I have just returned from my keynote address at the Leading with a Digital School conference where the conference used the KeePad response systems for evaluations for each session and the overall conference. It was an interesting experience and there are some for’s and against for this technology.
For the conference organisers, it means that the conference evaluations and feedback are collated and readily available at the end of the conference. From my own experience, I know how time consuming this can be when undertaken manually. Often several nights work. The KeePad system also provided instant graphs in relation to questions and allowed yes and no responses as well as multiple choice responses. It does not allow for written comments to be included. There are significant time savings here.
Each of the keynote speakers were asked to incorporate three questions into their presentation and I thought this was an interesting idea to get real time data and opinions to the presenter from the audience. One of my questions was split 50 – 50 by the audience, yet the others showed a distinct preference. I think this has possibilities for presenters and how to tailor make presentations on the fly.
There are a few negatives to the response systems as a conference tool, and the first is ensuring that all response systems and signed out and of course returned and signed in.
The second is that every presenter needed to load the KeePad software on to their laptops and then undertake basic training in how to use the system. I believe that despite the training, several presenters had glitches and not all session returned the data as had hoped for.
The final session of the day collected overall conference responses; however a large number of people had left before the short after lunch session and a number of people, including myself had returned their responder at lunch time to reduce the rush to return them at the end of the day.
I think the debate is still out. While the logistics would certainly be easier in a school with smaller groups and teachers who are familiar with the system, there is still a need to have a good understanding of how often, when, with who and why we are using them. But shouldn’t we be asking the same question in relation to all technologies, netbooks, Interactive whiteboards and more.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Communities of Practice – on the fire ground
Communities of Practice, Professional Learning Networks: These terms are all the buzz in education and well connected to professional learning, however in essence these are all about communities. Communities that flourish for the common good, from those with a common interest to help others!
The CFA (Country Fire Authority) is one of the old fashion communities who have been battling against the odds for several weeks now. In my own region, we have had a double dose with Black Saturday and the week before the Boolarra fires.
How did I become a CFA volunteer? I am not sure. It just happened. I knew little about bushfires and living on acreage, I thought it was time to understand how to protect my home. I thought I would learn how to put in place a fire plan. Little did I know that it was the first step to becoming an active volunteer fire fighter, the training officer for the local brigade and a crew leader at major fires?
In our brigade and many others volunteers, come from such diverse backgrounds. There is no common factor that draws people to volunteer. We have unemployed, teachers, farmers, retired, tradesmen, professionals and many more. They never seem to notice the different demographics that bring them together. On the fire front they are one and they trust their lives to each other.
Each crew on a fire truck has a range of responsibilities. They begin with a driver who must be certified and endorsed to drive a heavy vehicle. No driver on the day means the truck cannot go out, no matter how many crew turn up. The leader on the truck is called the crew leader. They are usually the highest ranking officer on the truck at that time; however there has been a shift to certification and a new breed of crew leaders are being trained. They make the decisions and ultimately are responsible for the safety of all on the truck. Good crew leaders make decisions that involve all members on the truck. Communication is vital.
On the back of the truck is usually two other members, although the truck can take four plus crew leader and driver, if fire fighters are available. Worst case is two, a driver and leader. It depends on who’s available at the time of the fire call. The two other members often ride in the back of the truck, although newer trucks have a 4 door cabin with all members inside for added safety. Their roles are linked to the pump and hoses. One operates the pump, and the second the hose, except when lengths of hose are run out and then they both drag hoses while the driver mans the pump. Most brigade members are trained in all roles on the hoses and pumps.
In my case I often undertake any of the roles. In the last few weeks I have been crew leader, truck driver, pump man and hose man. It just depends who we have on the day. My preference is to be on the fire scene with my captain, who undertakes the role of crew leader. He has 20 years of experience in all types of fires and he looks to me with all decisions as I have the qualifications and accreditation of crew leader training which he has not had time to do. It is a good mix, and I feel very safe knowing we combine so well and put safety first.
Our priorities are.
1. Safety of fire-fighters
2. Save the lives of the public
3. Save animals and stock
4. Asset protection – homes and business
5. Put out the fire
Our training is a vital part of being a fire fighter. We don’t fear the fire, but we do respect it.
Last Saturday, Black Saturday, every fire-fighter had some fear as this was a fire that was so un predictable and so different to any we had seen.
