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
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
Why you need a Gigabit connection for your WiFi
Monday 5th May 2014 If you have 20 wireless devices connecting to a single Wireless Access Point (WAP), those wireless devices are sharing the bandwidth that is available to that single WAP’s connection to the network. If your WAP is connected to the network (via an Ethernet connection) at 1000 Mbps then each of those 20 wireless devices can expect … 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 >>>
Sync Multiple Google Drives
Wednesday 30th April 2014 If you have a Gmail account for personal use, and a Google Apps account for school, then you have probably already felt the pain of not being able to sync multiple Google Drive accounts to your computer. Insync is a utility that allows you to sync multiple Google Drive accounts to your computer, along with several other neat … Read More
NAPLAN online – is everybody ready?
Tuesday 29th April 2014 The Australian Government is planning to conduct NAPLAN online from 2016. While the Government is to be commended on the move to take advantage of the efficiencies and the opportunities opened by going digital and online, will all parties critical to the success of conducting NAPLAN online be ready for a 2016 test? Will all Australia’s … Read More
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
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
Web Security in doubt
So, you thought that entering your username and password in a form on a website with an https address, and a little padlock in the status bar, was a secure process? Think again! “the little lock icon (HTTPS) we all trusted to keep our passwords, personal emails, and credit cards safe, was actually making all that private information accessible to … 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 >>>
Office for iPad is free – but it will cost you!
Increasingly, large software vendors like Microsoft are making their iPad apps exclusive to subscribers of their main software package. It’s a troubling trend. Microsoft launched Office for iPad last week. The good news is that the new apps are free – the bad news is that they’re read-only runtimes unless you pony up for an Office 365 subscription. Read more … Read More
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 >>>
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….
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
Cloud providers – Policy statements
How private is your data (and your students’ data) when it is stored with a commercial cloud provider? Will you and your students be targeted with advertising, based on the content of emails and documents stored in the cloud? Who owns ‘your’ data, once it is stored on a remote server, possibly in another country? Links to privacy statements from … Read More
Essential Guide to Innovation in TPL
The Australian Institute of Teaching and School Leadership’s (AITSL) Essential Guide to Professional Learning series examines the research behind key themes of the Professional Learning Charter. This latest issue expands on the importance of innovation and adaptability in professional learning. How will you know when your school’s professional learning culture is innovative? Learn more (pdf) >>>
iPad v Chromebook
A smartphone in the car or train, a tablet at meetings, a laptop when I am at home or in the office – all have their pros and cons. In a post-PC world, which mobile device is the best option, and can they completely replace your laptop computer? Read more >>>
Google slashes paid Drive prices
Google has announced huge reductions in the costs of their paid Drive storage plans. Google offers 15Gb of storage for free – if you want 100 Gb of online storage the cost has dropped from $US4.99 per month to $US1.99 per month. (Google Apps files don’t count towards your storage). Read more at the Google Drive blog >>>