Tag Archives: Professional learning

Free eLearning Conference

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KnowledgeBank is hosting a free eLearning Conference for interested Victorian teachers. It will be held from Monday 3 August to Wednesday 5 August through the online conferencing program Elluminate. Here are details of individual sessions from KnowledgeBank:

 

Monday 3 August

Learning is Real, Rich & Relevant – Keynote – 21st Century eLearning Conference

 
When Monday, August 3, 2009, 9 – 10am
Where Online in Elluminate
Event type Knowledge Bank Online Event
Presenter Tom March
Summary Tom March has contributed to authentic teaching, learning and children for the past three decades. He finds this often involves technology as bothinspiration to creativity and a means to impressive accomplishments. Recognised as a Teacher of the Year Finalist for San Diego County after five years in the profession, he concluded ten years as a classroom teacher in 1995 by taking a three-year fellowship at San Diego State University. There, Tom worked with Professor Bernie Dodge to develop the WebQuest model. Since moving to Australia in 1998, he has contributed at least one new product or initiative every two years. These include Web-and-Flow, BestWebQuests, ClassPortals, The New WWW and CEQ•ALL. Each initiative builds on what’s been learned and addresses new needs of Web-enriched education. He regularly keynotes, writes, and facilitates workshops focused on aspects of making learning for Real, Rich and Relevant.
Elluminate Link sas.elluminate.com…

 

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iPod Touch in the Classroom – 21st Century eLearning Conference

 
When Monday, August 3, 2009, 11am – 12pm
Where Online in Elluminate
Event type Knowledge Bank Online Event
Presenter Louise Duncan – eLearning Coordinator-SHS
Elluminate Link sas.elluminate.com…
 

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Linking Special Education & Mainstream World via Blogging – 21st Century eLearning Conference

 
When Monday, August 3, 2009, 11am – 12pm
Where Online in Elluminate
Event type Knowledge Bank Online Event
Presenter Sue King – Teacher Belvoir
Summary Sue is a Special Education teacher with a passion for providing resources and support to mainstream teachers working with students with special needs. This session will demonstrate how blogs can be used to motivate student learning, share resources and develop world wide learning networks, for parents, teachers and students.
Elluminate Link sas.elluminate.com…
 

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Blogs and Wikis in the Classroom – 21st Century eLearning Conference

 
When Monday, August 3, 2009, 2 – 3pm
Where Online in Elluminate
Event type Knowledge Bank Online Event
Presenter Marion Spencer
Summary Jennifer Frisardi is an experienced Secondary ESL and LOTE teacher and Primary Classroom Teacher. She is currently working as a teacher at Mooroopna North Primary School which has IWBs in every learning space and student access to laptops. Jennifer has been developing Ms Frizz’s Blog and a Class Wiki. She finds that since her students use their laptops for the majority of literacy and numeracy sessions, either investigating websites, directed to from Ms Frizz’s Blog or doing work on their wiki pages, the laptops have become a tool for the students which is not far removed from their exercise books or pencils. It is her aim to have the students viewing the laptops as a useful learning tool and not as a special treat. The Blog and Wiki have proven useful tools for increasing the effective use of the internet by the students in her class and their online publishing skills have also noticeably improved.
Elluminate Link sas.elluminate.com…
 

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Sharepoint V3 – 21st Century eLearning Conference

 
When Monday, August 3, 2009, 2 – 3pm
Where Online in Elluminate
Event type Knowledge Bank Online Event
Presenter Marion Spencer
Elluminate Link sas.elluminate.com…
 

