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11 December 2008
November/December Newsletter
What is happening at BETT09
14th -17th January Olympia, London
Visit our BETT web page to find information about all the MirandaNet events and contacts, plus links to the official BETT site for details of the exhibition, hints on planning your visit, and details of all the seminars. There is also a link where you can register for free.
MirandaMods at BETT09: Stand S97/98
During BETT09 MirandaNet will be holding a number of themed events. Come along and make a five-minute contribution. If your contribution doesn't necessarily fit the theme of the day, don't worry: we'd love to see you there!
Wednesday January 14:
1130 - 1230 Immersive Learning
Christina Preston
1445 - 1545: CPD - Critical Incidents
Caroline Daly, WLE Centre, IoE;
CPD; Critical Incidents; Ideas That Make Things Happen.
Thursday January 15:
1445 - 1545 Project Learning; Visual Learning, Multimodal Learning
Christopher Binns, John Cuthell
Friday January 16:
1145 - 1245 Projects in Mobile Learning
Norbert Pachler, WLE Centre, IoE; Rachel Jones
Friday January 16: MirandaNet Seminar
1430 - 1515 Club Room
ICT CPD. What is needed - and what will be its impact in the classroom?
Norbert Pachler, WLE Centre, IoE; Caroline Daly, WLE Centre, IoE; Christina Preston, MirandaNet; John Cuthell, MirandaNet
A World Ecitizens seminar at BETT09
Andrée Jordan who designed the Peace Room for World Ecitizens describes her BETT 2009 Seminar
Internationalism in Schools
Thursday 15th January 15:45 - 16:30
At: Innovative Practice Room
Booking code: T21
* All schools need International links - the government says so.
* All children need to experience the world - they will be growing up in one world, in a global marketplace.
* Many global issues need addressing.
* Giving children an international perspective in their school life brings the world to them, changes their outlook, develops their understanding, their tolerance, and enriches their experience.
To my mind, it is an absolute must; but how?
This seminar will explore the possible methods of integrating a global perspective into and outside the classroom, stimulating children to find creative answers to problems, local solutions to global issues, and introduce the children of the world to each other using new and innovative ways.
It will demonstrate a variety of suggestions, including methods of communication - from web based tools to mobile phones.
It will explore a number of proven successful project ideas, such as "The Peace Room", "Exploring Statistics", and "Tourist Guides",
And will address the issue of funding sources.
It aims to help professionals make internationalism a part of normal classroom practice.
John Cuthell at BETT 2009
Research into the CPD experiences of advisors and teachers
Friday 16th January 14:30 - 15:15
At: Club Room
Booking code: F11
During 2007 the MirandaNet Fellowship worked with members of the Naace, ITTE and MirandaNet communities to identify effective models of ICT CPD, and the critical incidents that had proved formative in respondents' lives. This seminar will report on research into the CPD experience of these advisers and teachers, and their recommendations for effective ICT CPD work teachers and schools.
The focus will be on the ICT CPD needed to support 21st century skills.
The driving need for schools to embed ICT within the curriculum and move to e-maturity underpins the need for effective - and timely - models of ICT CPD that can have the maximum impact on teaching and learning. This seminar will identify effective approaches.
MirandaMod 2
Following the amazing success of the July MirandaMod, MirandaNet Fellows and friends gathered once more, on November 27th at the Work-Related Learning Centre of Excellence at the Institute of Education, in London. Introduced by Christina Preston, and ably and warmly chaired by the inimitable Drew Buddie, delegates were treated to a truly amazing display of state-of -the-art projects and thinking.
These included an introductory, keynote presentation written by Vanessa Pittard, Becta (given in her absence by Christina), and a fascinating insight into visual learning by Rachel Jones, Steljes. We listened to how we could use Google Earth for creative writing (which I, as a teacher of English, found particularly exciting and innovative); about best classroom practice in using ICT; about cross-agency links through a Healthy Eating project; about solving conceptual, and management problems in ICT classes; about new ways of using Moodle, and much more beside.
Throughout the event, MirandaNetters contributed comments and questions from the floor of the WLE, while others watching the webcast were able to do the same via Twitter, and an even greater number of "lurkers" (or "active listeners") globally formed part of this new kind of "un" conference. All of this was accompanied by two vital ingredients: beer and sandwiches. (Thanks, Steljes!).
