This is a question that I have pondered over for almost a year now, ever since I was offered and accepted the position here at ISB. I have now been in the post for a quarter of the year so I throught I would give some of what I have found.
1. Have a vision of the future and be able to articulate this to others. The idea here is that creative thinking will help teachers move their teaching into this new idea of 1:1. It should also include what impact it will have on student learning and how to get the most value out of technology in projects and classroom learning. The statements should not be general in nature and they should have some kind of time frame. Some of this vision may not be feasible, but still a goal to look toward in the future.
2. Has a focus on the student, primarily in learning and assessment. This is a big area and not one that all teachers understand well. It should not be about assessing the technology but rather the achievement of the student. It may well be that there has been some technology infusion into a learning goal, but this technology is just a tool to help the student learn.
3. Is informed about what is going on around the school and community. Procedures are in place to celebrate the wonderful things going on around the school and in the classroom. The ICT facilitator needs to be a part of curriculum planning specifically in the units that are being developed. TO do so invites a great sharing of all the great work being accomplished by the teachers. The facilitator also celebrates with the teacher or student, accomplishments that have been successful.
4. Has ideas and knows how to carry them out. There is no sense in letting teachers know about great ideas for their teaching or units without being able to assist in carrying them out. Many teachers will be excited about these ideas but also scared about deploying them in the classroom. The ICT Facilitator needs to be there for the teachers to make sure ideas work as they are planned. It is great for the facilitator to be innovative, but sometimes it can be very ovewhelming for the teacher.
5. Is a good listener. One of the aspects of my job is to listen to the members of the faculty, students and administration. If you are a good listener the the people around you will respect you and your ideas more seriously.
6. If the ICT Facilitator is a good listener and respectful of others then they will find that others approach them with ideas they want help with. The facilitator should be able to identify both the advantages and pitfalls to the idea and help the teacher/student through with implementation.
7. Has a passion for what is happening in the school. This would include all levels of PD and SD that involve the change needed in a school to bring in a high end, robust and technologically sound program. The program is ever evolving.
I still have many questions unanswered but over time I hope to be able to both see the answers to the questions and also see how they can be a part of the bigger picture at the school.
Monday, September 24, 2012
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Taihu Book Conference
I was fortunate to attend one day of the 19th Annual Taihu Book Conference. This is a fairly new facility and to say that it is large would be an understatement. I could not find the exact size but I would estimate that it covers about 2 million square feet. The main building has five levels and that is the showcase of vendors, including publishers from all over the world. While I was there I noticed Scholastic, Harvard Press, Houghton Mifflin and a couple more. It was an impressive warehouse of publishing materials from all over the world. Of course, the largest by far were the Chinese publishers.
During the day there were four seminars that I attended that had to do with the digital domain. It is evident that the publishers are working hard to create digital material both on-line and in the form of textbooks. What I heard however, was that the strength of digital text books will be for the university level and the school level will be online course materials.
All of the publishers are working with online portals that will encompass their curricular materials enhanced with added learning opportunities for students. Many are embracing the L21 ideas where they can, but this is proving to be difficult given the rather open nature of them. No surprise that assessment is a big part of these portals and in some cases can be individualized to the class or student.
Over all the day was well worthwhile. I still did not find the connection to eTextbooks I am looking for but this could be due to the limited nature of the books being prepared for the High School market. It looks like I am going to need to include research of online portals in my interest for the future.
During the day there were four seminars that I attended that had to do with the digital domain. It is evident that the publishers are working hard to create digital material both on-line and in the form of textbooks. What I heard however, was that the strength of digital text books will be for the university level and the school level will be online course materials.
All of the publishers are working with online portals that will encompass their curricular materials enhanced with added learning opportunities for students. Many are embracing the L21 ideas where they can, but this is proving to be difficult given the rather open nature of them. No surprise that assessment is a big part of these portals and in some cases can be individualized to the class or student.
Over all the day was well worthwhile. I still did not find the connection to eTextbooks I am looking for but this could be due to the limited nature of the books being prepared for the High School market. It looks like I am going to need to include research of online portals in my interest for the future.
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
iPad in HS PE
The PE department just took posession of four iPads. The purpose of this two fold;
1. To gather fitness information to help students make informed choices.
2. To provide immediate feedack on student health and fitness for PE classes.
These goals are going to happen with a myriad of apps that have been added to the iPads. Most of these will be first time use so there is a period of experimentation that is going to take place. I am eagerly awaiting the start of these apps with the PE department so that further use can be determined in the future.
