OK, so I'm beginning my #PATC5 'presentation'

1. #Dig School ( http://www.DigSchool.org.uk ) is a new free online enquiry-based cross-curricular learning programme themed around #Archaeology, designed to help teachers and home-schoolers keep students engaged with learning during school closures and restricted opening. #PATC5 1/29

2. #DigSchool is based on established constructivist (Vygotsky 1978) and ‘cone of experience’ (Dale 1969) principles, informed by research into competence-based learning (Eraut 2000)… #PATC5 2/29

3.… prioritising involving participants as actively as possible and providing a range of activity types, in order to maximise knowledge gain through learning ‘transfer’. #PATC5 3/29

http://4.It ’s not just about #Archaeology, it’s about harnessing Archaeology’s power to engage and its interdisciplinarity to develop meaningful learning skills which students (approx age 10-15) will be able to use in the future... #PATC5 4/29

5.…in an enjoyable, fun and interesting way. Imagine, if you like, Joe Wicks’ Youtube PE lessons, with more History and less sweat. #PATC5 5/29

6. #DigSchool originated the day UK schools closed for covid-19, as I pondered socially with a history teacher how schools could keep students engaged in learning, deprived of their normal classes, teachers, resources, goals, support networks and friendship groups. #PATC5 6/29

http://7.My  experience with Higher Education Field Academy #HEFA and Discovery Days had proved that Archaeology-themed schemes could be engaging for teenagers while also instilling a range of cross-curricular skills and knowledge (Lewis 2014; 2017). #PATC5 7/29

8.I consulted with teachers and educational consultants, who universally strongly endorsed the suggestion and helped refine ideas (with thanks especially to @counsell_c, @stanf80 and @mfordhamHistory). #PATC5 8/29

9. As a Trustee of the Council for British Archaeology, I’d previously discussed helping extend activities for 10-15-year-olds, but the #covid-19 crisis provided the boost needed to make this happen: @ArchaeologyUK were immediately on board for a joint venture. #PATC5 9/29

10. There were so many challenges, but to simplify: Challenge 1 was to find funding needed to pay for staff time and other costs of developing #DigSchool as an online package. #PATC5 10/29

11.Challenge 2 was getting the infrastructure set up in an incredibly short timescale – the need was desperately urgent, with summer term then starting in less than a month. #PATC5 11/29

12.Challenge 3 was how to adapt activities previously always centred on hands-on involvement – in-person talks, demos, group working, hands-on digging, finds handling – to remote online delivery. #PATC5 12/29

13. Challenge 4 was doing all of this when everyone who could possibly be involved or help was locked down. Everything would have to be done from home, with no access to sites, artefacts or even books (locked away in university offices and libraries). #WFH #PATC5 13/29

14. How we tackled challenges - Challenge 1 we met with the help @HistoricEngland, who were able to fast-track approval of a small grant from their excellent #HeritageSchools programme. #PATC5 14/29

15.Challenge 2 was achieved through a great team at @ArchaeologyUK with diverse skill-sets, invaluable support from @UniLincoln Digital learning, and a huge amount of graft including weekends and the Easter ‘break’. #PATC5 15/29

16. I could discuss Challenge 3 all day, but we agreed a downloadable package for each workshop with a podcast talk (split-screen speaker + ppt slides), ppt, a student workbook and guidance notes for carers/teacher complemented by live online support twice a week. #PATC5 16/29

17. Each workshop involves a range of activities - listening, discussing, observing, drawing, playing games and debating. The ideas were sound - tried and tested - but working out how explain them in a filmed talk/teacher’s notes required very careful thought. #PATC5 17/29

18.‘Changing Rooms’ (see pics) and ‘Animal Farm’, explore change over time (a higher order concept in History learning, connected in #DigSchool via Archaeology to Biology). In ‘Animal Farm’ they are first challenged to draw… #PATC5 18/29

19.… a ‘mystery animal’ (must keep secret!) from its skeleton, then compete to match excavated animal bones to skeletons, before exploring a case study looking at the impact of Henry VIII’s policies on the size of English horses… #PATC5 19/29

…from bones excavated in London (with thanks to @AnimalBones). That’s just one of 20 planned workshops, which will later include local studies, optional test pit digging(!) followed by finds analysis, reporting and presentation. #PATC5 20/29

21.Challenge 4 was met through great teamwork and a willingness to be adaptable. The impossibilities of making #DigSchool under lockdown did mean we had to let go of unattainable perfection in the interests of getting anything done. #PATC5 21/29

22. #DigSchool launched on April 24th, endorsed by @HistoricEngland, @HistAssoc, @SHP and @theTimeTeam. It instantly took off, much to our relief, acquiring 500 registered users overnight and now has more than 1100, responsible for 62,190 learners in 34 countries. #PATC5 22/29

http://23.To  date, we have completed 8 of the 20 planned workshops and feedback has been hugely heartening, right from the launch and continued since #PATC5 23/29

http://24.Feedback  has also helped us make changes as we have progressed, such as adapting the workbooks for online working to help students without access to printers – obvious, perhaps, but easy to overlook in the mad rush. #PATC5 24/29

25. #DigSchool has inevitably had to be contingent on the conditions which brought it into being (eg with school closed, History teachers were the most accessible through existing networks, so there are closer links to History than other subjects). #PATC5 25/29

26.But having seen how popular #DigSchool is, we are 100% committed to sustaining, developing and expanding it once this first iteration is completed. The existing resources will remain online for use in schools, clubs etc, but in due course #PATC5 26/29

27.... we’d like to re-record to improve production quality (include varying the location beyond my front room!), add more workshops, support more test pit digging, provide CPD for teachers looking to add archaeology to their teaching (requested in feedback) and… #PATC5 27/29

28.… (with sufficient resources) provide subtitles in other languages and … carry out a root and branch curriculum mapping exercise to connect new and existing #DigSchool workshops to so many key curriculum subjects: #PATC5 28/29

http://29.Eg  Geography Biology Chemistry Physics Religious Studies Art Psychology Sociology Philosophy/Ethics Business Studies Citizenship etc etc – helping realise Archaeology’s potential to inform, enthuse and inspire young people - in school and beyond. #PATC5 29/29

And that's me done on #DigSchool - thank you for following and I hope you enjoyed it! happy to tweet re questions etc - now or later #PACT5

Pleased I got through & finished on time - reading tweets back, it seems (to me) to work. #PATC5 is actually a really interesting way to present a 'paper' - although I am VERY pleased I got everything 100% ready beforehand! Thanks to the organisers #Digschool #archaeology