ICTeD Services

DEEWR Integrating ICT Pedagogy in School Project /1

I’ve just completed five phase two workshops for this project [as state support for the project in Victoria] with Hanan, one of the two national facilitators. We drove 1500 kilometres, to 3 towns to conduct 5 workshops.

This is a national project in 20 rural and regional centres throughout Australia In summary this is the project: [from the publicity brochure] The project is professional learning for teachers: making ICT integral to teaching and learning Teaching through the use of ICT is a new way of working that can transform the way we facilitate student learning. DEEWR is conducting a three phase professional development program in ICT pedagogy for regional/rural school teachers at both primary and secondary level. The professional learning experience is in three phases: Phase 1 - Online self reflection and preparation; building connections and sharing resources Phase 2 - One formal seminar for professional conversation and professional development to connect teachers to ICT teaching techniques and online resources and assist in the development of individual action learning plans Phase 3 - School based action learning research project supported for three months by a Learning Mentor culminating in a celebration of learning. What is Action Learning? Participants through dialogue, reflection and sharing will solve real problems that are related to curriculum leadership. Why Action Learning? The action learning approach is based upon the premise that no learning occurs unless action and reflection is taken. This pilot program goes beyond providing participants with new information. The program requires participants to explore and implement new ideas, possible solutions and/or strategies that promote improved student learning outcomes within their own context. While embarking on this learning journey, participants are coached and mentored by learning mentors experienced in teaching through the use of ICT. The Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) is funding the provision of workshops [5 in Victoria] to enhance the skills and knowledge of teachers and school leaders to enable the integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the teaching of Mathematics, History, English and Sciences in Australian schools. What are the anticipated outcomes? • Teachers with enhanced knowledge and skills in the teaching of Mathematics, History, English and Sciences through the use of ICT in their classrooms. • A professional learning community comprised of workshop participants that focuses on sharing, reflecting and supporting participants through an ICT journey that is unique to each individual context. • A series of recommendations to develop a coherent, networked professional development program that empowers teachers to integrate ICT within their classrooms.
In the next post I will report on the phase two workshops in more detail.

Beyond Chalk at Williamstown PS

Two Wednesdays ago I had a had a great ICT  professional learning experience.

And I was able to do three things at once!

1. I saw the first ICT PD session I've organised for the Victorian Information Technology Teachers Association, [VITTA],happen. My job two days per week this year, is organising ICT professional learning, for VITTA, particularly for teachers from pre-school to year eight.
2. I was able to host this two hour event taken by Callie Whelan of Beyond Chalk, "Technology  & Education / Podcasting", at my school [ where I work for the other three days per week]
3. I was also able to participate in an ICT PD session without having to deliver the content!

Twenty people attended and after listening to Callie's keynote presentation on "Technology and Education" [in the ilk of Prensky, "Shift Happens" etc.,]  all participants learnt and then produced podcasts by the end of the session.

Callie and I met after the session and went through the evaluations. Teachers came from a number of schools, which most coming with colleagues [a great move!]. A number of specialist teachers attended [e.g. P.E. teachers, Librarians and music teachers], as well a generalist primary and secondary school teachers. Very positive feedback, with most wanting follow up sessions. VITTA and Beyond Chalk are looking at the possibilities of another session on blogging and movie making next term! Callie is also organising to work with school teams.

This session was to kick off VITTA's Professional Learning Networks in rural and regional Victoria. [See my earlier blogposts on PLNs.] As I write Callie is on the road presenting to a sell out crowd in Warrnambool, followed by well subscribed sessions next week in Mildura and Horsham. Other sessions will follow in a number of regional centres across Victoria.

Teacher responses on VITTA and Beyond Chalk taking ICT professional learning to country Victoria has been overwhelmingly supportive and something which will continue.

VITTA Professional Learning Networks /3 & MacSchoolsNet 2009

I'm very pleased with how teachers have responded to the establishment of VITTA Professional Learning Networks [PLNs]. Considering teachers are on their summer break in Australia, the response has been great. For a list of their locations click here. For PLN background click here. Most information for leaders and members will now be by podcast.

 

Podcast #2 Download PLN Podcast # 2 - Beyond Chalk outlines a series of PD events that VITTA and Beyond Chalk has arranged to kick off the PLNs in Term 1, 2009. The sessions will be in two metropolitan & 10 regional/rural locations in Victoria. To subscribe to these ICT PD sessions go to the VITTA website to register [they are very cheap PD's!!].

Also had a coffee based planning session with Deb, planning MacSchoolsNet activities for 2009.