Black Saturday
Our pagers beeped on Friday afternoon. “All brigades prepare for the worst weather conditions we have ever known.” How bad would this be, what could we expect.
First up is to make sure your fire plan at home was in place. This was so important as last weekend I had spent working night shifts at the Boolarra Fires. I knew how dry the land was and how close fire was already to my own region in Gippsland.
When warnings like this come out, you start a process of readiness. I bring out my kit bag which is always ready and make sure it has supplies in case I am out for 24 hours or more.
Boots, trousers with bracers are placed at the door for quick access. As a rural brigade, we often dress in the street, or put what-ever we can on at home and finish in the truck.
It’s a time to abstain from alcohol at dinner. Who knows when the call will come and if you have to drive the fire truck? A cold bear after a 42 degree day would be appreciated, but tomorrow is excepted to be 46 and fires can start the night before.
In the morning it’s important to hydrate and two litres of water are forced in. Then it becomes a waiting game. When will the call come? You try to make the day as normal as ever but you just know. Your own plans are in place but you know you have to make a choice to go and leave family to fight any unknown battles. You may never know if the fire is close to your home.
The pagers flashes read and wails as the first of several calls arises. We are called to help a spot fire 15 kms away. I am first at the station and open the doors, drive the truck out, call operations that the truck is ready and waiting for crew, and then finish dressing. By now we have 4 other members here are ready to go. As we all board a fire stop comes to our truck. There are already other trucks on the way and there are limited resources left in my home community. We are put on hold.
We sit about the station waiting, this time as a group. We know the fire call will come.
The Bunyip fire is 50 kms away but the wind is blowing our way. Smoke covers the sky and passed above us like a volcano. The rage we can see reminds of us such fire.
There is increased radio traffic as the Churchill fire is reported. (This fire we later find is deliberately lit). The plumbs of smoke rise like an atomic bomb, 20 kms to our east and we know there is another major fire nearby.
We wait for another hour and decide all members should head home grab something to eat and return. I head home (about 4 kms) and see the sky change colour from a black smoke to an orange glow. The wind is changing. I run more hoses out around my home and mops, take a few pics and then it happens.
The pager roars with a RED Alert warning. I head up the hill to the fire station, and look down into the valley. There is no fire but the smoke, the wind, and now embers and debris litter the school, falling in abundance. This is a fire storm, yet we are 40 kms from the fire front. My thoughts which I scream to myself aloud! “Oh my god”. This is the fire of fires.
I again have the truck out, lights flashing and the station locked down. The others arrive quickly and we head to town. There is one other truck available for our town and reports of spotting. We travel Code One. Lights and sirens. Cars pull of the road and you can see panic on people’s faces. Visibility is already poor. Before we arrive at our meeting point, we are deployed to a grass fire some 6 kms away. It is as though its night with a dark red glow and the town has an eyrie look. The wind blows and gust of over 100 kms an hour rip the flashing blue and red lights from the truck, pulling out screws and mountings. We have a further 4 and blinkers running.
Visibility is poor from the smoke and darkness and alert eyes in the cabin scream and a giant gum tree falls across the road. Our path is blocked, but we are ok. 20 seconds later and the truck would have been taken out, and perhaps the crew. A car arrives and we ask it to stay with its hazards light son as we call the SES.
I am driving and reverse the truck to a turning area and we look for an alternative path. By the time we find one another brigade has attended the burn and we head back to town amongst the glow. We can hear radio traffic of spot fires everywhere from the Bunyip fire. Trucks called to Drouin, Warragul Nilma and more. Everyone is out.
On a fire day like this we have no idea of what is happening elsewhere. Our radio channel only has our regions control points. We turn on ABC radio and all hang our heads as we hear of devastation and loss of life. Perhaps 8 dead. Every death in a fire no matter where is felt by a fire fighter. Little are we to know that the tally will climb above 200.
We have time for a bottle of water, before we are deployed again. This time a large lightening strike and storm has occurred south of Mt Baw Baw. The fire is moving quickly and headed towards Rawson and Erica. It’s a 35 minute drive into the mountains and when we arrive we can see the glow. DSE are deploying dozers and slip-ons into the forest, but the tow towns stand in the fires path. We have the two Erica tankers and ours to protect over 160 homes.
We set up water fill points so we can refill trucks, Then we pick the spot we expect the fire to come out. It would come through a paddock with a small plantation at the side.