We hope that those who contributed from Germany, China, the Czech Republic, New Zealand, and elsewhere had as good a time as we did, and learned as much. Some events are transforming: this was certainly one of them.
Postscript
We could not see the iChat from the studio because of the university Firewall but we will have solved this by next time. Please look at our conference listings for the details about MirandaNet Mods at BETT09. You can again be involved, virtually or terrestrially.
World Ecitizenship in Beijing
Christina Preston, the Chair of Trustees of World Ecitizens, was invited to speak at the World Ecitizens Conference funded by the Beijing regional government on their efforts to include World Ecitizenship in their national curriculum.
There were 300 teachers at the conference who were all enthused by the success of the Olympic games and keen to reach out to schools in other countries. What had galvanised the Beijing Education Department was the value of experience of the young volunteers who helped so many foreign guests around the city and the events. This kind of volunteer activity is not usual in China and the authorities want to encourage this spirit of sharing.
I also had a chance to visit some schools, especially School no. 50 where we have had Fellows for about seven years: Denver Charm, Michelle, Stella and Zhengu as well as Tiedao Zhang and Wang Wei at the Beijing Academy of Education Sciences.
Here is my record of the visit captured on Comic Life.
Below are the recommendations made by the 300 teachers, in English and Chinese, about introducing World Ecitizenship in to the curriculum that have been made to policy makers as a result of the three day conference. This seemed to be a very democratic process which sheds a new light on the ways in which the Beijing authorities are working with teachers.
Our colleagues from School no. 50 joined us in the last MirandaMod in November. We hope this will be the beginning of some new exchange projects.
Diplomas, functional skills, national challenge ...
My team of ICT Consultants entered the Becta 'Support for Schools' award...we were 1 of 8 shortlisted but didn't get a prize...
One new thing that is useful is the increased use of Ning for social networking...I have just set one up for NQT's in Telford, following their conference...early days but should allow increased communication, discussion, sharing of resources etc.
Also our website is developing and now has an online diary and a resource section to allow sharing of materials...if you look at the home page there is a link to the Primary ICT coordinators meetings...these are about to start at 1.30 (created using Serco Learning Platform)
Mobile phones for teacher professional learning - ethical issues
Just to let interested parties know that we ran a workshop on ethical issues with workplace learning that included mobile phones for teachers and students in classroom situations.
See here for details. I have written this up as a submission to IJMBL if anyone wants to contact me for further info.
, Graduate School of Education
Alternative views about controlling Internet access
We tend to have quite liberal views in MirandaNet. I hope that those who have an alternative view about children's education will feel welcome in expressing that. For example most of us seemed to be in favour of almost free access to the Interent in the classroom.
Members often send their differing views to me so I asked Ajita Nayar if I might publish her opinion below. I hope next time Ajita Nayar and other members who have a different perspective on important issues will feel comfortable in pushing ‘reply all' rather than just sending the message to me.
This is what Ajita Nayar said,
I train secondary school prospective teachers ICT methodologies. The school environment in India is very sceptical in uncontrolled learning via the INTERNET. With regard to the questions posed I would like to put forward my ideas and suggestions
Do you think young people are made more resilient by this opportunity, or
more cynical or uncaring?
Its best to protect children as young as 11 year olds from disturbing images and news items. First of all such sights come out of the blue and children may not be prepared for such sights. Yes, there is a tendency that such images be retained in their young sensitive subconscious minds for a long time. There is a chance that certain children become resilient (tough hearted), and certain children can become cynical. It all depends on the nature of the learner
Do you have any hints and tips for internet searching?
Just like the teacher giving and selecting the books to be referred, it is necessary that teachers select the sites for the children to browse. Intranet materials which contain useful and relevant information can be downloaded from the net, cut and paste the suitable and appropriate information for children to read and retrieve information. Thus tailormade sites would be more child friendly and student centered.
Do you think pupils should be kept in a walled garden?
Yes, taking into consideration the immaturity and the sensitivity of young minds, the harmful sides to internet browsing, it is necessary that the teacher stamps his/her authority on internet use. Freedom with restraint should be the watchword here. It is not advisable to give the children a free hand in internet browsing, collecting and retrieving information.
Face to Face discussion software
I have been involved in an EU project to create networked face to face discussion software (with graphical tools, threaded chat, voting software etc). The project is basically over and we now have working software available free for anyone to use... and unusually for a research and development project we are trying to move it from the lab to the real world!!
