[Yr7-10it] VELS and IT

[Murray O.]

Great post Fiona.
I have experienced the problems you speak of with English teachers and I
believe the reason is the horrendous work load they have. It is even more so
then the rest of us overworked teachers.

The problem that I see with integration is every subject is so busy that
staff do not have the time or inclination to learn the new skills and with a
crowded curriculum it is difficult to do so.

Often the people making the decisions in school do not have the IT skills
and don't know what the staff skill levels are. On top of this there exists
an inflated opinion of the students' ability. My experience has shown
students are very comfortable with technology and skilled in specific areas
that interest them but often lack basic skills in other areas. 

If schools can audit staff IT skills, student IT skills and curriculum usage
then make decision based on that data the integrated approach could work.
But this is a massive undertaking for already stretched schools. Fortunately
most teachers love teaching with a passion and are highly skilled and
adaptable and realise how important our wonderful job is.


Regards, 
Oliver Murray
Web Developer
Westbourne Grammar School
www.westbournegrammar.com


-----Original Message-----
From: fiona at balmoralhs.vic.edu.au [mailto:fiona at balmoralhs.vic.edu.au] 
Sent: Thursday, 8 June 2006 12:13 PM
To: yr7-10it at edulists.com.au
Subject: RE: [Yr7-10it] VELS and IT

I think this is what much of the discussion has been about Debra, namely
that IT is not being seen as a discrete subject but to be taught as part of
another subject.  If I was your elearning co-ord I would go back and tell
them to go away (or words to that effect) and then offer pd in what skills
they would like to see utilised (as opposed to taught) during a particular
semester e.g semester 1, English, year 7 - focus on microsoft word and basic
editing and formatting and this would coincide with the year 7 being taught
the correct skills in an IT class.  

If you dont discriminate between the subjects then the English class will be
spent teaching IT skills and, you then have to ask the all important
question - what are the English teacher's IT skills like - does he/she know
what tabs are? can she change the rulers using the side margins on the
screen? Can he/she explain how the school server works and how to save
corrently. Now I am going to make a statement regarding English teachers
that will probably get me hung, and to all those computer literate English
teachers out there I humbly apologise but, in my experience, the English
teachers have been the ones who have had the most difficulty coming to terms
with new technology!

Fiona Bain
LT Co-ordinator


"McDonald, Debra A1" <mcdonald.debra.a1 at edumail.vic.gov.au> on Thu, 8 Jun
2006 11:43:51 +1000 wrote:
> Hi all,
>  
> I may be on the outer her as it has been a while since I have read the
emails regarding VEL's as I wanted to do so at my leisure instead of between
classes, but at out school the eLearning coordinator is apparently going to
hold compulsory PD's that will instruct staff (separate PD's for each
subject area) what skills they need to be teaching each semester and how to
do this. now I have no idea on how she is planning to do this and I think
that in time she will let us know as I will be having to assist her in
instructing the school in part of this because she is not totally proficient
in all area's of IT (mainly the basics).
>  
> what are you guys doing in the PD scheme of things for next year?? and how
are you running it?
>  
> would love to here what is going on out there.
>  
> Cheers
>  
>  
> Debra McDonald
> Network Manager
> Lyndhurst Secondary College
> Cranbourne
> (03) 5996 0144
>  
> 
>
****************************************************************************
***
> 
> This email and any files transmitted with it are Confidential to the
intended recipient and may be privileged.  If you have received this email
inadvertently or you are not the intened recipient, you may not disseminate,
distribute, copy or in any way rely on it.  Further, you should notify the
sender immediately and delete the email from your computer.  Whilst we have
taken precautions to alert us to the presence of computer viruses, we cannot
guarantee that this email and any files transmitted with it are free from
such viruses.
> 
>
****************************************************************************
***
> 
> 
> 
> Important - 
> This email and any attachments may be confidential. If received in error,
please contact us and delete all copies. Before opening or using attachments
check them for viruses and defects. Regardless of any loss, damage or
consequence, whether caused by the negligence of the sender or not,
resulting directly or indirectly from the use of any attached files our
liability is limited to resupplying any affected attachments. Any
representations or opinions expressed are those of the individual sender,
and not necessarily those of the Department of Education & Training.
> _______________________________________________
> http://www.edulists.com.au - FAQ, resources, subscribe, unsubscribe
> Year 7 - 10 IT Mailing List kindly supported by
> http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au - Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority
and
> http://www.vitta.org.au  - VITTA Victorian Information Technology Teachers
Association Inc


---
fiona at balmoralhs.vic.edu.au
http://www.balmoralhs.vic.edu.au/
_______________________________________________
http://www.edulists.com.au - FAQ, resources, subscribe, unsubscribe
Year 7 - 10 IT Mailing List kindly supported by
http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au - Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority
and
http://www.vitta.org.au  - VITTA Victorian Information Technology Teachers
Association Inc