What Does This Thing Do?

Quality over Quanitity

Wed, 16 May 2012 12:04:30 GMT

Some people have asked with the launch of TeachingResourceExchange.com why there is not that many teaching resources on there yet?

That is an understandable question, but let’s look at the name. “Teaching”, “Resource”, “Exchange”. So using that lets look at the definition of Exchange:

“to give up (something) for something else; part with for some equivalent; change for another.” – Dictionary.com

If you are looking for a resource about Math (examining the search data, that is what the people are after) and you do not find anything, you are more likely to get something else later if you share what you have now.

Now I could take a Zerg Rush approach, and bombard the website with every little brain fart teaching resource I’ve ever produced for a uni assignment or a class. However, that does not mean it is any good. I would be much happier with the website taking longer to gain exposure with limited resources, than I would having a large amount of people thinking it only offers crap.

The main message here is that if you have a resource you like, why are you not sharing it?

Sharing Is Caring

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 01:43:16 GMT

Last Wednesday I finally launched TeachingResourceExchange.com, an Idea I had last july to make my life and the life of other education students just that little bit easier. Since the initial concept, it has grown into what is now a full content sharing platform, where teachers can submit any resource they have in any format they want.

TeachingResourceExchange.com is Free!

I’ve been asked this question a few times now and I just want to confirm that I have no intention of ever charging for resource access. The main reason I created this site was not to turn a profit and spend the rest of my days on a beach. It was to help connect the sometimes isolated groups of teachers who continue to hoard and lockup some of the best teaching resources available.

TeachingResourceExchange runs on donations, and all donations go to server costs to help keep the site running. If you find a resource useful, a donation could go a long way to helping get more resources posted. I’m hoping within the next week or so to setup a donations page where people who donate be posted and thanked.

After the first three days there are already, a few resources up there, and with more registrations each day I am hoping within the next month it will become a reliable source for teaching resources.

Additionally If you have a feature request, let me know about it! If there is anything I can do or change to help encourage posting and usage then I’ll make it happen.

You only have to click once

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 12:42:36 GMT

Not every school is lucky enough to have the latest and greatest hardware and software. Nevertheless, when your infrastructure is just the slightest bit slow it becomes unstable in the wrong hands.

While this is a problem I can imagine popping up in an IT helpdesk job, seeing a student open 104 (I wish I was kidding) instances of Word, it hurts a little on the inside. Why did they open it 104 times? I do not know, surely they noticed it around the mid to late 50’s that it was actually working, just not as fast as they had hoped. Regardless, with the concept of digital natives knowing just that little bit more than the average bear, I can only assume that they would know 1 click = 1 result, be it instantly or in 15 seconds time.

For an unengaged student, a technical problem is just another excuse as to why they cannot complete a task, I know this because I am also guilty of using this exact excuse more than once…

I do not see how Technology in Education can ever be perfect, but when logging in and starting work takes at minimum 10 minutes, it adds up quickly. Technology is meant to enable us as teachers to teach easier, faster and better, not drain our time troubleshooting, restarting and relocating students (if there is even enough alternate seats).

How many weeks have other teachers lost while waiting for technology?

Stop wasting time with QR codes

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 03:52:34 GMT

For some unknown reason, over the last few weeks I have seen a bombardment of blogs, tweets and posts about using QR codes in education. As someone who likes to pretend they know a little bit about using technology in education, it causes me great angst.

First, lets explore the definition of QR, that being “Quick Response”. This essentially means that you can quickly retrieve data, using a device with a camera and reader software. The original application for this was in the automobile industry and has quickly changed into being used for package tracking and entertainment, the QR code is perfect for this use. However, for some reason Teachers are now attempting to use it in the classroom. But why?

While I am not a fully qualified teacher yet, is the school environment that fast paced and constantly changing that we have to resort to barcodes to share information? Even worse, pretend it helps with quality teaching?

Here are some of the more popular suggestions I have seen paraded around the internet and why they are stupid.

Giving Students Feedback

Are we so desperate to appear as if we are using technology properly that would we would rather type feedback into a QR code generator, print it (on sticky paper), attach it to an assignment / piece of work and then force them to scan it using a mobile phone?

I know there is argument about the negative effects of writing feedback in red pen but seriously?

