What I know about Edtech. #3 – Bikes without Wheels

Posted on July 24, 2016 by Eylan

With 15 years of experience in the edtech sector, I’ve seen great examples and things go wrong. This is the third in a series, sharing suggestions for how to make great edtech.

Don’t see users.          See Teachers and Children.  

Don’t talk amongst yourselves.                Create in the open.

Don’t wait for a community to come to you.                      Close the loop.

If you know anything about Lean/Agile, or have heard about the Open movement (eg, Open Source, or Open Data), then the statements above will seem self-evident. However, they are far too often misunderstood or ignored by Edtech creators.

Photo by Craig Whisenhunt

Photo by Craig Whisenhunt

I have watched the Agile and Open movements grow and evolve over the years, and seen how they have transformed some parts of our digital infrastructure.  There is plenty of evidence that lean/agile leads to ‘better’ projects. While Open is more of an ideological approach that has transformative benefits for social groups, it matches the

I am not an evangelist for agile or open, though I think they are awesome. I am an evangelist for great learning experiences, and that is why I want leaner and more open edtech.

So, when I read the 37Signals manifesto their way of working seemed radical but resonant with my values and experiences working with schools. The first item in the manifesto reads:

“Users.
Sounds like a bunch of junkies or gigolos, doesn’t it?

The people who visit web sites aren’t “users,” click-throughs, hits, numbers on a spreadsheet, or some other form of dehumanizing jargon. They’re your husband, your mom, your friend, the guy who sits in the cube next to you. They’re real PEOPLE, just like you and me.

That’s why we think a successful site is one that makes real people’s lives easier; One that makes them say, “This site worked for me.” So we’ve made it our mission to ensure this kind of experience at the sites we build. At 37signals we don’t see users, we see people.”

If you forget this basic and simple principle, your project will be a bike without wheels. OK, you might create something that is successful in some ways, but it will not go as far as it could. It might even be commercially successful in the short term, but you won’t be able to shift with the people it is for. This does not mean that you build one huge solution that seeks to please everyone, for all their needs.

Build for where teachers teach and children learn. Pick a point in that relationship and make it better.  The only way to find out where these places are is to be there too. Don’t just have an engagement strategy or marketing plan: be there, now. You should have decided whether you are a step ahead of the majority of teacher, clearing the way to new pastures, or following the crowd, helping them along.

If you don’t have anyone who spends time there in your team, then you need to work even harder to build in classrooms, staffrooms, playgrounds, bedrooms, or the places that your edtech will be used, with the people who will use it.

By creating in the open, you demonstrate your commitment to the work that educators do, and to the learning that children value. You will also get feedback, when you need it, in the iterative and informed development of the edtech that you are working so hard on.

Don’t tell them you have the solution. If you get this right, they will see that it is better than the competition and shout about it because it works, and because they trust you. Be really clear about why you are doing it – answer the 5 ways – and discuss it with them

When this happens, close the loop, and make it a conversation. Don’t leave your community once you’ve got what you think you needed – talk with them.  Not as a customer service activity – but because it is polite and respectful. Say ‘Thank you’, ask them how they are doing, listen to the answers, show you understand that life is complex, and respond honestly. If you can help them because it fits with your purpose and their needs, do so. But if you have to say no, don’t be afraid. If you don’t know, say so, and explain what it is you need help understanding.

How do you build better edtech?

  • See people
  • Create in the open
  • Close the loop

I’ve helped organisations create awesome edtech, but also learned a lot of lessons from my mistakes. If you’d like to learn more from my experiences (rather than find the bear traps on your own) then let’s talk about what you are trying to achieve and how these simple principles can be applied to your context.

 

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What I know about Edtech. #2 – Lead or Follow

Posted on July 18, 2016 by Eylan

This post is the second in a series, giving tips for your next edtech endeavour.

(Update: Thanks to Dai Barnes for his feedback on this post)

It is possible to follow the majority of professionals or to lead (with the support of inspiring teachers) towards new practice.

But it is (all but) impossible to do both.

