teaching with technology

What’s happening

The focus has moved away from the blogging with the class this second half of the year and moved into trying to establish a link between my Year 1 class and another class in another school to use the ICP Video conferencing (VC) tools.

I’ve established a link with a ES1 class at Murrumbarrah PS (MPS). Conference with the teacher last week and this week will introduce the 2 classes, with the following week my class will ask some questions about the MPS local community and we’ll look at the similarities and differences between the 2 communities.

Positive:

Kids are very excited about meeting this other school.

Negative:

Late in the term due to the delay in the installation of the ICP hardware, delay in the 10mps upgrade.

Interesting:

Possibility of keeping this link next year and expanding 

Great resource for starting conversations about where students are at in relation to the new reporting structure Outstanding to Limited (or A to E) from the Board of Studies.

http://arc.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/

Pro:
Lost of examples, reasons why the grade was given. Stage and mid stage so can align with grades not just stages.

Con:
Not examples for everything yet

Interesting:
Develop local scanned version based on this structure. Need to get staff involved and discuss or even to the BOS to be involved in the alignments.

Best ever idea for creating Icons using InfranView:

http://graphic-design-tutorials.suite101.com/article.cfm/how_to_create_your_own_icon

Loved it, very easy. makes the system look great

Past thinking

I have never agreed in the past with scope and progression (S&P) or scope and continums on the basis that they tend to drag everyone down to the lowest common demoninator. People also become fixated with them – you must to this becuase it says so here on the S&P. They can also become dogma and stop creativity. Also I’ve seen them done so poorly that I cringe when I think – “now, we are all going to make a table in word, open …..” instand disengagment.

New thinking

I guess I’ve melowed a bit because now I can see how they are usful for staff who have no idea and creates a saftey net for students. I’ve tried to contact our high school partnes with little success to see what the manditory 7 technology units look like, so we can back map form there. So we need to progress on our own.

What I think are the basic skills

With these few skills you can manage to find your way around any program – by no means complete and may be glossing over or even miss some specific skills but I think these are the core skills:

1. turn on a computer
2. able to log on to network
3. manage passwords
4. navigate around a network
5. basic keyborad use (not touch typing)
6. open a program
7. create a new file
8. save file
9. log off
10. shut down

Other skills

1. Access internet
2. basic internet safety
3. use email
4. attach files
5. open attachments
6. basic problem solving
   1. check leads
   2. is comp on
   3. is network cable attached
7. Down load files
   1. How to dwn load file
   2. where do down load to
   3. What is safe and unsafe

The idea about what can be done about the ICT take and use with staff at NPS?

The idea

To utilise both computer rooms at the school in this way:
CRN:
-Modeled and guided lessons. Used as an RFF computer room. Starting with targeted staff per term focusing in of particular processes (I struggle using the term skills as it conjours up typing pools). The aim is to team teach with staff and up skill the staff and students. M
CRS:
-Independent. Used as a classroom teacher moderated session where the staff and the students practise what has been learnt in CRN.

Strengths 

1. Supports the classroom teacher by modeling what happens when things go wrong, just don’t work or what can be done.
2. Supports the students by showing them what to do and that they can lead the learning and therefore take the pressure of the staff.

Weakness

1. Needs staff to be flexible
2. relays on trusting the staff to follow through with lessons
3. What about interruptions such as Athletic days?
4. I would need to be off class to mentor the staff

Opportunities

1. To develope a whole school approach to ICT
2. Start pushing the high schools as all 780 odd NPS students (hopefully) would move on to HS well versed in web2.0 apps and their usage adn therefor push the boundaries there

Threats

1. Needs who school focus and school target
2. Will take years to come prove and who do you keep it going?