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Tuesday 4 August

IWB Interactive Whiteboard – 21st Century eLearning Conference

 
When Tuesday, August 4, 2009, 9 – 10am
Where Online in Elluminate
Event type Knowledge Bank Online Event
Presenter Monica Sketcher – Teacher
Summary Monica Sketcher is a dynamic and energetic teacher who wears many hats for her role at Mansfield Primary School (too many to mention!). She works as a full-time teacher in a team teaching situation with 2 shared Prep grades. Monica is passionate about the inclusion of ICT applications and tools in her daily program and has her Preps completing amazing work independently on their computers. In her role as ICT co-ordinator, Monica has enjoyed sharing her ICT ideas with her colleagues so that the inclusion of computers, laptops and IWB is a daily part of a classroom routine. She has made PD accessible to her local smaller neighbouring schools by offering training ‘online’ and ‘on demand’ to match people’s needs.
The aim of this session is to provide participants with some ready to use tools on the IWB for any classroom situation. Some activities will be user-created, online or downloadable. Participants will be asked to share their ideas, so that this session is relevant to their unique teaching situations and so that we can create a large resource of IWB ideas for participants to take away with them
Elluminate Link sas.elluminate.com…
 

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 Remote Control Response Paddles – 21st Century eLearning Conference

 
When Tuesday, August 4, 2009, 9 – 10am
Where Online in Elluminate
Event type Knowledge Bank Online Event
Presenter Derek Bowey – Teacher
Summary Derek is in his 14th year of teaching. Currently teaching at Wodonga Senior Secondary College, he has a role in helping imbednew and effective technology into teaching and learning practice. Derek is enthusiastic about technology and it’s potential application in education. He is not a technical expert, but he hopes those who are not familiar with the remote response paddles (software and hardware) find his presentation of some interest: Workshop Content: (a)Software and hardware (remote response paddles) that allow students to respond to multiple choice questions.(b)Basic preparation – screen dumps. (c) Images and explanations of tools being used.(d) The power of immediate feedback and automatic collation of data for planning individualised future lessons.
Elluminate Link sas.elluminate.com…
 

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Building a learning network in your town or region – 21st Century eLearning Conference

 
When Tuesday, August 4, 2009, 11am – 12pm
Where Online in Elluminate
Event type Knowledge Bank Online Event
Presenter Mark Richardson – ICT Coordinator – PD Organiser
Summary Interested in networks and networking?? They’re great aren’t they? Especially the ones without servers, WAPs and blue cords! What did he say? Yes, networks of teachers you use ICT to enhance teaching and learning are essential to a vibrant pedagogy in classrooms. Whether it’s face to face or online, personal learning networks are an essential part of any teacher’s toolkit Mark Richardson shares his experiences of networking in a primary school, a DEECD region and in rural and regional Victoria.
Elluminate Link sas.elluminate.com…
 

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Classroom Blogging in Early Years – 21st Century eLearning Conference

 
When Tuesday, August 4, 2009, 11am – 12pm
Where Online in Elluminate
Event type Knowledge Bank Online Event
Presenter Tamara Steinhauser – Teacher
Summary Tamara Steinhauser is a Year 2/3 teacher who uses ICT to engage students in her classroom. Tamara started using a classroom blog last year as a means of showcasing student work to the community and enabling students to reflect on their own and other students’ work in a secure, moderated online environment. This session provides a first hand insight into using Blogs in your classroom program to motivate and engage students through all areas of the curriculum.
Elluminate Link sas.elluminate.com…
 

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Delicious and DIIgo & Exploring free softwares – 21st century eLearning Conference

 
When Tuesday, August 4, 2009, 2 – 3pm
Where Online in Elluminate
Event type Knowledge Bank Online Event
Presenter John Spencer – eLearning Coordinator
Summary John Spencer is an experienced teacher of ICT. He is currently an ICT teacher at Peranbin Primary College. This year he has 24 days of Professional Leave aimed at increasing effective use of ICT in his school. This workshop will look at using Diigoand Delicious (social bookmarking sites) in a classroom setting, along with other Web 2.0 applications available on the Internet.
Elluminate Link sas.elluminate.com…
 

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 Wednesday 5 August

 

Online Resources for Early Years classroom – 21st Century eLearning Conference

 
When Wednesday, August 5, 2009, 9 – 10am
Where Online in Elluminate
Event type Knowledge Bank Online Event
Presenter Kerry Rowett
Summary Kerry Rowett is a primary teacher who currently works at Connect (previously the Victorian Education Channel) at DEECD (Ed Dept). She has a particular interest in exciting online tools enabling students to communicate and create online. A practical session focused on how to find and use great websites, animations, videos, games and web 2.0 tools for use in the Primary classroom.
Elluminate Link sas.elluminate.com…
 

