Individuals who are numerate are better prepared to participate and engage in a world that is increasingly focused upon creativity, innovation and which focuses upon knowledge creation and sharing.

This blog post is based upon the research of Professor Merrilyn Goos and many of the ideas here have been inspired by the great work of Tom Barrett.  He is a tremendous inspiration for all teachers, not just in the work he does with Ewan McIntosh for NoTosh, but also in his tremendous crowd-sourced series, Interesting Ways. I would encourage you to follow him on Twitter (@tombarrett), as a regular source of great ideas and resources.

21st Century Numeracy

Professor Merrilyn Goos has developed an excellent model for 21st Century numeracy:

A model for 21st century numeracy by Merrilyn Goos

Click on the thumbnail for a larger version, or read about the model in more detail in the following Keynote Presentation: http://www.nlnw.sa.edu.au/files/links/Goos_SAkeynote.ppt

Explaining the model:

You still need mathematical knowledge to be numerate! This includes concepts, skills, and problem solving strategies, as well as the ability to use sensible estimations. A numerate person also has positive dispositions – a willingness and confidence to engage with tasks – independently and in collaboration with others – and apply their mathematical knowledge in flexible and adaptable ways.
Numerate practice often involves using tools. These include:

1. Representational tools like ready reckoners and charts and tables that might be used in a manufacturing context, and of course

2. physical tools like mathematical drawing instruments and the work related tools of a trade or profession

3.digital tools – technology.
A numerate person can organise their personal finances, for example in relation to credit card spending and mobile phone use. They manage their personal health by making decisions about their eating and exercise habits. They engage in leisure activities that require numeracy knowledge, such as travel, sport, perhaps gambling.

All kinds of occupations require numeracy. Many examples of work-related numeracy are very specific to the particular work context, and often the mathematics used is either invisible to the user or is used in very different ways from how mathematics is taught at school.

Numeracy – A General Capability

In the Australian Curriculum students become numerate as they develop the capacity to recognise and understand the role of mathematics in the world around them and the confidence, willingness and ability to apply mathematics to their lives in ways that are constructive and meaningful.

As they become numerate, students develop and use mathematical skills related to:

• Calculation and number
• Patterns and relationships
• Proportional reasoning
• Spatial reasoning
• Statistical literacy
• Measurement.

With this in mind, below are four examples of different ways technology can be used creatively to enhance students’ numeracy skills. These ideas do not focus specifically on maths, but rather on broader strategies that require the application of a number of the mathematical skills numerate students demonstrate.

 1. Wolfram Alpha –

creating interesting calculation and number problems with real information

Wolfram Alpha is a computational search engine. Although it works at extremely complex levels, there are many challenges that can be set using Wolfram Alpha as inspiration and to check results against.

For example:
Write down everything you know about the number 28. http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=28

1)    Is 10 001 a prime number? http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=Is+10001+prime%3F

Or create engaging calculations using information that is nominated by the students. For example:

1)    Which Harry Potter movie is the longest, and by how much (students need to compare numbers, order them and then subtract second longest from longest) http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=Harry+Potter+and+the+Philosopher%27s+Stone&a=*C.Harry+Potter+and+the+Philosopher%27s+Stone-_*Movie-

2)    How much closer is Brisbane to the South Pole as the North Pole? http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=Brisbane+to+North+Pole

3)    Are there more men or women living in Australia, and by how much? http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=how+many+men+in+australia

2. Proportional Reasoning using Scootle

There are fantastic learning objects available on Scootle that allow students to see and interact with fractions and the understandings required to develop proportional reasoning.

Explore this learning path of examples of some of the quality learning objects:

http://www.scootle.edu.au/ec/pin/EDWHQM?userid=20960 – Pin number is EDWHWM

Cassowary sanctuary

Help a park ranger to arrange fencing in a wildlife sanctuary. Divide common geometric shapes into equal-sized sections for keeping cassowaries. Group the enclosures to form a quarantine zone, then express divisions of the enclosures as fractions. Work through facts about the life of cassowaries: physical characteristics; diet; habitat; life cycles; and locations. Interact with graphs to see how people can help to save cassowaries. This learning object is a combination of two objects in the same series

Playground percentages

Help a town planner to design two site plans for a school. Assign regions on a 10×10 grid for different uses such as a playground, canteen, car park or lawn. Calculate the percentage of the total site used for each region. Use a number line to display fractions and equivalent fractions. This learning object is a combination of two objects in the same series.

Measures: scaling down

Compare the areas of squares, rectangles and triangles before and after being scaled down (reduced). Notice that ‘similar shapes’ in the mathematical sense have the same shape but different areas. Explore the relationship between side-length reduction and area reduction when scaling down shapes. This learning object is the third in a series of eight objects that progressively increase in difficulty.

Spatial Reasoning using Resources from Flickr

A great deal of Maths is visible in the everyday. Having students identify where they see Maths can be an engaging way to relate the concepts being taught to real life examples.

Using Flickr students can:

• search for specific examples of spatial concepts in real life

http://www.flickr.com/photos/44335830@N08/sets/72157625801871870/

http://www.flickr.com/groups/geometric/pool/page2/

http://www.flickr.com/groups/99544099@N00/pool/

cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo by kathryn_rotondo: http://flickr.com/photos/kathryn_rotondo/2228148826/

cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo by Andrew J. Sutherland: http://flickr.com/photos/sutherlandviolin/3351394552/

cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo by Cast a Line: http://flickr.com/photos/58754750@N08/5454720719/

• students upload their own photos and share explanations for their choices – use the ‘notes’ feature on photos in flickr to add explanations, as seen in this example:

cc licensed ( BY NC SD ) flickr photo by reekhardough: http://flickr.com/photos/70968517@N00/321037734/

  http://www.flickr.com/photos/70968517@N00/321037734/

Developing Statistical Literacy using Google Docs

Using Google Docs allows students to create forms that are automatically linked to spreadsheets for analysis of data.