Photo by Cristian Bortes

Photo by Cristian Bortes

As I wrote in my first post, The 5xWhys, far too much edtech is created without clear reasoning behind it. One of the hardest conversations to have with a client or programme lead, once the 5xWhys have been worked through, is: Where do you want to be; leading or following?

Let’s say you’ve cleared up ‘Why?’ you want to create edtech and are set on your path. You’ve probably also told yourselves :

  • You want to create something that has the ‘Wow’ factor.
  • You want to be associated with innovation and creativity.
  • You want to be connected to (and with) those award-winning teachers and inspire more.

Except, these statements are also true:

  • You also want mass adoption / sales
  • You’d like resubscriptions / regular visits
  • You want to offer easy integration with current practice
  • You’d hope for support from policy makers
  • You’re secretly dreaming of awards and recognition from key stakeholders

Can you see the problem? The dream of aligning both these goals misunderstands the nature of the education sector. Being part of the formal institutions of learning, most teachers work in places that move very slowly. Innovation struggles at the edges, only breaking through to the mainstream despite (not because of) the ‘wisdom’ of that crowd.

The children might need and want more exciting edtech – but they do not get to select or pay for it. And highly innovative teachers rarely make it into SLT/Administrative roles.

Of course, notable exceptions exist, in terms of people (Dawn Hallybone, Dan Roberts, Nick Dennis, for example), and organisations (NightZooKeeper).

So – here are some hard truths for those creating edtech:

  • If you aim at the cutting edge, then you’ll likely only draw the very brave early adopters.
  • If you go for mass market, then you’ll not be cool or exciting.
  • If you are fresh and using the newest tech, you put off the majority of teachers who struggle with change and who do not have control over the tech they use.
  • If you create more of the same, then it’ll be harder to stand out from your competition.
  • If you try to match to current practice in classrooms, you will end up confined by static objectives, data driven activities, and .
  • If you try to share new pedagogies, assessment practices or try to change the culture in schools, as brilliant as it might be, it will be be pulled back by the inertia endemic in a fear filled profession, crushed by policy (*NB I make no apologies for polemic or broad brush strokes).

Of course, there are other compromises that can be made, and although you cannot lead and  follow at the same time, you can find other ways to reach a mass market without creating lumpen, but nutritious stodge; or open new doors in learning without scaring the horses. How might that be possible?

You need to be really clear about why you doing this (see the previous post), decide whether you want to lead or follow, read the rest of my posts in this series, and…get talking to those you want to create for.

 

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What I know about Edtech. #1 – The 5xWhys

Posted on July 14, 2016 by Eylan

With 15 years of experience in the edtech sector, I’ve seen great examples and things go wrong. This post is the first in a series, giving tips for your next edtech endeavour.

What I know about Edtech. #1 – The 5xWhys

I know that most edtech does not align the needs of learners with the purpose of those who make it.

The 5xWhys are one of the most valuable and well honed tools in my edtech toolbox. I use them at for researching, commissioning, building, and evaluating edtech projects and programmes. But they are most useful at the very beginning of thinking about edtech programmes / projects.

Image from blog.impactignition.com/

Image from blog.impactignition.com/

Why are you creating an edtech solution? To help raise standards and help teachers? That’s what you tell the world. But what are the real reasons?

There are far too many unsuccessful projects out there (including some of mine) where enthusiasm, bells & whistles, great content, etc, were not enough to see them over the line.

All too often, I think it is because those driving it fail to be honest, be clear and be open about why they are doing it.

Why does this matter? Because education is contested and challenging enough without more poorly built edtech filling the market. Children and teachers deserve better. It will also stop you wasting money and enable you to spend it on more of what matters!

Depending on the purpose of your organisation, (charity, awarding body, for-profit, or cultural institution) there are always strategic goals that edtech work can appear to be the answer to. I’ve read many briefs, specifications and project documents that read well, seem comprehensive, and get the ‘green light’ – but skirt around the most important question. Why do this?

Too often, organisations tell their development partners (those who are helping make this edtech a reality) that they want something that is going to be innovative; is going to change the education paradigm; to transform the perception of a subject; or to save teachers time. Though these goals are lofty and make for compelling copy, they are rarely the whole story.

