Category Archive

Today I’ve arrived in Melbourne for the 2008 Interactive Whiteboard Conference at Firbank Grammar School in Brighton, Melbourne.  It was a fairly last-minute decision to come, along with two other colleagues from my school; a decision helped by the recent increase we now have planned to our IWB rollout for 2008.

For me, this is my 2nd IWB conference, the first being two years ago at Castle Hill when we knew little of the tool and were looking forward to installing our first one in the library.  I’ve now worked with an IWB for about a year.

The hope for myself then, is that I can take myself further and go away with ideas to use the IWB to encourage even deeper and more effective learning in my classroom, rather than get the starters (although that’s where my colleagues are at, and we’re taking some different workshops accordingly).

I also hope that this conference is also about more than just the board.  Castle Hill was great two years ago because it had a broad spectrum of content that looked at a range of applications of technology in the classroom.  It was in a workshop led by John Pearce at that conference that I signed up to Edublogs and started up what is now Learning Curve (it didn’t have such a catchy title then; which means you’re now thinking “good grief, what on earth was it?  Surely it couldn’t have been worse!”).  I was introduced to blogs, wikis and podcasts - things I have used since and seen the difference they’ve made in the classroom.

Finally, I hope I can continue to stregthen existing, and make some new connections out of this experience.  I’ve already met up with colleagues I was introduced to at Castle Hill, and hope to meet some more people sharing the same journey.  The networks are what really helps us as professionals in feeling supported, encouraged and motivated; not to mention broadening and extending our own learning.

I’ll try and keep this short; for myself as much as anyone else.

I was alterted this week to the March 2008 survey results for the Top 100 Tools for Learning via Judy O’Connell.

Here are my quick, initial observations (I’m sure I’d have more given the time):

• Really pleased that del.icio.us is #1
• Really pleased that I use 9 of the top 10 (sorry Skype!  I might get there one day)
• It’s good that the list is a top 100 and not a top 10; simply because there are so many good tools from 10 down that to only do a top 10 would be an injustice
• Facebook slid from equal 17th to equal 28th.  Am I surprised?  Not really; I know my interest in it has waned somewhat
• Every Microsoft Office Application, yes every Microsoft Office Application has slid down the list…
  Word was 10th, now equal 22nd
  Excel was equal 22nd, now equal 48th
  PowerPoint was 5th, now 7th
  Publisher and Access don’t get a look in

  I think this says something about a decreasing reliance on these apps for learning, especially given the multitude of Web 2.0 tools (just scan the top 100 list) and the rise of online work products such as Google Docs and Zoho (11th and equal 36th respectively)

• Finally, one can’t ignore how many of these Top 100 tools are free.  Software developers take note: school budgets are tight.  Thanks to Web 2.0, etc., your products inspire very cheaply-available replicas.  There are also many other exciting products out there that you can’t buy off the shelf.  Teachers will keep looking for cheap, exciting and useful tools to maximise learning.

Judy O’Connell on her blog today posted on the great boredom and wasted time and energy that comes with PowerPoint used poorly.  Her post, of the same title as above, gives a good run-down of the issues and challenges.

I made my humble contribution to the discussion in the comments, but also offer this funny reflection on PowerPoint use.  I must use this one day with the teachers at my school to hopefully get some minds ticking over in a humorous way.

In our system of Catholic Schools, we have found a solution to the problem of providing on-site technical support to schools.  The Catholic Education Office set itself up several years ago now to provide IT traineeships to young adults at the end of Year 12.  In addition to centralised training sessions, they are allocated to schools to provide technical support.  Our trainees have been an invaluable asset to our school, and our second trainee is now at the end of his two-year term.

This week, a new cohort of trainees begins shadowing the existing team in preparation for their start next year.  Being at a fairly nearby school today, our current trainee, Nathan brought the new trainee who’s shadowing him around to meet everyone.

So Nathan walks him into my classroom - meet the learning technology coordinator.  By absolute fluke, here were thirteen computers in my room, with pairs of students at each one, completing their slide shows to communicate their knowledge of simple machines.  Every computer was functioning.  Every student was working.  Our new trainee (at least for the rest of the year) got a very quick idea of how we like to put the system he’ll maintain and manage into action.

And they say that first impressions…?

One of the discussion topics that often made its way around our group of Learning Technology Support Teachers/Coordinators was the matter of students being competent in technology skills and the skill level that was required of teachers to allow them to use technology in their classrooms.  A few years ago too we had the additional focus (which has disappeared now in primary schools) of the Computing Skills Assessment for Year 6 and its implications for classrooms.

While this conversation took place, the evolution of using technology for learning continued.  We’ve developed clearer understandings of why we use computer-based technologies in our classrooms in the first place, and the technology skills are increasingly becoming an intrinsic part of the bigger picture of learning.

So what skills do teachers still need to possess and develop?  Do they need to be competent in word processing, spreadsheets, Web 2.0, etc., or do we expect more?

The Department of Education in Victoria offers an epotential Continuum that allows teachers to assess their technology use for teaching and learning across several key areas, and offers ideas and resources for improvement.  Unfortunately most of it is locked away under passwords, but it still could be useful for identifying needs for professional learning.  I like how it provides a “bigger picture” approach rather than “pigeon-holing” skill development into types of software (e.g. database, email) or specific tools (e.g. digital cameras, data projectors).