The difference between using a program such as Excel and Google Docs is that with Google Docs you can provide a web link or embed the form on a class blog or website to provide more open access. Also, multiple students can access the form/spreadsheet at the same time, making it possible to set group tasks or even homework (e.g. survey parents etc).

An example is here:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AgBciM5qWAuTdGRIQWdPS2FJN2tfYkVxRXlPSGRiZUE

Google Forms can be as simple or as complex as required, and provide the option to view responses in a summary format also:

Google Spreadsheets allow data to be visualised also:

Developing Measurement Skills using Google Maps

Google maps allow you to zoom in on many different areas of interest. If you have a Google Account, you can create maps with pins that have associated maths challenges.

As part of the Maps Labs, you can tick an option to have a distance measurement tool function that students can then use to measure different distances – not only the distance between different points, but the area and perimeter of swimming pools and other large constructions and locations. To access this tool, you need to be logged in – why not create a generic Google account for students so that they can use this and other features.

For Example:

http://g.co/maps/phz5s

Your thoughts?

Have you used a contemporary tool in an innovative way to develop numeracy skills?

Share your ideas or experiences in the comments – we’d love to hear of more ways to engage students in this vital area!

Connect …

Previously the ResourceLink team has explored how social media can be used as a powerful tool to build your professional learning network.  Have you considered using social media to build a fulfilling network of faith?  Why not use twitter to connect with other parishes and diocese globally, believers can share perspectives on scripture, pray and invite others pray into a global prayer circle by using a #tag or follow great spiritual leaders across the globe.

Facebook is another tool being used by many believers, not only to connect with their family and friends but also with other believers.  World Youth Day Madrid successfully connected with some 62,000 people worldwide, using Facebook and a variety of Web 2.0 and other social media tools.  See for yourself how the team from WYDMadrid connected via facebook here.

Recently, the National Catholic Education Commission coordinated the development of a national resource to support students in schools and parishes to learn about their faith, with a focus on Eucharist in the context of the new translation of the Roman Missal.  This contemporary learning resource Together at One Altar  is an online extension of the adult interactive DVD Become One Body One Spirit in Christ . These interactive resources allow believes to connect with deep knowledge and understanding of their own faith tradition, ubiquitously; whenever and wherever they wish.

Practice…

Technology not only allows believers to connect, it provides many with a vehicle to practice their faith on an intimate and personal level.  This has been furthered with advancements in smartphones and tablet devices so that now believes can practice their faith on the go be that on crowded public transport, during their morning coffee break or in a local park.  Here are some apps the team at ResourceLink are using on their devices when demonstrating contemporary technologies with others. (Click on the images below to link to the Apple app store for more information about that app.)  Also many of these apps are available for Android devices.

	iRosary provides a user friendly and contemporary approach to the way we pray the Rosary
	iMissal gives believers a great tool for scripture study.
	HD combines beautiful patterns and peaceful music to aid believers to pray through stillness.
	Candle is exactly what the name suggests. A free digital candle to light during prayer or ritual.
	Insight Timer assists believers to meditate in silence, with the use of ‘singing bell’ sounds.
	iPause brings the traditional finger labyrinth used in prayer and meditation into the digital age.
	Koi Pond puts a fish pond in the palm of your hand. Believers can write prayers or intentions on the surface of the digital pond.

Most would agree that being community is a core practice of the Catholic Christian faith tradition.  Whilst these and many more apps provide believers with tools to help them on their faith journey, it is important to remember that coming together in person, to celebrate the Eucharist is a fundamental aspect of our faith tradition, a practice which cannot be replaced.

If you would like to learn more about different types of apps and how to get started you can do so here.

Celebrate…

Believers worldwide are now embracing new technologies to share the joy of their faith tradition.  A great example of how a community is celebrating their own works and their passion for their faith is through the rich media of film.  St Pauls Church Auckland, with a long history this church celebrates its many diverse works through film in particular sharing their creations on its own YouTube channel.  Brisbane Catholic Education is also using rich media in the way it delivers learning and teaching of Religion and Ethics.

In a similar way the organisers of World Youth Day Madrid celebrated officially via YouTube and blogs, Facebook updates and tweets.  The official WYD Madrid YouTube Chanel helped to spread the word not only about the journey of the pilgrims but also the word of scripture.  For example this contemporary retelling of the parable of the sower, featured.

It is an exciting and dynamic time in faith, one that poses some challenges but also proposes solutions and new ways forward to practise faith and evangelise.  By embracing advances in technology, always looking for how it can be used to connect individuals and groups and participate in and celebrate faith, the future for believers is one in which they can truly have a diverse and rich interactive faith.

“Stories are memory aids, instruction manuals and moral compasses. When enlisted by charismatic leaders and turned into manifestos, dogmas and social policy, they’ve been the foundations for religions and political systems. When a storyteller has held an audience captive around a campfire, a cinema screen or on the page of a bestseller, they’ve reinforced local and universal norms about where we’ve been and where we’re going. And when they’ve been shared in the corner shop, at the pub or over dinner they’ve helped us define who we are and how we fit in.” (Krotoski, A. 2011).