Linking to Websites

While the web landscape is evolving, not every site is mobile compatible, not to mention not always the most usable way to enter information if a login is required. Additionally if the site contains large amounts of text, how / why would a student want to read it all on a mobile phone? Research done in 2008 – says the average web users have time to read at most 28% of the words during an average visit; 20% is more likely. http://www.useit.com/alertbox/percent-text-read.html And that’s using a normal desktop computer, I can’t imagine the stats for mobile phone usage would be any better.

There are a heap of “Fun” activities you can use QR codes for, like a puzzle, find the treasure etc, but let’s not pretend that scanning a barcode with a camera will give our students high quality knowledge. That is unless we are trying to train our students for a career at a Coles or Woolworths

In the future when more tablet-based devices are distributed more evenly in a school, QR codes could pose some benefit, but for now, you are just wasting time.

If you do not agree, or have actually found some sort of benefit using QR codes feel free to tell me to pull my head in, or turn this into a teaching experience and tell me how it worked for you.

WordFiller 2 Launch

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 01:24:07 GMT

After a somewhat massive wait, WordFiller 2 is now available for download! Thanks to the help of many people (Elise Boyd, Brendan Forster mainly) WordFiller version 2 is now as ready as it will ever be.

The main feature of Version 2 being support for the Microsoft Kinect. However, and it is a large however. The release of the new Windows Kinect and Kinect SDK means there are a few issues.

The new Kinect hardware devices will not be on shelves for another few weeks (apparently).
The SDK update breaks a lot of stuff and shows the right way to do things, I do not have time to update it and belt the current version of WordFiller into shape.
By updating the SDK, you can no longer use the other applications written with the BETA.

This all means a few things.

It's easier until the physical Kinect for Windows devices hit the shelves, that you just continue to use the BETA version, this will mean you can also use WordFiller 2 with the Kinect Support.

So What?

Not fussed with the Kinect? that's ok because you don't actually need it to use WordFiller. This application started as a tool for the interactive whiteboard, Kinect support is only a feature.

Some of the new non-Kinect related functions include:

Now includes an inbuilt library for managing your WordFiller resources.
New Library feature includes text editing options.
Can scale the application to suite the resolution of your Interactive Smart board and visual preference of your students.
Interface has been updated to allow for greater ease of use for shorter students.
Visual design has been updated.
You can now extract multiple words or sentences of text.

What's Next?

WordFiller is an open source project, meaning you can get right into the guts of it and play around, if any of you feel that way inclined please feel free to contribute. I will accept nearly all fork requests that do not intentionally break stuff, probably even some that do.

I'm currently rebuilding WordFiller into a larger modulated application, which includes 5 other tools for the interactive smart board, everything is pretty quiet about it for now but within the next few weeks you should start to see the different components being demo'd on my blog.

If you have any questions about the release or have any trouble getting it to work just let me know! I’d also love to hear from anyone that is using the current version, how it compares to the last.

Free WordFiller Version 2 Download

Mic Check

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 23:09:29 GMT

With the attempted launch of WordFiller Version 2 within the next few days, I'm going to need some help testing this bad boy out.

As much as It works for me, I know if I give it the green light there will be problems with pretty much everything, that's just how it works... So thanks to anyone who wants to help with some testing.

If you come accross a bug, email, tweet, smoke signal it to me and i'll get on it immediatly.

To get you started using WordFiller I suggest you have a look through this quick guide on adding a resource. Once you've got everything for the Kinect installed it should be pretty self explanitory (atleast I hope so!).

(Been here before? Get the latest build: (CURRENT BUILD: 1007) http://wordfiller.codeplex.com/releases/view/81186)

To use the Kinect Functionality you need to use voice commands.

here's a quick list of the common ones and their features.

"WordFiller Move" - Once you're hovering over a word, say "WordFiller Move" to pick it up. Using your hand, you should now be able to move it around the screen.

WordFiller Drop" - Once you've moved the word to the correct position, saying "WordFiller Drop" will place it down. If for any reason you become stuck or you are having issues "WordFiller Drop" will usually resolve it.

"WordFiller Mark" - Once all of the words are placed say "WordFiller Mark" for your results to be shown on screen.