If any member's would like to look at this software they can find it here.
Gary Cooke
MirandaNet was very saddened to hear of the sudden death from cancer of Gary Cooke, ICT teacher at Harrow School, in June 2007. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him.
Kirsty Shanahan, Communications Manager at Harrow School writes: We still miss him terribly and his death was a terrible blow to us all, not just because of its suddenness but because of the calibre, personality and talents of the man we lost.
Members' blogs
Comenius visit - Turkey
After a long effort with our partners from UK, Sweden and Poland, we managed a project named " Building Bridges to a Multicultural Europe". Our partners visited our town in ÇanakKale city of Turkey between 26-31 October. You can see in my blog what kind of activities we have done together.
Please share your ideas and suggestions.
We would like to feature other members' blogs in the newsletter. Please send details to me.
Inspirational news
Inspiration has been supporting our work for several years including the concept mapping working groups, the publication of the e-journals on concept mapping and my recent conference presentation at the CMC conference in Estonia and Finland where I met the renown Jo Novak. He is over 80 but still full of life and promoting the value of concept mapping in constructive learning (My photos were lost with my laptop!).
Our colleague, Erin Antonius, will be at BETT09 again this year but she changed her role and our new contact at Inspiration is . Annie is the International Markets Manager, dedicated to support educators throughout the world embrace technology and visual learning methodology.
Annie reminds us that, "Inspiration strives to support improvements in education and business and to make a positive difference in our users' lives by providing software tools that help people of all ages use visual thinking and visual learning to achieve academic, professional and personal goals".
She also reminds us about the company's reputation. " Inspiration Software®, Inc. is recognized as the leader in visual thinking and visual learning. We develop and publish innovative software tools that inspire thinkers and learners of all ages to brainstorm, organize, plan and create. With more than 25 million users worldwide, our award-winning software is revolutionizing visual thinking and learning in education, personal and business use-inspiring students to develop strong thinking and organizational skills and improve their academic performance and tapping the power of visual thinking to help personal and business users enhance productivity and creativity".
Members who want a free copy of Inspiration in order to set up a project can apply to .
Have you seen the new Kidspiration 3?
New Scholars
Nancy Davis
I work with practicing teachers and listen to the dilemmas they share about how students are learning, how schools are structured, how they are being forced to compromise what they believe is best about learning. Many of the structures of schooling represent a focus on learning in the 20th century. I am interested in 21st century digital learners and how technology can enhance cultural evolution using a theoretical frame of Integral Education. I am interested in assisting teachers and prospective teachers to be able to adapt to changing technologies that can allow them to enhance learning. Specifically, I am exploring how Web 2.0 technologies can enhance assessment processes to determine more sophisticated and complex conceptions of knowledge. My passion is learning and sharing learning with others to create the world we want to live in. As I interact with teachers, I focus on adult learning and inclusion of body, mind, soul and spirit in self, nature, culture and society.
John Denver
I am a teacher from No.50 School in Beijing, I am very interested in ICT teaching, it is not meaning I am lazy, but I think it is very fit for teaching in class. Why not when it is useful for teachers and students?
Betty Gilgoff
Currently I co-facilitate the LTT (Learning and Teaching with Technology) graduate diploma program at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby BC, Canada. Generally K-12 teachers enrol in the program to learn ways of integrating technology into their teaching practice. My interest is in using the technology to help teachers gain confidence in moving towards a constructivist approach to teaching and learning. By having teacher experience for themselves a self-directed approach to learning, practice-based teacher inquiry, and a pass/fail system of portfolio assessment amazing things happen. Generally the learning is transformational.
I have worked in the field of education for over 25 years, always with an interest in the children who are learning at the fringes. Technology inevitably captures their attention. It allows for critical and creative thinking that can produce and connect in new ways. Like the students, I'm fascinated by it, yet at the same time I am concerned about the connection of IT to changing brain development and how that might impact positively or negatively on the ideal of educating our students to be global citizens. I also facilitate a graduate diploma for Teaching and Learning with Global Perspectives, and am looking for ways to marry my intrigue and skill with technology to my developing understanding of what it means to teach and learn with and for global perspectives.
Beryl Healy
I am a teaching principal in a two teacher primary school. I have used ICT with my classes for the last 10 years. We have just purchased an IWB for the school and I am very interested in learning how to use it to its full potential. I have just started a Masters in Technology and Learning in Trinity College, Dublin, as I am very interested in perhaps moving from the classroom to a related field and needed to upgrade my technical skills.
