Forum+and+Journal+Postings


 * Journal of activities in subject ITI502**


 * Semester 1, 2011**

Hi. I am Caroline and I am a TAFE at Griffith Campus parttime (evenings) as well as TSO at Griffith High School. This is my second subject in Grad Dip ICT education. I hope we all get out of this with great results and our nerves in tact. Cheers
 * Week 1**
 * Forum Posting**


 * Week 2**

I have to fess up and tell you all that I am a bit of a stranger to all the teacher terminology that I see on the forums. My area of expertise is in IT and TAFE teaching so please point me in the right direction if I seem a little vague in this area (Anyway…we are here to learn right). During the course of the forum activity I was probably switch from TAFE to school to TAFE again as it seems all so relevant to this subject. I teach youth at risk part time at TAFE as well as new media skills and IT certificates of an evening but by day I am a TSO (Technology Support Officer) at Griffith High School. I will base this posting on GHS to reflect on Action Research as I am making this my special project for 2011. My position at GHS involves maintaining a fleet of around 400 laptops ranging from Yr 11 to Yr 9 students. I am not too concerned with action research models for the kids (where as the teachers amongst you, this will be your focus) however I intend to focus on staff training to get the best possible continued use of the staff laptops and a teachers quest for successful integration into their classroom delivery. I had previously had this role at TAFE for two years being a learning technology mentor and thoroughly enjoyed exploring similar skills training with TAFE teachers. Late in 2010 GHS was appointed with a professional learning mentor. When this position was filled the mentor created a thorough questionnaire for all staff to identify skills sets and skill deficiencies and, after much research, identified a skill gap analysis and proceeded to put in place staff training for the year 2011. I was approached by the mentor to conduct 10 lessons per term to teachers across the school to assist in filling the laptop training gap. The first of these training sessions commence tomorrow (Monday 14th March) for a 2 week period. I am adopting the same delivery method as I did with the TAFE teachers except the first lessons will specifically related to laptops, issues, maintenance, files and folders, backing up and all the do’s and don’ts most teachers will not be familiar with. In my previous role I developed a series of screen recorder tutorials to back up my training which was located on a wikispace which these teachers were members of. I will adopt the same theory in this training as this method was hugely successful with teachers completing a Certificate II Tools for New Media course at the completion of their training. Griffith TAFE now has 15 teachers who use wiki’s, blogs, podcasts, movies, photos and photography skills, adobe suite skills, scanning and compression skills and can utilize IT skills to benefit their students and class delivery, not to mention digital currency. At the completion the laptops sessions at GHS each term the professional learning mentor will be assisting me in evaluating the effectivess of the session. The first session will also include a skills set questionnaire for staff to complete to allow me to address their technology issues in term 2 (or before if they need one-on-one time with me). I’ll finish up now for risk of boring you all… Cheers… Caroline :)
 * Forum Posting**


 * Week 3**

Road blocks I anticipate in action research project are reluctance to use new technologies, acceptance that technologies will be a part of education rather than a choice and, of course, everyone favourite, TIME. Road blocks already encountered are refusal to integrate technology. In addition to this I have have 2 weeks off with illness and now have to make up training time. Cheers
 * Forum Posting**


 * Week 4**

My action research question is how to improve the engagement of students with technology- with a focus on how Yr 11 students who have had the Lenovo laptops for 2 years are engaging with them in their learning. It would be interesting to see the results from a different school for the same question. Perhaps we could partner up with this. I have a vested interest...I am trying to get students and teachers using this technology as well. We could compare stats. Cheers
 * Forum Posting**


