I am still here

I haven't forgotten about this, I am still working on it. Just the last weeks of school at the end of each term are killers, too much to do, too much one, and then the PD on top. Looking forward to holidays to sit down and nut this all out

Enabling the 21st Century learner

This documents purpose is to outline the key outcomes and actions for e-Learning in New Zealand schools. It describes goals for e-learning in schools and the projects, tools and resources that are being developed to address those outcomes.

It builds on two previous ICT strategies for schools. Interactive Education (Ministry of Education, 1998) and Digital Horizons (Ministry of Education, 2002).

The schools' e-learning action plan

All students achieve their potential

Students use ICT to:

• relate to others,
  
• increase feedback and del-assessment
  
• work interactively with local and global learning communities
  
• pursue knowledge
  
• represent, negotiate, and communicate ideas in a creative and critical way.
  

This requires innovation and change within schools. The focus of the previous ICT strategy documents was to lay the foundations for the effective use of ICT in schooling by:

• providing professional development for educators;
  
• ensuring appropraite online learning resources are available;
  
• building infrastructure
  
• mainstreaming and integrating the role of ICT into schooling in a more strategic way.
  

These have lead to substantial growth in the effective use of ICT to support teaching and learning. With particular strength has been on the focus on increasing the capability and confidence of teachers to use ICT to support students learning. 

This has been shown in our school with the board funding TELA laptops for all staff and integrating datashow projectors into 78% of our classrooms. Internet technologies are being brought in more into the classroom, this has had a negative effect on the library borrowing. However, with literacy being a focus in our school and various other library competitions we have managed to turn around the decline. We are using Internet Technologies for the students to write reviews during the competition to help get more students involved. See www.booksinthewild.co.nz for a similar competition held in west auckland.

Also we are using KnowledgeNET, which is a LMS to help integrate ICT from school to home. Although this has been a long and arguers journey, as it is still missing some vital parts to make it more of a LMS rather than a CMS.

So far the focus has been on small manageable innovations rather than on big changes. But the challenge is to change, the actions plan proposes to:

• provide teachers with relevant and timely information about effective e-learning teaching practice.
  
• use ICT to facilitate the spread of that information by teachers and for teachers.
  

These have been brought into play with the ICTPD clusters with the teachers being involved sharing their knowledge with their colleagues in the school. Out school provides ICT Professional Development through our Professional Develop morning, these have mostly focused on application development and knowledge, cybersafety with netsafe being brought in, and how the teachers in various department have integrated ICT into their own teaching and learning.

All students achieving their potential

• promoting e-learning to extend and enrich educational experiences across the curriculum;
  
• supporting students to become profecient in ICT literacy skills;
  
• supporting students in developing the sense of identity, the self-confidence, and key competencies that are prerequisites for independent, collaborative, and lifelong learning;
  
• supporting students who identify as Maori to use ICT to access high-quality learning, both of te reo Maori, to participate as citizens of the world and to experience success in schooling;
  
• supporting Pasifika students to use ICT to embrace their unique Pasifika identities and to experience success in schooling, both academically and socially.
  

e-Learning and effective teaching

Effective teaching for all students through e-Learning will depend on teachers:

• having the opportunity to explore ICT and to become confident and capable users of it;
  
• being supported by leaders at all levels of the system;
  
• having access to a wide range of relevant, high quality educational content.
  

Teacher Capability

Effective teaching for all students will depend on teachers becoming confident and capable users of ICT and understanding how to integrate ICT effectively into their teaching practice. Teachers make key decisions how to integrate ICT effectively into their classroom in order to achieve the desired learning outcomes for students. They evaluate the appropriateness and effectiveness of available technologies and digital resources and decide when and how to use them with students.

Effective teachers use e-learning to:

• create new learning environments based on a blended learning approach, which allows students to explore and experiment, think critically and work creatively reflect and plan, use feedback and self assessment, and create new knowledge.
  
• make teaching and learning more effective and efficient by using customised that aid preparation, programming, assessment and reporting.
  
• customise learning experiences to recognise individual, cultural and developmental differences;
  
• enhance communication and collaboration to build partnerships beyond the classroom, expanding the communities of learners and enhancing the quality of learning;
  
• create new education communities by increasing the modes of teaching and learning and the range of people that can be involved.
  

to be able to achieve this, teachers must be supported in developing and enhancing their own ICT knowledge and skills, through professional learning and consistent ongoing support across the education sector.

