Cockpit Resource Managment for teachers?

In reading the chapter titled "Staying on the same page: Choreographing Team Coordination", Vicente writes of the development of Cockpit Resource Management (CRM) within the airline industry. In a nutshell, CRM is a training program that was developed in response to the problems that arose from poor communication that was happening in the cockpit. Pilots were not being trained prior to that on how to communicate and delegate roles effectively in a crisis situation. He recounts the dramatic but tragic the story of a flight crew trying to figure out if a light bulb on the control panel in the cockpit was burnt out. Meanwhile the plane is not being flown by anyone and disturbingly enough the plane crashes killing 99 passengers. The concept of CRM has been applied to other fields including; the operating room and the control room of a nuclear power plant. Although these are very different fields than education, are there not components we could include in the training programs for teachers?

From my experience, training for teachers is a lot of theory and not a lot of practice. The most important part of my teacher training was when I actually ended up in the classroom. Situational type of learning provided me the opportunity to try and put theory into practice. For the most part I did not experience any crisis nor did I encounter too much difficulty as there was always my partner teacher to count on. Can teacher training be improved? Is it possible to incorporate some of the ideas that CRM introduces for teachers? My thought is yes.

What types of situations could a teacher encounter that may require some training? Here is a list of a variety of situations that a person who was designing a teacher training program might consider:

1. dealing with a defiant student,
2. being a sub and dealing with a defiant class,
3. being a sub and teaching outside of your area of expertise,
4. being a sub and not having a lesson plan,
5. planning a lesson in a particular setting/ booking the setting and then not have the setting available,
6. an accident in the lab,
7. an accident while on a field trip,
8. an incident on a field trip that is to happen over a number of days,
9. having a lesson planned and not having access to technology that you thought you would have access to ( Internet down, projector not working) etc. . .

There are so many situations as a teacher that you face that you do not have any training for. You muddle through, do your best and hope for the best. For the most part these are not life and death situations and thus teacher training does not pay attention to these situations.

There are other aspects of CRM that could be applied to teacher training. The idea of involving the video camera, and video taping a teachers lesson should be integral to the training program as well as part of an ongoing self evaluation of teacher practice. School leaders could have colleagues, or leadership video a lesson that a teacher presents and then debrief with the teacher immediately following the lesson. The teacher could take the opportunity to reflect on the video in the presence of the colleague or leadership. Initially there may be some reservations on the part of the teacher, but given the potential that this could become a part of  regular practice then it would gain greater acceptance particularly if there is a sense of  improvement in teaching practice as a whole.

CRM was a great idea for the airline industry and has applications much further abroad. I am not sure that CRM has been applied to the field of education but the potential is there. Improving teacher practice, providing greater training and as a result improving students outcomes. Teacher training needs to be constantly evaluated. Applying CRM to the field of education and teacher training could be a really good thing.

Vicente, Kim J. (2004). The Human Factor: Revolutionizing the Way We Live with Technology. Toronto: Vintage Canada

Cell Phones and their use in Schools

Always Connected, Always Distracted

Cell phones and their use in schools is something that the entire field of education needs to consider. Recently Dalton McGuinty, priemier of Ontario was quoted at in the Globe and Mail commenting on the use of cell phones in schools:

“Asked for his comments on the Toronto District School Board's plans to rethink a policy that restricts cellphones to lockers during the school day, Mr. McGuinty observed that there is a “right way and a wrong way” to use technology in schools. “Telephones and BlackBerrys … are conduits for information today, and one of the things we want our students to be is to be well-informed.” To paraphrase the Premier: Given the ubiquity of wireless technology, we might as well figure out how to use it effectively in schools.”

Donald Norman writes on the use of cell phones and the impact that it is having on people in general. He writes of the benefits in terms of the availability of contact with friends and family over great distance.
". . . today we can be in continual contact with friends and relatives no matter where we are, no matter the time of day." (p.149) He also writes of the isolation that these devices create. "Walk down the street of any large city in any country of the world and watch the people on their cell phones: they are in their own space, physically adjacent to one location and one set of people but emotionally somewhere else." (p. 152) The contact that is created through the use of the phones and instant messaging in general appears to have a very superficial aspect to it. Norman writes: "We can hold continual, short interactions with numerous people, thus keeping friendships alive. But the more we hold short, brief, fleeting interactions and allow ourselves to interrupt ongoing conversations and interactions, the less we allow any depth of interaction, any depth of relationship." (p. 156)

Keeping in mind Norman's thoughts and the movement to use them in schools what implications does this have for education? Personally I think that cell phones are going to be allowed in the classroom in the near future. How are teachers going to deal with the influx of these phones? Are students going to be able to handle the responsibility of using the phones appropriately in the classroom? Will other issues such as FOIP become more and more apparent? What rights with the teacher and the other students in the class have as well? Schools are going to need to plan for this on slot. School leaders need to begin to prepare for this and initiate discussions with their staff about how to deal with it. School leaders are going to need to have their staff aligned, providing a unified voice about the use of cell phones.