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 Principal & eLeader Forum – 21st Century eLearning Conference

 
When Wednesday, August 5, 2009, 9 – 10am
Where Online in Elluminate
Event type Knowledge Bank Online Event
Presenter Brendan O’Brien and Richard Olsen
Summary Brendan has an extensive background in ICT, science education, classroom teaching and teacher education. Richard is co-director of IdeasLab, and has been at the forefront of resourcing a 21stcentury agenda for Australian schools.
Elluminate Link sas.elluminate.com…
 

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 ‘this is the Ultranet’: the basics – 21st Century eLearning Conference

 
When Wednesday, August 5, 2009, 11am – 12pm
Where Online in Elluminate
Event type Knowledge Bank Online Event
Elluminate Link sas.elluminate.com…
 

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 Using Digital Learning Objects on Remote Tablets – 21st Century eLearning Conference

 
When Wednesday, August 5, 2009, 11am – 12pm
Where Online in Elluminate
Event type Knowledge Bank Online Event
Presenter Michael Barnard
Summary Michael is an experienced teacher of mathematics and physics at Wodonga Senior Secondary College, and is also an integral part of the Excellence in Mathematics and Science Program at that school.Perhaps you don’t feel as if you are taking full advantage of the Digital Learning Objects that are provided by The Learning Federation. This session will demonstrate how the “It’s a Drag” vehicle braking distance simulation can become the basis of an engaging mathematics lesson that caters for a range of abilities. The task involves collecting data then using a spreadsheet as a tool in its analysis.The use of a wireless tablet in the classroom will also be covered.To participate in this session you will need access to the DLO (available on-line: eduweb.vic.gov.au…) and Microsoft Excel or equivalent.
Elluminate Link sas.elluminate.com…
 

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Dataloggers in science lessons – 21st Century eLearning Conference

 
When Wednesday, August 5, 2009, 2 – 3pm
Where Online in Elluminate
Event type Knowledge Bank Online Event
Presenter Brahm Deo
Elluminate Link sas.elluminate.com…
 

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 Infomercials made by children! – 21st Century eLearning Conference

 
When Wednesday, August 5, 2009, 2 – 3pm
Where Online in Elluminate
Event type Knowledge Bank Online Event
Presenter Rosemarie O’Brien
Elluminate Link sas.elluminate.com…
 

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 PhotoStory and Audacity as aids to develop literacy skills – 21st Century eLearning Conference

 
When Wednesday, August 5, 2009, 2 – 3pm
Where Online in Elluminate
Event type Knowledge Bank Online Event
Presenter Helene Bearup
Elluminate Link sas.elluminate.com…
 

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There appears to be something for everyone! See you in Elluminate.

Students as Documentary Makers with Mitzi Goldman

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Victorian teachers are invited to participate in this free professional learning session.

Students as Documentary Makers with Mitzi Goldman

Throughout this session teachers will find out how media is a deeply engaging tool when students use it to express their learning about the real world.

When: Monday 31st August 2009, 4pm. Sign up here – http://www.knowledgebank.global2.vic.edu.au

Where: Online in Elluminate. This event is free but you need to sign up – http://www.knowledgebank.global2.vic.edu.au

Who: Mitzi Goldman has spent 25 years as a film maker and educator in the Australian film industry. She has directed and produced over ten documentaries for television including international co-productions. Mitzi was Head of Documentary at the Australian Film and Television School for six years and is now executive director of the Documentary Australia Foundation. Mitzi is now focussing on sharing her educational vision of students as documentary makers.

What: In this online conference with Mitzi Goldman, teachers will find out how media is a deeply engaging tool when students use it to express their learning about the real world. Mitzi will engage participants in a discussion about the educational and social benefits of using media to produce documentaries. Teachers will learn the basics of documentary making and how they can get started in their classrooms. They will find out how media can be used as a tool to express the learning that takes place when students are given the tools to deconstruct, analyse and understand the information they encounter all around them.

