ANSN enews vol 3 no 9
ansn_members at ansn.edu.au
ansn_members at ansn.edu.au
Mon Aug 18 13:34:43 EST 2008
enews header
18 August 2008, E-News Vol 3, No 9
Edited by Keith Redman
Topics covered in this edition include:
* Digi Kids Workshops held in South Melbourne
* Digi Kids Adelaide workshop report
* Curriculum Design -- a three-day Research Circle in Melbourne
* Curriculum Design -- two-day intensive workshops in Melbourne
and Adelaide
* One-day Early Childhood Bee Bot workshop in Melbourne
* Habits of Mind -- Next Steps Conference -- Brisbane and Sydney
* Connecting Lives and Learning -- Website launched
* Introducing Dr Sarah Prestridge
* Two-day workshop: Communicate, Collaborate and Create
* Interactive Whiteboard (IWB) Hub information sessions in Victoria
* Cognitive Coaching -- Research Circle forms
* Some interesting reading
* Reminders of ANSN activities
Digi Kids Workshops held in South Melbourne
Kate Cooper, ANSN's National IWB Hub Co-ordinator and Digi Kids
workshop presenter (below left) reports that fifteen teacher-members
of the Southern Melbourne Digi Kids Group met recently at St Mark's
Primary School in Dingley.
They were there for Days Three and Four of the five-day course,
which involves integrating Technology in the Early Years Classroom.
Kate Cooperstoryboards
On Day Three they looked at creating E-books through the use of
PowerPoint, Photoshop and Interactive Whiteboard Software.
Participants designed and created a number of digital stories adding
their own images, voices and sound effects. A week later they used
play-doh, pipe cleaners and digital cameras, to make a
Claymation. They spent time planning the story first and different
groups looked at themes including: sportsmanship linked to the
Olympics; bullying; and "keeping our school tidy". They planned
story boards (above right), added voices and designed characters in
mini-sets (below left to right) to put together digital movies.
clay1clay 3clay 2
Digi Kids Adelaide workshop report
Hanan Harrison reports that participants at the Adelaide Digi Kids
continued to be challenged on their digital journey when they
attended Days 3 and 4 of their hub days. In their first task, to
develop and create their claymation (below), the focus was to
develop skills for the production, but also to develop a philosophy
of technology integration where participants would reflect
critically on their own pedagogical practices, to develop a
meaningful context for introducing claymation as an additional
medium for story telling. In turn, they found, it could be used to
support literacy and a variety of genres, as well as a tool for
reinforcing other curriculum outcomes.
digi Kids 1digi kids 2
The second day was facilitated by Dr Sarah Prestridge (introduced to
E-News readers in a later item) who introduced the group to blogs
and podcasting. The participants took on their new skills and
developed interactive ways of utilising these on-line communication
tools in an early childhood context, by producing their own podcasts
and participating in a group blog (above right) about their ideas
around technology integration.
For a more detailed report of this workshop, including comments from
the teacher participants, click here.
<http://www.ansn.edu.au/report_of_the_digi_kids_workshop_in_adelaide_july_2008>
Curriculum Design -- a three-day Research Circle in Melbourne
Starting in September, ANSN and Hawker Brownlow Education will
present a three-day Curriculum Design Research Circle, in Melbourne.
It will take place on 1 and 2 September and 10 November, led by
Gavin Grift, National Co-ordinator of the ANSN Curriculum Design
Hub, and Director of the Association of Innovation in Education.
This research circle has been designed specifically to support
teachers to develop deeper levels of understanding about how
curriculum design can be utilised to strengthen teaching and
learning. Gavin will outline a six-part process that involves the
whole-school context, the teacher and student lifeworlds, and the
wider community. He will draw upon the work of the 2007 ANSN
Curriculum Planning Action Research Hub and the Connecting Lives and
Learning Project (being undertaken by ANSN with the University of
South Australia).
