[Offtopic] Teacher & School ICT wish-lists (2)

[stephen at melbpc.org.au]

Australian Teacher and School ICT related wish lists .. (part two)

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Peter Ruwoldt ruwoldtp at gmail.com Sun Feb 22 09:08:21 2009 [Yr7-10it] 


Good fast network and servers

Multimedia projectors with speakers in each teaching space

Huge big fat pipe to internet

No limit to internet access data costs

Lots and lots of properly resourced and relevant educator training

Appropriate levels of tech time

Strong systemic encouragement to use lots and lots of FOSS with students 
and teachers

Systemic use of FOSS tools and projects so that the system employs
programmers to customise and develop appropriate FOSS software for schools
and so also supports the development of the IT industry in our country

Notebook/netbook for all students and teachers

System improvements like access to wiki and other collaborative sorts of
software that can be appropriately configured within the schools VPN

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Roland Gesthuizen rgesthuizen at gmail.com Sun Feb 22 11:31:38[Yr7-10it]
 
Hmm, an interesting question Steven, I would have to throw my weight 
behind Peter (above)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/evaekeblad/356710639/
http://www.flickr.com/people/evaekeblad/

If my school was given a big pot of money to spend to improve the access
and availability of technology. Would I be happy? I suppose that I would
be, but only up to a point. I have been down this path

The annual salary of a teacher in our Cambodia sister school is less than
the cost of a typical software package. I will admit to considerable guilt
that some of our well intentioned 'initiatives' cost more than the
educational budget of a small, third world nation .. yet we cry poor.

Our growing eco-footprint puts shame to efforts at reducing greenhouse
emissions. We avoid retrofitting our schools to improve efficiency because
of the cost whilst filling them up with more and more technology. We
pretend we are preparing students for the world of tomorrow whilst
forgetting about the world we leave them, foolishly investing research in
unproven coal technology instead of implementing proven solar options,
sending our surplus computer hardware to landfill instead of recycling ..
yet we cry for lack of leadership.

In India already, impoverished communities are leapfrogging over desktop
computers for handheld devices but in ways that would suprise you all. The
thing that will make the biggest impact for these teachers and communities
are cheap, portable communication (mobile phones) and FOSS technologies. 

We could so easily do the same .. yet we cry ignorance.

If we are going to be truly global citizens, we need to lift our gaze
beyond our school fence and become inspired with a vision that is greater
than just deploying the latest and greatest plaything. If money can help 
mend our broken human spirit, it would be an investment worth inspiring 
for.

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Emma MCLEAN em at sthelena.vic.edu.au Sun Feb 22 14:29:03 [Yr7-10it]

An interesting question to be posed... I'm with Peter on this one, 
however I would like to add a few more little items:

*	
	At least another 3 techies to help the teachers with technology
*	
	Ability to skill up ALL teachers of IT so no teacher feels they
         do not know how to use IT
*	
	data projecter in each room along with all the technology to go
         with it and use it reguarly!
*	
	More pd time to help teachers who need skilling up!

Emma McLean 

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S Powell P Griffiths spg97 at bigpond.net.au Sun Feb 22 13:04:27 [Oz-t]

Purpose built computer labs so that (primary)classes can have more than 
30mins/week use of computers. This would also take our computer lab out
of  the library - where it's impossible to read your class a story when
there is a noisy class using the lab. A fulltime tech to maintain the
labs and a fulltime ICT teacher - NOT to take classes but to guide the
teachers and have input into planning using ICTs. A security system that
doesn't require teachers and students to change passwords every month
(and then have trouble remembering them esp after a six week break.:)

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Lisa Dumicich ldumicich at gmail.com Sun Feb 22 13:46:54 EST 2009 [Oz-t] 

Equal access to technolgy no matter which learning area in the school
that a teacher teaches in. A decent Internet connection. More time for me
as ICT coach for teachers to actually get into the classroom and provide
just in time learning for the teachers. A computer for every teacher. A
computer for each student.

