[Yr7-10it] ICT in the Essential Learning Standards: WhatstheBigIdea

Wed Jun 29 14:54:45 EST 2005

Sorry! 
Yes Tony that's the paper. I did say that I was struggling with my new baby at the time of writing :) 
The only difference is that Wan Ng isn't one of the authors.

Pam Wright
Lecturer
School of Educational Studies
La Trobe University

________________________________

From: yr7-10it-bounces at edulists.com.au on behalf of Tony Forster
Sent: Tue 28/06/2005 3:35 PM
To: Year 7 - 10 Information Technology Teachers' Mailing List
Subject: Re: [Yr7-10it] ICT in the Essential Learning Standards: WhatstheBigIdea

Pamela
I presume thats:
Integrating ICT in pre-service teacher education - reframing teacher
education
Athena Vongalis, Wan Ng, Pam Wright and Chris Brew, Latrobe University
abstract http://www.aare.edu.au/04pap/abs04.htm
Paper http://www.aare.edu.au/04pap/von04187.pdf

Tony

----- Original Message -----
From: "Pamela Wright" <P.Wright at latrobe.edu.au>
To: "Year 7 - 10 Information Technology Teachers' Mailing List"
<yr7-10it at edulists.com.au>
Sent: Tuesday, June 28, 2005 2:31 PM
Subject: RE: [Yr7-10it] ICT in the Essential Learning Standards: Whats
theBigIdea