For further details, and to register for this research circle, as an
individual or in a team of two or three, click here.
<http://www.ansn.edu.au/curriculum_design_a_three_day_research_circle_in_melbourne>
Curriculum Design -- 2-day intensive workshops in Melbourne
and Adelaide
Gavin Grift will also be co-presenter, with Andrew Bills, at two
2-day Curriculum Design workshops, in Melbourne and Adelaide. Andrew
Bills is ANSN's Networker in South Australia, Co-ordinator of the
Connecting Lives and Learning Project and Research Fellow at
University of South Australia. The purpose of these intensive
workshops is to support teachers in understanding how to design
curriculum that, among other things,
* reflects the six phases of the 'Teaching to Learn, Learning to
Teach' curriculum planning process;
* promotes the 'process of design' as opposed to a 'pro forma
for design'; and
* reflects the criteria for effective teaching and learning
through utilising both international, national and local
research (Harvard University, University of South Australia
and ANSN).
The Melbourne workshop will be held at Victoria University's
Flinders Street Campus on 15 and 16 September. For details, or to
register for this workshop, click here.
<http://www.ansn.edu.au/curriculum_design_2_day_intensive_workshops_in_melbourne_and_adelaide>
The Adelaide workshop will be held at the University of South
Australia's City West Campus on 17 and 18 September. For details, or
to register for this workshop, click here.
<http://www.ansn.edu.au/curriculum_design_2_day_intensive_workshops_in_melbourne_and_adelaide>
One-day Early Childhood Bee Bot workshop in Melbourne
In late August, Hanan Harrison, National Co-ordinator of the ANSN
Digi Kids Hub, will present two one-day Bee Bot workshops in
Melbourne, under the title Play, Make and Take -- Bee Bots --
Robotics for Young Learners. She will be focusing on activities
suitable for teachers of children aged 3 to 7. Regular readers of
ANSN E-News will know that Bee Bots are exciting new programmable
floor robots (below, with their programmers), which won the "2006
Education Resources Award" in the primary ICT category.
Bee botsbee Bot champ
The first of these Bee Bot workshops will be held on Wednesday 27
August at St Albans Heights Primary School. The second will be on
Thursday 28 August at Williamstown Primary School.
The workshops are designed to help Early Childhood teachers make
connections within their curriculum that support engaging technology
integration, through the use of the Bee Bots. Participants will play
with and explore Bee Bots; make resources for future learning
experiences that integrate Bee Bots with their curriculum; and take
back to school their collective ideas and strategies, as well as
their very own Bee Bot (1 per participant) valued at rrp $80.
At a recent Bee Bot workshop in Coolum, participants learned about
using Bee Bots as an open-ended resource, discovering that they can
be used as a tool that not only hooks students into learning, but
continually reinforces concepts such as sequencing, directional
language, counting and problem solving in various contexts, ranging
from numeracy, science and literacy to social outcomes. Highlight of
the Coolum workshop was the Bee Bot race, where teams had to decide
on their champion programmer, and then race against other teams and
the clock to find the overall winner (above right), who could
navigate and program the Bee Bots with precise accuracy within the
shortest time frame..
For more information about Bee Bot workshops, or register for either
of the Melbourne workshops, click here.
<http://www.ansn.edu.au/bee_bots_robotics_for_young_learners>
Habits of Mind -- Next Steps Conference -- Brisbane and Sydney
The Habits of Mind Next Steps Conference, with Professor Art Costa,
will be held in Brisbane on 5 November and in Sydney on 6 November.
Art Costa is a world renowned figure in educational research and
development. First in Brisbane and then in Sydney he will be leading
a one-day conference that focuses on:
* introducing and extending the Habits of Mind;
* exploring how Habits of Mind have impacted on schools cultures
and student learning;
* investigating how Habits of Mind can develop a climate
of dispositions for learning and better thinking.