Other commands include: "WordFiller Click", "WordFiller Close Menu", "WordFiller Open Menu"

Download CheckList

Kinect Beta 2 SDK
http://download.microsoft.com/download/F/9/9/F99791F2-D5BE-478A-B77A-830AD14950C3/KinectSDK-v1.0-beta2-x86.msi

Speech Platform
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/info.aspx?na=41&srcfamilyid=bb0f72cb-b86b-46d1-bf06-665895a313c7&srcdisplaylang=en&u=http%3a%2f%2fdownload.microsoft.com%2fdownload%2f3%2f5%2f1%2f351B3C70-B7F4-4F86-94EA-5AECC3AB6B5C%2fx86%2fSpeechPlatformRuntime.msi

Speech SDK
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/info.aspx?na=41&srcfamilyid=1b1604d3-4f66-4241-9a21-90a294a5c9a4&srcdisplaylang=en&u=http%3a%2f%2fdownload.microsoft.com%2fdownload%2f1%2f7%2f7%2f177963E6-9F59-4497-AB55-1DCBB7139ACF%2fx86%2fMicrosoftSpeechPlatformSDK.msi

Kinect US Language Pack
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=220942

And most importantly - the WordFiller pack (CURRENT BUILD: 1007) http://wordfiller.codeplex.com/releases/view/81186

Thanks to everyone who's helped out so far and is just about to!

Lucas.

Introducing a 20% time concept into education.

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 03:18:01 GMT

From my experience and general ability to tell the time, it becomes obvious when in a school to see exactly how much pressure teachers and students are under to burn through all of the required material. At University, we are forced to plan our lessons down to the very minute, which for obvious reasons can be somewhat important. However, what happens if you take a heavily structured routine and add in components of a 20% time concept?

Google adopted a concept of 20% time; which means that one day a week, their engineers get to spend their day working on projects that are not always defined within their job description. They have the ability to build new applications, or fix ones they think could use some help.

In a similar programme, software company Atlassian have been trialling a 20% time experiment based upon the innovative rewards seen by Google. Atlassian are not alone however, around the globe we are seeing more companies interested in innovation attempt this as well. Nevertheless, why does it have to stop with corporate use?

What if we introduced a similar process into education? While some believe that 20% is unrealistic, why not explore what this could possibly mean for education, the benefits and the negatives, as well as the problems / questions that would have to be solved first.

One very strong argument against any concept like this is education would be that there simply is not enough time. However, I know of several schools that have a gifted and talented programme that allows 20 – 40 students, time to complete their project within class. The class they take the time in, directly matches the core concept of the project work. For example, if the project is working on a creative writing piece, then that student will be given time during English, if someone is writing a computer game then they are given time within IST / etc.

By using the exact same concept as the GATS programme, students are then made responsible for their own learning, and as such, repercussions for not performing becomes as simple as returning to their normal class work.

In a blue sky world the students in theory would be able to work on any project they so wish, but when given an inch, a lot of students will seek a kilometre (I know I used to). To combat this several standards / expectations could be put into place, as well as some sort of monthly review. Students are given term one to come up with their idea, ready to begin term two. The problem herein lies that there are a few questions that would have to be answered first:

Who gets to say that the project is acceptable, or not acceptable?
What requirements do we place on documenting their idea?
How much class time is allowed?
What milestones or deliverables must they be able to produce?
How do you check journals / work diaries?

Another important question would be marking. In a standards referenced environment, tasks like this would be impossible to mark. Having said that, matching student outcomes to their desired project could just be part of the initial planning stage. This would establish in the beginning, set tasks a student would have to demonstrate whilst working on the project.

Using the idea that every student has their strengths and weaknesses, why do we not let them tell us their strengths, allow them to find and follow their interests. I think students would be self-motivated as it follows the best aspects of TAS, (larger project, more time, of their own interests), while not being restricted to the traditional wood, metal or textiles based projects.

As I stated above, this is not a ready to eat meal. This is a concept that would require significant thought and investigation, from a team of experienced teachers to effectively implement.

Seeing the benefits of a few dedicated and interested students within the GATS program, has shown me that the creativity and passion students themselves will find when given the right opportunity is amazing.

Why not, instead of inviting students to join the GATS programme, start everyone in it?

Have you implemented a similar program? Have questions or know a few answers? Let me know in the comments.

WordFiller 2 Sneak Peek

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 08:48:08 GMT

This is the preview of the Upcoming version 2 of WordFiller which includes support for the Xbox 360 Kinect.

It's still being worked on and is a little bit ugly in places, but should be released mid to late January 2012.

Version 2 also includes other updates such as a self contained Library which will allow Educators to edit resources within. As well as the ability to scale text sizes depending on your smartboard resolution.

