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Professional Development Report on E Learning 2.008 - September 2008
Professional Development Report on E Learning 2.008
Shanghai, China
18th, 19th, 20th September 2008
Report by: Andrea Janssen. Grade 1 Teacher.
This conference covered so many different topics in regards to E Learning. Including: digital tools, effective communication with parents using IT, wikis, blogs, nings, second life, twitters, photostory, voicethread, digital images, igoogle, google docs, integrating technology in the classroom, facebook, skype, flikr, personal learning networks and the list goes on!
Every one of these tools was so valuable to learn about and will be so valuable personally and professionally. But I think the most important thing to do when integrating IT is to have a starting point. After this conference I have decided on a simple plan to use IT in my teaching program, so I do not feel overwhelmed by everything I have been exposed to at this conference. I will take the tools which I wish to use with my class of grade 1 children and slowly introduce them. There are also many digital tools that I will use personally and professionally as a teacher.
I am going to start by incorporating small and simple things into my program and then build on them. I am not going to expose my children to everything at once. I want to start with the children having more exposure and use of our classroom wiki page. I am going to use the classroom wiki as a means of communication between my parents and I. Then I am going to set up a classroom bebo account. My children will begin writing comments on bebo and downloading photos. This will be used as a tool in the classroom and it will also be accessed by parents at home. Its main aim is communication between the parents and their children. I also want to include lots of images on here. The children are going to be responsible for using a classroom camera to take and download these images daily.
I think it is important to not use IT as an add on to the classroom program but instead to incorporate IT in what we already do. It won’t be an added extra but it will be used as a tool to achieving what we already do. I want to add it to our classroom program bit by bit and have the children using IT as much as possible and being exposed to it daily. I would like the children to also be the teachers and to have the control over the wiki, the bebo pages, skype etc. I don’t want it to be teacher directed. It needs to also be reciprocal learning. As teachers we can also learn a lot from our children! I want these tools to be used hands on with the children and for them to take charge and learn from each other. After all I believe that we need to prepare the children for the world they are going to walk into!
After the EID break, Karen Lynn and I are going to be doing a short presentation to all staff of the QA Primary to share our knowledge of the different tools we learnt about.
Within my Grade 1 Team I will be supporting my team in the use of IT and will cover some digital tools during our team meeting times and also our IT meeting times for the teacher’s that need help. I will also try to be available to help when needed in the GET FIT IT program we have every second week at QA primary for teachers, and I will also use this time as an opportunity for myself to learn more from our IT coordinators about different tools I have been exposed to at this conference.
This was a worthwhile conference and I recommend it to all teachers. I believe you do need some IT knowledge before you go to this conference otherwise it can be overwhelming. You need to know how to confidently use a laptop and how to navigate your way around the internet etc and some knowledge of basic internet tools, for example a wiki or a ning. I would like to attend a conference like this yearly to keep myself up skilled in the area of IT as professional. I believe we should be preparing the children for the future, not living and functioning in the past!
Shanghai, China
18th, 19th, 20th September 2008
Report by: Andrea Janssen. Grade 1 Teacher.
This conference covered so many different topics in regards to E Learning. Including: digital tools, effective communication with parents using IT, wikis, blogs, nings, second life, twitters, photostory, voicethread, digital images, igoogle, google docs, integrating technology in the classroom, facebook, skype, flikr, personal learning networks and the list goes on!
Every one of these tools was so valuable to learn about and will be so valuable personally and professionally. But I think the most important thing to do when integrating IT is to have a starting point. After this conference I have decided on a simple plan to use IT in my teaching program, so I do not feel overwhelmed by everything I have been exposed to at this conference. I will take the tools which I wish to use with my class of grade 1 children and slowly introduce them. There are also many digital tools that I will use personally and professionally as a teacher.
I am going to start by incorporating small and simple things into my program and then build on them. I am not going to expose my children to everything at once. I want to start with the children having more exposure and use of our classroom wiki page. I am going to use the classroom wiki as a means of communication between my parents and I. Then I am going to set up a classroom bebo account. My children will begin writing comments on bebo and downloading photos. This will be used as a tool in the classroom and it will also be accessed by parents at home. Its main aim is communication between the parents and their children. I also want to include lots of images on here. The children are going to be responsible for using a classroom camera to take and download these images daily.
I think it is important to not use IT as an add on to the classroom program but instead to incorporate IT in what we already do. It won’t be an added extra but it will be used as a tool to achieving what we already do. I want to add it to our classroom program bit by bit and have the children using IT as much as possible and being exposed to it daily. I would like the children to also be the teachers and to have the control over the wiki, the bebo pages, skype etc. I don’t want it to be teacher directed. It needs to also be reciprocal learning. As teachers we can also learn a lot from our children! I want these tools to be used hands on with the children and for them to take charge and learn from each other. After all I believe that we need to prepare the children for the world they are going to walk into!
After the EID break, Karen Lynn and I are going to be doing a short presentation to all staff of the QA Primary to share our knowledge of the different tools we learnt about.
Within my Grade 1 Team I will be supporting my team in the use of IT and will cover some digital tools during our team meeting times and also our IT meeting times for the teacher’s that need help. I will also try to be available to help when needed in the GET FIT IT program we have every second week at QA primary for teachers, and I will also use this time as an opportunity for myself to learn more from our IT coordinators about different tools I have been exposed to at this conference.
This was a worthwhile conference and I recommend it to all teachers. I believe you do need some IT knowledge before you go to this conference otherwise it can be overwhelming. You need to know how to confidently use a laptop and how to navigate your way around the internet etc and some knowledge of basic internet tools, for example a wiki or a ning. I would like to attend a conference like this yearly to keep myself up skilled in the area of IT as professional. I believe we should be preparing the children for the future, not living and functioning in the past!
Comment
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Comment by Celeste Scholz on September 28, 2008 at 12:52am - Thanks for the info, Julie. Looks like an interesting ning too!
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Comment by Andrea Janssen on September 25, 2008 at 4:23pm - For sure! It would be fantastic to have it here! Really open everyone's eyes up. Would be great :)
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Comment by Julie Lindsay on September 25, 2008 at 10:13am
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Andrea
Not sure, it may be in Beijing...it may not happen at all. Still waiting for a school to put their hand up. I think we should volunteer to have here in Doha the following year...what do you think?
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Comment by Andrea Janssen on September 25, 2008 at 9:39am
- Julie, will it be held in Shanghai again next year do you think?
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Celeste
Learning 2.008 is annual, well this is it's second year. So far both have been held in Shanghai.
Website is on the Learning 2cn Ning
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Comment by Celeste Scholz on September 24, 2008 at 4:13pm
- This conference sounds like a good one. Andrea, can you provide more details? Is it an annual conference? Where is it hosted? Does it have a website? Thanks for any info you can provide.
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Andrea
Thanks for sharing your excitement about what you learned at the conference.
I really like your comments about doing it bit by bit, not being teacher directed all the time, and building a reciprocal learning environment that challenges the students and provides opportunities for their growth and leadership.
Thanks for sharing and I look forward to your presentation!
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Comment by Robyn Hardy on September 22, 2008 at 8:24pm -
Hi Andrea
This sounds fantastic. I look forward to working with you, I am sure you will have a lot to share and teach us all. Always great to go on a worthwhile conference!
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