The fire is no more than 15 minutes away, and the wind change occurs. A southerly. The fire shifts and moves away to the relief of all. Sometimes nature takes and sometimes nature helps. This is a good news story for us.
But the danger has not stopped. The fire heads to the tourist town of Walhalla. The town and tourists are evacuated to the old gold mine. They are escorted inside, about 200 mts in, away from heat fire and smoke. The town is in lock down and the three fire tankers arrive.
We are given clear directions. Only try to save houses and shops and businesses that are one hose length or less. The rest is un-saveable.
We set water points and watch the glow on the ridge move towards us.
Again weather proves our saviour and with all the tragedy we will hear in the coming days, this is one good news story that no one will hear. The lightening and storm activity that started this fire continues, however it also brings rain. Heavy rain hits, lasting no more than 15 minutes in our area, but enough to stop the spotting and to slow the fire to a crawl.
The 15 men, three fire trucks and a four wheel drive sigh with relief. We can mop up and contain the fire and know that we have not lost a life or property. Obviously all due to mother nature rather than our fire efforts, but this could have been another Kinglake or Callignee, with almost every home lost and a significant loss of life. Nature works in mysterious ways.
At 3:30 am our shift finished as the fire threat subsided. It had been 14 hours of the unknown for us, but in all, we were the lucky ones on the day.
We drove home rather sombre listening to the disbelief on the radio of what had happened around the state and was still happening. What kept us awake was our pager messages, asking for anyone who could assist on the morning shift.
The CFA (Country Fire Authority) is one of the old fashion communities who have been battling against the odds for several weeks now. In my own region, we have had a double dose with Black Saturday and the week before the Boolarra fires.
How did I become a CFA volunteer? I am not sure. It just happened. I knew little about bushfires and living on acreage, I thought it was time to understand how to protect my home. I thought I would learn how to put in place a fire plan. Little did I know that it was the first step to becoming an active volunteer fire fighter, the training officer for the local brigade and a crew leader at major fires?
In our brigade and many others volunteers, come from such diverse backgrounds. There is no common factor that draws people to volunteer. We have unemployed, teachers, farmers, retired, tradesmen, professionals and many more. They never seem to notice the different demographics that bring them together. On the fire front they are one and they trust their lives to each other.
Each crew on a fire truck has a range of responsibilities. They begin with a driver who must be certified and endorsed to drive a heavy vehicle. No driver on the day means the truck cannot go out, no matter how many crew turn up. The leader on the truck is called the crew leader. They are usually the highest ranking officer on the truck at that time; however there has been a shift to certification and a new breed of crew leaders are being trained. They make the decisions and ultimately are responsible for the safety of all on the truck. Good crew leaders make decisions that involve all members on the truck. Communication is vital.
On the back of the truck is usually two other members, although the truck can take four plus crew leader and driver, if fire fighters are available. Worst case is two, a driver and leader. It depends on who’s available at the time of the fire call. The two other members often ride in the back of the truck, although newer trucks have a 4 door cabin with all members inside for added safety. Their roles are linked to the pump and hoses. One operates the pump, and the second the hose, except when lengths of hose are run out and then they both drag hoses while the driver mans the pump. Most brigade members are trained in all roles on the hoses and pumps.
In my case I often undertake any of the roles. In the last few weeks I have been crew leader, truck driver, pump man and hose man. It just depends who we have on the day. My preference is to be on the fire scene with my captain, who undertakes the role of crew leader. He has 20 years of experience in all types of fires and he looks to me with all decisions as I have the qualifications and accreditation of crew leader training which he has not had time to do. It is a good mix, and I feel very safe knowing we combine so well and put safety first.
Our priorities are.
1. Safety of fire-fighters
2. Save the lives of the public
3. Save animals and stock
4. Asset protection – homes and business
5. Put out the fire
Our training is a vital part of being a fire fighter. We don’t fear the fire, but we do respect it.
Last Saturday, Black Saturday, every fire-fighter had some fear as this was a fire that was so un predictable and so different to any we had seen.
Black Saturday
Our pagers beeped on Friday afternoon. “All brigades prepare for the worst weather conditions we have ever known.” How bad would this be, what could we expect.
First up is to make sure your fire plan at home was in place. This was so important as last weekend I had spent working night shifts at the Boolarra Fires. I knew how dry the land was and how close fire was already to my own region in Gippsland.