This event is free but you need to sign up – http://www.knowledgebank.global2.vic.edu.au

For more information email knowledgebank@edumail.vic.gov.au

LearnCentral

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LearnCentral is an online, social learning network for teachers and is affiliated with Elluminate, the online conferencing system featured here previously.

LearnCentral homepage
LearnCentral homepage

From the FAQs page comes the following information:

What can I do on LearnCentral?
Use LearnCentral to:

  • Connect with your peers worldwide
  • Share ideas, discuss issues, solve problems
  • Meet with colleagues in real time
  • Develop and share standards-based curriculum
  • Access a library of peer-rated resources
  • Discover relevant content for your classroom
  • Improve skills and increase effectiveness
  • Create and maintain a portfolio of learning content
  • Join and create groups
  • Collaborate on projects and best practices
  • Mentor and be mentored
  • Increase visibility of an academic institution
  • Conduct professional development training
  • Attend events with thought leaders in the education community
  • Participate in a global dialogue to help transform education

 What is LearnCentral?
LearnCentral is a new social learning network for education. More than a social network or a learning community, this open environment enables those who are passionate about teaching and learning to improve their education experiences and inspire others do the same. In addition to social networking tools that allow you to connect with others and share content and best practices, LearnCentral gives you the tools to meet in real-time virtual rooms and even hold and attend events.

Why is LearnCentral unique?
LearnCentral is a social learning network with a mission. Similar to the familiar No User Left Behindproduct philosophy for Elluminate, the rallying cry for LearnCentral is No Educator Left Alone. Here you can begin to make the connections you need-peer to peer, classroom to classroom, school to school, country to country-to form a collective wisdom that is greater than the sum of its parts.

Who can use LearnCentral?
If you are part of the global education community, LearnCentral is all about YOU as participant, contributor, and partner. Not just for Elluminate customers, LearnCentral is for ANYONE who is passionate about teaching and learning and wants to connect with like-minded colleagues to share, inspire, and be inspired.

Why should you join LearnCentral?
On the surface, LearnCentral is your opportunity to connect, share, and inspire on a global level, enabling you to be more productive and effective. At a deeper level, it’s a call to action to help bring about positive change within the education community worldwide. LearnCentral is about shared conversations and inspired collaborations, forward thinking and forward teaching, real-time dialogue and real-world results. Elluminate believes that the power of community has the power to transform.

What is Elluminate’s role in LearnCentral?
We think of ourselves as a facilitator or guide within the LearnCentral environment, much like a teacher in the learner-centered classroom. As part of the global education community, each of you has something to contribute and something to learn. Elluminate’s role is to provide an open online environment where this can happen freely and easily, including providing the enabling technology for real-time meeting and live events.

What is the philosophy behind LearnCentral?
At Elluminate, we believe that 21st century education calls for 21st century solutions. We understand that the learning landscape must evolve into what we call EDU 2.0, an environment in which Web 2.0 tools come together with traditional and virtual classrooms, physical campuses and distance learning programs, learning communities and social networks to transform education. The way we accomplish this is to be always learning-together.

Why was LearnCentral developed?
We listened to those in the academic community who told us they wanted a destination for education, a way to connect, collaborate, and learn with others on a global level. As a result, Elluminate has partnered with Edtuit, a free social collaboration site co-founded by a former developer of the Yahoo! Teachers community, to create a new kind of online environment that combines a social network, learning community, and grassroots movement to improve education.

As we continue to build our online, worldwide networks, LearnCentral seems to be one source that we should consider including. Thanks to Camilla Elliottfor the tweet on LearnCentral.

The Role of Reading in Guided Inquiry: Building Engagement and Understanding

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Following on from a previous post about the excellent professional learning session delivered by Dr Ross J Todd from the Center for International Scholarship in School Libraries Rutgers University, The State University of New Jersey; his colleague Dr Carol A Gordon presented an interesting session last week to School Library Association of Victoria delegates.

