Educating the Dragon

Peter Kent Coordinate and manage PD for technology at ACT

Inspired Teaching with an IWB-

What does it look like?

Born with all the brain cells but not all the connections. It is those connections that are made through our experience. “We are our experiences”

Students have more experiences with technology so their brain aborbed information in a more various ways way.

They can’t turn turn off their senses. We have to use technology to present to reduce distractions… Allowing them to focus.

Shouldn’t technology be used to enhance teaching? More than Class sizes and economic background the highest impact on learning is quality teaching.

Higher level of Intelligual quality

Lessons are relevent

Environment is supportive

All these 3 things can be enhanced with the IWB

Levels of Intellectual property

1. Teacher asks questions of students.

2. Students ask teacher questions

3. Students ask questions of students and they ‘find out’ together.

IWB provides good, interactive content with can develop discussion.

The best way to get quality discussion is providing ambiguity. Assumtions are made by the student, different assumptions are made by other students and so discussion and negociation is made.

Metacognition- A teacher would record audio for problem-solving and store it on the appropriate page to be referred to by the students.

Relevence: Google Earth. You can go anywhere in the world but where do we go first? Your House. We are fundementally self centred, and even more so kids. So let’s personalise the learning?

We have the ability to manipulate content to open up discussion. Ask a Y11 stuent which of the following speeches are the most powerful of the 20th century.

Churchill

Nelson Mandella

JFK

What about this one?

Umajin is an innovative, easy, engaging application that has been introduced at the conference. It has been specifically designed to support digital storytelling and oral language. If you want to trial it you can find it here and I have to say I love it. Breathe Technology has negociated the exclusive training rights for it too. So if you down load it and you want some training just leave me a comment

Please excuse my somewhat disjointed notes about the keynote:

The Place of Most Potential

What does it look like?

Kevin Rudd  is just throwing digital whiteboards at secondary schools, this is a good thing. But so much is dependent on the teachers involved. Some boards are going to be used well, some are going nowhere. It has nothing to do with the board and everything to do with school.

Some research stated (could find the source sorry) that ‘Technology made NO difference to student learning’ . Peter said that if we as educators are going to challenge this statement then we must address 3 key issues:

People.

Video- Escaslator. The biggest constraint is what people think they can and cannot do. We need to invent the new teaching. Those who invent don’t get stuck on the escalator. Blockers in a school are not blockers but they which remain unconvinced. We must not label people blockers, they are interested in teaching and want to know how technology is going to help them. They are the ones which challenge our own thinking, causing us to justify why we do what we do with technology.

Pedagogy.

How we are doing the teaching and learning. If a kid is going to read then they read. If a teacher is going to use technology they need solid blocks of time to USE technology.

NSW Quality Teaching ,

Productive Pedagogies,

Principles of learning,

Authentic Pedagogies.

Can we generically describe both inspired and terrible teaching- technology is simply an amplifier- good GOOD, bad BAD.

Quality discussion- Teacher asking questions of the students, Students questioning teacher and student to student- How you get this is to give incomplete information- make them ask questions. High level of ambiguity . Raising significance. Content can move around and be more child centred (everyone is interested in themselves) Personalizing the learning contexts, and Differentiation.

Technology.

What technology we use? IWB are the place of most potential. IWB are the bridge to make other technologies to work in the classroom setting.

Paradox of choice

Jenny speaks about the difference between Breathe Technology and Sitech Systems.

“ When you look about the variety and depth of the presentations available this morning we really are competing with the Interactive Whiteboard conference in Australia, so thank you to those who put up their hands to present this weekend”

I am honoured, humbled to be working with such a humble company and such a fantastic group of educators from around New Zealand. Sometimes I think we don’t give credit enough to the teachers throughout the country who are impacting so positively in students lives.

Frank Augustino arrived in joins the Sitech Conference from Interwrite head office, which is really exciting. It always makes me wonder what international guests think of Powhiri and haka in particular. I know the first one that I saw scared the wits out of me. Owhata School were brilliant, their kapa haka groups performed brilliantly and the students presenting the keynote did an awesome job. Ka pai.
I presented two sessions this afternoon and, not finding any water in the hall my mouth was dry. I was part way through ‘IWB and Literacy’ presentation when in walks Frank and his wife. They were very gracious and encouraging…. During the brief conversation I had Frank noticed I was without water and went to get some for me from the kitchen, this is the Vice President of Business Development and International Sales of GTCO CalComp Inc, going to get me water!