When warnings like this come out, you start a process of readiness. I bring out my kit bag which is always ready and make sure it has supplies in case I am out for 24 hours or more.
Boots, trousers with bracers are placed at the door for quick access. As a rural brigade, we often dress in the street, or put what-ever we can on at home and finish in the truck.
It’s a time to abstain from alcohol at dinner. Who knows when the call will come and if you have to drive the fire truck? A cold bear after a 42 degree day would be appreciated, but tomorrow is excepted to be 46 and fires can start the night before.
In the morning it’s important to hydrate and two litres of water are forced in. Then it becomes a waiting game. When will the call come? You try to make the day as normal as ever but you just know. Your own plans are in place but you know you have to make a choice to go and leave family to fight any unknown battles. You may never know if the fire is close to your home.
The pagers flashes read and wails as the first of several calls arises. We are called to help a spot fire 15 kms away. I am first at the station and open the doors, drive the truck out, call operations that the truck is ready and waiting for crew, and then finish dressing. By now we have 4 other members here are ready to go. As we all board a fire stop comes to our truck. There are already other trucks on the way and there are limited resources left in my home community. We are put on hold.
We sit about the station waiting, this time as a group. We know the fire call will come.
The Bunyip fire is 50 kms away but the wind is blowing our way. Smoke covers the sky and passed above us like a volcano. The rage we can see reminds of us such fire.
There is increased radio traffic as the Churchill fire is reported. (This fire we later find is deliberately lit). The plumbs of smoke rise like an atomic bomb, 20 kms to our east and we know there is another major fire nearby.
We wait for another hour and decide all members should head home grab something to eat and return. I head home (about 4 kms) and see the sky change colour from a black smoke to an orange glow. The wind is changing. I run more hoses out around my home and mops, take a few pics and then it happens.
The pager roars with a RED Alert warning. I head up the hill to the fire station, and look down into the valley. There is no fire but the smoke, the wind, and now embers and debris litter the school, falling in abundance. This is a fire storm, yet we are 40 kms from the fire front. My thoughts which I scream to myself aloud! “Oh my god”. This is the fire of fires.
I again have the truck out, lights flashing and the station locked down. The others arrive quickly and we head to town. There is one other truck available for our town and reports of spotting. We travel Code One. Lights and sirens. Cars pull of the road and you can see panic on people’s faces. Visibility is already poor. Before we arrive at our meeting point, we are deployed to a grass fire some 6 kms away. It is as though its night with a dark red glow and the town has an eyrie look. The wind blows and gust of over 100 kms an hour rip the flashing blue and red lights from the truck, pulling out screws and mountings. We have a further 4 and blinkers running.
Visibility is poor from the smoke and darkness and alert eyes in the cabin scream and a giant gum tree falls across the road. Our path is blocked, but we are ok. 20 seconds later and the truck would have been taken out, and perhaps the crew. A car arrives and we ask it to stay with its hazards light son as we call the SES.
I am driving and reverse the truck to a turning area and we look for an alternative path. By the time we find one another brigade has attended the burn and we head back to town amongst the glow. We can hear radio traffic of spot fires everywhere from the Bunyip fire. Trucks called to Drouin, Warragul Nilma and more. Everyone is out.
On a fire day like this we have no idea of what is happening elsewhere. Our radio channel only has our regions control points. We turn on ABC radio and all hang our heads as we hear of devastation and loss of life. Perhaps 8 dead. Every death in a fire no matter where is felt by a fire fighter. Little are we to know that the tally will climb above 200.
We have time for a bottle of water, before we are deployed again. This time a large lightening strike and storm has occurred south of Mt Baw Baw. The fire is moving quickly and headed towards Rawson and Erica. It’s a 35 minute drive into the mountains and when we arrive we can see the glow. DSE are deploying dozers and slip-ons into the forest, but the tow towns stand in the fires path. We have the two Erica tankers and ours to protect over 160 homes.
We set up water fill points so we can refill trucks, Then we pick the spot we expect the fire to come out. It would come through a paddock with a small plantation at the side.
The fire is no more than 15 minutes away, and the wind change occurs. A southerly. The fire shifts and moves away to the relief of all. Sometimes nature takes and sometimes nature helps. This is a good news story for us.