Version 2 will also be released without Kinect support to enable those without a Kinect to still take advantage of all of the features.

Let me know what you think!

Blogging is a gateway drug to other features of technology in education

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 02:47:23 GMT

Asking around a staffroom who has their own blog can definitely raise some eyebrows. When I was on my last placement, it was as if I was talking a different language. Some teachers are just afraid of technology, but those who do go to the effort to setup a blog and throw around some thoughts, often find that it becomes a gateway drug of sorts.

Setting up your own blog can be as simple or as complicated as you would like. You can even have one setup on Blogger or Wordpress in a matter of minutes. Once you have picked out your theme, and put together your first post you start to look around… What else can go here?

Twitter widgets, favourite quote widgets, visitor map widgets, all of the new and exciting tools that can be dragged and dropped in to your blog. This is where it all starts, the widgets and how easy they are to use, keep you interested as the “Gateway” expands around you…

For some teachers, this is where it stops. They have a couple of widgets, they have published their first blog post, they have “done blogging”, no need to keep going. For others, it sparks their interest.

The pattern of technology adoption in teachers I know usually follows this:

Setup Blogging Account.
Add Visitor map widget.
See twitter widget.
Create Twitter account.
Add Twitter widget.
Write a blog post about how awesome twitter is.

To some people that might not seem like a big deal, but to others it is a massive step forward in technology usage that WILL filter down into our schools.

Blogging and “Tweeting” expose educators to an international network of resources and peers, who I have seen go out of their way to help each other. In addition, it creates an alternative to many class activities, where students can be asked to start a blog, or create constructive tweets (public or private blog and constructive tweets, i.e - students can summarise a lesson into a series of tweets).

The best part about the forming technology “addiction” is that it does not stop there. Based upon what we learn through the process of tweeting, blogging and thinking, we start actively looking for the next hit.

“What is the next piece of technology I can use to help myself, and my students?”

Windows 8 in Education and the Classroom, a Series

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 08:20:43 GMT

I have recently been following a collection of the twitter hashtags for educators both locally and abroad (#Ozteachers, #EDTech, #EDChat). The one thing I’ve noticed is the constant spam of teachers promoting the “top # iPad apps for the classroom” or “The top # iPhone apps for the classroom”, but one thing I’m yet to see ANYWHERE on the internet, is a teacher putting forward thought into what could be the next big thing in education. There is no reason we as educators have to play catch-up with technology.

Windows 8 launch is nearing closer, and with it, a new option for tablet devices. It is still a little while away, but from what I have seen, holds great potential for classroom learning and general classroom usage.

But what does this mean for me as a teacher?

Nothing… I personally know teachers who are still using blackboards and overheads with no intention of joining the digital revolution. However, for those teachers who want to use technology in education, it means a chance to get in on the ground level, and help shape the applications you will tweet about in the future. It is a chance to have that idea you have always had floating around given a chance.

The ideas and concepts I have come up with range in their application, however hopefully by the time Windows 8 launches, some of them will be ready.

Student Analytics - What can devices we give students tell us through usage?
Student Engagement – What can we do with the devices to keep our students engaged?
Student Binder – What information can they store, organise and present?
Student Records – How to we capture, store and present information on our students?

Each of these will get further explanation in upcoming blog posts as they develop, and I am hoping you will help shape them by having your say.

I believe Windows 8 on a tablet device has a definite belonging within our education system and our classroom. By applying our passion and interest in technology (that is not even out yet), we help to increase technology adoption and practical application within our schools, our lessons and our students.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion however, if you don’t agree, why?

The State of Technology Education

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 12:33:08 GMT

I would like to think that I could be classed as innovative when it comes to technology in education. However, for every person who shares my passion, there are also plenty of people who do not. So where do we all stand in the grand scheme of things? Some teachers are on twitter, some of them are writing blogs, some of them are helping with resources & training. Then some of them, some of them are doing nothing…

Reading my student mail, I saw an email from an IT Lecturer at the University of Newcastle; it read something like this,

“I have put timetables for interviews on my office door. Please choose a time and write your details on the timetable sheets. - IT lecturer”.

What is wrong with that sentence? An IT lecturer, asking students enrolled in an IT related course to use pen and paper to book appointments... Some people would argue that there is nothing wrong with that, and they would be right. However, think of it from the other side of the argument.

The University of Newcastle is pumping out hundreds of teachers yearly, with the Institute of Teachers expecting that they will be just a little bit competent with technology in the classroom. But what does it mean for them, when even the IT faculty can’t get it right?

