Day 177 (of 2023/24) test run of #taskmasteredu @taskmastereducation big thanks to @alexhorne and @gdavies
some elements were YouTube blocked… if interested – here is the full version: Techmaster Intro Task.mp4
Okay… little Alex Horne is fabulous. I am still amazed (and love sharing with other educators) how the idea of TaskMaster is so perfect (and I have some education friends who hate that word cuz ‘nothings ever perfect’…) but knowing that you could watch season 17 before season 1 and the whole setup runs the same… even though it’s completely different… a great model of a loose/tight system! The thought that has gone into the setup is what I kinda tried to model in both our ‘in person’ introductions and out ‘at home’ share… because early reaction is that ‘yes’ we are going to be rolling out the TaskMasterEducation clubs in a couple of ways next year – ways that will support the teachers working with students ‘in-person’ and adapted to help support families who are working at home (all part of our amazing Partners in Education school – a POLS: provincial online learning school
So, I know I talked a bit too much, but I wanted to give the warning that British TV often has language used a lot freer than what we experience in North America – and curse words and sexy talk are a lot more common than our primetime shows… YouTube even says 14+, but my daughter says ‘grade 4’… and I share that I know many families who watch the series together with kids as long as what we were working with (grades 6-12 today) and of course my examples were G rated (maybe a tad PG…) and good enough for the grade 4-6 students I will be repeating this with later in the week.
Kids were into it – they loved the example I chose of the ‘get 3 exercise balls on the yoga mat at the top of the hill’ – especially when Richard Osman shard his perspective (there’s a subtle joke there….)
When it was our first practice time, I knew I’d have to model a ‘magnificent walk’ as I went to a drum and banged on it as close to 9.58 seconds as I could… and my time lasted as best for a bit longer than I intended… but while a student got within half a second, a teacher who we positively peer pressured into taking part, got within 3 tenths of a second… and had the most magnificent walk… Great fun and helped set the tone for the scavenger hunt and the contest to help launch our Comic-Con project that will end off our year.
I know that TaskMasterEducation will be a much better organized event than what I was introducing, but there was (sadly) no name brand recognition, so I needed to leverage my own trust that I’ve built in the few months I have been principal at PIE, and am so glad it paid off. As I mentioned about the teacher being positively peer pressured… that was such a fabulous surprise to see – not just them cheering on the teacher to try, but that they were shouting encouragement to each other to give it a go… even chanting names in a way that would be hard to refuse… and of course I did preload that during tasks we will be both laughing with and at the contestants at various times (because taking risks is sometimes fun and often funny when you look at it in a particular way – even when it’s not fun for the person you are watching…)
Love that this program hits on all the core competencies ~ creative and critical thinking stand out, but likewise communication is important (all the information is right there in the clue) as well as personal awareness & responsibility!
Yes, there is a fee for the program…https://taskmastereducation.com (not endorsing, just sharing) as I shared it with another educator fan of TM said though, ‘it’s still like they’re giving it away!’ I appreciate that TM (and Alex Horne) are not using it as a cash grab, but instead much like their YouTube availability, making it available to a wide audience and the $ will figure itself out (yes, I’ve bought merch) And if you want to explore… I’d start with season 2 (UK) and then go to season One… and even though there is a different taskmaster and assistant, Australia Season 2 is simply iconic – and I have become such a fan of so many contestants… I can’t help but look forward to how students reveal more of themselves in future activities (almost as much as I’m looking forward to seeing Rosie Jones on season 18 – likely to be NSFW…)
Next, I think we need to do some sharing more broadly… maybe (ask permission first) building a model like Alex’s origin story on the comedy festival circuit, at Pro-D events with live audience participants… (maybe some ‘planted’ participants – know they’re taking part… not that they know what the tasks are).
Fabulously energized students who are usually pretty tired by the end of the day. TaskMaster challenges get a huge thumbs up! 👍
technolandy: site of Ian Landy 