Here is a list of the Apps that will be reviewed this year;
Interval Timer
Numbers
Tempo Magic Pro
iMuscle (NOVA series)
iFitness Pro HD
i-Replay
Speed Anatomy (Quiz)
Collaborative Mobile Multi Camera Video
Reel Director
Swim Coach Plus HD
Basketball Coach Plus
Football Coach Plus
Tennis Coach Plus HD
Cricket Coach Plus HD
Coach's Eye
Vernier Video Physics
Step Test
Bleep Test Pro
Yo Yo Endurance Test
Fitness Meter - Test & Measure
Heart Rate Training Zone Calculator
PE Plus
Vital Signs Camera - Philips
Cardiograph - Heart Rate Monitor
Team Shake
Coach Pad
Easy Assessment
PB Go
As the year progresses I am hoping to keep outlining the advantages and problems with these Apps as the work with the HS PE Students and Staff.
1. To gather fitness information to help students make informed choices.
2. To provide immediate feedack on student health and fitness for PE classes.
These goals are going to happen with a myriad of apps that have been added to the iPads. Most of these will be first time use so there is a period of experimentation that is going to take place. I am eagerly awaiting the start of these apps with the PE department so that further use can be determined in the future.
Here is a list of the Apps that will be reviewed this year;
Interval Timer
Numbers
Tempo Magic Pro
iMuscle (NOVA series)
iFitness Pro HD
i-Replay
Speed Anatomy (Quiz)
Collaborative Mobile Multi Camera Video
Reel Director
Swim Coach Plus HD
Basketball Coach Plus
Football Coach Plus
Tennis Coach Plus HD
Cricket Coach Plus HD
Coach's Eye
Vernier Video Physics
Step Test
Bleep Test Pro
Yo Yo Endurance Test
Fitness Meter - Test & Measure
Heart Rate Training Zone Calculator
PE Plus
Vital Signs Camera - Philips
Cardiograph - Heart Rate Monitor
Team Shake
Coach Pad
Easy Assessment
PB Go
As the year progresses I am hoping to keep outlining the advantages and problems with these Apps as the work with the HS PE Students and Staff.
Monday, August 27, 2012
Non-Profit Organizations at School
With an eye to collaboration with an NGO here in China, the grade 11 Language and Literature class hosted an administrator from Asia Catalyst during their class to go over information about the company and what kind of assistance the class could provide. It was an hour of information about what this NGO is trying to achieve here and also a time to Skype with one of the actual organizations they assist.
The students had prepared a list of questions to ask both the ladies they would talk to. These included the gathering of information about the organizations and also about what they need he most help with. The kept notes as the answers were given. It was great to see how many students were using their MacBooks to do this. One of the students from the class was chosen as the interpreter for the interview with the lady from Henan since she not speak English. The answers were then given back to the class in English. Truly a real world experience for this young man.
By the time it was over the students have decided to work with Asia Catalyst and the Henan Womans Network in the production of a booklet of information, advertising brochure and posters. The students will also assist with the production of an English section to existing websites. In order to complete this there will be four groups in the class; copy writing, editing, layout and design, and management. Overseeing all this will be a leader from each of these groups who will meet regularly with both the groups in the class and also Asia Catalyst as the project progresses this semester.
Look for more on this as they year progresses.
The students had prepared a list of questions to ask both the ladies they would talk to. These included the gathering of information about the organizations and also about what they need he most help with. The kept notes as the answers were given. It was great to see how many students were using their MacBooks to do this. One of the students from the class was chosen as the interpreter for the interview with the lady from Henan since she not speak English. The answers were then given back to the class in English. Truly a real world experience for this young man.
By the time it was over the students have decided to work with Asia Catalyst and the Henan Womans Network in the production of a booklet of information, advertising brochure and posters. The students will also assist with the production of an English section to existing websites. In order to complete this there will be four groups in the class; copy writing, editing, layout and design, and management. Overseeing all this will be a leader from each of these groups who will meet regularly with both the groups in the class and also Asia Catalyst as the project progresses this semester.
Look for more on this as they year progresses.