Outcomes

Teachers have the confidence and capability to effectively integrate e-learning into their professional practice.

All ICT professional development programmes in schools focus on effective teaching, ICT literacy, and understanding the potential of ICT to support learning across the curriculum.

Teachers use online communities of practice to strengthen collegial support, professional dialogue, and reflective practice.

Their is a clear and consistent understanding of the literacies related to e-learning across schools and their relationship to the key competencies.

Interventions are in place that relieve workload pressure in Maori Teachers and explore and provide professional development opportunities.

e-learning action plan

While there is the eLearning guidelines for tertiary education, there are some for secondary schools, "Enabling the 21st Century Learner - An e-Learning Action Plan for Schools" as well as "ICT Strategic Framework for Education". I am looking at some of the Primary Goals of these projects.

Enabling the 21st Century Learner - An e-Learning Action Plan for Schools 2006-2010

Summary:
The e-Learning Action Plan for Schools 2006-2010 outlines the key outcomes and actions for e-learning in the New Zealand school sector for 2006-2010. It describes the goals for e-learning in schools and the projects, tools, and resources that are being developed to adddress those outcomes.

http://www.minedu.govt.nz/web/downloadable/dl10475_v1/itc-strategy.pdf

This has some interesting outcomes related to what we are doing.

• All students achieveing their potiential
• e-Learning and effective teaching
• Teacher capability
• Leadership
• Learning Resources and Curriculum Material
• e-Learning and Family, Whànau, and Community Participation

ICT Strategic Framework for Education 2006-2007
Summary
The ICT Strategic Framework for Education was released for consultation in December 2006 across the whole education sector. Feedback was sought to establish what the priorities and needs are for education organisations in relation to ICT.

http://www.minedu.govt.nz/index.cfm?layout=document&documentid=11734&data=l

I will blog more about these in the next couple of days, one thing I am finding is it is hard with multiple windows and tabs open on one computer. I require a printer, I am such a "digitial immigrant" when it comes to study.

Guidelines for quality

I think I have to look at something else at the moment to be able to get my head around teh e-Learning guidelines issues. I have pulled out my copy of the NZ Curriculum, the areas that I look at are the ICT area and the Technology Curriculum.

We are now required to look at the key competencies, the capabililites for living and lifelong learning.
There are five competencies that have been identified,

• thinking
• using language, symbols and texts
• managing self
• relating to others
• participating and contributing

I think these are the areas that I need to look at. I know that some of these do appear in the eLearning Guidelines, but I would like to look at this from a different angle.

Thinking
Thinking is about using creative, critical, and meta cognitive process to make sense of information, experiences, and ideas. these processes can be applied to purposes such as understanding, making decisions, shaping actions or constructing knowledge. Intellectual curiosity is at the heart of this competency. (From the NZ Curriculum, 2007)

Using language, symbols and texts
They confidently use ICT(including where appropriate, assistive technologies) to access and provide information and to communicate with others (From the NZ Curriculum, 2007)

Manging self
This competency is associated with self-motivation, a "can-do" attitude and with students seeing themselves as capable learners. It is integral to self-assessment. (From the NZ Curriculum, 2007)

Relating to others
This competency includes the ability to listen actively, recognise different points of view, negotiate, and share ideas. (From the NZ Curriculum, 2007)

Participating and Contributing
This competency is abou being actively involved in communities. Students who participate and contribute in communities have a sense of belonging and the confifdence to participate within new contexts. (From the NZ Curriculum, 2007)

These competencies are the funadmentals of every single school in New Zealand, from Early Childhood Education, Primary, Itermediate and Secondary.

We are moving towards these over the next couple of years, that is why I am looking at these as some of my guildelines for evaluation. Do these meet the requirements of the matter.

Some of these issues that I have been looking at under the eLearning Guidelines are

SO13 Do students get appropriate ICT support in a timely manner?
The students get one term of ICT skills at year 9. That is it, previosly they had a whole year.

