Merry Christmas

With tomorrow being the end of the school year I would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and hope that you have a safe and happy holiday.

A friend sent me this link the other day - http://www.elfyourself.com/ This is a fun way to create a christmas greeting to email to friends!!

Future Search links to Strategic Planning

On November 23 and 24, approximately 180 members of the Bendigo Senior SC community participated in a two day Future Search program.

A report of this program plus the outcomes can be viewed at http://www.bendigoschools.vic.edu.au/future/index.html

New wave of technologies

It would appear that we are about to have (if not having) a new wave of technologies being developed. The presentation at ACEC by Kathy Schrock on Web 2.0 certainly sparked my interest. Web 2.0 is built around open source software which allows us to engage with the web rather than just consume the web is all around us.

The new Google Educator site will be interesting to watch and see how it develops to support learning and teaching.

ICT and Studies of Asia

Integrating Studies of Asia with ICT to create rich learning experiences

http://www.bendigoschools.vic.edu.au/aef.shtml

A range of resources to support teachers with web based learnng can be accessed at
Hotlists to WebQuests

ACEC Conference Cairns

I am fortunate in being invited by the Asia Education Foundation to present a workshop on their behalf at the ACEC Conference to be held in Cairns October 2nd - 4th, 2006.

A link to the workshop will be posted at a later date.

The College's Future Search Conference provides the opportunity for the school and its community to give dedicated time and commitment to strategic planning and works towards addressing some of the recommendations developed from Focus Group discussions earlier in the year.

Planning Group consists of:

Scott Alterator
Meredith Fettling
Julie Harvie
Lisa Hayman
Amanda Hubber
Bev Miller
Angie Pollock

Planning for the Future

This heading was created with http://www3.flamingtext.com/

Bendigo Senior Secondary College is undertaking a two day Future Search Conference as part of its work towards a new strategic plan. Planning is underway with Muffy Hand and a group of staff.

Peter Ellyard, a Futurist will provide a keynote address on Education for the 21st Century.

This conference will take place on November 23 and 24.

ICT in VELS

The integration of ICT in students learning experiences has been provided with a formal place within VELS http://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/essential/interdisciplinary/ict/index.html.


The following are links to some work which I have done in the past.
Web Based Learning
http://www.web-and-flow.com/members/lhayman/nationaldays/sampler.htm

Photostory
http://www.bendigoschools.vic.edu.au/photostory.shtml

Inspiration Concept Map
http://www.bendigoschools.vic.edu.au/principles/docs/napoleon.doc

MindManager
http://www.bendigoschools.vic.edu.au/principles/docs/war.gif

Blogging Professional Learning Program

Blogging in Education

On Thursday, August 24th I will be faciliating a professional learning program on the use of blogging in education.

By the end of this professional learning program you will:

Have viewed different ways in which blogs are used to support learning.
Shared and developed ideas on how to use blogs for your students.
Have created a blog for you own use with www.blogger.com . This involves creation of user name and password, selection of template plus deciding on rules for your blog (open vs closed access, posting of comments etc).

http://www.ahistoryteacher.com/blog/index.html This is a great blog from a History Teacher which I have found - provides lots of interesting resources on blogging.

Blogging Travel Experiences

Classroom application for Blogging.

The challenge for Educators is to look new tools such as blogging (web-logging)and to consider how they can be used to support student learning.

With easy access to internet cafes worldwide, blogging can be used by students to maintain a journal of their activities and keep parents and friends up to date with their travels. In doing so students should be encouraged to not only provide a recount of their journey but to reflect on what they see, feel, hear and experience in order to provide a depth to their writings.

Photos can also be easily uploaded and shared. Attached to this blog is an image of the Eiffel Tower I took from the top of the Arc de Triomphe on a recent trip.

http://www.bendigoschools.vic.edu.au/blogs_wikis.shtml This url will take you to some sites I have collated to support teachers across Bendigo.

Innovation with ICT

The opportunity to visit a range of English schools provided the chance to see a range of innovative use of technology. A report on learning will be presented to the Cluster in coming weeks.

My visit to Cramlington Community High School http://www.cchsonline.co.uk/ was a highlight and has provided me with a range of new material on innovative use of ICT http://www.cchsonline.co.uk/ict/default.htm to support learning and teaching. Vodcasting and the use of green screen technology are amongst a range of areas to explore in the near future.

Professional Leave

The opportunity for teachers to apply for Teacher Professional Leave is an initiative of the Blueprint. In 2005 I was fortunate to receive 20 days. As part of this I will be visiting a number of schools and attending conferences in the United Kingdom in June, 2006.

A detailed report of this Leave will be provided on the Cluster website and tabled with the Curriculum Network and Principal Group.

Research Grants

The I and E Cluster has provided oppotunities for teachers in each school to receive funding to support "research and innovation projects".

A wide range of projects for a variety of subject areas area now being supported.
Information on the successful projects can be found at
http://www.bendigoschools.vic.edu.au/plt.shtml

Eaglehawk SC are well underway with their iHistory project. Read about this via Dave's blog at
http://www.bendigoschools.vic.edu.au/plt.shtml or hear his podcasts at http://ihistory.podomatic.com/

Welcome

Since first learning about blogging at a conference in New Orleans in 2004 I have been wanting to consider how this tool can be used to support learning and teaching.

As Innovations and Excellence Educator based at Bendigo Senior Secondary College my intention is to "model" possible uses of this tool.