Matthew Flinders Senior Students Use Tech and Creativity to Lead and Connect

Posted: 13 July 2020

Overview

Students at Matthew Flinders Anglican College have been inspired to get creative and find new ways with technology to keep their college culture strong via the online space during COVID-19.

Student leaders have created opportunities for the Secondary School to be social and connect online, from hosting ‘virtual assemblies’ to recording a Flinders Podcast, instigating video talent quests and hosting an Instagram takeover. The Middle School students in Years 7-9 also hosted their own ‘Lessons in Lockdown’ project on Instagram to share photos and messages of the positive lessons they learned about themselves and their families through this crazy scenario while at home.

Planning

All the online initiatives that were promoted and engaged in during the remote learning period was a culmination of the student leadership group’s (prefects and middles school captains) thoughts and ideas. These were “collected” and shared through virtual meeting rooms and virtual meetings with the Heads of School, the Principal, and through social media channels.

Student leaders came up with the basis for the initiative and ideas with the Heads of School, Principal and College Media team helping to facilitate and refine the ideas. The majority of planning occurred through virtual meetings, shared electronic agendas, communication with students for their contribution of material, filming and editing and finally distributing via our remote learning platforms and College website. The College Media team ensured the content was of the highest quality. Student leaders enjoyed being part of this initiatives as they were able to continue to contribute to the Matthew Flinders’ community and extend their leadership.

They quickly identified the possibilities with the access to live streaming, pre-recorded messages, sharing videos, TikToks, Instagram and other College based social media channels. Each College leader even had a virtual takeover of the official College social media platforms for a day.

For the Podcast, many aspects had to be pre-filmed, at home, on their own, which provided a few challenges. Editing a range of submissions into a single piece of work was both challenging and rewarding and the students really enjoyed the creativity of the process. The media team at the College offered invaluable support. Our Principle, Mr Meade, coordinated the Flinders podcasts and through his encouragement and questioning style made guests feel relaxed and the Podcast interesting, informative and welcoming.

Student leaders focused on trying to provide a sense of normalcy and connection, whilst the College was separated at home. They aimed to retain as much of the usual structure to the events so people were familiar with what they were about to watch, but also tried to make the content interesting and informative in new ways to keep people engaged.

Details

The Talent Quest was a prefect led initiative, that morphed from plans of running a version on campus pre-COVID-19. This virtual talent quest was very popular with many students and families from Prep to Year 12 sending in videos of their various talents.

The Gratitude initiative was a project started by our Middle School Leaders and supported by our Head of Middle School. Rather than being a competition, students were encouraged to stay connected and share their thoughts, feelings, and positive reflections in an online format.

The virtual assemblies were coordinated by staff members but relied upon the student leaders for the smooth running, appeal, and entertainment!

Titled ‘Uncharted Waters: Conversations with the Principal’, the weekly podcast shares conversations between Principal Stuart Meade and members of the College leadership team across the Primary and Secondary Schools. The conversations are designed as simple ‘survival guides’ to help allay parents’ concerns about how student learning, health and wellbeing is being impacted by social distancing and remote learning.

This podcast is an opportunity to shed light on some of the complex topics being debated in the general media and also to respond to questions that parents and students are asking me directly. This is just one of the ways that we are aiming to inform and reassure parents and students about the way forward for our Flinders community. The perspectives and insights we have to share through these conversations will hopefully help parents feel better equipped themselves to support their children at this challenging time. These conversations will also explain how we as a College will guide our students through 2020 – a year that will never be forgotten!

The podcast, of 15 to 20 minutes’ duration each, is available via the College website.

In the first episode, Stuart Meade speaks with Head of Senior School, Gary Davis about the government modifications to assessment for Year 11 and Year 12 students, as well as ideas for students to self-manage their remote learning.

In Episode 2, Principal Stuart Meade and Head of Junior Primary, Ms Chris Curtain explore how parents can structure and support their child’s remote learning at home as we dive into Term 2 of 2020 during Coronavirus lockdown. Chris provides reassuring advice and helpful tips to enable families to prepare for and embrace the new model of remote learning for Primary School students.

In Episode 3, In Episode 3, Principal Stuart Meade and Head of Middle School, Mrs Anita Gibson discuss how the home learning situation is impacting our Years 7-9 students. The conversation explores how teenagers rely on face-to-face connections with their friends and teachers; how parents can soften the effects of excessive screen time while their children are learning online; and how teenagers respect and feel safe when strong boundaries are in place to guide them.

In Episode 4, Principal Stuart Meade and Head of Senior Primary, Mrs Ingrid Clarke discuss the reports from students, parents and teachers about what remote learning looks like for our Senior Primary students in Years 4-6. Ingrid explains how teachers are working diligently and creatively to support online learning while also excitedly planning for students to return to the Primary School.

In Episode 5, Principal Stuart Meade sits down with our College leaders to learn what it has been like for our Senior students at home during the remote learning phase.

In Episode 6, Principal Stuart Meade chats with Flinders Head of Sport, Adam Ridgewell about the future for sport at Flinders for the remainder of 2020. Adam shares the latest news on dates for a return to training and organised sport as outlined in the Queensland Government’s ‘Roadmap to Easing Restrictions’ document.

Challenges

Learning to adapt to communication and collaboration uniquely on the online forum was difficult at first and the students quickly developed their interpersonal and communication skills. The student leadership team stated their biggest challenge was developing ways to keep everyone engaged and motivated behind their screen, whether that be in relationships with friends or on academic endeavours. Keeping the content fun and motivating was a key outcome.

Impact

On reflecting on their work, the student leaders said:

“It was strange being separated at home, but we were delighted that we still had the chance to connect as a Secondary School in a number of meaningful ways during the period of remote learning. As College Captains and Vice Captains, we also enjoyed a conversation with our Principal on the new Flinders ‘Uncharted Waters’ podcast, as well as hosting a ‘Flinders Instagram Takeover’ and a ‘Flinders Got Talent’ project calling for videos of students’ special talents.

“Our Heads of School and teachers have been very supportive and encouraged us as student leaders to be creative and step into our leadership roles while off campus. 2020 is going to be one we will always remember so we wanted to contribute by creating opportunities for our student community to encourage and support one another, and to have fun together.”

“When we look for the positives in the experience we can see that we have grown as individuals and as a school community thanks to being able to use the technology available to us at Flinders in new and innovative ways.”

Advice

• Finding a vehicle to assist with expressing your creativity and developing your leadership skills should never be constrained, especially through troubled times.
• We learnt that there is always a technological solution to the challenges of communication, all you have to do is ask questions until someone gives you the answer, solution or the offer of assistance (we even had remote full College band rehearsals in 80 different homes during lockdown!)
• When creative minds work together, with a common focus (in our case keeping people’s spirit, connection and sense of community positive) then the seed of an idea can very quickly develop into a successful initiative that is appreciated by many and is wonderful to be a part of.

Author: Harrison Gentile, College Captain and Justin Holland, College Vice-Captain – Matthew Flinders Anglican College