[Yr7-10it] Tools for Interactivity (Was: Missed the boat?)

[ken price]

The task of remaining current with ICT is a massive issue. I've been both a
Mathematics teacher and a Computing teacher and you are most certainly
correct as far as content is concerned. 90% of school maths content is the
same as it was 40 years ago - and a quick look at textbooks will verify that
(pedagogy however has changed significantly though). Computing content has a
very short half-life.

Some time back we changed the mandated programming language in one IT
subject from Pascal to Java, One of my colleagues in another school asked
their principal for some time to learn this language and update their notes,
assignments etc. The response was "I used to teach English and we had a new
novel every year. What's so hard about changing a computer language?"

And it was said in all seriousness.

The nature of ICT and the workload in remaining current is not
well-understood by most people outside of it. Some people find even a change
of web browser challenging, but at a deeper level of study the change is
much more demanding of course. The most successful PD models I have seen
rely heavily on the generosity of the teachers involved and their
willingness to go beyond the minimum. This is of course impossible to
mandate across the board.  It isn't always about sending people to training,
though that has its place.

Any suggestions on workable models for PD in the use of ICT tools generally,
or the ones discussed here specifically? (workable = able to be scaled to
all staff, not just the enthusiastic.)

Ken, TASITE Tasmania


On Wed, Mar 11, 2009 at 2:46 PM, Bane, Janet A <
bane.janet.a at edumail.vic.gov.au> wrote:

>
> I often think I should have been a maths teacher - algebra and trigonometry
> probably haven't changed much in the past few decades (sorry to any maths
> teacher if I have offended you), but if you think of the giant strides made
> in the field of computers and ICT, its no wonder schools can't keep pace.
>
>
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