BL4T-Term+4-'09

BL4T Blended Learning for Teachers Term 4 Program.

**The Elluminate VRoom has been booked for sessions each Thursday 3.45 to 4.15pm from Oct 8 til Dec 10.**

Judy Harrington (ICT Horsham West-Haven PS), Helen Burke (Grade 5 Horsham PS), David Westaway (Ultranet Coach) This session is a forum with a number of experienced SCP teachers presenting their experiences and observations on the rich activities available on SCP including: Student homepages, school pages, forums, projects, clubs, emailing, hot seat, integrating SCP into general classroom and the literacy block.
 * 08/10/09**
 * Safe Social Networks for Primary and Secondary Kids**
 * VRoom 1 SuperClubsPlus (SCP): **What do we do when the kids have finished all their stars? (43 minutes)**
 * **Watch the Recording - Click Here**

Suzanne Barr, Education Consultant from SCP/GoldStarCafe: suzanne.barr@intuitivemedia.com Goldstarcafe is a protected online learning community where 11-14 year olds can meet friends, share interests, and learn such web technology as building websites, using multimedia, join forums, discuss school work, write articles for zines and newspapers, and communicate with students from other countries.
 * VRoom 2 GoldClubCafe (GSC): **What GSC has to offer Years 7&8? (30 minutes)**
 * The session was recorded using Camtasi, is available here as a downloadable zip file. Log in as Guest if requested. Click Here 49 Mb

Using On-Demand Tests to inform classroom practice- primary & secondary. (24 mins)** Jen Johns and Di Hendy, Numeracy & Literacy Coaches (Primary & Secondary). Find out how to access and make effective use of the standards and diagnostic information On-Demand tests provide about individual student’s understandings and skills. Jen and Di have used On Demand testing with classroom teachers in Maths and English in primary and secondary schools. The On Demand testing program is a valuable tool for schools, enabling assessment in a reliable and standardised manner. The tests assist to corroborate teacher judgements, identify individual student's strengths and weaknesses and assist in planning teaching programs**. ** Also program recorded by Dan Devaney & Jo Tate (Ultranet Coaches, Grampians) Grampians teachers, principals and network leaders participated in the // ULearn Conference // in New Zealand in October 09. Gary Schultz and Rob Pyers presented sessions at the NZ conference. Presenters from Dimboola Memorial Secondary College: Terrific tools @http://www.virtualteacher.com.au/australia.html
 * 15/10/09
 * Watch the Recording - Click Here [|12Whiteboard.pdf]
 * Watch the recording- [|Click Here]
 * 22/10/09**
 * Best ideas and advice on eLearning from ULearn Conference, NZ Part 1. ** (29mins)
 * **Watch the recording** - Click Here [|13Whiteboard.pdf] [|13Chat.txt]
 * Abbey Newton** - Animoto - an online photostory type application - links to onoine sharing abilities.
 * Marianne Telbach** - Wordle: VoiceThread: Online collaborative sharing facility for media files and docs. PassPack: an online storage for site passwords.
 * Daryl Thorsen** - Web Quests: how use in class Web 2.0 tools: Don't need to be the expert. Links to come shortly.

Using** ** ICT Thinking Tools in all areas of the curriculum ** David Westaway, Intel Trainer/Ultranet Coach, Ballarat. (If you want any clarification, feel free to contact David via EduMail.) Intel’s Visual Ranking Tool, the Seeing Reason Tool and the Showing Evidence tools offer all teachers online tools to foster higher order thinking ans collaborative activity in all VELS domains. David will give an overview of various thinking tools, including graphic organisers, Free Mind and the three Intel thinking softwares- and then a more detailed participative workshop for participants in the Visual Ranking Tool’s operation and usefulness for schools.
 * 29/10/09

Register for an Intel Teacher Workspace [|here]
 * Watch the recording**- [|Click Here]

Kerry Rowett, Client Liaison Officer - Connect, eLearning Unit, DEECD Tonight Kerry will present two sessions simultaneously- one live to secondary teachers and another via a recorded Elluminate session to primary teachers. Primary and secondary teachers will enter the session as usual through the link on BL4T Intro page.
 * 05/11/09(2 sessions)**
 * Connect: The engaging, interactive and challenging resources for primary and secondary students.**

During Term 3 Kerry from Connect presented two valuable professional sessions (Horsham 298 and Beulah PS) on the Power of the Digital Story, showing teachers some of the many interactive, challenging and fun activities on the primary site [|www.education.vic.gov.au/connect/]. These were stimulating and valuable sessions for teachers. Tonight Kerry adds a tour of the resources of the secondary site, as well as a shortened guide of the site for primary teachers.

