Monday 26th may 2014 A key goal of teachers using technology to support the curriculum has always been the integration of new and innovative technologies in day-to-day classroom activities. Unfortunately, the cost of new technologies has always been a hurdle to achieving this goal. When ‘technology access’ is located in a secure ‘lab’ in another building in the school – accessible once a week … Read More
Blended Learning Resources (NSW Rural & Distance Ed)
Friday 23rd May 2014 Blended learning is a teaching practice that has developed to meet the needs of 21st-century learners. It is methodology that can be used in all learning contexts, from face-to-face classrooms through to totally online learning environments. The NSW Rural and Distance Education site provides useful resources for educators in a wide variety of environments to integrate new technologies in … Read More
Showbie Pro Update
Wednesday 21st May 2014 Have you checked out Showbie yet? The video below demos the latest release of Showbie Pro, and gives a concise overview of the features of the app. There is also a free version for classes of up to 35 students, with similar features. Definitely worth checking out. Visit the Showbie site >>>
BYOD at Sydney Boys HS
Monday 19th May 2014 Year 9 students at Sydney BHS are expected to bring their own computing device to school every day. The school makes recommendations as to the model of device students may choose to bring, or students can choose an alternative device that meets the school’s specifications. The site includes information and links to documents outlining school policy, student charter agreements, and device specifications. … Read More
Digital storytelling with Animoto
Friday 16th May 2014 Animoto is an online and mobile video creation service that makes it easy for students to create and share videos using their own pictures, video clips, words and music. Students choose a theme, then upload pictures and video clips to the video editor. Next, they personalize their movie with text and music, then click a button to create their digital masterpiece. … Read More
Going 1:1 in 2014
Thursday 15th May 2014 The two articles below , published by Dominic Norris at Innovate My School, discuss reasons why schools are choosing tablets to fulfil their 1:1 ambitions and suggests a slight tweak on how this by-now-familiar formula might be improved. As Dominic writes…. Fundamentally, schools want to bring the undoubted benefits of a really powerful and functional device to every … Read More
Slow Internet? – Check your WAPs
Wednesday 14th May 2014 How old are the Wireless Access Points (WAPs) on your network? Could they be responsible for slow network speeds in your school? Last week I visited a school that was having issues connecting to the Internet using their wireless network. In the staffroom an old Airport Extreme (spaceship) base station was being used for wireless Internet access. The data … Read More
BYOD Sandpit
Tuesday 13th May 2014 Thinking about implementing BYOD in your school? The BYOD Sandpit contains support documentation and resources developed by teachers, school communities and consultants. The material at BYOD Sandpit is provided to help inform discussion on the implementation of BYOD in K-12 schools. There is a great deal of info on this site relating specifically to NSW DEC schools, including step-by-step … Read More
What do we want kids to do with technology?
Thursday 8th May 2014 A few years ago I walked into a classroom with a local District IT manager. The class of 9 and 10 year olds were working in groups, all engrossed in producing videos about their chosen topics. Some groups were constructing stop-motion videos, others were outside the classroom conducting hard-hitting interviews with staff. Other students were off in … Read More
Google to stop scanning apps inboxes for ads
Wednesday 7th May 2014 Google has announced that it will stop scanning students’ Apps for Education accounts to target ads at them. What was somewhat lost in that announcement was that Google will also make similar changes to other account types. Google will also soon stop scanning the accounts of Google Apps customers with Business, Government and legacy accounts for the free version. … Read More
Faster School Internet access
Tuesday 6th May 2014 Every time a student clicks on a link to a web page, resources are downloaded over your school’s Internet connection to the student’s computer – using valuable bandwidth. So, imagine if you could store commonly used web resources inside your school network, and encourage students to use those common resources from inside the network, rather than repeatedly downloading … Read More
Showbie for iPad
Thursday 1st May 2014 Showbie makes it easy for teachers to set assignments and for students to submit assignments, all in an iPad environment. Teachers can also use Showbie to provide feedback to students. Watch the video below, or for more info visit showbie.com >>>
Google codifies crawling your email
On Monday, Google updated Gmail’s terms of service to spell out its relationship with users in no uncertain terms: “Our automated systems analyse your content (including emails) to provide you personally relevant product features, such as customised search results, tailored advertising, and spam and malware detection. This analysis occurs as the content is sent, received, and when it is stored.” … Read More
Configurator – Course update
Due to popular demand, an additional course has been added to Scott Barnham’s Configurator roadshow workshops…. at Bodalla PS on Friday 30th May. Maybe tack the Friday on to a long weekend away on the sunny NSW South Coast! Learn how to manage your school’s iPads using Apple Configurator, at this one-day hands-on workshop. You will learn about….. Apple Volume Purchase Program … Read More
Google Sheets – Convert old to new
If you are using Google Sheets to create your spreadsheets, you are probably already using the recently-released new version of Sheets. But what about your existing spreadsheets? How do you convert a spreadsheet created in the original version to the new format? While Google doesn’t provide a simple one-click conversion tool yet, there is a quick workaround… Open the a … Read More
Google-proof questions
Simple fact-regurgitation questions make it all too easy for students to type their research questions into the Google search bar to ‘find’ an answer? We can leverage the principles of Bloom’s Taxonomy to develop research tasks that promote analysis, interpretation, and investigation – and avoid simple ‘answers’ that require no higher-order thinking skills. Learn more >>>
School ICT Planning – Curriculum Focus?
