"In their hands" - State of Victoria, DEECD

All Blog Posts (67)

Links between Literacy and Technology

It is strange how we have to justify the benefits of new technology in the classroom whereas some older teaching aids are never questioned. Take the book. The book was once a new technology. Here is a good example of what it looked like when it was first 'rolled out' in the Medieval period.

Have you ever heard anyone ask a teacher to find research as to how and why a book can improve outcomes in the classroom? I can't find a study to support the book, but there are plenty out… Continue

Added by Marcellinus on December 7, 2009 at 6:45pm — No Comments

Pakuranga Netbook trial

Now I've joined this Ning, probably an idea to explain what brings me here. We're a large (2100 students) co-ed state school in a reasonably affluent area of Auckland. Next year we're going to trial having "Digital Classes" with one-to-one netbooks. In the initial trial we're only going to run 3 classes at year 9 level (year 8 in Oz). To make this work, the parents are going to pay for the netbooks. We're going for the Toshiba NB300, coz we liked the NB200 and the NB300 has wireless-n. Apart… Continue

Added by Charlie Smith on December 7, 2009 at 10:50am — 1 Comment

1 to 1 in Loddon Mallee

Anne Baird and I presented at the VITTA conference on Wednesday November 25th. We did a short 45 minute presentation about the '1 to 1' rollout in the Loddon Mallee Region. We'd love some feedback and thoughts on the what we presented. What did we get right? What did we get wrong? I'd really like to know what have been the big shifts in your classroom practice since the… Continue

Added by Darrel on December 2, 2009 at 2:16pm — No Comments

The Weekend

This is my first Blog Post I'm just trying a few things to see how it goes. This is the AFL website I saw Peter Combe on Saturday.

That was my Weekend Nathan Continue

Added by Nathan Mitchell on November 8, 2009 at 6:54pm — 2 Comments

Making Me Nervous

I feel I'm a constant disappointment to people sometimes. For example, being an Ultranet coach, people expect me to be interested in and capable of fixing technical problems. Sadly for these people, my version of solving technical problems looks at little like this:

(image courtesy of thereifixedit.… Continue

Added by Rob Sbaglia on November 3, 2009 at 9:00am — 6 Comments

Comic Resources

By now most schools would have received, downloaded, and installed license keys for "Comic Life" on the netbooks. (If you haven't talk to you 1:1 coordinator, Principal, Ultranet coach - in that order ;) The Comic Life program is a really creative tool for producing lots of different products that can include images, captions and some awesome callouts, speech bubbles and comic strip templates. You and your students will probably figure i… Continue

Added by Darrel on October 28, 2009 at 5:09pm — 1 Comment

Speranza

If it weren't obvious from my writing and physique, you should know that I love food. And there aren't many foods I love more than pizza. Indeed, on a recent trip to Italy, I visited my favourite pizzerias.

Pizzeria Spera, Florence

Pizzeria Capri, Perugia… Continue

Added by Rob Sbaglia on October 25, 2009 at 9:30pm — 2 Comments

Artificial Sun

In a former life, I used to be a research scientist. I gained by PhD in Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Queensland. The title of my thesis was "Molecular Characteristics of Agonists and Antagonists of two G Protein-Coupled Receptors", and I would highly recommend reading it if you suffer from insomnia. I rarely miss being a research scientist. Becoming a teacher was one of the more intelligent decisions I've made in my life, for a whole number of re… Continue

Added by Rob Sbaglia on October 15, 2009 at 4:54pm — 2 Comments

Ultranet team - I salute you!

One of the pleasures of doing this job has been the opportunity to work with my fellow Ultranet coaches in the Loddon Mallee. If you didn't know, they are:

Darrel Branson - based in Mildura… Continue

Added by Rob Sbaglia on October 12, 2009 at 8:00am — 4 Comments

This amusement never ends

I hope everyone had a great holiday. I managed to get away to Hobart for a week. We stayed in beautiful Battery Point. I love Battery Point because it represents a rare urban form in Australia - mixed use. Between houses and flats are cafes, pubs, restaurants, and many other things that make living in a city worthwhile. Indeed, I have a bit of a 'thing' for living within walking distance of amenities. We chose where we live in Bendigo based on being able to walk to pretty much everything. Aside… Continue