The Role of Reading in Guided Inquiry: Building Engagement and Understanding was the second presentation  of the day. If you are interested in the link between effective reading and the resulting effective researching, please view and consider this engaging, relevant and thoughtful and presentation.

The notes below are a record of the session:

Carol Gordon – The Role of Reading in Guided Inquiry: Building Engagement and Understanding

  • Reading with older students; learning phonics for 14 year olds in demeaning. Research came up with what did work. These are strategies that came from evidence-based research. Context is inquiry.
  • Can use information search process as a framework for these strategies.
  • “Children reading for Gilad Shalit” YouTube video shows real engagement even though students were previously struggling readers.
  • Need commitment, emotional attachment and engagement for the students to learn to research well.
  • We want the whole Blooms. Creating, evaluating, analysing, applying, understanding and remembering.
  • Authentic learning tasks such as this one based on Anne Frank: http://projects.edtech.Sandi.net/lewis/annefrank/t-index.htm “A bit of outrage is a good thing that helps them engage with the task.” This is asking kids to be historians rather than journalists. Historians want to know the truth. Use primary documents and artifacts and interpret the evidence as they see it. Deep understanding of what history is, what historians do and the questions that they ask. Task to a high academic level. Problem solving, decision making, display and share their work. Choices about how they present; radio broadcast, write a news story, etc. Interdisciplinary applications. Methodology needs to encourage kids to use the new information in another way; relate to other situations; Blooms, variety in tasks. Keep a journal of blog to see how they are doing. Opportunities to work in groups and revise their work. Use rubrics to show students what good, average and poor looks like. We give them opportunities to reflect. Time is a pressure, but they need time to think. We must build that time in. Show them an exemplar of what a good news story looks like. Self assessment and peer review. Get kids to evaluate the task for you. How did it go for them? You will learn by asking them. You can then change this for the next time this is taught.
  • Formative assessments are based on journals, rubrics, portfolios, peer review, self-evaluations, Graphic organizers, Mapping, Checklists, Statements of intent, Rough drafts.
  • Reading skills are thinking skills. Our role in reading is much more expansive.
  • Free choice is the most important thing in terms of reading engagement.
  • Book; “Strategies that work” by Anne Goudvis and Stephanie Harvey is worth looking at.
  • How is reading digital text different from reading print text? “Are we losing the deep culture of reading?” is a more pertinent question rather than “is the book dead?” Better for kids to print out rather than read from the screen as an intermediate step. Graphic organisers and concept mapping and Wordle are not enough. Use printouts to analyse notes so that you know what they really mean and you can work out what is important and what you should use. Hard copy is really important. Passive kinds of approach to reading is not getting kids where they need to be. Encourage them to annotate and gather, sort.
  • Never give a child something to read that is at instructional or frustration level if you expect them to read it independently. Need help with this at school.
  • When comprehension breaks down, many students skip sections or words that are confusing and pick the text up again where they can understand it. The problem is, they have lost valuable information and opportunity to improve their own reading. 
  • Activating Prior Knowledge (GNR) Emotional attachment needed. Prior knowledge is who you are; your experiences, your emotions. Tap into this to help kids read well.
  • o Establishing prior knowledge, or what the learner already knows, is critical to helping them read better. Research shows that there is no difference between the recall of good and poor readers when their prior knowledge is the same. Therefore, prior knowledge can be instrumental in improving reading comprehension.
  • § Here is an example. Mrs. Clark announces to the class that they are going on a nature walk. They go outside and walk across the street to a county nature park. They walk about a half-mile and stop. They sit down and Mrs. Clark asks the class to imagine that they are lost. She asks the students to help her come up with some ideas about how they can figure out where they are, and how they will get back to school. One student suggests backtracking until they recognize where they are. Another student suggests walking until someone recognizes a familiar tree or flower as a landmark. Another student suggests that Mrs. Clark use her cell phone to call the park supervisor to come and find them.
  • § Mrs. Clark relates each of the answers the students give to clarifying what you are reading.