All school planning should be undertaken with a clear vision of how the implementation of a particular initiative will improve learning outcomes. However, some school planning procedures – ICT planning in particular – seem to be structured around a debate centred on hardware platforms, budget allocations, and the knowledge and personal preferences of technical support staff with no pedagogical experience. How … Read More
Mars & Earth move closer this month
Interesting events this month for Science classes…. Beginning April 9 (AEST) Mars will be aligned in a straight line with the Sun and the Earth. This year we’ll be closest to Mars on April 14, when we’ll be separated by 92 million kilometres – a lot closer than usual, but still well short of the 55 million kilometre absolute minimum. … Read More
Managing iPads with Configurator
Learn how to manage your school’s iPads using Apple Configurator, at this one-day hands-on workshop. You will learn about….. Apple Volume Purchase Program (VPP) for apps; Creating & Managing Apple IDs; Installing Apple Configurator; Using Configurator to prepare iPads with the latest iOS; Supervised Mode; Installing free apps, and paid apps purchased through VPP; Creating and installing Profiles to manage settings. Wollongong workshop … Read More
eduCanon – online lesson builder
Use eduCanon to build interactive online lessons around video clips from YouTube, TeacherTube, Vimeo, etc. Watch the video below, or learn more at educanon.com >>>
iPad Apps for your classroom
What do you want to do today? A list of popular iPad content-creation apps connected to every-day curriculum-related activities. Check out the apps >>>
Google Apps – New image editing tools
Google Drawings and Slides now have new image editing tools available. Check out the Google Gooru video below for the latest info about these new tools…
Basic Skills or Soft Skills?
Is creative brain power more valuable than formal education? Google’s Brin, Page, and Schmidt seem to belong to a school of thought similar to that of Papert, Minsky, Negroponte, and even Albert Einstein: “Imagination is more important than knowledge” and “learning to learn is more important than memorising information.” Read more at the Huffington Post >>>
The SAMR model in your classroom
Friday 28th March, 2014 Have new technologies brought new learning opportunities to your classroom, or simply provided students with a new typewriter interface? Are you using technology in the classroom for the sake of using technology, or are these new devices creating new and engaging activities? The SAMR model suggests a framework to define the impact of technology on the learning … Read More
Google Apps – Office Online – iWork for iCloud
Online ‘office’ apps are becoming a critical component in every educators’ toolbox. There are now three main players in the online ‘office’ apps department – Google, Microsoft and Apple. Which one is right for you or your school? Read the review >>>
BYOD at Banksmeadow PS
Teachers Eric and Ben discuss the process of introducing a BYOD program at Banksmeadow Public School in Sydney….
Edmodo at a Glance
Discover how Edmodo can make your classroom a community….
Planning an ICT Makeover for your school
In comparison with the ever-changing use of ICT in the wider community, many schools’ ICT offerings are now looking a little tired and outdated. Lots of ‘same-old’ ICT has been happening in many schools for the last 10 years – research, copy, paste, summarise, print, hand-in! So, where do we start in hauling a school into the modern ICT era? … Read More
Dave’s ICT Info
Dave is an Assistant Principal at a local K-6 Public School. Dave’s site provides lot’s of useful information and links to resources for teachers who are integrating technology in the curriculum. Check it out >>>
Doctopus – Creating class folders
Doctopus is a Google Apps add-on that can now be used to create shared class folders. Watch the video below to learn how to use Doctopus with your classes…. See also: Doctopus overview >>>