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Jim Bunn <bunn.jim.c at edumail.vic.gov.au> 22 Feb 2009 16:39:31 [Yr7-10it]

The admin would spend lots on banks of laptops on trolleys.

I'd add:

More techies
More time given to the IT teachers to skill up staff that need it
Data projectors and speakers in most classrooms
Laptops for all our students
A generous Internet speed
Any software we need
access to wikis and the like
And of course a robotic camera with a 1474 megapixel full screen gigapan
viewer! Jim

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Wayne Hewett <staffwhe at rsc.vic.edu.au> 22 Feb 2009 21:19:46 [Offtopic] 

Yes, down here in Rosebud, we are a fairly conservative lot when it comes
to innovation..

my concern, even with the existing handout for PCs from the fed gov is
that we wont have the funds to support similar levels of resourcing in
the future.

If more money comes our way, I'd be looking at all those items expressed
in others lists, but, if it was allowed by the fed bean counters, I might
be tempted to create our own little "future fund", earmarked for 6 years
down the track. Wayne Hewett

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Lisa <lisabel at bigpond.net.au> 22 Feb 2009 22:10:50 +1100  [Oz-teachers]
 

Interesting discussion you started with this topic Stephen. Today I spent 
$2,600 on:

32 microphone headsets
1 external dvd burner
2 cameras
1 sd card
20 flash drives
4 lego mindstorm kits (for building robots)

The only other thing I want...to personally string up the person who came
up with the bright idea that all NSW DET students have to log on to
computers with their full name just to be able to reach the desktop....do
you know how much time is wasted in the lab with year 1 & 2 students who
cannot spell their last names?

IT is not for everyone. I for one, am not interested in all subjects
(when I can think of one off the top of my head to use as an example I
will let you know) so therefore I do not expect all staff at my school
to be IT literate. My two cents worth. Regards Lisa

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Jenny Gilbert <nenifoofer at gmail.com> 23 Feb 2009 07:10:54 [Oz-teachers] 

I will feel greedy given we have more than most but if more was available 
I would like to see data shows installed to every room hooked up to the 
terminal already in every room. (currently unless in a lab we grab one 
from library and hook it up ourselves)  I would like to see a small bank 
of terminals in every room. Say 4-6 in our ordinary classrooms.  It would 
be nice to have speakers and interactive whiteboard in more rooms than we 
have now. Another full lab or two would not go astray either since 
booking a lab for a class is often difficult. :) 

Like I said - we do have more than most - three labs for full classes, 
two lab spaces for up to 20, and 4 labs for up to 10-12 students. Can't 
complain really. So putting this list together makes me feel greedy. Jen

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Kent Beveridge <kbeveridge at stbc.vic.edu.au> 23 Feb 2009 09:02:06[Yr7-10it]

Hey Jim, You read my mind for your wish list!
  
Can I add to that, servers that never break down, wireless connections
with unlimited bandwidth and high speed, 20 inch LCD monitors for all
classes and high speed logons...oh, lots of space for kids to store their
multimedia .exe files as they can take up LOTS of space... Oops, almost
forgot...that plasma screen for home..(dream..) Next! Kent.

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Cathy Corbitt" <Cathy.CORBITT at det.wa.edu.au> 23 Feb 2009 [Oz-teachers] 
 
How often have any of you wished you could be a fly on the wall and
observe a colleague who you suspect is doing great things in the
classroom?

Wonderful PD could be had just by giving teachers the opportunity to
shadow a colleague who is confident and competent with using IT and Web
2.0 tools in teaching.  It's the practical 'how do you integrate IT and
use these tools to enhance teaching and learning' that the more reluctant
IT convert would really like to see.  

Just hearing about the software without seeing it demonstrated in the
actual teaching/learning process, is a waste of time.

So I would want some money spent on release time for teachers to be able
to do just this: observe (while "assisting") colleagues in action in
different subject disciplines, and this could be done without necessarily
having to leave the school grounds.

Oh, and of course, we need networks that are fully functioning and
maintained.  We all know the turn-off that networks going down can be.

Cathy Corbitt
 
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Cheers people
Stephen Loosley
Victoria, Australia