What they really want is to drive more traffic to their website – or raise brand awareness – or stop their competition getting somewhere first. Or, most commonly, they have not really thought hard enough about it. It seemed like a good idea – and the logic of why to do it was added later. Without this key information driving the decision making, the design of edtech (and many aspects of work) can be flabby and lack clear focus.

An example of the 5 Whys relating to healthy eating

In the creation of user stories and making hard development decisions a lack of honesty about what’s in it for the organisation making the edtech can fatally undermine all the hard work of the rest of the team.

I now use the 5xWhys to drill down past the fluff, and to get to the nitty gritty. If you haven’t see this approach in action, the simple example in the picture often helps clients ‘get it’.

Obviously, it is about framing and reframing the questions in a way to provoke deeper thinking, and not just asking ‘Why?’ repeatedly.

 

 

 

Here is an example from a recent client, who are a national arts organisation:

Why enter into education work?

To broaden reach.

Why broad reach (not narrow, local)?

Because we are a national organisation.

Why be national (instead of local)?

It is in our remit which we set ourselves.

Why did you make that remit?

Because that’s how the funding works.

Why go after the funding?

Because funding equals clout and respect which enables us to put (insert arts focus here) into the national conversation.

This conversation meant we could look at options that might increase the respect that they sought – rather than try to transform classroom practice or inform curriculum design.

So, how else might this work?

If you are commercial – you might see a funding opportunity or a failing in the competition to deliver an effective solution, where you can steal market share.

  • If taking market share is your goal, then creating something really innovative is a poor choice. Instead, take the elements your competitor is doing, but do it better!

If you are a non-profit, it might be about raising awareness, engaging new stakeholders, or changing the terms of a debate.

  • Teachers don’t need to spend money on a new edtech service to lean more about the work you do. Spend the money on a series of events that create ambassadors for your message.

If you are a museum, it might be about increasing footfall at a new exhibit, or gathering evidence for new funding or giving an education team meaningful work for when they are not taking school groups around.

  • If you have an expert and enthusiastic team, instead of creating pdfs and videos that few will see – why not allow them to immerse themselves in to Social Media spaces and draw attention through authentic relationships.

Whatever the real reasons for creating edtech, how you engage with teachers, children, parents and those engaged in the business of formal education matters because if they waste time on something that isn’t as good as it could be, that is time taken from children.

So, if you really care about education, ask yourself why you want to be in it, and why your digital solution is really worth creating. If you have solid answers, then, proceed when ready! But, read the next few posts in this mini-series first.

If you’d like help with developing your edtech proposals, asking the 5xWhys or talking with the education sector; get in touch and let’s start a conversation.

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The space in Pre-Tween

Posted on June 30, 2016 by Eylan

 

My daughter set off to her first transition day at secondary school this morning. As she pivots between her ‘primary’ and proto ‘secondary’ selves –  all that has been great about her education, so far, seems at risk. If I had to boil it down to one distinctive feature, it is the space to grow in her own direction.

The space to make mistakes. The space to find your voice. The space to dream. The space to create something new. The space to learn something unexpected. The space to play with identity. The space to be, not an infant, not a child, not a teenager. The space to be pure potential.

At primary, partly because of the generalist staff and the need to nurture the youngest, there is a wide acceptance of identity, expression and rates of growth. My kids have attended Larkrise Primary all their school lives, and know no other. They have been loved, cared for, scolded, shaped and taken through a range of learning experiences.

Photo by Frank Fox CC Licence

Photo by Frank Fox CC Licence

My eldest, let’s call her LittleZeek, has found the social side of school life easy, but has at times bumped along the middle, sometimes struggling to match the excellence of her friends and peers. By the metrics we use in schools, she is above average, but not exceptional. Given her advantages, this is not a surprise.

However, Larkrise has allowed her to find her sense of success in the broadest senses, across the five characteristics that underlies the school vision: Confident, Caring, Creative, Celebrating, and Curious. And (thankfully) she has blossomed.

