Inspired by so many, learning from them all

The holidays are here, but I spent the first part of mine sharing, collaborating and being inspired. I was fortunate enough to run an ICT in the PYP workshop at Wesley College in Melbourne last week.

The focus was not so much on ICT per se but more about how and why we use technology to enhance learning whilst considering the IBPYP transdisciplinary skills such as Research Skills and Communication Skills in conjunction with IB Concepts like Reflection, Causation, Form etc.

It was a 3 day workshop that began with looking at how technology can connect and broaden  international mindedness. We discovered that making global connections that are meaningful allow us to open our minds, learn from others, enable us to be tolerant, respectful and caring individuals. Julie Lindsay @julielindsay the co founder of the Flat Classroom Project and an inspirational person for me (having completed the Flat Classroom Certified Teacher Course last year) skyped in to talk to participants about the different projects and ‘why’ we need to collaborate globally. We finished up the day supporting the development of conceptual understandings and transdisciplinary skills through ICT.

Our lines of inquiry for this engagement included:

Day 2 saw us examining how to effectively use collaborative planning and teaching for ICT integration. Our essential questions included:

• What systems of collaboration and support are needed to provoke change in the use of and increased integration of ICT?
• How can classroom teachers and the ICT/Media/Tech Integration specialist best collaborate to plan integration of ICT into PoI (Programme of Inquiry) units?
• What support and structures are needed for teachers to successfully integrate ICT into teaching and learning of PoI units?

We also spent some time looking at developing an ICT Policy, specifically the 8 Domains of an ICT policy taken from  The Primary ICT and E-learning Co-ordinator’s Manual, Book 1: A guide for new subject leaders by James Wright. Paul Chapman Publishing, 2007.

The 8 Domains include:

• Leadership and Management
• Curriculum
• Learning and Teaching
• Assessment (of and with ICT)
• Professional Development
• Extended Opportunities for Learning
• Resources
• Impact on Student Outcomes

Linking in ISTE NETS Standards while keeping within the IB Programme and Standards and Practices guidelines, participants chose one Domain they were interested in and examined it through the lens of the 8 IB Concepts and created conceptual questions around them. For example, one pair  of participants that chose Leadership and Management came up with this concept question: What will be the role of the ICT leadership and management team? (Function). By using looking at the domains conceptually, this allowed for participants to find meaning behind the domain and how it drives the ICT Policy.

We had 2 ‘unconference’ sessions. An unconference is essentially a participant driven share session where we are all learners/experts. Some of the topics we inquired ranged from the management of iPads/Tech to the implementation and practical use of the Dr Ruben Puentedura’s SAMR Model (see graphic).

We finished the workshop with personal inquiries into the use of ICT and then developed our individual action plans linking the IB Programmes Standards and Practices. There were a few participants really keen on exploring the SAMR model further and we found @mumbaimaggie posts a great resource. Both of her blog posts can be found here and here. Whats more, we created an impromptu crowd sourced document (using Google Drive and Twitter) at the end of Day 2 asking our PLN to contribute any ideas, resources or blog posts on SAMR. We came up with this.

What a great group of professionals in this workshop. I always come away inspire by others, especially after spending 3 most excellent days. A bonus to coming ‘home’ to Melbourne to run a workshop was that I was able to meet 2 very inspirational teachers: Edna Sackson @whatedsaid and Sam Sherratt @sherrattsam . It was great to meet up with both of them for lunch to meet them face to face for the first time. It was also  my first time at Edna’s beautiful school and meeting some of her colleagues as well that I see on Twitter from time to time. So far its been a pretty good holiday.

The power of global connections always amazes me.