  • § Backtracking is similar to rereading material when you realize that you have lost your way in the story and do not know what is happening. Looking for familiar landmarks is similar to readers activating prior knowledge of vocabulary, grammar, and syntax (Hackey, et al, 2003). Calling the park supervisor on a cell phone relates to referring to outside resources, such as dictionaries or atlases. The students begin to understand that pretending they are not lost is not going to get them out of the woods, and pretending to understand what they are reading when they really did not will not enable them to fully understand the reading assignment.
  • § When the class arrives safely to their classroom, Mrs. Clark gives the students a reading assignment and a pad of sticky notes. She models reading a short passage and marking words or concepts she is not quite sure of with the sticky notes. Students then practice reading independently and highlight any words or concepts that they do not understand in the text.
  • § The next day, they write the words they marked on the board. Mrs. Clark models ways to determine the meaning of the words, such as using a dictionary, using keywords surrounding the unfamiliar word, using picture clues, and rereading. The students are comforted to realize that many students wrote the same words on the board. This helps them to build a community of learners and helps Mrs. Clark to identify vocabulary words that need further explanation.
  • Kids pretend that they don’t have the breakdown in comprehension and they get more and more lost and disengaged. Kids need to be taught to ask questions.                                                                                             
  • o Brainstorming. Developing a purpose for reading.
  • o K-W-L chart.
  • o Using Visuals to assess prior knowledge. Why pictures? They inspire questions and interest. They provide a tangible element when focus blurs and clarity is elusive. Offer a starting point. Offer support of a group working with similar themes, situations. Record in a reflection sheet (done as a group).
  • o Use Wordle to create a reading/writing summary. Words that evoke images? Good self-analysis tool for peer assessment.
  • o Wordsift analyses text. More sophisticated. Concept map and mind maps are different. Asking kids to explain why topics/words are connected. These helps kids that are on information overload.
  • o Voicethread uses voice. They can create their own book talks. Naugatuck HS on VoiceThread. Authentic learning.
  • o Determining importance, All information is not equal. Get rid of what is not important. Illustrations are important; they can represent data in a table, graph, etc. Use these tools to elaborate on an idea. A quotation is an illustration. They need to elaborate on it and link it to one of their ideas.
  • o Statement of Intent with research question. TL must sign off on it. Passport to continue.
  • o Information circles. Idea of Literature circles and adapted to informational text. Group kids by topics they are interested in. Break up tasks. Students have roles (leader, illustrator, vocab guru).
  • o Different types of questions. Some info is literal, some is inferred. Give them ‘what if’ questions.
  • o Sticky notes or Diigo.
  • o Graphic organisers are very good for analysis. We don’t give kids the tools to process the information that they find. Graphic organisers give kids the ability to process and analyse notes.
  • o Kidspiration/Inspiration
  • o Inferring and predicting are just as important for informational text. Read with higher interest.
  • o Blogs effective with helping with reading, They read each other’s work. Get kids prepared for class. Framework for thinking about pre-reading. Many kids will read a blog rather than a book. Their absence is visible from a blog.
  • o Best books for visualizations: Visualize This: Books about the Arts, Notes on a Page: Books about Music, Into the Past: Books about History,
  • o Theories and Revelations: Books about Math and Science, Challenges and Change: Stories of Politics, Identity, and Understanding, Seriously Surreal: Tales of (Im)possibility, Over-the-Top: Sly and Sophisticated Humor, All Cracked Up: Fractured Fairy Tales and Fables
  • o Double entry journal. Quotes/My thoughts about quotes. Forces kids to interpret. Do I understand what I have read?
  • o Kids have to make connections with their reading text, eguse graphic novels for visual alternatives for stories
  • o 16 Steps to Monitoring and Regaining Comprehension
  • § 1. Reread.
  • § 2. Read ahead.
  • § 3. Stop to think
  • § 4. Try to visualize.
  • § 5. Ask a new question.
  • § 6. Make a prediction.
  • § 7. Study the illustration or other text feature.
  • § 8. Ask someone for help.
  • § 9 figure out unknown words.
  • § 10. Look at the text structure.
  • § 11. Make an inference.
  • § 12. Connect to background knowledge.
  • § 13. Read the author’s or illustrator’s note.
  • § 14. Write about the confusing parts.
  • § 15. Make an effort to think about the message.
  • § 16. Define/Redefine the purpose for reading the text.

