ICTeD Services

Western Region Study Tour: Integrating ICT into your Primary School Program.

Hope you can join me as part of
ICTEV - Western Region Study Tour: Integrating ICT into your Primary School Program.

Thursday, October 27, 2011 - 09:00 - 15:30

From the ICTEV website.

Following previous successful study tours within the metropolitan area, we are pleased to offer this study tour program in the Williamstown locality of Western Region to assist with ideas for you to integrate ICT into your primary school program. The format of the study tour is to provide a mini bus to transport you between three schools in one day. These study tours are a great opportunity to join with fellow teachers, share ideas and see what other schools do. They are days for observation and to discuss the various approaches being used with ICT in the classroom to achieve exciting outcomes in student performance.
Each school has a differing approach to the integration of ICT and yet in each school their students are obtaining excellent results through the use of ICT in the primary years.  In this tour there is an emphasis on the 1:1 program, with detailed descriptions of the planning that went into its successful implementation. Each school took a varying pathway, which provides delegates with choices and alternatives to consider for their own situations. On the tour you will be taken by bus between Williamstown Primary School, Seabrook Primary School and Altona Primary School.

My part of the itinerary:
 Meet at Williamstown Primary School, Cecil Street, Williamstown for a 9 am start.

9.00
 Williamstown Primary School - Host: Mark Richardson, ICTeD Services
Mark Richardson, ICT Coordinator at Williamstown PS, will introduce you to the ways that the school organises its curriculum around its notebook/netbook trolleys and interactive whiteboards. Find out how these devices are used in English, Mathematics and Integrated Studies and learn how you can plan activities like these for yourself. Examples of planning and activities will be shown and you will be able to talk to teachers about their work.
Topics covered will be:
    •    The importance of whole school ICT / eLearning planning;
    •    How to plan great ICT / eLearning lessons;
    •    The organisational and technical support that is needed;
    •    Using Bloom's Digital Taxonomy as a planning tool;
    •    Making the most of all the software on PCs and Macs;
    •    Using Interactive Whiteboards to enhance classroom management, teaching and learning.
Mark will also demonstrate some of the great Web 2.0 tools to use in the primary classroom, discuss the assessment of student work in ICT / eLearning lessons, explain how a Learning Management System can enhance your lessons and conclude with describing how PD can be integrated into these activities.

Followed by
11.00
 Altona Primary School - Host: Danielle Webster and Robyne Luketic
Making the most of the Ultranet: Strategies at Altona Primary School to promote and encourage teachers' learning.

1.30 
Seabrook Primary School - Host: Delores Giordimaina
In 2011 Seabrook Primary School implemented a one to one MacBook program.

To register go to
http://ictev.vic.edu.au/pd/2011/10/27/western-region-study-tour-integrating-ict-your-primary-school-program

Hope to see you there!!

Moodle for Teachers - Online Course [M4T-3]

I just received my Moodle for Teachers: Intermediate [M4T-3] Certificate  for the four week online course I completed earlier this year [32 hours all up]. Thanks Nellie, Jenni and the rest of the crew! This course [ and many others was run by ITALL - Integrating Technology for Active Life-long Learning]. It was blended learning using Moodle for asynchronous content and WiZiQ for synchronous web conferencing.

See these websites below and follow IT4ALL & WiZiQ on Twitter & Facebook

IT4ALL Courses http://www.integrating-technology.org/
IT4ALL Global Exchange http://www.integrating-technology.com/
IT4ALL Ning http://integrating-technology.ning.com/
WiZiQ http://www.wiziq.com/

Why did I do this course?
• We had just built a Moodle server at the primary school where I teach and I really wanted to explore the pedagogy of online learning. Each week of the course had readings, tasks, web conferences and discussion forums.

Why would I recommend this to others?
• Absolutely! Great dialogue and collaboration with educators from all over the world [ although this can mean completing webinars in the early hours of the morning if you in Australia!]

What did I produce?
A seven week Moodle course for my school colleagues, as part of the introduction of Moodle at my school. It is a conbination of pedagogical readings and practical tasks using Moodle.If you are interested in looking at my Moodle course, leave a comment below and I will give you guest access to it.

The next Moodle for Teachers Intermediate Course [M4T-I] starts soon [see the website listed above]. There are also Beginners and Advanced Moodle Courses. However, is you miss this one there are new courses happening all the time
All upcoming workshops have a one time registration fee US$39 to cover costs and keep IT4ALL running! However, those who cannot afford the registration fee, can apply for a scholarship.

The course outline for Moodle for Teachers [Intermediate] Course is below

Goal
The goal of the M4T-Intermediate workshop is to help educators ensure the quality of online learning through systematic instructional design of online and blended online courses (BOL) and instructor training on online pedagogies.
Description
This intensive, four-week-long workshop is designed to engage you in theoretical and practical aspects of online learning and teaching with a Learning Management System called Moodle. By successfully completing the program you will be ready to teach blended online learning (BOL) or blended learning (BL) courses using Moodle. In the workshop, you will be introduced to online learning pedagogies and best practices. Moodle course development tools will be demonstrated, reviewed and practiced. As online learners, you will learn to understand online learning from the student's perspective so you can prepare your future courses with the learner in mind.
Workshop Context
You will collaborate in teams to design or redesign a course on your chosen topic. You will add content and resources, explore web 2.0 technologies, integrate synchronous and asynchronous learning activities into your course and develop assessments for online learning. You will also be encouraged to reflect on the process of developing your course and to share your learning experiences with your peers.
Workload & Format
M4T requires participants to be active at least 8 hours a week on theoretical and practical aspects of online learning (individually and in teams). 
M4T will include asynchronous (via the Moodle) and synchronous (via WiZiQ) components. 
Workshop Layout
This 4-week facilitated workshop will cover the following topics:
    •    Week 1: Connect, Communicate & Collaborate
    •    Week 2: Moodle Course Design
    •    Week 3: Moodle Course Development
    •    Week 4: Moodle Course Facilitation & Assessment
Expected Learning Outcomes
By the end of the workshop learners should be able to:
    •    Use Moodle editing tools
    •    Use communication tools to communicate with team members
    •    Use collaboration tools to collaborate and create team documents
    •    Design and develop a Moodle course in conjunction with team members based on a constructivist     pedagogy
    •    Integrate web 2.0 technologies into their Moodle course
    •    Add Moodle resources to their course
    •    Add Moodle activities to their course

    •    Critically reflect on their own and others work and provide constructive feedback for course improvement

Have a go at it! it is a great opportunity!