Monday 1st September 2014 Minnesota’s St. Paul School District is preparing to deploy tens of thousands of iPads to students in 37 schools around the city. Rather than purchasing the tablets outright, the school district will lease them from Apple. The cost of the program – which also appears to include more than 1,000 MacBooks – will begin at $5.7 … Read More
School bells (and announcements) on an iPod
Tuesday 26th August 2014 This might be worth checking out for your school – an iOS app that can use your school’s existing PA system to: Schedule bells (hourly, daily, weekly) that are fully customisable (time of day, etc); Select from a library of school bell sounds; Add your own music selection directly from iTunes; Select different themes / music … Read More
Escaping Education’s Death Valley
Monday 25th August 2014 Sir Ken Robinson outlines 3 principles crucial for the human mind to flourish – and how current education culture works against them. In an entertaining presentation Sir Ken considers some options to escape the educational “death valley” we now face, and discusses (without a slideshow!) how to nurture our youngest generations with a climate of possibility….
Port Kembla PS – Student Showcase
Wednesday 20th August 2014 Visit the classes at Port Kembla Public School in NSW…. Class activities, performances at local schools, and excursions, are all documented on these class pages. Visit the PKPS Showcase >>> (Powered by Weebly)
Google launches Classroom
Wednesday 13th August 2014 Google yesterday officially launched Google Classroom. Classroom is now available for schools using Google Apps for Education – though I expect that there will be a ‘rollout period’ over the next month or so. Google have added a number of new features to Classroom, following feedback from the trial that has been underway since May. No doubt … Read More
BYOD at East Hills Girls THS
Tuesday 12th August 2014 All students in Years 7 – 9 at East Hills Girls Technology High School now use their own iPads across all Faculties in the school. The teachers in each Faculty have contributed to an iBook, outlining ideas for integrating the iPad within their Faculty’s curriculum activities. To access the iBook you will need to enrol in the school’s related iTunes U course….. … Read More
Is your email address portable?
Wednesday 6th August 2014 If you use Dropbox, Tripit, Skype, PayPal, eBay, Facebook, Edmodo, WordPress, etc, etc, or bank online, or pay your phone, road-toll, ISP, or other regular bills online, you need an e-mail address. And if you want to preserve some long-term sanity, this address needs to be a constant. In particular, if you use an e-mail address provided by … Read More
School Web Sites
Monday 4th August 2014 A school web site is often the first contact that a prospective enrolment’s parent may have with your school. Your school web site can also become a place for sharing resources and information with the school community. What does your school’s web site say about your school? Does your school’s site convey a sense of a … Read More
Solutions for the cross-platform classroom
Thursday 24th July 2014 The modern tech-savvy classroom can be a complicated mix of devices and software. As technology becomes more ubiquitous both at home and in the classroom, schools find themselves in a more blended world. As educators in the 21st century, we must be prepared to tackle education in an environment that is cross-platform and multi-device. How do we provide an effective, innovative and … Read More
DIY Cabling – New ACMA Regulations
Wednesday 23rd July 2014 In years gone by general ‘computer network cabling’ was exempt from the various rules and regulations that applied to telecommunications cabling. As of 1st July 2014 the regulations set by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA – a Federal Govt Authority) require that technicians who are installing computer network cabling to be registered, after satisfactorily completing … Read More
Cloud Compare
Friday 18th July 2014 Dropbox was the first online file storage company to capture widespread public interest. It is a great service, with an easy to use interface, and apps for all mobile devices and OSs. However, Dropbox is no longer the only cloud file service available – there are plenty of others, often with better options for storing and sharing files. And all … Read More
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
The NSW Government has reminded it’s agencies that all NSW Govt websites, including school websites, are required to conform to the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 by the end of 2014. This is inline with similar Australian Government requirements. These guidelines are designed to make websites accessible for people with disabilities, and include requirements to Provide … Read More
Have new technologies brought new learning opportunities?