Using technology in education, and technology education is about solving these problems through a digital medium. If a seasoned lecturer, “competent” in many aspects of modern technology fails to use the features intertwined with the very email he sent (Live Meeting, Live Calender), how could we ever expect new teachers in other non-technical syllabi to ever move past the PowerPoint?

We need to change our approach to the practical uses of technology when creating program content within tertiary education. Failure to do so will result in more teachers that are highly skilled in jumping through hoops to achieve “accreditation”, but not offer any real value in the highly technical world our students will live in.

Now using Orchard!

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 11:49:43 GMT

So I've finally beaten my website into shape and launched a completely new version, now running off Orchard CMS! It was a somewhat steep learning curve at first, but once you get the basics down its smooth sailing.

As part of this rebuild, I have also created a few modules I’m hoping to clean up and have included in the gallery shortly, basic stuff but hopefully helpful to others.

If you do notice anything weird with my site, please let me know. I think I took care of most of the bugs but it would not surprise me if something were hiding around the corner. My development skills could use a little bit of polish.

There are still a few small changes to come, but I saw no reason to keep it in dev for any longer.

Thanks to the following people who helped with either design feedback or general Q&A / being awesome - Tash, @brendanrcarey, @elise, @bleroy, @davewill_, @glynthomas, @sebastienros, @thereverandnd, @sfmskywalker

Lucas.

Release Early, Release Often. WordFiller 1.3

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 00:30:00 GMT

For those interested, I’ve recently released WordFiller V1.3.

This fixes a few issues such as:

As a user, I would like better performance when dragging words to their location.
Draggable word has the close bracket at the end.
Large documents and overlapping words.
As a user, I would like to be notified if a document does not contain any matching items.

I do have concerns around the .net framework. The majority of schools i’ve seen are running Windows XP, which is obviously not .net 4.0. I may work in support / downloads for a .net 2.5 version if required.

As always, any feedback or suggestions let me know!

You can download the update here.

Lucas.

flowlayoutpanel is full?

Mon, 08 Aug 2011 23:30:00 GMT

Having the unfortunate task of working with some C# winforms always makes me a little sad on the inside. But recently this became a must, and all the tools I wanted to use wouldn’t do what I needed them to. After scouring the internet for an answer, stack overflow and nearly every forum on the internet, it was pretty clear there was no real answer.

I wanted the ability to stop the flowlayoutpanel doing what it does best. Flowing. I want it to stop when it’s full, not continue to load a million lines of invisible content.

You may ask, but why? are you crazy? why the hell do you need to do that? you know what’s not how it’s meant to work, right?

Yes.

In the recent app I’ve released WordFiller, there was a need to stop loading controls into the panel once they’re no longer visible.

This is where shit gets real.

If you’re trying to determine if a flow layout panel is adding controls outside of it’s visual boundary (It will when it’s auto-positioning, but that’s a different story). Draw a rectangle around the bottom of it. Once controls start hitting it, it’s done!.

I wrote a demo project to prove my point. download all the code here.

WordFiller

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 12:15:00 GMT

Over the last month and a bit, I've been working away at an idea I had around using technology in the classroom. After thinking through the post I wrote about Educational Technology in Technology Education, it became obvious I couldn't just sit and whine, I actually had to contribute something.

So, here it is... Wordfiller 1.1

WordFiller takes any text you choose and turns it into a comprehension task. Simply wrap the text you want with <brackets> and watch it sit underneath the chalkboard. When students are ready, they simply drag the word to where it belongs on the screen. When they're done they can "CHECK" their work to see how many are correct.

Using your own text files you can easily create a library of resources that you can use class after class. Because these are your files, you can also scale the content to the current subject at the current stage. This means that WordFiller is helpful for every teacher in every class.

This application has been left as a standalone, so it's easier to be run in a locked down environment. Meaning you don't have to get your school IT admin guy to install it for you.

If you want to get to know how to use it better, go and have a read of the User Guide or if you find a bug, let me know about it here.

WordFiller is completly open source so anyone with knowledge of C# can get in there and have a play. If you've got something to add send me a request via this and I can add you into the project.

Feel free to give any and all feedback you can.

Edit: People have been asking how they can donate... Well you couldn't. But you can now!

Lucas

Educational Technology in Technology Education.