Storytelling has always evolved and been enriched by changing media and technology. The history of stories and storytelling is long and rich. Stories have evolved from oral stories told around a fire, to cave paintings such as those in Lascaux;

cc licensed ( by ) flickr photo by JackVersloot: http://flickr.com/photos/jackversloot/2563365462/

From the first scrolls of written word to the invention of the printing press and widescale distribution of books.

Developing technologies have allowed stories to be shared with an ever-increasing audience. As technology has evolved, so too have the media through which stories can be shared.

Stories and storytelling will always remain a central part of the human experience, due to the reasons outlined by Aleks Krotoski in the opening quote. However, as Clay Shirky points out in his Ted Talk on  Social Media, the Internet is the first medium in history that has native support for groups and conversation at the same time. Whereas the phone gave us the one-to-one pattern, and television, radio, magazines, books, gave us the one-to-many pattern, the Internet gives us the many-to-many pattern.

A snapshot of the internet; the many to many nature is obvious…

CC Licensed (by) flickr photo by jurvetson: http://flickr.com/photos/jurvetson/916142/

For the first time in history, the technology effects not only the medium through which the story is delivered, but the opportunity to co-create on a global scale. What do these changes mean for storytelling? Can the purpose of the story remain the same when its method of construction is so different?

To explore these questions, let’s consider one of the best known stories in our society and one that is particularly relevant at this time of year – the story of the Nativity.

This 2000 year old story has been passed through the generations in countless forms…as Scripture, as a picture book, as lyrics in a Christmas Carol, as a script for a play, as an oral story, as a poem.

The traditional retelling of the story is captured beautifully in the following video:

Now let’s consider the same story, co-created using social media:

The story features many types of social media, including Facebook, Twitter, FourSquare and Ebay. The idea that upon the birth of Jesus the announcement is made publicly via Facebook, and that the ‘Like’ button is pressed literally thousands of times shows that with these new methods of communicating, there is not only immediacy, but widespread sharing.

Does the purpose or the meaning of the story change through the use of social media and 21st century technology?

Let’s listen to an expert’s opinion:

In short, no.  While the mode will continue to change, and more people may participate in creating and sharing, the art of storytelling will remain unchanged -  the purpose for telling the story will remain true, even when interpreted through different contexts, different modes and by audiences of varying sizes and experiences. The need to teach students about narrative and skilling students to be able to deconstruct texts and reconstruct them therefore remains vitally important. Indeed, Anstey and Bull argue that in an age of multimodal literacies, students must become skilled across an even broader range of texts, and be able to interpret meaning derived from the interplay of different media. This now forms part of the Australian Curriculum, which states that students are literate when they develop

 the skills to learn and communicate confidently at school and to become effective individuals, community members, workers and citizens. These skills include listening, reading, viewing, writing, speaking and creating print, visual and digital materials accurately and purposefully within and across all learning areas.

Therefore exposing students to stories delivered via a variety of modes and media, including social media and web technology such as depicted in these Nativity stories is an essential part of any literacy curriculum – and we can take comfort in the fact that the evolving relationship between story and technology will only enrich the ways we share and enjoy this essential part of human communication.

References:

Anstey, M., & Bull, G. (2010, June 4). Helping teachers to explore multimodal texts. Curriculum Leadership Journal |. Retrieved November 28, 2011, from http://www.curriculum.edu.au/leader/helping_teachers_to_explore_multimodal_texts,31522.html?issueID=12141

Krotoski, A. (2011, August 7).  Storytelling: digital technology allows us to tell tales in innovative new ways | Technology | The Observer . The Guardian . Retrieved November 28, 2011, from http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/aug/07/digital-media-storytelling-internet

Literacy. (2011, January 1). The Australian Curriculum v2.0  . Retrieved November 28, 2011, from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/GeneralCapabilities/Literacy

Schwingel, M. (2010, October 28). The Digital Story Of Nativity (Christmas 2.0) on Vimeo. Vimeo, Video Sharing For You. Retrieved November 28, 2011, from http://vimeo.com/18123177

Shirky, C. (2009, June 1). Clay Shirky: How social media can make history | Video on TED.com. TED: Ideas worth spreading. Retrieved November 28, 2011, from http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/clay_shirky_how_cellphones_twitter_facebook_can_make_history.html

Pauls Arts and Media. (2010, December 13). The Christmas Story (HD version)      – YouTube  . YouTube – Broadcast Yourself.  . Retrieved November 28, 2011, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zduwusyip8M

TEDtalksDirector. (2011, November 23). Joe Sabia: The technology of storytelling      – YouTube  . YouTube – Broadcast Yourself.  . Retrieved November 28, 2011, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkZtRzc9rFQ

Artwork by Susan Montgomery

The final weeks of school are an overwhelmingly busy time for everyone in the entire school community.

Exams

Reports

Class Lists

Christmas and break up events

Graduations

Awards nights

It is exhausting just thinking about it!

The culmination of a busy year, combined with the general exhaustion that accompanies it means that any time saving measure is of great importance.

The ResourceLink Blog is here to help!

The centrepiece of many graduation and end of year events is the ‘photostory’ – a slideshow or video production that captures the many events that occurred during the year. While the actual production may only go for 4-5 minutes, anyone who has been involved in their creation knows just how time-consuming they can be to produce – and the pressure that grows each year to create one that is bigger and better than the previous year’s.

Thankfully technology exists to take much of the headache out of creating these shows – and below you will find a number of free or very reasonably priced digital tools that will create amazing multimedia quickly and easily.

Before introducing these tools, a short word on copyright.