There have been years when the ‘teacher’ in me worried that both LittleZeek and LittlestZeek were falling behind or not heading in the ‘right’ direction. Staff were great in managing our concerns and responding in ways that helped us all.

Best of all, was the phrase that an experienced and wise  Yr3 teacher used to describe one of my girls. She said:

“Don’t worry. LittlestZeek is a Popcorn child. She’ll pop in her own time… but not if we turn the heat up, or jiggle her too much. Let’s all be patient and give her some space.” She was, of course, right.photo by theirl

I do not know whether LittleZeek’s secondary school life will include teachers who can do this, but it seems that it will be less likely. Everything I have read, heard and seen of secondary school life seems to leave little room for children to find their own space to grow. Even lunchtimes are compressed into 30mins – and rushing to lessons where domains of knowledge are taught discreetly leaves little room for discovering spaces to grow.

I am not going to assert a load of neuroscience to prove my point, or generalise on anecdotes. I realise that a lot of this is just parental neurosis. Of course, LittleZeek had a wonderful first day at Oxford Spires Academy, and many thanks to Sue Croft and her staff for their welcome to our children and us as parents. I’m sure they will do a great job, within the terms of the secondary education model.

I wish we brought more of aspects of what is great about our primary model of education into the secondary phase – and gave our young people the space to blossom.

To all the Year 6s enjoying transition days this week, excited as you are for the changes and opportunities in Year 7- hold on to that space, and the expectation you need it, as you head into the Summer. Good luck to them all.

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Lessons for schools from oil rigs

Posted on June 27, 2016 by Eylan

It may seem unlikely, but the social norms of school staffrooms could learn something from the rough, masculine world of huge oil rigs. Inspired by wonderful story telling, I’ve been thinking that if oil men can transform their social norms, then surely teachers can too.

Vulnerability, (when shared and supported) is far from a weakness, it is a strength. Not only should teachers do this to make their working lives better, but also to model better mental health to the children they work with.

The Ursa Platform

The joyous Invisibilia Podcast returned this month, with two stories about changing social norms; including one on the unintended consequences of McDonald’s teaching Russians how to smile, which I will return to later, exploring the dark side of emotional labour!

The central tale at the heart of the podcast, however, is the story of the hard-bitten Rick Fox, charged with setting up Shell’s new rig in the Gulf of Mexico. We follow the unlikely twist of what happens when macho men in an extremely dangerous workplace get in touch with their feelings.

Surprisingly, accidents decreased by 89% and productivity increased beyond any of industry expectations. Teamwork was transformed from thoughtless procedural clocking in, to a collaborative, safety conscious where people cared for each other.

To find out more about how this happened, I’d strongly suggest listening to the always entertaining and informative podcast from NPR. This incredible project was studied and reported by researchers, and their findings were initially applied to corporate life.

There are lessons for school here too. I’d urge teachers, especially SLT and middle leaders, to listen to this podcast episode and make the connections for themselves. Of course there are a few differences between schools and oil rigs, but people are more similar and our responses to fear and pressure are often the same.

Like oil rig workers of the recent past, teachers watch their colleagues getting hurt all the time, but have to keep going. There is a cost to seeing peers getting torn to pieces by misplaced accountability measures, deluged by workload pressures, and being powerless to express or improve their work environment. Under the tectonic pressures that (often) crush the management in schools staffrooms have become places where teachers are often able to admit that they are struggling.

“If you make a mistake, hide it. If you don’t know something, pretend that you do. …never appear weak. if , for some God forsaken reason, you feel an emotion rising, swallow hard.” Quote from Invisibilia episode

OK, we all hear complaints from colleagues. But, when was the last time you heard a colleague admit that they don’t understand how to spot progress in letter formation, or that they need your help with behaviour, or told you their real feelings. Not ‘I hate this job’ or ‘Yr9 are horrible’ but the honest internal struggles of people doing a hard job? Would you listen? Would you know what to do?

I know we think we are all very in touch with our emotion in schools, in touch with how the kids are doing but in a profession where ‘getting too close’ can seem dangerous. Perhaps the truth is that most teachers cover real emotions and function within a mask of toughness, only moaning through to let off steam, once in a while.