Gail Inniss
I currently enjoy responsibilities in the Research Branch of the Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood.
I have a primary teaching background and have worked in pre-service and post-graduate teacher training and development
My interest in ICT has been sparked through professional reading and the professional debate, practice and enthusiasm of my colleagues within the Department. The abundance of knowledge sharing regarding the use of technologies to enthuse and engage students of all ages, is I believe, essential to educational research and policy development.
Gary Molloy
I am a science teacher interested in exemplary chemistry instruction and the appropriate use of ICT in the classroom. Some suggest that I am a bleeding edge innovator, I consider myself more of an early adopter.
St Joseph's College is researching 21st Century Learning Skills and I'm lucky enough to be leading the project. There are no shortages of Web2.0 tools available, the challenge is to ensure that pedagogy remains at the fore and that students receive quality instruction. That said, there is no denying or halting the rate of change and opportunities presented by advances in technology and I believe as educators that we have a responsibility to ensure that we keep abreast of developments.
One area of personal interest is the use of slideware and cognition.
David Morris
Before entering the teaching profession, I had six years experience of computing in industry. I gained my PGCE at the Institute of Education and taught in inner city primary schools for seven years as well as two years experience teaching ICT in Key Stages 3 and 4. With both experience of primary and secondary, I have worked as a senior manager in a Beacon school and have taught ICT as a specialist subject to every year group from Foundation Stage through to Applied GCSE.
In September 2008 I was seconded by Becta to conduct research into the ICT skills and competencies of the teaching workforce. The secondment will continue until the end of March 2009.
Éamonn Ó hAilpín
A 9th century Irish monk in a poem Pangur Ban wrote
A thabhairt doraidh do shoiléireacht is í m'obair féin.
'I get wisdom day and night Turning darkness into light.'
Here I am surrounded by ideas and interesting people in the wild west of Ireland. Lucky me! When I attended school I often wondered (and daydreamed) at how it would be to stand on my teacher's shoes. I found out when I qualified as a Primary School Teacher some years ago. Afterwards, I wondered at the perspectives of the children in my classroom- what was it like in their shoes? And, I remain in a blissful state of wonder learning from them!
As an education advisor I seek gaps in knowledge and understanding. These gaps arise between working colleagues, young learners and teachers, indeed all involved with education. - ICT serves as a means to help us share, understand and add to our collective knowledge and experiences. - enabling us to turn our perceived darkness into light.
Jae Park
I am a Post-doctoral fellow at The University of Hong Kong, Fac. Education - Centre for Information Technology in Education (CITE). My main focus of study is philosophy of education. I avoid naming philosophy an area because it is more an outlook through which various issues in education can be examined. I follow the continental tradition rather than the analytical tradition in philosophy. My doctoral thesis on the concept of recognition in education deals with the problem of recognition in the ‘master-slave' dialectics of Hegel, contemporary multiculturalism debate in political philosophy and phenomenological interpretation of recognition by Paul Ricoeur, with numerous implications for education.
I am currently involved in a research project called "Technology in Higher Education." My role in this project is to articulate issues and assumptions that are beyond the strictly technical such as ideals of higher education, educational change, metaphysics of technology (Martin Heidegger), e-community, practices, e-learning, technology integration and philosophy of action (moral and ethical).
I am extremely pleased to join MirandaNet from which I expect valuable learning opportunities.
William [Bill] Saunders
In my work and personal life I am a keen ICT user but not a "techy". For many of my earlier years at work I was trained and employed on Radar and thermal imaging systems as well as different types of computer mainframes. I then become a Learning and Development Manager in the Construction sector over 10 years ago and retained my enthusiasm for ICT usage. The teaching reforms in the Learning and Skills sector presented me with the opportunity of training to be a teacher [QTLS-IfL] so that I could help the instructors that I coach and train through the process themselves.
Our instructors generally need help to be able and motivated in deploying ICT more then they do. They need to be convinced that it is a proven tool which they and their learners can benefit from along with a range of teaching means. In my College work I am doing my Technology Supported Learning module based on the use of Google Sketchup 6 as a 3D modelling tool - I believe that this will really help to captivate the interest of our training staff to use ICT more within the training cycle. I will then use this software as the basis of X2 good practice workshops in teaching for our instructors. Over the last two years our training company has kitted out multi-media classrooms in our Centres, including Interactive Whiteboards, Laptops, audio suite, etc. They want to see a greater take up in the use of these facilities then is at present the case, something I heartily concur with.