Monday 14th July 2014 Today is a ‘student free day’ in local schools, with many teachers involved in professional learning activities focussed on the use of new technologies to support the curriculum. But are these new technologies bringing new learning opportunities to classrooms, or simply providing students with a new typewriter interface? The SAMR model provides a framework to define the impact of technology in the … Read More
Google announces Drive update and transparent MS Office compatibility
Friday 27th June 2014 Google has announced the full integration of QuickOffice technology in Google Apps to provide transparent opening and saving of Microsoft Office files on Google mobile apps and in the Chrome browser on desktop computers. Read the Google announcement >>> Google have also announced a redesign of Google Drive. The video below provides an overview of the changes…
School budgets provide insight into ICT transition
Remember back in the day when your school ICT budget discussions centred around what type of desktop computers to purchase, how many computers to purchase, and how these computers would be allocated around the school? And if your server needed an upgrade? And maybe some networking to a previously unconnected building? Times have certainly changed – and school ICT budgets … Read More
Hapara v Google Classroom
Wednesday 25th June 2014 Google are currently trialling the new Classroom app, due for release to all GAFE schools in September 2014. But what is the difference between the new (free) Classroom, and Hapara, the well-regarded commercial provider of GAFE integration and management? Watch the videos, and read the comparison >>>
32,000 Chromebooks: Virginia school system adopts Chrome OS
Tuesday 24th June 2014 Milwaukee Public Schools rolled out 11,400 devices, Edmonton Public Schools rolled out 13,000 devices, and Chicago Public Schools topped them both at 16,000 devices. Now Virginia’s Chesterfield County Public Schools (CCPS), one of the largest school systems in the US, announced that it will be switching to Chromebooks in some of its schools. The rollout will begin … Read More
BYOD and SAMR
Thursday 19th June 2014 Darcy Moore discusses the implications of a BYOD program at Dapto HS, in the southern suburbs of Wollongong (NSW). The school is moving to a BYOD model in 2014. Darcy considers BYOD models, technical issues, and the pedagogical underpinnings of a successful 1:1 ICT program. Check out Darcy’s blog >>>
K-12: GAFE v OneDrive v iCloud Drive
Monday 16th June 2014 With collaborative cloud apps rapidly becoming an accepted ‘norm’ for file creation and storage, ICT discussion in schools often turns to which of the popular online file-editing and file-sharing packages is the most suitable for use in a K-12 environment. Microsoft, Apple and Google all offer a combination of remote ‘cloud’ file storage, and the usual suite of online, browser-editable ‘office’ applications, as well … Read More
Merrylands HS – BYOD
Friday 13th June 2014 This site provides a comprehensive overview of the BYOD program at Merrylands HS, in the western suburbs of Sydney. Includes an overview of the BYOD program, information for students and families, student agreement documents, frequently asked questions, and evaluation information from the school’s trials of BYOD. Check out the Merrylands BYOD site for more info >>>
Transitioning school technology to the new era
Wednesday 11th June 2014 Rather than spending limited school budgets on computers and software licenses, which need to be renewed every few years, savvy schools are now focusing their technology planning on the deployment of infrastructure that can support student-owned and teacher-owned devices, leaving the cost of device renewal to the owners of those devices. The key technology planning considerations for schools in the … Read More
Going BYOT? – Improve your Internet access
Thursday 5th June 2014 When schools rolls out a BYOT program they might be adding hundreds of new devices to their network. All using the school’s existing bandwidth to access the Internet. You will definitely need more bandwidth to support BYOT. But you can make better use of your existing bandwidth using a proxy server. Every time a student clicks on a link to a … Read More
Back to school BYOT buying guide
Wednesday 4th June 2014 This brief guide, published by the consumer advice group Choice, provides an insight into the dilemma facing parents in choosing the most suitable device for BYOT schools. (And the dilemma facing schools in communicating those requirements to parents!) Read the Choice guide >>>
Kathy Schrock’s Bloomin’ Apps
Monday 2nd June 2014 Would you like to focus on the use of new technologies in your classroom to support higher order thinking skills and creative learning activities? Kathy Schrock has published a page suggesting suitable iPad, Google, Android and web apps to support each level of Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy. These apps are also linked to the SAMR model of the use of … Read More
Chromebook and Google Apps Showcase
Wednesday 28th May 2014 Arthur Phillip High School invites Principals and Technology Coordinators to a showcase of digital learning. This event is an opportunity to hear the story of the school’s journey from DER to BYOD with Chromebooks and Google Apps for Education. Following morning tea in the Governor’s Room, school principal Lynne Goodwin will lead a presentation describing the circumstances and … Read More
Class size DOES make a difference.
Tuesday 27th May 2014 David Zyngier has undertaken a study of the effects of class size on student academic performance. He finds: The more years students spend in small classes during grades K-3, the longer the benefits for achievement last during grades 4-8. Smaller class sizes are especially important for children who come from disadvantaged families. Read more of David Zyngier’s … Read More
Transitioning your school to the new ICT era
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
Environment report provides sneek peek into iCloud data centre
Tuesday 20th May 2014 Ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes when you send that email, or connect for a Facetime chat? This NBC report about Apple’s solar power initiatives give a rare sneak peek inside their iCloud data centre. Go to original NBC video >>>
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