Knowledge Bank Online Events

Connecting Innovators

In this session listen to two inspiring teachers who are using different types of technology to engage students in the classroom.

When: 23 July 2009, 4.00pm. Click here to register

Where: Online in Elluminate. You don’t need to leave your desk - the program comes to you.

Who:

Jenny Ashby is an ICT specialist at Epsom PS and has implemented innovative technologies in the

classroom. These innovations started out with laptops and wireless networks then moving onto iPod nanos and the Nike sensor sport kits for fitness, Podcasting and local history, digital portfolios and now the iPod Touch.
Listen to this session to find out about how Epsom PS trialled the use of the iPod Touch.

In this session participants will view examples of their use in the literacy and numeracy block.
You will see how visual literacy was enhanced through the use of movie clips and video instruction created by teachers for inclusion on the iPods.

and

Anne Mirtschin is the ICT Coordinator at Hawkesdale P12 College. Anne teaches in virtual classrooms and her passion for project-based learning resulted in her receiving the Victorian secondary Kahootz teacher award in 2006 and winning the Microsoft Innovative Teacher’s award in 2008. Anne’s other awards include ICTEV Leader of the Year 2009, Bailleu Myer Schollarship winner and finalist in DEECD Innovative Curriculum Award.
Learn how to connect, collaborate and create outside the classroom with staff and students from all cultures, nationalities and languages. See how teachers and students extend their communication and e-skills: netiquette, digital citizenship skills, cyber safety, using web 2.0 tools, collaborating and working in a virtual team, risk-taking, scheduling, project management and creative effective products for a global audience.
This is a taste of the hottest 21^st-century learning.

To register for this session click here

For more information email knowledgebank@edumail.vic.gov.au

9.30am Friday 19 June: This session was recorded. Click here to listen to the recording

Notschool.net - Providing online learning when school doesn’t fit
Jean will tell the story of Notschool.net, why it was started, what is it and what it can achieve. How can an online environment re-engage learners or provide alternatives for students not flourishing in schools? Participants will take away important learning about what works and what doesn’t in virtual learning spaces.

Since 2000 Jean has led Notschool.net research project working in the field of social inclusion for disadvantaged youth, focusing particularly in the creative and innovative use of multimedia to develop learning.

Notschool.net is an international online learning community offering an alternative to traditional education for young people who, for a variety of reasons, are unable to engage with school or other complementary provisions such as home tutoring or specialist units.

Notschool.net is a last resort for young people disengaged from classroom learning because of illness or phobia, pregnancy, bullying or disaffection, reluctance to learn, travel or exclusion.

The Notschool.net project has worked with over 5000 young people and their families since 2000 in the UK and across the world to re-engage them in learning.

Who: Jean is recognised internationally for her passion and commitment to social inclusion for disadvantaged youth. Jean has worked in the education field for twenty five years, beginning her career in East London schools working with difficult and disaffected teenagers.

Click here to listen to the recording

For more information email innovation@edumail.vic.gov.au

When: 

Thursday 28th May  3.00 - 4.00pm - Click here to listen to the recording

Where: Online in Elluminate. You don’t need to leave your desk - the program comes to you. 

Stepping Into the Virtual Classroom is a one hour session offering some ways-in to educators who are interested in starting to use Virtual Classrooms in their own teaching and learning settings.  During the session we will show examples of different uses of virtual classrooms including school-led conferences, student focused events, and major conferences.  In each of these we will discuss how the virtual classroom was used, for what purpose, and some of the different facilitation styles and skills used in different sessions.  This will be followed by a facilitated discussion about how you might use this technology in your own classroom or professional setting and the steps you would need to take to do this.

For: This program is for Victorian teachers and educators (government and non-government schools), education policy officers and researchers with some experience of using and/or participating in virtual classrooms who are interested in talking about next-steps.

Who: Carole McCulloch will run the Stepping Into the Virtual Classroom sessions.  Carole is a skilled virtual moderator e-coach and e-mentor who has been involved in education throughout her working life.  Carole has worked as a secondary school teacher, a lecturer and coordinator in TAFE (community colleges), then as an instructional designer, flexible learning manager and senior project officer for TAFE frontiers in Melbourne.  Since 2005 she has worked as an independent e-learning consultant working on national and state based e-learning projects.