Click here to get further information from our website
<http://www.ansn.edu.au/habits_of_mind_next_steps> or contact Hanan
Harrison on 0407 464 472 or email hanan.harrison at ansn.edu.au
<mailto:hanan.harrison at ansn.edu.au>
Connecting Lives and Learning -- Website launched
Andrew Bills reports that the Connecting Lives and Learning (CLL)
Website has been launched officially at the International Middle
Years Conference in Adelaide. The website has been designed to
respond to an urgent need for innovative curriculum and pedagogical
resources for teachers, schools and systems that wish to confront
and address alienation in the middle years -- when too many young
people 'drop out', drift off, or are excluded from schooling.
The website foregrounds teacher stories about pedagogical change
across a range of subject disciplines involving deep curricular
connections with student lifeworlds. CLL provides all teachers with
ways into offering rigorous and engaging teaching approaches that
are relevant to their context, their students, their community,
their school challenges and the requirements of the official curriculum.
Andrew says that membership of the Connecting Lives and Learning
website is a must for all schools and systems seeking ways to
address educational disadvantage. It is the largest teacher resource
website of its kind in the world. CLL offers teachers and school
systems a `turnaround pedagogy' that works -- even in our most
challenging schools. For further information about becoming a member
of CLL, please contact Andrew Bills on 0431 060 499 or email
Andrew.Bills at ansn.edu.au <maito:andrew.bills at ansn.edu.au>
Introducing Dr Sarah Prestridge
Dr Sarah Prestridge (below, left) has recently joined the ANSN and
will be working with Hanan Harrison (below right) to explore ways of
challenging and engaging educators as they develop ways to utilise
and implement on-line tools for learning.
Sarah PrestridgeHanan Harrison
Sarah currently works at Griffith University in Brisbane, as a
teacher educator. She teaches both undergraduate and postgraduate
programs. Her focus is on using ICT in learning and she encourages
her students to think about effective use of blogs, wikis, podcasts
and creating multimedia programs in student learning experiences.
She tries to make sure that students think about ICT more as a tool
to support conceptual understanding and critical thinking rather
than a tool to present learning.
Two-day workshop: Communicate, Collaborate and Create
ANSN invites interested teachers (P-12) to attend a 2-day workshop
entitled Communicate, Collaborate and Create, presented by Dr Sarah
Prestridge (see previous item), in Adelaide, Brisbane and Melbourne.
As outlined in the previous item, this workshop is designed to help
participants investigate and explore the potential of on-line tools,
and their capacity to change education radically in the future.
Throughout the hands-on workshop, participants will explore and
create their own on-line tools, including (but not limited to)
blogs, wikis and podcasts, within an educational context. This
workshop will challenge teachers' thinking about what could happen
to education if these tools become mainstream as an integrated tool
for learning. The workshop details are as follows.
* Adelaide -- 15 and 16 September, 9.00am -- 3.00pm, at St Pius
X School, 8 Windsor Grove, Windsor Garden, Adelaide
* Brisbane -- 22 and 23 September, 9.00am -- 3.00pm, at St
Laurence's College, 82 Stephens Road, South Brisbane
* Melbourne -- 13 and14 October, 9.00am -- 3.00pm, at
Williamstown Primary School, Cecil St, Williamstown
For further information, and to download the faxback registration
form, click here.
<http://www.ansn.edu.au/communicate_collaborate_and_create>Please
note that the form will need to be faxed back to our head office on
(02) 9590 3416 no later than 8 September.
If your school or district is interested in registering interest to
have a 2-day Communicate, Collaborate and Create workshop organised
in your area, or if you want to find out more about the sessions,
please contact Hanan Harrison on 0407 464 472 or email
hanan.harrison at ansn.edu.au <mailto:hanan.harrison at ansn.edu.au>
Interactive Whiteboard (IWB) Hub information sessions in Victoria
Andrea Federico, ANSN Networker, reports that during August and
September, schools in Victoria are being given the opportunity to
attend an information session where they will learn more about the
ANSN Interactive Whiteboard program. The one-hour information
sessions are being held in the Eastern, Northern, Southern and
Western metropolitan regions.