 The School Library Association of Victoria should be congratulated for providing such transformational and important professional learning sessions. Thanks to Rhonda Powling for supplying Bright Ideas with some photos from the session.

The future starts now:e-books and everything

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Curriculum Corporation and the School Library Association of Victoria present a joint conference, The future starts now: e-books and everything, on Friday 14 August 2009 at ACMI, Federation Square, Melbourne.

What IS happening around the world in e-book publishing? How are these emerging technologies finding their place in school classrooms, libraries and IT systems? Will changes in information and book format delivery impact upon student engagement and achievement? Hear up-to-the-minute reflections on these matters by authoritative presenters and receive advice on your school’s copyright responsibilities. A $150-value ‘Desktop author software’ license is included free in your registration. Experiment for yourself.

Registration details available at: http://www.curriculumpress.edu.au/pd/index.php

School Libraries 21C

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Colleen Foley, the Manager of the School Libraries and Information Literacy unit at the Curriculum K-12 Directorate, NSW Department of Education and Training has sent the following message:

School libraries 21C, a moderated discussion blog hosted by School Libraries and Information Literacy Unit at http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/schoollibraries/index.htm is now live. Direct link to the discussion blog is http://schoollibraries21c.edublogs.org/

You’ll find the suggested background reading, and a document to assist you in using the blog and holding focus groups for combined responses at both these links.

We look forward to a diverse range of perspectives, and working towards a common vision. Dr Ross Todd and Lyn Hay, Lecturer in Teacher Librarianship at Charles Sturt University, will guide the discussion.

Enjoy the discussion. We welcome submissions from individuals, and groups such as school, team or professional network focus groups posting combined responses to aspects of the discussion. When posting responses, please indicate your sector, type of school, and
nature of the group if a group response (eg Executive, Principals in a Region, teacher librarian network).

For further information and assistance, please contact Colleen Foley mailto:Colleen.Foley@nsw.edu.au

SLAV Elluminate training

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For School Library Association of Victoria members who are interested in learning how to use this online conferencing system, there are a number of sessions planned in Melbourne and regional areas of Victoria. SLAV plans to deliver professional development online via Elluminate in terms 3 and 4.

  • Ballarat Branch training to be held on Wednesday 5 August
  • Central Metro Branch training to be held on Wednesday 29 July
  • Geelong branch training to be held on Tuesday 18 August
  • North East Branch training to be held on Thursday 3 September
  • Southern Metro Branch training link to be held on Thursday 30 July

    • You are welcome to attend meetings as well as participate in the revision session planned for Thursday 25th June. All links for sessions are above, however the training session links are only accessible on the day and time of the training. Please be aware that if you plan to attend a meeting and/or revision session you will need a set of headphones/microphone and depending on the school network, may need to bring your laptop with Elluminate already installed on it. Please contact your branch convenor for clarification. To install Elluminate on your laptop and/or desktop, click here and follow the prompts.

    Some more Elluminate resources are accessible below:

  • Elluminate home
  • Elluminate online support
  • Elluminate Participant Reference Guide
  • Free Elluminate Access
  • Moderators’ training and documentation
  • SLAV Elluminate branch training powerpoint presentation part 1
  • SLAV Elluminate branch training powerpoint presentation part 2 

    • Further sessions will be scheduled for areas not yet listed.

    The World of Web 2.0

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    The State Library of Victoria is offering a free professional learning session on The Web 2.0 World. With participants able to experiment and gain hands-on experience with Web 2.0 tools, this session will be extremely valuable for anyone who needs some support and information about using the Web 2.0 World.

    Held on Tuesday 9th June between 6 and 7.30pm in Experimedia at the State Library of Victoria, this free event does require bookings. Phone (03) 8664 7099 or email  bookings@slv.vic.gov.au.