This session will consider the scope and benefits of the resources available for secondary schools on Connect (previously the Victorian Education Channel). For teachers of all subjects this will add well to your teaching tool kit. If you haven't used the Connect site in class, this will give you so many ideas and resources to use on your IWBs, Netbooks and computers in class. This will add greatly to your teaching toolkit.
 * **VRoom 1: Connect. A tour of the engaging, interactive and challenging resources for secondary students. Recording [|Click Here]**
 * **VRoom 2: Connect: A tour of the fun, interactive and creative resources for primary students.**
 * Recording [|Click Here]for recording**

Presenters: Gary Schultz, Jo Levey and Brendan Ryan. [|Recording Click Here] New Zealand has a National Virtual Learning Network - virtual schools organised around clusters have ePrincipals. Teachers in the virtual schools offer subjects online. Students search online for the course they want, at a time they can do it and then enrol online. Discovery School and Unlimited School are Primary and Secondary schools in Christchurch that were created by parents. Parents are expected to attend and participate, the curriculum is driven by student interests and needs.
 * 12/11/09 Best ideas and advice on eLearning from ULearn Conference, NZ Part 2.**

This will include using commercial games, such as Nintendo DS machines, and using game-making software as a genre of digital storytelling, for higher order thinking and an introduction to computer programming. This session will also draw on open-source softwares available on the Netbooks (and DEECD Edustar image) specifically, //Scratch// and //Game Maker (which will be the subject of a session on Dec 3).//
 * 19/11/09 (2 sessions) Postponed until 2010**
 * **3.45 to 4.15pm Using computer games in the curriculum Pt 1: Scratch by Dan Devaney, Ultranet Coach, Ballarat.**

__[|Recording of session CLICK HERE]__ Introduction to Elluminate Topic 2: DataLogging and/or Video Analysis Presenter: Chris Wines @ Ballarat Topic 3: Using Nings for VCE: Presenter Adrian Camm @ McGuire Shepparton**
 * **4.00-5.10pm Using ICT in Secondary Science Pt 1** This is a joint project for Grampians and Hume Regions
 * Topic 1: Digital Learning Objects: Presenter Michael Barnard @ Wodonga

[|Recording of session CLICK HERE] Tonight our suggestion is to join this KnowledgeBank Elluminate session: It sounds very good to us. Whilst the case is a primary school, the ideas and approaches are certainly transferable to a secondary context. It helps to look for the transferable learnings and apply these ideas broadly.
 * 26/11/09 Strategies for Personalising Learning (it is necessary to sign up for this session... see link below)**

Time: 4.00pm - 5.00pm Where: Online in Elluminate. Registered participants will be sent a link via email  sign up via the link below.**
 * Presenters: Abbey Howard, Blanche Cook and Rick Kayler-Thomson (Bellaire Primary School)


 * Bellaire Primary School** has implemented a whole-school approach to personalised learning, where students can become self-motivated and self-evaluative. Flexible learning spaces enable the use of team-teaching methods, while curriculum coaches build on teachers capacities to improve student engagement. Middle years students set their own curriculum goals, selecting workshops, and creating weekly timetables that are commented on by parents, teachers and other students. They discuss their progress and set goals in weekly conferences with their classroom teachers, who act as learning advisors. Students use iPods, Mac/PC laptops, i-flip cameras and interactive whiteboards daily. Blogs and wikispaces, together with PowerPoint presentations and podcasts develop personalised learning and build communication within the school community. In this session, Blanche, Abbey and Rick will share how these strategies have been adopted by teachers at Bellaire Primary School and explain how you can get started with personalising learning at your own school.

Abbey** is the Senior Learning Unit (5/6) Leader and member of the school leadership team currently training to become a curriculum coach. She is experienced in working with teachers to build engaging and innovative curriculum. **Blanche** is a graduate teacher currently working in the Prep Unit, who is also training to become a curriculum coach. She has taken part in both the Leaders in the Making program and the Aspiring Leaders program. She is particularly interested in the use of blogs in schools and has worked with the Untapped Network. **Rick** is a Senior Learning Unit (5/6) classroom teacher with four years experience who embraces IT as a way for students to showcase their learning.
 * About the Presenters:

Presenter- Gordon Poultney- Horsham College. Learn about using // Game Maker // and how it may be used in your classes. Game Maker is designed to allow its users to develop computer games without having to learn a complex programming language. You may wish to visit [|http://www.yoyogames.com]. This site provides a free hosting service for any Game Maker games – here 11,000 user generated games have been uploaded. The website has an instant play feature so people can play games online, or some can be downloaded. > __[|Recording of session CLICK HERE.] __ Topic 1: Strategies to motivate in Junior science Presenter: Ceinwyn Wills @ Wangaratta (withdrawn) Topic 2: Class Blogging and Science wikis that work: Presenter Sam Hoffmann @ Ararat Topic 3: Animated Podcasts in the 9-12 classroom Presenter: Heath Matheson @ Mount Beauty Topic 4: Sharing ideas for putting a rocket up junior science: Presenter : Brendan O’Brien @ Hume Region
 * 03/12/09 (2 sessions)**
 * **Using ICT Games in the Curriculum Pt 2: Game Maker 3.45-4.15pm POSTPONED UNTIL 2010**
 * **Using ICT in Secondary Science Part 2: 4.00-5.10pm**