Like the millions of shop workers expected to smile and accept crappy behaviour from shoppers, described in the same podcast episode, there are many teachers putting on a brave professional face everyday. One they learned to copy from colleagues. The one they are told they need to wear to survive and to inspire children to learn

There is a growing research field in organisational psychology, and Invisibilia interviews Dr Alicia Grandey who explains that if social norms of false cheer, while it has some benefits, leads to health problems and an increase in mistakes in the workplace.

School leaders have a lot of responsibilities, that many wear as a badge or a shield. However, their primary role as a manager is the wellbeing and efficiency of their staff.

If an oil man, charged with exploiting natural and limited resources, can do this — then surely those leading schools can find time and commitment to do it too.

If you’d like to change the norms in your school or organisation, and want to replicate the sort of transformation that happened on those rigs…I am not a psychologist and for the sort of change described in the podcast, you’ll need to look elsewhere.

My experience at the intersection of education, technology and business is what clients are interested in, as I help make richer learning experiences, better edtech, and healthier ways of working.

If you’d like that kind of help, get in touch

(Please note — just because this post references a podcast that has Shell Oil and McDonald’s as reference points, I should make it clear that I in no way support either of those organisations or the work they do! Both are multinationals that are responsible for a lot of evil. However, good lessons can come from bad places.)

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Black Box Swap Shop

Posted on May 27, 2016 by Eylan

 

Photo credit: HDWallpaperia.com

I need help getting out of a black box. But first, a few confessions. There was a time when I could build websites from HTML, could code most devices, messed with wires and was as savvy with tech as a teacher who loved tech could be. But that was back in 2000. Since then,  I left teaching and went into publishing and digital technology- and I have fallen behind. I need help to catch up. In return, I have ‘swaps’ to put on the table.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f6/Blackbox.svg/200px-Blackbox.svg.png

For the past 16 years, I have taken a ‘Black Box’ approach to making digital things happen. I focus on the input and the output. I learn enough to understand the framework (give the box a little shake), and then leave it to experts who know what goes on inside the box to make great stuff come out..

  • That worked great for when I worked in large organisations.
  • It works great when I work with clients, as I don’t get pulled into details that belong to team members to own.
  • It works great when I am working with kids, as it makes them the experts and problem solvers.

However, it is increasingly dragging me back as a freelancer.

I have begun to lose track of myself online. I have google apps, but want to move to more open tech.  I manage my WordPress site – but I know it could be better. I have a bunch of domains, which I don’t know what I’m doing with, but need sorting. I have a Pogoplug as a personal cloud – which I barely use – as my storage is now a mess of systems. I use a bunch of web services for work which don’t talk to each other as much as they could.

Finding a series of MOOCs, tech guides, etc, is another chimera of hassle.

SO, I need help. I need a guide to help me untangle the loose ends and help me get back on track. Is this you? Can you help me with any of the above? 

Multi-Coloured_Swap_Shop_Titles

Obviously, I have kind friends with skills, but I refuse to take without giving.  So, even if you don’t want what I can offer, perhaps you know someone who does. Gift me to person or an organisation you care about.

So, what can offer in return?

If you think you’d like to Swap – get in touch eylan@ezekiels.co.uk

If you know a skills exchange that this belongs in, or can suggest a way to manage this sort of swappage, please let me know!

Thanks

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Be more Goat

Posted on May 26, 2016 by Eylan

Sir Michael Wilshaw says he wants more mavericks in education, to help increase the creativity in our schools sector. I don’t believe him. Rather than Cowboys, Gamblers and other heroes from his childhood, we should ignore this wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Fixed: In sheep clothing

Photo by pierre_tourigny

Because, hard as it might be to admit, people who work in schools have become like sheep. We have a flock mentality. For more creativity and positive change we need to look to a more hardy version of ourselves to find a way forward. We need to be more goat.

What follows is polemic and is intentionally broad and sharp. Sorry for any offence if it doesn’t fit your experience or world view – and for all the ill informed animal husbandry and ecological metaphors.