But the danger has not stopped. The fire heads to the tourist town of Walhalla. The town and tourists are evacuated to the old gold mine. They are escorted inside, about 200 mts in, away from heat fire and smoke. The town is in lock down and the three fire tankers arrive.
We are given clear directions. Only try to save houses and shops and businesses that are one hose length or less. The rest is un-saveable.
We set water points and watch the glow on the ridge move towards us.
Again weather proves our saviour and with all the tragedy we will hear in the coming days, this is one good news story that no one will hear. The lightening and storm activity that started this fire continues, however it also brings rain. Heavy rain hits, lasting no more than 15 minutes in our area, but enough to stop the spotting and to slow the fire to a crawl.
The 15 men, three fire trucks and a four wheel drive sigh with relief. We can mop up and contain the fire and know that we have not lost a life or property. Obviously all due to mother nature rather than our fire efforts, but this could have been another Kinglake or Callignee, with almost every home lost and a significant loss of life. Nature works in mysterious ways.
At 3:30 am our shift finished as the fire threat subsided. It had been 14 hours of the unknown for us, but in all, we were the lucky ones on the day.
We drove home rather sombre listening to the disbelief on the radio of what had happened around the state and was still happening. What kept us awake was our pager messages, asking for anyone who could assist on the morning shift.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Merry Christmas everyone
I hope everyone has a great Christmas and well earned break.
It's been a year to reflect on, with such exciting times in education and new friendships formed.
It's also a time to reflect on the loves ones we have lost and the impact they have had on our lives.
Merry Christmas.
It's been a year to reflect on, with such exciting times in education and new friendships formed.
It's also a time to reflect on the loves ones we have lost and the impact they have had on our lives.
Merry Christmas.
Greg
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Identity Theft – Identity Fraud
This week I was fortunate to be a presenter at the IRR national Fraud Conference. My session was on Identity Theft of Children and I think I provided a view of what the future holds for children whose identity is stolen, or those who have the skills and knowledge to create identity theft in the future.
Presenters and delegates were from many of the banks, and large companies who have dedicated e-security and fraud investigators. There was also a large presence from the Australian Federal Police and state police groups.
What stood out to me was how wide spread and how common identity fraud is. In many cases police have contacted those who have been scammed, yet many do not believe the police or the bank and still send large amounts of money to places like Nigeria. Nigeria is the number one country where these scams originate from and the concern is that soon, Nigeria will have a high speed free internet connection available to anyone, so expect a significant rise in identity fraud and scams.
Many of the criminals from Nigeria who have been caught often say that Australian’s are the most gullible of any country on the net, thus they target out country as often as possible.
Many of the credit cards involved scams by Asian groups who have skimmed credit cards. Never let your card out of sight when paying at a restaurant. Other areas of risk are providing credit card numbers to companies who run online gambling sites. Card numbers are often skimmed from these sites.
Another growing area is the use of innocent citizens to launder money through e-bay purchases or passing on money to an account for a 10% fee.
There were several case studies provided by police, which were fascinating, however due to confidentiality I am unable to provide the details on my blog. However it is fair to say that the amount of evidence that has to be collected and cross referenced is enormous and in some cases 2 or more police officers have spent two or more years, just putting together the evidence. Sometimes up to 5,000 documents.
One of the emerging areas of identity theft is from letterboxes. Utility statements (gas and power) are often stolen from letter boxes, falsifies and used at evidence for 100 point identification checks. More recently credit cards have been stolen from letter boxes, activated and used illegally. The advice was that everyone with a letter box should have a padlock on it.
When criminals are interviewed about crimes that use technology they say there are three reasons why they do it
• It is the easiest crime to commit
• It is the hardest crime to detect
• It has the lowest sentences if caught
Identity Fraud has created new victims. Those who have had their identity stolen and family members of victims, as sometimes it can take years to clear your name or families name and to get your credit rating back.
Presenters and delegates were from many of the banks, and large companies who have dedicated e-security and fraud investigators. There was also a large presence from the Australian Federal Police and state police groups.
What stood out to me was how wide spread and how common identity fraud is. In many cases police have contacted those who have been scammed, yet many do not believe the police or the bank and still send large amounts of money to places like Nigeria. Nigeria is the number one country where these scams originate from and the concern is that soon, Nigeria will have a high speed free internet connection available to anyone, so expect a significant rise in identity fraud and scams.
