{"id":1298,"date":"2020-12-15T15:42:26","date_gmt":"2020-12-15T15:42:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ezekiels.co.uk\/eylan\/?p=1298"},"modified":"2023-01-02T13:05:15","modified_gmt":"2023-01-02T13:05:15","slug":"evolving-wonder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ezekiels.co.uk\/eylan\/evolving-wonder\/","title":{"rendered":"Evolving Wonder"},"content":{"rendered":"

Video Conferencing is ripe for evolution and, fortunately, change is coming \u2013 and it\u2019s wonder-ful.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Video conferencing (VC) tools like Zoom, which have taken over our lives since the pandemic started, have been forced into the service of our many needs. I think it\u2019s not too contentious to say that the worst fit of all is in education: especially in Primary \/ Elementary education. However, a new breed of video services offers hope, and these are exemplified by Wonder.me<\/a> \u2013 a new platform that puts social interaction first.<\/p>\n

Before I share how Wonder works, why I think it works for education, and suggest some ideas of what to do: a few thoughts on why we need change.<\/p>\n

Zooming out of the classroom<\/strong><\/p>\n

Video conferencing is built around the phone call model. One-to-one works best, but has been stretched to imagine a \u2018conference room\u2019 set up \u2013 with a carefully managed conversation around the call. While less than ideal, with some effort, it can work really well for a range of adult interactions- versed as we are with the social norms of conversation and getting stuff done. Hands up works because we understand the convention and know how to manage our enthusiasm (mostly!)<\/p>\n

\"conference

Can you imagine anything less like the ideal primary classroom?\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Unsplash image – https:\/\/unsplash.com\/photos\/Q80LYxv_Tbs<\/p><\/div>\n

Until recently, I could not see a VC platform that works for Primary children and the adults that work with them. Why? Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, etc…like most tech we use in education…\u00a0 Video Conferencing platforms are made for adult business users<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n

Kids are, by definition, still growing, learning, being socialised, understanding power\/respect, etc. They need agency to play and learn\u2026. \u00a0And, put simply, children do not have the adult skills, experience or knowledge required for video conferencing<\/strong>! More than that, Teachers have no experience guiding children through these platforms, which they rarely use and have had little or no training in. Remote teaching is very different to remote learning, as Bob Harrison often says.<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

It is true that VC platforms have all started stretching towards the needs of education, and there are new features, integrations, and some of them are starting to work better. Services like ClassforZoom<\/a> look like they are heading in the right direction \u2013 though there are key\u00a0concerns about surveillance capitalism from Audrey Watters<\/a>\u00a0we\u2019d all do well to harken to.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

However, those concerns aside \u2013 the basic model of VC remains \u2013 of static interaction, and compliance. How can children learn respect in conversation if they can\u2019t see what happens when everyone talks over each other in a group. In the best classrooms, teachers create an environment where learning happens alongside social interaction, play, socialisation, and all the other things schools do for our communities. However, when being\u00a0in<\/strong>\u00a0school isn\u2019t possible \u2013 we need better alternatives.<\/p>\n

Won\u2019t the vaccines make the need for VC in education go away?<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>I know lots of people are hoping that the vaccines will save us from lockdowns, but if there is one lesson from COVID, it is that we were\u00a0not<\/strong>\u00a0ready. We\u2019ve made progress in #edtech \u2013 but we have further to go, and we can\u2019t stop thinking about how to serve children better.<\/p>\n

Lots of organisations,\u00a0including the brilliant Edurio<\/a>, have conducted research into lockdown tech much of which seems to show that teachers are not keen on remote teaching and learning \u2013 ie using video conferencing. But I think this might be a misread of the data. I think what teachers are saying is that they don\u2019t like the existing VC platforms, as they don\u2019t yet match their needs.<\/p>\n

Wonder if\u2026<\/strong>
\nWhich brings me to Wonder.me, a new platform that is still in the very early days of development. My thanks to Dr Doug Belshaw<\/a> for the introduction and encouraging me to play!<\/p>\n

Importantly for schools \u2013 Wonder is\u00a0\u00a0free<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 and while it takes time to get your own room \u2013 Wonder say they will never charge for this first room in the future. Once you have your virtual space \u2013 it\u2019s yours for as long you want it.<\/p>\n

What does it do?
\n<\/strong>Like so many other VC platforms, groups can talk \u2013 share screens, mute, chat, etc\u2026 but this is much more than a Zoom clone.<\/h3>\n