Constantly aware of potential threats and quick to startle, educators bunch together with like people like who are like us, huddling close for protection and comfort. Even EduTwitter and the TeachMeet scene has become like this. We have been bred to like our boundaries… as long as we can graze and look after our young… we don’t look too far ahead to wonder what might happen to those little lambs after they are out of our view. We bleat. Boy can we bleat. But we do not bite or butt our attackers back, or hold our ground.

Like a wolf who is part of the pack that has the flock surrounded, Wilshaw is making an opening for more of our brightest and most caring teachers and leaders to break for the open, but who will only find themselves exposed and alone. The academisation policy is ensuring that our already empoverished ecology is now experiencing Enclosure, as did the British countryside of the 18th Century. And as the live stock in those fields, to use Matthew Taylor’s lovely taxonomy, we are being Split, Sorted and Subordinated.  

Barks and nips from policy makers dogs, managed by dog whistles, keep us in place. Even when a few brave sheep make a run for it, they only get themselves marked out for slaughter or sale faster. The number of ways out of the fields we are allowed to graze from are constantly monitored and even those who seek to help us find gatekeepers that turn away catalysts for possible change from within.

Of course, a few ‘prize’ sheep will get special attention, and taken to shows, as examples of exceptional examples….but once out of their natural environment, they tend to lose their lustre and become mutton.

Wilshaw, is calling out to a state sector to encourage more risk taking, while simultaneously thinning the flock of creative educators – who often escape to the relative freedom of the independent sector, or go to teach abroad.

I could extend this painful metaphor even further, and ewe know I could get away with lots more puns, but, on with the main point.

Asking a ‘profession’ to completely change to cowboys, outlaws and gamblers is crazy. We cannot change so far – not least as our work means that we need to manage and protect the children we work with and created nurturing environments for this. Not gambling dens or the wild west.  And, of course Wilshaw knows that. This is a pretty dirty trick from a wolf wearing a bloody fleece.

So, instead of looking way outside our evolutionary ability, we should look to our goat cousins.

Credit Tom Pennington http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/352800

 Hardy, omnivorous, able to function independently and in small family groups, goats will travel for the best and most nutritious shoots, even if halfway up a crag. Ready to defend it’s position, a goat will defend their young and territory.

OK, sometimes they eat the wrong thing. Sometimes they can be obstinate and, well,… annoying. But they have a tough digestive system able to extract goodness from most environments and once they trust you – are loyal and loving

When I left full time teaching 16 years ago, I swore I’d never be part of a flock again. Sometimes it is hard to be outside the comfort of the crowd (and consensus) and to be unpopular. When ever I go back to teach (which I do regularly), I feel the pull of the flock, and often think it would be easier to go for the simple life of not challenging the status quo. 

But, since I turned goat, I have found pedagogies (including #PBL) that suit my professional style much better and have made me a better educator. I have found great ways to work (agile / smarter use of technologies), that I now share with others seeking new pastures. I’ve also trained Channel 4 staff in creativity and helped NGOs be more nimble: but I have always come back to education as the sector I want to work in and love. 

Being a consultant/advisor means that I get to help all sorts of people involved in education find new and creative ways to help children and teachers. I know that, beneath the weight of the wool that so many professionals have gathered; are brilliant, caring and able professionals. Once they see what is possible when they leave the flock, few look back.

So, join us. Be more goat.

via GIPHY

Oh, and Mr Wilshaw… Please flock off.

If you’d like to talk about the work I do helping schools and organisations to realise more of their potential, why not drop me a line at eylan@ezekiels.co.uk

 

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Obstacles? No way!

Posted on May 11, 2016 by Eylan

I’ve been lucky. Without much effort, for much of my life, I’ve ridden the wave of my advantages; often unaware of the obstacles building up, below the surface. OK, so I have made some great choices, and done some good work, but so many of the external markers of success have been gifted to me, through genetics, class and geography, that I have been/am often lazy. The simple power of questioning how one deals with obstacles has raised some interesting questions for me, not least on how I take advice.

The Obstacle is the Way, written by Ryan Holiday, was a gift from my friend, fellow slacker, and (more recently) critical friend, Doug Belshaw .  