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 23:15:00 GMT

I was having a read through some textbooks recently and I came across a certain reference to “Educational Technology”, something that just carried through nearly every page of the book. It was constantly nagging and provoking me as a reader and a teacher to “use it” and “embrace it” but it never actually arrived at the how, the why, the where or most importantly. The what.

Educational Technology is a current catch phrase used to cast a wide net, over a large group of concepts and practices relating to technology usage in the classroom. Educational Technology can be anything from electronic learning systems to blogging platforms or even just a YouTube link. Theoretically, if it can be used to support a student in the learning process (regardless of by how much), then it is Educational Technology. However, technology and the respective application of the technology can change quickly.

Take the IPod for example. The iPod is now over a decade old and has undergone a drastic change in how it is received in the classroom. In 2005, it was banned from a variety of schools across the country. One argument was that it allowed students to become anti-social. Yet more recently, some schools have been promoting the fact they are now a welcome learning tool in the classroom. After further research, there is little mention of including the IPod within a technology classroom. What was evident, was the constant promotion of its use in alternate fields such as math and science. This I believe is due to the current social expectation that within a Technology class such as “Information Software Technology”, educational technology should be at its most obvious form. But is it?

The statement on Technology for Australian Schools was published in 1994 and remains the same today. It is (basically) a manual for teachers on what to expose to students in regards to technology. Technology that has not been revised in 10 years is commonly referred to as “obsolete”, yet somehow we as teachers are still being driven by the content devised by the Australian Education Council (AEC), 17 years ago. One could argue that this is possible because of the broad manner in which the documents were written. The document uses ideas and theories rather than examples and demonstrations, for example an expectation of the AEC is “To develop in students the skills of analysis and problem-solving”. This example is then demonstrated in the IST syllabus, slightly re-worded and expanded as outcomes: 4 and 5. 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2 and .2.3. That is great and all, but what impact does this document really have on the IST classroom?

The statement on Technology for Australian schools and the IST Syllabus do not actually address the concept of Educational Technology because they are concerned only with what is to be learned rather than how. This is an ever growing problem which is only becoming more and more evident in every classroom around the country. This is creating a problem for students, teachers and parents where technology is evolving past the knowledge and capability of the teachers. However, this is only a problem because the teachers who do not possess this ability are often not obligated, supported or engaged enough to address it.

This is most evident at a local high school, where for three years a teacher who had little understanding of Educational Technology, taught the Information Software Technology class. The teaching methods used by this teacher included having students copy notes from PowerPoint slides (directly copied from Wikipedia articles relating to the outcome “learn to” and “learn about”) that were projected onto a wall every lesson. “Practical” tasks were internet derived research tasks that resulted in the students browsing the web until their learning was “supplemented” with find a words and crossword puzzles to fill remaining time. The really scary thing as a teacher, is that this can theoretically be classed as using and implementing “Educational Technology”.

The content and framework provided by the AEC, similarly to the Adelaide Declaration, focus only on what a student should learn with no consideration for how the student should be learning it. While it is the responsibility of the teacher to cater to all styles of learning (VAK), greater support surrounding ICT classroom engagement would allow teachers within a school and faculty to provide a more even and engaged lesson to all students. It would also remove the ability for teachers who employ poor ICT education techniques such as this, to be classed as “Innovative” by those teachers who simply do not possess the technical expertise to differentiate between overall laziness, and true classroom innovation.

A Technology classroom is the one place you would expect to see the most use of educational technology, yet Information Technology staffrooms are still purchasing toner for photocopy machines. Even with the introduction of Moodle and SharePoint solutions, some technology teachers are not using them to their full potential in technology classes, let alone math and science classes. As a result, these resources are effectively wasted as the students miss out and the teachers are branded as technical geniuses.

My current understanding of using educational technology within technology education is not overly positive, yet it is possible to step past my own naivety to see the other side of the argument.

Teachers do not always have the time, the resources or the support to learn all the different aspects of current technological trends and decipher how best to integrate that into their classroom. Some teachers do their best to accommodate technology in the classroom but cannot consistently do so. Additionally, it is a fact that technology can be costly, and as such less likely to be kept current or updated in our schools. This means that even the teachers who do their best to utilise Educational Technology are forced into educational mediocrity by not having the resources or power to utilise the new technology available.