As usual the network will run seven network meetings in 2009, plus our Saturday Conference, MacIThappen '09, plus a possible 'unconference". We're keeping our "powder dry" for a week or two. Members will find out about our exciting program first. Not a member? Join...

More news about MacSchoolsNet in a later blogpost

Professional Learning Networks: Podcast #1

My work in assisting the Victorian Information Technology Teachers Association, [VITTA] setting up its Professional Learning Networks is going well. The primary purpose of the PLNs is to provide, networking, sharing and resources to ICT educators in rural and regional areas of Australia. Read more about these on the VITTA website. Web 2.0 tools, such as podcasts, wikis, blogs, etc. will be used in their establishment and operations. As part of this I have recorded by first podcast for those interested in joining a PLN.

Download Podcast#1

My ICT New Year Resolutions for 2009

So here they are, if they are on my blog, then I'll have to be held to them!

1. Store stuff in "the clouds" all the time. [using 2 notebooks and 3 workstations for 2 jobs in 3 locations won't work effectively any other way]. This means using my Mobile me account and my Basecamp access much more effectively. Also have all my email addresses & phone numbers in one online address book and sync to everything.

2. Begin some serious podcasting skills with my new Blue Snowball.

3. Improve my keyboard skills!

4. Make my home office actually work [de-clutter mainly].

5. Clean up my de.licio.us tags and organise my Diigo account better.

6. Read 25% of those books in my bedside table that I bought in 2008, but didn't read [this photo is not a set up].

7. Allow more time to reflect on my education projects during the year.

8. Increasing my online networks through Diigo, Twitter, Facebook and mailing lists.

9. Each month, explore at least two Web 2.0 apps that I haven't used before.

10. Write at least 100 blogposts for 2009.

Pixelate for Privacy

Since starting this blog, I've added a number of images to make blogposts either more interesting or more informative. When taking photos of students, I always try to get shots that are from behind or group shots, so as to obscure facial features and preserve anonymity. But occasionally I have an image that I want to publish, but is just too identifiable. I've been looking for a way to pixelate easily, without buying Photoshop [ the basic image editors I use, iPhoto and Graphic Converter don't have a pixelate function]. So the search for an online image editor was on!. First stop was Mashable's list of 20 Great Online Photo Editors. Then I selected FotoFlexer, which has pixelate as one of its many effects and enhancements. It worked well too [many annoying banners announcing that I had won prizes, or had friend requests, or inviting me to play online poker. but someone has to fund it, I suppose]. Using it with students could be an issue as they would probably click on all of these! However, it did the job I wanted,
You can pixelate the whole image, a focal area [circle] or painted area.
Here's my first attempt from the animation session for teachers that I ran earlier in the year.

Wordle, Education & Joel Klein

Recently I was lucky enough to be invited to be a panel member on the Ed Tech Crew Podcast #72 [Christmas Special] discussing Web 2.0 apps. One segment was called "What's the most useless Web 2.0 app that you have used this year?" Nothing much was really found, as it was felt that market forces meant that useless Web 2.0 apps either didn't get past the drawing board or didn't last long in the marketplace. It was also discussed that often classroom uses for some Web 2.0 apps took a while to develop. It seems that Wordle is one such Web 2.0 app!. If you haven't used it, what it does is this... You type / paste in either a block of text, or enter a URL to a blog or website or a de.licio.us account and bingo a word cloud is created, with the most repeated words in the biggest text.
This is what this blog looks like in Wordle.

Maybe I use the word great too much!

Now what follows next are the thoughts and ideas of others, I haven't used Wordle in the classroom yet, but I can see its potential.
Here are some links to other educators that have used Wordle with there students.
http://jacquisharp.blogspot.com/2008/06/wordle-word-clouds.html
http://thecleversheep.blogspot.com/2008/10/top-20-uses-for-wordle.html
http://mscofino.edublogs.org/2008/12/10/a-wordle-a-day/

I've also heard that you can use Wordle to analyse speeches, interviews etc. So here's an example, recently the Rudd Government in Australia invited Joel Klein, New York City's schools chancellor to discuss his ideas about education reform.  For background on this go to http://www.abc.net.au/rn/edpod/stories/2008/2398285.htm. However, there is a great critique of his ideas on the NYC Public School Parents Blog http://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com/2008/11/warning-to-australians-dont-let-your.html [as well links to an interview Klein did in Australia with Kerry O'Brien]
Let's see what happened when I put in the transcript in Wordle.