I’ve been told by clients that I can get the heart of a problem quickly and turn them to advantages through action. When I reflected on this with Doug, it became clear that I do this well for others, but not so well for myself.

Reading this well written, balanced and accessible book has been an extremely useful challenge to some of my most established behaviours. Not least my tendency to turn obstacles into defensive walls that I can protect my ignorance/insecurity behind. Perhaps a result of being bullied at school, this habit means that I reflexively talk myself down. I am often able to talk myself out of more positive action, and tend to feel happier clanging up against my obstacles.

So, when I read a book like The Obstacle is the Way, I find myself forced to ask why I don’t turn my situation (often MUCH better than I think, and privileged !) to my advantage. It did this by offering learning around simple headings (see the excellent summary list in this Lifehacker review/post)

Great sketch of the book from Sachachua.com

So, why wasn’t it an easy read? Having pulled out of a tricky time (that is a euphemism, by the way!) I do struggle with the need to place the change in terms of material success throughout the book.

There is a trope in most books that find themselves in both the ‘Self Help’ and ‘Business’ sections; that ‘reflection’ on a ‘problem’, followed by ‘action’ + ‘inspiration’  leads to ‘success’. It is a very compelling vision, and one that reads so well, as it imagines us (the reader) as the hero/ine  – as modelled in the hero’s journey, monomyth, we know so well.

Like so many ‘advice’ books, the authors seek to make their arguments more compelling because of all the figures from history and celebrity littered across the book. I found this approach familiar, too pat, too easy, too deterministic.These sorts of narrative bother me – but that could be because I don’t want to make it easy for myself.. but have, perhaps gone too far, and made it too hard!

So – I am going to embrace this book and the lessons within it. Even if I don’t buy into the post-hoc fallacy, I can chose to use the structure within it to help me do good work for myself, as well as others.

I’d hugely recommend Doug Belshaw as a critical friend for other freelancers out there – and Doug can be found here. If you’d like to talk about the edtech services I offer, there is more info here and  please get in touch at eylan@ezekiels.co.uk 

 

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GoLittleZeek

Posted on May 10, 2016 by Eylan

Noticing when a child is ready to move toward the next stage of their development is as hard as actually letting them go. LittleZeek has just turned 11 and is currently going through her SATs. However, our eyes are looking ahead, and the next few months are all about helping her prepare for the transition to secondary school. As part of this, we have given her a GoHenry card – to allow her to manage her money better and stay safe. 

 

LittleZeek with her GoHenry card and the app open on her Kindle Fire

LittleZeek with her GoHenry card and the app open on her Kindle Fire

GoHenry offers a prepaid debit card service, plus online/app tools to help parents and children communicate about money. There is a parent account, from which pocket money and chore rewards can be moved into the child account. Regular transfers (like weekly allowance) can be scheduled (and stopped). Chores can be detailed and different amounts can be set for specific monetary rewards.

LittleZeek can also set savings targets, for items she really wants – which we can boost as needed. The card can be used like a normal debit card, and has contactless payments.  We can set daily and weekly limits, as well as where it can be used, Online/High St/ATMs. Importantly, parents can cancel the card with a swipe, and change passwords/pins for the child – so she won’t need to ring customer service if she loses any of those things!

This service costs nearly £2.50 per month, and we are going to test it till Xmas to see if it works out for us. You can order personalised, decorative cards  but we just went for the plain one to start with. If she likes it, uses it, and we think it is working out – we’d happily upgrade to that later. But, it is not about a card as a fashion accessory – it is a functional service. Unlike LittlestZeek (8), LittleZeek struggles with saving her money – so we think it’s worth a go!

When we set up the service online, I tried to move money around, though it wasn’t clear that I needed to wait for the card (and activation codes) to arrive before I could make use of some of the features. The online chat /help was quick and very friendly, and explained why I was struggling.

Now that the card is here, we have installed the app onto LittleZeek’s new Kindle Fire (11th birthday pressie), so she can manage the account for herself, and start to plan how she’ll spend and save her money. Hopefully, we can relax a little.

