Make Create Educate

Significant Challenges Impeding Technology Adoption in K-12 Education See Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3 , of this series on the Horizon Report 2015 Difficult Challenges: Those that we understand but for which solutions are elusive  Personalizing Learning: The move toward personalised learning has been discussed for many years. Previously termed Student Centred Learning, there is much research discussing this concept for many years.  1990 , 1997 , 2000 . Another term that impacts on personalised learning is differentiation , where we make adjustments to cater for the needs of all abilities in the classroom. The evolution of personalised learning has been made more possible by technology.  Personalised learning challenges the traditional educational paradigm. For this model to progress we need to modify teaching pedagogies from traditional methods of imparting knowledge to teachers facilitating learning. This will require cultural and attitudinal change from teachers...

Registration for a conference…mmm you would there is no takeaways or learning points right? When you use social media this is not true. Registration for a conference becomes a networking opportunity to meet new people and put faces to names of people you have spoken with online. It was a privilege to meet @eric_mazur who was gracious with his time to chat and even took time for a picture. I am looking forward to his talk tomorrow on assessment. A conference is not just about learning it about connecting. When you are online there is always people to meet, catch up with and follow especially at a conference.  Before even getting to registration I bumped into @ZeinaChalich of #aussieED and @rolfek . Lots to chat about regarding Makerspaces and our latest projects. The best thing about social media is putting faces to names and there were lots of opportunities for that at Dinner on June 1. @Richardcford @roobails @jenny_kemp @deb_clarke @HostBrian @madgiem...

This year I am facilitating our schools first online elective. It is a semester long course for year 8 in Computational Thinking. The duration of the course is 1 semester - approximately 20 weeks, about 30 hours. Currently this a small class of 5 boys. Having a small class is a great opportunity to test this new format. I am hoping to increase these numbers in Semester 2 and attract some girls to this subject also. The purpose of the course is to teach computational thinking. The online format will allow students the opportunity to pursue personal interest projects in the area of computational thinking. The students have been allocated a room. I am in a nearby area with another class. Students have access to me during their class if required. We have one 30min face to face session a fortnight to discuss student needs and for updates. Source Methods of Communication Email Google Classroom Blogs Instant chat My tools to deliver content and assessment tasks Go...

What are the most crucial skills a teacher needs? Teaching is more than imparting knowledge. It is quite possible you will have students in your classes who know more than you.  So... how do you teach someone who knows more than you?  What skills can you teach them? Initiative Problem solving skills Research skills - to locate an answer to questions you and your students may have  Information literacy - locate the author and validity of a website Digital Citizenship - model and teach how to be safe online Able to learn, unlearn and relearn Self Discipline What does a teacher need? Must have a tool box of technology tools. Be able to use and assist students with at least one Wordprocessor Spreadsheet Presentation tool Video editing/Movie creator Picture editor Sound recorder  Video camera (maybe a phone?) Searching skills A teacher must be able to teach effective search skills. Here a few resources to help with teaching search skills. ...

Personal Interest Projects (PIP) A personal inquiry project is a research project where the topic is driven by student interest. This term I have had the pleasure of taking over a year 10 IST class. With reports and assessments completed I decided to trial a PIP with a secondary group. I will be dedicating the next few posts to how the PIP progresses in a secondary setting. The theme that was set for the term by the previous teacher is "The future of technology".  Communication All communication, links and the assignment sheets are delivered via Google Classroom. Introduction I introduced the unit by giving a guided tour of our school makerspace . It has: Oculus Rift Makerbot Digitiser Makerbot 3D Printer Makey Makey Little Bits GoldieBlox Leap Motion Chromeboxes Formatted Desktops Old computers to pull apart We watched and discussed the future of technology from the perspective of the mid 1900's through to the current day. Jetsons S...

Educational value of coding There has been discussion on the value of coding. Does teaching coding to Primary aged students steal valuable teaching time from literacy and maths. What does coding teach? Ultimately reading, writing and spelling skills are among the most important skills students take from education. Communication empowers people to learn and do more with their life. Skills taught in coding Coding teaches Logic - work through an order of steps Perseverance -  must solve the problem Problem solving Reading if following online tutorials Group work Coding can be used to teach Procedure writing Recounts Descriptions Information Reports Expositions Maths - 2 D shapes and angles Some of my most enthusiastic coders are average spellers and readers. One student was receiving ed support and I didn't know. Coding is a motivation to read. I have other students who are poor spellers. When typing code in HTML,  codeacademy ,  pencilcode.net ...