Sunday, August 19, 2012
IFS Starts a New Course
Integrated Field Studies is a new course in the grade 11 curriculum and in meeting with the teachers they have plenty of god ideas to integrate technology into the course. Since one of the learning goals of the course is to reflect regularly on personal learning, it was thought that a Blog would be a good place for this. The concern was that the students might not be as reflective because of the open nature of a blog. A decision to use the blog on StudyWiz was made as it is a personal blog between student and teacher only. It appears to have all the needs of the teacher for the course.
Secondly was a look at the field book that students will be keeping. It will involve, but not be limited to, field notes, interviews, labs, photographs, charts and graphs and perhaps a movie. In order for all of this to be collated together, Pages was the clear choice. It can be set up to the personal style of the teacher and all of the elements can be a part of this file. The file can be transposed into ePub so that anyone with a tablet or smartphone can use it. If iBooks was used then the only publishing possibility would be and iPad - this is too limiting.
Integrated Field Studies uses a local community here in Beijing to do its study. They look at the changes in certain criteria over time and report his back to the Community Leaders. It is an excellent way for students to be involved in a real part of Beijing, look at a real life situation and be personally involved in their own learning. There are projects associated with this that are determined by the nature of the class and also student interests.
Secondly was a look at the field book that students will be keeping. It will involve, but not be limited to, field notes, interviews, labs, photographs, charts and graphs and perhaps a movie. In order for all of this to be collated together, Pages was the clear choice. It can be set up to the personal style of the teacher and all of the elements can be a part of this file. The file can be transposed into ePub so that anyone with a tablet or smartphone can use it. If iBooks was used then the only publishing possibility would be and iPad - this is too limiting.
Integrated Field Studies uses a local community here in Beijing to do its study. They look at the changes in certain criteria over time and report his back to the Community Leaders. It is an excellent way for students to be involved in a real part of Beijing, look at a real life situation and be personally involved in their own learning. There are projects associated with this that are determined by the nature of the class and also student interests.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Journey Through Social Science
Social Studies is off to a great start with a neat change to an old idea. In the past, grade 9 students completed an Interactive Activities Notebook (IAN) as part of their Asian Studies class. All grade 9 students at ISB are required to take this class.
This year the Social Studies department started to look at alternatives to this assessment and some of the ideas were amazing. I the first meeting, which was held on Aug 14 the member that teach this class thought up a whole new approach to this.
Basically it will be a journey through the year and involve more of a project based model. Students will look at questions that are important to them, through the lens of Asian Studies, determine the areas they are interested in and then propose changes or alternative to help answer the questions. They will research these questions and keep notes, interviews, action plans, reading and reflections on what they find.
And the best part of this to me, it will all be completed electronically. At the moment the final product has not be determined as there are some updates to essential questions and enduring understandings that still need to be worked through. One of the teachers of the class will look at preparing an introduction to the students as this new model is moved forward in the class this year.
The learning that could come from this may be in the areas of individualized learning (students will be more engaged in something they have a personal stake in), project based learning (steps will be taken to arrange this assignment in this form of model which emphasizes and orderly progression from pertinent question through to suggested solution), problem solving in a real world (the topic will be current and pertinent to the student) and creativity (solutions can be formed from a myriad of research).
Watch as this unfolds and there is more work on it.
This year the Social Studies department started to look at alternatives to this assessment and some of the ideas were amazing. I the first meeting, which was held on Aug 14 the member that teach this class thought up a whole new approach to this.
Basically it will be a journey through the year and involve more of a project based model. Students will look at questions that are important to them, through the lens of Asian Studies, determine the areas they are interested in and then propose changes or alternative to help answer the questions. They will research these questions and keep notes, interviews, action plans, reading and reflections on what they find.
And the best part of this to me, it will all be completed electronically. At the moment the final product has not be determined as there are some updates to essential questions and enduring understandings that still need to be worked through. One of the teachers of the class will look at preparing an introduction to the students as this new model is moved forward in the class this year.
The learning that could come from this may be in the areas of individualized learning (students will be more engaged in something they have a personal stake in), project based learning (steps will be taken to arrange this assignment in this form of model which emphasizes and orderly progression from pertinent question through to suggested solution), problem solving in a real world (the topic will be current and pertinent to the student) and creativity (solutions can be formed from a myriad of research).
Watch as this unfolds and there is more work on it.
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