While they are all readily available and occasionally understandable excuses, my understanding of Educational Technology in Technology Education is unwavering in the lack of empathy for unmotivated, uneducated and unengaged teachers failing not only our students, but also our reputation as educators. The aforementioned IST teacher is one in a line of many that write programs and units of work centred on utilising technology to the bare minimum with no real concept of depth.

This blame however cannot always be placed upon the teachers. The Institute of Teachers must also take credit for the haphazard integration of educational technology in technology education. The professional teaching standards require that graduate teachers have “Basic operational skills” in regards to ICT skills (1.1.4). Yet the AEC state that “people need to understand technology, and be confident and capable users of a wide range of technological applications”. The failure of the AEC is further shown by the majority of the Design and Technology Teaching Students currently attending the University of Newcastle. The majority of these students, (the same people completing the same degree as I) just learned, in their final year at University, how to use online tools to create a basic webpages within a content management system. How can these teachers then be expected to implement high technology engagement in classes using Educational Technology?

It is a hard choice between providing teachers with ample leeway to find uses for technology, and forcing a teacher to learn and adopt new ways of teaching using specified technology. However, the current way in which there is no overriding standard to how teachers should be using this technology creates a barrier between the current generation of teachers, and the next generation of teachers and students. Teachers need to be further educated in aspects of ICT multiliteracy and recognise that not all resources created on a computer are “Innovative”.

References

AAP. (2006, May 4). Tas school first to use iPods in class. Retrieved May 9, 2011, from Nine News: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/technology/98595/tas-school-first-to-use-ipods-in-class

AEC. (1994). A Statement on Technology for Australian Schools. Carlton: Curriculum Corporation.

Board of Studies. (2003). Information and Software Technology Syllabus: Years 7–10. Ryde: Board of Studies.

Doherty, L., & Baker, J. (2005, March 25). No more songs in their pockets: school bans iPods. Sydney Morning Herald.

Education Services Australia. (1999, July 28). The Adelaide eclaration on National Goals for Schooling in the Twenty – First Century. Retrieved April 1, 2011, from Education Services Australia: http://www.curriculum.edu.au/mceetya/nationalgoals/natgoals.htm

Honey, M., Spielvogel, R., & McMillan Culp, K. (2005). Critical Issue: Using Technology to Improve Student Achievement. Retrieved May 4, 2011, from North Central Regional Educational Laboratory: http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/technlgy/te800.htm

Jonassen, D. H. (2006). Modeling with Technology: Mindtools for Conceptual Change. Missouri: Allyn & Bacon.

McKenzie, J. (2008, May). What Digital Age? The Dducational Technology Journal, 17(5).

NSW Institute Of Teachers. (n.d.). Professional Teaching Standards.

Schlender, B. (2001, November 12). Apple’s 21st-Century Walkman CEO Steve Jobs thinks he has something pretty nifty. And if he’s right, he might even spook Sony and Matsushita. Fortune Magazine.

The University of Newcastle. (2008). I Want To Be a Teacher: Beginning the Professional Journey. Sydney: Pearson Education Australia.

The role of the Digital Artefact. (EDUC1751)

Sun, 17 Jul 2011 11:30:00 GMT

The Digital Artefact supports and facilitates quality teaching and learning by indirectly allowing students to demonstrate higher order thinking, social support, high expectations and engagement (DET Professional Support & Curriculum Directorate, 2003) This is achieved in every activity and learning component of the resource.

Higher order thinking can be achieved within the task at every activity where students must comprehensively show their deep knowledge and understanding of the subject matter in order to successfully complete the activity (DET Professional Support & Curriculum Directorate, 2003). This is achieved by ensuring that only just enough information is shown at each activity, requiring students to rely on their deep knowledge.

Social support is the most evident in this resources because it forces students to often perform activities in groups or against each other competitively (DET Professional Support & Curriculum Directorate, 2003). This means students will be actively engaged in social activities during the entire lesson.

Because the content is revision focused, it is explained that this should not be new content to the students. This is followed by stating that by now they must have demonstrated high levels of intellectual quality. As such, high expectations are communicated across the class (DET Professional Support & Curriculum Directorate, 2003).

The technology, activities, and subject matter enforce engagement, as students must be actively engaged to keep up. If a student is not engaged this will be easily demonstrated if it becomes their turn to complete an activity (DET Professional Support & Curriculum Directorate, 2003).

Resources:

DET Professional Support & Curriculum Directorate. (2003). Quality Teaching in NSW public schools: A classroom practice guide. Sydney: NSW DET.

