[MUSIC] I'm at the Northern Beaches Christian School in Sydney. I've chosen to start the MOOC at this school because it's renowned for its innovation. Innovation in the building of spaces, in student-centered learning, and its integration of technology. I'm with Director of Innovation, Steve Collis. And Steve, I was wondering if you can begin this interview just by telling us a little bit about the school's philosophy. We started with a premise that we needed to put the student first and then build out a school around that premise. We hit on the obvious fact that learning is profoundly social. So therefore every part of our school needs to put that relatedness at its center. And then hand in hand with that relatedness is student agency and student curiosity. That is to say, the learning's not always being pushed out on a preset schedule, a one size fits all schedule. Instead, let's give the students the time, and the space, and the support to push that to its limit. And it turns out that that has to affect everything. It affects what our classroom looks like, what the technology is that we use, what timelines for learning looks like. And where does expertise fit in this? It's a big question we've wrestled with. We believe in expertise, but we believe that there's multiple points of expertise that are available to students, so let's be sophisticated about that. Some of your spaces are really surprising. The big central cafe area below us and some of the very big open learning spaces with soft furnishings and things. How does the design of the space relate to the teaching and learning that's happening in them? In terms of the physicality of the space, we're looking for comfort. Acoustically, things need to work with lots of people being active. We need flexibility. I think empty space is actually really, really critical. We've learned not to overfurnish. If you overfurnish, then the space has an agenda that actually limits what you can do. We cannot get rid of physical movement. When we move, our minds wake up. The spaces at this school have been designed to support innovative approaches to teaching and learning. Project-based learning is student-centered, with a focus on achieving learning outcomes that are related to the real world. Bringing their own devices to the informal learning spaces, such as a cafe, a cinema, living room, or shared public space, encourages students to collaborate, with the teacher guiding their learning, rather than directing it. The technology can actually put people and relationships back in the center, by relieving the burden of always the teacher having to manage, always the teacher having to orchestrate. In fact, technology allows the teacher to become more receptive and to come alongside the students and really make them. We think of technology as being part of the space. So, in fact, you design physical space along the principles I've spoken about, then technological space, and actually finally you shape cultural space as well. I love the fact that you're using the word technology and cultural in the same sentence. It reminds me of that fact that quite often, people point out that there's a big gap between the culture of a school and the cultures that children live in outside school. Kids are growing up in a world now that is media rich, and that is incredibly entertaining and dynamic. So when they come to school, the idea of the teacher just being able to do what they've always done and really capture the students hearts, that just can't work anymore. The innovations at this school coincide with the technological changes that have occurred in society over the past few decades. With one these, students can access an infinite amount of information anywhere, anytime. They can also create digital media, share their opinions with their peers, and gain feedback, all in real time. The literature shows that children live in a flattened world. This means that they can connect with the rest of the world much more easily than ever before. They can now access data, entertainment, relationships, and project a version of their self to their friends on social media. Around half the world's population have social media accounts, with mobile being the fastest growing trend. In fact, there are more mobile phone subscriptions in the world than there are people. In Australia, 90% of the population have access to the Internet. As well as communicating, they use their device to access entertainment and for learning whatever they like. The question then is not whether the role of the teacher should change, but how it should change. And how the technological revolution can best be harnessed to improve teaching and learning. To learn more about the concepts we've been discussing, a number of references have been provided. And please remember this week to setup your online portfolio. In the next video, we'll look at how the school-wide philosophy has transferred into the music classroom. [MUSIC]