Many of the criminals from Nigeria who have been caught often say that Australian’s are the most gullible of any country on the net, thus they target out country as often as possible.
Many of the credit cards involved scams by Asian groups who have skimmed credit cards. Never let your card out of sight when paying at a restaurant. Other areas of risk are providing credit card numbers to companies who run online gambling sites. Card numbers are often skimmed from these sites.
Another growing area is the use of innocent citizens to launder money through e-bay purchases or passing on money to an account for a 10% fee.
There were several case studies provided by police, which were fascinating, however due to confidentiality I am unable to provide the details on my blog. However it is fair to say that the amount of evidence that has to be collected and cross referenced is enormous and in some cases 2 or more police officers have spent two or more years, just putting together the evidence. Sometimes up to 5,000 documents.
One of the emerging areas of identity theft is from letterboxes. Utility statements (gas and power) are often stolen from letter boxes, falsifies and used at evidence for 100 point identification checks. More recently credit cards have been stolen from letter boxes, activated and used illegally. The advice was that everyone with a letter box should have a padlock on it.
When criminals are interviewed about crimes that use technology they say there are three reasons why they do it
• It is the easiest crime to commit
• It is the hardest crime to detect
• It has the lowest sentences if caught
Identity Fraud has created new victims. Those who have had their identity stolen and family members of victims, as sometimes it can take years to clear your name or families name and to get your credit rating back.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Teacher PD in ICT. Australia come on! NZ is leaving us behind
How long is it since I have blogged? Far too long. My busy schedule has made it difficult, combined with dealing with personal tragedy. Not a great mix.
But time to try to put my fingers to the keyboard as I spend another day of my weekend commuting for an early start interstate on Monday.
I thought I should reflect on Ulearn08. I was fortunate enough to be an invited speaker to the Ulearn08 conference in Christchurch New Zealand to deliver a presentation “Web 2.0, how exciting learning has become.”
The conference attracted over 1,700 delegates and provided a great smorgasbord of keynotes, spotlights and workshops. The planning was enormous and everything seemed to flow extremely well. There was a significant trade show with strong support from the corporate sector to enhance the use of technology in schools.
Will Richardson and Sheryl Naussbaum-Beach provided the opening keynote and as always inspired the audience with a focus on Professional Learning Communities and the part they play in education. It was a strong theme as the use of twitter through the conference seemed to highlight the power of professional learning communities amongst educators. I will blog about Twitter and my thoughts in the next few days.
There were many Australian’s like myself providing spotlight sessions with our New Zealand friends. Many were practicing teachers who were sharing their journey. There was also a strong presence of early childhood educators, which highlights how early the use of technology has shifted to a much younger sector in education.
What stood out to me was how well New Zealand was doing in the integration of technology in education. I look back ten years ago in Australia, when the Victorian Education Department was seen as the world leader. We were one of the first to provide every teacher with a laptop; we followed this up with a state-wide Wide Area Network to enable high speed internet access to all schools. All documentations was moved online, Technical support was provided to schools and much, much more. More recently the department invested in leading schools and now are working towards the Ultranet (although its already several years behind schedule).
So why is it that New Zealand teachers are far more skilled in the use of ICT, far more skilled in the integration and use of ICT in the classroom and far more knowledgeable in what ICT can do? In my workshops (I ran 4 workshops in addition to my spotlight,) I was continually surprised at the ICT skill level and knowledge of the average teacher. Most were blogging and using a range of web 2.0 tools, however my experience in Australia would indicate that a smaller percentage are at this level and we still have teachers who are excited because they used power point for the first time (technology that is more than 15 years old in education).
Why is this so? Because New Zealand has invested in the most important area of ICT. Teacher professional development. They have provided significant funds to cluster to run professional development over three year periods. Twice this year I have been to NZ to work with clusters who are using their funding in innovative ways. I am talking about significant funds. In many case more than a million dollars. Many clusters have put in specialist coaches and run a range of PD programs, one on one support and regional conferences. Putting money into PD instead of equipment and hardware as Australia has done has made a significant difference.
I look at ULearn08 with 1,700 participants and reflect on Australia’s peak ICT conference (ACEC) which a week earlier drew less than 600 people for a country 4 times or more larger.
I look at the ICT programs being run in Australia and it is now school based or run by subject associations. The regional and state based events seem to be in the minority.