Anne Sheddick
I am an education specialist who has worked on distance and e-learning programmes for many years at Brunel University, Open University and University of Oxford.
Since leaving my FT role at the University of Oxford I have spent the last 2 years developing e-learning programmes for teachers in schools, F/HE and other settings specialising in the teaching of literacy, focussing on literacy acquisition problems and dyslexia.
Dyslexia Action is the largest provider of specialist courses in this field in the UK. Currently we offer a series of blended e-learning courses and these include a postgraduate training programme, validated by the University of York, for about 200 students annually and many other shorter courses at undergraduate level, credit rated by the Open University, numerous CPD courses and projects. Courses are offered nationally and internationally.
We work closely with ULCC, who host our moodle site. We make extensive use of Web 2 technologies to build communities of practice through our courses and beyond.
I am interested in working with other educators developing and delivering e-learning courses and support. My current interest is how best to support coaching on line at this level.
Drew Thomson
I am from Scotland born and bred, however through my PGCE and first teaching post I am now resident in Hertfordshire. I have been subjected to the wonders of technology from a very early age and find myself to be particularly proficient at the important niggly bits!
I am new to the teaching profession, having taken up my first post at Rickmansworth School as a Teacher of Physics to students of ages 11 - 18. I am extremely keen to involve ICT where necessary in the classroom to enhance and enrich learning of those that I teach. I find myself always looking out for and researching new methods and resources to use in the classroom and fully intend to introduce my own.
Suzie Vesper
I trained as a primary teacher and have always had a strong interest in how ICT can be integrated into teaching and learning. I had been an ICT lead teacher in two schools before becoming an ICT facilitator to nine primary schools as part of a nation wide ICT professional development contract. I have recently started working for CORE Education that manages the ICT contract nationally and am now the national facilitator for 13 groups of schools. I have become very interested in how online tools and technologies can support learning and I maintain a number of online spaces related to this. These include:
• sharetheaddiction.edublogs.org
• educationalsoftware.wikispaces.com
• learningweb2.wikispaces.com
• teacherportal.wikispaces.com
• suzieslinks.com
• leadingict.wikispaces.com
• christmaslinks.pbwiki.com
• ictlessons.wikispaces.com
I also share a number of presentations and resources through my Scribd and Slideshare accounts:
• slideshare.net/suziea
• scribd.com/people/documents/129699-suzievesper
Basically, I have a passion for using new technologies to improve outcomes for students and to help teachers grow their own personal learning network. These technologies have already expanded my ideas and understanding through networks developed in places such as Twitter and Diigo. I enjoyed taking part in the last MirandaMod and hope to attend again in future sessions.
On the personal front, I am 37 years old and married to a lovely chap called Corey. We live in Wellington - the best city in New Zealand!
Wei Wang
Education Background: Bachelor of Pedagogy, Beijing Normal University
Working Experiences (Feb. 1978 - March. 1982):
Associate Research Fellow, Research Institute of Basic Education, Beijing Academy of Educational Sciences
Research Projects Involved: The case study on evaluating the use of ICT in school.
Jocelyn Wishart
I have been involved with ICT and education since the 1980s. I became involved in Mobile Learning through my interest in using handheld devices to support teacher trainees on placement in schools. I ran two small scale projects funded by the Teacher Development Agency that have shown the devices can be useful in supporting both learning and teaching. I am about to embark on another project focusing on the use of PDAs and Smartphones to support trainee teachers in developing as reflective practitioners through the use of e-portfolios. The trainees will be using the mobile version of the online portfolio tool PebblePad to update their profile of competences any time, from school or home, with both text and images. My interests lie primarily in the psychology of mobile learning and in the corresponding pedagogy of using handheld devices for teaching.
I am
• Convenor of the University of Bristol Workshop Series ‘Adding a Mobile Dimension to Teaching and Learning'
• Moderator of the Teaching with Handhelds discussion group at www.handheldlearning.co.uk
M Khairiltitov Zainuddin
I'm an officer in Malaysian Ministry of Education currently doing my PhD in Information System (KM). My research is on the application of KM tools to TPD in Malaysia. I'm studying the factors that support or hinder the effective use of the KM technologies for teachers professional development.
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