is also of increased concern for OFSTED as if learners are not being taught the appropriate level of content for all modules this will disadvantage a generation (Gibbons, 2020). This also ties in with worrying reports from teachers and parents that are facing anxiety with students being back in the classroom. This has resulted in more parents wanting to keep their children at home but not due to rising problems with a school's Covid status but because of articles that outline problems with secure status. Schools are working hard to manage the learners on a rota system to limit the impact to a students mental and physical health but by problem articles causing greater concern attendance of physical lessons can and have decline in some cases (Roberts, 2020). We need a solution to keep learners actively engaged and learning both when in the classroom and away from it. Otherwise we will face an environment which disadvantages our learners as they face challenges of both dealing with the effects of Covid as well as engaging with assessments which they may not understand. Just what the impact is will not be known until research has been conducted around the long term effects on cohorts of learners progressing through college and university.  The full picture of the impact may not be noticed until several years in the future but it is essential that we proactively address concerns as we become aware of them and do not become complacent. Ensuring learners are engaged in virtual and physical sessions is crucial as we navigate the “new normal” as well as looking towards future models. 2020 has been a year when we were not prepared for the effects of Covid on learning and assessments but awarding bodies will be looking to avoid making that mistake again in the future. 

Next time I will be  focusing on: Assessments for the Future.

https://www.tes.com/news/watch-teachers-worst-covid-gap-fears-confirmed 

https://www.tes.com/news/ofsted-coronavirus-schools-remote-learning-lessons-not-aligned-curriculum 

https://www.tes.com/news/coronavirus-schools-ofsted-13-schools-see-covid-led-home-education-rise 

Technology as a tool to increase teacher efficiency and learner effectiveness

Technology as a tool to increase teacher efficiency and learner effectiveness

Whilst the private sector has seen multiple products and systems innovate productivity in their workplace, educational systems have not yet developed at the same place. Yet whilst the educational sector has not seen the same rate of development in the technological areas aimed specifically at productivity and planning there has been some crossover between private and public sectors. These common themes often look at the measures of performance evaluationss of the institution and individual as well as the cost-benefit analysis for the organisation.

Outside of the educational setting where research and student successes are not the primary focus one disadvantage can be the cost of the technology. If the technology is not purchased by the organisation it is often down to individuals or students to purchase the tools. This can cause the best tools to be limited to a smaller number of students or teachers.  The crucial element with embedding technology in the classroom and planning stages is to enhance productivity and quality through tools that allow for streamlining of the workforce (De Grip and Sauermann, 2012). Another area which needs to be addressed is how do we improve teaching practices and increase the adoption of new techniques effectively. When many Continued Professional Development (CPD) or training sessions look at short one hour sessions there is little evidence to suggest that these CPD sessions do much to enhance teaching outside of advertising a new product. These short CPD sessions have a low efficacy of success in the classroom and software, hardware and training need to be embedded within the professional development of the teacher to enable growth in the classroom. It has also been found in some sectors especially in the higher education arena that a shift towards a more rounded approach to training could actually enhance learning, and educating the teacher in how to use a software product, would allow for greater individual growth as well as the application of new techniques (Shortlidge and Eddy, 2020). 

How technology is applied is equally important. Meyer and McNeal (2011) found that providing lecturers and professors with a tool is important but allowing them the freedom to shape the structure of this tool is also critical. In the current climate with online learning likely to continue to expand, technology is crucial to the growth in the education sector however, this should not take away from the creativity of the academic. In the Meyer and McNeal (2011) study they found that discussion boards and hosting platforms varied from forums to blogs or projects to support learner success. Some of the academic subjects also used these tools to create workshops for their students, external individuals and peer staff members all of which allowed for growth in the classroom and outside for both the products (qualifications) and productivity (learner success). Freeman, Haak and Wenderoth (2011) compared measures that utilised active learning and activity based learning to assess whether it bridged the gap for learners who exhibited poorer performance. It could be argued that if the elements of taught content were more closely connected to that of the assessment method it would improve the learners performance in formative assessments which can be measured over the course duration. If these events occur more regularly due to elements of repetition (which a software product can take from the lecturer material and use to automatically develop assessment material) the learner is likely to benefit from reviewing the taught material. This is also likely to save teacher or lecturer time (e.g.  by reducing marking and preparation time of this material). 

De Grip, A. and Sauermann, J., 2012. The Effects of Training on Own and Co‐worker Productivity: Evidence from a Field Experiment. The Economic Journal, 122(560), pp.376-399.

Freeman, S., Haak, D. and Wenderoth, M., 2011. Increased Course Structure Improves Performance in Introductory Biology. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 10(2), pp.175-186.

Meyer, K. and McNeal, L., 2011. HOW ONLINE FACULTY IMPROVE STUDENT LEARNING PRODUCTIVITY. Online Learning, 15(3).

Shortlidge, E. and Eddy, S., 2020. The Trade-Off Between Graduate Student Research And Teaching: A Myth?. Gale Academic.