"As more and more technology is being involved in our students daily lives, it becomes a pressing need for every teacher to, at least once in awhile , inform their students on the topic of digital citizenship. And as you probably know learning how to protect our digital identity and stay safe online are some key elements of this digital citizenship process. If you need any teaching resources on this topic then I invite you to check this resource."
Ray & Coulter (2010) supports this stating that currently, teachers as a
collective, do not see the potential for technologies to aid in the development
of new knowledge, active engagement and linkage of knowledge to a real-world
setting
There is no doubt that the Digital Education Revolution once completely rolled
out will improve the digital resources available for each school and student
nationwide, and that the intent of ensuring that all education professionals in
Australia are skilled up to support this roll out is well-meaning.
but no where is it stated that teachers are required to be trained in the use of
information communication technologies and being proficient in doing so.
our students are already miles ahead of the politics and the policies which are
just coming into play.
We just don’t have the luxury of time for the groundswell of teachers to find
their own way.
it promoted an infrastructure agenda instead of a learning agenda – which then
filters down to the classroom interface resulting in old things in new ways.
think what the agenda has lacked (with the DER and more broadly with the ICT
agenda) is a clear, research-driven compelling case for change
Ray & Coulter (2010) supports this stating that currently, teachers as a collective, do not see the potential for technologies to aid in the development of new knowledge, active engagement and linkage of knowledge to a real-world setting.
For teachers in Australia the year is drawing rapidly to a close. It is a time for packing away classrooms, taking down displays of student learning and saying farewell to students as they move on to new classes. At the ending of one year it is worth taking a moment to ponder what is so remarkable about teaching as a profession.
"Every teacher is taught that back up plans are a must. Things change constantly in education and there are a variety of factors that can make plans change - computer breaks, internet goes out, file is corrupted, forgot your flash drive at home, you finish a lesson early with a class, your class has very low attendance due to a school activity or event (like AP testing, prom, etc), lesson runs long, students don't understand the material, class is interrupted by a fire drill.
To deal with these issues, teachers must have back up plans ready to go and be flexible and organized. Here are some tips and resources for backup plans."
"Science4Us is a standards-based digital science curriculum that teaches science using the 5E inquiry-based instructional model. In addition to over 350 digital games and online activities, there are tons of offline experiments and hands-on projects to keep students engaged and excited about science. It's a great choice for teachers looking to include cross-curricular activities that connect science instruction to math and language arts. Students will also learn the importance of notetaking and observing, with their very own digital notebook."
Alan November condenses a number of his ideas and those that come up in his interviews and presentations available from this website. There are also a number of suggestions on how students can contribute to their learning community.
The Chemistry Collective is a collection of virtual labs, scenario-based learning activities and concepts tests, which can be incorporated into a variety of teaching approaches as pre-labs, homework, and in-class activities for individuals or teams.
With the end of the year approaching and holidays looming for some now is the ideal time to share some suggestions for books and papers to read. A great book can provide the inspiration required to begin the new year positively and this list includes some of my favourites from 2015.
With the Christmas Holiday's finally here this is the perfect opportunity to catch up on some of that reading which has been delayed while more pressing matters are dealt with. Here are the top items on my holiday reading list. With a project underway that explores a conceptual based approach to teaching mathematics there is a bias in that direction.
Tourism is a people industry worth $6billion annually to Australia's economy. Rather than ask distance education students to write essays and forum posts, Robyn Alderton and her team at NSW TAFE WIT decided to create real opportunities for students to role play in a virtual resort. Here is her video report on her Australian Flexible Learning Framework Project.