 * Week 5**

Scientific methods of evaluation and issues encountered. As my project is based on training teachers to use the DER laptops effectively and integrate this technology efficiently into their classrooms I firstly needed to meet with faculty groups and access their skill level and computer abilities as well as their willingness to integrate ICT in their classrooms and in a polite way, suggest ways to do this that are positive and encouraging. I had Identified through a training needs analysis for teachers of years 9, 10 and 11 which consisted of going through the capabilities of the laptops. Initially there were a lot of comments about the operating system (in this case Windows 7) and the Microsoft office 07 and Adobe CS4 applications. Most teachers had not used the new operating system or office 2007 as the school computers were running Windows XP and office 2003 and the Adobe CS4 suite was considered a desktop publishing or industry standard so this was foreign to most teachers. When analysing ICT into their lessons I wanted the teachers to become comfortable with the basics so they could enjoy creating lessons using these applications and also be comfortable with navigating their way around the laptop. When allocating teachers with laptops I decided to create an excel sheet with each of the teachers’ names and several categories relating to their skill level. When I was conducting the training sessions for each of the faculties the teachers logged onto my wikispace where they then filled out an online survey monkey form I had created regarding the use of laptops in their classrooms and their considered skill level. This, and a brief introduction to the laptops was the content of my first PLT. Subsequent sessions were constructed based on the results of these findings. The other scientific method of evaluation, which did not seem so scientific at the time, was the content of my lesson plan. By that I mean that if my lesson plan had gone according to plan I considered my delivery to be successful. Mostly I had to deviate from this plan as some faculties were very skilled in ICT and I added in some web 2.0 tools that may assist in their classrooms where as others may have been reluctant or not exposed to functionality of the laptops and needed a lot more guidance in using them, thus time was spent more one on one. As teachers we need to be prepared for this in every session we deliver.
 * Forum Posting**

Unclear about with copyright issues Copyright is such a varied and grey area particularly in online communities. I find it really difficult when access images online to be aware if the image has copyright attached or not. Point two that confuses me with copyright and text is the Fare Use rule. When teachers use resource booklets generally we can copy up to 10 percent however with the internet there is no hard and fast rule for what portion can be copied before you may be in breach of the copyright law. Point three relates to framing pages within another site. This can give the impression that the frame within a site that was not constructed by the site owner is totally their property however, after researching a few copyright suggestions, and to keep of the safe side, in my wikispace I have simply included a link to another page, noting the author until it becomes clear if I am able to include as a frame or a page without breaching copyright. Internet safety issues – suggestions As a technology support officer at our local high school I see the effects of internet safety issues on a grand scale. There are fights in the playground, outside the school, threats, lockdowns as well as families and friends split over online issues. To address this at school I make regular visits to classrooms and chat to kids about acceptable usage. When handing out the yearly allocations to the particular year receiving the devices I have the police community liaison officer present who brings several pamphlets to the information evening the school holds for the handout. The police speak to students in the presence of their parents about issues in cyberspace and asks parents to be vigilant in assisting to stamp out any threats or potential risks the children may be exposed to and provides an open contact policy with the liaison officer if the need arises. When the students come to me to get their laptop issues fixed I commonly start conversations and worm in a few suggestions for their safety without making a big issues of it. I feel this may put subtle thoughts into their heads and open up lines of communication if a threat may arise.
 * Week 6**
 * Forum Posting**


 * Activities**
 * Prescribed texts excel 70-97**
 * Outlook – 90-112**


 * Week 7**
 * Activities**


 * Prescribed texts excel 98-118**
 * Outlook – 113-132**

Readings 13 and 14 Mckenzie, j. 2000, “building research models”, “scaffolding for success”. Reading 15: Begman 2000, Feasible electronic portfolios: Global networking for the self-directed leaners in the digital age WebQuest taxonomy: a taxonomy of tasks Online paper – listed online in the International Electronic Journal or Leadership in Learning presents a series of scenarios in which teachers and students utilise technology to enhance the learning process: includes some hyperlinks to very relevant materials


 * Forum** – post critical thinking and complex problem solving activities/ideas – style you have already developed or found valuable.