> Such an interesting debate.
> I must confess that with being on maternity leave and currently typing
with a 5 month old in my arms, means I've been out of it lately and not been
able to read all discussions. However mine and a colleagues' research is in
this area. We presented what we'd done by November 2004 at the AARE
conference, Melbourne and I believe the paper is now on the AARE website. We
will have completed the rest of our data collection towards the end of this
year and will be publishing our findings.
>
> I'd be grateful for any comments, ideas and opinions!
>
> Pam Wright
> Lecturer
> School of Educational Studies
> LaTrobe University
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: yr7-10it-bounces at edulists.com.au on behalf of Peter Morgan
> Sent: Mon 27/06/2005 12:41 PM
> To: yr7-10it at edulists.com.au
> Subject: [Yr7-10it] ICT in the Essential Learning Standards: Whats the
BigIdea
>
>
>
> Interesting and passionate debate. Contrasts very positively with the lack
of debate going on elsewhere.
> I wanted to pick up on two points described by Victor as the future role
of ICT. I should start from the outset by declaring myself as a teacher of
students and that I have a specific background and training in the
pedagogical content knowledge of Science. (The reason for the reframe from I
am a Science Teacher hopefully will become apparent)
> Firstly his assertion that a role of ICT teachers would be as learning
facilitators
> "2) ICT learning facilitators, whose role is to train non-ICT-teachers in
using ICT to improve learning and teaching in the classroom"
> Is I think a suggestion that has a lot of merit. We have a Learning
Technology Coordinator who is a IPM/Maths teacher and has, I think, a 0.3
time release for her Learning Tech duties which is sufficient to search out
resources for busy staff and hold them under there noses but insufficient to
work with and model appropriate use and best practice in a coherent way. The
earlier model was a drop in session with a Tech savvy teacher (none of whom
were IT) which failed from lack of interest. However if all the IT teachers
and Library and Tech Staff at our school had a similar role and the
disposition and training to work not only with students but with ADULT
learners then things would have a better chance of changing.  It would
however I am sure be a suggestion that would take a creative and courageous
school and a particular type of facilitator that could be respectful of the
teachers with whom they are working with and ultimately empowering. Its
would not be sufficient for the!
>   IT teacher to take the IT focussed lessons while the classroom teacher
marks assignments.
>
> His third role "3) ICT teachers, who specialise in using ICT innovations
to effect constructivist learning across multiple disciplines. We may yet
need to argue that some of the Maths, English or SOSE topics are better
> taught and learned in our ICT classes than in their traditional settings!"
> would be dangerous in the same way that if I were to advocate ICT as a
discipline is dead and that I could teach it all in my Science or Maths
Class I would expect to run into a wide range of dificulties.
> I base this on the notion of Pedagogical Content Knowledge which I have
gained through my training and experiences in the classroom.  "pedagogical
content knowledge (PCK), a special kind of knowledge that teachers have
about how to teach particular content to particular students in ways that
promote understanding."
> >From http://www.ied.edu.hk/apfslt/v4_issue2/mulhall/index.htm#intro
>
> Which got me to thinking in ICT P-10 what are some of these factors. None
spring to mind.
> For an example of the kind of thing I am talking about see
> http://www.ied.edu.hk/apfslt/v4_issue2/mulhall/mulhall8.htm#appendixa
>
> In essence it is a way of mapping the Big Ideas about the Subject /Unit,
the identification of which is a good starting point in any case against
your responses to these questions
> What you intend the students to learn about this idea.
> Why it is important for students to know this.
> What else you might know about this idea (that you don't intend students
to know yet).
> Difficulties / limitations connected with teaching this idea.
> Knowledge about students' thinking that influences your teaching of this
idea.
> Other factors that influence your teaching of this idea.
> Teaching procedures (and particular reasons for using these to engage with
this idea).
> Specific ways of ascertaining students' understanding or confusion around
this idea.
>
> I think that it is reasonable to assume that ICT has some specific
Pedogogical Content Knowledge that means a Maths Teacher would not be able
to deliver it as effectively.
>
> Certainly VELS challenges all of us to rexamine our practice to improve
our own understanding and therefore aid students. The notion of PCK might
well be a useful way of defending the discipline from attack but whatever
the outcome if Victors second role for ICT teachers was to become a reality
I think the benefits for all stakeholders would be immense
>
> Yours
>
> Peter Morgan
>
> Dr Peter Morgan
> Year 9 and 10 Mathematics Coordinator
> Acting Faculty Head of Mathematics
> Xavier College
> 135 Barkers Rd KEW 3101
> 03 9854 5479
> >>> vdallave at bigpond.net.au 06/27/05 11:18 AM >>>
> As a relatively new teacher (my methods are ICT, maths and chemistry),
> after 15+ years as a Software Engineer/IT Architect I feel compelled and
> qualified to contribute to this most important discussion. First of all,
> I would like to extend my gratitude to Keith Richardson and the many
> active members of this list for their invaluable and selfless support of
> our profession.
>
> I concur with Tony Forster's analysis of ICT's place in VELS, in which
> it supports constructivist learning through such activities as games
> programming and digital story production (eg 3 in 6 competition);