Past sessions:

Thursday 23rd  April 3.00 - 4.00pm - Click here to listen to a recording of the session

Thursday 26th February 3.00 - 4.00pm -  Click here to listen to a recording of the session

Thursday 26th March  3.00 - 4.00pm - Click here to listen to a recording of the session

 For more information contact knowledgebank@edumail.vic.gov.au or coachcarole2007@gmail.com

Connecting Innovators: 2009 Innovation Showcase Online
15 May 2009 - six online sessions

If you missed out on attending the ‘Tell Me’ sessions at the Innovation Showcase. You can listen to the recordings here:

Anne Mirtschin - Flat Classroom Walls: click here to listen to the recording

Anne Mirtschin is an award winning, experienced teacher at a small rural school in country Victoria. Her interest in project based learning in virtual classrooms has led to outstanding results for her students and a true understanding of the potential of the global classroom.  Hear Anne’s ‘Tell Me’ presentation about how Hawkesdale P12 College works outside the classroom walls through projects like flatclassroom.   

Silverton Primary School - 21st Century Classrooms: click here to listen to the recording

Silverton Primary School demonstrates an outstanding use of its flexible learning spaces with a pedagogy that focuses on Discovery, Authentic and Inquiry approaches to learning. ICT is deeply embedded in the delivery of the curriculum. Over 500 visitors from overseas, interstate and local schools visited the school in the past six months alone and left amazed at what is achievable with the right philosophy and environment.

Ajax McKerral - Ping Online Music Education Project: click here to listen to the recording 

The Ping online music education project uses a blended learning model. Using a blog as the central hub and online video conferences, students learn about music with Melbourne Symphony Orchestra  musicians. There’s a Song Room teaching artist in the classroom to assist students and teachers create compositions using samples recorded by MSO musicians. Students share their compositions on the blog. Learn how to bring the music masters to your classroom.

Wimmera Virtual School - Blended Curriculum Provision: click here to listen to the recording

Wimmera Virtual Schools (WVS) Eleven Wimmera Government schools have launched a new era of curriculum provision delivering Physics, Psychology, Mathematical Methods, Chemistry and Physical Education via newly installed video conferencing infrastructure. WVS is one component of a pilot about rural curriculum provision across Loddon Campaspe and Grampians regions. This innovative Blended Curriculum Provision model includes face to face instruction, digitised (recorded) audio and video instructional material, video conference lessons, special purpose podcasts and vodcasts, an Online Learning Management System using the Moodle software package for 24/7 access, and personal conferencing technologies. A key feature of the success so far of WVS is its collaborative protocol, and focus on building the capacity of students and teachers to embrace the new technology. An extension of the project is exploration of the blended provision across the P – 10 years.

Jarrod Robinson - Rethinking Homework: click here to listen to the recording

Jarrod Robinson is a Physical Education & Outdoor Education teacher at Boort Secondary College, a small country school 100km for Bendigo. He delights in keeping his students active while blending ICT use across his subject areas to engage and improve learning outcomes. Imagine your students carrying around their homework and due date in their pockets 24/7… too good to be true? This session will focus on how the tired old process of homework can be refurbished and repackaged for the 21st century. It takes account of the fact that most students are already carrying truly extraordinary computers in their pockets in the form of mobile phones.  Jarrod has a vast repertoire of teaching and learning uses for mobile phones and other hand held devices. 

John Doherty, Clete Page and David Roycroft - The Wider Workforce: click here to listen to the recording

John Doherty, Clete Paige and David Roycroft are principals who have taken innovative approaches to staffing in their schools.   The workforce reform agenda is about attracting, recruiting and supporting the right people to do their jobs as effectively as possible in schools.  One of the key initiatives of the Blueprint is to trial innovative approaches to work organization and explore models for teachers to work with other professionals.  The drive to improve the workforce in schools and early childhood services, reduce teacher workload and improve student outcomes provides opportunities for schools to explore models for teachers to work with other professionals in schools. These principals already have models to share with others.

What’s it about:
The Innovation Showcase brought together education innovators from all over Victoria to share their amazing practice. This year, for the first time, six outstanding sessions from the Showcase were offered simultaneously online. The event also enabled people to connect up to an active community of innovators in the Showcase Ning to keep you up to date throughout 2009 with Connecting Innovators - a series of online events, facilitated and open conversations, collaboration stories, and networks focused on education innovation.

Connecting Innovators Series - after May 15: After the Showcase we will be offering a series of facilitated online conversations, innovation stories, and collaboration activities, organised in the Showcase Ning.

For more information please contact knowledgebank@edumail.vic.gov.au or innovation@edumail.vic.gov.au or visit knowledgebank.globalteacher.org.au.

Read the rest of this entry »

This session was recorded: click here to listen to the recording.

Shouldn’t the pedagogy of professional development match the pedagogy we espouse for our students? In other words, shouldn’t teachers be accessing their own professional learning online anytime and anywhere?  Are they in fact already doing this but not getting credit for it? How much professional learning is actually happening online in that ‘just in time - 5 to minutes spare - I’m learning this because it matters to me’ kind of way?  And what makes this learning most powerful?  Sharing, publishing, accessing, globally and on demand - it all matters but what matters most? 