The purpose is to demonstrate the potential of Interactive
Whiteboards in the classroom and to give schools the opportunity to
join the ANSN IWB project for 2009 -- including a comprehensive
5-day professional development training program that will be spread
over the year. This project will also give participant schools the
opportunity to purchase Promethean Activ boards, at a reduced price
negotiated by the ANSN. Session details are as follows.
* Southern Region Invitational Session, Wednesday 13 August,
Mentone Primary School, Childers St, Mentone 3194
* Western Region Invitational Session, Wednesday 20 August 2008,
St Albans South Primary School, Lister Street, St Albans 3021
* Northern Region Invitational Session, Wednesday 3 September
2008, Heidelberg Primary School, Cnr Cape and Darebin Sts,
Heidelberg 3084
* Eastern Region Invitational Session, Thursday 18 September
2008, Kalinda Primary School, Kalinda Road, Ringwood 3134
For further details of the ANSN IWB program or to download a
registration form for the information sessions, click here.
<http://www.ansn.edu.au/interactive_whiteboard_hub_2009_information_sessions>
Cognitive Coaching -- Research Circle forms
Gavin Grift is in the process of founding the first Cognitive
Coaching Research Circle, which will be presented by ANSN and the
Center for Cognitive Coaching. The research circle has been designed
to assist schools to build reflective communities, using action
learning and cognitive coaching to support changes in teacher
pedagogy. To read or download a flier,
<http://www.ansn.edu.au/cognitive_coaching_research_circle> click
here. <http://www.ansn.edu.au/cognitive_coaching_research_circle>
For further detail email, gavin.grift at ansn.edu.au
<mailto:gavin.grift at ansn.edu.au>
Some interesting reading
At http://www.aeufederal.org.au/Publications/2008/LBehrendtpaper.pdf
you will find the full text of Welfare payments and school
attendance: an analysis of experimental policy in Indigenous
education, an Issues Paper. Written by Larissa Behrendt and Ruth
McCausland, and published by the Australian Education Union, it
addresses the policy of making the welfare payments of Indigenous
people conditional on measures such as their children's school
attendance. The paper discusses the increasing influence of the
concept of mutual obligation in Australia and its particular
application to Indigenous policy. It canvasses the current trials
linking welfare payments to school attendance and outlines what
evaluations have indicated about such schemes to date. It then
provides an analysis of key concerns about the approach -- namely
its lack of basis in evidence, the fact that measures introduced
under such schemes do not necessarily serve its overall aims, and
that there are particular human rights implications for such an
approach. It also points to the reality that the resources and
attention focused on such schemes combined with the ongoing issue of
chronic under-resourcing in Indigenous policy generally is unlikely
to 'close the gap' for Indigenous communities.
Reminders of ANSN activities
The following activities have been reported in detail in previous
editions of E-News.
Third Annual ANSN National Forum
ANSN's third invitational National Forum, on an 'Intergenerational
Compact for our Young People' is taking place on Thursday 21 August,
2008, at the NSW Department of Education and Training buildings in
Sydney. For further details, click here
<mailto:cathy.danaher at ansn.edu.au>. <mailto:cathy.danaher at ansn.edu.au>
An introduction to Protocols -- September workshop
ANSN is offering a 2-day "Introduction to Protocols", on Monday 8
and Tuesday 9 September, at St Albans South PS, Lister St, St
Albans, in the western suburbs of Melbourne. For further details,
click here <http://www.ansn.edu.au/files/Protocol%20flyer.pdf>. If
you are interested in participating/bringing a team of teachers,
please email your expression of interest to
andrea.federico at ansn.edu.au <mailto:andrea.federico at ansn.edu.au>
How to subscribe to E-News
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click here. <http://lists.ansn.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/ansn_members>
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