As some of the teaching staff at my school were technically challenged I needed to create an engaging delivery to get the attention of the staff and gradually introduce positive suggestions why this type of integration would benefit them in their preparation and delivery as well as assist in engaging their students. To develop this content had to be critiqued, be problem solving based rather than create more problems in the classroom as well as train the teachers in the use of the technology. Ideally I would like to get the teachers’ skills into using “gaming” in their lessons as many of our clientele lack motivation and these video games can actually be a valuable assessment tool. At this point in teacher training I will be happy if teachers are using a few web 2.0 based tools in their classrooms until they develop a comfortable skill level and are ready to make the next technological move at their own pace, and of course time permits. I had suggested in my first teacher training that these tools can be presented in class as a Project-based learning, which can be used as an educational process that challenges students to solve problems based on real-life situations in small, collaborative peer groups. With this concept students learn and retain more when they're engaged in such activities Share ideas for e-portfolios and how they could be used and describe your experiences using learning objects. There are so many e-portfolio tools in the current digital age. My personal preference is to create the portfolio in an application, convert it to pdf, use adobe acrobat to create a content portfolio and digitally upload to a blog, pebblepad or wikispace. I have used all of these features over many years and have received positive feedback on the design and concept as well as the reporting, educational value and pedagogical content. More portfolio utilities include, open office, GeoCities, WordPress, WIkispaces, GoogleDocs, moviemaker, photostory, Zoo Writer, pebblepad, just to name a few. Technically there are four main types of ePortfolios. Developmental ePortfolios demonstrate the advancement and development of student skills over a period of time. They include both self-assessment and reflection /feedback elements. These provide communication between students and faculty. Assessment ePortfolios Demonstrate student competence and skill for well-defined areas. These are used to evaluate student competency as defined by program standards and outcomes. Showcase ePortfolios are typically created at the end of a program to highlight the quality of student work. Students may use these portfolios to show to potential employers to gain employment at the end of their studies. Hybrids. Most eportfolios are hybrids of the three types of eportfolios listed above. Rarely will you find an eportfolio that is strictly used for assessment, development, or showcase purposes.
 * Forum Posting**


 * Week 8**
 * Activities**

Use one of the coaching/teaching toolkit –excel lesson plan.

Students can design a survey as the focus of a class project. The project can include interviewing a number of people and capturing the data on a form. Once the survey forms are completed, students can enter the results in a database to keep track of and analyze the data. Survey projects can be assigned to individual students or teams, or the whole class can design and administer the survey. Students can use Microsoft Office Word 2007 to create and print the survey questionnaire and then use Office Excel 2007 to create a database and analyze the results.


 * Lesson plan ideas**

Develop lesson plan and evaluate. Share the activitiy with Regan SEE DESkTOP SAVING
 * **Lesson plan ** ||
 * **School level** ||  || • || High school (14-18 years old) ||   ||
 * **Subjects** ||  || • || History/Social Studies ||
 * • || Computing studies ||
 * **Class time** ||  || • || 2 class periods (45-minute periods) spread over 2 weeks ||   ||
 * **Software required** ||  || • || Microsoft Office Word ||
 * • || Microsoft Office Excel ||
 * • || Microsoft Office PowerPoint ||  ||
 * **Materials needed** ||  || • || [|Student Handout A] (Microsoft Office Word document, 19 KB) ||
 * • || [|Student Handout B] (Microsoft Office Word document, 19 KB) ||
 * • || [|Article: Design a survey form and evaluate the data] ||  ||
 * • || [|Student Handout B] (Microsoft Office Word document, 19 KB) ||
 * • || [|Article: Design a survey form and evaluate the data] ||  ||

Goals

 * • || Students will be introduced to the process of creating a hypothesis and testing its validity. ||
 * • || Students will become familiar with spreadsheet fundamentals. ||
 * • || Students will engage in thoughtful discussion about generational differences. ||

Objectives

 * • || Students formulate a hypothesis with dependent and independent variables about generational differences in attitude. ||
 * • || Students design, write, and administer a questionnaire that elicits responses to questions about generational differences. ||
 * • || Students analyze the survey results using Office Excel. ||
 * • || Students present their findings to the class using Office Excel or Office PowerPoint. ||


 * Prescribed texts Excel 142-168**
 * Outlook Chapters 8 and 9 pages 159-195**


 * Forum** – Post how you have used outlook and excel to support classroom learning and in the design of webquests in the past.