MO6 Does the organisation provide a reliable, secure and up-to-date IT infrastructure that meets the requirements of the course?
IT structures, is that our Learning Management System, this is constantly under development through knowledgeNET,

MT3 Does the institution review the effectiveness of its e-learning to assure alignment with institutional priorities and educational objectives?
We do not have any of these at the moment but reading this and the guidelines in the massey document will be brought up in the future.

TT11 Are online assessment tools for the course identified and evaluated?
These have only just been added to our LMS.

Evaluation tools?

This is looking at some evaluation tools that I use within my classroom, these are some notes for me that go with the webmeeting on the 6th march.

Looking at tools used to help facilitate learners and to look at the evaluation of the tools that we are using.

I am working on getting student email accounts at school. These would be used possibly for teachers to talk to other students, get those one on one discussion topics going, however some teachers are fearful that there lives will become 24/7 to the students. No one has ever said that it will become 24/7 for the students.

Also we have a Learning Management System, called knowledgeNET and have been working with this system for a number of years now. It is a pity using many other LMS when they have functionality that knowledgeNET does not have. I used the LMS today to post an assessment for the students to hand in on line, however I managed to post it to all year 13 students.

With the updates we can see when the students last login and who is currently logged in. One of the biggest problems is that a number of students do not have access to these systems at home,

Survey monkey we have used within the school, we used this to look at the students to ask what makes a good lesson. One of the problem with this was the multiple responses as the students don't really know what they are doing when they submit a survey. We had an internal system that would only aloow the students to submit once, unfortunealty with teh change over in servers this was moved over.

Asking the students at the end of the lesson, what did they enjoy, what did they not enjoy, I have a system at school where I can do a survey straight away with the students using the remote management tool. they have to answer before the computer will remove the box on their screen before they can get back to work.

talking and department meetings, I talk with my HoD all the time, and her with me, we talk about what worked with the class and what did not work with the class.

I have used a evaluation technique called SII (Strengths, Improvements, Insight). This I use with the students to look at there own development throughout the year, after a unit or

topic, rather than just leaving it to the end of the year. This one I have modified for online use.

Answer the following questions:

What are some Strengths of taking this class?
This could be what you like or enjoy, what you have experienced, what you hope to accomplish, or perhaps nothing at all.

What are the areas of Improvement?
Are there areas you are having problems with? Do you find online communications challenging? If so, what can be done to make it easier? Feel free to contact ne to discuss concerns and look at strategies to help resolve any problems or challenges.

What are some Insights I have gained from doing this?
What have you discovered that was unexpected or surprising to you?

Introduction

This blog is to help me keep track of my ideas and notes and discussions while I undertake studies in the Graduate Diploma in applied eLearning, the paper Evaluation of eLearning for Best Practice.

Who am I?
I am Gerard (sorry no last name being posted as students google me)

Where do I work?
I work at Papatoetoe High School in Auckland, a 7-13 Secondary School. I teach year 12 and 13 computer studies, year 13 web design and a couple of year 9 classes in ICT.

Your Interest in evaluation and what I know already.
I suppose this is where the course is going to help me, I am constantly evaluating(self reflection and talking to my colleagues) my classroom practice on what works and what doesn't work. As a department we look at the schemes and where the students are going and what the course offers the students each year. This has now been made harder by NZQA with the lockdown on what Standards you offer as these cannot be added to or changed after a certain period in the year. I also evaluate resources I use in my subjects, what needs to be done to implement them, will the students understand them and will it help them with their understanding. At the end, was that a good resource to use.
Example
Last year I used a book as a resource for a unit standard to help the students create different types of lego robots and to help program these robots to battle each other. The book had wonderful examples of battle bots that the students enjoyed building. The problem was that the programming in the books was above the students level of understanding. This year I am looking at including the designs for the students to build, but will incorporate a different software program to control the bots, there will be more skills taught to teach the programming and the book will be used as a guide to provide specifications on what is required in the program to control the bots in battle.

What I hope to get out of the course?
At the moment I don't really know what I will get out of the course, this is the first time I have done some study since leaving my Bachelors in IT and my teaching diploma. I am an open book with some pages missing at the moment due to I haven't been able to find a course that interests me. That is why when a mate took some papers in the graduate diploma course a couple of years ago I found something of interest to me and will help with my future path.

Ideas for an evaluation project?
Can I get back to you on this one, this is my first day...

Questions?
What tag or label do I put down for this?