Copyright in this area is incredibly complex. In most cases images used are photos and video taken by the school, and therefore the copyright rests with the school, and there is no problem here. However, most multimedia productions use music as a soundtrack.  The best advice is to research your particular scenario on the SmartCopying website, or even better, if at all possible use music licenced under a Creative Commons licence, where attribution is one of the only requirements for use. There are many places where Creative Commons music may be sourced, including CCMixter and Jamendo . Another alternative is to use student created music. Even young students can create innovative soundscapes using free programs such as Garageband and Audacity.

Keeping these copyright issues in mind, let’s look at some of the wonderful tools currently available to assist you in creating fantastic end of year reflections!

1. Animoto

Animoto stands alone for ease of creation and for an amazing time vs outcome ratio. Simply upload your photos/short video grabs, select from a wide range of Creative Commons licenced music grouped by genre, choose a video ‘style’ and click create. The remixing, syncing to music and transitions are automatically handled by the Animoto tool, which then kindly sends you an email to alert you when the remix process is complete. The outcome is a stylish, professional looking video that can be embedded into blogs and websites, or downloaded and burnt to dvd. Teachers are able to access a ‘pro’ account for free. A tutorial on how to Animoto is available for download from our blog  here.

2. Photopeach

Photopeach creates short videos and slideshows,and has a special section specifically for educators, in the same way as Animoto does. Unfortunately, it appears that the educator accounts, while offering more control and privacy, are only available in a paid subscription form. Despite this, for a teacher looking to create an exciting looking slideshow for the purposes of an end of year event, the free account may be all that is required.  Photopeach operates on a similar way to Animoto – photos are uploaded, accompanying music selected and the layout chosen. The program then creates a slideshow that can be embedded or shared. The final product has a slightly different look to Animoto.

3. Capzles

Capzles is a slightly different product, which we have written about before here. Although it is a timeline creator in essence, it could be used to create an innovative multimedia slideshow. The disadvantage of using a tool such as this or Vuvox (a similar tool) is that the end product is a Flash based show that cannot be downloaded and burnt onto a disc for distribution. However if you are looking for a different ‘look’ to previous years, these tools might be worth considering.

Using these tools, you are sure to wow the crowd at your end of year event, and as a by-product, learn useful skills that you can pass on to your students in creating innovative multimedia – win win!

The research has been clear and consistent for over 30 years—collaborative cultures in which teachers focus on improving their teaching practice, learn from each other, and are well led and supported by school principals result in better learning for students. Fullan, M. (n.d.). Learning is the Work. Retrieved from http://www.michaelfullan.ca/

As life grows more complex, so too does education. The role of the teacher, once essentially an autonomous, well defined position, is now vast and continually changing. It is now impossible for a teacher to be engaging in best practice unless they are part of a supportive, informed and well developed network.

Thanks to Shareski http://www.flickr.com/photos/shareski/2655113202/

Whereas in the past this network, if it existed at all, was limited by time and space, the previous blog posts in this series on Social Media and Schools as Professional Learning Communities have shown that with the advent of tools such as Twitter, this need no longer be the case.

Despite the overwhelming evidence that collaborative cultures in schools improve student learning, and the presence of tools that allow these cultures to be developed in new and expansive ways, there continues to be reluctance to embrace the potential of online environments and social media. Richardson and Mancabelli suggest that this could be because this move challenges the structures in education that have been in place for as long as we can remember; letting go of our current notions of schooling to be open and interactive like never before may seem overwhelming.

This third and final blog post offers suggestions as to how to use a range of social media to enhance not only teachers’ learning networks, but also how schools may consider using social media to model constructive and positive communication within and beyond their immediate community.

Moving beyond the Twitterverse; Multiple Modes, Multiple Messages

Twitter is an excellent avenue for discovering new ideas, participating in online asynchronous dialogue and hearing about the latest educational trends and keynotes. It is, however, not the only tool that educators can use to broaden their personal learning network.

Linked In is growing in prominence as a networking tool for professionals. While it began as a place for business people to share a virtual summary of career highlights with potential employees, it is moving beyond this, to provide online discussion spaces for groups of like-minded educators, on topics such as 21^st Century Education, Educational Leadership, Teacher Training and Curriculum Development. A search reveals 4,779 groups to choose from; and membership is drawn from around the world.

Diigo has been written about before on this blog, however it would be remiss not to mention it as a very active online learning community for educators. Not only a place to organise and store web links, Diigo provides spaces for collaboration, groups and the opportunity to discover new web links via email digests of the most recently saved websites.

Blogs are another tremendous source of up to date educational information. The drawback to them is that accessing each blog is time-consuming and blog authors post at irregular intervals. Time poor teachers are better off subscribing to a selection of blogs using an RSS Feedreader. The concept of RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is actually really simple! Basically subscribing to blogs using RSS means each time a new post is uploaded, it will be sent to a central place, such as your Google Reader, so that they can be read from one location instead of going to each individual blog site. This video explains further.

Using Social Media to communicate as a school

Mark Sparvell, executive consultant in ICT capability and innovation at Principals Australia suggests that an entry point for schools who are keen to use Twitter or other social media is to begin by using it as a tool to connect the school with the wider community. He suggests looking at social media as a virtual school noticeboard, which communicates messages including staff and student achievements, reminders about special events, requests for assistance and updates on school sport scores.

Using social media allows the school to actively engage with the community in real time; updates are easy and quick to produce, making them ideal not only for distributing information, but for responding to questions and issues if and when they arise.

Ferriter, Ramsden and Sheninger suggest that schools look to how businesses have positioned themselves within the social media context, and to explore how this channel of communication may allow for more authentic representations of the school’s ‘brand’; by removing the formality of newsletters and opening up a two way mode that emphasises the shared aims of the school and its community.