 * Forum Posting**

I use outlook all day, every day for my TSO position. Unfortunately I am unable to access student details. In my day-to-day role as TSO I use Outlook to book appointments, diary notations, invite attendees to meetings, note URLs, have created groups for classes at TAFE, groups of other TSOs, links to SharePoint and have created folders for different categories of email filing due to the large number of incoming mail that I must archive. As the department only allows an Outlook account to be Outlook Lite we have limited data storage capacity and the current lite version does not allow for archiving, therefore item categories can assist with storing only essential data. Excel is used extensively in the TSO role as well. All of our SharePoint data is electronically accessed and reported but these applications have the export to excel capabilities. I also use excel for reporting and frequently use the sort features to bring up current data and sort in descending or ascending order. I have designed my own template and loaded them to the harddrive as the school server for backup safety. We also use the count and sum features of the program. Outlook – create student groups, invite attendees, (teachers only as cannot access student outlook except for private and there can be dangers in adding) Excel – data for collection – groups, cell colours, filters

What is the appropriate forum to share the results of my action research/peer coaching program? Within the uni site forum create a forum group for new tools found or link to diigo group and wikispace and add subject participants Staff meetings? – I find meetings successful if we meet on a faculty to TSO rating. There are around 10 teachers in each faculty which allows me to address any issues with ICT on a more personal and quick response base solution. Staff meetings that contain all staff can have many categories to cover and tend to be more information based rather than tutorial and question and answer solutions. Appointment with management/principal? Many principals are too bogged down in the management of the school however it is good practice to inform the principal of PLT and other training for teir approval and suggestions prior to carrying out training. Staff newsletters? I tend to put very little in staff newsletters unless it is a reminder notice. I compose these and design them myself so minimal information is typed however the information has prime position on the page and the information is simple. This is usually followed up by myself attending different staffrooms to arrange suitable days and times for PLT. Email? Many schools have the standard state department emails as well as internal emails. I utalise both these functions to contact teachers as many prefer one or the other, not both. Intranet? Our intranet is very heavily text based and information can easily get lost. I only post meeting dates in the intranet calendar for reminders. To compensate for this I usually make personal visitis to remind teachers of PLT. What do I want to achieve in my own professional development for the next twelve months Completion of diploma 100 percent usage for teacher laptops in classrooms and integration Develop a technology team for support network and collaboration Moodle creation for each faculty Create more recorded tutorials and upload to wikispace
 * Week 9**
 * Journal reflection**

Within the uni site forum create a forum group for new tools found or link to diigo group and wikispace and add subject participants Staff meetings? – I find meetings successful if we meet on a faculty to TSO rating. There are around 10 teachers in each faculty which allows me to address any issues with ICT on a more personal and quick response base solution. Staff meetings that contain all staff can have many categories to cover and tend to be more information based rather than tutorial and question and answer solutions. Appointment with management/principal? Many principals are too bogged down in the management of the school however it is good practice to inform the principal of PLT and other training for teir approval and suggestions prior to carrying out training. Staff newsletters? I tend to put very little in staff newsletters unless it is a reminder notice. I compose these and design them myself so minimal information is typed however the information has prime position on the page and the information is simple. This is usually followed up by myself attending different staffrooms to arrange suitable days and times for PLT. Email? Many schools have the standard state department emails as well as internal emails. I utalise both these functions to contact teachers as many prefer one or the other, not both. Intranet? Our intranet is very heavily text based and information can easily get lost. I only post meeting dates in the intranet calendar for reminders. To compensate for this I usually make personal visitis to remind teachers of PLT. What do I want to achieve in my own professional development for the next twelve months Completion of diploma 100 percent usage for teacher laptops in classrooms and integration Develop a technology team for support network and collaboration Moodle creation for each faculty Create more recorded tutorials and upload to wikispace
 * Forum Posting**


 * Week 10**
 * Activities**
 * Prescribed tests**
 * Excel lesson 9 195-214**
 * Outlook Lesson 11, 224-245**


 * Forum** - Post resources you have found valuable for professional development eg online journals, tutorials, PD bytes.


 * Forum Posting**

Diigo.com Animoto.com Zoho.com Wikispaces.com Pebblepad.com Comicstrip.com Lynda.com Google apps Teachertube.com Youtube.com Facebook.com Slideshare.com

Excel – secure and share documents + complete lesson 11, 236 – 267
 * Week 11**
 * Activities**

Teacher surveys 1 and 2 (Before and after PLT)
 * Week 12 and remaining time - Assignments 1 and 2**
 * Teacher training -** Action Research concludes for terms 1 and 2.

Links to teacher surveys

Survey 1 []

Survey 2 []