Cell phones are going to provide a great opportunity for teachers and school leaders to talk about character development. When is it appropriate to use a phone? There are obvious times when it is not. Conversations about there use need to happen with students to help educate them about appropriate use. For instance, a teacher may converse with the student, talking about a variety of different times when it is not appropriate to use a phone. Students could be asked: Is it appropriate for you to use your phone while you are driving? Why not? (It is distracting to the driver and not safe)  Is it okay to use it when you are at the movies? Why not? (It is distracting to others) Is it okay for you to pull your phone out at a family dinner? Why not? (You are not being present with your family) Is it okay for you to use it on a first date? Why not? (You are not making a good impression with the person you are on the date with)

Cell phones have their place in society. They keep people connected with each other not unlike anything that we have seen before. The difficulty is clearly establishing what it's place is and having students learn it. Cell phones can be distracting to the user as they multitask, distracting to others as they observe their use, they remove the user from the situation in which they are physically and finally they impact they way others perceive you. Given this students will learn to recognize the times when it is appropriate to use a phone and when it is not.

Norman, D. (2004). Emotional Design: Why we Love(or Hate) Everyday Things. New York, NY: Basic Books.

Pleasure = work

There are numerous technological devices that I personally enjoy on a daily basis. I am sure that everyone has a favorite device that they like to use throughout their day. For myself, I enjoy using my ipod when I exercise, the computer and my cell phone to stay connected with others, the personal video recorder (PVR) that is hooked up to my television. The question arises, What is it about these devices that I enjoy so much. 

Donald Norman speaks to this enjoyment of technology in his book Emotional Design. He states: "Technology should bring more to our lives than the improved performance of tasks: it should add richness and enjoyment" (Norman, 2004, p. 101) He highlights considerations when designing things for pleasure such as physio-pleasure, socio-pleasure, psycho-pleasure and ideo-pleasure.

These different pleasures elicit inspiration for the incorporation of pleasure in the design of the product that we are creating for class, Launch Pad. Is there some form of music/ sound that we should be considering? An aspect that we can pull from movie or a video game that would allow for the creation of Csikszentmihalyi's flow. For example the introduction music that is used for TED talks or a sound bite from a Star Wars movie. How can we create such a visceral response, do we need to hire someone. On the other hand, at what point do you see yourself going overboard. There is a delicate balance that needs to be achieve. It is just enough to focus on some simple detail that changes, like Googles title, which would provide that surprising novelty that Norman speaks about.

Keep it simple, is my thought. The product we are designing is more of a platform for information. A well organized and timely link to information that is going to meet the needs of the learners who click on it. I guess there is the focus. The focus will need to be on the quality of the content. This leads to the next question,  a question that was posed tonight during our presentation. How will we determine that the content that we have selected for our platform will meet the largest number of individuals who will be accessing it. Enter the field of market research?

The Design process I am learning is not a simple one. There are multiple layers that need to be considered prior to the generation of a new product. You may have an idea that is a great one but the devil is in the details. Hard work and careful consideration of what you are trying to accomplish, and the need that you are trying to meet are paramount. And so it continues. . .  

Spry Werx unveils Launch Pad

So here you have it. After meeting with my partners we have come up with what I think is a great little product.

Here is our pitch for our User Centered solution.

Spry Werx Introduces Launch Pad on Prezi

Here is the concept map outlining the ideas that are the foundation of the product that we have come up with.

A big thank-you for the feedback. 

Design for Everyone?

Norman, in his book "Emotional Design", writes of the three levels of design and how they are connected to our emotions. While reading his work I reflected on objects in my life that connect to me emotionally. I immediately started to think of my life long passion of sailing.

I have been sailing since I was the age of five. Through time I have acquired a great love for sailboats. They appeal to me at all three levels of design that Norman speaks of. Firstly, at the visceral level,  sailboats are objects of beauty. The curve of the haul of the boat, the different shapes of the sails each with its unique beauty. At a behavioural level, you can evaluate sailboats as to their functionality. The location of the wenches, the ease of raising the sails, the organization of the rigging, the functionality of the cabin.  Finally the reflective appeal of sailboats. I associate sailing with adventure, and spending time with my father. There is an overwhelming sense of positive feelings associated with sailing which connects with me at a deep emotional level.

This particular activity with its gear is very appealing to me but not necessarily to everyone. Norman  acknowledges the difficulty of appealing the design of a service or a product to everyone. He writes about the fact that within a service, such as shopping for clothes, there is a variety of different approaches to meeting the needs of the consumer. Using a comparison of the organization of clothing stores, the Gap to Diesel outlet stores, Norman explores the idea that not everyone will have their needs met with one design. The Gap being organized in such a way as to allow for the ease of shopping for its customers whereas Diesel stores are intentionally organized to deliberately intimidate and confuse the customer.(p 93) Having read this I would like to pose the question how can one design a product or a service that will make everyone happy?

Reflecting on this question I recalled a video I watched where Malcolm Gladwell explores the emotional connection of happiness to the availability of a variety of types of spaghetti sauces. His presentation is very entertaining and gets to the heart of this question. He proposes that it is not possible to meet the needs of every consumer with one product, one type of spaghetti sauce, but the designers of spaghetti sauce need to provide a number of options of sauces which will appeal to the public as a whole. For food this would hit on that visceral level of design of a product. By providing options in the design of a product you allow for the personal connection with the product and thus make it more marketable. This leads me to the design of our product.

For our product design it is important that we connect with our consumer by providing options to allow for some customization of our product. This allows for a more emotional connection and will enhance the users experience with it.

Here is a video that I was referring to by Malcolm Gladwell.