They also suggest that schools ‘start small’. Twitter allows users the option to lock their accounts, so that only those who are ‘followers’ may see the posts made. This useful feature also means that the school can control who follows them – each request must be moderated and approved before they can be included. Steps on how to protect your Tweets in this way may be found on the Twitter help centre page.

Modelling positive use of social media in this way not only demonstrates the school’s willingness to communicate with its stakeholders, it also shows an openness to learn and interact within the online world – a world within which an increasing number of students operate daily.

Thanks to Langwitches; http://www.flickr.com/photos/langwitches/3458534773/sizes/z/in/photostream/ AttributionNoncommercialShare Alike Some rights reserved

Education in the form that we have today was developed when knowledge was scarce, and communication channels limited. When learning could only occur in the presence of an individual who held all knowledge, it made sense to create institutions where a fixed curriculum could be delivered to age-grouped classes, and to measure ‘mastery’ via tests of content knowledge.

Today, knowledge is not scarce, and individuals have access to multiple communication channels. This has significant implications for education. Not only does it mean that the role of teachers must change, it also means that for schools to be considered professional learning communities, they must orient themselves within the wider world beyond the classroom walls.

“Increasingly, those who use technology in ways that expand their global connections are more likely to advance, while those who do not will find themselves on the sidelines. With the growing availability of tools to connect learners and scholars all over the world — online collaborative workspaces, social networking tools, mobiles, voice-over-IP, and more — teaching and scholarship are transcending traditional borders more and more all the time.”

–2009 Horizon Report

References:

Ferriter, W. M., Ramsden, J. T., & Sheninger, E. C. (2011). Communicating and connecting with social media. Bloomington: Solution Tree Press.

Richardson, W., & Mancabelli, R. (2011). Personal learning networks: using the power of connections to transform education. Bloomington: Solution Tree Press.

2009 Horizon Report .  Retrieved October 23, 2011, from http://wp.nmc.org/horizon2009/

What is Twitter?

Put simply, Twitter is a form of social network that requires members to share their information in succinct posts of 140 characters or less. Also known as microblogging, Twitter members post ‘tweets’ online which are then shared by members of their network, known as ‘followers’. Who you follow determines the quality of your Twitter experience. Following celebrities will provide a wealth of inane, self-interested posts – but following educational experts will result in tips about useful websites, upcoming educational trends and links to quality digital resources.

How can Twitter help you work smarter not harder?

As educators we are constantly trading in information and advice. In the past, this information and advice was sourced from friends on staff, peers in specialist subject areas (for secondary school teachers), professional associations and more formal systemic networking groups. Accessibility limits this model of learning network.

The power of Twitter is that it places the teacher at the centre of a network to which all parts are equally accessible. What’s more, teachers who use Twitter can access not only traditional sources of information, but also the expertise and advice of internationally renowned experts from across many fields within and beyond education.

Research has identified six ‘common patterns of participation’ for users of Twitter:

1.  Sharing Knowledge and Resources – sharing links to blogs, images or video clips of interest.
2. Monitoring Educational New Sources – sourcing professional readings and research
3. Digitally Attending Important Conferences – sharing thoughts and reflections from professional development sessions or conferences.
4. Encouraging Reflection – engaging in a reflective conversation with others
5. Gathering Instant Feedback – turning to Twitter as the first point of call when needing answers about their practice
6. Mentoring Colleagues – turning to Twitter to find a digital mentor for yourself or a peer.
   (From Ferriter, W. M., Ramsden, J. T., & Sheninger, E. C. (2011). Communicating and Connecting with Social Media. Bloomington: Solution Tree Press.)

The opportunity to share knowledge and resources, attend conferences ‘virtually’, mentor and be mentored, all for no cost and at any time is open to all educators; here’s how you can take full advantage of what Twitter has to offer:

Birds of a Feather Tweet Together – The Twitter ‘How To’ Guide.

Step 1: Sign up for a Twitter account. 

Log on to www.Twitter.com and join.  Twitter provides excellent assistance if you experience any difficulty – check out https://support.twitter.com/groups/31-twitter-basics for easy to understand instructions. Consider using your real name for your Twitter handle. Although privacy online is always important, if you are using Twitter purely as a professional learning network, it is easier for others to find and follow you if you use your real name; and building your network is one of the key purposes for using Twitter in this way.

Step 2: Find people to follow.

There is no pressure to begin ‘tweeting’ immediately. Ease into Twitter slowly by following some key educationalists, and become familiar with how they frame their posts, and the type of information they share. Once you have followed one or two people, you can expand your network by viewing who they follow. It is likely they follow people with similar interests. If you don’t know where to begin, have a look at sites such as http://wefollow.com/ or http://listorious.com/ or http://www.twellow.com/.  These sites are digital directories or yellow pages of Twitter users.

Step 3: Learn some hash tags!

Twitter uses the hash symbol (#) to identify key words used in Tweets. When a user is tweeting about a particular topic, the use of a hash tag means it will be easier to search for this post at a later date. Many educational conferences now have a conference hash tag, so that users can follow the tweets made by participants attending – an example is #iste12 – the hash tag for the upcoming ISTE Conference in San Diego in 2012. Already people are posting ideas for their conference presentations!

Other great hash tags for educators getting started with Twitter include:

#Edtech – tweets to do with technology in the classroom

#education – tweets to do with education

#edchat – a weekly discussion about all things education (discussions on Twitter that occur at an appointed time are often called ‘TweetMeets’.

#teachmeet – connecting teachers all over the world

#ozteachers – Australian teacher chat

Step 4: Manage your posts.