Australia, let’s look at ourselves and look at where we are headed. Significant money is being spent on ICT professional development and learning programs in NZ, Singapore, Honk Kong, and now India and China.
Yet in Australia, we keep investing in hardware. How many Interactive Whiteboards have we put into schools without training our teachers?
Yes we have our innovators and visionaries who are doing great things in many schools; however the average teacher is falling well behind what is happening internationally.
It is time to invest and invest in new ways. Let’s get our teachers up to speed and then think about what resources we need.
We were the leader. We were the best. Our top educators and being poached, our top visionaries are being recognised more and more abroad, yet not locally. It is time for change in teacher professional development in Australia. Let’s get back to where we once were. Let’s Sho w the world again.
But time to try to put my fingers to the keyboard as I spend another day of my weekend commuting for an early start interstate on Monday.
I thought I should reflect on Ulearn08. I was fortunate enough to be an invited speaker to the Ulearn08 conference in Christchurch New Zealand to deliver a presentation “Web 2.0, how exciting learning has become.”
The conference attracted over 1,700 delegates and provided a great smorgasbord of keynotes, spotlights and workshops. The planning was enormous and everything seemed to flow extremely well. There was a significant trade show with strong support from the corporate sector to enhance the use of technology in schools.
Will Richardson and Sheryl Naussbaum-Beach provided the opening keynote and as always inspired the audience with a focus on Professional Learning Communities and the part they play in education. It was a strong theme as the use of twitter through the conference seemed to highlight the power of professional learning communities amongst educators. I will blog about Twitter and my thoughts in the next few days.
There were many Australian’s like myself providing spotlight sessions with our New Zealand friends. Many were practicing teachers who were sharing their journey. There was also a strong presence of early childhood educators, which highlights how early the use of technology has shifted to a much younger sector in education.
What stood out to me was how well New Zealand was doing in the integration of technology in education. I look back ten years ago in Australia, when the Victorian Education Department was seen as the world leader. We were one of the first to provide every teacher with a laptop; we followed this up with a state-wide Wide Area Network to enable high speed internet access to all schools. All documentations was moved online, Technical support was provided to schools and much, much more. More recently the department invested in leading schools and now are working towards the Ultranet (although its already several years behind schedule).
So why is it that New Zealand teachers are far more skilled in the use of ICT, far more skilled in the integration and use of ICT in the classroom and far more knowledgeable in what ICT can do? In my workshops (I ran 4 workshops in addition to my spotlight,) I was continually surprised at the ICT skill level and knowledge of the average teacher. Most were blogging and using a range of web 2.0 tools, however my experience in Australia would indicate that a smaller percentage are at this level and we still have teachers who are excited because they used power point for the first time (technology that is more than 15 years old in education).
Why is this so? Because New Zealand has invested in the most important area of ICT. Teacher professional development. They have provided significant funds to cluster to run professional development over three year periods. Twice this year I have been to NZ to work with clusters who are using their funding in innovative ways. I am talking about significant funds. In many case more than a million dollars. Many clusters have put in specialist coaches and run a range of PD programs, one on one support and regional conferences. Putting money into PD instead of equipment and hardware as Australia has done has made a significant difference.
I look at ULearn08 with 1,700 participants and reflect on Australia’s peak ICT conference (ACEC) which a week earlier drew less than 600 people for a country 4 times or more larger.
I look at the ICT programs being run in Australia and it is now school based or run by subject associations. The regional and state based events seem to be in the minority.
Australia, let’s look at ourselves and look at where we are headed. Significant money is being spent on ICT professional development and learning programs in NZ, Singapore, Honk Kong, and now India and China.
Yet in Australia, we keep investing in hardware. How many Interactive Whiteboards have we put into schools without training our teachers?
Yes we have our innovators and visionaries who are doing great things in many schools; however the average teacher is falling well behind what is happening internationally.
It is time to invest and invest in new ways. Let’s get our teachers up to speed and then think about what resources we need.
We were the leader. We were the best. Our top educators and being poached, our top visionaries are being recognised more and more abroad, yet not locally. It is time for change in teacher professional development in Australia. Let’s get back to where we once were. Let’s Sho w the world again.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Ulearn08
Goanimate - Looking forward to Ulearn08. I am running a workshop which has goanimate as one of the web 2.0 softwares. Thanks to Betina Sho who found this site.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