    Feature blog – Lisa Hill’s professional blog

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    Lisa Hill is a teacher librarian and Director of Curriculum at Mossgiel Park Primary School in Melbourne’s Endeavour Hills. Lisa has developed a number of professional learning resources and has agreed to share her blogging experience with readers. She explains how her blog came about.

    Last year, after attending the SLAV Conference in March, I set up a professional blog at http://lisahillschoolstuff.wordpress.com/ .    It was an experiment that grew as my knowledge of Web 2.0 grew: I made my first post on March 16th, 2008 and have posted 57 times since then, at intervals ranging from one a month to sometimes five or six in a month.  Now, just over 12 months after starting the blog there had been (at the time of writing) 5,995 hits, which means that near enough to 6000 people have visited it.

    Lisa's homepage
    Lisa’s homepage

     Why do I bother with this, and why do other people bother to read it?

    My WordPress stats tell me that topics I’ve written about are common search terms.  People search online for stuff about Aboriginal Perspectives – and I have a whole page showing how we at MossgielPark PS integrate Aboriginal Perspectives into our curriculum for different units of work.  I also uploaded a PowerPoint that I presented at the SLAV conference and people look at that too.  People are interested in anything to do withBoys and Education and I’ve responded to topics in The Age, reviewed a book on the issue, and summarised an article that I read about Boys and Learning.  I got some rather cross comments when I blogged my opinion of ‘dreary and depressing books about tormenting social issues’ in the 2008 CBCA shortlist, but most of the 258 hits on that post kept their own counsel.  This means I don’t know whether they agree withme or with my critics! 

    The short answer is that I’ve kept a diary on and off throughout my life, and my professional blog journals the parts of my professional life that I’m willing to share.  I use it to proffer my opinion on various issues in the news, to summarise what I’ve learned at conferences, to share resources that I’ve developed or discovered online, to review children’s books and occasionally to brag about my school.  Blogging means that I am part of the professional conversation that is developing online, and I like that. 

    Having said all that, however, I also should ‘fess up that I’m a professional writer as well.  I’ve had a little book published, and been paid for stuff in professional magazines and (once!) in a capital city daily.  I’ve had three resource books for teaching Indonesian in the marketplace and I could have had more if I wanted to.  So I’m comfortable about writing and self-editing, and having been paid to express my opinions before, I’m not afraid to say what I think.  I find writing easy, and satisfying, and sometimes financially rewarding. 

    The difference with blogging is that no one pays me to do it, I don’t feel under any pressure to post, and there’s no deadline.  I like being part of the online community and once I’d completed the SLAV Learning Web 2.0 course in the middle of last year, I felt comfortable with the technology. 

    But why do others bother to read it?  This is why WordPress is my preferred blog provider.   I know the answer to this question because as part of the WordPress free service they offer an in-built stats analysis.  (You can add this to blogs that are hosted by Blogger.com – but they’re not as a comprehensive and you have to muck about installing them.  GlobalTeacher also has  a stats feature.)

    Aboriginal Perspectives page
    Aboriginal Perspectives page

    My all time top post is about Multiple Intelligences (422 hits) but my most popular contributions to the online world seem to be the Author Study units of work I have uploaded.  Whenever we have student teachers at school I show them the blog and let them know that they (and teacher-librarians anywhere) are welcome to download them to use in any way they wish.  (I hope the students don’t plagiarise them, because I’m sure that by now they would be recognised by their lecturers). 

    I have also installed the ClusterMap widget which shows me that people from all over the world have stumbled onto my blog (everywhere from the Sudan to Grenada, and three from Korea!) but that the vast majority are of course, Australian – though there’s also two to three hundred from the US and the UK, but only 22 from New Zealand. 

    These features confirm for me that I am not wasting my time with this blog.  Most people who visit don’t comment, much as I wish they would because even a brief remark is very motivating, but they seem to find what I offer interesting and sometimes useful. 

    That makes it worthwhile!

    Congratulations to Lisa on a wonderful blog that not only shares resources with peers, but expresses opinions on learning and teaching.