The number of tweets may seem overwhelming at first. A useful way of managing Twitter is to download an application such as Tweetdeck which interfaces with Twitter, and allows you to organise your searches so that they are easily viewable. You can download it free here: http://www.tweetdeck.com/

Tweetdeck looks like this: (click on the image to view a larger version)

So take advantage of the world of Twitter. There is no expectation that you become an expert immediately – and you will be pleasantly surprised at how much you can learn from your own professional learning network, that you have drawn from around the world!

If you would like to entice your staff to think about joining Twitter; download this cute poster that outlines the 6 common patterns of Twitter participation: twitter blog poster 1

If you would like to follow the authors of this post, we can be found at @KayC28 and @BenvanTrier.

ITU Telecom is part of the ITU (International Telecommunication Union), the United Nations specialized agency for telecommunications. ITU Telecom organizes global events for the governments, industry leaders and regulators that form part of the world’s ICT community. The first ITU Telecom event was held in 1971 and marks its 40th anniversary in 2011. The next ITU Telecom World event, will take place from 24 to 27 October 2011 in Geneva, Switzerland.

The ITU Telecom World 11 MetaConference [http://world2011.us] is all about seeing how young people think technology might solve some of the world’s greatest problems. You can sign up to get involved right now in this project brought to you by the United Nations agency responsible for ICT: http://world2011.us/get-involved/

ITU Telecom World 2011 [http://world2011.itu.int] is the MetaConference’s physical event in Geneva, Switzerland, bringing together thousands of influential delegates from the telecommunications and technology industries to discuss what steps need to be taken to get more of the world connected. It’s the world’s most important ICT event, where big decisions are taken on how technology can be used to solve some of our biggest problems.

And they need the help of your students!


By asking your students how they would go about solving problems running through seven major themes, you are not just covering content that is almost certainly in your curriculum – you’re offering a global stage for the ideas in front of the very people making the decisions for all our futures.

Conference organisers are  inviting 10,000 global school children (8-18)  to design the innovations that could make a real difference to their world, and submit their videos, blog posts, photographs and sketches, through you, to http://world2011.us/get-involved/

We want them to tell us how technology could be harnessed to:

•        alleviate poverty and hunger

•        improve education for all

•        address gender inequality

•        make sure everyone has access to health care

•        protect our environment

•        make disabled people’s lives easier

•        close the gap between the developed and developing world

Ideas and prototypes will be shown to delegates at the World 2011 event in Geneva, Switzerland on October 25-27. In addition,  all students will be encouraged to send in their ideas live during the event, with the event’s expert panels answering their questions and points.


There are  some brief online lesson starters and project ideas to help you make the most of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for your students [http://world2011.us/category/inspiration/]. There’s also a collaborative space to share your own teaching and learning approaches, as well as upload video, audio, photographic or written content from your students’ work.

This is YOUR chance to be part of a world-first experiment, to have YOUR voice heard on a   global platform, to have YOUR ideas seen by the very people who make the decisions that affect our everyday lives. How can technology make our world happier, safer and smarter? How can people from different countries work together to make our world more sustainable

Once you’ve registered [http://world2011.us/get-involved/], you can share your ideas and prototypes with each other. Your ideas will also form a significant part of World 2011′s Manifesto for Change; a blueprint for using technology to make a real difference. 

This challenge comes to you from the International Telecommunication Union http://www.itu.int

Sign up today: http://world2011.us/get-involved/

It is amazing what kids can achieve:

Look for a Twitter symbol on blog posts to follow educators online...BCE Twitterers include @BenVanTrier and @KayC28

This is the first of a series of posts planned in the area of social media and schools as learning communities. It is too big a topic to cover adequately in one post, and the value of social media tools as resources for learning is too great not to be addressed.

This post will consider what the term ‘social media’ connotes, and ways in which it may be used to overcome some of the obstacles schools face when attempting to develop a professional learning culture. The second post will focus specifically on a first step for teachers wishing to explore social media in a professional sense; building a Personal Learning Network using Twitter.

The third post planned will take readers a step beyond the Twitterverse, and introduce the idea of using multiple social media tools to enhance not only one’s Personal Learning Network, but also the possibility of bringing networked learning to the classroom and beyond.

If you are interested in following these posts and haven’t done so already, subscribe to our blog by entering your email address in the Subscribe box on the right hand side of this blog…and please feel free to leave your thoughts, suggestions or  criticisms in the comments box below!

Social Media – what do you need to know?

In the 21^st century, learning networks are richer than ever before. Social media, including tools such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn allow connections with professionals to be developed in offline and online worlds in new and exciting ways. No longer are we limited geographically. Social media allows us to connect not only to those we know, but also to those who we don’t know, but who share our passions, our interests and our profession. Despite never having met in the physical sense, it is now possible to share links, comment on educational research, debate, collaborate and create new knowledge with individuals no matter where they are working.

The number of tools that create these opportunities may seem overwhelming. Each has their strengths and weaknesses. A fully rounded PLN may consist of a number of accounts that serve a number of different purposes.

The infographic attempts shows the current state of play with the four largest players in the social media market

So….Social Media and Professional Learning Communities? What is the connection?

A school which is a professional learning community focuses upon removing the walls between classrooms (metaphorically, in all cases, physically in some!), encouraging collaboration, dialogue, ready access to colleagues and an openness to challenge understandings and current ‘accepted’ knowledge.

Teachers model ongoing learning as they view themselves as lifelong learners also. Time is provided not only for professional development in the traditional sense of in-service days, but also for collegial discussion and reflection. As the walls between the classrooms are no longer there, teachers feel free to engage in co-teaching, team teaching, mentoring, and peer observation.