> however, I would like to add a further dimension. ICT teachers need to
> continually explore new ways of facilitating constructivist learning in
> the classroom. This may be their ticket to job security but, more
> importantly, it is their obligation to improving our education system.
> Let me explain.
>
> Post dotcom boom I saw many traditional software development jobs going
> overseas to cheaper labour suppliers. In an increasingly globalised
> economy this trend will continue. As a society we are increasingly
> becoming consumers of ICT products, as opposed to producers of ICT
> products. In our schools non-ICT disciplines are rightly increasing
> their consumption of ICT products in their classrooms, as these products
> become more pervasive and less expensive. We should applaud and support
> this, since this is where we can value-add. But this potentially creates
> a vacuum in our curriculum. So what we must do is continually
> investigate and explore new technologies for their effectiveness in
> learning and teaching. This year, for example, I had great success in
> using Game Maker to teach programming to my year 10s. A revelation to me
> was the difficulty my students had in just thinking logically. It got me
> thinking: Is our maths curriculum so cluttered that our students don't
> have time to 'think'? So now I can see a day when (games) programming
> will be used to teach logic in maths. In the meantime, it would be my
> (our) perogative to find yet other ways of facilitating constructivist,
> student-centred learning.
>
> Word, excel, powerpoint are now ubiquitous (school, home, work) ICT
> consumables. We as ICT teachers are doomed if we allow the curriclum
> decision makers to believe that this is all we teach. Our classes, in
> contrast, should be laboratories of ICT-enabled learning innovations,
> and we should be continually challenging the Heads of Learning to
> 'employ' our skills in their classrooms. This ultimately benefits our
> students, who will be more engaged in their learning.
>
> I see ICT jobs in school as falling into the following categories:
>         1) ICT infrastructure (ie hardware, software, network, security
> etc) management and support
>         2) ICT learning facilitators, whose role is to train
> non-ICT-teachers in using ICT to improve learning and teaching in the
> classroom
>         3) ICT teachers, who specialise in using ICT innovations to
> effect constructivist learning across multiple disciplines. We may yet
> need to argue that some of the Maths, English or SOSE topics are better
> taught and learned in our ICT classes than in their traditional
> settings!
>
> Victor Dalla-Vecchia
> vdallave at penola.melb.catholic.edu.au
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: yr7-10it-bounces at edulists.com.au
> [mailto:yr7-10it-bounces at edulists.com.au] On Behalf Of Keith Richardson
> Sent: Saturday, 25 June 2005 7:22 PM
> To: Year 7 - 10 Information Technology Teachers' Mailing List; List IS;
> ListMulti-Media; List IP&M
> Subject: Re: [Yr7-10it] Re: [Year 12 IPM] ICT in the Essential Learning
> Standards
>
>
> Thank you Tony - your thoughts here have started me thinking along a
> different track. I decided to try to tease out what the VELS was
> actually saying in relation to the four interdisciplinary strands, to
> see how we might be able to make ICT effectively serve all of the other
> learning strands. My desire would be to make it indespensible. What I
> found excites me - I saw that ICT is 'really' the central lynch-pin that
> will enable each of the other three IDS's to serve the curriculum needs
> of the whole school. Sounds presumptuous? Maybe a little, but we will
> have to think BIG and value ourselves (meaning ICT of course) if we want
> others to value us and not dispense with us. I think that what we have
> to do, in concrete terms, is establish precisely WHAT we have to offer
> that the other disciplines NEED - we want to be correctly recognized as
> indispensible, and our skills appreciated and not undervalued or
> de-skilled (no longer needed by education). By recognizing that ICT is
> central to the four interdisciplinary strands it can be sold as
> providing accesss to these for all other learning strands. Wow! Other
> thoughts? Attached please find my interrelationship diagram and summary
> of the interdisciplinary strands. Keith Richardson.
>
>
>
> On Sat, 25 Jun 2005 10:28:40 +1000, "Tony Forster"
> <forster at ozonline.com.au> said:
> > I see the VELS as an opportunity to expand the creative use of ICT in
> > schools rather than a threat to the teaching of ICT.
> >
> > The VELS stresses the need for developing generalised skills rather
> > than the learning of specific information in a rapidly changing world.
>
> > It is the ability to learn which must be learnt. It talks of "deep
> > understanding of the subject matter" and reducing "the crowding of the
>
> > curriculum to give students time to explore the underlying concepts of
>
> > tasks and problems they
> > are set".
> >
> > Creative use of ICT such as game programming (or the 3 in 6
> > competition) is closely aligned with the values of the VELS.
> > Constructivist learning in which students take an active part in their
>
> > self directed learning is strongly supported by the VELS.
> >
> > I give detailed reasons in a word doc at :
> > http://www.freewebs.com/schoolgamemaker/#vels
> > why I believe that Constructivist activities like game programming can
>
> > deliver most of the outcomes of the VELS in one class.
> >
> > Tony Forster http://edrington.haileybury.vic.edu.au/computerclub
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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> > Technology Teachers Association Inc
> Keith Richardson
> IPM List Moderator
> Head of ICT, Leibler Yavneh College
> Elsternwick
> Ph: 03.9528.4911
> k.richardson at yavneh.vic.edu.au
>
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