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Inspired by so many, learning from them all

July 16, 2013

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:

  • How ICT supports the Essential Elements of the PYP
  • How ICT supports the development of conceptual understandings
  • How ICT supports the acquisition of transdisciplinary skills
  • How ICT may be integrated into effective learning engagements

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:

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 SAMR2(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.

 

9 Comments leave one →
  1. July 16, 2013 5:54 pm

    You call that a holiday? #alwayslearning
    Loved meeting you face to face yesterday. I’m awed by the power of global connections too!

    • August 2, 2013 5:54 pm

      Edna
      Yes, likewise. It was great to meet you. Would be great to run a workshop with you one day! Or maybe just attend one with you running it!

  2. July 16, 2013 10:40 pm

    Thank you for sharing all this. This is a great resource for those of us who weren’t at the workshop. I would have loved to have been a part of it! Any chance of you doing this as an online course through the IBO?

    • August 2, 2013 5:55 pm

      Thanks Vivian. I am hopeful this workshop will be available as an online version soon. I know they are discussing it!

  3. July 17, 2013 7:14 pm

    I enjoyed spying on you all via twitter. Thanks for sharing this, I’ve starred your PLN sourced google doc and look forward to picking it apart for resources and inspiration.
    I’m very intrigued by a conceptual approach to leadership and I wonder if the same could be applied to collaborative efforts. For instance, if a unit has a ‘perspective’ conceptual frame, what are the technology tools most appropriate to reinforce that concept for learners. A list of resources categorized by concepts would be very useful. Perhaps another opportunity for PLN sourcing?

    • August 2, 2013 5:57 pm

      Cheers Bart. Great ideas here. Its amazing that all it takes is an idea and willingness to share and collaborate and the great stuff that comes out of it is really amazing. I have been working on trying to categorize a few Apps linked to the concepts the Transdip skills …

  4. mayamwins permalink
    October 15, 2013 6:21 pm

    Such a great resource, Jason. I am a little late in finding this but I’m glad I have. Did the course cover things like educational trends, role of technology in the classroom etc? I would love to hear your view on online games (like this one I came across that looks like a regular game but boasts of teaching science and other skills – http://www.schoolofdragons.com) as a tool to help students learn. Meanwhile, I’m going to go get caught up on your other posts. These are so helpful. Thank you!

    • October 25, 2013 8:25 pm

      Great! Glad it helped! 🙂 Check out Adrian Camm about gaming (in fact he’s a very cool guy so drop him a tweet) adriancamm.com Twitter @adriancamm

      • mayamwins permalink
        October 28, 2013 2:34 pm

        Thank you so much! Will do!

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