A professional learning community is based upon respect, responsibility and collaboration. It reflects the need for all members of the community to view themselves as learners. This creates flexibility, openness to change and adaptability, which are definitely requirements for successfully managing the fast paced, continually changing context education exists within.

How can social media help bring this about? Roberts and Pruitt, in their book Schools as Professional Learning Communities (p3, 2009) quote research that suggests that the major obstacle for schools who wish to develop as learning communities is the provision of resources such as time to collaborate, leadership support, information and ready access to colleagues. Social Media is not the total answer; but in schools where money and time are in short demand (and which school isn’t in this situation?), they can go part of the way in meeting these needs.

Here’s how:

1. Social media providing time to collaborate

Social media does not strictly speaking provide time – nothing will replace relief from face to face teaching to allow teachers to focus on their professional learning – however by embracing the asynchronous nature of social media, collaboration can occur at a time that suits each individual. It is almost impossible to co-ordinate meeting times with the variety of competing demands teachers respond to each day. Social media allows each teacher to add their thoughts, comments and input to a conversation that can continue through the working day. Using blogging software, twitter hash tags and discussion forums allows the discussion to flow and new knowledge to be created despite geographical location.

2. Social media providing leadership support

There is usually only one Principal in a school. The ratio of leaders to staff does not have to determine the amount of support a leadership team can provide if social media is used as a way of communicating. Meetings that a leadership representative cannot physically attend can be shared online, or the input collected and reflected upon by leadership at a later date. Members of a leadership team can ‘check in’ with staff by posting a tweet, posting a discussion starter or asking for input using a variety of channels. Of course nothing replaces face to face meetings and the presence of leadership representatives at various events, but if it is just not possible to be there, there are ways support can still be provided.

 3. Social media providing information

This is a key role of social media when used in a professional context. Questions can be posted online for response from a global audience (you can use preferences to manage whether your question goes out to specific individuals or the whole world in general). The development of  a PLN in Twitter or LinkedIn provides ready access to experts in the educational field who more often than not are willing to share. Social bookmarking services such as Diigo are brilliant for discovering new websites and sources of information – join one of the many groups for educators, and digests of useful links will be sent automatically to your email inbox on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. Social media truly comes into its own when searching for targeted, reliable information sources.

 4. Social media providing ready access to colleagues

This directly links to Number 1. If colleagues have a Social Media account, they are just a few keystrokes away. This might sound like a recipe for disaster, however in terms of networking with colleagues from across the country and globally, or even for setting meeting times with fellow staff members, making contact with colleagues has never been easier.

Stay tuned for our next post which will introduce you to how Twitter may be a powerful tool for initiating and maintaining a Personal Learning Network.

Comments as always are welcome!

In everyday life, technology is ubiquitous. From the moment we climb out of bed, to the time we get back in, we are constantly connected or interacting with diverse digital tools and modes of communication. Everyday life in schools should reflect this reality – when students enter the school grounds, they should not have to ‘power down’ (Manzo,2009)  as if they were entering into another world.Our recent experience at Ivanhoe Girls’ Grammar Schoolas part of the Eighth National Interactive Teaching and Learning Conference clearly demonstrated normalised use of digital technology is achievable and well worth the effort.

 The short movies below capture just some of the many ways the school staff have effectively integrated a variety of technologies into their everyday practice. Although IGG is a very well-resourced school, there were many ideas to be gained that could be implemented in any classroom using the resources currently available.

The emphasis on collaborative learning, on developing student awareness and responsibility for managing themselves as digital citizens and the creative use of learning spaces are not dependent upon expensive tools, and are within reach every teacher and student.

Being a P-12 school, IGG has adopted a stepped approach to internet access. From Prep to Year Two, access is limited to a small number of thoroughly checked sites. From Years’ 3-6 students have broader access, although still filtered, and from Year 7-12 there is no filtering applied. This allows teachers and students the ability to access the appropriate tool at the appropriate time, with an atmosphere of trust allowing students to apply their digital citizenship skills, which have been developed incrementally throughout the primary years.

Our conference highlights:

The conference provided an opportunity for ResourceLink staff to present two papers and to engage with teachers and other professionals from across Australia. There were over 170 sessions, with keynotes from Rick Oser, principal of Golden Avenue School California, and Andrew Churches from the 21st Century Fluency Group in New Zealand.

Of the many sessions we attended, some of the highlights were:

The Values Exchange: How to use digital technology to enhance students’ critical thinking, persuasive reasoning and social awareness across the curriculum

– presented by Professor David Seedhouse

David Seedhouse  has developed an innovative tool called the Values Exchange, which is a unique web-based debating system.
The system allows students to explore any social issue and powerful social concepts (feelings, hopes, ideals, equality, law etc.) using ‘Facebook-style’ technology.
It allows students to explore the Dashboard of instant results (charts, free text, images etc.) in class as soon as they submit their ideas.

Using the iPad as a Creation Device
– presented by Shawn Taggart eLearning Manager, Acacia College, VIC 

In this session, Shawn demonstrated how his school manages a 1-1 iPad program, and highlighted how when iPads are not used as shared tools, they can be a powerful device not only for consuming but also for creating. The speed and mobility of the iPad allows students to ‘power up’ whenever they need to record notes, take photographs, access information….the possibilities are endless.

