HackSchool

I want to tell you about a new project I believe you will want to support: <hack>school.

In the past few years I have created two exciting projects. I  set up and led BrainPOP in the UK, and am currently instigating an innovative Free School proposal in Oxford – www.onschool.org.uk. I have been very lucky to work with some amazing people. I  would like your input at the early stages of what, I hope, will be the next stage in my journey.

The answer was very simple:

Seeing as no one has done it in England yet, I thought I’d propose it and put myself forward to be involved. If you are reading this, the background to ‘Why?’ <hack>school is needed should be obvious, as you are very likely already working in EdTech. But, suffice to say, cuts in LA advisory teams and school budgets, and enormous opportunities in the potential of technology to transform the outcomes of young people mean that now is the perfect time for a hub to support teachers to share best practice.

I have only sketched the basis of the idea below. I have not included all the details (eg. costs and projected income), as these will need to be shared, in confidence, with potential funders. <hack>school will br run on a lean and ‘agile’ approach – bootstrapping like any start-up should. <hack>school does not make any claims to ‘innovation’ or hugely valuable IP. It hopes to build on the lessons learned and ground cleared by others.

The concept of a ‘Hub’ for this aspect of education is not new or unique. The Scottish Executive developed The Consolarium, which led and inspired teachers in Scotland and inspired many much further afield, to make use of video games to support teaching and learning. There have long been calls in England (and elsewhere) to emulate this wonderful project. Given that the Consolarium is due to be closed, now is the time to create a hub for the whole of Britain: for Games Based Learning, and much more.

Nor is it likely that I have been the only one to see this opportunity. <hack>school would welcome other providers developing similar ‘Hubs’, to create a national network of centres of excellence, which could work together and increase the impact on teaching and learning.

Like all start-ups, this would be tough – and to get off the ground, we’d need friends, funders, and lots of help sharing the idea. That said, if it does not survive your initial comments and gather support, then it should die now – with grace.

I believe it is an idea whose time has come. I don’t think I am alone.

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<hack>school will be an independent hub for a network of evangelists for EdTech, both virtual and physical, based in Oxford, UK.

<hack>school will offer an authentic, open-source, credible, crowd-sourced service delivered in collaboration with teachers, subject associations, industry and policy.

<hack>school would be an ’Maven’ service – a group of trusted experts in edtech, who seek to pass knowledge on to others.

The <hack>school Offering

A physical home for EdTech:

• a friendly in-house guides to provide an intro into new pedagogies and practice
• a hi-tech venue for CPD courses
• a place to get hands on with edtech with colleagues and classes
• a place to come and play with emergent technology, including ‘Games Based Learning’, geotagging, and video tools
• a swapshop to share best practice and learning with other teachers
• a test-bed for new projects.

A virtual space for EdTech:

• a introduction in to the use of technology to promote learning
• aggregation of great crowdsourced resources, from TeachMeets, Under10mins, etc
• Video, Audio, and rich media archives of CPD.

A network of regional <hack>schoolers:

• will bring local  experts to you, who know your area, resources and your communities
• will keep costs low and personalisation of support high
• will harness and model the power of Personal Learning Networks.

Operations, Governance and Partnership

• <hack>school will be run as a cooperative – by members, for members.

• The network of <hack>schoolers will operate on an associate model, returning a percentage to <hack>schoolHQ for administrative support and introductions.

• <hack>school will seek to be supported by both industry (eg. BESA and Intellect), HE ( eg. IoE and Vital CPD),  and subject associations (eg. NAACE and ALT).

• <hack>school will partner with ‘startups’ and pupil voice organisations to ensure the service remains fresh ( eg. #LEGup, Young Rewired State and Apps4Good)

• <hack>school will seek to coordinate with the Initial Teacher Training programme at Oxford Brookes University and the University of Oxford Department of Education to maintain a sound research footing and maintain an annotated bibliography.

Business Model

<hack>school will offer access to a wealth of courses and resources, accessible for a subscription/membership rate starting as low as £5. Products will be as close to ‘cost-price’ as possible, and made available at at a considerable discount to members on ‘premium plans’ and contributors.

<hack>school will issue ‘Open Badges’ to accredit involvement in the range of activities that teachers (and children!) engage in while working on <hack>school project. This will be one of the ‘premium’ services available to subscribers

<hack>school will offer CPD, including in partnership with existing providers, working in collaboration with existing organisations in this space, and not in competition. Offering NaaceMarks, and other similar awards, <hack>school will introduce teachers to the wealth of services and training available from a range of providers. <hack>school will negotiate a ‘introductory fee’ from other providers and charge market rates for the small number of courses it would offer.

<hack>school will offer a ‘workshop’ service for developers, publishers and other commercial organisations to ‘test’ projects. Both ‘one-off’ or an annual fees would be available to allow a range of suppliers fair access.

British leadership in EdTech is internationally recognised. <hack>school will offer targetted consultancy, resources and introductory services for  international customers and ministries.

Success Criteria

<hack>school will be ready to open in 3 months.
<hack>school will secure funding and commitments to enable 3 years of operation.
<hack>school will have 500 members 6months after launch, and 2000 in the first year.
<hack>school will be self sustaining in the third year.

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So, do you think you’d want to support <hack>school?  Do you think it would get the funding it would need? Do you have funding to offer? Would you be involved? Do you think partners would line up? Would you like to be a partner? Do you think we need a hub like this?