Interesting, I would have liked to have seen words here like engagement, collaboration, social skills, authentic, holistic, communication, thinking, creativity, enjoyment, sustainable etc..
But who do the words belong too? O'Brien? or Klein?
Well here's the break up
1. Kerry O'Brien

2. Joel Klein

Interesting, here Klein's word cloud is very positive, an interesting comparision to the blog of the NYC Public School parents.
There will be much more to follow in the debate on Australia's education reform debate!

See also Emily Chang's blogpost on Barack Obama's inauguration and the tag cloud of his speech,
http://emilychang.com/go/weblog/comments/my-first-citizen-social-media-inauguration/

See also Nirvana Rose Watkins' blogpost  http://soulcradler.edublogs.org/2008/10/12/ways-to-use-wordle/

Setting up Professional Learning Networks & Google Maps

It's been nearly one month since I've written for my blog! My home broadband is now flying, [by Australian standards, anyway], with the arrival on my ADSL2 switch / router, which took a long, long time to arrive. I've also taken up a new job since I wrote last. I resigned from my full time government teaching job [after 33 years] and after a short "retirement" went back into the workforce with two jobs. Job one was essentially my own job back again, as a primary / elementary school ICT coordinator, [but three days per week] and  job two was an exciting new job with one of Victoria's ICT Professional Development Teacher Associations, running its professional learning office. VITTA [Victorian Information Technology Teachers Association], is Victoria's biggest ICT PD organisation, but it really wants to expand its professional learning activities for primary / elementary schools. After settling into this new job, the first task was setting up a number of Professional Learning Networks throughout the state. Read more about these here. I intend to use Web 2.0 tools as much as possible to assist with their management. These PLNs are to run all over Victoria, and be run by key leaders in various rural and regional centres.

See where they are located in detail using Google Maps [My Maps > VITTA PLNs].

MacSchoolsNet Meeting #6

Just home from the latest MacSchoolsNet meeting. It was at Moreland PS [a suburb of Melbourne, Australia]. A great meeting again, with about 20 participants. Good to see a number of new members attending, [the mailing list is out to 120!]. Find out more about the venue by looking at their website [apart from the homepage, it is constructed in iWeb and with lots of teacher and student content]. Great effort guys!
The school has gone through administrative change [i.e. a new principal] in the past 18 months and has developed a coherent ICT vision. The library has become central to this, being the resource centre for classroom programs. Linda, the librarian spoke about a recent unconference she attended. I'll admit until this afternoon, I had never heard of an unconference before. The Digital Web defines it this way. The unconference that Linda attended was one which dealt with the Web 2.0 activities of, or used, by libraries.
Here are some of Linda's best links from the Unconference.
• Flock: the Social web browser http://flock.com/
• Your del.icio.us bookmarks visualized http://favthumbs.com/
• Check out the Yarra Plenty Library's Web 2 resource page: http://www.yprl.vic.gov.au/ &  http://www.wikinorthia.net.au/ Register for the Yarra Plenty Regional Library Service "Web Weekly" for the latest finds on the web.
• Local wiki for Melbourne's North http://www.wikinorthia.net.au/
• Shelfari is fun  for your blog & could be great for encouraging reading  http://www.shelfari.com/
• For Visual Searching http://www.searchme.com/
• A local library blog http://mooneevalleylibraries.blogspot.com/
• Free Harvard style bibliography generator. Simple to use by just filling in the fields then hitting the generate bibliography button. http://library.scotch.vic.edu.au/research/biblios/ScotchBib/index.htm/
Some really great sites for all teachers [as well as librarians]. Full list here.
Download new_sites_to_explore.pdf  A school tour followed.

In the second part of the meeting Michal talked about the features on the new aluminium unibody MacBooks released on the 14.10.2008. A really great machine. Read more on the Apple site.
The Steve Jobs keynote is at http://www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/specialevent1008/
The new MacBook video is at http://www.apple.com/macbook/the-new-macbook/ and also
The new Cinema Display info is at http://www.apple.com/displays/

Communicate, Collaborate, Create - ANSN Workshop with Sarah Prestridge

Spent today doing Tech Support for the above workshop. Dr. Sarah Prestridge is a lecturer in ICT Education from Griffith University Brisbane. She has written and spoken widely on ICT & multiliteracies. Ten teachers have come together from all over Australia to investigate Web 2.0 technologies. This morning [Day One] they have all started setting up a blog with Wordpress. After more input about blogs and bloggers, participants continued writing their blog.

Tomorrow  participants will do podcasting with Audacity or GarageBand

Sarah's links are at http://sites.google.com/site/communicatecollaboratecreate/Home

Participant's Blogs are at http://sites.google.com/site/communicatecollaboratecreate/Home/links-to-our-blog-and-websites--melbourne