Added by Rob Sbaglia on October 8, 2009 at 9:31pm — 4 Comments

Great Learning & Reflective Learning

Haven't the netbooks been great over the past two terms? Lots of interesting learning for both students and teachers. With greater access to ICT through these devices I've seen an extraordinary amount of ICT integration happen over the past two terms and it's a credit to the everyone involved! Well done teachers and students! Now it's time to document some of what's been happening in your classrooms. I know a number of teachers have collected data through surveys, video, student work samples et… Continue

Added by Darrel on October 6, 2009 at 4:50pm — No Comments

SAM Animation

The netbooks come with a really useful, free animation program called Monkey Jam. However, I have recently come across another free animation program which works on the netbooks called SAM animation. It has been devleoped by Tufts University and can be found at http://www.samanimation.com/ SAM_Animation

SAM is a great little program that has some benefits o… Continue

Added by Darrel on September 6, 2009 at 1:16pm — 1 Comment

Tolkien, The Enigma Code, Web 2.0 and the Collective Classroom Genius !

What does 21st century learning look like? How does a 21C learner behave and interact? What does their classroom look like? I have been puzzling over this for a while and there seems to be a variety of ideas and theories. One idea I have come across is the idea of 'Scenius' which seems to fit with the possibilities of Web 2.0 and 21st Century learning.

… Continue

Added by Marcellinus on August 27, 2009 at 5:00pm — 1 Comment

Are your students Cybersmart?

The online world can be very liberating and offers great potential, but is not witout its perils. Just like many things in life- you need to know the rules and read the between the lines. I think this Far Side comic illustrates the point well!

A good source of informat… Continue

Added by Marcellinus on August 26, 2009 at 8:00pm — 3 Comments

An architectural rant (and some stuff about ICT in teaching and learning)

I hate ugly architecture. I have a particular intolerance to it that few other people seem to suffer. For example, check out this monstrosity - located not in some far-flung industrial park, but across the road from one of Bendigo's most significant civic buildings - the Town Hall.

… Continue

Added by Rob Sbaglia on August 23, 2009 at 6:30pm — 8 Comments

Video & Netbooks Competitions

Looking for an excuse to use your Flip camera and netbooks? Look no further! Below are two competitions that are open to primary students. The 60 second science competition has some great learning opportunities regardless of the prize. ABC3 Promotional Video and Web Banner It is a great opportunity for your kids’ work with ICT to screen on ABC TV ABC3 is a brand new kids TV channel and online world which will launch before Christmas. ABC TV needs to tell all of Australia that ABC… Continue

Added by Marcellinus on August 14, 2009 at 4:00pm — No Comments

Happiness is...

Some people are into cars. Some people are into big houses. Some people want lots of money. For me, my dream was to have an open fire. And finally, I have one:

So while sitting in front of my fire I have been reflecting on some of the amazing stuff that's ou… Continue

Added by Rob Sbaglia on August 13, 2009 at 7:52pm — No Comments

Year 7's - What can we do to prepare for '1 to 1'

I just wanted to 'shout out' a big welcome to all of our recently signed up members! And a big welcome to all of the year 7 teachers who have joined the ning. Just to get you thinking I have listed some links below from Darcy Moore's blog. Darcy works in the NSW education system. As you may be aware, they are rolling out '1 to 1' devices to all of their year 9 students. There are lots of really useful ideas in the posts below and Darcy has made good use of his personal learning network to get i… Continue

Added by Darrel on August 4, 2009 at 2:22pm — 3 Comments

My Ghost Like to Travel

When not messing about with blogs, podcasts and various other technologies, I indulge in my greatest passions - travel, architecture and food. Indeed, these three things seem to be one in the same for me (trafooditecture?). Recently I arrived back from a three week break in Sicily.

Of course, you can now all breathe a sigh of relief, as I'm back! The little animation above was done with animoto, which allows you to take music… Continue

Added by Rob Sbaglia on July 29, 2009 at 1:35pm — 2 Comments

Introduction to FreeMind

FreeMind can be a little baffling at first but it is well worth learning. It is a great tool for planning, brainstorming and, well, mind mapping! If you haven't already tried FreeMind for mind mapping on the netbooks, check out the video section for a 9 minute introduction. http://one2onelaptops.ning.com/video/introduction-to-freemind Continue

Added by Darrel on June 24, 2009 at 12:13pm — 1 Comment