Resource Intellectual Rigour and Engagement. (EDUC1751)

Sun, 17 Jul 2011 10:00:00 GMT

The Quality Teaching Model discusses the importance of using prior knowledge in class activities. In a sense, every smartboard lesson achieves this by relying on the student’s prior learning about facets of technology to understand how to use new technology. In addition, the fact the resource was planned around the concept of course revision, rather than delivery also supports the inclusion of the QTM framework (DET Professional Support & Curriculum Directorate, 2003).

Creating this resource in this manner was something new for all of us, and gauging how effective it will be in the classroom is another new task. Because our intention was to create new methods of revising knowledge, you have to bridge the gap between how they learned it the first time, and how they are reviewing it now. This is assisted by the concept of “Digital Natives”. This concept states that that people born within and after the 1980’s have adapted to technology easier because of their interaction with it from an early age (Bennett, Maton, & Kervin, 2008).

The classes I have witnessed where there is an Electronic Smartboard, comprise of the teacher demonstrating tasks, writing notes and generally allowing the students to see how it works. This resource however requires the students to become involved, they must also learn how to interact with the board and use the tools at their disposal. Because of the required level of engagement, students will be more likely to be involved in the activity and willing to complete it.

Resources:

Bennett, S., Maton, K., & Kervin, L. (2008). The ‘digital natives’ debate: A critical review of the evidence. British Journal of Educational Technology, 775–786.

DET Professional Support & Curriclum Directorate. (2003). Quality Teaching in NSW public schools: A classroom practice guide. Sydney: NSW DET.

The University of Newcastle. (2008). I Want To Be a Teacher: Beginning the Professional Journey. Sydney: Pearson Education Australia.

Pedagogical Context. (EDUC1751)

Sun, 17 Jul 2011 09:15:00 GMT

The Artefact is aimed at assisting Stage 6 Food Technology HSC Students with revision work prior to their HSC Exam. This allowed our resource to focus on the following outcomes:

H1.1 explains manufacturing processes and technologies used in the production of food products (Board of Studies, 2009).

H1.3 justifies processes of food product development and manufacture in terms of market, technological and environmental considerations (Board of Studies, 2009).

Our resource explores these outcomes by directly and indirectly making reference to every learn to / learn about within the outcomes matrix. This is then supported by activities and tasks built around a student being able to demonstrate their understanding of each of the outcomes.

While the content can be completed individually, the resource is meant to focus on class / small group work that each student assists with. This is achieved with the inclusion of the Quality Teaching Framework by requiring each student within the group to demonstrate their understanding of the course content. This is in addition to relating it back to the core course objectives and operating within the model framework.

Resources:

Board of Studies. (2009). Food Technology Stage 6 Syllabus. Sydney: BOS NSW.

Multiliteracies in Technological Content Development. (EDUC1751)

Sat, 16 Jul 2011 11:15:00 GMT

The term “Multiliteracy” refers to the understanding that literacy no longer strictly applies to writing and reading, but also interactive audio and visual experiences. It is through this understanding we as teachers must develop content to also address the needs of learners who communicate beyond the written word (Canadian Society for the Study of Education, 2010).

The interactive course book allows us to demonstrate this concept by the inclusion of Audio, Visual and Kinaesthetic tasks for students to undertake. This is most evident in the puzzle-based activities where students must complete the image from subject content matter obtained during the course.

The TPCK model discusses how to embrace multiliteracies, the teacher must have a greater understanding of technology to successfully integrate it into the classroom. This revolves around the concept of “Content Knowledge”, “Pedagog

ical Knowledge” and “Technical Knowledge” the TPCK model states that the integration of these modes of knowledge allow for true technology integration and understanding within the classroom (Koehler).

This integration is evident with the use of the Electronic Smart board with the Digital Artefact by allowing students to communicate their understanding of Content knowledge using technology (Cazden, C., Cope, B., & Fairclough, N, 1996).

Resources:

Canadian Society for the Study of Education. (2010). Multiliteracies, Pedagogy and Identities: Teacher and Student Voices from a Toronto. CANADIAN JOURNAL OF EDUCATION, 33(2), 407 - 431.

Cazden, C., Cope, B., & Fairclough, N. (1996). A Pedagogy of Multiliteracies: Designing Social Futures. Harvard Educational Review, 66(1), 60 - 92.

Koehler, M. (n.d.). Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge. Retrieved from http://www.tpck.org/