Shawn demonstrated how the iPad can be used throughout the curriculum to create most classroom work from basics like taking notes and writing essays (using a wireless keyboard) to  creating presentations and mind mapping and even more complex tasks like digital storytelling, video editing, storyboarding, creating vector artwork, composing music and developing web pages. His presentation can be accessed here https://files.me.com/thegafferguy/tc2y8l

Growing digital citizens for a digital world – presented by Andrew Churches, 21^stCentury Fluency Group

Andrew Churches

Andrew Churches  currently teaches at a school that has a cross platform laptop program from Years’ 6-10, and an open network in the senior school, where students bring their own device to connect to an unfiltered network.  In his experience, unenforceable rules, such as ‘thou shalt not use your mobile’ are counterproductive, and he believes that an ethical approach to digital use agreements is the most effective solution for preparing students for active and ethical participation in society. These agreements should be regularly renewed and shaped by student, teacher and parent input. Having shared input creates a sense of ownership and also ensures the policy is comprehendible to all stakeholders.

Ownership and understanding were two key aspects Andrew felt were vital when tackling challenges schools are currently dealing with, with regard to social media and digital access.

Andrew suggests ten guidelines for students to follow when considering appropriate behaviour online:

1. Set privacy settings – on almost all social media and networking sites, privacy settings may be changed to limit who views your account; become familiar with these settings, and use them.

2. Choose a name that is appropriate & respectful –avatars and online identities are a part of interacting online; it is important that the username chosen does not send a message that is inappropriate or disrespectful.

3. Only post suitable info & photos – once something is online, it is almost impossible to remove – see guideline 9 for a good test of what is ‘suitable’.

4. Secure passwords – it can take minutes to break a predictable or weak password; random combinations of letters, numbers and symbols are the strongest and best passwords for high security accounts.

5: Always report anything that feels uncomfortable and be open with a trusted adult – every student should have at least one adult they feel they could go to if they feel unsafe.

6: Don’t participate in & report cyber bullying or unkindness- being a bystander is not acceptable.

7: Report abuse – most sites have a button that users can click to report abuse, inappropriate material or spam – it is free, easy and anonymous.

8: Show care by not flaming or forwarding unkind messages – not only is it inappropriate behaviour, but it is impossible to predict where such messages may end up, and what may go viral.

9: The ‘grandma’ test – if you wouldn’t want your grandma to view/read what you are about to post….don’t post it.

10: Show care by not visiting websites that are inappropriate – the mere act of visiting these sites supports their existence and is not positive digital citizenship.

In short, Andrew Churches suggests students remember the following;

We would encourage anyone to participate in this type of conference. The learning from viewing best practice in classrooms, participating in and delivering conference sessions, the collegial relationships we affirmed and created and ready access to a range of providers of contemporary educational tools made our three days in Melbourne highly productive.

Manzo, Kathleen Kennedy. 2009. “Students See Schools Inhibiting Their Use of New Technologies.” Education Week, April 1. http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2009/03/24/27digital.h28.html.

What are they?

QR (Quick Response) codes are basically 2D barcodes. as they can be read vertically and horizontally, they can contain much more information that a regular barcode. They can contain up to 4000 characters (numeric, alphabetical, or Kanji (Japanese/Chinese symbols). Traditional barcodes contain only 20 digits of data.

A short piece of text, a website address, an email address or a phone number are just some of the types of information that can be stored in a code. In Japan, where QR codes originated, they are on most business cards – providing a link to a Google Map of where to find the business, or the business website in most cases, so users can simply scan the code with their phone to get direct access to information.

Most Smartphones will have a barcode scanner as a downloadable app which will read QR codes.

For the desktop you can also install a little bit of software that will use a webcam to read the codes. A free and easy to use desktop QR code reader and creator can be downloaded at http://www.quickmark.com.tw/En/basic/downloadPC.asp
This program will allow you to create QR codes and to scan QR codes on the computer screen quickly and easily.

Whether children are using mobile devices or the webcam on a netbook, they will access digital resources in fewer clicks.

Alternatively, there are many websites that generate QR codes – one of the easiest is Kaywa QR Generator: http://qrcode.kaywa.com/

Why should I use them?

Loads more information on QR codes is in the livebinder accessible by scanning this QR code

• Convey large amounts of information easily

• Provide easy access to websites/YouTube videos

• Create scavenger hunts or self-guided tours

• Provide information to parents

• Provide easy access for early years students to websites – use a desktop scanner

How to use them

The opportunities are endless. The following video shows how one school in the United States is using QR codes in many creative ways. Following the video are just a few additional ideas … please feel free to share more suggestions in the comments section below this post…

• Create QR codes for websites for direct student access

• A tour of any location can be made self guiding. Students use headphones plugged into phone/itouch and scan QR codes to listen to pre-recorded podcasts describing that part of the tour.

• Bring interactivity into discussions about moral dilemmas or social issues. Create short videos depicting the consequences of various actions or different perspectives on social issues. Create a QR code for each video. Students read the description of the dilemma or social issue, then scan the corresponding QR code to explore the dilemma/issue more deeply, by viewing the video.

• Include QR codes that direct students to websites with further information on homework/assignment task sheets

Websites and Tools

40 interesting ways to use QR Codes

Desktop QR scanner: Quickmark

This Diigo group is specifically for sharing links about using QR codes in education – if you aren’t already a member of Diigo, you should be (read the post about it here) otherwise, join this group for regular digests on new ways to use this tool in the classroom.

As said earlier…if you are using QR codes, or have ideas on how they might be used creatively, share them below in the comments section…we would love to hear what others are doing!

We would like to spread the word about our blog! Simply scan the QR code below to post the link of our blog to your Twitter account…and if you don’t have a Twitter account, stay tuned for an upcoming article on why Twitter is vital for every educator!