Listen to the recording of this panel discussion with three highly regarded educators who will challenge the traditional notions of how professional learning is delivered and accesed.  

Where: Online in Elluminate. You don’t need to leave your desk - the program comes to you.  This session was recorded: click here to listen to the recording.

When: 14 May 2009 - 3.30 - 4.30. 

Who: 

 Jason Smith is the co-founder of TeacherTube, an online community for teachers by teachers.  Jason will explore the role of technology enabled professional learning in equipping teachers for the wasy students engage and learn.

Jason has been a teacher, middle school principal, high school principal and district superintendent in public schools.  He currently serves as Superintendent of schools in Melissa Independent School District, 35 miles north of Dallas, Texas. 

 Greg Whitby is Executive Director of Schools in the Catholic Diocese of Parramatta, NSW.  Having worked in education for more than 30 years - as a teacher and administrator, he is passionate about the capabilities of Web 2.0 (and beyond) in the learning space. As an educator and life-long learner, Greg believes there’s an urgent need to push the boundaries of learning in the 21st century.  This means driving change at all levles by being innovative, thinking creatively and developing 21st century pedagogies that will inspire this generation of learners. 

Katrina Reynen is Assistant General Manager, Innovation and Next Practice division in DEECD.  In her current role she has been responsible for major innovation system reform initiatives including eLearning, Web 2.0 focused national KnowledgeBank: Next Generation project, network based Bandwidth Innovation Fund Projects and “Next Practice” practitioner based Innovation projects.  Katrina is passionately committed to improving educational outcomes for Victorian students.

For more information: innovation@edumail.vic.gov.au or knowledgebank@edumail.vic.gov.au  

What
We are running a series of Elluminate Masterclasses to Victorian educators who are interested in developing the skills to extend their teaching and learning into an exploration of virtual classrooms and becoming “masters and mentors” for others. The program is being offered as a series of four Masterclasses available from February through May. If you have used Elluminate before as a participant or moderator and would like to:

· Develop your online facilitation skills
· Learn how to use virtual classrooms in different teaching and learning contexts
· Understand how to adapt different teaching and learning styles to the virtual classroom
· Experiment with the use of multiple tools in an online session
· Become part of a network of virtual classroom leaders

These sessions will offer you a chance to work with a highly skilled e-facilitation expert and become part of a network of virtual classroom experts. Carole McCulloch will lead the program. Carole is a skilled virtual moderator e-coach and e-mentor who has been involved in education throughout her working life. Carole has worked as a secondary school teacher, a lecturer and coordinator in TAFE (community colleges), then as an instructional designer, flexible learning manager and senior project officer for TAFE frontiers in Melbourne. Since 2005 she has worked as an independent e-learning consultant working on national and state based e-learning projects.

Who (eligibility)
This program is for Victorian teachers and educators (government and non-government schools), education policy officers and researchers with some experience of using and/or participating in virtual classrooms in their professional life. Applicants will nominate how they plan to use their virtual classroom skills on completion of the program.

When
The program is being offered as a series of four masterclasses. Participants will attend a series of four sessions. Each session will start at 3.30pm and run for 1.5 hours. Each series will offered over four weeks. Applicants are invited to nominate one Series only:

Series 1: Feb/March 2009 (Feb 19, 24, 27, Mar 02) Finished

Series 2: March 2009 (Mar 04, 10, 16, 23) Finished

Series 3: April 2009 (Apr 21, 24, 27, 30) Finished

Series 4: May 2009 (May 01, 13, 22, 27) Full

Further series will be advertised later in the year.

For more information contact Carole 0260208337 or coachcarole2007@gmail.com

Stepping Into the Virtual Classroom is a one hour session offering some ways-in to educators who are interested in starting to use Virtual Classrooms in their own teaching and learning settings.  During the session we will show examples of different uses of virtual classrooms including school-led conferences, student focused events, and major conferences.  In each of these we will discuss how the virtual classroom was used, for what purpose, and some of the different facilitation styles and skills used in different sessions.  This will be followed by a facilitated discussion about how you might use this technology in your own classroom or professional setting and the steps you would need to take to do this.

For: This program is for Victorian teachers and educators (government and non-government schools), education policy officers and researchers with some experience of using and/or participating in virtual classrooms who are interested in talking about next-steps.

Where: Online in Elluminate. You don’t need to leave your desk - the program comes to you. 

Who: Carole McCulloch will run the Stepping Into the Virtual Classroom sessions.  Carole is a skilled virtual moderator e-coach and e-mentor who has been involved in education throughout her working life.  Carole has worked as a secondary school teacher, a lecturer and coordinator in TAFE (community colleges), then as an instructional designer, flexible learning manager and senior project officer for TAFE frontiers in Melbourne.  Since 2005 she has worked as an independent e-learning consultant working on national and state based e-learning projects.

