Hal MacLean

Along with two other colleagues Hal has now set up a new company to continue doing the very good work he enjoys. Please visit cleveratom limited or view Hal's blog over at halmaclean.co.uk

The following information is the page describing Hal's background and project work whilst at Ultralab.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."

Background

Online Communities of Practice

This online community was one of a number that Ultralab were developing, linked together by the 'Think.Com' software. Others that Hal was a researcher or developer for include the Certificate of School Business managers (with Lincoln university and the NCSL), and a number of networked learning communities for headteachers and advanced skills teachers. These communities proved very successful and were handed over to the NCSL for them to run in December 2003. They are still going strong.

Key Stage 3 ICT Assessment

The eViva project team sought to find innovation in the assessment of Key Stage 3 ICT for the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA). In this project Hal worked in schools looking at the various ways children approach assessment tasks, and finding innovative approaches to develop their understanding of how they can use formative self-evaluation. The web-based software developed from this is unique and is helping to change the way the QCA look at assessment. More information can be found on the relevant project page.

Digital Creativity

Since joining the lab Hal has developed skills in video editing and production, and has been jointly responsible for all of the DVD productions to emerge from Ultralab. Many of these are linked to the very successful 'SummerSchool'projects, which are an ongoing study into how digital technologies can be used to release creativity in young people. As a project manager and researcher, Hal both designs and leads sessions for schools and investigates the role that DVDs have in disseminating the findings from the project. Hal is researching the capabilities of the DVD format and regularly authors discs for a variety of purposes. The Digital Creativity discs are also used to celebrate the work and inform people across the world about the activities, having been presented at conferences in New Zealand, Australia, the Pacific Rim countries and Europe. It is fair to say that some of the features of the DVDs have been ground breaking in their own right and part of the investigation about the development of DVD technologies has been to establish the boundaries of the format. Hal is passionate about DVD authoring and participates extensively in online discussions (in some cases as forum moderator) with people from around the world to help better understand and develop the medium. It is here that he regularly publishes work to be reviewed and used by the worldwide DVD authoring community.

Building Schools of the Future

Much of the work Hal has done since 2003 has been focussed on school design issues, specifically considering distributed schools and how school buildings affect learning. This has been an area of interest for some years since joining the teaching profession, and as a headteacher Hal worked as part of Essex County Council's buildings panel working party. Naturally, the work that Ultralab undertook on behalf of CABE lead to Hal becoming involved at more depth in these issues and ultimately brought him to bid for the Design Council's 'Online Metric' project.

This project asked the question 'To what extent can children become involved in the school design process and inform schools of what design issues they need to consider?' Hal's role was to bid for and project manage the investigation and ensure deliverables were met within the budget, whilst informing the iterative development of a web-based software solution in the light of action research findings and user based testing. He has taken a leading role in understanding the kinds of online assessment processes which can be used to motivate and engage children, and brings much experience from his time as a teacher to this. The resulting website is establishing just what kind of role children could have when involved in re-designing their own learning spaces, but more importantly is providing a unique system for schools to use when entering into a building or design project. Whilst it doesn't attempt to provide direct answers for schools, it does open up discussion and debate about design issues between the school community and if used correctly becomes a powerful tool by which schools can help ensure ownership of projects by a wide range of stakeholders.

The site makes use of the 'Gearbox' software which Ultralab initially developed when researching the 'Cogs Learner Passport' project and subsequently refined for this and other assessment based projects.

Hal has also worked at depth to investigate the opportunities that new technologies can offer to schools and learning organisations. Such investigations have meant he is often found working with colleagues in Ultralab to test and refine software being built, and offering ideas on how it can be taken forward to account for differences in learning styles and approaches to teaching.

Online Learning, Ongoing Projects

Hal retains strong links with all matters related to education, and is also busy as part of the team investigating how online learning can take place, enabling people to become researchers in their own workplace. The innovative BA, Learning Technology and Research degree (Ultraversity) is something that Hal tutors on as well. This hugely successful Ultralab project is opening up the world of higher education to many people who would not have had a chance to take a degree subject at a traditional university. Hal is responsible for engaging and delivering in much of the Early Years discussions, and like many other facilitators works on marking and moderating the work done, and refining the degree programme itself. He is part of the ground breaking first cohort team, who are jointly responsible for many of the research findings which are informing subsequent cohorts. He is currently involved in an enquiry determining the extent to which the Ultraversity model fits with other established models for online learning. More information on Ultraversity can be found here.

More recently, Hal has begun working with the Angia Ruskin University Faculty of Science and technology, department of computing, to set up other online and blended learning activities, putting in to practice many of the findings from the research work he has been involved with. A key aspect of this work is designing and implementing a robust learning environment, and establishing good procedures for online teaching whilst disseminating information to the faculty staff about what constitutes best practice. Whilst implementing this, Hal is undertaking an evaluation of different virtual learning environments (VLE).

The ongoing work into Digital Creativity is forging strong links with many external organisations and schools. One such partner is the BBC, and Hal is delighted to be working with Ultralab's BBC Blast project team on a major venture to be announced soon. More about Blast can be found on the BBC website.

An extensive (but not exhaustive) list of the main work Hal has been involved with over the past five years appears below. Much of this has required close collaboration and liaison with government departments and international organisations, as well as writing and securing bids for projects and funding. My Community of Science (COS) profile can be seen here