She is very happy, and a little prouder and (even) taller now that she has her GoHenry card. It doesn’t just feel more grown up, it is more grown up. Yet, like most kids under 16, she still wants, and needs, the connection to us. The GoHenry service feels like a good balance for her and for us, and able to evolve with our changing needs. So, let’s see.

In the meantime, she is now set for some of the aspects of secondary school life, ie, getting there and back safely, and paying for her ‘wants’ (as opposed to needs) without driving us nuts. LittleZeek has bike, which she can ride around on safely. She has a very basic Nokia phone (another 11th birthday pressie – but not a smartphone/no camera – as what good can come from that combination when most of the schools take a ‘ban the evil new tech’ approach to kids and mobile. I should say, I wish this were different, but given the stories we all hear, I hope my caution makes sense), and the Kindle Fire for homework, communication and fun (at home).  But most of all, she has a smart head on her shoulders. Evidence? Here it is…

This week, I packed her off to to a local class on her bike. On her own. For the first time. Gulp! I have shadowed her in the past few weeks, hanging back further and further behind her… so she knew I was there. But this week, I waved her out the door, her mobile, and GoHenry card in her bag – and felt confident that she’d be fine.

Of course, the moment she was out the door, I completely lost it… and could not believe I’d been so crazy as to let her out on her own… freaking out about all the bad stuff that could happen,  – natch. So when I got a call from her on her mobile, to say she was fine and that she might pop into the shops on the way back… I nearly cried with relief and pride.

The GoHenry card, devices, bikes, and mobiles are great, but the best gifts we can give our kids are the critical faculties to navigate the world safely and the confidence to step forward as they grow.

Go LittleZeek, Grow!

 

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The edtech Pull Buoy

Posted on May 9, 2016 by Eylan

Keeping any collective (business, school, charity, family, or cooperative) afloat is a balance and coordination of limbs, harnessed to move forward. It’s a bit like swimming. Sometimes though, you are so busy keeping your head above water that, without help, it is hard to improve your stroke. Everyone needs a swim aid at some point. 

Thanks to some brilliant local teachers, both my kids have gone swimming since the were 6 months old. Now 11 and 9, both LittleZeek and her younger sister swim effortlessly. Not so their dad.

However, as they have improved, I have really worked at it; I now have a passable breaststroke, and no longer fear open water. However, my front crawl is a disgrace. I get the end of a length gasping and complaining.

So, I am getting help, from a friend who swims extremely well. The first thing she asked me to do was swim with a pull buoy. If, like me you have never used one of these before, it is a float that fits between your thighs: to give you lift, and keep your legs still; while you focus on what you are doing with your arms – the bit of the stroke that ‘pulls’ you through the water.

Today, during my first UK open air swim of the year, I discovered the power of this simple tool. As I did not have to worry about my legs, and could concentrate on what I was doing with my arms I discovered that I was wasting lots of energy removing my arms from the water; they were dragging me down and back.

As I swam, I realised that this is a lot like the work I do with my clients. I help them to focus on one aspect of their work, often taking some of the heavy lifting , so that they can concentrate on pulling themselves up and ahead.

For example, an edtech client was struggling with sales, and while we looked together at how the service could better help schools; I did some targeted work with part of the team on the way they communicated with teachers, building campaigns and learning in the business. This released the MD to work on harnessing the many strengths of their offering, and within the team, to move forward more positively.

Like psychotherapists, I think those offering critical friend services should experience it too. I’ve been really lucky to get some excellent support from Doug Belshaw, who has been helping me rebalance and, as a result, offer a better service.

Being a critical friend is not just about kindly pointing out what is wrong, or jumping in to fix a problem. It is about adding a little lift to a ‘dragging’ limb, and ensuring that each stroke takes you closer to the goal. As a recent client said:

“It was priceless! …There was huge value in gaining the overall view of the business from critical friends… of what should be obvious, but when you are in the thick of it, is hard to see.”

If you’d like me to be your ‘pull buoy’ , and support the work that you do in the education sector, then please get in touch.

In the meantime, I will continue to work on my front crawl. Happy swimming.

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