When: 

Thursday 28th May  3.00 - 4.00pm - Click here to register

Past sessions:

Thursday 23rd  April 3.00 - 4.00pm - Click here to listen to a recording of the session

Thursday 26th February 3.00 - 4.00pm -  Click here to listen to a recording of the session

Thursday 26th March  3.00 - 4.00pm - Click here to listen to a recording of the session

 For more information contact knowledgebank@edumail.vic.gov.au or coachcarole2007@gmail.com

Dear Colleagues,

The Knowledge Bank Online Events Program is now finished for 2008.  It has been a fantastic year and on behalf of the Innovation and Next Practice Division, I would like to thank all of you who have participated in and contributed to the online events program this year.  For those of you who are familiar and confident in the online world - thank you for leading the way and sharing your learning here.  And for those of you who are new to virtual classrooms - thank you for taking the challenge to learn something new.  We have learnt so much from all of you.

We’ll be back with a fantastic program in 2009 focused on developing virtual classroom expertise, working with students in virtual classroom environments.  We’ll also continue with our online PD and online events program.  So watch this space - and make sure you’re on the mailing list (see sidebar) - we’ll let you know about our forthcoming programs in the New Year.

Happy holidays to all of you, and once again, a big THANK YOU!

Tamara Carpenter and Kate Jeffrey

Talk-It Tuesdays are finished for 2008.  We plan to run a new series of Talk-It Tuesdays in 2009 - we’ll let you know when these will be happening.  Thanks to everyone for participating - it’s been to hear what everyone’s up to and share our own observations and learning. 
Have a great Christmas break,
Tamara, Anne, Jess, Kate and Carole - the Talk-It Team.

Talk-It Tuesdays are informal online gatherings for educators interested in using social media, or Web 2.0 tools, in their work.  In 2008 these collaborative sessions took place every second Tuesday and focused on:

• Sharing stories of what we are experimenting with and learning about
• Teaching each other about what we’re finding useful and exciting
• Listening to each other’s experiences
• Connecting people, tools and ideas
• Helping each other sort out problems and get started

Everyone is welcome, the format is open, respectful and flexible, and there is no prerequisite knowledge for attending. You can drop-in for part or all of the session. You are equally welcome if you are the greatest Web 2.0 Whizz ever, or just trying to find out ‘What it’s all about.’ The sessions are loosely facilitated by Anne Mirtschin, Jess McCulloch and Tamara Carpenter.

2008 sessions:

Session 5 - Tuesday 9 December @ 3.30pm - click here to listen to the recording

Session 4 - Tuesday 25 November @ 3.30pm - click here to listen to the recording

Session 3 - Tuesday 11 November @ 3.30pm - click here to listen to the recording

Session 2 - Tuesday 28 October @ 3.30pm - click here to listen to the recording

Session 1 - Tuesday 14 October at 3.30pm - click here to listen to the recording

Talk-It Tuesdays originated from Anne Mirtschin and Jess McCulloch’s ‘Walk-in-Wednesdays’ at Hawkesdale P12 School. Finding that their colleagues were reluctant to continuously bombard these two Web 2.0 enthusiasts with random questions, Anne and Jess set up ‘Walk-in-Wednesdays’ as an open house for anyone to come and talk and learn. It’s been so successful they’ve now had teachers from other schools ask if they could attend - and so we decided to try the concept online as Talk-It Tuesdays.

More information from: knowledgebank@edumail.vic.gov.au  or mirtschin.anne.a@edumail.vic.gov.au

When: Tuesday 18 November at 2pm.

CLICK HERE to listen to a recording of the session.

Who: A panel of speakers including the Golden Inky winning author, two of the young judges, and insideadog.com.au project manager Lili Wilkinson.

Where: Online in Elluminate. This session was recorded. 

For:  Teachers and students in Years 7 to 12.  This event is a great opportunity for teachers to attend with their classes using Interactive Whiteboards. 

This session was recorded.  Click here to listen to the recording.

 This interactive session celebrates the 2008 Inky Awards, Australia’s only teenage choice book award, as run by insideadog.com.au, Centre for Youth Literature, State Library of Victoria.  The session will feature a panel of speakers including the Golden Inky winning author, two of the young judges, and insideadog.com.au project manager Lili Wilkinson.

This session will include an author talk, the results of the Inky’s Creative Reading Prize (won by a teenager for a creative response to a book), and a video from US-based 2007 Silver Inky winner John Green.

For more information contact knowledgebank@edumail.vic.gov.au